The NPC named “Quincy Sharp” seems to have a particular fondness for this proposal, having submitted it seven times in three years, all of which were vetoed by the previous mayor.

Just then, Vivi found a computer and decided to search for what “Arkham City” actually was.

The computer could only access websites related to “Gotham,” suggesting that the game world was limited to the city of Gotham, and players couldn’t go to other cities. Perhaps other cities were just static images, serving only as background for the world.

This seemed quite reasonable.

The first thing that appeared was an introduction to “Arkham” —

“Ah,” Vivi stroked her chin, “a mental hospital located on Nehao Island in Gotham City…”

Isn’t this proposal just outrageous?

“Can building a larger insane asylum in the city center make me money?”

No wonder the former mayor didn’t agree with this proposal, but why could it be submitted directly to the mayor? It didn’t seem logical.

Vivi looked closer and found that apart from the first educational entry, the rest were various sensational news, such as —

#Shock! The Joker Escapes Arkham Asylum Again

#Bane is Locked in Arkham Asylum’s Underground Prison, Is This a Violation of Humanitarianism?

#Two-Face Escapes Again, Saying “Arkham Can’t Hold Me, Let Batman Come”

Vivi: ?

Vivi’s brow slowly furrowed.

Something wasn’t right.

She used the computer to access the city hall’s intranet, then pulled up reports from the previous mayor’s tenure.

The report clearly showed:

Over the years, the city government spent 87% of its available funds on “building renovation and reconstruction” and “civilian death compensations,” amounting to over a million gold for Vivi, all due to criminal damage.

Notably, the government funds were actually insufficient to cover these expenses, filling the holes created by criminals. During this period, Gotham’s local “Wayne Enterprises” voluntarily donated a significant amount of money, basically supporting half of the city hall’s operation. Without Wayne Enterprises, Gotham City Hall would have probably declared bankruptcy — if that was even possible.

Vivi was speechless with shock.

In this light, “Arkham City,” a seemingly outrageous idea at first glance, actually seemed like a feasible solution.

Arkham City, a city within a city established in the center of Gotham, would confine all criminals, such as the severe offenders from Arkham Asylum and Gotham criminals from Blackgate Prison, in one place, ignoring laws and morals. The criminals would make their own laws in this dangerous inner city, just a wall away from a completely different world.

But Vivi would never approve of this proposal!

Anyone with an IQ higher than 2 would understand that no city would turn its center into a prison, nor would any mayor agree to have a city within a city beyond their control. What kind of counterintuitive operation was this!?

And the mastermind behind this idea, “Quincy Sharp,” was the current director of Arkham Asylum, making Vivi wonder: had the director of the asylum become mentally unstable after being in charge for so long?

But these dangerous lunatics couldn’t be left unattended.

“Despite the city government and Wayne Enterprises spending a lot each month on maintaining and upgrading Arkham Asylum’s facilities, and all prisons supposedly being upgraded… why are there still so many prison breaks?”

And with such frequency, returning to Arkham seemed like going home, and escaping like going out to buy groceries. Aren’t you all a bit too comfortable?

“But… who is this Batman?”

*

An hour ago.

Peter Parker, who had smashed through the wall to escape the mayor’s office, took a long detour and hid on a tall building. Hearing the guards no longer pursuing him, he returned to Gotham Academy.

Notably, Gotham High School is located on Nehao Island, which houses two famous landmarks: Gotham Academy and Arkham Asylum.

Though far from Arkham Asylum, studying at this academy still felt quite nerve-wracking.

However, Peter found his stay relatively free, or comfortable — possibly because the closest building was Arkham Asylum, notorious for its numerous disasters. The students sharing an island with the asylum rarely saw campus violence.

Probably because the biggest violent institution was next door.

As a good student, as long as Peter didn’t think about who the neighbors were, he found Gotham Academy quite nice. As a private school, it had a strong teaching staff and humorous teachers. He also made good friends, like Bruce Wayne’s adopted son — Tim Drake.

“So you accidentally broke into city hall and saw a blonde lady, and to avoid gunfire, you even smashed through a wall…”

His friend Tim, who only came to the dorm to pick up things and usually stayed at Wayne Manor, asked more questions after noticing his late return.

“Yes…” Peter scratched his head, “Hmm, I also encountered a girl who seemed to want to sneak into city hall, and she might have encountered gunfire — I heard gunshots, but I couldn’t find the enemy when I got there, and she disappeared in the mayor’s office.”

Was that really an office? Why was one wall all steel?

If he hadn’t found a door and normal walls, Peter would have thought he had run into some kind of prison.

He described Vivi’s appearance to Tim, who nodded thoughtfully: “Don’t worry, I’ll look into it.”

After their chat, Tim advised Peter to stay indoors for the time being — things seemed unsettled at Arkham — and then hurried off.

Tim seemed busy, and Peter understood him since he was also a vigilante like “Spider-Man.” But unlike Peter, who was still going solo, Tim had companions.

He was Batman’s assistant, the current Robin.

One thing Tim didn’t mention to Spider-Man was that he hadn’t come to the dorm just to pick up things; he had dropped by the school while returning a prisoner to Arkham.

Tonight in Gotham was anything but calm. After a busy night, Tim found his safehouse nearby and started trying to hack into city hall’s surveillance.

There were no cameras in the mayor’s office, but everywhere else was monitored.

This hacking… uncovered some irregularities.

“Anna Alek, 26, illegitimate daughter of the New York Diamond family head,” this age seemed too young. Tim sipped his coffee thoughtfully, “Looking at this transfer… did the Diamond family give up on her?”

“She arrived in Gotham three days ago, seems to have issued no orders, nor changed the current structure of city hall… it looks like many people still don’t know she’s the new mayor?”

Tim shrugged: Anyway, for most Gothamites, it doesn’t really matter whether there’s a mayor or not. The crappy parts of this city are still crappy and seem unlikely to change for centuries.

So, they had no expectations.

But it seemed that some changes occurred on April 1st —

The engineering team’s comings and goings in the office were recorded, and Tim, using cameras from different angles, reconstructed what happened outside the mayor’s office. Although he still couldn’t see inside, he could infer the situation at the time.

“An assassin?”

“Hmm… it looks like the assassin’s first attempt failed…”

“Peter said he heard gunshots when he sneaked in. Maybe something happened, or perhaps it was the assassin’s second attempt?”

“But he didn’t see anything afterward… It seems I need to check out this assassin,” Tim thought, “After all, it’s rare for a hired assassin to fail twice.”

Bat was busy with Arkham stuff these days, and Black Mask seemed to be stirring. Tim thought he could handle this himself.

— After all, he was Batman’s Robin.

*

【You have unlocked a new character card [Batman]】

The legend of the city, a vigilante fighting crime in the dark, Gotham’s own Batman.

【You have unlocked a new character card [Robin]】

Batman’s assistant, apparently the third one, a minor fighting crime, suspected to be coveted by an unknown person.

【You have unlocked a new character card [Wayne]】

Gotham’s richest man, a playboy, philanthropist, and a year-round donor to various Gotham infrastructure projects.

【You have unlocked a new character card [Joker]】

One of Gotham’s notorious criminals, a city destroyer, the main cause of economic losses, wishes to paint his face like a clown, with a gang known as “Joker’s Crew.”

It seems these are the only character cards that can be unlocked online. Vivi also received several side quests.

【Side Quest: Obtain Funding from Wayne】

【Quest Reward: 0~500,000 gold (directly deposited into public funds)】

【Side Quest: You might be able to unlock the Prestige Module online】

【Make more people recognize you as the Mayor of Gotham (unlocks when more than 50% of Gotham’s total population recognizes you)】

【Task Description: Register a Twitter account】

Not all characters will unlock a character card, probably because only true information is recorded on the card. So although Vivi saw reports about Catwoman or Two-Face online, most were published in tabloids. Their authenticity obviously didn’t pass the system’s judgment, so Vivi treated them like short stories — actually, those sensational tales were quite interesting.

Currently, she has three tasks to complete —

In simple terms, they were “demand money from Black Mask,” “demand money from the wealthy Wayne,” and “register a Twitter account,” with the latter being the simplest.

Registering an account wasn’t difficult. After registering the account “Anna Alek” and verifying it as the Mayor of Gotham, Vivi received her first daily task.

【Daily Task: Post a tweet with a personal photo (0/1)】

【Prove that you are alive and your life is rich and colorful, Madam Mayor】

【Reward: 100 gold coins】

Vivi clenched her fist in excitement: “You stingy planners, you finally decided to give a guaranteed reward, huh!?”

Even a hundred gold coins were a fortune for Vivi at the moment.

The system panel could take photos. She thought for a moment — since it had to be “rich and colorful,” simply taking an ordinary photo probably wouldn’t be acknowledged by the system —

A few minutes later.

---

[Anna Alek (Mayor of Gotham)]

[Hello, Spider-Man.]

[Image]

0 comments, 0 retweets, 0 likes

---

In the picture, the blonde woman sat on the remains of a wall, her legs crossed. The photo also captured a nearby carved door, clearly showing a poor wall, now with a big hole, and dust flying around. The woman rested her chin on one hand, smiling enigmatically.

It seems there’s no problem, Vivi thought.

She specifically chose this pose here, hoping that “Spider-Man,” if he had any conscience — remembering the destruction he caused — would send the compensation to city hall, addressed to her.

No money?

Vivi: Then go get a loan!

The tweet quickly gained views, possibly due to her verified status, and her follower count was also rising. But strangely, there were no comments.

Suddenly, footsteps approached from afar. Vivi turned and saw the pale-faced Shelk.

The former Chief-of-Staff, transformed into a “workaholic,” staggered over. Vivi narrowed her eyes —

As he got closer, she noticed a new attribute on his panel.

【Fanatical Obedience】

【Giving him more work will increase his obedience, but if not satisfied for a long time, the obedience attribute will decrease】

【Work can be addictive】