[Silent Night]

This miniaturized version of Gotham City slowly took shape around the tree in Crime Alley, its glowing presence offering the only solace in a city steeped in darkness.

There weren’t many criminals trapped here, but they quickly discovered the secret of the Colourful Street Trees—emotion-powered illumination.

Fear caused the trees to emit a warm, golden glow. Anger turned the light blue. As for joy… well, Uncle Joker informed everyone that joy was purple. In just a few days, they fought multiple times over who would get the coveted spot closest to the great tree. However, while their bodies could revive, their weapons would not return.

Unbeknownst to them, those “weapons” turned to ash, with some rising to the sky and others sinking into the earth, becoming part of the city itself.

These criminals fought over a tree and actively produced the very emotions the tree fed on. What they didn’t know was that soon, in the real Gotham City… there would be a thousand of these trees.

A thousand trees in an entire city wasn’t much. On average, there would be one Colourful Street Tree per 7,000 square meters.

But urban planning wasn’t that straightforward. Vivi glanced over the blueprints.

The blueprint reward was just a guideline, showing her how many shrubs, and trees, and which areas to convert into lawns or flowerbeds. The Poison Ivy revisions didn’t exactly consider the needs of the citizens but focused on the most optimal conditions for tree growth.

Now, Vivi began by replacing all the tall trees in the blueprint with [Colourful Street Trees], estimating she would need around 2,287 of them. However, she had no intention of planting so many glowing trees.

“First, think of these trees as streetlights,” Vivi mused. “They don’t require electricity, but they aren’t exactly stable either.”

The blueprint didn’t cover residential areas, as those weren’t public zones, and their green spaces were maintained by private contractors.

Her eyes lingered on the two rows of trees planned for the business district. After a moment, she turned her attention to the balance scale on her desk.

After handing the task over to Poison Ivy, and assigning her avatar, Bella Bettywen, to monitor her, Vivi returned home, now sitting in her bedroom.

The items purchased from the mall could remain in her inventory for a while. Vivi tapped the left side of the balance and dragged several trees from her inventory.

[Converter]

[You’ve used the converter to combine 48 Colourful Street Trees into one giant Colourful Street Tree. Conversion successful.]

This tree was even bigger and more striking than the one in Crime Alley. It would be planted in Gotham’s commercial district. The city’s business hub was in the Diamond District, where the foot traffic was enormous, making this a true “colourful” tree.

Additionally, Vivi replaced the ordinary trees along the riverbanks and beaches with Colourful Street Trees. These areas were far from residential zones and often the site of accidental drownings—at least the trees would offer some illumination.

Vivi remembered why she planted the first tree in Crime Alley: the night there was always pitch dark, the streetlights were smashed, and the windows of the tall buildings were shut tight. The only people who knew what Crime Alley’s nights were like were the despised residents and, of course, Batman and Robin. But now, Crime Alley had streetlights and order, and soon, it would have plenty of flowers.

“And then there are the schools—Gotham University, Gotham Academy on Arkham Island. Let’s add some to Arkham too. Oh, and Blackgate Prison could use some greenery,” she mused. After all, no need to worry about light pollution in a prison, as the cells had no windows anyway.

In the Diamond District, Chinatown, Otisburg, and other economically developed areas, Vivi combined dozens of trees into a single giant one. The reason was simple:

The land here, even in public spaces, was expensive. Planting such special trees in these locations would draw attention, unlike in Crime Alley.

If the Gotham Business Council tried to block the planting on the grounds of economic use, or worse, attempted to remove the tree, its sheer size and apparent age would make it highly protected. Environmental groups would never allow it.

Vivi wouldn’t have to step in. She could watch the environmentalists and business leaders fight amongst themselves.

“Ivy,” Vivi said, calling Poison Ivy. “You’ve got connections in Gotham University and the botanical world, right? I need you to produce a report on these unique plants, proving that they can only grow in certain soils around Gotham.”

Poison Ivy, even behind bars, still wrote and published academic papers. Naturally, she had plenty of contacts in academia—she was a giant in the field. Scientists didn’t care that she was a villain; Ivy was an object of study in her own right. If it weren’t for her imprisonment in Arkham, she’d probably be attending scientific conferences every week.

Not to mention, with her formidable combat abilities, she hadn’t been captured by any mad scientists for experiments—those who tried had long since become plant food.

“You think I’d commit academic fraud?” Ivy was clearly annoyed at being interrupted mid-experiment. “Research takes patience. I’ll only vouch for you after I see the results.”

She stared at the rose in front of her. It sat, dormant, in its pot. And like this one, there were thousands more in her garden.

Poison Ivy coldly glanced at Warden Bettywen, who was standing at the door playing with her fingers. She brushed her hair behind her ear, walked over, and placed one hand against the wall behind Bettywen, assuming a “kabe-don” stance ^[1]T/N: Kabe-don refers to the action of slapping the wall fiercely. Commonly seen in dramas/anime/manga. The tall woman blinked in surprise before looking up at her, genuine confusion in her eyes, but she didn’t resist.

Her reaction was a bit slow, but still better than those who were scared out of their wits on the spot.

“Why don’t you take me to see that plant? The Little Knight must have told you about it, right, Warden?”

After a moment of silence, Bettywen brushed aside Ivy’s hand and wheeled out a black motorcycle from behind the door. “It’s in Crime Alley. Want a ride?”

The vines on Ivy’s arm shifted slightly as she got on the back of the bike, wrapping her arms around the woman’s waist. “Crime Alley, huh? Looks like I’ll be seeing a lot of old friends.”

Vivi had become more adept at running multiple characters simultaneously. As long as the warden and the mayor kept their aloof demeanor, she could manage. While her avatar led Poison Ivy to see the tree, she also gave orders to mobilize the logistics team.

Before unlocking the alchemy feature, Vivi had spent Wayne’s investment money hiring workers to accelerate the sewer system’s completion. Now that the sewers were done, those teams could work on other tasks, such as planting street trees and building low-cost housing in the East End.

The East End was economically underdeveloped and had severe city planning issues. Its chaotic lawlessness had created a vicious cycle, turning it into a haven for crime.

The first thing Vivi had been working on, and was still working on, was the elimination of prostitution. She intended to make Gotham a city where sex work no longer existed. But cutting off the livelihood of these women wasn’t an option. Most of them, apart from a few, had no education or opportunities and had no choice but to become prostitutes.

So, she worked hard to provide them with jobs. The Iceberg Construction Company, and the Cathedral Shelter—they all prioritized hiring these women. It wasn’t that Vivi was discriminating; it was just that, unlike the men who resorted to violence, the women at the bottom seized opportunities more readily—perhaps because there were so few available to them.

In addition, they were employed to provide meals for the construction workers or complete small tasks. But with limited knowledge, their options were scarce. Aside from selling their bodies, these jobs were the only way they could make a living. And while City Hall couldn’t support them indefinitely, now that the underground construction was complete, their health would limit the types of work they could continue doing.

Frowning, Vivi pondered the situation for a long while before opening the [System Interface]—[Main Quest]—[New Council]—[Proposals]. One proposal was to build an adult education school in the East End, offering student loans, free accommodation, and meals, with the loans to be repaid within ten years of graduation. Just by looking at it, Vivi knew it wouldn’t yield any short-term returns—not in six months, not in a year, not even in several years.

“Approved,” Vivi muttered. “After all… Wayne’s footing the bill.”

A significant amount of gold coins drained from her account, and the construction workers now had the additional task of building the school and dormitories. However, since they were still fast asleep, they had no idea what awaited them.

Vivi then assigned the task to the person who had proposed it in the council. Before joining the council, this man had been a pipe worker for Gotham’s railway department. He was forty-six years old, had a daughter attending college in New York, and a son who loved photography and traveled the world. His wife was three years older than him, cheerful and outgoing, and they owned two dogs named Jupiter and Duke.

After skimming through his resume, Vivi still couldn’t remember the man’s name. It was probably something very ordinary. He seemed like the kind of middle-aged man you’d meet in the neighborhood who would stop to chat with a friendly greeting.

—Just like the sort of friend everyone has.

She closed the interface, avoiding a glance at her now drastically diminished gold reserves. After all, money needs to circulate in the market to truly be useful. Meanwhile, Poison Ivy and Bettywen had started chatting. Ivy had sensed the presence of the Colourful Street Tree in Crime Alley, and it had said:

“I like Gotham, and I like being here.”

As the sun rose, its golden rays pierced through the clouds. Ivy, who had disguised herself with normal human skin, lowered her sunhat and climbed back onto the motorcycle. “Let’s go,” she said.

The black motorcycle sped through the narrow streets. The sky, compressed between the buildings, turned into a thin strip of gray clouds, like a narrow stream of overcast sky. Crime Alley was as quiet in the early morning as it was at night. Occasionally, the sound of a gargoyle flapping its wings could be heard. The motorcycle passed by others in the street, and a black cat on the rooftop meowed, shaking its head before rolling over on the rooftop.

Vivi’s phone rang at almost the same moment as the mayor’s office phone. She curiously took out her phone, and her AI also sent a message stating that it was Shelk calling the mayor’s office to report the task’s progress.

But the number calling her personal phone was unfamiliar. Since Bella was currently riding a motorcycle, it was obviously out of the question for the mayor to answer. Vivi raised an eyebrow and answered the call herself.

“Miss Vivi White,” a male voice spoke on the other end, oozing with sycophancy. “It’s a pleasure to finally speak with you. Perhaps I should introduce myself—Oswald Cobblepot. Though…”

He hesitated, sounding almost bashful. “My friends call me the Penguin.”

“Greetings to you, and to the esteemed Mr. C.”

You clearly despise being called “Penguin”—it’s not what friends call you, but rather what enemies use, isn’t it?

Somehow, Penguin had managed to get ahold of Vivi’s phone number. It figures—intelligent people always find a way. Shelk had pulled him from the labour force to help deal with Black Mask’s business empire, and had he stayed in the crew, his fate might’ve been the same as those prisoners who had their labour drained for a month and were now laid up in bed.

And now, he’s calling Vivi directly…

Vivi raised an eyebrow: This is interesting.