Chapter 106: The Full Story

Time rewound slightly to the midnight before Mother's Day; as he watched Batman hang someone from the clock tower as usual, the system suddenly stirred again.

【You have a new gig available; please check and collect.】

"How was this triggered again?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow; just watching Batman could trigger a gig?

The reward from last St. Patrick's Day gig was still vivid in his mind—it had been a one-time dream, which made him feel slightly aggrieved; he had put in tremendous effort planting so many trees, yet the reward was merely a one-time thing.

This illusory dream capable of resurrecting the dead based on the living's memories and wishes was essentially a comfort for the living; for the dead, their souls had long departed for the land of death.

Nevertheless, he still rushed home in the late night to sleep, donning a green pumpkin mask, grabbing a water gun, and running off to snatch children's ice cream and candy; that part was at least passable.

Ma Ma Zhaodi shook his head, reined in his wandering thoughts, and carefully examined the mission panel.

【Dreamless Nocturnal Creature

Mission Description: Rising with the sun and resting with the moon; such common sense seems rather useless for nocturnal creatures, but this does not mean nocturnal creatures do not long for a good dream.

Note: Who is the nocturnal creature? Just take a look at the clock tower, and you will know!

Status: Pending (0/1)

Reward: Deep Sleep Skill.】

The mission requirement was simply to deliver a gift to Bruce Wayne—the very Sleepy Music Box he had obtained during last Christmas Eve's side mission.

If this mission had appeared before, it would have been somewhat difficult for him, but now things were different; last Christmas, he had received an invitation sent by Alfred, representing Bruce's will, stating that to thank him for his Christmas kindness, he was welcome to visit Wayne Manor at any time.

He had not gone then, because making porridge took a lot of time, the number of children was large, and he also had work on Falcone's side; whenever he had a moment, he ran to the porridge stall to cook.

Watching Batman's figure disappear atop the clock tower, Ma Ma Zhaodi casually tucked the invitation into his pocket and lay back down on the bed.

"Ding-dong."

The next day, during daylight hours, the doorbell at Wayne Manor was pressed.

Alfred opened the manor gate and saw a young stranger standing outside, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a cheap suit; aside from a decent demeanor and clear eyes, he was no different from most ordinary people in Gotham City.

Do not misunderstand; to appear more sincere, this suit had cost Ma Ma Zhaodi over thirty thousand dollars, which pained him greatly, but in Alfred's eyes, it was indeed a "cheap item."

Alfred, feeling slightly strange, had not yet spoken when the young man opened his mouth first.

"Hello, hello; you must be Mr. Alfred—do you remember sending an invitation to 'Santa Claus'?"

"Oh, so it is you visiting." Alfred immediately understood; he was deeply impressed by that porridge-distributing Santa Claus, but he never expected the man himself to be so young.

"To thank Mr. Bruce for his kindness, I have specially brought a music box; I bought it from an astrologer. It is very magical; since having it, I have almost had no nightmares, though sometimes it does not work well and makes no sound."

"Sir, I believe Master Bruce will certainly be delighted by your gift. If you do not mind, may I invite you inside for a chat? Allow me to brew you a cup of black tea; the wind this morning was quite cold."

"Alright, alright."

For the following time, Ma Ma Zhaodi did not know if he had been impolite, after all, there were many differences between a waiter's etiquette and a guest's etiquette, but Alfred's black tea and small snacks were truly delicious; he could basically confirm that Alfred's cooking skills were at least of a high-end, even master-level standard.

He stayed at Wayne Manor for quite a while before returning home, but he did not see Bruce, which made him breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"Alfred, where did this music box come from?"

"Oh, Master, Santa Claus delivered it during the day."

Bruce's brain thought seriously for a moment before realizing that Alfred was referring to Ma Ma Zhaodi, not the real Santa Claus.

He was a very mysterious person; regarding the things he sent, one had to be somewhat more cautious.

So Bruce twisted the music box, watching it spin, but it made no sound at all.

"Master, I am afraid this music box makes no sound." Alfred walked over holding black tea: "But I can see the gift-giver was very sincere."

"I know, Alfred."

Saying this, Bruce casually tucked it into his trench coat pocket; he planned to take it to the Batcave for testing after visiting Arkham and finishing his patrol, just in case there was some hacker technology or listening device inside.

It was not specifically targeting Ma Ma Zhaodi; in fact, every gift delivered to Wayne Manor had to undergo this procedure.

Then, it was tonight.

"Master, Master? Are you still listening? Why did you suddenly return to the Batcave?"

"I must change clothes; I cannot expose..."

Alfred, with a worried expression, helped Bruce remove the Batsuit and put on regular clothes; he very much wanted to stop Master here, because he looked really unwell—but he did not seem to have completely lost his reason, which made Alfred hesitate somewhat.

"I will be back very soon, Alfred, I will be back very soon—"

Bruce, wearing his trench coat, ran out of the Batcave, all the way to the street; at this moment, half an hour had passed since Scarecrow's prison break, the poison gas's erosion grew increasingly intense, and finally crushed his last shred of sanity.

"Let's go see a movie, Mom," he murmured softly, walking alone into an alley: "Let's go see a movie."

And then, right now, Alfred placed the sleeping Bruce back onto the bed.

He examined the music box that had fallen out; at this moment, it still made no sound.

Could Master Bruce's good dream be related to it?

He shook his head, casually placed it back into the trench coat pocket, then said goodnight to Bruce and walked out of the room.

"Click."

The gate opened; Chief Gordon and the officers were currently waiting outside Wayne Manor.

"Thank you for your rational command tonight, Chief Gordon." Alfred bowed slightly: "But Master Bruce's spirit has suffered great shock; I am afraid he will be unable to discuss matters with you for some time."

"I know, Alfred." Gordon sighed: "But you also know, if we do not talk with Wayne, it will be difficult for us to figure out exactly what the relationship between him and Falcone is—I came here tonight for that very reason."

"They have no relationship whatsoever."

"Then, we must at least sit together and talk openly to clarify this misunderstanding."

"..." After a moment of silence, Alfred nodded.

"I will convey your words to Master Bruce; I believe that after Master recovers, we will have an opportunity to talk."

(End of Chapter)