Chapter 115: Everyone Around Me Is My Own Person; What Does He Have to Fight Me With?

Although he didn't receive a mission on Father's Day, Ma Ma Zhaodi had no complaints; with his asset points steadily rolling in, he still had the time and money to set up an old television in the children's lodging and furnish it with furniture, a blackboard, paper, pens, and the like.

The only thing he hadn't anticipated was how exceptionally well the children accepted Solomon; he had originally considered that if the children were unwilling to live with Solomon, he would spend some time and money building a wooden cabin in the woods for Solomon to inhabit—after all, with his Intermediate Physical Enhancement, he could complete such work very quickly.

Thank goodness, Gotham's street urchins were newborn calves unafraid of tigers; having grown up alone in such a city, they quickly accustomed themselves to the big fellow's greenish-white skin and ferocious features, even striking up a friendship—they communicated through body language, and the big fellow seemed quite delighted by this.

Ma Ma Zhaodi was also pleased; with Solomon present, the children's safety was guaranteed, and any malicious creature that dared approach would surely die upon arrival—Ma Ma Zhaodi was no Batman, so he didn't worry about whether Solomon might go too far; in fact, according to his simple moral code, anyone who harmed children deserved to die.

This month's salary arrived in full as usual; however, news of the Maroni father and son being shot had eventually leaked out, leading many to suspect that Ma Ma Zhaodi possessed no special abilities whatsoever, and that Maroni had simply been targeted by someone else.

According to the supervisor, headquarters would not approve any further budget; if he wanted to earn money next month, he would have to personally deliver evidence causing substantial damage to the Maroni family—as for returning to work, that was absolutely impossible.

Ma Ma Zhaodi was now listed on the Falcone family's blacklist, meaning virtually all Falcone enterprises would reject his employment applications.

"How stingy, unwilling to grant me even a six-month paid leave," Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed; were his days as a salary thief finally coming to an end?

But calculating his savings, he already had over two hundred thousand; aside from the funds needed to purchase more items for the children, the remainder was sufficient for him to settle down for now, and he still had over eighty thousand asset points left; in truth, he could now open a small shop relying solely on his culinary skills to earn money.

Of course, opening a shop in Gotham carried risks, but he was now capable of withstanding such risks.

【Ding】

Just as Ma Ma Zhaodi was planning his next steps, the system's notification sound suddenly rang out, temporarily interrupting his thoughts.

【You have a new odd job available; please check and accept】

【A District Attorney's Office Leaking from All Sides】

Mission Introduction: Learn from past mistakes; after realizing Vernon was one of Maroni's men and hearing about Dr. Thomas's past, Harvey decided to conduct further surveillance on this bribed colleague and the seemingly cooperative gang leader; after all, in this district attorney's office leaking from all sides, the good guys must be craftier than the bad ones.

Note: Harvey Dent knew nothing about hacking techniques; however, he immediately thought of that reliable friend who had once deleted hospital surveillance footage and blocked phone tapping.

Status: Pending Completion (0/2)

Reward: If undetected, gain Advanced Computer Proficiency; for each target that detects you, reduce the proficiency level by one tier】

"Sounds pretty good," Ma Ma Zhaodi rubbed his chin; "besides, this eavesdropping job isn't dangerous, especially since it involves spying on Maroni; if we happen to overhear some explosive information, I might even be able to continue working as a salary thief over at Falcone's place."

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down."

The phone rang; Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at the caller ID on his mobile phone—it was Prosecutor Harvey.

"Ha, speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

"Hello? Prosecutor Harvey?"

"Old Ma, I have something I'd like to ask you; how about coming to my place for dinner after work?"

"No problem; just call me when you're off work."

A few days after Ma Ma Zhaodi met with Harvey, Maroni was suddenly moved into a single cell with rather good conditions and declared he would testify in court against all of Falcone's crimes—regarding this matter, the Roman made no response whatsoever.

On this day, Harvey came to the prison to speak with Maroni.

"Mr. Maroni, accusing Falcone is a very dangerous matter—I didn't expect you to be willing to step forward and do this personally."

"Aren't you quite pleased about this, Mr. Harvey?"

Wearing a suit and sitting on the bed, Maroni sneered at Harvey Dent outside the iron bars: "If that dog bastard Falcone hadn't gone too far, I wouldn't have stepped forward to fight him head-on—but let me say this, Prosecutor Harvey, if after I complete my accusation against Falcone, I discover you still intend to use this as grounds to investigate and prosecute me, then let me advise you: better drop those little schemes; with your limited influence alone, you cannot bring down the Maroni family."

Harvey smiled and replied, "Mr. Maroni, you may still dare to speak to me so recklessly now, but you'll need to be more careful in the future—this room has surveillance; it will begin operating tomorrow; after all, the trial is approaching, so there cannot be no monitoring measures here; this is also for your own safety—well then, Mr. Maroni, until we meet again."

The brief conversation ended there; Harvey turned and left; watching the door close, Maroni lay back down on the bed.

Approximately half an hour later.

Creak—

The prison gate opened once more; a blond figure dressed in an expensive suit entered the prison, approaching Maroni's iron bars.

"Mr. Maroni, do you have any instructions for today?"

Maroni opened his eyes, turned his head, and upon seeing Vernon's obsequious expression, immediately broke into a triumphant smile.

What District Attorney's Office? What prosecutor? They were merely dogs that could be bought; from beginning to end, Harvey Dent had always been a lone man, sprinting alone down the one-way street called justice.

"Vernon, I'm touched that you've remembered to visit me these past few days, but there is one matter that truly troubles me."

"Mr. Maroni, you need only give the order, and I will do my utmost to resolve any trouble for you."

"Excellent, Vernon, excellent—do you see that camera in the corner? Harvey Dent told me today it would be activated tomorrow, but I don't believe his words; go investigate for me—who is responsible for monitoring and inspecting my room, and whether this camera has already been activated."

"I believe the supervisory staff can become friends with me, just as you and I have become friends; do you understand?"

"Leave it all to me, Mr. Maroni."

Maroni pulled out a cigarette; Vernon tactfully produced an elegant lighter and lit the cigarette for him; the sycophantic manner made Maroni feel somewhat amused.

"Nice lighter; where did you get it?"

"Harvey Dent gave it to me; he said I've been working very hard."

"Heh." Maroni took a calm drag from his cigarette: "That fool prides himself on being clever, yet to this day, he remains completely unaware of your true nature."

"With everyone around me being my own people, what does he have to fight me with?"

(End of Chapter)