Chapter 128: Master of Provocation Ma Ma Zhaodi

Vernon is finished.

Watching Harvey sigh and offer comfort, Vernon desperately tried to explain himself to Maroni on the ground, but it was useless; when he saw the look of murderous intent in Maroni's eyes directed at him, he knew he was done, utterly and completely finished.

What was interesting was that at this very moment, the person in the entire courtroom who most wanted Maroni dead had become Vernon.

What should I do, what should I do? If Maroni wakes up, he will definitely not let me go.

Vernon stared fixedly at Maroni on the ground and instinctively took a step forward, but was quickly pulled back by Harvey beside him: "Sigh, Vernon, go find someone to help first—wasn't that what you were just shouting to do?"

Vernon turned his head to look at Prosecutor Harvey, who now seemed somewhat strange; the other man's gaze was calm and indifferent, yet it seemed able to pierce straight through Vernon's eyes to see the filthiest part of his heart.

At this moment, he suddenly understood why the strong acid he was originally supposed to give Maroni had turned into a potion.

Someone knew Maroni's plan in advance, someone turned the tables and swapped the potion, and someone wanted Maroni to deal with me personally.

Harvey Dent, you have plotted against me.

Vernon ground his teeth until they creaked; at this very moment, he was both terrified and afraid. He was originally a coward who repaid kindness with treachery and was blinded by money, daring only to play dirty tricks behind Harvey's back. At this very moment, he did not even dare to show this prosecutor a look of hatred, so he could only lower his head, afraid to let others see the expression on his face.

For someone with no principles who only knows how to backstab like Vernon, the taste of being betrayed was undoubtedly the worst—of course, it was only his one-sided characterization of Harvey's actions as betrayal.

Maroni heard the crowd around him erupting into chaos, but at this moment he did not want to consider anything, because his body was indeed in great pain, and he felt a bit desperate.

"For a woman," he thought to himself: "For a woman, Maroni, what have you done? You failed to take out that relentless scum Harvey, you didn't listen to Dad properly, and instead you helped Falcone. Morality, rules, all thrown away completely."

When Sofia helps the Romans swallow up the weak Maroni family in the future, will she show a little bit of pity?

He thought that perhaps if he died like this, it would seem more dignified.

"I'll save him! I'll save him!"

At this moment, a voice that made his soul tremble with fear forced its way to the front of the crowd with all its might and came to his side: "Boss, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!"

Maroni opened his eyes shakily, looking at that familiar face of a calamity star; a thousand thoughts intertwined and surged in his heart, and after a moment of silence, these emotions finally coalesced into a single word.

"Get lost."

"Ah, Boss, I really miss you saying that, but the timing isn't right now; if I don't treat you faster, the ambulance will arrive."

"Who the hell needs your treatment? Aren't you a waiter at the restaurant?"

"How do you know I haven't studied medicine?"

"Do you even have a license?"

"No," Ma Ma Zhaodi answered decisively in an instant.

The surrounding crowd listened to the two men's conversation with their mouths agape; when they heard this, they finally couldn't hold back and rushed forward to grab Ma Ma Zhaodi's hand, which was trying to provide aid.

"Holy crap, how dare a black-market doctor like you run into a courtroom to perform emergency treatment on Maroni!"

"Anyway, he definitely won't die; those three gunshot wounds aren't fatal; letting me treat him won't make things worse."

"Go to hell—pfft!" Maroni wanted to curse, but failed to get the words out; overwhelmed by rage, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Being treated by another black-market doctor, I might be fine; being treated by you, can I even survive until the ambulance comes to save me?

"I will never be your boss again, and you never come to be my employee again, cough! Cough! Do you understand?!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi watched him fiercely grab his collar, relieved that he was wearing cheap clothes from a street stall today; he looked at Maroni seriously and replied: "What are you talking about, Boss? People always need to eat; to eat, one must work; to work, one must find a boss—if you aren't my boss, how am I supposed to eat?"

"Go find—pfft, go find the Romans!"

"Sigh, Boss Falcone doesn't want me anymore; he even gave me money to come find you."

"Falcone!"

Maroni's eyes bulged with rage; his consciousness, which had already become somewhat blurred, suddenly became incredibly active. Every event of the past was linked together in his mind into a clear thread of truth, and he suddenly realized, finally understanding exactly who had plotted against him.

Ma Ma Zhaodi, Harvey, Vernon, or even Jenkins, who very likely betrayed him, were all minor characters—the most important thing was the person who had always sent the calamity star Ma Ma Zhaodi to his side.

"Carmine Falcone!"

He ground his teeth, chewing over this name repeatedly. He had done so much for Sofia, and it all benefited the Romans; he had even been backstabbing him for a long time.

In the end, it was Falcone.

At this moment, a memory suddenly arose in his mind of what his father had said to him in the orchard.

"You must be a man."

"The Weight of the Matter is still Falcone."

He chewed over his father's words repeatedly, the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

At this moment, the siren of an ambulance finally sounded outside the window; only three minutes had passed since Maroni was shot. Facts proved that as long as the money was in place, the rescue efficiency in Gotham City could even slightly rival the Trauma Team from 2077.

At this moment, seeing Ma Ma Zhaodi about to be dragged to the back by the crowd, he instinctively grabbed his collar again and pulled him close.

"Ma Ma Zhaodi, I'll give you double the money; go back where you came from!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at his fierce expression, nodded in sudden realization.

"No problem, Boss."

Then he took out his camera and took a few photos of Maroni's miserable state.

"?"

"Goodbye, Boss."

After Maroni was loaded onto the ambulance, Ma Ma Zhaodi smoothly withdrew from the crowd; he took off his blood-stained coat, turned the bloody side inward, and held it in his hand to avoid being mistaken for a criminal while walking on the street later.

While walking on the road, he checked the mission reward he had obtained from today's odd job.

【A Coin with Two Faces, Black and White

Note: Yes, yes, I know the world will never lack a Two-Face; stories always need actors to play them; for every multiverse, there is a bright knight driven mad by necessity; this is unavoidable.

But despair and hope are originally like two sides of the same coin, inseparable, aren't they?

Note 2: In this year, Gotham gave Harvey a little hope and warmth; just a little bit was enough to change the underlying nature of Harvey Dent—if it were brought to Harvey Dent in other universes, it might perhaps reverse or blur their "madness" trait.】

Ding—

A coin with strange colors was tossed high into the air, then fell back into his palm.

(End of Chapter)