Chapter 168: The Second Old Acquaintance Returns

Carmine Falcone, the greatest underworld emperor of Gotham City, a being who could summon clouds with a flip of his hand and rain with a turn of his palm—though his empire had already begun to shrink considerably, this did not mean he was now an easy soft persimmon to bully.

One year ago, that Bat began appearing in Gotham's nights, striking down all crime; and Gotham's most powerful controller, Wayne Enterprises, also began attacking him through commercial and legal means. This forced him to halt many money-making projects, but this was clearly because the enemy was too powerful, not because there was any problem with Carmine's abilities.

Just thinking of that Bat, and that wastrel of the Wayne family, made Falcone unable to suppress his anger. The former was a nightmare he could not solve, but the latter—he had countless times sought out this Gotham playboy to show goodwill, yet the two had originally never known each other, and there had never been any dealings between their families, so he had naturally been turned away countless times; eventually, he simply gave up the notion of befriending the Waynes.

This playboy was too incompetent, yet paradoxically proved impervious to flattery or threats.

Fortunately, these few days in Gotham were rare good weather, with a clear sky and bright sun shining high, so Carmine came to his suburban mansion to rest, enjoying a long-overdue sunbath here to alleviate his gloomy mood over the past year.

Even while on vacation, his white hair was still combed meticulously, paired with an expensive white suit and black shirt, and the temperament cultivated from years of residing at the top of the gang hierarchy, making this underworld boss appear dignified and steady even while on holiday.

However, this steadiness turned into panic in the next moment.

Carmine answered an abrupt call from a strange number; the voice coming from the other end of the phone was strange and shrill, sounding exactly like the voice of an evil villain from the cartoons he had watched as a child.

"Carmine, I am the Joker. I need you to help me kill the Riddler."

Hearing the voice coming from the phone, the man by the pool's face turned utterly furious.

"What is this? How did you get this number!"

This phone was something he never left his side, even though it had not been called for over a decade, yet he had always been waiting for someone to dial this number.

This number was his private number, extremely secret, known only to a handful of people, and he would never reveal it to anyone else.

The people who knew this number were his mother, and his brothers.

A bodyguard standing nearby, wearing a trench coat, short and stout, looking like a fat penguin, immediately realized something was wrong; he held a black umbrella in his hand and looked at Falcone with a serious expression. Others might not yet have realized the severity of the situation, but he was smart, and he was very close to Falcone, so he sensed immediately that something major was happening.

His name was Cobblepot, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot; of course, his other name was not yet known to anyone, until it would one day spread throughout all of Gotham City.

That name was the Penguin.

He saw Falcone holding the phone, asking the person on the other end with stern voice and angry expression, his sharp blue eyes widening; this eye color was inherited from his mother, a trait he had boasted about to himself countless times, but now it radiated a vicious and ruthless light.

However, the person on the other end of the phone seemed to be in a bad mood; he did not want to say a few more words, simply stating briefly: "You have one hour. Thank you."

"I will hang you up and strangle you! Did you hear me! No matter who you are, I just need to move my finger across this phone, and your life will be easily held in my hand, then crushed like an ant!"

However, only a series of busy tones—beep—beep—came from the other end of the phone.

The Joker had already hung up.

Carmine did not even react immediately; as the overlord of Gotham City, having commanded wind and rain in Gotham for so many years, no one had ever dared to hang up on him first.

He stared at the phone for a stunned moment, then immediately realized what had happened, but during that brief time of the call, his rage had already been quickly suppressed by reason, which made him even more dangerous.

He immediately turned his head and roared angrily at the black-clad bodyguards around him: "What are you doing there? Just standing there? Doing nothing?!"

"Find that damn Riddler! Kill him! You have one hour!"

The few people around immediately scattered like birds startled by a bowstring.

In the botanical gardens of Gotham City, Poison Ivy and the Riddler were strolling.

Since carving a huge question mark onto his chest in the hospital, the Riddler seemed to have become very accustomed to wearing his suit with his chest open like this; of course, when he was released from prison, he also wore his collar open, just not as thoroughly as now.

Ma Ma Zhaodi's first thought at the time was that if not for the lines of his abdominal muscles, wearing it like this would only appear vulgar rather than wild.

At this moment, the question mark had mostly healed, but tiny beads of blood were still faintly seeping out from within, yet the Riddler did not care; he calmly conversed with Poison Ivy.

"What troubles me is fact, not possibility, regarding the possibility of 'scorched earth'."

Speaking here, his expression revealed a hint of worry: "Because he once promised to make this world burn fiercely, turning it into a scorched earth."

Poison Ivy walked beside him; she wore a brown coat, paired inside with a white sweater and dark green jeans; gloves and a triangular scarf were her favorite colors, and a mane of bright red hair fluttered in the wind, like a burning flame.

Regarding the Riddler's words, she remained noncommittal and showed no particular expression.

The Riddler continued speaking: "I know, I know, it is just some promises, empty words without proof; can he really achieve that degree? But besides this promise, what else can we use to judge him? —His actions so far? That certainly works too. But all his actions can only indicate one thing: that he always keeps his word."

"The Joker always keeps his word."

Hearing this, Poison Ivy's expression finally changed; she slightly raised her eyebrows, her emerald eyes turned, looking at the Riddler beside her, then the corner of her mouth curved upward slightly, as if she had seen through the Riddler's purpose.

The Riddler looked at Poison Ivy's scrutinizing gaze and continued speaking calmly: "Of course, in various senses, I am not a perfect person either, but I have a plan."

As he spoke this sentence, dense footsteps suddenly came from behind the two; thus, the two whose conversation had been interrupted turned their heads back, seeing a crowd of people dressed in black clothes and black pants swarming into the botanical gardens, chasing up behind them.

"Oh." The Riddler looked surprised, then spoke first.

"Uh, friends, hello there—who are you here to find? What can I do for you?"

(End of this chapter)