Chapter 172: Formal Contact with Another Bat

Batman did not expect Ma Ma Zhaodi's answer to be so straightforward; he paused, then reiterated the core of the question.

"You neutralized Poison Ivy's toxin—a Gotham City Police Department officer with no background in chemistry or botany, newly arrived, homeless, and possessing nothing, yet able to decipher Poison Ivy's plant toxin within minutes."

He stared straight at Ma Ma Zhaodi, his speaking style differing little from the Batman of Ma Ma Zhaodi's original Gotham City, revealing no emotional fluctuation.

"How did you do it?"

"I have a milk candy that can cure toxins," Ma Ma Zhaodi shrugged. "That simple."

Hearing this response, Batman immediately cast a disapproving glance; clearly, Ma Ma Zhaodi's statement was too vague and absurd—if a doctor claimed to possess a drug that could cure all diseases, he would surely be a fraud who understood nothing of medicine.

"You may not know: first, Ivy's toxin, like the Joker's laughing gas and Scarecrow's fear toxin, changes its formula every time, so the antidote must be researched anew each time; second, milk candy cannot neutralize toxins."

The bat stepped forward two paces again, his towering figure standing before Ma Ma Zhaodi like a black tower, and he restated his question.

"So, how did you manage to neutralize her toxin?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed.

"Mr. Batman, first, when a person does not wish to answer your question, you have no right to force him to answer, for he has no such obligation; he is not a criminal." He stuffed the phone in his hand back into his pocket: "Second, I did not lie to you, but I am too lazy to prove it; third, a neutral party will not actively make an enemy of anyone unless someone actively pushes them to the opposing side, and your attitude is pushing people toward the opposing side."

"Fourth, one must use the word 'please' when asking someone for advice; this is etiquette even children know, unless their my lord failed to teach them."

He said to Batman: "Now, my answer is 'I have a milk candy that can neutralize toxins.' Do you have any other questions?"

Batman fell silent; in the past year, he had experienced too much, and this cold, harsh manner of negotiation had gradually become a habit in his handling of criminal cases; if he did not do so, he could not plant a powerful impression of fear in the hearts of criminals, and his deterrent power would be insufficient to suppress Gotham.

Precisely because he had exhausted all efforts yet still could not save everything, he needed to appear omnipotent.

As for Ma Ma Zhaodi's answer, his thoughts ran even deeper—if the Riddler, the Joker, or Poison Ivy were to ally with the other party, plotting a larger conspiracy, what then?

If this officer used this to gain his trust, and Commissioner Gordon's trust, only to strike back at the most critical moment, how terrible would the situation be?

This thought was not baseless; the Riddler, the Joker, and Poison Ivy had suddenly stopped killing, which could be Ma Ma Zhaodi's doing, but it could also be a planned result by both sides; and earlier today, before the Riddler escaped prison, he had come to the hospital and entered the other party's ward.

Although the surveillance showed he had only left some paper money for the Riddler and done nothing else, the act itself was already very strange.

It is well known that Batman's trust is layered within layers; even he himself is not at the very core of his own trust list—though so, this does not mean he would give his most superficial trust to just anyone; his questioning of Ma Ma Zhaodi was actually a process of soliciting a reason to trust the other party, a process of actively seeking allies and cooperation—he was simply not skilled at it, so the whole process appeared like an interrogation.

"In events where you appear, no one seems to have died; is this related to you?"

"Forget it, you'd better not ask," Ma Ma Zhaodi waved his hand. "I'm not in the mood; next time."

Although he had met a soft rebuff, Batman was not angry; he was not a capricious super-criminal, nor was he a normal person, and his ability to control his emotions was quite strong. Moreover, Ma Ma Zhaodi's answer indicated that the other party did not intend to urgently draw closer to him; in that case, the other party's suspiciousness had actually decreased.

He looked at a young white man on the ground and said: "His name is Christopher, nicknamed 'Fishy'; he has three children, and a fourth is about to be born—his wife thinks he sells seafood at the docks."

Ma Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow.

Batman then looked at the red-haired man nearby: "Carano, nicknamed 'Big Gun'; he is married to a man named Sam, who is a fifth-grade teacher; one week later, Sam learned his true job and then committed suicide."

"Leonardo, nicknamed 'Fan'; his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the family could not afford the medical expenses, so he began working for Carmine a few months ago."

Speaking to this point, Batman paused, his gaze turning to another person.

Chino, nicknamed 'Baby Face', is an undercover police officer working for Commissioner Gordon; the first-hand intelligence on the Falcone family came from him.

He served long in the Marine Corps and once participated in war; Gordon showed Batman a letter he wrote to his wife, which was a will he left in advance in case he met with misfortune.

His identity is a secret; if he truly died here today, Batman might still tell Ma Ma Zhaodi about his affairs, but since he is still alive, Batman cannot tell anyone about his situation; in others' eyes, he can only be a pure gangster.

"They are all enforcers of the Falcone family, but they are also human," Batman said. "You saved them, and you can use this method to save even more people. I do not want you to hand over this method; I only want to know if you are willing to use it further to help others."

Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at Batman, secretly admiring the other party's learning ability; in just a few minutes, he had extracted something from his viewpoint that was helpful to him and immediately switched to a more effective conversational style to achieve his goal.

Batman is ultimately Batman; in whatever universe, they are genius templates with cheat codes.

"I'll take this as your apology," Ma Ma Zhaodi said. "Anyway, Commissioner Gordon also said that Batman carries a heavy idol burden and cannot bring himself to say 'sorry'."

Hearing this, Batman's expressionless face looked even darker.

While the two were talking, the sound of sirens suddenly rang outside the botanical garden; Commissioner Gordon finally arrived with his police colleagues, and at the same time, Alfred's voice rang in the earpiece again.

"Young master, regarding the relatives of that Mr. Falcone, we did find something—his mother, Carmen Marie Falcone, seems to have separated from Carmine a few years ago; she left Gotham alone and went to Metropolis, and has not appeared again since noon today."

(End of this chapter)