Chapter 25: Does the Technical Department Still Hire Lunatics?

"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Ma Ma Zhaodi?"

"It is me. May I ask who you are?"

"Lu Lu Xiusi Fox. You may call me Lu Lu Xiusi. I found a special wheelchair last night, so I wanted to call and ask if you recently lost an electric wheelchair."

"Ah, yes, that is my wheelchair." Ma Ma Zhaodi replied to the phone, but his heart was already roaring like mountains and surging like a tsunami.

Damn, the person on the other end said his name is Lu Lu Xiusi Fox. If we don't consider the possibility of a namesake, then he is one of Batman's technical support team.

He also said he found my wheelchair. Where did the robbers go? Moreover, according to the system's introduction, the modification technology and materials of that wheelchair didn't use any ruthless tricks; it could be called an ordinary modification method, at most a bit reckless. How could such a thing attract his attention?

"Oh, it's like this. That wheelchair rear-ended my car yesterday. I suggest the Gotham City Police Department try to minimize the impact of this incident, and you don't need to make any compensation. But personally, I am very interested in some things on the wheelchair. Do you mind talking to me privately?"

"Uh..."

Seeing that the person on the other end of the phone seemed to be having second thoughts, Lu Lu Xiusi calmly added, "Mr., I am the Technical Director of Wayne Enterprises. You need not have too many concerns. The reason I am looking for you is simply because I feel there might be some possibility of cooperation between us regarding technology."

"Anyway, you have already confirmed my phone number, so naturally you have also confirmed my other information, right?"

"That's correct. I apologize, but I have no intention of offending. This is just a routine background check; we do not wish to infringe on your privacy."

Obviously, Lu Lu Xiusi's inquiry was merely out of politeness. If Wayne Group's investigation was blocked, someone else's investigation might come knocking. Although this sounded a bit like Ma Ma Zhaodi's paranoia, the possibility of it happening in Gotham was certainly not zero.

"I just don't understand why you would come looking for me—it certainly wouldn't be because of that wheelchair; its technology isn't that impressive."

"Regarding that point, we will discuss it when we meet. Mr. Ma Ma Zhaodi—today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow between three and five in the afternoon. Please be ready and call this number, and I will send someone to pick you up."

"What if I don't want to come?"

"I respect your wishes, but I still hope you will come. Communication is beneficial to both of us, and I will not occupy too much of your time."

"Is it possible after ten o'clock this afternoon?"

"I will compensate you for the economic loss during your leave. Please be sure to come between three and five."

"Alright, alright."

Lu Lu Xiusi's tone was very polite, to the point of being overly courteous. After considering it carefully, Ma Ma Zhaodi still decided to go ask Donald for leave. As for the few hundred dollars in asset points lost, he could only consider it bad luck.

As a family enterprise with business covering medical care, food, transportation, construction, and various other aspects of Gotham, Wayne Group is a super-capital behemoth that even Falcone, this godfather of the Heidao Sect, absolutely does not want to confront head-on.

To survive in Gotham, even if one is unwilling to cooperate with them, at the very least, one cannot make them an enemy.

So at three o'clock in the afternoon, Ma Ma Zhaodi dialed the phone number Lu Lu Xiusi had left.

Donald was really good to deal with; he didn't even ask Ma Ma Zhaodi what he was taking leave for and just gave him the whole afternoon off.

Three twenty-six in the afternoon, Wayne Tower.

"Mr. Ma Ma Zhaodi, let's get straight to the point." A middle-aged Black man in a suit sat across the desk from Ma Ma Zhaodi and gently placed a small bag on the table. Inside was a fragment of a blue petal.

Holy crap, where did he get the petal?

Ma Ma Zhaodi's poker face immediately started to crack. In his memory, he had only drunk flower tea once, chewed the petals clean, and even his thermos cup...

Wait, where is my thermos cup?

Holy crap! There was a cup holder next to the seat of that modified wheelchair! I even praised that modification design as thoughtful and practical, and casually put the cup in it.

He never expected that the reason he was sought out was actually because a tiny bit of flower tea remained in his thermos cup, and then, damn it, it went along with the wheelchair and the car accident to end up in Lu Lu Xiusi's hands.

"This was found on that wheelchair of yours. We are still conducting further analysis on it, but the preliminary test results are already out. Mr. Ma Ma Zhaodi, this plant you brought to Gotham seems to be extraordinary."

Ma Ma Zhaodi's mind raced. Refusing to admit it at this moment would definitely be the worst strategy. Since there was his DNA in the thermos cup, it was better to simply admit it and play the role of an ordinary passerby well.

"I thought you were looking for me because of that wheelchair."

"That illegally modified wheelchair is also interesting, Mr. Ma Ma Zhaodi, but I suggest you do not use such a dangerous mode of transportation. And as I said before, the reason I am looking for you is 'things on the wheelchair'."

"Alright, actually, I only got that flower tea after arriving in Gotham; moreover, the quantity was not large. I only have one bag left now—even before yesterday, I had never drunk that kind of flower tea. I didn't know it could make people alert."

Hearing Ma Ma Zhaodi's answer, Lu Lu Xiusi continued to ask, "Alert? Its effect is to make people alert?"

"Yes, I drank a cup of flower tea yesterday noon, didn't sleep all night, and only slept for ten minutes in the car until the afternoon. I feel it works much better than coffee."

So it wasn't a new type of drug, just a natural long-term stimulant. This result made Lu Lu Xiusi breathe a little easier; at least Batman's to-do list wouldn't have one more item added to it, which would allow his daily schedule to be slightly more normal.

"Very interesting. Then where did it come from?"

"I picked it up on the train when I came to Gotham. I can't remember exactly where we were passing through. Anyway, at that time it floated from outside the window to in front of me. I thought they looked very beautiful and smelled quite fragrant, so I kept them."

"Sounds very poetic."

"Hmm, anyway, the rest is here." Ma Ma Zhaodi took a small cloth bag out of his pocket, which indeed contained some blue flowers identical to those in the small bag.

"Although I don't know why you are interested in these flowers, they are of no great use to me anyway. If you want them, then I will sell them to you."

"You really cannot roughly determine the location where they fell?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't very awake on the train; most of the time I was asleep."

"Alright, then—I will pay you a sum of money, or you can choose another form of compensation."

"What compensation?"

"For example, joining Wayne Enterprises and becoming a member of the Technical Department."

(End of this chapter)