Chapter 32: Not Very Peaceful

"Age?"

"Twenty-four, I'm a restaurant waiter."

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Name?"

"Ma Ma Zhaodi."

Looking at the interrogation room's pale, glaring lights, Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but squint.

"I was just driving past, sir. Was it really necessary to bring me back for questioning?"

"You don't look like a good person."

Hearing such a simple, blunt answer, Ma Ma Zhaodi was speechless for a few seconds.

"Wait a moment, where did my glasses go? Oh, here they are."

He put on his gold-rimmed glasses, instantly projecting a faint air of a refined scoundrel.

"What do you mean?"

"Once the statement is recorded, you can leave. Remember to take your personal belongings."

That was actually quite considerate.

"You might be new here, so you're a bit unaccustomed, but don't worry. In Gotham, you'll always see me no matter which gang you're from; we have plenty of dealings."

Oh, that statement had a bit of a threatening edge to it.

"But I'm not from any gang in Gotham City," Ma Ma Zhaodi shook his head. "I just work part-time at the restaurant."

The blonde detective across from him had deep eyes, scrutinizing his expression as if judging whether he was lying.

"But you know the restaurant's background, right?"

"I know, but only a little." He shrugged. "Anyway, I try not to get involved in their affairs; I just work there—I'm a law-abiding citizen, officer."

"Interesting." The detective glanced at Ma Ma Zhaodi's hands, wrists, and neck; there were indeed no calluses from long-term gun use, nor any Falcone family gang tattoos.

"In light of your youth, I'll give you some advice: don't keep working at that restaurant."

"But they really do pay well."

Ma Ma Zhaodi answered the question instinctively, looking at his blonde hair and two mustache stripes, suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity, so he asked instinctively, "Oh, may I ask your name?"

"You don't know me?" He smiled. "That's not necessarily a bad thing; at least it proves you haven't committed any crimes in Gotham."

"My name is Gordon, Jim Gordon."

After leaving the Gotham Police Department, Ma Ma Zhaodi drove his car toward home.

Sigh, incredible; he's now on Jim Gordon's radar too.

Counting Harvey Dent who visited before, if he gets targeted by Batman next, the Gotham Iron Triangle will be complete.

Ma Ma Zhaodi could only be an honest citizen and pray he wouldn't attract Batman's attention.

But

"The Gotham Bank president resigned and was killed?" He thought instinctively: "Is this a precursor to some event? I feel like I have no impression of it at all."

He opened the door and returned home. Outside the window, it was pitch black; the hands of the giant clock tower in the distance pointed to two o'clock. At this hour, he surprisingly hadn't encountered any robbers or thieves around, perhaps because the reputation of his beloved car was too formidable.

"Sigh, only a workaholic like Gordon would drag someone to the police station for a statement at this time."

He sighed, used his phone to open the Gotham News homepage, typed "Gotham Bank" into the search bar, and clicked search.

News articles appeared on the webpage in chronological order, and one headline titled "Gotham Bank and Falcone Company Set to Reach Cooperation Agreement" caught Ma Ma Zhaodi's attention, so he casually clicked into it.

"Since June, the cooperation proposal between Falcone Import Company and Gotham Bank has been in tense preparation. After months of negotiations, Bank President Richard Daniel stated that, as bank president, he was willing to facilitate this cooperation, considering this deal would provide Gotham Bank with millions in available funds."

"Damn, who has the guts to mess up Falcone's business? Wait, isn't he the mafia godfather of Gotham? Why did he start an import company?"

"Money laundering?"

He thought carefully, then clicked on the most recent news article; the time was exactly this morning.

"Today, Gotham Bank President Richard Daniel officially announced his resignation, but he refused to reveal the specific reason, stating only that he was unable to continue serving as president of Gotham Bank."

Ma Ma Zhaodi suddenly understood; Daniel must have reached an agreement with the Roman. He was originally supposed to facilitate the cooperation between Gotham Bank and Falcone Import Company, but obviously, he stood up Falcone.

He suddenly resigned before the cooperation was finalized, causing the project that was On the Verge of Success to suddenly lack a key operator, and the Roman's business fell through.

He also recalled the few words the man had said before dying, which he had vaguely heard on the road.

"... Leave Gotham... Paris... find a place..."

"No wonder he wanted to leave Gotham City for Paris, France. No wonder he resigned this morning and was shot dead tonight. Standing up the Roman is indeed not easy... Revenge never waits until the next day; is this Falcone's style?"

There was a follow-up report in the link below this news article.

"After Richard Daniel announced his resignation, the identity of Gotham Bank's next president was also revealed: it was the heir of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne. This famous playboy personally stated that he had absolutely no interest in the so-called import company, and Falcone Import Company should seek cooperation with other banks."

Reading this news, Ma Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow.

"This guy is someone who accepts neither soft nor hard approaches. Bribery is impossible, threats are unsuitable; if Falcone wants to make money or launder money, they probably can't use their usual methods against Bruce Wayne."

But then again, why would an ordinary bank president dare to stand up the Roman? Was he really not afraid of death?

And on what basis could Bruce Wayne seamlessly take over as bank president? Did he buy Gotham Bank?

He continued searching for corporate news about Gotham Bank. To his surprise, this bank had always been a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

That is to say, Bruce Wayne's attitude was clearly opposed to the cooperation between Gotham Bank and Falcone Import Company, yet Gotham Bank had almost reached a cooperation agreement with the company before; this matter was simply interrupted by Daniel's resignation.

As the heir to Wayne Enterprises, this playboy Bruce seemed unable to decide the decisions of the companies under his banner.

"Let me guess, it's the old movie trope again: the board thinks money is money, and if you don't make money you're a bastard, while Bruce thinks gang money shouldn't be taken."

He closed his phone, casually threw it onto the table, and flopped face-first onto the sofa.

Sigh, judging by the Godfather's approach of never giving up until the goal is achieved, Gotham in the coming days probably won't be very peaceful.

Much less peaceful than usual.

(End of this chapter)