Chapter 67: First Appearing Side Quest

"Man, dear friend, you've really put on weight these days."

Gotham City, light snow falling on Christmas Eve.

Two men in black suits muttered lowly, struggling to carry something as they wobbled toward a blue car, looking quite strained.

"Bang!"

A heavy object was slammed into the open trunk of the car; only then did the two sigh in relief, one of them laughing, "This way it'll sink faster."

Inside the trunk lay a stiff corpse in a suit with a mustache, still wearing that manic smile, as if he had literally laughed himself to death.

Laughed to death; he really did laugh himself to death.

One of the corpse-carriers rubbed his hands, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.

"Bang!"

A bat crashed down; the car trunk slammed shut. The two, previously in a fairly relaxed mood, were instantly terrified out of their wits, mouths gaping wide as they tried to scream—

But Batman's two punches were already coming straight at them.

"Curly? Angel?"

"Where the hell did you two idiots go?"

Maroni, cigarette in mouth, kicked open the restaurant's back door with force. He was in a foul mood today; as the head of Gotham's second-largest gang family, being held at gunpoint and interrogated had left him extremely displeased.

And now, the two idiots he'd ordered to dump the body were still dawdling. Ten full minutes had passed, yet those two were nowhere to be seen, having failed to return with a report.

Maroni stormed out, his face full of rage, and the first thing he saw was the blue car parked at the entrance; his expression instantly changed.

This car was supposed to be sunk at the docks along with that corpse, yet it hadn't even been driven away.

And his two subordinates, who should have been following orders, were now both lying unconscious in the snow beside the rear trunk of the car.

Who killed them—no, their chests were still rising and falling; they weren't dead.

Just then, the restaurant's back door was slammed shut.

"Maroni."

The moment he heard that voice, Maroni's pupils contracted sharply; his entire body froze in place for half a second before he barely managed to react.

"Damn it, I've had enough."

He immediately reached into his pocket to draw his gun, but the next second, as expected, that dark, towering figure seized his wrist. With iron-clamp-like strength, he merely twisted it slightly, and the revolver Maroni had just pulled out clattered to the ground.

"For a smart man, that wasn't a wise move just now—what happened here tonight?"

Maroni's hand was squeezed until veins bulged; he barely endured the excruciating pain and immediately replied, "There was someone, who called himself 'the Joker'—came looking for the Holiday Killer."

"Why?" Batman, his expression cold and stern, shoved his hand away: "What does he have to do with the Holiday Killer?"

"Should I know? He's a madman! Just like you!" Maroni, seething with hatred, clutched his right hand, which was about to be crushed, and growled through gritted teeth: "Ever since you came here, this entire city has been overrun by madmen!"

"Madman! Madman, madman..."

In the pale snow, only Maroni remained, sitting on the ground clutching his arm, muttering to himself, while that bat of the night had long vanished without a trace.

"Can I see it now?"

Greta asked somewhat cautiously, fine snowflakes drifting onto her red winter coat, onto her golden hair, and onto her iron wheelchair.

"Of course." The man's voice sounded beside her ear, and at that moment, the blindfold covering her face was removed.

"Merry Christmas, Greta."

Amidst the falling snow, a beautiful house, decorated with golden lights, emerald wreaths, bright red ribbons, and silver-white snow caps, suddenly appeared before her eyes.

"Wow!"

Greta was overjoyed; unable to restrain her delight, she flew straight into Harvey's arms like a swallow, hugging him tightly.

"Whoa, slow down, dear. The doctors want you to move gently; you really shouldn't leave your wheelchair."

"Doctors, what do they know?" Greta tilted her head up with a snort, then looked toward the room: "Our home is fixed now—Harvey, the reconstruction costs must have been high."

"We can just about afford it," Harvey smiled. "It's not like we bought a brand-new cottage. Don't worry, dear; I'll work even harder."

Greta nestled in her husband's arms, suddenly feeling her body grow light, which made her cry out in surprise: "Harvey!"

Harvey, who had scooped her up princess-style, chuckled and stepped through the front door.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Dent."

The two locked eyes; the atmosphere turned somewhat sweet at that moment. Greta pressed her cheek tightly against Harvey's rough, stubbled chin and asked softly: "Do you think—if we start over, in this renovated home—maybe we could try having a child again?"

"A second attempt?" Harvey lowered his head, bringing his lips close to Greta's face: "Let's see..."

The two kissed, then naturally went upstairs, entered the room, and closed the door.

Perhaps, before long, the Dent family would welcome a new little life.

However, Mr. Dent did not know that two people had once entered his home.

Ma Ma Zhaodi was currently staring blankly at the system panel.

Just a short while ago, holding a crystal ball model, he had gone out onto the street following the usual mission procedure; only this time, before leaving, he took out his mobile phone and laptop and disabled the signal-blocking function on them.

Driving the car, following the mission's guidance route for ten minutes, the further he went, the stranger Ma Ma Zhaodi felt things becoming; this mission location seemed, possibly, perhaps, not quite right?

So he directly opened the map and confirmed the delivery destination once again—it was shockingly in the Diamond District, the Roman's private apartment.

"No way, buddy," Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't hold back anymore: "Are you even human? This time they're specifically targeting someone related to the Falcone family; do you really think this mission is fine? Do you have any idea how many armed bodyguards are in the Roman's apartment?"

Yet the system remained silent, merely pointing out the mission destination.

"Listen to me; placing the delivery spot in such a location, our small frames really can't handle it. Although everyone in the Falcone family deserves to die, I am, after all, a five-star good citizen, right?"

"Can we change the delivery location? At least keep it farther away from the Falcones?"

Unexpectedly, while Ma Ma Zhaodi was complaining, the system actually popped up a second prompt.

"This gig offers optional side quest two—this side quest's base difficulty is assessed as medium, upper limit unknown; base reward of the crystal ball remains unchanged, plus an additional second base reward: 'Harvey Dent's Friendship'; secondary reward: 'Intermediate Physical Enhancement,' valued at one hundred thousand dollars in asset points; special reward: unlock the Forward Movement Technique for save points."

"Mission destination: Gotham City District Attorney, Harvey Dent's home."

"Mission objective: Confront a super-criminal and survive."

"Note: This mission involves the origin story of the super-villain 'Two-Face'. Please choose carefully."

Refresh and check again; I just made a small modification.





(End of Chapter)