Chapter 74: A Rare Peaceful Christmas

Regardless of what the Clown thinks, he has to return to Arkham Asylum for now.

Ma Ma Zhaodi was slightly worried about his threat, but at this moment, he truly did not have enough Asset Points to permanently deal with this guy, so he could only sever his tendons in his hands and feet; at the very least, this would restrict him for a while—probably.

"I advise you not to treat the injuries on his hands or feet, or once he recovers, he'll be able to run out of the mental hospital again."

Batman did not answer, but looked at the sword in his hand: "Your swordsmanship is not weak."

"Probably just average," Ma Ma Zhaodi glanced at the newly added "Intermediate Sword Proficiency" in his skill panel, turned his head, and replied: "Being able to hold this guy off was all thanks to my tenacious vitality, plus my friend is quite powerful."

"Why did you appear at Harvey's house?"

"He gave me a letter inviting me to visit his home, and also rented a small room for me; I was quite happy. I had something to do tomorrow, so I came straight over today—but he hasn't returned home yet, only the door lock shows signs of being picked."

"Given this incident, you'll have to come back in a few days."

Speaking to this, Batman paused; he looked at the messy room, the collapsed walls, and the window with a large hole, then added: "Or you might not need to come in a few days either."

Ma Ma Zhaodi shrugged.

Next, Batman stopped talking to Ma Ma Zhaodi, walked over to the Clown on the ground, and grabbed him by the hair to lift him up.

"Why did you come to Harvey's house to do this?"

"Ha! Why can't I? If I found one or two. 22 caliber pistols with erased serial numbers here, or one or two Halloween decorations, I would kill him and make Gotham City's perverted killers become one again!"

"Harvey Dent is not a holiday killer."

"Hehehe, is he really not?"

"No, no," Ma Ma Zhaodi retorted: "That's not the point, is it? The point is, Gotham City already has enough perverted killers; even if you remove one holiday killer, there's still a pile of psychopaths locked up in Arkham."

The atmosphere suddenly grew silent; Batman looked at Ma Ma Zhaodi, Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at the Clown, and the Clown looked at Batman.

"What's wrong? I didn't say anything wrong," he spread his hands: "Unless he takes all those geniuses in Arkham and..."

"Small talk ends here," Batman immediately cut him off; he was truly worried the Clown would take Ma Ma Zhaodi's words to heart: "I'll take him back to Arkham Asylum first."

Batman carried the Clown and disappeared into the night, while Ma Ma Zhaodi looked at the unrecognizable house and sighed.

"Let's see how many points I have left first."

The system immediately responded by popping up a panel.

"Asset Points: 18,327 USD

Panel: Basic Driving Proficiency, Basic Firearms Proficiency, Intermediate English Proficiency (leveled up by speaking a lot), Intermediate Stealth Proficiency, Intermediate Tracking Proficiency, Intermediate Lockpicking Proficiency, Intermediate Sword Proficiency, Advanced Wheelchair Driving Proficiency, Advanced Culinary Proficiency

Items: Ghost Fire Wheelchair, Indestructible Pumpkin Lantern, Sanity-Draining Pumpkin Mask, Horn of Plenty, Eight-Faced Han Sword, Hacker Two-Piece Set, Eavesdropping & Locating Lighter"

"Still have eighteen thousand, that should be enough—help me restore the room."

"Initiating Cleanup and Restoration Service—calculating points, estimated cost 3,000 USD Asset Points, confirm?"

To be honest, this price was within Ma Ma Zhaodi's psychological expectation.

"Confirm."

"Keep the Christmas tree?"

"This... can be kept, but the apple bombs must be replaced with normal Christmas tree decorations and gifts."

"Requirement lowered, estimated cost 2,300 points, starting cleanup and restoration."

"Yay."

Thus, right before Ma Ma Zhaodi's eyes, the damaged house began to be repaired and restored. The scattered earth, stones, and bricks on the ground disappeared one by one; the bullet holes in the walls vanished as if they were an illusion; the broken walls were patched up and became brand new; the shattered windows were re-glazed; in just a few seconds, there was no trace of the battle left inside the house.

"To be honest, this function would be quite useful for cleaning."

Ma Ma Zhaodi threw his blood-stained cotton jacket, Santa hat, and boots into the system, spent 5 USD Asset Points to clean himself up, then bought a new set of Christmas clothes to wear, and finally packed the Christmas tree to take away.

After he sent Solomon and Clinton back, the system's prompt sound finally rang out.

"A Little Light on Christmas

Status: Completed (1/1)

Rewards distributed."

"Base Rewards: Snowman Crystal Ball Music Box, Harvey Dent's Friendship, Intermediate Physical Constitution Enhancement, Unlock Forward Movement Technique function."

In that instant, Ma Ma Zhaodi's physical enhancement began.

"Holy crap, it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts—"

Intense pain erupted from his limbs and bones; the Intermediate Physical Constitution Enhancement was rapidly strengthening his body, but this also brought pain comparable to the fight with the Clown just now, even more meticulous; it was intense pain emanating from every organ, every part, and every cell.

"Why didn't you mention it was this painful beforehand!"

"Next time for sure."

Ma Ma Zhaodi no longer had the strength to continue protesting; he did his utmost to maintain his sanity until three minutes later, when the internal pain gradually vanished, and in contrast, his physical condition underwent a drastic change.

Fine muscle groups, a robust physique, powerful limbs, faster reaction speed, and more sensitive senses; at this moment, Ma Ma Zhaodi felt terrifyingly strong.

"Retreat, retreat, finally I can sleep well tonight."

—

The next morning, Harvey Dent was woken up by Greta's scream.

"Oh my god, dear, come downstairs quickly!"

He quickly ran downstairs to see what was happening, until he saw Greta at the door, along with a delivery person, and a beautiful Christmas tree.

"Huh? Did... someone send this to us?"

"Yes, and a letter came with it too."

Harvey took the envelope from his wife's hand and opened it; inside was a letter sheet.

"To Harvey Dent

Since the house was burned, I have had nowhere to go; staying in a hotel is not a long-term solution. Yesterday, I received a letter from Mr. Harvey, which unexpectedly gave me a place to stay; my gratitude is beyond words.

Great kindness needs no thanks; coincidentally, someone gifted me a Christmas tree yesterday. Since I have no use for it, I decided to decorate it and gift it to Mr. Harvey as a small token of my gratitude.

I must spend Christmas with the children, so I am afraid I cannot attend your family banquet tomorrow; I am truly sorry. If there is time, let us gather again next time."

Your eternal friend

Ma Ma Zhaodi"

And so, Christmas in Gotham City this year remained a calm and peaceful day.

Still just minor edits; refresh and read again.

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(End of Chapter)