Chapter 88: Intermediate Natural Language Proficiency

"What do you plan to do with Bruce Wayne? With the suspicion surrounding his relationship with the Romans, we could deal them a heavy blow—but honestly, I still have a slight doubt. After all, during winter, his Wayne Group did quite a lot for the children."

In fact, Harvey's view of Bruce Wayne was not particularly bad. If not for that recent incident, Harvey might have gone to talk to that playboy who was willing to do good deeds again.

Gordon sighed.

"Green. The signature color of St. Patrick's Day is green," he said. "When I was a child, growing up in Chicago, we looked forward to St. Patrick's Day every year."

"They would suspend school classes so we could go downtown to watch the parade—the city would turn the river green, and we would all think it was the work of Irish magical elves and leprechauns."

"St. Patrick's Day, all we can think of is green, but now, it is red—blood red."

"Now, St. Patrick's Day has arrived, yet we have made no further progress in 'finding this madman'."

"Holiday Killer."

Harvey watched Jim Gordon standing by the window, muttering to himself with a worried expression, and his own mood inevitably grew somewhat heavy. Sheriff Gordon's sense of justice was quite infectious; moreover, Harvey, as the Knight of Light, did not himself advocate for a style of action that spared no means; he desired fairness more.

"Then, what about Wayne?"

"Take it slow. Focus your energy on Maroni; he is the weaker breakthrough point."

"Maroni and Wayne, killing two birds with one stone? I like it."

The voices of the two men, muffled and faint through the room's door, could still be heard distinctly—and Vernon, wearing a white shirt and suspenders, was quietly standing at the doorway, committing the two men's conversation to memory.

—

"Do we really have to do this?"

"We must do this—you are the only one who has ever lifted this state from Bruce Wayne."

The figure of the Bat vanished into the darkness: "And it must be done quickly—to prevent these people from being controlled into doing even worse things."

"But from the look on his face, he doesn't seem very willing to eat chocolate either."

Ma Ma Zhaodi raised his head and looked at the man "kidnapped" before him. At this moment, he was tied solidly to a chair, struggling and thrashing desperately. A precious gold watch, shiny leather shoes, a bespoke suit, and the muscle definition formed by regular exercise—obviously, this man belonged to the elite white-collar class of Gotham City.

But the focus was still his chest. Beneath the open suit was not smooth human skin, but green vines and branches growing and covering the skin.

Lush plants covered almost his entire body, spreading from his chest to his abdomen, limbs, and back. At this very moment, he could be considered a "vegetable" in a certain sense.

And whenever Ma Ma Zhaodi tried to bring the white chocolate in his hand close to the man's mouth, these vines would suddenly tighten and drill fiercely into the man's body; the man's own struggling movements became even more intense, his teeth clenched tightly as he shook his head, clearly resisting eating this chocolate.

"How long has he been like this?"

"At least a week."

"Then how did he survive? A vegetable? Not eating, relying on photosynthesis? But these leaves don't even stick out."

"All people parasitized by plants do not resist other foods—except chocolate and milk."

"If I just tear these things off—never mind, never mind, better not try; it might peel off his skin."

Should he race against these deadly vines that had penetrated to the bone? Ma Ma Zhaodi hesitated for a moment. If he poured milk directly on them, could he lift this abnormal state before the vines killed the host?

Honestly, Ma Ma Zhaodi didn't dare to gamble. If he lost the gamble, the person would be gone—this method was too unique; he could tell at a glance whose masterpiece it was.

Poison Ivy. This name is an English translation of meaning; a literal translation should be "Poisonous Ivy." Ma Ma Zhaodi vaguely remembered her real name was Pamela. But more often, in the comics, she was called "Ivy" by others, which means Ivy, and the transliteration of this title is Ivy.

Using plants and hormonal hormones to control others is one of her common methods. Of course, the true source of her power is actually magic, so the explanation of controlling hormones is like the power value settings in tokusatsu movies; it can only make it appear to have some scientific basis.

No need to make superpower things so clear. jpg

"I feel that using force might not be appropriate," Ma Ma Zhaodi shook his head. "Otherwise, let's try being soft. If we can keep these plants alive, it might be more useful than them withering directly."

And it could also avoid the plant-loving Poison Ivy coming to take revenge on me, Ma Ma Zhaodi thought.

He had heard of this fanatic plant lover. After all, there were few normal people in Gotham City, and as a super-villain, Ivy held a hostile attitude toward anyone who harmed plants; her mental state could be classified as an extreme plant-lover.

Fortunately, Ma Ma Zhaodi usually loved flowers and grass; he didn't want to be targeted by such a supernatural villain just for helping Batman. Coincidentally, the previous mission had given him a discount card, and his system account still had a huge asset balance of a full one hundred and forty thousand.

【Special Language 20% Off Card—Intermediate Natural Language Proficiency】

Ma Ma Zhaodi silently selected the discount card, clicked to use it, and purchased the Intermediate Natural Language Proficiency in Shangcheng. The original price was three hundred thousand, now reduced to sixty thousand US dollar asset points. The remaining asset points in the system immediately shrank to over eighty thousand.

You get what you pay for; hopefully, this skill is good enough.

After the skill purchase was completed, Ma Ma Zhaodi's expression suddenly changed. More complex and dense information than usual suddenly appeared from all directions and entered his brain. The difference was that these languages were not human languages, but the rustling of the street trees outside the window, the chirping of birds in the sky, the crawling sounds of ants in the room, and the quiet growth sounds of the green vines before his eyes.

The language of nature is the language of the natural world.

Ma Ma Zhaodi gritted his teeth, holding onto the corner of the table, struggling to digest the chaotic information that was about to overload his brain. Fortunately, having had the experience last time, he adapted very quickly this time. And when he stood upright again, the whole world became more vivid.

【Intermediate Natural Language Proficiency

Price: 300,000 US Dollars

Note: "I thought the voice of a young mare would be more feminine."

"Why? Do you often talk to animals? As far as I know, this is your first time."】

(End of Chapter)