Chapter 91: Batman's Refresh Pattern

"I'm not yours, little cat!"

"Say that again, Ivy!"

Catwoman chased Poison Ivy like a spooked cat clawing at a tangle of roots; at this moment, Ivy had no mood left to consider what had happened to her parasitic plants. She only wanted to escape the rampaging Catwoman.

When Ma Ma Zhaodi persuaded the third vine away—

"Stop chasing! Aren't you tired?"

"Little Sword Man, I won't let you off tonight!"

When Ma Ma Zhaodi persuaded the sixth vine away—

"Catwoman, if you chase me again, I'll fight back!"

"Go ahead and fight back, let me see!"

When Ma Ma Zhaodi took out a flowerpot to lure other vines away—

"Selina, that's enough! Look what you've scratched me into!"

"Today I'll scratch your face raw! Don't even think about coming out to see anyone until you've healed!"

When Ma Ma Zhaodi turned to go home—

Ivy, whose plant-fiber clothes had been scratched to shreds, walked over to Catwoman, extended a finger to gently scratch the other's cheek, and giggled.

At this moment, Catwoman was completely unable to resist; she was bound tightly by a massive green plant using soft roots, with only her mouth able to move. She heard that promiscuous little wench Ivy lean close to her ear, the plant-breath from her lips blowing a ticklish sensation on her cheeks, and it smelled very good.

"You'll hang here for three hours; after three hours, this plant will release you automatically."

Catwoman turned her head away, swearing in her heart to teach her a good lesson next time: "I don't want to see you; don't appear in my sight for three months!"

Ivy made no further explanation; instead, she kissed the corner of her mouth lightly, then dissolved into a cluster of green leaves that scattered with the wind.

"Little cat, don't miss me too much, okay?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi had originally been in a dream, but as he slept, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Strange, why did the dream feel chilly, and why was there a sense of restraint?

Was the quilt wrapped too tightly?

He woke with a start, suddenly realizing he was no longer in a warm bed, but bound tightly by soft plant branches and leaves, hanging beside the bed. A green female figure sat on a chair woven from lush vegetation, watching him with a smile.

"Holy crap, my succulent has come to life!"

"No, your little one is still fine."

Ivy casually took out a small potted plant Ma Ma Zhaodi had placed aside, shook it in front of him, and said, "Look, she likes me."

"Alright, alright, since my succulent is fine, and you are..."

"Someone seeking answers—do you remember the ten children you just lured away?"

"Ordinary people wouldn't describe vines as 'children'—"

"But you are not ordinary."

Ivy suddenly cut off Ma Ma Zhaodi's words: "My children never disobey my orders, but this time, all ten children went with you without any resistance at all—what method did you use?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi's mouth twitched; he had already stored all ten vines in the garden on his way back, and Batman would certainly have cleaned the scene thoroughly, but he hadn't expected Poison Ivy's ability to locate plants to be so outrageous.

That was Dave's garden! Could she sense them even when they were placed inside?

If you enforce the law across dimensions as the Green of All Things, aren't you afraid of a copyright warning?

So, hanging upside down, he shook his head: "Your way of asking is a bit too unreasonable, and I'm only wearing underwear right now; my butt cheeks are a bit cold—put me down first, and we'll trade one question for one question; that's fair, right?"

Ivy hesitated; she believed she now held absolute initiative and seemed to have no need to exchange information with the other party.

"Speaking reasonably, I treated those ten children with courtesy; based on that alone, you should at least respect my opinion, right?"

This statement couldn't be refuted, so Ivy commanded the lush branches to gently lower Ma Ma Zhaodi back onto the bed.

"Thanks, uh, could you put some clothes on?" Ma Ma Zhaodi asked while pulling a shirt on under the quilt: "I'm not used to chatting with someone wearing only underwear. I mean, I don't know much about customs here in America, but at least we don't have such customs back home."

"Sorry, no." Ivy answered bluntly: "This form is my most relaxed form; it's beneficial for my photosynthesis."

"But it's night now... Alright, alright, count this as you answering one of my questions." Ma Ma Zhaodi said: "I'll answer one of your questions too. You want to know how I made your children go with me—the first six children I persuaded with my own words."

"Impossible." Ivy instinctively refuted: "Humans cannot communicate with plants..."

As she spoke, her voice grew quieter because she had already realized the information implied in Ma Ma Zhaodi's words.

"Impossible? First, let me say, my name is Ma Ma Zhaodi; you can call me Old Ma—even though that sounds a bit old, I can accept it."

"Ivy, Poison Ivy—I just said that."

"So, Ivy, how did you track me down here? By all rights, their current location should be very hidden."

"They are indeed very hidden; in fact, I can't sense their location right now either, but the pollen traces left by my children led me all the way here."

"... Why didn't they say?"

"Do you specifically remind your friends when you breathe?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed, and his whole body relaxed instead.

"Alright, next, the last four children—they were also persuaded by me, but I used a bit of bribery technique."

Ma Ma Zhaodi casually took out a flowerpot from behind him; Ivy couldn't even see where he pulled that flowerpot from, but in that instant, she truly felt that vine again.

"You took it from... wait, this soil, this fertilizer, this nutrient!"

Ivy immediately reached out and took the flowerpot from Ma Ma Zhaodi's hand; Ma Ma Zhaodi didn't stop her, watching as she buried her face into the soil in the pot, her movements and expression carrying a certain sacred and solemn air, as if performing some important ritual.

"As you can see, those ten children really liked the living environment I provided; however, since they are your plants, I don't mind returning them to their owner."

"Where did you find this soil? Where did the fertilizer come from? Where did you hide them?"

"Ding-dong—time's up; the questioning session ends here." Ma Ma Zhaodi lightly tapped the alarm clock beside him; by now, a full five minutes had passed since he was woken up.

"I know you've been waiting for me to ask about recent events, but I think, with your interrogation experience, you can find out without my help."

Ivy was somewhat puzzled and was about to ask a question when she heard someone's footsteps in the darkness.

"You knew I was here."

"I was just guessing; I happened to guess correctly—by the way, when did you arrive?"

"I've been here since the beginning."

(End of Chapter)