Chapter 1637

"About a few months ago, I can't remember exactly when, I discovered that some magic arrays I used before related to divine power had problems. I can't explain the specific principles to you, but in short, Heaven might have unilaterally modified the scenarios for the application of certain runes, causing more than half of my magic arrays related to divine magic to fail."

In the alley next to the coffee shop, Constantine took a sip of hot coffee and slowly explained: "I don't know if that group of angels' brains were kicked by a donkey. The runes that hadn't been changed for thousands of years had only been used by me for a few years, and they changed them beyond recognition. I have completely lost contact with Heaven now, and there are two debts waiting for the power of Heaven to repay. Can I not be anxious?"

"Who told you to owe so many…… Fine, don't mention this. Then what's the use of you coming to Cat Getan? There are no angels here."

Constantine opened his mouth, seemingly not knowing whether he should say it or not, but facing the probing gazes of the two Robins, he still sighed and said: "You can't grow up forever, right? You can't believe Batman's telling you for the rest of your lives that Cat Getan's current situation is entirely because of that group of evil criminals."

Red Hood and Nightwing looked at each other, both reading the "as expected" meaning in each other's eyes. But Red Hood still cleared his throat, tapped the ground with his toe, and then said: "Then you tell me what on earth happened to Cat Getan, and why you came here?"

"To tell you the truth, I have to come here to get some power to pay off debts, otherwise the next time you see me, my liver will definitely be gone." Constantine sighed miserably.

"You also know that my magic power is like credit card debt repayment—one card expires and I go to borrow the limit of another card to pay it back. But Heaven suddenly disconnected, which is equivalent to half of my cards' limits suddenly disappearing. I have tried every method to fill this hole, but it's still a bit short. I have to activate the backup plan."

"To tell you the truth, if it weren't for really having no other way, who would want to come to Cat Getan?" Constantine leaned against the wall and squatted down, squatting in the corner without any image, holding the coffee cup and muttering: "This ghost place, even if the devil comes, he has to spit a mouthful of saliva. And there's a lunatic Batman. If it weren't for really needing it urgently, I wouldn't come!"

"You are here to borrow power, then what are you looking for Lincoln March for?"

"Uh, you didn't know? I thought Batman had already investigated him thoroughly long ago." Constantine sucked in a breath in embarrassment. Facing the probing gazes of the two Robins, he could only say: "Since you all know that Cat Getan's darkness isn't entirely because of the security situation, you should be able to guess that some mysterious forces have always been hidden in this city. I came here this time to talk business with them."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes. He stared at Constantine tightly and said: "Mysterious forces, what are you referring to?"

Constantine blew on the coffee and spat out a noun: "Court of Owls."

"To be precise, the Court of Owls. Batman must have already detected traces, but I can't let him know this time, because he won't allow me to take away any bit of power from this city. I am equivalent to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth now."

"Honestly, I didn't count on succeeding either. But being discovered by you so early is still a bit beyond my expectations. I was just about to ask, what's going on with that Midtown block? I was almost blown to the sky by a rocket launcher as soon as I teleported over."

Red Hood made a "pssh" sound, which made Constantine look at him with strange eyes. Red Hood spent a lot of effort to swallow the laughter back into his throat, and then said: "This is called 'when it rains, it pours.' However, your good luck has come, sir. We can not tell Batman, because we also want to deal with Lincoln March."

"You want to deal with Lincoln March, why?"

Then, in the next ten minutes, Red Hood told Constantine their plan in detail. After listening, Constantine was as motionless as a wooden carving.

After a long while, he opened his mouth and said: "I think I should go tell Batman now. You guys are a bit too crazy, kid!"

"Manipulating elections, developing gangs, and even getting involved in shipping and smuggling?! If I didn't know that this city was already rotten beyond saving, I would definitely have to be a justice hero once and send you to the police station!"

"Stop talking that useless bullshit. Just ask you one thing: are you in or not? If you dare to say 'no,' I'll call Wonder Woman right now and say you stole her underwear."

Constantine spat out a mouthful of coffee. He stood up, glared at Red Hood, and said: "We haven't seen each other for a few months. Why do you seem to be possessed by a demon? Besides, how do you know I……"

"You wouldn't have really thought about it, right??"

Red Hood and Nightwing immediately huddled together, looking at Constantine with the gaze of looking at pests. Constantine waved his hand and said: "Don't insult me. I'm not that vulgar, but Diana is indeed quite beautiful, right?"

"Fine, kids. How do you plan to deal with Lincoln March? Maybe there's really something I can help with. By then, you solve Penguin's competitor, and I get my power. This is a win-win."

"It's not that simple." Red Hood curled his lips in disdain and said: "Don't think you can fool us. The reward for you helping us solve Lincoln March is us helping you hide it from Batman, not us helping you get power. If you want us to pit that so-called Court of Owls with you, you have to show some sincerity."

"What do you want me to help you do?"

Red Hood revealed a slightly malicious smile, looked at Constantine, and said: "Find the Court of Owls, and then……"

"Mr. March, our patience is running out. If you still can't take down the Miami lady, I'm afraid you'll have to reflect in a coffin."

A woman wearing a white owl mask stood behind the table in the mansion's meeting room. She looked at Lincoln March with an expression that was anything but patient. She said: "You know, that group of militants has always wanted to occupy an absolute advantage. The Talons they cultivate are increasing. Soon, they won't need you, and they can also make Batman fall into a trap."

"And if you don't make a contribution, letting our long-term cultivation and investment go to waste, you know better than us what the consequences will be. March, you don't have much time left."

"Did you call me over just to scare me?" March's face looked a bit ugly, but he could still stabilize his emotions. He touched the ring on his hand lightly and said: "It's not that simple to make Batman lose control and fall into a trap. There have been too many things happening in Cat Getan recently that are beyond control, which is why you are so anxious."

"Think about how in control, calm, and cautious you used to be. Now you suddenly take such a big step, aren't you afraid of spraining your ankle?"

Through the owl mask, March could also see the woman's face opposite him sink, but he still continued: "I will handle the current Mayor Magan. I have already seized the evidence of his bribery for the deep-water port project approval. He won't be my opponent soon."

"Besides him, the other candidates are all your puppets and don't have any competitiveness at all. Prepare to toast at my victory banquet. Goodbye."

March walked out of the meeting mansion in big strides. When he returned to the office he rented in Uptown, a female assistant walked up with a livid face and whispered a few words into his ear.

March immediately widened his eyes. He rushed into the office, slapped the table with wide-open angry eyes, and shouted: "What's going on?! How dare that damn gang boss shout at me on TV?! Where did he pop out from?"

"Mr. March, according to our investigation, Oswald Cobblepot is the boss of the Bingshan Lounge. The funds and connections gathered for the deep-water port project in Cat Getan might all be in his hands. That doesn't just include wealthy people in Cat Getan, but also many big bosses engaged in smuggling activities along the East Coast. They are very generous."

This shrewd and capable female assistant walked up and said in a firm tone: "If he sincerely participates in the election, even if Magan, who currently occupies a big advantage, might not be able to win. Cobblepot's geographical advantage is too big!"

"Why did he suddenly want to run for Mayor?"

"It is very likely that in the negotiation regarding the deep-water port project, he and Mayor Magan had a disagreement. I think it is very likely that they didn't talk about the bribery amount. Magan wanted too much, Cobblepot didn't want to give it, so he decided to do it himself."

March covered his forehead and sighed for a long time. Then he took a deep breath, waved his hand at the people sitting at the table, and said: "Stop fiddling with the computer, prepare for a meeting. We have raised soldiers for a thousand days, and now we must use them for a while. We must find a way to pull Cobblepot off his horse. I am determined to be this Mayor!"

In the Naiwei family's base in Midtown, Tim's face was flickering with blue light reflected from the computer. He typed on the keyboard quickly and said: "Lincoln March has put forward 'Twelve Suggestions for Cat Getan Municipal Reform' and published them on his personal campaign website. There are already more than two hundred comments."

"He will give a speech at the press reception of the Municipal Bureau tonight. I suspect he might elaborate on this new campaign slogan. We must immediately find the loopholes in it."

Jason leaned next to him, staring at the long-winded talk above, and said: "Let me see…… This is definitely not written by himself. I've heard the recording of him talking in private. He's simply a hopeless illiterate."

"Of course it's ghostwritten by the campaign team, but his speaking style is good. He should be imitating President Roosevelt's style, creating a professional but pragmatic image."

Jason rolled his eyes and said: "This is easy to handle. We have ready-made experience to copy. Our Cat Getan Mayor Roy experienced two mayoral elections. Even if he didn't use any special means, his votes have always been high. He really has two tricks."

"I've heard three of his speeches about Cat Getan's traffic and municipal reform before. I can remember about ninety-five percent of the content. I'll write them down in two hours, and then add the content refuting March. Give me two hours, and we'll give a speech tonight too."

After the sky turned dark, the Bingshan Lounge was unusually not crowded with guests, but appeared a bit quiet. Walking into the Bingshan Lounge, what you see is not waiters coming and going, but a whole set of interview and shooting equipment.

"This thing is definitely useful." Harley Quinn chewed bubble gum and said: "Every time my little cookie publishes a terror manifesto, he uses this thing. He spent a lot of money on this to ensure Batman can see his every expression clearly."

"Look, this sound equipment, one speaker costs tens of thousands of dollars, ensuring that the content of your speech can be heard clearly all over the East Coast. And this lens, this probably costs more than one hundred thousand dollars."

"Hurry up and don't just stand there like a fool. Come over and help adjust the stand!" Harley beckoned to Harley Quinn.

Finding that Harley Quinn ignored her, she had to shout with ups and downs, pinching her throat: "Oh, my dear mother, can you come over and help me turn this handle I can't reach? Thank you!"

Harley Quinn then ran over with joy.

The Penguin stood behind the wine cabinet he often stayed at, but his expression was still a bit hesitant. He put down the manuscript in his hand, looked at Jason, who was adjusting the camera position next to him, and said: "Are you sure this works? Our stupid Mayor is accepting interviews in the bright and spacious hall of the Municipal Bureau, and my restaurant…… as long as it's a Gothamite, they know that nothing here is legal."

"How many things in a Gothamite's home are legal?"

The Penguin was speechless. He went through the manuscript again, and about half an hour later, Batman heard such a passage with the Joker in the Batcave.

"……When have you ever cared about us? Where was the FBI when gangs occupied this city? Where was the CIA when foreign drugs were imported in large quantities?"

"When Cat Getan's industry was polluted, you didn't talk about environmental protection. When the surrounding farms had no harvest, you didn't talk about environmental protection. Now that we are building docks to make money by our own ability, you want to talk to us about environmental protection!"

"I can only say, fuck it! State legislature or federal government? Yes, I only have this sentence to send to you! You should all get out of this city, take the soft eggs in your crotches, and roll as far as you can!"

Early the next morning, Batman looked at the soaring votes of mayoral candidate Oswald Cobblepot reported in the newspaper and sighed deeply.