Chapter 2125: Battle of Two Cities! (III)

In the Gotham Police Department's Physical Evidence Analysis Division examination room, Gordon braced his hands on the countertop, watching a sharp-faced man wearing glasses analyze a footprint sample.

Electrical engineer Vina leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, and said: "I believe the perpetrator isn't a local, and it's even less likely to be Penguin. This loss would be unacceptable to him."

"You know what he's doing in the basement, right?"

"Of course, power consumption can't escape my eyes." Vina pushed up her glasses and said: "But at least he uses a fully automated factory. Aside from using some electricity, it's much better than using illegal labor."

"And his poppy factories are probably more numerous than you imagine. What I mean is, the surface layer is just for show." Vina pulled a receipt from her toolkit and said: "The actual power consumption is more than ten times what you see."

Gordon took the receipt half-believing, half-doubting, and after one glance he was stunned. He said: "Does he want to build a spaceship?! How can he use this much electricity?!!"

"Poppy cultivation and production aren't the main draw. He also installed a whole electronic computing network there, called 'Virtual Staff' — also known as the Think Tank System. This thing is the key prop ensuring he gains an advantage in every election."

Gordon frowned deeply and said: "No wonder he's been pushing electronic voting. Turns out he prepared to hack the ballot boxes long ago."

"If it wasn't Penguin who did it." Gordon stroked his chin and said: "Then probably no one wants to catch the killer more than he does."

Just then Gordon's phone rang again. He answered without looking and said: "We have a lead, but not much. Don't count on us making arrests. Manpower is insufficient."

The other side roared again, but to no effect. It was clearly visible the caller's purpose was merely to vent emotion. Gotham's police force had never been adequate.

"We found what might be the killer's footprints, but this person isn't in our database, and we couldn't find specific shoe information either... I already said there's not much of a lead."

"Mr. Mayor, if you don't want trouble in the next election, tell me where Bruce Wayne went. Don't say you don't know again. A three-year-old wouldn't believe that."

Gordon was speaking with several people when a young officer approached and knocked on the door. Gordon perfunctorily said a few words, hung up, and asked with some curiosity: "Has the new captain arrived?"

The young officer looked awkward. He said: "Mr. Harvey Bullock has arrived, but he... I don't know if he's the captain."

"Let's go, take a look."

Gordon strode out of the Evidence Division and reached the police station lobby, where he saw Harvey Bullock in a suit and leather shoes polished to a mirror shine, hair combed meticulously.

He had a considerably handsome face, young and strong, his whole bearing straight as a plane tree, with a hint of a cynical smile at the corner of his mouth.

Gordon sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hello." He stepped forward and proactively shook Bullock's hand, but Bullock grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. This wasn't the police force's usual greeting style — more like false enthusiasm at a banquet.

"I've long heard of your fame, Captain Gordon. It's my honor to work with you."

"I'm afraid your timing isn't great." Gordon sighed and said: "I assume you've already seen the city's anomaly on the plane or in the car."

"Of course. Nothing short of a miracle."

"Still some distance from a miracle." Gordon patted Bullock's shoulder, and the two walked into the station together. Gordon said: "I'm not one for beating around the bush. Honestly, why did you come to the most dangerous city in America?"

Bullock immediately smiled and said: "This city has too many cases, doesn't it? By the way, have you seen the show I host? 'Hollywood Detective'."

Gordon sighed deeply, the wrinkles on his face deepening. He shook his head and said: "I don't watch much TV, Mr. This city's public security situation obviously doesn't give me that much free time."

"No matter. I'll send you a set of high-definition Blu-ray discs. Back to business — Season 6 of 'Hollywood Detective' is stalled. That would disappoint my fans greatly, so I hope to give them a special little gift."

"For example?"

"The Wayne couple murder case."

Gordon's pupils contracted sharply. He began considering suggesting to his superior that this celebrity detective sit obediently in an office and not go out looking for death.

Gordon's phone rang again. He picked it up, listened for a moment, and said: "Alright, I understand. I'll be there on time."

"Is there a new banquet waiting for us?"

"Yes, Mr. Bullock. I'm afraid there's no time for a welcome banquet. Our Mayor Oswald Cobblepot will host a banquet tonight."

"Even after such a major upheaval in the city?"

"Still a long way from 'major'."

"You damn cops! You've been investigating for a week! When exactly will you give me an explanation?!!!"

A woman with big wavy curls, wearing a jacket, was rushing into the station while being held back by two officers.

Gordon and Bullock were just coming downstairs when they encountered her. Bullock immediately stepped forward, stopping the officer trying to block the woman, and said: "What's wrong? Ma'am, did you run into trouble?"

The woman with big wavy curls began crying helplessly. Bullock turned to look at Gordon, while Gordon walked expressionlessly toward the archives.

"What exactly happened?" Bullock caught up to him.

"Birthday Boy." Gordon only said this one sentence — seemingly the killer's name. Glancing back at the woman, he said: "But we temporarily have no spare energy for this case. The two most important problems we need to solve right now are..."

"Bruce Wayne has been missing for three days. Wayne Enterprises shareholders have made hundreds of calls to Gotham PD in three days."

"The luxurious, advanced power grid our mayor painstakingly built on a certain main street has lost power. We need to find a way to restore power and catch the culprit."

"But she's crying!" Bullock spread his hands in disbelief and said: "We're police! We should solve her trouble!"

"That's how it works on your show." Gordon took a report from his assistant's hand and said: "But this is Gotham."

"I don't understand. How can you be so indifferent..."

Just as he spoke, two more officers pushed the door open and rushed in, shouting: "Captain! Bad news! The deep-water port at Prosser Dock is flooded! No ships can enter!"

Gordon's hand paused. He turned to the two officers and said: "Say that again. The port is flooded?! Are you high?"

"Yes, uh, no. I mean, it's buried in sand! A sand mountain appeared there!!"

Gordon froze. He blinked, pushed up his glasses, trying to find a trace of drug-overdose hallucination on the two young men's faces.

"Who transported sand to the port?"

"We don't know. And according to the dockworkers, that mountain appeared out of thin air. No one saw trucks or ships transporting it."

"Good God, it wouldn't be..." Gordon rubbed his temples with a headache.

Before he finished, a female officer rushed in: "Bad news, Captain! At Prosser Dock, the mayor's men and a group of mysterious agents are fighting! Intense gunfire right now!"

"Agents? Which organization's agents dare come to Gotham?!"

"Captain! Captain! Big trouble! Hurry and see — the mayor's men have been arrested by those agents!"

Gordon's head spun. He couldn't spare attention for Bullock, waving his hand hard at everyone: "Get cars ready! Notify all officers on scene to intercept the agents, or they'll lose their lives!!!"

Gordon put on his coat while walking and cursing: "What is that stupid woman Amanda up to now? Doesn't she know this will only get her subordinates killed for nothing?!"

"Boom!"

"Zzt—"

The explosion sound accompanied by a sharp screech of brakes rang out, Gordon was jolted forward by the emergency brake, and when he straightened up again, he saw only a bright current flying past above the overhead wires.

"Stop! Electric Man!"

A figure darted after it, sprinting with extreme agility between two buildings, leaping at least three meters high in a single bound.

But the next second, due to an incorrect takeoff angle, still trying to turn in midair, he slammed straight into the curtain wall and slid down along it.

"You stop right there! Bruce Wayne, tell me where Peter Parker is, I'm not done with him!!!"

Immediately after, another silver-white figure flashed through the air, gun barrel aimed forward, boom boom boom boom boom, a trail of sparks and lightning.

"Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!"

A gleaming stars-and-stripes shield brushed past overhead Gordon's convoy, a strong man in a gleaming uniform sprinted and leapt up, bouncing back and forth between two tall buildings, soon reaching the rooftop.

"Stark, calm down! We need to have a proper talk, you bombed the Golden Gate Bridge, you must face legal judgment!"

"All units, all units, immediately intercept Iron Man and Captain America! The director demands the street chaos be resolved within half an hour... Coulson, take your eyes off the captain and get to work!!!"

"Tap tap tap tap..."

The tremor from the rotors of an armed helicopter came from the front-left, a squad of armed helicopters with shield paint schemes roared forth, a woman in agent uniform with her hair tied back half-leaning out of the helicopter cabin, shouting into her radio.

"I'm Agent Hill, ground forces, note: withdraw from the port immediately! Resolve the street trouble with full force!"

Gordon's head turned with the helicopter flying overhead in the sky, before he could turn it back, he noticed his car window being tapped.

"Hello, Mr.! Um, it's hard to explain to you, but could you give me a ride?! Someone's in too much of a hurry, the web-fluid cartridge in the web-shooter isn't even loaded yet, and he just left—I need to deliver it to him!"

Gordon rolled down the window and saw before him a young man's face, not particularly handsome but looking very pure and innocent, his clear eyes showing at a glance he wasn't a local Gothamite.

Yet he was very familiar, he directly opened the rear car door and climbed in, then pointed behind him and said: "Trouble helping me catch up to that person running ahead, thanks!"

Gordon saw the fallen lamppost ahead blocking the road, the dock was certainly out of reach, so he didn't hesitate much, turned the car around, and drove toward the direction where that group of demons and monsters were running.

"Looks like you know something, right? What's your name? Kid."

"My name is Peter Parker, you can call me Peter." Peter took a deep breath, revealing a complex expression as he said.

"I do know a lot, but I really can't explain it to you! Hurry up and catch him! Otherwise this rookie will fall to his death!"