Chapter 40

"...That's right. Ever since that night, she's been going to that neighborhood every single time—it's far too dangerous. I don't know how to persuade her, because she dislikes Bruce intensely, and she even canceled our date. But I clearly..."

Schiller poured himself a bit of champagne and said: "She's been running into Gotham's slums for several nights in a row and hasn't encountered any danger. Are you sure she's just an ordinary person?"

Bruce wiped his face and said: "That's exactly what worries me most. If she were just an ordinary girl, it wouldn't matter. But if she's not ordinary, and she's following me every day, what can I even do?"

And this matter begins with the previous case.

After resolving Jonathan's case, Bruce didn't fully distance himself—or rather, Batman encountered other troubles.

Last time, Batman rescued Christine from the thugs who had kidnapped him. He assumed she had fainted at the time, but it turned out she was conscious. Since that day, this beautiful girl had fallen in love with Batman.

Yes, Batman—not Bruce.

She even canceled her upcoming date with Bruce, and every night she went to the neighborhood where she had been kidnapped, hoping Batman would appear again.

"In a way, you should be pleased. Batman's charm has made her ditch the world's richest man."

Bruce opened his mouth, his expression complex.

Being liked by a beautiful girl was certainly pleasing, but this situation was bizarre and strange—she had fallen for him, yet dumped another version of him. If written into a romance novel, it would take at least 100,000 words to explain clearly.

"Regarding your personal romantic affairs, I have no advice to offer you—except to protect your kidneys," Schiller finally said.

Bruce hadn't expected Schiller's prediction to come true so quickly.

That night, Batman continued patrolling Gotham. He had recently become famous, as he had cleared out the slums around Mossen Street.

This time, his patrol area wasn't the filthy, chaotic slums, but the luxury shopping district, where robberies frequently occurred.

In fact, the likelihood of serious crimes here was no smaller than in the slums. Slum crimes usually involved drunken brawls, gang extortion, or group fights—but in the luxury district, a single gunshot in a robbery could leave two or three people bleeding on the ground, and store clerks were often killed. The severity of such crimes was no less than gang violence in the slums.

Those who dared commit such crimes were usually seasoned professionals—well-coordinated, meticulously planned, and quick to vanish.

Batman had already dismantled two robbery gangs. They were simply unlucky: just as Batman had just upgraded and moved from the slums to this area, he stumbled upon a robbery-murder case. They had killed two female clerks and stolen the store's jewelry. Coincidentally, a string of pearls had been scattered on the ground.

As a result, that robbery gang was now behind bars.

The other gang wasn't much better—a group of inexperienced, clumsy thieves who got caught red-handed by Batman. They were now eating prison food too.

That night, Batman stood atop a building opposite a jewelry store, watching a shadow slip through the back window. The figure was petite but agile. Before the female clerk could react, she was choked unconscious.

It was clearly a female thief—yes, a thief, not a robber. She didn't smash the glass display cases; instead, she took the clerk's keys and unlocked the glass door.

As she admired the luster of a gemstone, a shadow appeared behind her. He said: "Miss, no matter how long you stare, this gem doesn't belong to you."

The moment she turned around, darkness engulfed her—she was knocked unconscious instantly.

But the female thief's luck was better. Just as Batman prepared to drag her to the police, another gang burst into the antique shop across the street—real robbers, wearing masks, armed with submachine guns and sacks, forcing the clerks into corners at gunpoint.

Batman had no choice but to leave the female thief behind and deal with them. When he returned, she was gone.

Yet the matter wasn't over. In the following days, Batman constantly felt someone was following him. The person was agile—several times, Batman failed to catch them.

Until one day, Batman set a small trap. He pretended to toss a bag of stolen gems into a trash bin on the corner. Sure enough, the petite shadow crept in to scavenge. Batman grabbed her cloak—but the female thief spun back and slashed at him. Batman nearly lost his face.

Seeing it was Batman, the thief sighed in relief. Batman crossed his arms and asked: "Gems, huh?"

"Don't you think our ears match?" Her voice was sweet. She tapped her own ear with her finger. Indeed, her mask had two ears—though not as sharp as Batman's, they were positioned similarly, right atop her head.

Batman, inexplicably, said: "Are you another bat?"

"Bat?" The thief said in disbelief. "Who's a bat? I'm Catwoman. Isn't it only cats that have ears like this? Do you think you're a bat? What kind of weirdo would identify with such an animal?"

"Catwoman..." Batman pondered the name. He fished the bag of gems from the trash and tossed it to her. "No cat likes gems. Stop harassing jewelry clerks. Since you haven't killed anyone, I'll let you go this time."

He turned to leave—but Catwoman grabbed his cloak. She swung the bag playfully and said: "Rich guy, you must have more of this, right?"

Batman frowned. He didn't understand why everyone could tell he was rich.

He had made his suit extremely low-key, stopped using high-end drugs, and even let his beard grow slightly messy.

Batman didn't turn around. He simply looked back and said: "I don't have any. You can't expect a bat to have such things."

He was about to leave when a whip coiled around his waist. He felt no force pulling him—but a soft body pressed against his back. He heard Catwoman whisper against his ear: "If you're a bat, then you're the most interesting bat I've ever met. We'll meet again..."

With that, she leapt onto the wall of an alley and vanished swiftly. Batman touched his ear. He thought: A cat who likes gems? What a strange person.

Just like me.

Unexpectedly, on his way back to the city, Batman encountered Christine again. The beautiful cheerleading captain wore a thick down jacket and a hat, concealing her figure and face. Batman wanted to avoid her—but after thinking, he walked over. He had to convince her to go home. A girl like this appearing on Gotham's streets late at night was far too dangerous.

Christine saw Batman and ran over happily. But as soon as she reached him, she frowned and asked: "Do you have a girlfriend? Did you go on a date with her?"

Batman was confused. He simply said: "Don't stay here. You know how dangerous this is."

"But I just want to be your girlfriend," Christine shrugged. Clearly, she wasn't used to saying this—usually, others confessed to her.

Batman said: "I don't need a girlfriend. Go home."

"Then what's the Louis Vuitton perfume on you? Don't tell me you like feminine scents."

Batman's head throbbed.

He had spent years among the social elite—he couldn't possibly be ignorant of such things. He knew he'd been hugged by Catwoman—but he hadn't expected a thief who stole at midnight would wear such strong perfume.

Batman said nothing. He whipped his cape and left.

Though Batman didn't want to deal with Christine, someone else was very interested in her: the new principal, Xie Dun.

Don't forget—it was Christine who testified against the former principal for kidnapping her. That was the key evidence that convicted him.

Xie Dun knew that the downfall of the former principal and Victor, triggered by Jonathan's case, must have been orchestrated by a hidden hand. Too many mysteries remained unsolved: Who subdued Jonathan? Who rescued Christine? Gordon alone couldn't have done it.

Xie Dun believed that even if Christine didn't know the mastermind well, she must know who he was. He needed to unravel this to understand the entire chain of events tied to Jonathan's case. Only then could he securely hold his position. Gotham's relationships were too tangled. To establish himself, he needed a solid entry point—and Xie Dun believed Jonathan's case was the best one to investigate.

On the other side, Batman and Catwoman's relationship progressed rapidly. Perhaps fate truly existed. Catwoman's liveliness and romance had nothing in common with Batman's seriousness and suspicion—but he was captivated by her.

They often wandered Gotham's nights together. Though Catwoman couldn't fight alongside Batman, her infiltration and surveillance skills were unmatched. Catwoman adored gemstones—and Batman had endless money.

But whenever the topic of theft came up, they couldn't agree. Batman thought Catwoman had a compulsion to steal. Catwoman insisted she merely loved jewelry. Since no one bought the pieces displayed in stores, why shouldn't she take them for a few days to admire?

Finally, one day, Batman tracked Catwoman and stopped her theft again. She was furious. During their argument, Batman, reluctant to hurt her, held back. But Catwoman was unpredictable—she slapped him, then plunged a short dagger into his side.

Thus, this romantic crisis involving Batman turned into a real kidney crisis.