28 Chapter 28: A Kiss

The Gotham Botanical Garden, located at the junction of the central and old districts, has always been deserted. After all, botanical gardens are not popular attractions, especially since it closed three years ago for "renovation," making it even more desolate.

However, in Gotham, such places are easy prey for vagrants or criminals.

But even these people dare not approach this garden because of an urban legend that a terrible monster lurks inside, occasionally coming out to prey on people—the sporadic incidents of poisoning among pedestrians nearby seem to confirm this.

Jekyll is well aware that most urban legends in Gotham are true, and indeed, there resides a monster—a dangerous yet beautiful one.

And he's here to meet this "monster" miss.

"Heave-ho!"

Dinah's training these days has paid off. Jekyll easily scales the tightly locked gate and enters the garden. He quickly spots his target—after navigating through the dense vines in the main garden area, he sees a greenhouse with what seems to be pink lights.

After taking a deep breath, Jekyll cautiously approaches the greenhouse, paying close attention to where he steps.

As he nears the greenhouse door, Jekyll suddenly feels something off underfoot. He immediately stops and, using his powerful night vision, sees a wildflower beneath his foot.

Jekyll smiles faintly, relieved that he didn't step on it. He's done his homework; he can't afford to harm any plant here—intentionally or unintentionally.

So as long as he avoids this flower, he won't provoke—huh?

Moving his foot away, Jekyll prepares to land, but he notices that the spot he was about to land on also has a flower—more accurately, the same flower seems to have shifted to a new location.

Jekyll squints; he tests moving his ankle, only to find the flower quickly moving towards his expected landing spot.

Not good!

As this thought crosses his mind, Jekyll immediately leaps backward. In the next moment, with a swoosh, a thick vine shoots up from where the flower was, aiming straight for his ankle.

"Such a pity. If you had stepped on it, it would have instantly snapped your ankle—"

A magnetic, somewhat enchanting voice rings out. From the greenhouse door, several thick vines extend like tentacles, carrying a slender figure that appears in front of Jekyll.

Through Jekyll's extraordinary night vision and the pink light emanating from the greenhouse, he can clearly see the full figure of the woman sitting on the vines.

She has fiery red hair cascading over her bare shoulders, and her enchantingly beautiful face momentarily captivates Jekyll, despite being accustomed to seeing beauty through Harley and Dinah.

But more striking than her appearance is her attire—no longer just described as sexy.

All her "clothing" seems to be made of plants, whether it's the leaves barely covering her ample bosom and secret place or the tender green tendrils wrapped around her devilishly curvaceous figure.

But unlike her visually stunning appearance, her gaze towards Jekyll is surprisingly cold—even with clear hostility.

Swoosh!

Before Jekyll could speak, two thick vines beside her instantly whipped towards him.

"Wait! You're Poison Ivy, right? I'm a friend of Harley's—I mean no harm."

Jekyll narrowly avoids the vines, but Poison Ivy shows no signs of stopping. Instead, she summons two more vines, blocking Jekyll's escape route like a net.

"Your appearance speaks volumes of hostility. Although I don't know how you've come back to life, you, scum who has hurt Harley countless times, shall now serve as fertilizer for my flowers!"

Bang!

Four vines simultaneously smash towards Jekyll's position, even lifting the soil more than a meter high.

But Poison Ivy's eyes widen in disbelief as she realizes that the vines, which seemed to have him cornered from all sides, missed their mark. Jekyll seems to vanish before her eyes like magic.

"Enough, Ivy. I don't have time to play games with you. But I can assure you I'm not the Joker, and I'm here on Harley's behalf—for the item you two agreed upon."

Poison Ivy's expression freezes as she feels a strong arm wrap around her lower abdomen from behind, while a cold and sharp object presses against her neck.

In the moment of crisis just now, Jekyll used deceptive magic to flash behind Poison Ivy, holding her with one arm and pressing a sharp dagger against her throat.

"How did you—wait, why isn't Harley here herself? What happened to her?!"

Seeing that Poison Ivy is more concerned about Harley's well-being than her own safety, Jekyll's heart softens. With a clatter, he tosses the dagger aside and releases her before jumping down.

"Now you should see that I mean you no harm—as for Harley..."

Jekyll hesitated for a moment but decided to tell Poison Ivy the whole story. Given that Harley Quinn's safety was at stake, Poison Ivy would surely stand by Harley's side.

After listening to Jekyll's brief explanation, Poison Ivy's face filled with worry and anxiety. She murmured uneasily, "Before midnight... No, I have to hurry to save Harley, but I can't right now. Why does it have to be now?"

Seeing Poison Ivy's distressed expression and considering the urgency of the situation, Jekyll decided not to wait any longer. He cautiously broached the subject, "If you can't leave here, you can just give me what Harley wants from you. I promise you, I'll make sure Harley comes back safely—"

"What Harley wants? You mean..."

Poison Ivy lifted her head, squinting at Jekyll with an eerie gaze. "You plan to use those things to save Harley?"

"Yes, with those, I'm confident that I can—"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Poison Ivy interjected firmly, moving closer to Jekyll with the help of the vines, her expression grim.

"That's a highly concentrated and lethal poison. Using it as a weapon would definitely endanger Harley."

Upon hearing this, Jekyll felt relieved. He finally confirmed that his guess was correct. Harley knew that inhaling the poison would temporarily enhance his physical abilities, so she entrusted Poison Ivy to make the poison just in case.

But obviously, Poison Ivy misunderstood the purpose of the poison. Just as Jekyll was about to explain further, he suddenly felt something cold wrapping around his feet.

"Right, I've come up with a safer way. According to what you said, the other party intends to use you to exchange for Harley's safety, right?"

Jekyll's heart sank instantly, a sense of foreboding creeping in.

"In that case— to ensure Harley's safety, you'd better obediently follow my command and walk into the trap!"

Before Jekyll could react, Poison Ivy suddenly closed the distance between them, her long and supple arm wrapping around the back of his head.

In the next moment, Jekyll's lips felt the cold, soft, and slightly moist touch.

°°°

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