**Chapter 8: A Good Citizen Who Abides by the Law**

On Atreus's retinal display, the light flickered.

Wonder Woman didn't say anything, but the system helpfully marked a profit curve for him. It was clear that the later he acted, the less reward he would receive for taking out the villainous boss. The longer he waited, the worse the payoff would be.

Diana wasn't trying to make things difficult for Atreus; she had crossed time and space to Gotham in search of help. Saving lives was urgent—if delayed, she feared there might be nothing left to save.

Atreus had a gut feeling that the time over there wasn't aligned with the time here. If she stayed here for months, over there it would still be the same moment.

Unfortunately, having accomplished nothing yet, he didn't have the weight to speak.

Atreus rushed to the underground gym, leaving his bodyguards outside, and began training frantically.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The sound of intense punches echoed in the empty gym.

"As expected! Power is addictive!" Atreus muttered to himself.

Even though this body had been indulging in debauchery, it was still young and hadn't been completely drained by it. If he'd inherited it a few years later, it would be like a programmer eight years into the job, exhausted and worn out.

If Louis and the others had seen him now, they would've been so shocked they could fit an entire apple in their mouths.

Fast!

Too fast.

His agility at 22 points was more than double that of a regular person.

Atreus circled the punching bag like a graceful butterfly, delivering a rapid and dense flurry of attacks. The sound wasn't like boxing—it resembled the rapid fire of an automatic rifle.

His movements were so fast that not only his arms, but even his silhouette left behind ghostly afterimages.

Before, there had even been times when his eyes couldn't keep up with his own speed, leading to some ridiculous situations.

The strengthening Wonder Woman had given him was comprehensive. His heightened perception made his previous actions seem like slow motion. Now, the rapid flashes of his 22-point agility were perfectly manageable.

After who knows how many heavy punches, the sturdy punching bag suddenly burst open with a loud *b4ng*.

Still unsatisfied, Atreus moved to the adjacent shooting r4nge.

This time, he wasn't testing guns. He walked over to the compound bow h4nging on the wall.

*Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!*

At fifty meters, each arrow hit the bullseye. The system's assisted aiming feature gave him a complete simulation of the trajectory, taking into account the draw strength and aim for the bow.

The only problem was that while his accuracy was reliable when shooting single arrows quickly, it became difficult when he tried to shoot three arrows simultaneously. 

Every minor difference in force, every slight variation in the position of the arrows, made a significant impact. One wrong move, and the arrows would miss the target entirely.

"Whew!" Atreus exhaled, knowing that this skill couldn't be rushed.

It seemed that triple-shot wouldn't be an option for him in the short term.

After all this, more than an hour had passed, and Atreus was hungry.

After asking the servants to prepare a midnight snack, he realized his appetite was now three times what it had been before.

"As expected, this is the price."

He ate more, but his stamina also recovered faster than before. He realized that while this body was a bit weak, even with the boost from Wonder Woman's strength, his constitution was still his weak point.

Of course, he was now just slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

A sharp look flashed in Atreus's eyes—he had made a decision: tonight, he would kill someone.

Was it crazy?

Even he thought it was a wild idea.

Not even his enemies would expect it. Heck, even he hadn't expected it.

Life is unpredictable! Fate doesn't wait for you to be fully prepared before handing you a supposedly 100% successful opportunity.

The [Black Mask] had sent Black Canary to assassinate him. If Atreus didn't have a traitor in his ranks, it would take at least until tomorrow morning for Black Mask to find out that she had failed.

This was a perfect window of opportunity.

Besides, to outsiders, he was just a coward hiding in his shell, relying on bodyguards to barely escape an assassination attempt. How could he have the strength to retaliate?

This natural imbalance wouldn't ch4nge until external forces came into play.

But before making his move, Atreus needed to ensure some insurance.

Soon, he stood in front of a cell.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"Very quiet," Louis replied. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe this pretty woman is an assassin."

"I'm going in alone."

"Boss!" Louis's voice rose sharply.

"You can watch through the cameras, but no audio." Atreus took a step back.

"Fine! It's your call." Louis relented.

Atreus opened the 5 cm thick reinforced steel door and saw Black Canary. For a moment, he thought he was looking at a [Chrysalis].

The beautiful Miss Lance was in a sorry state, her body wrapped tightly in a straitjacket meant for mental patients, leaving her no room to move. Only her dazzling blonde hair and half of her pale face were visible. To prevent any potential [sonic scream] attacks, the bodyguards had thoughtfully placed a gag in her mouth.

Atreus had ordered that she not be mistreated, but that didn't mean she'd receive any comfort.

Lying on a hard wooden bed, she looked like a wriggling cocoon.

As soon as Atreus entered, he cut to the chase: "You failed your mission. You don't want anything bad to happen to your sister, Sara Lance, do you?"

Black Canary's face instantly drained of all color.

Atreus didn't fully understand this chaotic world, but in this timeline, the White Canary was still just an ordinary person. A quick search revealed this, making her the perfect leverage against Black Canary.

Atreus's voice sounded like the devil's to her: "In Black Mask's crew, there's always someone referred to as [No.1]. If you cross Black Mask, that position can be replaced at any time. You know how that works, don't you?"

As cannon fodder for Black Mask, Black Canary had seen at least two previous [No.1s] meet gruesome ends.

One had been torn apart by starving hunting dogs.

The other had been dragged behind an off-road vehicle across the wasteland. Dina would never forget how that streak of red blood had slashed across her entire vision.

By the time Atreus finished speaking, she was trembling uncontrollably.

Sensing the moment was right, Atreus reached behind Black Canary's head, freeing her mouth.

"W-what do you want me to do?" she stammered.

"Black Mask has a team lurking out at sea, right?"

Black Canary, still shaking, nodded.

"And Black Mask himself is still at his club?"

She trembled, "Unless something unexpected happens, he always stays at his lair when he initiates any action. He's in his second-floor office, and every window can withstand AK-47 fire."

Atreus smiled and opened a laptop: "I've found the blueprints for Black Mask's bar. Check if I've missed anything."

She answered each question.

"Thank you very much, Miss Lance."

"Wait! You... you'll spare my sister, right?" Her beautiful eyes were filled with pleading.

"Oh? Your request doesn't include yourself?" Atreus asked, curious.

Black Canary pressed her lips together. "Not everyone can live freely like you. In the slums of Gotham, just surviving comes at a high cost! I knew I'd have to pay for working for Black Mask, and I accepted that."

With that, she lowered her head, letting her golden hair fall and cover her sorrowful, despairing face.

At this moment, Atreus gently lifted her chin, his eyes filled with intrigue: "If I asked you to hold on to hope and survive, would you still give up?"

A complex look appeared in Black Canary's eyes—one of desperation turning to salvation, as if pulled from the abyss into the light of heaven. She trembled: "I... can I really?"

"Good. Since you've made your choice, I'd like you to help me put on a little show." Atreus's smile grew more mysterious.

Wonder Woman's mission had a clear requirement for good and evil points. Black Canary's true nature wasn't evil, so Atreus didn't need to harm her.

Two minutes later, Louis and the others watched in amazement as Atreus carried the bound woman like a sack of flour into his room.

Unnoticed, Atreus opened a secret escape route in the room.

The stunned Lance asked, "You… you're going to kill Black Mask, right?"

Atreus smiled: "I'm just a law-abiding citizen who can't even harm a fly. What does it matter to me if Joker's g4ng takes down Black Mask?"

(End of Chapter)