Chapter 10 : First Appearance : The Dark Knight

After confirming the name of the store, Bai Ye didn't linger there any longer.

He was completely clueless about decoration matters and couldn't be bothered.

He left it to the professionals to handle.

Besides, no one would dare to trick Bai Ye. To be precise, nobody would be willing to tamper with this small shop and offend Bai Jincheng, let alone the entire Jincheng Group.

"I'll visit more often in the future and explore outside more, for your own good."

After sending Bai Ye back to the sanatorium, Song Yin advised him a few times before leaving.

She had her own things to do and couldn't accompany Bai Ye like a nanny.

Bai Ye wandered around aimlessly, occasionally greeting familiar patients or medical staff.

If given a birdcage, he'd be the typical retired cadre taking a stroll.

While taking a stroll, Bai Ye walked to the building belonging to the sanatorium staff.

The upper half of this building served as the dormitory for some staff members, while the lower half was more akin to a hospital.

When no one was paying attention, Bai Ye took a few syringes used in the sanatorium. These four syringes were a bit different from ordinary injection syringes.

They were more advanced, with the needle retracted in the non-operational state. It would pop out when pressed, ready for an injection.

In the non-operational state, they looked like slightly thicker test tubes covered in a special material, giving off the feeling of a syringe used casually in movies.

And indeed, they were precisely that–syringes used when some patients became agitated.

Bringing these four syringes back to his room, Bai Ye emptied the unknown liquid medication inside, rinsed them several times without disinfecting, and casually filled them with the water from the Lazarus Pit.

After filling all four syringes, only half a bottle of the "legendary" water remained in the jar, reducing Bai Ye's two bottles of water to one and a half.

Putting everything back into his portable space, Bai Ye began his daily life in the sanatorium.

A few days passed quickly. The cooldown time for teleportation had passed. At night, after finishing dinner, Bai Ye locked his door and headed to Gotham City.

Because Bai Ye himself belonged to this world, the Staff of Authority defined this place as the main world.

Returning to the main world's location wouldn't differ much from the departure location.

However, when teleporting to other worlds, the Staff of Authority would only mark a relatively relative range from the departure location and then choose the most suitable position.

After all, for Bai Ye's trades, it wouldn't make sense to teleport to an uninhabited place.

If Bai Ye left Gotham City by sea, sailing alone on a yacht, when he returned, most likely, he wouldn't appear on that yacht but rather in a suitable and safe location near the coast.

Therefore, Bai Ye wasn't concerned at all about being ambushed by the Assassin Alliance the moment he appeared.

Of course, now Bai Ye also had the "Abyssal Gate," slightly better than his previous state of being powerless.

...

Adrian appeared in Gotham City, not at the hospital from the last time but in an alley outside the hospital.

Holding the Penguin's umbrella in his hand, Adrian was about to leave the dark alley.

The reason he had the empty umbrella in his hand was that besides using it as a firearm, the umbrella had other functions.

At the end of the umbrella handle, there was a retractable short blade of about forearm length, and when opened, the umbrella could form a shield.

Ordinary bladed weapons couldn't pierce the umbrella's canopy.

Even an average handgun would probably need several shots to break through.

The umbrella, modified by the Penguin, still had a long way to go before reaching the level of Batman's high-tech gadgets, but it was more than enough to handle some unexpected small situations.

For example, now—

Entering the alley, Adrian encountered two petty thugs who blocked his way with obvious malicious intent.

One brandished a gun while the other held a knife, obviously prepared to cause trouble, straightforwardly demonstrating the pure and simple nature of Gotham City residents.

"Oye kid, if you don't want to get hurt, hand over all the money you have on you," the one with the butterfly knife said, swinging it in a very cool manner.

Adrian calmly opened the umbrella.

"Haha, do you plan to use this to block us?" The thug with the gun chuckled softly.

"Step back." Before Adrian could speak, a cold voice came from above the three of them.

Adrian looked up and saw an additional figure on the rooftop above their heads. The black figure in the dark environment appeared even darker, resembling a huge bat!

"Bat—"

Neither of the two petty thugs could finish their words. The black bat-like figure descended from above.

After two swift and decisive punches that an ordinary person could never execute, the two petty thugs lay on the ground, decisively knocked out. Adrian even heard the sound of their bones breaking.

Batman doesn't kill, it's true, but he doesn't mind breaking bones and making them lie in the hospital for a few months.

"Kid, you shouldn't be in a dark alley at this time," Batman turned to Adrian and said.

Batman stood tall at 1.88 meters, dressed in a black bat suit and bat cape, appearing very tall and imposing.

Adrian, who was of average build and slightly slender, indeed looked like a child in front of him—not just appeared like one.

Don't forget, Adrian is only eighteen years old this year, whether in this world or the main world, he's at the age of attending high school.

For Batman, this age was indeed that of a child, right?

"Batman? I'm really lucky..." Adrian said with a smile.

Of course, his words naturally didn't concern Batman. After a brief reminder, Batman shot his grappling hook and instantly left.

The powerful pull of that hook could probably tear an ordinary person's arm apart. Only after professional and tough training would Batman dare to use it so casually.

"He seems injured," Adrian looked in the direction Batman left, thinking to himself.

Just now, he keenly observed some abrasions on Batman's exposed half-face and some traces of blade marks on Batman's bat suit. They weren't too obvious.

Leaving the alley, soon after, police cars arrived and took away the two unlucky petty thugs.

After asking around a bit from the pedestrians, not finding any victim, the police left.

After all, most of the petty criminals in Gotham City had numerous records, making it easy to convict them and throw them into jail.

The "victim" Adrian was at that moment making a call in a public phone booth.

"Hey, yeah, it's me. Cobblepot, you were quite clever this time..." Speaking to Adrian on the phone was none other than his old buddy, the Penguin.

Soon, Adrian hopped into the Penguin's car, but the Penguin wasn't inside. Instead, the screen in the car showed the Penguin's ugly face, staring at Adrian.

Apparently, there were cameras inside the car allowing him to see Adrian.

"You seem to have stirred up quite a commotion," the Penguin looked at Adrian with interest.

"Oh, really?" Adrian neither confirmed nor denied it.

"What did you do to the Assassin League? They've been searching all over Gotham for you these days," the Penguin said.

"Did they find you?" Adrian asked with a smile.

"Humph, they did find me, but am I afraid of them?" The Penguin showed a "cold arrogance," implying he hadn't betrayed Adrian.

The Assassin League's foundation wasn't in Gotham, and their frequent appearance here was mostly because of Batman.

They were like the crossing dragons, but the Penguin was also a local snake in the grass.

The Penguin didn't want any dealings with the Assassin League, not because he was genuinely afraid of them, but simply because he found these lunatics troublesome.

If the Assassin League intended to do business with the Penguin, he would likely have a different attitude.

"They made a fuss, attracted Batman, and it seems their leader was almost beaten to half-death and has left Gotham City," the Penguin smirked maliciously, "a bunch of fools."

In this corner of Gotham City, the Penguin didn't need to fear the Assassin League, but undoubtedly, the Assassin League was at a higher level than the Penguin, and they wouldn't show him any respect.

Seeing them fail made the Penguin quite happy.

Gotham City had its own rules and ways of doing things. Dangerous outsiders were naturally unwelcome.

"I saw Batman. He seems to be injured," Adrian said.

The Penguin nodded, "Probably for the final clean-up. So, what brings you here this time? Any new trade?"

After two trades, the Penguin had made some gains and was naturally interested in Adrian and the forces behind him.

As one of the few "villains" in Gotham City, the Penguin didn't reject cooperation or trades that were advantageous to him and his interests.

The Penguin valued profits.

He hadn't betrayed Adrian because the Assassin League, towering high above, hadn't given any offer. As long as the price was right, the Penguin wouldn't hesitate or feel pressured to sell out Adrian.

"There is a trade, but you might not be able to handle it," Adrian said, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, tell me about it," the Penguin became interested, his eyes shining.

"The Assassin League is searching for me worldwide for a reason. I took away their most precious treasure, some water from the Lazarus Pit," Adrian said proudly.

"What's that?" the Penguin asked.

"Don't you know?" Adrian was momentarily puzzled, then realized that the existence of the Lazarus Pit was a secret.

It was normal for the Penguin not to know.

Adrian knew about many secrets because he had a sort of "God's Eye" view, not because others didn't keep their secrets well.

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