There is no Batman in Gotham City comics.

Chapter 57 Escape

Upon returning to the mansion, the first thing Maroni did was give Qin Wei a big hug.

"My loyal friend! No amount of praise can do justice to your greatness!" Unaware of the truth, he patted Qin Wei's bruised back heavily.

Qin Wei's face swelled up like a dough ball, and veins bulged on his neck.

Maroni, who had intended to bring the two of them closer, had no idea that the man in his arms was in so much pain that he just wanted to slap him into the floor tiles so hard that he couldn't be pried out.

After enduring the insincere pleasantries, Qin Wei unceremoniously demanded benefits. Since he was already seen as a greedy and petty person by Maroni, he might as well solidify that image.

Of course, more importantly, he really likes money.

"The benefits... well!"

Maroni inhaled and raised his eyebrows.

"It seems there's a company in the Roman Empire that imports Italian leather shoes. Once I take it back from Falcone, I'll hand over the management of the company to you."

Maroni had no time to consider rewarding the hero; he had Falcone's dental records, and his immediate priority was to find the mole within the police department, obtain the body's teeth marks, and compare them with the records to confirm the identity.

Although he witnessed Falcone's car explode, the cunning and suspicious Maroni would not let his guard down until he had conclusive evidence that it was him.

Qin Wei noticed that Maroni was distracted and secretly rolled his eyes.

They even want to reward me with Falcone's assets, but it's just the management rights. Is that even human language? They really are the kind of people who kick away the ladder after crossing it.

Qin Wei was full of complaints.

Moreover, he knew that Falcone was dead, and his men who had been sent out would certainly not let him go. Maroni was clearly trying to stall until he was killed by the assassins, so that the matter could be dropped.

You beast! You beast!

……

After retrieving their phones, Qin Wei and Oswald left the Maronny Estate.

They dialed the taxi driver's number and the two walked down the dark mountain road.

Oswald struggled internally for a long time before finally deciding to speak his mind.

"Wei, you can actually just say it directly. If you want to betray Falcone and work for Maroni, I won't go with you, but I won't expose you either..."

"What are you talking about?"

Qin Wei expressed his confusion.

"Maroney's an idiot, so are you an idiot too?"

Oswald opened his mouth but didn't say a word.

He had considered that possibility, after all, the yes or no option was too easy to guess; a slight change in meaning could easily deceive the unsuspecting.

What dispelled his suspicion was Qin Wei's response to Falcone's first phone call at Dodge Manor.

"Is there a third person listening to our conversation?"

"yes!"

He clearly remembered that Qin Wei had answered in this way. If "yes" or "no" meant the opposite, then he should have answered "no" at that time.

Oswald voiced his doubts, only to be met with Qin Wei's ridicule.

"Aren't you pretty smart? Why don't you stick to your own ideas!"

"But……"

"In my plan, you were never a third person; we were always one."

When Qin Wei's gaze, as intense as sunlight, pierced through Oswald, the gloom in the latter's heart was swept away.

I should have thought of that sooner!

Oswald touched his burning cheeks, and Qin Wei's figure grew taller and clearer in his eyes. He still clearly remembered when he first recruited Qin Wei, this clumsy big guy had caused him a lot of trouble. He couldn't collect rent, he didn't dare to fight, and his excessive sympathy almost got him stabbed to death on the tram.

It was precisely because Qin Wei constantly appeared foolish that Oswald took extra care of him.

He saw in Qin Wei the small boy who had been kicked out of his home on a rainy night many years ago.

This short man once looked up to Maroni, but now he has a new direction.

"However, I was indeed keeping it from you."

Qin Wei added:

"I was worried that Maroney would get the code from us. If we don't let you know the truth, whether you choose to remain silent or betray us, Maroney will only get a false code. That way, we can keep the same story even if we don't give the same testimony. That's why I told you from the beginning that there are some things you don't know that are good for you."

The implication is that Qin Wei did not fully trust Oswald.

This was a rational judgment. After all, the young penguin was not yet mature, and Maroni's methods were exceptionally cold-blooded. Qin Wei put himself in Maroni's shoes and concluded that even he himself was not confident that he could hold his own against Maroni.

But none of that matters anymore. With a little bit of cleverness, he once again won by a small margin in his game against Maroni.

This further solidified his resolve to eliminate that annoying fox.

"What are you daydreaming about? The car's almost here!"

Qin Wei waved to Oswald, who was in a daze.

……

On the other side, Royce had just finished stitching up Dick's wound.

After washing his hands, which were covered in blood, the man carried the unconscious boy back to his bedroom and sat on the steps outside the apartment, smoking three cigarettes in a row.

As the night wore on, the rain gradually subsided, and the drizzling water from the eaves trickled down the corner walls, nourishing the moss in the corners.

Royce flicked away his cigarette butt, stood up, and headed toward the Lower East Side.

He planned to visit Qin Wei one last time.

The man had already prepared for the worst.

Considering that Qin Wei might have already been arrested by Maroni, might not be able to withstand torture and might confess his accomplices, and there was even a high probability that he himself would be implicated.

After careful consideration, he decided that if no one answered his door this time, he would hand Dick over to Maronny as the assassin of Barron.

At the weekly meetings, the leaders of the lower districts could only sit at the end of the conference table.

The distance was too great; Maroni would be pinned down by the bodyguards before the dagger even reached him.

Handing over Dick would give him the opportunity to meet his target alone in the study.

Although he would be thoroughly searched, as Maroni's former older brother, Royce knew all too well the other man's fighting skills. Given the chance, he was 70% confident he could break the fox's neck before the bodyguards arrived.

When Royce arrived at the Senate, he was soaked to the bone, which added a touch of tragic grandeur to the man who was already prepared to face death.

I rang the doorbell a few times, but the Senate remained as quiet as ever.

A damp, dusty smell wafted out from under the door, and the building seemed to be rotting.

Reus's finger hovered over the doorbell; he no longer wanted to try in vain.

He turned around and slowly walked down the steps with a resolute expression.

Just then, two lights shot out from the street corner, and following the roar of the engine, an orange taxi made a cool drift and came into his line of sight.

With a sudden stop, the taxi came to a steady halt in front of the Senate. A six- or seven-foot-high curtain of water drenched Royce, completely destroying the solemn and heroic aura he had painstakingly built up.

The man wiped his face viciously, and started thinking, "Why don't I practice on the driver before breaking Maroni's neck?"

"Oh no! I didn't bring any money... What about you?"

"After buying that pizza, I had no money left..."

Two figures in the back seat whispered to each other as the window slowly rolled down.

"Uncle Ben, can I borrow some money?"

Qin Wei leaned half his face out of the car, baring his teeth and giving Luo Yi a sly grin.