116-120

Chapter 116: Playful Lunatics 

Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane. A man blessed with exceptional talent in psychology and chemistry. Like most of Gotham's supervillains, a miserable childhood left him with deep psychological scars. As both a psychiatrist and the creator of Fear Gas, he's learned all too well how to inflict those same scars on others. 

So, who was the man standing opposite him? 

The Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch. 

A natural-born dwarf, Jervis once took an experimental drug off the market, hoping it would restore him to a normal height. But the drug failed. Instead, it pathologically drove him mad, and as if that wasn't enough, it made him bald. Now, he spends his days lost in a delusion of living in the world of Alice in Wonderland, absolutely convinced he is the Mad Hatter, using a tall hat to hide his baldness. 

Any villain who makes a name for themselves in Gotham certainly has their signature trick. Scarecrow has his Fear Gas, Joker has his madness and chaos, Poison Ivy is the voice of the Green. And the Mad Hatter? He has the mind-control device. Even in his madness, his sheer intelligence supported him, allowing him to build this wicked contraption capable of controlling the minds and actions of ordinary people. 

Granted, you have to slap the device onto the subject's head for it to work, but the control it exerts is quite effective. Plenty of superheroes and supercriminals have fallen prey to it, not just civilians. It's worth noting, though, that those with strong enough willpower can break free of the control on their own. 

Scarecrow's hat held no mind-control device, so he naturally felt no fear towards the Mad Hatter. And the Hatter interrupting his little nursery rhyme? That put him in a very bad mood. 

"Cake!" "Tea?" 

"Cake!" "Tea?" 

"Gentlemen." A voice arrived with footsteps, cutting off the two super-criminals' childish squabble. 

"I spent all that time and effort getting you out of Arkham early, and it wasn't so you could argue about cake and tea." 

The two turned their heads to the side. The Roman slowly emerged from the shadows, his eyes sharp. 

"We have business. It concerns... the vault at Gotham National Bank." 

[Ding] 

[You have a new Gig. Please check it.] 

Cody stared at the sudden system notification pop-up, momentarily stunned. 

"Popping up another Gig while I'm in the middle of one? Is that even reasonable?" 

That being said, eavesdropping wasn't exactly a task you had to be fully engaged in minute-by-minute. There was automatic recording, after all, so listening back when he had some free time was no problem. 

And so, Cody opened the mission description for this new Gig. 

[Independent Day's Lunatic Duo] 

[Mission Description: For lunatics, the joy of planning a heist itself far outweighs the eventual payout. The money they grab along the way is just settlement loot after clearing the game – though, then again, aside from lunatics, who doesn't love stacks of colorful bills?] 

[Note: Although the enemy is a lunatic duo, this mission doesn't require anyone else. You can handle it yourself – it's time to show off your PVZ master-level tactics! (This mission is time-limited. Please complete it before Batman arrives.)] 

[Status: Incomplete (0/1)] 

[Reward: Basic Mental Resistance] 

"Basic Mental Resistance?" 

Cody opened the store to take a look. The reward was worth 100,000 USD asset points, the same tier as the Intermediate Physical Enhancement. 

"Increases resistance to mental attacks... specifically effective against wheelchair old men?" 

He pondered for a moment and roughly guessed who this mission was against. After all, the Gotham City Police Department had already put out bounties for Scarecrow and were searching for the Riddler. That kind of widespread search made a big stir. 

"Independence Day, bank vault – huh, that's a Gotham classic. But why pull a heist specifically at this critical moment? Are they trying to make sure Gordon does catch them?" 

Cody's thoughts yielded no answer, while Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, and Falcone's plan proceeded with tight-lipped intensity. 

Independence Day wasn't far from Father's Day; it arrived quickly. 

Selina and Bruce were talking about life at Wayne Manor. Harvey, even after going home, didn't forget to keep monitoring Maroni and Vernon. Commissioner Gordon still couldn't find Scarecrow and the Riddler, and he went home on time today too – after all, it was Independence Day. 

This holiday is quite significant in the United States. On this day, the atmosphere in Gotham City was lively. Parades of all kinds and grand fireworks displays were scheduled to appear in Gotham. Walking down the street, Cody could even see families spanning multiple generations driving cars, floats, carriages, oversized toy cars, and more, all parading together. 

Various noisy sounds filtered into his ears. Cody felt like that Nian beast from New Year's Eve, about to be driven out of the city by citizens' firecrackers. Although he had trained himself to function normally in this situation, noise was noise, and the sounds on the street were still quite uncomfortable. 

Today, he decided not to ride his wheelchair out. That getup was too conspicuous. Even among the diverse parade groups, he was the only one using a wheelchair as transportation. It would be too easy for the gangs to recognize him. 

So, he just strolled along the street, wearing a simple short-sleeved t-shirt and shorts – the summer heat hadn't passed yet; Gotham was still muggy. 

He lowered his head slightly, making sure people wouldn't notice his face. At this moment, Cody truly looked like an ordinary passerby wandering the streets, completely unremarkable – or, you could say, he was just being himself. 

Shhh—Boom! Boom! Boom! 

The sounds from the sky interrupted Cody's thoughts. Fireworks soared into Gotham City's night sky, then exploded with bangs, turning into colorful sparks. The brilliant display instantly drew countless Gotham citizens to look up. Every year, the fireworks were just as beautiful, and people had watched them for so many years, yet they still never got tired of them. 

Even the somewhat irritated Cody couldn't help but look up. It was a sight he hadn't seen since arriving in Gotham. Once upon a time, during every New Year, he would see fireworks exploding all across the sky before his eyes. He had also stood in the courtyard with family and friends, holding long firework tubes, adding a few colors to the dazzling display. 

Sitting on the sofa, Commissioner Gordon put down the newspaper clipping he was reading and walked to the window. Barbara, with little Gordon carrying their daughter, also came out. The few of them looked at the beautiful fireworks, smiles on their faces. 

It wasn't until a little while passed that Gordon was the first to react. He checked his watch, then looked at the clock tower in the distance, a look of confusion on his face. He subconsciously muttered a few words. 

"Strange. The time isn't even right yet, but all the city's fireworks have gone off early." 

"Could it be just a few playful kids causing trouble?" 

Chapter 117: R—P—G! 

Cody walked down the street, watching the fireworks light up the sky. 

He wasn't in much of a hurry. The mission hadn't officially started yet, and he was already close to the location – since the system had given him the heads-up on this gig's spot early, he'd already cased the joint multiple times over the past few days. 

Yeah, he'd decided to take the mission. While facing two super-criminals at once made his stomach clench, this time, he had an advantage he didn't have when dealing with the Joker. 

He could run. 

That's right, this money wasn't something he absolutely had to protect. Plus, Batman wasn't taking the night off. Whether the bad guys just grabbed the cash and bolted, or Batman showed up in the nick of time, Cody held the ultimate trump card: the option to bail whenever he wanted. And with his current survival skills, he was pretty sure he could get away clean. 

What's more, they were never going to be able to keep the money from the vault anyway. He'd gone into Gotham Bank a few days ago and made a few little preparations. 

Cody gradually approached the entrance of Gotham Bank. He eyed the tight security at the door. Forget the heavily armed guards; that massive vault door alone was enough to kill most people's ideas of trying to break in. If you couldn't get the vault combination, you weren't getting anywhere near the money inside. 

Scarecrow and the Riddler are both brains-over-brawn super-criminals. Cody couldn't be sure how they'd plan to steal the money. Maybe they'd dress up as bank employees or security guards – or maybe they'd somehow gotten the vault code and would just try to blast their way in from the outside. 

But no matter what, secret operations like digging a tunnel were pretty much off the table. Cody had already checked in with the bugs and ants underground; nothing was digging down there. So, their attack would most likely come from street level. 

He was still disguised as a regular pedestrian for now. This time, he wasn't sure if he should use his 'Perverted Wheelchair Guy' identity. If blowdarts, sneak attacks, and a high-speed wheelchair turned out to be the perfect tools for the job, then Scarecrow and his pal could have the time of their lives this Independence Day. If not, he'd just whip up another identity, a completely different alias with a fighting style totally separate from the Wheelchair Guy. 

Lost in thought, he scanned his surroundings. The main parade route wasn't nearby, so there weren't many pedestrians around. Everything looked calm, deceptively so. 

There were two security guards at the door, both armed to the teeth. They looked completely normal, but the system notification said the mission time was almost starting. This made Cody couldn't help but scrutinize their faces. 

"Are they those two guys, dressed up to rob the place?" he wondered. 

Meanwhile, the two security guards at the bank entrance had been watching Cody for a while. 

"Hey, do you think this guy's dressed up to rob the bank?" 

"Huh? Why would you say that?" 

"You haven't noticed? For about a week now, this guy's been hanging around the bank, just staring at it all day, but never going inside. Doesn't that scream 'casing the joint'?" 

"But what could he do by himself? Besides, I remember seeing him go inside the bank one day to deposit money." 

"You saw that?" 

"Yeah, a cool ten thousand in cash. And apparently, this guy's got a bit of a reputation on the street." 

"Oh, right, I remember. Your brother has friends in the Falcone family – he knows this guy?" 

"He mentioned some guy who looked pretty fierce, said he completely messed up the Maroni family. Sounds a lot like the guy we're seeing." 

"Holy cow? He's a big deal?" 

"Not exactly. His nickname is 'Calamity Star'." 

Their conversation drifted clearly into Cody's ears. He awkwardly turned and walked around the corner. Man, he really should have spent some asset points on a disguise skill. Now he was being recognized. 

He had deposited ten thousand in cash a few days ago, but those bills were "enhanced." He got the idea from something Ivy did. Cody coated the ten thousand dollars with pollen from ten vine flowers – and he could track that pollen using his vines. 

He didn't even have to worry about his money not getting into the vault. He'd personally watched the bank's counting machine process the cash that day. And there would definitely be a ton of cash in the vault that had gone through those same machines. The pollen left in the counting machines would spread to the other cash. If the vault actually was robbed, all he had to do was follow the trail of heavy pollen concentration, and he'd find his money. 

"Ugh, I was never this sneaky before... It must be Batman's fault." 

Yeah, even if I, Cody, am ninety-nine percent responsible, doesn't Batman at least share one percent? 

"Huh? Where'd that 'Calamity Star' guy go?" 

"Good riddance, right? Maroni's restaurant got blown up! You really want him hanging around here, asking for trouble with the bank?" 

"You're right... I guess. Hey, those fireworks are really pretty." 

The other guard looked up, saw the emerald green fireworks bursting overhead, and automatically agreed. "Yeah, I really like fireworks." 

"Me too. They make me feel like I'm back in childh—" 

He didn't finish his sentence. The emerald green fireworks that had burst open turned into scattered drops of green rain, falling to the ground and landing on both of them. 

"Oh, that's a nice color." 

"No... no, that's not right... The sky is falling!" 

"Oh God!" 

As the rain fell, all the guards near the bank started trembling. Within seconds, they were writhing on the ground, curled up and shaking uncontrollably, completely incapacitated. 

Cody's eyes were quick. The moment he saw the raindrops fall, he knew something was wrong. He immediately popped a milk candy into his mouth. He'd made these from milk bought at a store; as long as he didn't swallow it, it provided a continuous crowd control nullification effect. 

After the fight with the Joker last time, Cody realized he needed a reliable way to counter crowd control. If Joker's knife had been tipped with concentrated laughing gas back then, he'd probably be dead on the spot. That's why, after coming back, he specifically made these anti-CC milk candies. 

After the raindrops fell, a strange whistling sound echoed from the sky. Cody looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. 

"Holy shit...! R—P—G!" 

A massive warhead screamed down, hitting the ground and exploding. A violent flash of fire mixed with billowing green smoke spread rapidly, not only blowing a hole in the wall but also turning the entire bank area into a smoke zone within seconds. Now, everyone inside the bank also collapsed to the ground, crying out in terror. 

Just then, through the hazy fog, came the sound of horse hooves and a lunatic's singing. 

"The Walrus and the Carpenter were walking close at hand..." 

"They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand..." 

"If seven maids with seven mops Swept it for half a year..." 

"Do you suppose," the Walrus said, "That they could get it clear?" 

Another madman replied, "I doubt it," said the Carpenter... 

Chapter 118: Bank Heist Meets Pumpkin Head, Strange Tactics Strong as Monsters 

The shadow of a carriage slowly emerged from the spreading mist, the two horses pulling it clopping along. 

There were two figures on the carriage. One was thin and tall, dressed in rags, his voice eerie and drifting, looking like a scarecrow from a cornfield. The other was pudgy and short, wearing a large top hat, his tone sing-songy. That rhyme, "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Alice in Wonderland, was sung by him just now. 

Amidst the sounds of fireworks filling the sky, the carriage leisurely stopped at the gaping hole blown in the outer wall of the bank vault. The din of the fireworks and the traffic from the parade covered the sound of the explosion, so few people in the distance heard the commotion here. Cody could even guess that after emptying the bank vault, the two would quickly blend into the festive parade floats on the street, disappearing without a trace in the flow of traffic. 

He lay on the ground, curled up and shivering just like the others. His Advanced Acting Proficiency at this moment allowed him to blend completely into the crowd of fallen figures; no one could tell the slightest difference. 

The carriage passed by him. He then scrambled up from the ground, pulled out a blowgun, and quietly followed them. The mist was still too thick, obstructing his vision. He needed to get closer to guarantee a hit with the blowgun. 

Snap! 

Just as Cody was creeping forward, a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. He turned his head to look and saw it was a guard whose mind had been almost completely eroded by the fear gas. 

"Don't, don't... don't go—call the police quickly..." 

"What the heck?!" 

Cody's eyes widened instantly. This guy was still looking out for him even now? He was genuinely touched, but damn it, being grabbed and making noise at this moment was something he really didn't like. 

What am I supposed to stealth with this?! 

"Hm? Who's there?" 

Seeing the situation go south, a pumpkin head instantly appeared on Cody's head. He immediately broke free from the guard's grip and rolled sideways on the ground. 

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" 

Four gunshots suddenly rang out from deep within the mist. Having completed his dodge, Cody stood up. Three bullet holes now dotted the pumpkin head he was wearing. 

"Are you kidding me? Only dodged one? Are super-criminals' reflexes and aim seriously this ridiculous?" 

Cody grumbled, turning his head to look. The downed guard there had already fainted. 

"Talk about terrible timing!" 

In the time lost, the green mist had gradually dissipated. Two figures faced Cody, with the two horses pulling the carriage beside them. 

Other than Scarecrow, the two horses and the Mad Hatter had no protection against the fear gas. Cody guessed they must have taken Scarecrow's antidote beforehand. 

Protecting against fear gas required troublesome measures. Just like the two guards who got rained on by the green droplets earlier, mere skin contact was enough for the gas to erode their minds – indicating fear gas could enter the body through skin and the respiratory system. 

Clearly, Scarecrow and Mad Hatter didn't want to wear thick, clumsy biohazard suits to rob a bank. 

Wait, Scarecrow and who? 

Cody stared at the figure holding a massive handgun, his eyes widening. No, where's my Riddler? Why is it the Mad Hatter? 

Where's the big, wanted Riddler I was expecting?! 

The two on the opposite side couldn't see the expression on Cody's face. All they saw was that the pumpkin head opposite them now had three bullet holes. 

Scarecrow turned his head to look at the Mad Hatter, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected an ugly dwarf to have such good marksmanship, capable of three headshots just by listening to the sound. 

Then he saw a confused look appear on the Mad Hatter's face as well. 

Is my aim really that good? 

Cody sighed. The safest and easiest stealth plan had failed. He could only prepare for a direct assault. 

After a few seconds of standoff, the Mad Hatter finally reacted. The pumpkin head opposite him had taken three full shots, but it didn't seem to be dead. Or rather, there wasn't even any blood on its head. 

"A ghost? A spook?" 

"Doesn't matter what it is—" Scarecrow chimed in from the side, his voice drifting. "Shoot it a few more times and see." 

The Mad Hatter raised his gun again. Cody immediately crouched low and charged forward, drawing sword from behind his back. 

"Where did he pull that sword from?" 

"How should I know?!" 

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" 

Another three shots rang out. Seeing that they didn't seem to cause any substantial damage, the Mad Hatter casually tucked the automatic pistol into his hat and pulled out an oversized double-barreled handgun from inside. Cody continued to charge forward, crouched low. Although the pumpkin on his head was now in tatters, he himself remained unharmed. 

"I definitely hit his body," the Mad Hatter raised his gun again. "But only the pumpkin on his head was damaged." 

"Break that pumpkin!" Scarecrow's voice floated out in a shout. He raised his sleeve, aiming it at Cody. 

"Not falling for that, thanks." 

Cody waved a gardening glove, and a flower pot instantly appeared. Inside was a small plant with three leaves. 

The small plant spun its leaves rapidly, and a gust of wind instantly blew up. The green toxic mist, along with the high-concentration fear gas sprayed from Scarecrow's sleeve, were swept up into the sky by this gust, disappearing without a trace moments later. 

He waved his hand again. The three-leaf plant on the flower pot disappeared, and an ice-blue mushroom appeared instead. At this moment, Cody was very glad the two had made their move at night. If it had been daytime, he would have had to spend money buying coffee beans to activate the mushroom-type plants. 

"Boom!" 

The large-caliber revolver bullet shot out of the barrel, directly shattering the pumpkin head on Cody's face. The fragmented pumpkin landed, revealing beneath it... another pumpkin head. 

"FXXK!" 

"FXXK!" 

At this moment, Scarecrow and Mad Hatter's sync rate reached one hundred percent. Both of them stared at the even more lively pumpkin head, beginning to doubt their lives. While they had seen their share of weird things in Gotham over the years, what was in front of them now truly made them wonder if they were seeing a ghost. 

While the two were dumbfounded, the blue mushroom in the flower pot began to swell rapidly. The quick-witted Mad Hatter instinctively felt something was wrong and immediately fired another shot. However, another pumpkin head instantly appeared and was placed over the Ice-shroom. 

"Boom!" 

This shot heavily damaged the pumpkin head, but the ice-blue mushroom ultimately managed to explode open. 

In just an instant, a terrifying cold current swept out in all directions. The bursting frost encased and devoured everyone. In just one second, the entire entrance to the bank vault transformed into a sky-blue world of ice sculptures. All living beings were frozen in place, yet the skin texture beneath the ice remained incredibly detailed and lifelike. 

Scarecrow and Mad Hatter's movements froze together, turning them into two large blocks of ice – everyone inside and outside the bank was also caught in this state. For a moment, everything around fell into a strange, eerie silence. 

Chapter 119: What Kind of Knight Are You? 

The Ice Shroom's effect lasted for four seconds. During that time, everyone present was frozen solid. Only plants from the PvZ series were immune. 

Cody, however, could still move slightly. The moment the Ice Shroom exploded, he started struggling violently, breaking free from the ice in just two seconds. He'd read the plant descriptions beforehand – mushroom explosions hit everyone, friend or foe, without discrimination. So, before heading out, he'd specifically eaten a bowl of Laba Porridge. 

[Ingredient Properties: Warm nature, body-warming, cold-repelling. Laba Porridge enhances the user's Cold Resistance by 50%.] 

The effect of his Intermediate Body Enhancement already gave him a significant boost to his cold resistance and strength. With the Porridge's buff, the Ice Shroom's control effect on him was greatly reduced. 

Two seconds was plenty of time for a physically enhanced Cody. Enough time to dash in front of the two frozen villains and unleash three lightning-fast sword strikes. 

One strike sent the Mad Hatter's hat and the strange weapon inside flying. The second and third strikes severed the tendons in Scarecrow's hands, neutralizing his ability to attack. Intermediate Sword Mastery is incredibly precise when cutting through stationary targets, and the frozen duo were essentially defenseless at this point. 

Three strikes later, the ice covering everyone vanished instantly, and everyone unfroze. But now, the latter half of the Ice Shroom's control effect kicked in – Scarecrow and Mad Hatter's bodies were stiff as boards, moving in complete slow motion, while Cody was almost unaffected. 

Scarecrow and Mad Hatter had no fight left in them. From their perspective, Cody was a bizarre, immortal, glowing pumpkin-headed weirdo. Any damage to his body transferred to the pumpkin head, and when the pumpkin head was smashed, a new one would grow, like an endless set of nesting dolls. Plus, he was immune to fear gas and could even blow it away... 

Wait a minute, him blowing it away... did that mean his resistance to the gas was limited? Or maybe this pumpkin monster actually cared about the lives of the ordinary people on the ground? 

"Q-q-quick... g-g-grab... h-h-hostages!" 

"What are you even saying?" Cody watched Scarecrow, whose shouts were now in slow motion, and couldn't help but find it a little funny. He saw Mad Hatter slowly aiming his gun at a security guard on the ground. Cody just kicked the gun away, following up with two more sword strikes to sever his hand tendons as well. 

"Pure intellect villains getting cornered and they're still trying to strategize. Just go to Arkham and let the orderlies slap you around." 

He sheathed his sword, circled behind them, and hit each of them with a knockout blowdart. Last time, he tried mimicking Batman's hand strikes to knock out criminals, but he messed up the timing and couldn't knock Joker out instantly. Joker even chased him into the Red Dragon and set it on fire. This time, he decided to learn his lesson and go straight for the blowdart – fast, effective, and hard to mess up. 

"Gotta make time to learn some unarmed combat skills later," he thought. "At least train specifically on how to knock someone out quickly." 

"Hiss—" 

Just as Scarecrow fell to the ground, a plume of incredibly vibrant green smoke billowed out from around him. Cody took a breath and immediately made his assessment: this fear gas was probably potent enough to be lethal. 

Even with the milk candy still in his mouth, he could feel a tickle in his lungs. 

"You son of a... pretty damn insidious," Cody quickly popped another milk candy into his mouth. "Even though the combat power in this universe's heroes and villains doesn't seem super high, they're all pretty good at being sneaky. If it were anyone else, they'd probably be affected by now." 

In reality, Cody was affected, he was just lucky the milk candy hadn't completely dissolved yet, so the gas didn't take hold. 

Watching the smoke drift away with the wind, Cody felt a little concerned. He specifically checked the other people lying on the ground and saw they weren't showing any further adverse reactions. This meant the gas's killing range was limited in an open space, so Cody decided not to use another Threepeater (referring to a plant that clears effects, though "Trifolium" usually translates to clover, in PvZ it's often the Threepeater or a similar effect-clearing plant like the Plantern) to clear it. 

"Taking down one Scarecrow, one Mad Hatter, two intellect-type super-criminals, with a ton of intel advantage and specific counters... used one Threepeater, one Pumpkin Head, one Ice Shroom, some milk candy..." 

Cody tallied it up. Not too much plant info leaked this fight, and the sun cost was reasonable. Compared to fighting the Joker last time, this was a lot easier. By preventing Scarecrow's fear gas and Mad Hatter's mind control from working, he essentially banned their ultimate moves. Honestly, if that one security guard hadn't been confused and gotten in the way, he probably could have just ended the fight with two knockout blowdarts. 

If Batman had been here, it probably would have been perfect stealth, sudden appearance, three punches and two kicks, and they'd all be down. That sneak attack combat style is just too practical. 

"To hang them up or not to hang them up..." 

Cody was in a deep internal struggle. Logically, each alias should have its own style, and the 'Terror Pumpkin Head' identity shouldn't pick up the bad habit of hanging people. But the thought of hanging two well-known super-criminals butt-naked high up on an Independence Day parade float, touring the entire city... he could barely control his twitching hands. 

"Why are you here?" 

The three-minute countdown on the system panel finished just then. The sound of Batman appeared behind Cody, making him sigh. Looks like Scarecrow and Mad Hatter's butts were safe tonight. 

"Just came out to see the fireworks," he said. "But how can you be sure it's me? What if a pumpkin just became sentient?" 

"You were just muttering about hanging people up." 

"...What kind of knight are you? A species knight?" Cody retorted. "Does hanging people have to mean it was me? That's a stereotype! It's slandering an innocent person! The Perverted Wheelchair Guy has disappeared from the world. Gotham only has one innocent bystander, Cody." 

Batman ignored his denial and said, "I'm taking them back to Arkham. Don't go anywhere yet, you need to give a statement later." 

Cody sighed again. Missing the fireworks tonight, making Commissioner Gordon work overtime... Scarecrow and Mad Hatter were just asking for trouble. They really should be hung up and paraded. 

"What about the people on the ground?" 

"Green pupils, confused consciousness, trapped in fear – that's Scarecrow's gas. It's potent, but it won't last too long. They'll recover in a while." 

As he spoke, Batman frowned slightly. "Strange... why is their body temperature so low? They seem to have slight signs of frostbite too?" 

Cody, who had just removed his pumpkin head, suddenly remembered that the Ice Shroom explosion didn't just control, it also did a bit of damage. But the numbers were usually low, so it was often ignored. 

"Pure accident," he replied. "I'll make up for it. Just need to feed them some juice." 

A moment later, Commissioner Gordon, who was at home watching fireworks and holding his child, answered a phone call. 

"What? Explosion? Gotham Bank? Robbery? Scarecrow and Mad Hatter?" 

His wife Barbara, nearby, sighed helplessly. 

"Justice never takes a vacation..." 

Chapter 120: Everyone Has a Bright Future 

"Age?" 

"24, unemployed." 

"Gender?" 

"Male." 

"Name?" 

"Cody." 

Looking at the still blindingly white lights, Cody lowered his head, pulled a Pocky from the box, and put it melancholically in his mouth. 

Commissioner Gordon sat across the table, lighting a cigarette himself and puffing away sullenly. Smoke billowed between the two men sitting opposite each other; all that was missing were a few bottles of beer on the table. 

"Pop! Bang! Boom!" 

Outside the Gotham City Police Department, dazzling holiday fireworks boomed. Laughter and cheerful voices came from the parade on the street. The two men, in a moment of shared understanding, turned their heads to look out the window, then turned back, feeling even more down. 

Seeing how heavily Commissioner Gordon was smoking, Cody wanted to tell a joke to lighten the mood. 

"Uh, it's really lively outside the police station, haha, like a holiday or something..." 

Commissioner Gordon smoked even harder. 

"Well said," he replied. "Don't say it again next time." 

Cody lowered his head and quietly ate his Pocky. 

After about three to five minutes, Commissioner Gordon finally composed himself, looked up, and asked, 

"How many times have you been in here now?" 

"...Third time." 

"Do you know what kind of people in Gotham City come to the station with this kind of frequency?" 

"...Criminals?" 

"Repeat offenders, the kind of hardened guys from the mob who are used to doing time," Gordon replied. "You're the first ordinary citizen to have their statement taken at the police station three times." 

"Well... that's... good." 

"I really don't get it. Why are you always on the scene every time something major happens? I thought you were just having bad luck for a while, but now... are you sure you weren't deliberately hanging around near the bank?" 

"My money's in there, sir..." 

"That's still no reason to go near it every single day. The bank doesn't exactly have legs to run away." 

"But if it weren't for Batman, the money in the vault almost did grow legs and run off." 

"Cut the act," Commissioner Gordon demanded. "Why exactly were you hanging around there?" 

Cody sighed. Going to the bank to scope it out every day really did cause problems. Commissioner Gordon had gotten to know him and Jason a bit since the last Christmas. Denying it would definitely get him out of the station, but it would also annoy the Commissioner. Honestly, both Cody and Jason really liked the righteous Commissioner. 

"Look, Commissioner Gordon, you probably know I used to be a waiter at the Red Dragon restaurant... and then, I was a banquet server for the Falcone family for a while." 

"Right." 

"So do you know why I stopped working there?" 

"Because they wanted you to get involved in gang wars?" 

"No, because they didn't dare let me keep working there. The Red Dragon restaurant fired me, and then sent me to help out in the kitchen at Maroni's restaurant on Valentine's Day." 

When Gordon heard him mention this, his attention immediately sharpened. He casually followed up with, "Valentine's Day?" 

"Yeah, they said I was a jinx. The Red Dragon got hit by Batman once, Falcone's son got hit by the Holiday Killer once, and after I went back to the Red Dragon, some thugs came and burned the restaurant down... So, they figured they'd just send me out to cause trouble for Maroni." 

"...On Valentine's Day, right after you got to the restaurant, Alberto blew the place up." 

"Yep," Cody sighed. "After that, they were even more afraid to let me come to work. They just gave me money to stay home." 

Commissioner Gordon listened to all this dumbfounded. He had expected Cody to talk about infighting among the gangs, but instead, he was talking about... well, it sounded more like the gangs trying to ward off evil spirits. 

Were they trying to summon something here? 

"So, all in all," Cody shrugged, "after getting fired, I became unemployed. A few days ago, I deposited a sum of money at Gotham Bank, but honestly, I wasn't feeling very secure about it." 

"Because if I really am that unlucky, then my money in Gotham Bank might not be very safe either. Out of worry, I went to hang around near there every day. There was no conspiracy, I just mainly wanted to see if the bank would run into bad luck." 

Commissioner Gordon lit another cigarette and took a deep drag. 

Damn, was Gotham City this weird before? 

"Look, Cody," he said, choosing his words carefully, trying not to sound too hurtful, "maybe in the future... you could visit Harvey's place a little less often. His house just got blown up; it can't handle a second time... Wait, when his house was blown up, did you know him?" 

"?" 

"Cody, don't get me wrong, I don't believe in any of that weird stuff, especially since you're my friend... Anyway, your statement is done. Go on, get out of here." 

"?? But I haven't even said anything..." 

"No need, the suspects have already been caught. And there are still fireworks going off outside. Go watch the fireworks. You don't need to waste any more time at the police station. I authorize it." 

"Holy cow, Jim Gordon, you fu—" 

"Hey, swearing is just unclassy. Now go! Duke! Duke! What are you standing around for? Get this innocent bystander out of here! Make it quick!" 

A few minutes later, Cody stood at the entrance of the Gotham City Police Department and flipped a high middle finger. 

"Jim Gordon, I hope you work overtime all night!" 

Meanwhile, Batman had also finished interrogating the Mad Hatter and the Scarecrow. 

He was quite thankful that Scarecrow's resistance was strong enough today, which allowed him to use a bit of interrogation methods to get information – he had been caught in Scarecrow's trap last Mother's Day and hadn't had a good time. 

Although he tried not to mix personal feelings into interrogations, Scarecrow's screams certainly offset most of the anger in his heart. 

Also, he had to make the scene look like he was the one who had dealt with them, to corroborate Cody's statement – a vigilante whose identity is known is very dangerous. 

Fortunately, when Cody faced the Joker, he was wearing a Santa suit with fake eyebrows and a big beard covering half his face; when he faced the Scarecrow duo, he was wearing a pumpkin mask; and when he was the perverted wheelchair guy for a few days, he wore a black robe. So currently in Gotham City, only Batman knows his true identity. 

Commissioner Gordon didn't ask too many questions when he received the suspects. In fact, he was already used to Batman's violent methods; it would be strange if the criminals he brought back didn't have a few broken bones. 

Everything was settled. Cody collected his temp job reward and went back home to be unemployed; Commissioner Gordon got Scarecrow and Mad Hatter, plus overtime for Independence Day; Batman got more information on Cody and wrote it down in his little notebook – everyone has a bright future. 

In fact, the third person in the golden trio, Harvey Dent, also had some special gains that night. 

"Knock, knock, knock... Mr. Maroni, someone would like to see you." 

"Hmm?" 

Hearing the conversation from the phone, a strange light gleamed in Harvey's eyes. 

"A fish has taken the bait?"