67-69

Chapter 67: The First Side Quest Appears 

"Man, my dear friend, you really put on some weight these past few days." 

Gotham City. A light snow was falling on Christmas Eve. 

Two men in black suits muttered under their breath as they awkwardly, and seemingly with great effort, hoisted something heavy towards a blue car. 

Thump 

The heavy object was tossed into the car's open trunk. The two men simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. One of them chuckled, "That'll make it sink faster." 

Inside the trunk, the mustachioed corpse in a suit was stiff, his face still frozen in that deranged smile, like he'd laughed himself to death. 

Laughed to death, that's exactly what happened. He had laughed himself to death. 

One of the guys handling the body rubbed his hands together, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. 

Bang! 

A bat crashed down with a roar, the car trunk slammed shut. The two men, who had just been feeling pretty relaxed, were instantly scared stiff, their mouths wide open as they tried to scream— 

But Batman's fists were already flying towards them. 

"Curly? Angel?" 

"Where the hell did you two idiots go?" 

Maroni, cigarette dangling from his lips, kicked open the back door of the restaurant. He was in a foul mood today. As the number two man in Gotham's top mob family, being threatened and interrogated with a gun to his head had really ticked him off. 

And now, the two morons he'd sent to dump the body were dragging their feet. It had been a full ten minutes, and those guys were still nowhere to be seen, no sign of them coming back to report. 

Maroni walked out, his face contorted with rage. The first thing he saw was the blue car parked by the door, and his expression immediately changed. 

That car was supposed to have been sunk in the harbor along with the body, but it hadn't even been driven away yet. 

And his two guys, who were supposed to follow orders, were both sprawled out unconscious in the snow next to the car's trunk. 

Who killed them—wait, their chests are still moving, they're not dead. 

Just then, the restaurant's back door was slammed shut. 

"Maroni." 

The moment he heard that voice, Maroni's pupils contracted sharply. He froze in place for half a second before managing to react. 

"Damn it, I've had enough..." 

He immediately reached into his jacket to grab his gun. The next second, just as expected, the dark, hulking figure grabbed his wrist. A massive force, like an iron clamp, gripped him. With just a slight twist, the revolver Maroni had just pulled out clattered to the ground. 

"That wasn't a smart move for a smart guy like you just now—What happened here tonight?" 

Maroni's hand was turning blue from the vice-like grip. He managed to endure the intense pain and immediately replied, "Some guy, called himself 'The Joker'—came looking for the Holiday Killer." 

"Why?" Batman's face was stern as he let go of his hand. "What's his connection to the Holiday Killer?" 

"Should I know?! He's a freak! Just like you!" Maroni clutched his right hand, which felt like it was about to be crushed, gritting his teeth and snarling, "Since you showed up here, this whole damn city has been overrun by freaks!" 

"Freaks! Freaks, freaks..." 

In the pale snow, only Maroni remained, slumped on the ground clutching his arm, muttering to himself. Batman had already vanished. 

"Can I... see now?" 

Gilda asked tentatively, delicate snowflakes falling on her red winter coat, on her golden hair, and on her iron wheelchair. 

"Of course." The man's voice rang in her ear, and the blindfold over her eyes was removed. 

"Merry Christmas, Gilda." 

Amidst the falling snow, a beautiful house decorated with golden fairy lights, lush green garlands, vibrant red ribbons, and a cap of silver-white snow instantly appeared before her eyes. 

"Wow!" 

Gilda was overjoyed. Unable to suppress her delight, she flew into Harvey's arms like a swallow, hugging him tightly. 

"Whoa, easy there, honey. The doctors want you to take it easy, you really shouldn't get out of the wheelchair." 

"Doctors, what do they know?" Gilda tilted her head and huffed, then looked at the house again. "Our home is fixed already—Harvey, rebuilding must have cost a fortune." 

"We can manage," Harvey chuckled. "It's not like buying a whole new place. Don't worry, honey, I'll work harder." 

Gilda nestled in her husband's embrace, then suddenly felt herself being lifted, which made her let out a surprised cry: "Harvey!" 

Harvey, who had just scooped her up in a princess carry, grinned and stepped through the front door. 

"Welcome home, Mrs. Dent." 

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became a little sweet. Gilda pressed her face close to Harvey's rough, stubbled jaw and softly asked, "Do you think—starting over, in this renovated house—maybe we could try for a baby again?" 

"Second try?" Harvey looked down, bringing his lips close to Gilda's face. "Let's see..." 

They kissed, and naturally, went upstairs, into the room, and closed the door. 

Perhaps, before long, the Dent family would welcome a new little life. 

However, Mr. Dent didn't know that two people had previously been inside his house. 

Cody was currently staring blankly at the system panel. 

Not long ago, holding the crystal ball model, he had gone out onto the street just like he always did when doing missions. Only this time, before leaving, he took out his phone and laptop and disabled their signal jamming functions. 

Driving the car, following the mission route for ten minutes, the further he went, the more Cody felt something was kinda weird. This mission location... it seemed, possibly, maybe not quite right? 

So he directly opened the map and confirmed the delivery destination again—it was clearly in the Diamond District, at the Roman's private apartment. 

"Seriously, dude..." Cody couldn't keep it together. "Are you even human? The person they wanna kill this time is related to the Falcone family. You're gonna tell me this mission is fine, huh? Do you even know how many armed bodyguards are in the Roman's apartment?" 

However, the system remained silent, only persistently pointing towards the mission destination. 

"Listen, putting the delivery point in a place like that, my little body seriously can't handle it. Even though the Falcone family totally deserves whatever they get, I'm still a five-star citizen, right?" 

"Can we please switch the delivery location? At least somewhere far away from the Falcones?" 

Surprisingly, as Cody was complaining, the system actually popped up a second prompt. 

"This gig has an optional side quest two—Estimated basic difficulty for this side quest is medium, upper limit unknown; Basic reward 'Crystal Ball' remains unchanged, an additional basic reward of 'Harvey Dent's Friendship' is added; Secondary reward 'Intermediate Physical Enhancement,' valued at ten thousand US dollars asset points; Special reward: Unlock Save Point Relocation function." 

"Mission Destination: Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent's Home" 

"Mission Objective: Confront a supercriminal and survive." 

"Note: This mission involves the origin story of the supercriminal 'Two-Face,' please choose carefully." 

Chapter 68: A Difficult Choice 

The base rewards stayed the same: Harvey Dent's friendship, plus a physical enhancement worth one hundred thousand dollars in asset points, and finally, the save file rewind function. 

The rewards for this mission branch, while maybe not super generous, could at least be called dreamy. Normally, this would be the critical moment for the protagonist to make a huge leap and really shine; it would be his highlight reel, seizing opportunity with great determination, wisdom, and luck, transforming into a dragon soaring into the sea; it would be the first step in the legendary rise of a powerful figure— 

"Sorry, can't do it. See ya." 

From the moment Cody saw the mission branch, he hesitated for about half a second, then decisively slammed on the brakes and zipped back the way he came. 

"C'mon, seriously? Look at those mission rewards, what even are those? Is this something I can just stumble into right now?" 

"It's not like I haven't seen [*****] Horror or [[****]] Paradise, okay? Is that a medium-difficulty mission? That's a massive gold mine that could crush me straight up! Risk and reward are supposed to be equal for this gig, so based on these rewards, who the heck am I supposed to be facing? Is it really Two-Face?" 

"If I don't do it, plenty of other people will! Peace out!" 

"This branch selection is time-limited. Confirm refusal?" 

"Anyway, absolutely no way I'm working this job. At least not today. I'll just make some porridge at the soup kitchen, help the kids out, and scrape together some asset points that way..." 

Handling the apartment packed with the Penguin's goons was manageable, but the weird vibe this branch mission gave off turned the risk ceiling and potential consequences of both options into unknowns. Cody weighed the pros and cons. Since he wasn't suffering from insomnia, missing out on a music box wasn't really a big deal. 

Going to make porridge for the kids on Christmas Day would actually let him earn more asset points against the clock. 

Although he was thinking that, he didn't immediately refuse. Instead, he clicked on the mission brief—after all, just taking a look to get some info wouldn't hurt. 

"A Little Light on Christmas Day" 

Mission Description: When did Gotham City's White Knight, Harvey Dent, truly die? And when did the paranoid, unyielding two-faced personality really emerge? Nobody knows—or perhaps, Harvey Dent had been dying all along. 

Dying every time members of the Falcone family walked free; 

Dying at the hands of every colleague in the prosecutor's office who colluded with the mob; 

Dying with every sigh of helplessness after years of effort against Gotham City's dark network; 

Dying in the rage of his family being bombed and his home destroyed, unable to make the Irish mob pay; 

Dying every minute, every second, pouring his heart and soul into this city, yet seeing no hope. 

Harvey Dent died on the battlefield, charging forward for Gotham; and Two-Face emerged every time Harvey was disappointed in Gotham. 

Note: Named on a stormy, blustery Tuesday, married on a grim and terrifying Wednesday, fell ill on a mild and gentle Thursday, condition worsened on a bright and beautiful Friday, died on a joyful and brilliant Saturday, buried on a dry and scorching Sunday. 

Status: Uncompleted (0/1) 

Rewards: Mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, not repeated here. 

Branch Exclusive Reward: Light for the White Knight 

"......" Cody sighed, inwardly cursing himself for looking at this darn mission brief. 

"Prosecutor Dent, you really are a White Knight, a great person, a noble person..." he thought silently, "but I'm sorry, my abilities are pretty limited. The difficulty of this mission is seriously not something I can handle." 

I already helped him once, Cody repeated in his mind as he sped along. I already helped him once, I already helped him once... Batman couldn't stop him from becoming Two-Face in countless worlds—so what makes you think I could? 

... 

"Cody! You're back! That was fast!" 

Jason's voice, from way off, jolted Cody out of his thoughts in the car. The kid was wearing a little red Santa hat, holding a handgun, and sprinted over, looking really happy. That enthusiastic energy even slightly eased Cody's heavy worries. 

Wait a minute, a gun? 

"My god, who the heck gave you a gun! Put that thing down, fast!" 

"It's a model Sergeant Gordon gave me! He even said that when I grow up, I'll definitely become a great police officer who punishes evil and promotes good!" 

Cody looked at Jason, who was tilting his head back with a proud expression, and subconsciously reached out and patted his shoulder. Right now, there wasn't a hint of the future, unrestrained Red Hood in Jason; he was more like a child with dreams in his heart. 

"Well, you gotta work hard. When I was a kid, I also told my mom I wanted to be a scientist." 

"What happened then?" 

"Later I found out scientists don't get much time to mess around." 

"What about a police officer?" 

"Justice doesn't take holidays." 

"Now I suddenly kinda don't want to be a police officer..." 

Teasing Jason lightened Cody's mood a bit. He went back to the pot, took the wooden spoon from the volunteer's hand, and continued stirring. 

"Seriously, thank you all for being willing to spend Christmas with the kids here." 

"No trouble at all, no trouble." The volunteer waved a hand. "You've been cooking the porridge the whole time, Mr. Harvey donated money for their winter clothes and party food. We're just helping out a little, it's nothing." 

Cody's smile froze slightly when he heard that. 

"Oh, speaking of Mr. Harvey, he even came by the soup kitchen today." 

Bringing up that topic, Jason next to him suddenly slapped his forehead, as if remembering something, and started fumbling around on himself, explaining to Cody as he did. 

"He left a letter for you, but you were giving porridge to the other kids at the time, so he just left the letter with me. I almost forgot the letter, sorry..." 

Cody casually comforted Jason, but his mind wasn't calm. Why would Harvey Dent suddenly leave him a letter? On the surface, their interactions should be very few. 

He opened the envelope and took out a letter sheet and a key from inside. 

"To Santa Claus, 

The other day, I heard about a Santa Claus who set up a soup kitchen in Gotham's East End, serving porridge to homeless children. Out of curiosity, I looked into it a bit and learned that this Santa Claus's temporary residence had burned down, leaving him homeless. 

My wife and I discussed it and decided to do something for this kind Santa Claus. We happened to have some insurance money from property damage, so we rented a small house. It's located in the Otisburg district, for one year. 

Please accept this as a return gift from the children to Santa Claus. We sincerely hope you will not refuse. If you are willing, we would also like to invite you to our home to spend Christmas Day this year. 

Note: In Gotham, kindness that asks for nothing in return is truly precious beyond compare. It unexpectedly reminded me of a mysterious friend, so I looked into it a little bit—the car shop owner said your cross is very beautiful. Please rest assured, I will keep quiet. 

Your friend forever, Harvey Dent" 

Chapter 69: It's Him, It's Definitely Him 

The moment he saw that letter, a scene exploded in Cody's mind like a bolt of lightning. 

"Warning: Time remaining to accept this branch is less than five minutes. Final branch intelligence has been automatically delivered." 

... 

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!" 

A large, grayish-green hand covered in corpse spots grabbed the man's wrinkled, dirty suit. Powerful, sinewy muscles lifted him straight up with immense force. 

The face of the startled man was unclear, his head completely wrapped in white bandages, densely wound until only his eyes and mouth were visible. Even so, people could still easily see the abnormality on his left half through the exposed bits of skin. 

A bloodshot, crimson eyeball, completely missing eyelids, and the slightly bloody, gruesome, ugly, and terrifying half of the skin exposed around the eye. 

It looked like the marks left by burns or severe corrosion. 

Oddly, the right half of the man's face was completely unharmed, looking entirely like a normal person's. 

"Solomon Grundy! Born on a Monday!" 

That large, grayish-green hand pressed his head and half his body directly into the sewage pooling in the sewer. Cold, murky, smelly wastewater submerged his entire body. Any normal person would struggle desperately at this point. 

But he didn't. 

He held his breath silently, not making a sound. Only after the large hand withdrew did he lift his bandaged head. Foul, murky water dripped from the bandages, from beneath the bandages, from all over his body, making a dripping sound. 

This scene, in this moment, was a hellish, desperate sight for anyone. 

But he seemed oblivious. That crimson eyeball turned, looking at Grundy with interest, and recited the line from the nursery rhyme. 

"Christened on a rainy Tuesday?" 

"Huh... ugh... ugh..." 

Grundy, who was about to continue attacking, suddenly froze when he heard the rhyme, looking somewhat confused. 

The bandaged man leaned against the rusty pipe in the sewer and slowly stood up, still chanting the nursery rhyme. 

"Married on a gloomy Wednesday, took sick on a mild and gentle Thursday." 

Listening to the nursery rhyme, Grundy suddenly became unusually quiet. He silently walked to a corner of the sewer and sat down to listen to the man recite the somewhat familiar tune. 

Since he had consciousness, his memory was a barren blank, seemingly only retaining this one strange tune. So, he took the name of this tune as his own name. 

"What comes next?" 

"Grew worse on a bright and beautiful Friday, died on a joyful and brilliant Saturday." 

"Buried on a dry and scorching Sunday." 

"Is that what you went through? Did you die and come back to life?" 

The man's hoarse tone sounded like he was talking to Grundy, or like a dreamlike murmur. 

"Can a person... have two lives?" 

Grundy remained silent. He didn't understand what a birthday was, couldn't possibly go to a church for baptism, had never been married, wouldn't get sick, couldn't be critically ill, and didn't know what death was. Perhaps, he would never find someone to bury him. 

Solomon Grundy that night didn't remember any of this. 

But Harvey Dent that night had already experienced it all— 

"You really think you got me? Harvey Dent! You think you got me?!" 

Maroni, yelling in the courtroom, was cursing at Harvey Dent, who had fallen to the ground, covering his face. 

And at this very moment, the White Knight was completely buried by this city. 

... 

"Intelligence delivery complete." 

"...Looks like I gotta go this time, huh?" 

"You can choose to disable this mission prompt." 

"Disable my grandma," Cody sighed. "If I don't go this time, isn't my conscience going to be poking me in the back for the rest of my life?" 

... 

"Vroom—" 

"Huh?" 

Jason at the soup kitchen heard the familiar sound of a car engine starting and jogged out of the tent. Seeing Cody starting the car, he scratched his head in confusion. 

"Cody! Didn't you just get back?" 

"It's Christmas Eve tonight. There's a knight waiting for me to give him a peaceful night's sleep." 

Cody winked at him. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon." 

Half an hour before Harvey Dent got home. 

"Screech—!" 

Brakes squealed outside the door, followed by rapid footsteps. 

"Just confirming, we can restore the scene, right?" 

"You can purchase the 'One-Click Cleanup and Restore' service from the System Shop. Corresponding asset points will be deducted based on the extent of building damage to replicate damaged replacements, erase traces, and restore the scene." 

"Okay, how many points do I have left?" 

"41327 points." 

"Great. Looks like I haven't used up too many miscellaneous asset points here and there." 

The sound went silent. After a few seconds, there was a faint clicking sound from the front door of Harvey's house. 

"Creak—" 

With the lock cylinder turning, the front door was gently twisted open. The entire process was practically silent. 

Intermediate Lockpicking Mastery cost me three thousand dollars in asset points, Cody thought. This skill better be useful again in the future, or I'm gonna be out a lot of cash. 

He tiptoed into the house, gently closed the door, but didn't turn on the lights. He only used an infrared night vision camera to carefully scan the interior of the room. The moment he lowered his head, he saw a set of footprints deep inside the room—very, very light footprints that a normal person would definitely miss. 

These weren't Harvey Dent's tracks, nor did they look much like his wife's. Cody, with his Intermediate Tracking Mastery, quickly identified the problem and immediately raised his guard. 

This meant that the mission target, that supervillain, must have already entered Harvey's room. 

"Looks like the ambush plan is out the window," Cody thought. 

He softened his steps and followed the footprints, going all the way into the small study with a fireplace. But there, he saw a figure wearing a red Santa hat decorating a Christmas tree. 

Deliberately breaking into Harvey Dent's house and even finishing an entire Christmas tree—ah, if Gordon saw this, he'd know where to go to get back the stolen Christmas presents. 

Cody's footsteps were very, very light, but this man must have heard him. However, he was still casually fiddling with the Christmas tree, apparently not taking the guy behind him seriously. 

"Oh, my dear fellow, it seems half a little light bulb on this Christmas tree isn't lighting up." 

He chuckled and turned his head sideways. Cody clearly saw his pale face, dark red lips, and his signature wicked smile. 

And when he saw Cody, a look of wild joy instantly appeared on his face. 

"Santa Claus?!! Ha! This Christmas is getting more and more interesting!" 

"Son of a—" At this moment, Cody, standing opposite him, felt his vision go black. 

"It's the Joker, of course..."