Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 511: Why Do More and More Side Quests Appear the More You Clear Them?
The butcher's negotiations proceeded faster than expected.

As he opened the door, hung up his coat, and walked back to the table, Ma Zhaodi happened to bring the pot of red wine stewed beef to the table—the last dish of the day.

"How was the conversation?"

Ma Zhaodi lifted the lids of the tempura, fried rice, and winter melon soup—the fried rice and winter melon soup were for himself. A single dish of red wine braised beef would be a bit too simple to eat with rice, and he didn't want to take away Kimiko's tempura, so he simply made himself some fried rice.

"It went pretty well."

The butcher's expression remained unchanged: "High salaries, investigation fees for everyone, private office floor, security, compensation clauses, legal protection. Absolutely no problem, she agreed to everything."

“Her?” Ma Zhaodi caught the key phrase: “CIA or FBI?”

“CIA Deputy Director Susan Rainer.”

The butcher replied, "We used to have some connections."

“I can understand.” Ma Zhaodi nodded. “It’s not normal for someone like you not to have a few friends who are purely friends through Ludo.”

“I see, you have a habit of referring to playing X as Flying Chess.” Franky shook his head: “That’s really a twisted sense of humor.”

"I'm trying to be considerate of the child's feelings; you can understand anyway."

"In short," Butcher emphasized, "the CIA has disliked Walter for a long time, so she was lenient with the conditions on that list."

Ma Zhaodi nodded without speaking, while Franky and Breast Milk also looked at the Butcher.

They are all waiting.

Seeing that the three men's expressions didn't change, the butcher remained silent for two seconds.

“Stop brewing up stories,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “I can tell even with my toes that you’re targeting Walter because of a personal grudge. If you ask Franky and the others about your situation, you’ll know what motivates you to fight them to the death.”

"Those things on the list are just extras for you, right?"

"."

After a moment of silence, the butcher said to Ma Zhaodi, "That's right, I demand that they issue a formal statement that Homelander will be charged to the fullest extent permitted by law."

"Very reasonable."

Ma Zhaodi scooped up a bowl of winter melon soup and placed it in front of him: "But it's also difficult."

"I asked her, 'Are you fucking scared?'"

The butcher said coldly, "She told me she was fucking terrified because Homelander really had the ability to storm into New York City and kill tens of thousands of people."

That's not wrong.

Ma Zhaodi ladled another bowl of soup for Ximiko, who was standing next to him. The rice in her bowl was white rice, which she had requested herself.

"Normally, negotiations should end at this point, but you've seen a new breakthrough, haven't you?"

"Superman."

The butcher clenched his fist: "I told him we've partnered with Superman."

"With allies who can keep Homelander in check, the CIA can confidently send all of Vought's superheroes to jail—but they will certainly have concerns about Clark's abilities and stance, after all, the last superpowered person who looked like a god was Homelander."

Ma Zhaodi thought for a moment: "The CIA wants you to act as a go-between and make contact with Superman?"

The butcher added, "They said they'd give me an answer once the contact was made, and I need your help."

"You've always hated superhumans, but now you have to deal with them to get revenge. You must be feeling terrible."

Ma Zhaodi shook his head: "Don't just stand there, eat first."

He called out that dinner was served, and then picked up his bowl and started eating.

After all, food is the most important thing for people. However, none of the people at the table touched their chopsticks.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I wouldn't help?"

The atmosphere at the table relaxed a little, and everyone reached for their utensils to start eating.

Ma Zhaodi continued, "Don't expect me to comfort you. Asking for help isn't shameful, and Clark isn't a bad guy. The reason you're suffering so much right now is because of your own prejudice and affectation. The only advice I can give you is to have principles."

The butcher fell silent. Even if he knew the other person was right, he wouldn't admit it; he was as stubborn as a donkey.

"Ahem, the contact with the CIA was straightforward, but the evidence is still lacking, right?"

Seeing that the atmosphere at the dinner table seemed to be getting a little tense again, Breast Milk stepped in to smooth things over: "As long as the investigation goes smoothly tomorrow, Madeline and Homelander will have to obediently go to court, right?"

"That's generally the case."

Franky suddenly interjected, "But there might be more to our investigation than just this."

"Is there anything else I forgot?"

"Kimiko, she has a younger brother here."

"What's the matter?"

The others stopped using their chopsticks and knives and forks and looked at Franky.

“I learned this from my conversation with her just now. Her parents are indeed Japanese and taught her Japanese, but she wasn’t born in Japan. She grew up in a seaside village with a moon and palm trees.”

“The Philippines.” Ma Zhaodi lowered his head and shoveled another mouthful of rice. “A Filipino of Japanese descent, if she hadn’t gone through connections, she probably would have had a Filipino household registration.”

"They didn't live there for very long, and then the village was massacred, and neither of their parents survived."

Ma Zhaodi put down his chopsticks; today's meal had been quite eventful.

"She and her brother were abducted by Shining Radiance and forcibly joined the organization, where they lived until adulthood. Eventually, she was taken away to be used as a test subject, but her brother is still in that organization, and we don't know what happened to him now."

"What is this 'shining light'?"

Ma Zhaodi asked, "Terrorist organization?"

"That's right, the Shining Glory Liberation Army Regiment, but why would Vought be involved with such a foreign terrorist organization? And even provide them with Compound V?"

Breast milk frowned: "Could it be that the group of people in the basement weren't thugs Walter hired? Are they all terrorists?"

"It's endless, it's impossible to finish digging it all out."

Ma Zhaodi's lips twitched: "I find it hard to imagine how much more dirt Vought Company has up its sleeve."

Franky replied, "Anyway, the situation is basically clear now. I want to help her find her brother and then help them go home."

Shirley snorted coldly from the side, but did not express any objection.

"There's always this feeling of doing the main quests, but the more side quests you clear, the more complicated they become."

Ma Zhaodi scratched his head: "If the Vought Corporation hadn't acted so quickly, those Shining Glory members in Chinatown probably wouldn't have had time to be killed and silenced. Maybe we could find out where Kimiko's brother is through them."

"Then we need to hurry up."

"It's not us, it's me."

Ma Zhaodi replied, "No one will notice me if I sneak around alone. You coming with me will only increase the risk."

"What about Samaria?"

"What? What should we do? Why not just blackmail them with dirt on them for information?"

(End of this chapter)