Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 525 Why don't you just kill him?

The Vought International's investigations in New York City were virtually ubiquitous.

For a superhero company like this, the resources at its disposal are enormous, as Homelander previously mentioned: cameras, New York traffic records, citizen databases, and criminal databases.
Over the years, Walter has used both coercion and enticement, granting himself excessive authority under the banner of "protecting citizens and protecting New York." A significant portion of New York City residents genuinely believed Walter's promises and placed their trust in him on par with that of the NYPD, and even security agencies such as the CIA and FBI.

As Walter's massive hands meticulously explored every street and alley of New York, the snakes and rats underground naturally caught wind of it. The Butcher and Breastfeeding did nothing but quietly watch Walter's futile search operation.

"When do you think those idiots will realize they've gone in the wrong direction?"

"We'll probably only realize how it is after we've finished everything we need to do."

The butcher chuckled: "Ma Zhaodi is much more cunning than me. He has Walter chasing after a fake identity, a fake license plate, and a car that has already been dealt with. It will take at least ten days to half a month to investigate."

“I think it will take more than ten days or half a month. If he handles the aftermath cleanly enough, those people might be able to keep investigating.”

While the two were exchanging a few words, the news started playing on TV. It was the latest news about Homelander and Maeve, and Superman maintaining order in New York, discovering a terrorist stronghold and fighting bravely. Although all those shining figures were dead, the citizens of New York didn't feel any sympathy for them; most were applauding.

Only a small number of people expressed doubts: "Superman was also involved in this operation, and he never kills people. Why are all these terrorists dead? Did he also go on a killing spree?"

But Vought consistently refused to answer these kinds of questions—just kidding, they had finally managed to pass the bill that gave superheroes the authority to kill criminals when enforcing the law, and if they were to go through the trouble of cultivating a persona of not killing now, the public relations troubles they would face in the future would pile up like mountains.

As for Clark, he didn't explain it. He wasn't interested in creating a persona or anything like that. After carrying out a few more missions, the citizens would naturally learn about his style of doing things.

"Speaking of which, how did Ma Zhaodi and the others get there?"

Breast milk rubbed her chin: "Taking a plane is definitely out of the question, but if we go by boat, Walter will find out, right?"

"Who knows? That guy isn't exactly normal either; he might have some kind of teleportation portal or something."

"What is this? A portal?!"

Franky pushed and pulled the doorknob in his hand in surprise. The door kept closing, but the scenery inside remained unchanged—it was still an extremely spacious, enclosed space.

"It's not a portal, it's just a safe house—go in."

Ma Zhaodi was too lazy to waste words with him, so he pushed him through the door. Ximiko followed obediently, her eyes sparkling.

After recovering for a while at the stronghold, the ferocious side she had developed from being tortured and abused gradually faded away, and she regained the personality of a normal young girl, becoming much more cheerful, and occasionally a smile would appear on her face.

Frankie was probably overjoyed by her change, but Ma Zhaodi was not as optimistic. Such an experience could not be forgotten with a laugh; the scars would remain deep in her soul, and the impact would last a lifetime.

"Woo! Woo--!"

Upon entering, Franky suddenly heard a strange noise. He looked in the direction of the sound and found a person lying there, bound hand and foot, their mouth gagged. The person was emaciated, with dull eyes and an extremely haggard appearance, resembling one of the unfortunate victims imprisoned and tortured in a horror movie.

However, there were no external injuries on his body, and he did not seem to have been abused. His haggard appearance was purely a mental state. His body was just a little thin, not to the point of being skin and bones or malnourished.

Upon seeing Franky, his dull eyes immediately shone with an astonishing light, and he struggled to wriggle his body, making whimpering noises, as he crawled toward Franky's location.

It was clear that he really wanted to be saved, to the point that his thinking was somewhat unclear. He didn't even bother to confirm Franky's identity before asking him for help—or perhaps he was just trying his luck out of desperation.

The situation is already this bad, can it get any worse?

"Huh? What's up with this guy?"

Franky turned to look at Ma Zhaodi: "He looks Asian. You arrested him? Who is he?"

Kimiko's reaction was quite different from Franky's. She took two steps forward, looked closely at the man's face, and her eyes suddenly blazed with a wild, murderous rage.

Franky was startled. He noticed that the man's emotions were even more agitated the moment he saw Kimiko. He desperately tried to crawl back, his whimpering sounding pitiful, as if he just wanted to get as far away as possible.

"He is one of the members of Shining Glory."

Ma Zhaodi reached out and pressed down on Kimiko. At this moment, she once again revealed the terrifying expression she had in the basement cell, as fierce and cruel as a wild beast: "Kimiko, I know you are angry, but we can't kill him. This person needs to be kept alive. He can prove the connection between the Water Corporation and Shining Glory, so he can be considered one of the witnesses."

Franky immediately understood the situation, but he didn't help Ma Zhaodi persuade Kimiko. He knew she must be feeling very upset.

Kimiko was still agitated, but she managed to control her impulse—she glared angrily at Ma Zhaodi, and if she didn't know she couldn't beat him, she would have definitely started fighting right now.

“You need to think carefully. Walter and Shining Radiance are the culprits who made you who you are now,” Ma Zhaodi advised. “Killing him will make it much harder to deal with Walter later; but if we keep him alive, it will be much easier to settle scores after Walter is dealt with.”

Kimiko fell into thought.

Ma Zhaodi walked straight up to the man and ripped the cloth off his mouth.

“Joseph Aquino.” He took out a candy. “It’s time to replenish your nutrition. This time it’s not insect powder bread. I feel that kind of food is a bit too inhumane, so I specially made an upgraded version for you.”

"This time, the food rations are Shiwei soft candies. Don't worry, the ingredients are all fruits, vegetables and grains, not real Shiwei candies. Moreover, they melt in your mouth and there will be no chewing problems."

Terrified, Aquino huddled in the corner, trembling all over. His toothless mouth struggled to close, but he couldn't stop Ma Zhaodi's movements.

"Here, have some candy."

(End of this chapter)