Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 567 Choice
Ma Zhaodi then went to see Shen Hai again.

Of course, they didn't meet openly during the day; the chosen time was at night—the members of the Black Robe Squad treated it as a day off, since there really wasn't anything to do.

It's midnight. There are no clouds tonight, and the moonlight is very clear.

The water in the dolphinarium rippled gently, and the cool, silvery light spilled from the glass walls, splashing up beautiful, tiny specks of light in the pool.

Shen Hai stood by the pool with a strange expression on his face. Although there were many dolphins making soft, high-pitched calls in the pool, he did not respond and just waited there quietly.

"Coming to the dolphinarium in the middle of the night, hasn't the CIA given you any trouble?"

The masked man's voice came from behind, but Deep Sea was only slightly surprised—the masked man had appeared in the same way last time, and he suspected that the other party might be a superhuman.

I just can't figure out how he can understand dolphin language.

But such things are no longer important now, so he simply stopped thinking about them.

“I came to the dolphinarium just because I thought you would show up tonight. As for the CIA, they have already contacted me. As Vought’s superhuman, they instinctively want to keep me under surveillance.”

"but?"

“But after they asked, they found out that I was nothing in Waterley.” Deep Sea replied, “A commodity of little value, a multi-faceted role with only function and no meaning, a tool for Waterley’s political correctness show. In any case, I have nothing to do with Waterley’s deep-seated filth—I haven’t even committed any crimes, at most I’m just putting on a show on TV.”

"No? Is that possible?"

“One-sided infringement is of course just a crime, but in reality, many people will choose to ask me for compensation afterward, and a small number of people will choose to ask me for a huge amount of compensation—and then everyone is even.”

Where is the starlight?

"I couldn't even touch her that day."

"What a pity, I thought you'd at least be going to spend a few years in jail."

"I'm sorry, but I'm even cleaner than the Invisible Man. At least I don't peep or trespass, and my habit of communicating with aquatic creatures isn't a crime."

Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow. In the past, Shenhai would have kept such matters a closely guarded secret.

After Homelander's demise and his departure from Vought, it seems like the spineless are starting to harden.

"Let's change the subject—I have fulfilled my promise to you, not only providing you with an opportunity to save all the dolphins, but also causing long-term damage to Oceania Marine Park—Oceania Marine Park may not close down after this incident, but it will most likely close the dolphin aquarium, and it will not dare to be too careless in the breeding of other fish."

The masked man looked at the dolphins in the pool and said in a calm tone: "Sometimes the storm of public opinion has really passed, and sometimes it just seems to have passed; everyone has a set of old grievances in their heart. They don't think about them normally, but when they encounter certain events that trigger their memories, their emotions and memories will resurface. At that time, they usually settle both old and new grievances together."

“I know,” Deep Sea replied. “The dolphins that were replaced at Oceania Ocean Park haven’t been found yet, but they’re probably just hidden. The park’s owner is stupid, greedy, and cowardly; he won’t just kill or release them.”

“That’s your problem. I’ve already done what I promised.” Shenhai didn’t refute, but instead said, “You didn’t tell me about the second half of your plan back then.”

“You’re just a coward, not stupid. When this moment comes, you’ll naturally remember what we agreed on.”

The masked man raised his head, his masked face revealing no change in emotion: "Isn't that right? Even if you didn't have this thought when Barrett made the arrangements for you, you should have realized the moment you spoke at the press conference—this is the opportunity you've been waiting for."

"A simple trade-off, a choice made from the heart—the plan was born from your ideas, and of course, it must be completed by your own hands, so that it can be said to have a beginning and an end."

"Of course you can say what Barrett wants you to say at the press conference, or you can pretend to be stupid and come to me afterwards and say that you didn't understand the meaning—it's all deception, except one is only deceiving others, and the other is deceiving yourself. You've always done it, and it's painful, remember?"

The deep sea was silent for a moment, then its gaze fell upon the dolphins in the pool.

Suddenly, I remembered a crayfish from the seafood shop.

“You’re right. If I really want to save those dolphins, I have to face this opportunity squarely—people who don’t even want to look at the options properly will never find the right answer.”

"Besides, the choice is indeed simple, there are only two paths: either I continue to be Walter's dog and continue to be a superhero star; or I throw off Walter's leash, give up my current fame and fortune, and from now on just be myself."

“Exactly.” Ghost Face agreed, “There are few things in the world that are perfect. You’ve fooled yourself this time, but there will always be a next time and the time after that that that you’ll be forced to make choices again. If you don’t have the determination to pay the price, it means you don’t really want to save those dolphins, but rather that you think everything Walter provides for you is the most important thing.”

Shenhai asked, "If that's the case, you wouldn't have come tonight, would you?"

The masked man didn't answer the question; he simply walked towards the gate, waving his hand as his black robe shimmered in the moonlight.

“I’m here tonight just to see things through. I don’t need you to do anything, and you don’t need to help me with anything. By the way, now that you’ve straightened up, you’ve finally become much more like a human being. Remember to be a truly good person from now on.”

“Not just a good guy, but a hero.” Deep Sea corrected, “I just left Vought, but I’m still a superhero.”

"So inspiring? What's the truth?"

"To be honest, I've been a hero for so many years." Deep Sea scratched his head: "If you asked me to do something else, I really wouldn't know what to do."

"If that's the case, then it's not bad."

The masked man's voice faded into the night wind.

The following day, Deepsea officially completed his departure from Walter, and the New York Police Department announced its involvement in the investigation. Ten hours later, the dozen or so dolphins that had been replaced were found in the ocean.

This incident had a significant impact on both Vought and Oceania. Vought, whose stock price had already plummeted due to Homelander's collapse, CIA arrests and investigations, and rumors about Compound V, was dealt another heavy blow. If it weren't for focusing all its energy on the destroyed experimental base and Ryan's abduction, Deepsea's departure would never have been so swift and decisive.

But none of that matters to Ma Zhaodi anymore; he only cares about two things now.

(End of this chapter)