There is no Batman in Gotham City comics.

Chapter 152, Section 49: All Efforts Will Be Rewarded

After the Black Mask's night raid, Hans the Night Watchman was elected as the temporary leader of the Crocodile Gang for his heroic performance.

His first major task after taking power was to gather manpower to aid Qin Wei, a practice consistent with the killer Crocodile Wei Lun's usual style of repaying kindness. The burly men of the Crocodile Gang also inherited the spirit of their former leader; upon hearing Hans's plan, they uttered not a single word of objection.

And now it's the same. Hans told everyone that their Crocodile Tyrant gang representative had protected this Judgment Knight.

Who is in favor and who is against?

No one dared to utter a sound.

For Gotham City, the gathering place might just be a den of iniquity, but for members born into these small gangs, it's no less than another East Side, a home for many.

American gang culture: You can betray your boss and your brothers, but you can never betray the community that raised you.

Only someone like Black Mask Roman, born with a silver spoon in his mouth and who has never experienced the hardships of life, would be so foolish as to provoke the gathering place.

The man, whom Hans had pinned to the ground, was still struggling:

"How's the settlement? Can you guarantee this man's absolute safety? If we don't kill him now, your brothers and friends will be the ones with their necks snapped tomorrow!"

The man's words were clever; under his influence, everyone was reminded of Qin Wei's identity—the ruthless and murderous Judge Knight.

But don't forget that he has more than one identity.

Amidst the shouting and cursing, Qin Wei cleared his throat.

The crowd fell silent instantly.

It wasn't because he had cast some kind of silencing spell; the cough simply evoked memories for many people.

"Is Matchstick Marlon Mr. Marlon?"

In the silence, a gang member asked in a trembling voice.

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd, with gang members scrambling to deduce the true appearance of the Judgment Knight from the glimpses peeking out from under the tattered mask.

"It seems so, it really is Mr. Malone, I recognize that sexy chin."

"No way, he's the leader of that gang of villains, Godfather Malone?"

Most of these guys were former members of the villain gang, and they witnessed Johnny's death and Qin Wei's feat of dragging the second Joker to death with his car.

The story of Oswald shooting down Maronny is too fantastical, with almost no witnesses, but Matchstick Marlon is different.

Countless people witnessed his heroic deeds. In their eyes, Mr. Malone, who avenged his brother and confronted the Joker head-on, is the light of Gotham and deserves the title of Godfather.

As the murmurs subsided, everyone turned their attention to Qin Wei, hoping he would remove his mask and tell them the truth.

Even Gordon and Brock, who were standing nearby, began to show curiosity about their old partner.

"This kid seems to have done something earth-shattering behind our backs. Could he be the villainous gang leader we wanted half a year ago who robbed the whole of Shangdong City?" Brock crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.

"I think it's highly likely that they mostly looted Falcone's properties, and almost every time they managed to escape before we arrived. Among the people I know, besides 'Great Sage and Holy Teacher Ram,' only he could do that."

"Then let's—"

"You don't still want to arrest him, do you? Don't forget we're not police anymore."

Gordon, who had quit smoking for many years, surprisingly asked Brock for a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

On the other side, Qin Wei did not remove his mask to prove his identity, since he looked different from Huochai Malong without makeup.

But he has another way of proving himself.

"Rajir, do you remember that night when we raided Arnold's mansion? You were afraid I'd betray you and run away, so you kept following me and watching me closely." Qin Wei pointed to one of them.

Upon hearing this, the gang member named Rajil lowered his head in shame, wondering if Matchstick Malone was perhaps the most foolish thing he had ever done.

"And Jacob, you joined the gang of villains later. You told me you were laid off and didn't have money to treat your grandmother's illness."

"Yes, sir, I will always remember your kindness in lending me such a large sum of money!"

"And that is—" Qin Wei's finger continued tracing the head, "Oh right, Michael! We've known each other for a long time. I lost so much money to you playing cards, you can't forget me!"

"Of course I remember you, Mr. Malone! I look forward to another exciting game of cards with you!"

After pointing around the circle, no one doubted Qin Wei's identity anymore.

However, problems arose one after another. The Crocodile Gang members were not happy. They came here to support the Judgment Knight, but they did not expect that the Judgment Knight was the same person who killed the assassin Crocodile Wei Lun.

"You damned murderer!"

Hans hadn't changed at all in six months and started cursing at Qin Wei without any mercy.

This shout immediately put them on the opposite side of the villains' gang. Qin Wei's old subordinates all turned their guns on Crocodile Gang, and a considerable number of them chose to stand on Crocodile Gang's side. They couldn't understand why Matchstick Ma Long would change into the clothes of the Judgement Knight to fight crime at night. If he couldn't explain it clearly, then the title of gang godfather couldn't save Ma Long.

Seeing that a dispute was about to break out, Qin Wei waved his hand and stopped everyone.

"I know you have anger and doubt in your hearts about why I chose to wear this outfit."

He paused for a moment and looked around.

"My initial wish was simple: to create a Gotham without conflict. Everyone could earn money and live the life they wanted without having to depend on others."

"And to achieve this goal, order is paramount. But you've also seen what the Gotham police did tonight,"

They have become puppets of politicians and wealthy businessmen. To achieve their goals, a new order must be established, and you are the order maintainers I have chosen.

The entire audience erupted in uproar as Qin Wei finished speaking.

The idea of ​​gangsters becoming the creators of order is utterly absurd. Regardless of how credible such a statement is, even those present didn't believe they could actually do it.

After all, the premise of maintaining order is to abide by order. The gangs have only brought chaos and screams to Gotham, and they have nothing to do with the word "order".

"So you want to emulate Maroni's unified gang?" someone asked.

"Yes!"

Qin Wei then said:

"But as everyone has seen, you are willing to follow 'Matchstick Marlon' not because of a unified program or an unwavering belief, but because his ability is convincing and there is money to be made by following him."

"Therefore, in order to control you, I need cruel methods, such as the Judgment Knights."

"External pressure not only regulates your behavior but also strengthens your cohesion. Think about why you were able to quickly band together and cooperate when the incident happened tonight. On the one hand, it was because Matchstick Marlon integrated the villain gang, and on the other hand, it was because of this hood."

"We often get together to figure out how to deal with this damned Judgment Knight!"

Qin Wei's frank words were indeed infuriating at first, but upon closer examination, it was hard to find any major fault with them.

>