American comics: Starting in Arkham, a system-based Batman

Chapter 108 The Port Gangs and the Claws Attending the Dinner

Although Gordon himself was unaware of this.

Zheng En planted the bug while he was talking to Batman. The bug followed Gordon from the evidence room to his office and then grew legs to fix itself under the table.

Portable spider-shaped eavesdropping device

[A stereoscopic listening device, about one cubic centimeter in size, with six miniature supports on the back, allowing for brief movement before being magnetically attached and fixed in place.]

It's a very ordinary white card, which Zheng En once thought was something the system used to fill the card pool. It doesn't have the same characteristics as items with a source, but it's not completely useless either.

Jung Eun drew a lot of these items when he was drawing cards, but he rarely used them and usually left them to gather dust in his backpack. However, they came in handy for Batman, and quite frequently.

"If you help someone without their knowledge, can that be considered accomplice?" Dick pondered, stroking his chin. Jung Eun, however, didn't care. "Whatever, the listening device is installed anyway."

And there's more than one.

Besides the ones used in the office, corresponding listening devices and trackers were also sewn into the inside of Rob's coat. This is something that Jung Eun's gadgets could not do; the portable spider-shaped listening device is only suitable for fixed locations, but Batman would do it himself.

Rob usually sends his clothes to his regular laundromat for cleaning, which gives Batman the opportunity to take action. The listening devices and trackers he uses are all invented or modified by himself according to the application requirements.

Commercially available eavesdropping devices and locators have limited battery life and concealment, and are easily targeted, so he prefers to use products he makes himself.

Unlike Iron Man, whose character is similar, Batman's passion for invention and high intelligence are impressive, but few people realize that Batman is actually a very capable inventor. For Batman, invention is just one aspect of his high intelligence.

He wasn't particularly passionate about technology; he invented various items simply to meet his own needs.

Just like the portable spider-shaped listening device, Batman could make it himself. He hadn't thought of it before simply because he hadn't encountered the right environment and was missing an idea. But when Jung Eun pulled it out, the idea was activated.

Zheng En pulled out three or four portable spider-shaped listening devices. Two of them had a clear destination: one went to Rob's office, and the other appeared in the bat cave under Wayne Manor.

When Batman first met Gordon, he didn't actually intend to install anything in the office.

First, Gordon is one of them; second, he has already planted a seed in Gordon's heart.

But when it was later discovered that Rob had sent Gordon to investigate the case and chosen other people to form the protection team, the bugging devices in the office and on Rob's body became necessary.

"—Chief, are we going to the private villa in Falcone for dinner tonight?" the man, presumably his deputy, asked uncertainly. Rob's attitude was the complete opposite: "Yes, of course we're going!"

His resolute tone puzzled his deputy, "But the person who murdered the mayor hasn't been found yet."

He knew Rob thought Batman was behind it, but Batman was currently working against Falcone, and he thought Rob would change his mind because of that.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Batman really did this, then I need to find a way to deal with him even more."

After the initial shock, anger actually calmed Rob down. "I can't have the protection team with me all the time."

Putting aside the numerous private interactions he had with various individuals that needed to be kept secret, the fact that he was under police protection for extended periods was embarrassing enough. He wasn't sure if Batman was responsible for the mayor's death, but Batman posed the greatest danger to him.

If someone else committed the crime, it would be virtually impossible for them to carry out another crime under such protection.

But Batman—Batman is different.

He has to find a way to kill Batman before Batman kills him.

"I've already had Gordon and the other officers investigate the things that are public," Rob said grimly. "As for the things that are private—"

That's something only gangsters do.

The information obtained from the bugging device led to a change in the original plan.

"Looks like we'll have to split up tonight," Zheng En said with a helpless shrug.

Batman stared into deep thought as the computer extracted key information from a multitude of audio recordings.

They intercepted information about the Maroni family's purchase of a large quantity of weapons. Smuggling guns and ammunition has always been a major source of profit among the gang's many illegal activities. Although it is far less profitable than addictive drugs like marijuana, it is still a business that cannot be underestimated.

After all, making money is important, but being able to keep it is even more important.

More than 80 percent of Gotham's arms smuggling is the business of the Falcone family. Although the Maroni family has purchased a large number of arms, they do not have the routes or customers to smuggle and sell them.

This means they weren't trying to compete with the Romans for business, but rather intended to absorb the profits internally.

This arms deal will bring their war with the Falcone family to a fever pitch. If the Maroni family successfully acquires the arms, their strength will increase significantly. After the Falcone family recovers, they will inevitably catch up, and the number of casualties will rise sharply once again.

The two families are currently holding back their fighting, since a fierce battle would affect the businesses in their respective territories.

Nobody wants to jeopardize their profits, but recently Maroni has perhaps been at a disadvantage for too long, making overly aggressive decisions and his subordinates have become noticeably more agitated.

In terms of heritage, the Maroni family was already inferior to the Falcone family, and if they continued to be worn down like this, they would only face certain death.

That's probably why Maroni decided to take a gamble.

Such a large influx of weaponry into the battlefield could either severely weaken the Falcone family, allowing them to press their advantage, or allow the Falcone family to withstand the bombardment and suppress the enemy with even stronger firepower, ultimately annihilating the Maroni family.

He could only gamble his entire fortune in one go.

Although he later learned that other gangs were lurking nearby, he had no choice. He could only choose to be swallowed up by the Falcone family or to risk his life fighting the Romans, intimidating other families, and becoming the new leader of the gang.

The arms shipment is scheduled to arrive in Gotham tonight via Port Miller. Batman and Jung were originally going to go there to stop the deal and, incidentally, send both sides to jail. They don't need to take them all down; they just need to delay them until the GCPD arrives.

This shipment of weapons cost the Maroni family a lot of money. After sending everyone present to the police station, they didn't even need to bother Harvey to put them in jail normally, because they no longer had the money or energy to bribe the judge.

The Falcone family and other gangs would seize the opportunity to divide up Maronny's funds and territory. Without any further action, their members would scatter like birds in the forest.

However, once the news came out from Rob's side, the two had to split up.

"I'll go to the dinner party, you go to Miller Port." Batman made a quick decision. "I'm better at infiltration; I might be able to gather some intelligence at the dinner party."

"And," Jung Eun cheerfully raised her hand, "my current combat strength is higher than yours."

While he might not necessarily defeat Batman—because he doesn't know how many gadgets Batman will pull out or what Plan Bs he'll use against him—in terms of direct combat and endurance, with the Mad Diamond, he's far superior to Bruce Wayne, who is just a mortal, in clearing out mobs.

He was sitting in his office chair in the Batcave, not far away from Dick, who was idly clicking on his screen with the mouse.

When the other person saw Bruce arrive, they pressed down on the table and turned their chair around, flipping themselves upside down.

"Bruce, tonight's been so busy, the two of you alone aren't enough!"

Bruce: "Yes."

Dick's eyes widened instantly, and he looked at Bruce, who walked up to the computer desk, with great excitement. Bruce sat down and uttered the rest of his sentence, "So Alfred will come down to help."

"Huh?" Dick deflated instantly. "Don't do this to Bruce. You'll need me."

Bruce remained unmoved: "My actions require secrecy; you'll increase the chances of me being discovered."

"Then can I go fight instead?"

He opened his eyes wide and looked at Zheng En expectantly.

Jung Eun:

'

He silently avoided Dick's gaze.

"Don't cause trouble, it'll only be more dangerous there." Bruce typed furiously on the keyboard. "I'm training you so that you'll have the ability to protect yourself when danger comes, instead of recklessly putting yourself in a dangerous situation."

"But, Bruce—"

'

"No buts, there's nothing you can do to help here."

Zheng En suddenly felt awkward, like he was visiting someone's house and saw parents scolding their children. He felt that the Bat Family's parenting was not a topic he could interfere with, so he sneaked upstairs.

Dick was very unwilling. When he tried to find Jung Eun, he found that she was gone. He crossed his arms and glared at Bruce in anger, but then he caught a glimpse of the computer that had been left aside.

There are several computers operating in the Batcave. Bruce uses the largest one, but there are smaller ones he can use as well.

"If I can find important clues, then Bruce will have no reason to say he can't help," Bruce thought.

With that thought in mind, Dick moved to the small computer desk next to him.

Zheng En was unaware that the father and son bats were secretly competing with each other. Although he was temporarily staying at Wayne Manor, there were still some things at the boarding school that he needed to handle.

He doesn't have high requirements for where he lives; houses in the East District and dormitories on campus are just places to stay.

The reason he moved to Wayne Manor was simple: he was afraid that Batman might be keeping secret information from him.

Although the other party had agreed to cooperate, Zheng En was also afraid that Bruce would send him on night patrol and then investigate alone. It wasn't that he thought Bruce would break his promise, but information is subject to delays, and these delays could easily develop into dramatic coincidences.

Just like Nightwing's location, Brodhaven, which is only ten minutes away from Gotham, he always arrives a step too late when things happen. He missed Batman's bromance and Stephanie's death.

Jung Eun knew it was necessary for the plot of the comic, but he just hated this kind of drama.

As night fell, he returned to Wayne Manor.

Alfred's cooking was excellent. Although he was British, he cooked French food, and this, combined with his years of experience serving the Wayne family, meant that his dinners were of chef-level quality.

However, apart from Jung Eun, the other two didn't seem to enjoy themselves properly.

After wolfing down his food, Dick dusted himself off and ran upstairs. Bruce was even faster, and Dick chased after him up the stairs.

The elevator in the Batcave only leads to a secret door in Bruce's study; they were both going to the same place.

Watching the two figures disappear around the corner of the stairs, Alfred sighed and turned to Zheng En, "I'm glad that at least you're willing to appreciate the food and enjoy a good meal."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll lose even the joy of cooking."

After finishing dinner under Alfred's watchful eye, Jung Eun quickly slipped away.

As a model young man with socialist core values, he really couldn't stand having an elderly person watching him eat. Although he could understand that this was the professional ethics of an English butler, he just felt uncomfortable.

We took the elevator down into the Bat Cave through a hidden door, and as soon as the elevator doors opened, we heard Dick shouting.

"Bruce, Jung Eun, you two should probably take a look at this!"

He pulled up a video recording. "Wasn't Rob supposed to be going to a dinner party at Falcone's private villa? I hacked into that road and the nearby surveillance cameras."

Jung Eun asked in surprise, "You can do this too?"

Dick straightened his back: "Bruce taught me."

"Look at this." He opened the video, and in the middle of the seven or eight-second video, a dark figure flashed by in the corner.

It looked like some kind of bird was flying through the woods, but when Dick paused and zoomed in on the screenshot, the true form of the shadowy figure was revealed on the screen.

"This is... a claw?"

It was difficult for Zheng En to identify the person; when the screenshot was enlarged, there was only a blurry patch of color, but it was clear that it should be a person.

"It should be," Dick analyzed. "I initially thought it was an animal, but after comparing it to the surrounding sizes, I realized it's too big. If it were an animal, it would have to be at least 1.8 meters tall."

"I can't think of any other humanoid creature capable of moving at high speeds in this environment besides those with claws."

Zheng En glanced at Bruce, who was now dressed in a bat costume. Bruce subconsciously tapped the table. "We need to switch."

The situation on Rob's side has escalated from observation and defense to assassination and silencing, and with Claws making an appearance, it seems that Jung Eun is more suitable to deal with it.

"clear."

He knew this himself, which is why he looked at Bruce. Although he was a little worried that Bruce might be bedridden for a while after dealing with so many gang members on his own, after looking at the map, he found that the distance between Miller Harbor and the villa was only about ten minutes' drive. He had the bamboo dragonfly to use, so he could get there even faster.

"The two sides aren't far apart. Remember to call me if you can't handle it."