I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Furthermore, this man named Joseph did not resort to illegal or disorderly conduct simply because he needed money and was desperate.

Although this is very common in Gotham.

He was a good man, a good man who deeply loved his wife.

Depp decided to help the poor man through this difficult time, saying, "The ring's cut is superb, but unfortunately the diamond's clarity isn't very high, so..."

Joseph lowered his head upon hearing this, his eyes filled with even greater despair. He murmured, "So that's how it is... Then, sir, how much can it sell for?"

Joseph sighed inwardly. If the money from the sale was too little, he would have to focus on curing his wife's illness first and put the issue of childbirth and pregnancy on hold.

I'm sorry, child... Joseph apologized in his heart to his unborn child.

"So... I mean, how much money do you need?" Depp asked, looking helplessly at Joseph who had interrupted him, before finishing the sentence.

"What?" Joseph said in disbelief.

Depp repeated, "I mean, whatever your wife needs for medical treatment, hospitalization, and pregnancy, that's how much I'll accept this ring for."

Upon hearing this, Joseph covered his face in surprise and burst into tears.

“You are truly the kindest person I have ever met!” Joseph sobbed. “Just twenty thousand… no, ten thousand dollars will be enough, absolutely enough.”

Someone spent a million dollars to buy a fake porcelain vase just to spite someone, without even blinking an eye.

Some people could save the lives of their wife and child with just ten thousand dollars, but no matter how hard they work, they can't raise that amount.

Depp suddenly felt that all of this was both normal and absurd, even somewhat ridiculous.

He turned around and took out five stacks of US dollars from the safe, along with two copies of the pawn agreement, and stuffed them into Joseph's hands.

“Here is fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Joseph.”

"The other document is a pawn agreement, which states that since I believe this ring is of great significance to you, you can redeem your ring at any time in the future with $50,000."

"The agreement will take effect after you sign it. The pen is on your right."

Looking at the money and pawn agreement in his hand, Joseph felt that everything that had happened today was so unreal. He said to Depp:

"Are you... an angel sent by God?"

Upon hearing this shameful praise, Depp immediately took back the signed pawn agreement, shoved a business card at the other party, and dismissed him.

"Alright, alright, men, stop being so mushy. You should go back and be with your wife; she must miss you terribly!"

After sending the man, who had regained hope, out of the antique shop, Depp locked the door and resumed making his high-tech mask.

Joseph, standing outside the door, clutched the black plastic bag containing $50,000 tightly to his chest, glanced around suspiciously, and then strode quickly toward his home.

Along the way, he would occasionally look back at Depp's Antique Shop, feeling as if the entire shop was shining with a sacred light.

Chapter 16 The Uninvited Guest (Part 2)

Selena Kyle, a woman as elegant, beautiful, and mysterious as a cat.

Some say she came from the slums of Gotham, the Isle of Helplessness; others say he came from an ancient, fallen noble family.

However, no one really cares about her background.

Because when a woman is that beautiful, she can easily access the city's high society.

After all, no one would refuse to have a beautiful lady, as dazzling as a star, attend their party.

She gradually packaged herself as a wealthy woman passionate about philanthropy.

But Selena Kyle scoffed at these high-society folks, believing them to be the real maggots and vampires of the city.

Therefore, she never minded taking money from these guys, which is why she frequently mingled with high society and attended banquets.

Even cats always scout out a spot before taking any action.

Her destination today was an antique shop located on the border of Naihe Island, which she had graciously not visited for almost two months.

“Open an antique shop on Naihe Island?” Selena’s eyes were full of mockery. “It’s nothing more than trying to swindle these poor people out of their possessions.”

In fact, Selena's idea was not wrong. Before Depp traveled through time, the main way this shop made a profit was by buying valuable items from the residents of Naihe Island at extremely low prices, either as heirlooms or stolen, and then reselling them to wealthy people in the main city.

Before this operation, she had been observing the shop for some time, and it seemed that the shop had not been open for business for the past three weeks.

"Maybe the vampire shop owner took the money and went on vacation. It's a good time to collect rent."

Selena's tight leather outfit accentuated her curvaceous figure. She pulled down the goggles on her cat mask, nimbly climbed onto the roof of the antique shop, and quietly slipped into the house through a side window on the second floor.

She moved with light steps, as silently as a cat.

She walked easily to the store and warehouse on the first floor. This wasn't the first time Selena had come to this store to steal things; she knew the layout of the rooms and the arrangement of valuables by heart.

After moving aside those obviously fake and shabby items one by one, Selena was surprised to find that there wasn't a single genuine item left in the store!

"Damn shop owner, how long has it been since you stocked up on good stuff?" Selena thought to herself. "Could it be that this owner has had a change of heart and is no longer buying cheap goods from the residents of Naihe Island?"

After glancing at the numerous counterfeit goods she had swept aside, she immediately dismissed the idea that the shop owner had suddenly had a change of heart.

Walking up to the safe, Selena took out two wires, and five seconds later, with a "click," the safe was opened.

Contrary to Selena's expectations, the safe did not contain five stacks of banknotes; instead, it contained only a single diamond ring.

Selena held up the ring and took a small flashlight from her waist, shining it on the diamond at the top of the ring.

The clarity is average, but... the cutting technique is impeccable.

One quick glance and it's clear this thing isn't worth much.

Just then, two small, glowing orbs appeared in the darkness not far away.

Selena held her breath, put her hands behind her back, gripped the whip, and prepared to strike at any moment.

In the darkness, the two orbs of light drifted slightly up and down, getting closer and closer.

Finally, a black and white cat with asymmetrical fur around its mouth lazily emerged from the darkness.

It looked at Selena curiously, as if wondering when a woman had entered its home.

Selena breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the visitor was a cat.

For Selena, there is no creature that feels more familiar than a cat.

She has a natural affinity for cats, and cats will also develop a liking for her and even obey her commands.

Selena casually tossed the worthless ring back into the safe and swayed as she walked toward the cat in front of her.

"Sweetie, tell me where the most valuable item is kept in this store?"

Selena possesses the ability to communicate with cats, and in past experiences, her words seem to have an unknown magic that makes cats obey her commands.

This always works.

The cat in front of her seemed to understand her words, its eyes shifting as if it were pondering, "This woman asked me where the most valuable thing in my house is?"

Then... "Meow!!!!!!!!!!"

A heart-wrenching meow left Selena stunned.

This little guy actually disobeyed her orders; this is the first time since his debut!

At the same time, a sexy male voice sounded in Selena's ear: "Miss Cat, do you have something to sell? Or have you taken a fancy to an antique you'd like to buy?"

Depp, wearing pajamas, slowly placed the Mirror of Introduction over his eye sockets.

Selena Kyle

Selena looked up at the incredibly charming man in front of her, momentarily lost in thought.

However, she quickly came to her senses and said, "I have nothing to sell, and I'm not interested in the counterfeit goods you have here."

After saying that, she casually tossed the huge blue-and-white porcelain vase next to her at Depp and turned to run away.

Depp easily caught the porcelain bottle and placed it on the ground, then took out a double-barreled shotgun and pointed it at Catwoman in front of him.

"Stop right there, I really don't want to blow this beautiful lady's head off."

Selena Kyle stood there, looking at the dark muzzle of the gun. She didn't know how good Depp was at shooting, nor was she sure if he would actually shoot if she made any further moves.

The two were at an impasse for a moment.

"Now, hand over everything you stole from my shop, one by one, or you're not leaving!"

Even if it's Catwoman, Depp wouldn't want her to steal even a single penny from him!

"I've already told you, I have no interest in the counterfeit goods here!"

Selena's voice suddenly turned sweet and seductive, "If you don't believe me, you can search me yourself."

He personally searched the man's body... Depp looked at the man's physique under his tight-fitting clothes and his mind wandered.

In that moment of distraction, Selena flung her hand off the whip.

The black whip moved as nimbly as a living venomous snake, flinging the double-barreled shotgun from Depp's hand.

She then ran towards the gate, intending to escape, but was blocked by Gou Dan'er, who was already waiting at the door.

Upon seeing Gou Dan'er, Selena paused for a moment. She instinctively felt that the cat in front of her was extremely dangerous, even several times more dangerous than the man behind her.

This road is blocked!

Depp reacted instantly, striding forward and engaging in a fight with Catwoman, who was being blocked by Eddie Redmayne.

As soon as they clashed, he felt that Selena was like a cat—agile, swift, and extremely flexible!

Selena's flexibility is beyond human capabilities. Although she is constantly outmatched by Depp in terms of fighting skills, she manages to dodge attacks from bizarre angles.

The two traded blows, and although Depp had the offensive advantage, neither could gain the upper hand in the short term.

It must be said that Depp's physical training during this period has been very effective; if it were three weeks ago, he would definitely not have been able to suppress Catwoman.

Suddenly, Selena frowned, her nose twitched slightly, and she sniffed hard.

"I think we should call a ceasefire first; something evil is coming!"

Depp was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. Something dirty? Gotham is haunted?!

The next second, when Depp saw the burly shadow with two pointed ears emerge from the doorway, he knew what the filth Selena was talking about was.

The two immediately stopped fighting, and Depp returned to the front desk and sat up straight.

Selena hid in the space under the front desk, put her finger to her lips, and made a "shh" gesture to Depp.