American comic book: After mastering resurrection, I became incredibly popular.

Later, at the Bowers International Hotel.

The hotel building is a typical Gothic Revival building, which was like a royal estate during the Great Depression. The top floor alone was worth tens of millions of US dollars. There is also a helipad on the roof that can be used to park Zeppelin airships. It is guarded by private security inside and out.

Wang Baixi stood outside the revolving door, enduring the stares of the security guards, and thought that it was really unoriginal for the Owl Court to choose such a place as its headquarters.

At that moment, Zatana, who was standing next to him, suddenly smiled and put her arm around his arm in a natural and graceful manner. "Are you ready, Mr. Wang?"

“Ready, Miss Zatana,” Wang Baixi forced a smile.

He was wearing a custom-made dark gray suit that Bruce had lent him, and he had tied the tie himself; his technique wasn't very skillful, but at least it wasn't a complete knot. Zatana had changed out of her dark blue trench coat from the daytime and into a black evening gown, the hem of which fell just two inches above her ankles.

Oh, and there's Cassandra, following behind the two of them. She's wearing a black suit dress and carrying a briefcase that looks like a briefcase but is actually stuffed with miniature surveillance equipment and two smoke grenades.

Her task was to accompany him throughout as his personal assistant, and Batman's exact words were, "Don't let Wang Baixi out of your sight for more than thirty seconds."

As soon as the group entered, the lobby manager recognized Wang Baixi and led the three through the lobby into the private elevator that led directly to the top-floor restaurant within five seconds.

After the elevator doors closed, Wang Baixi straightened his tie in front of the gilded elevator wall, and Zatana turned her head to look at him.

Are you nervous?

"This is nothing compared to holding a meeting in the watchtower."

"Really? I saw you standing at the lobby entrance for almost ten seconds just now."

"That's because I'm observing the building structure, just in case I need to jump out of the window later."

"You really do plan ahead."

As they chatted, the elevator doors dinged open, and a waiter from the Michelin-starred restaurant was already waiting for them at the door. The entire floor of the restaurant had been reserved by the Bowles, and only two people were seated at the long table in the center, which could seat twelve.

Joseph Powers sat in the head seat; he looked to be in his early fifties, and his smile was perfectly measured. Maria, who was about his age, sat to his left, wearing a pearl-white suit, and the sapphire on her necklace shone dazzlingly bright.

“Mr. Wang, welcome, welcome.” Joseph stood up and extended his hand to Wang Baixi. “Mr. Wayne only said that an important representative would be attending on his behalf tonight. I didn’t expect it to be you. You’ve been quite ‘robust’ lately.”

“Mr. Bowles, you flatter me,” Wang Boxi said, shaking his hand with composure. “Mr. Bruce has something come up tonight and can’t get away. He asked me to convey his sincerest apologies to you both.”

"Not at all, Mr. Wang's personal visit is already a great honor." Joseph's smile widened further. "And this is..."

“Please allow me to introduce my lady, Ms. Zatana Zatana.” Wang Baixi stepped aside to let Zatana pass. “I think you two are familiar with Ms. Zatana. She just finished the last stop of her world tour at the Gotham Theatre last night.”

Maria's eyes lit up. "Oh, it's Miss Zatara. I didn't recognize you at first. I saw your performance in Europe last week, and to be honest, I still can't figure out how you disappeared from that water tank."

“It’s a secret.” Zatana smiled as she took Maria’s hand, then released it naturally and took Joseph’s outstretched hand instead. “But since you’re Mrs. Bowles, I can reveal a little detail: it’s not magic, it’s real magic.”

"Miss Zatana is joking."

"I never joke."

Joseph chuckled twice, his gaze lingering on Zatana's face for a fraction of a second longer, before quickly shifting back to Cassandra.

“This is my personal assistant, you can call her Miss Wu,” Wang Baixi introduced before he could ask.

Cassandra nodded slightly.

"Alright, alright." Joseph was clearly not used to this cold attitude, but he didn't say much. He simply gestured for the waiter to pour aperitifs for everyone. "Please be seated, gentlemen."

After everyone was seated, the waiters began serving cold dishes in order. Wang Baixi sat directly opposite Joseph, Zatana sat to his right, and Cassandra sat to his left, slightly behind.

“Mr. Wang, you’ve been quite active within the Wayne Group lately,” Joseph said, cutting the foie gras on his plate.

"I only offered a few immature suggestions."

“Really? A friend of mine who works in the financial audit department of Wayne Enterprises told me that what you suggested wasn’t just a few small suggestions, but a whole reconstruction plan that’s even bigger than Gotham City’s urban planning.” Joseph put a piece of foie gras in his mouth and chewed slowly. “To be honest, I admire your courage, Mr. Wang. Gotham’s business world hasn’t seen another person like you in many years who can directly refute a department head at such a young age in a company’s senior management meeting.”

Ah, so that guy in the financial audit department is your friend.

Wang Baixi picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and gently covered the lower half of his face with the glass. "I was too young and impetuous that time. I shouldn't have embarrassed my senior in front of so many people."

“Youthful vigor is good; what our circle lacks most is young people.” Joseph put down his knife and fork. “But I am indeed curious, Mr. Wayne rarely delegates so much power to an outsider. What is the personal relationship between you two…”

“A partner,” Wang Baixi answered crisply. “Mr. Bruce valued my expertise in certain areas, nothing more.”

"What do you mean by 'certain areas'?"

"It's about cryogenic engineering, and also about underground pipe networks." Wang Baixi put down his wine glass, his gaze calmly meeting Joseph's. "Wayne Group's focus for the next five years is urban infrastructure renovation, and I happen to have some unique insights into these two areas. You know, people often say: do you need to know how to refrigerate to evaluate a refrigerator? Well, coincidentally, I do have some expertise in that area."

“I see,” Joseph smiled with a complicated expression. “In that case, there is a lot of room for cooperation between our two companies.”

Low temperature

“Don’t just focus on business,” Maria chimed in at the opportune moment. “What hobbies does Mr. Wang have besides work? A young man your age wouldn’t be burying himself in writing business plans and reports all day, would he?”

“He has many hobbies,” Zatana teased Wang Baixi before he could finish. “For example, raising birds of prey, collecting bird language translators, and dealing with all sorts of strange and unusual people. Oh, and he can also do magic tricks.”

“Zatana always likes to promote me everywhere, you two don’t need to take it seriously.”

“I’m just telling the truth.” Zatana raised her glass to him.

Joseph watched the interaction between the two, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Miss Zatana and Mr. Wang seem to know each other well. Have you known each other for a long time?"

“Two days,” Wang Baixi said.

“A lifetime.” Zatana spoke almost simultaneously.

After they finished speaking, they glanced at each other, and Cassandra coughed softly beside them.

Wang Baixi immediately realized and added, "She always likes to use exaggerated rhetoric when she speaks."

Joseph and Maria exchanged a glance, which Wang Baixi noticed.

Then, the main course was served.

After the main course was served, the conversation shifted from small talk to formal business cooperation. Joseph began to give a detailed introduction to Bowles Properties' land reserves and development plans in the East End. As Wang Baixi listened, he mentally compared the locations of these plots with the Owl Courthouse locations marked by Joshua.

Every plot of land Joseph mentioned perfectly bypassed the areas where those outposts were located.

How could he have avoided it so perfectly? If you say it was just a coincidence, he simply won't believe it!

“Mr. Bowers,” Wang Baixi suddenly interrupted, “I just looked at the maps you gave me. The land you acquired in the East District is mostly concentrated in the north. There are several vacant plots along the river in the south. Why didn’t you consider acquiring them?”

“The geological conditions underground in the south are quite complex, and the development costs are too high; it will cost a lot of money,” Joseph said with an awkward laugh.

What does "complex geological conditions" mean?

“Mr. Wang, since you know so much about underground pipe networks, you should know that the old mine shafts under that area in the south haven’t been completely backfilled yet, so the pile foundations can’t be driven in, and the risk of building there is too great,” Maria chimed in.

"I see." Wang Baixi nodded slightly. "Then let's focus on your actual situation. We will fully cooperate."

The atmosphere became more relaxed after that. Joseph stopped discussing serious business topics with Wang Baixi, while Wang Baixi turned his attention to the perfectly cooked lamb chop on his plate.

After the waiter cleared away the main course plates, he brought out dessert. Joseph wiped his mouth, said "excuse me," and got up to go to the restroom. Maria turned to Zatana and started talking about magic, from playing cards to escape artistry.

At the same time, Cassandra quietly moved to Wang Baixi's side.

She handed him a note.

Wang Baixi lowered his head and opened the note. On it, written in crooked handwriting, was a line of Chinese characters: He is a ghost.

He looked up at Cassandra and nodded.

When Joseph returned from the restroom, his smile was even brighter than before, clearly indicating that his "request" had received a response from the court.

“Mr. Wang, it was a very pleasant chat today. I will have someone send a formal letter of intent to the Wayne Group next week.” He said, extending his hand to Wang Baixi. “I hope we can have a long-term partnership.”

“Of course, Mr. Bowles.”

“Oh, by the way,” Joseph handed him a business card as a final gesture, “this person should have something in common with you regarding the rebuilding of Gotham.”

Wang Baixi smiled slightly, put the business card in his pocket without looking at it for long, and left side by side with Zatana. When they reached the elevator, the smile on his face finally disappeared.

Cassandra was in charge of protecting the two, so he was the last to enter the elevator and personally pressed the button for the first floor.

She glanced at Wang Baixi and Zatana, feeling very strange. Before she could sort out her emotions, the elevator suddenly stopped.

Inside the small elevator lobby, the red emergency lights flickered with an ominous glow.

"Ah oh."

Chapter 80 Feigning Death

The elevator stopped between the twelfth and eleventh floors, the emergency lights casting a dark red glow on the three people's faces. Wang Baixi pressed the emergency button a few times, but the indicator light on and off remained unresponsive.

"Could it be that someone outside cut off the power to the elevator?" Wang Baixi wondered.

After saying that, he patted the elevator door again. The dull thud from the metal door bounced back and forth in the small space and gradually dissipated.

At the same time, the very air they depended on for survival seemed to be slowly dissipating as well.

Wang Baixi noticed that the fan blades of the ventilation vents inside the elevator had stopped turning, and the temperature inside the elevator was rising at a perceptible rate.

Seriously? Playing this well?

"These guys are so crude," Wang Baixi commented, leaning against the elevator wall with his arms crossed. "I thought they would use more sophisticated methods. Turns out they just locked people in the elevator and suffocated them. They didn't even bother to install a decent mechanism. And they just killed us like that, aren't they afraid of Wayne Group holding them accountable?"

"You still have the mood to give comments?" Zatana glanced at him sideways.

"Assessing the enemy is the first step to defeating them; that's my motto. But speaking of which, can you open the elevator?"

“I’m a magician, not an elevator repairman. My magic can’t fix elevators.” Zatana sighed. “But there is a way to get out.”

"Then please hurry up and get started, Miss Zatana, the air here is getting thinner and thinner."

"What's the rush? If we just leave like this, wouldn't all their elaborate plans have been for nothing?"

Looking at the smile on that beautiful face, Wang Baixi suddenly understood what she wanted to do.

"You mean..."

"Use their plan against them."

Cassandra looked at the two of them from left to right. Although she didn't fully understand what they were saying, she already guessed what was going on.

……

At the hotel's rooftop restaurant, Joseph Bowles glanced at his watch, then took his napkin off his lap, folded it, and placed it on the table.

“It’s almost time,” he said to Maria.