"It should be the Penguin. Although my gang has taken a hit, in all of Gotham, only he has the kind of intelligence network and influence needed. Plus, according to a contingency plan Victor left behind, he's currently at the Penguin's base."
Could the Penguin also be after the Titan formula?
But maybe not—the target could also be Mr. Freeze's cryogenic weapons, or perhaps he wants to use Mr. Freeze's abilities for something else.
As for why Harvey Dent made this call, Hardy could more or less guess.
Whether or not Mr. Freeze is rescued doesn't matter to Harvey Dent, who already has the Titan formula.
But he knows Hardy has been eyeing Mr. Freeze's cryogenic equipment for a long time.
With this opportunity, teaming up with Hardy to defeat the Penguin and rescue Mr. Freeze, then admitting defeat and making peace, would resolve the conflict between them.
Otherwise, Hardy would keep sending people after Harvey Dent, and whenever he was found, Hardy would go after him personally.
In that case, Harvey Dent would never have a chance to rise again.
But if he played his cards right this time, he might be able to reclaim his position as a Gotham crime boss.
"What's the contingency plan Victor left behind?"
Hardy asked.
Harvey Dent replied, "He installed a tracker in his cryo-suit. The signal shows the location is at the Iceberg Lounge."
"You want to storm the Iceberg Lounge with me?"
"Why not? Lately, your Hog United has had quite a few clashes with the Iceberg Lounge. You're strong, but you're worried about destabilizing your foundation and losing power, so you've held back, right? But I've got plenty of good men. If we join forces, the Penguin is no match for us. My people are already gathering at New Mott Street. As soon as you arrive, we'll strike."
"Very well. This time, if you try any tricks, I'll kill you first. Not even Batman or anyone else can stop me. I mean it."
After saying this, Hardy tossed the phone to the accountant.
"Boss, we found the hundred million dollars. It's stored as more than a ton of gold in that warehouse."
The accountant took the phone and reported to Hardy.
Sutter Street wasn't on Hardy's turf, but it was nearby. The accountant just needed to call a subordinate over there to handle it.
Gold?
That's even easier to launder than cash—cash has serial numbers, but gold doesn't.
"Tell the brothers to get ready. There's going to be another big move."
Hardy called out a few names and told the accountant to distribute some Titan formula.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Hardy stopped the accountant.
"Call the Penguin and tell him to send people to check out New Mott Street. There's a surprise waiting."
Hardy smugly rubbed his nose.
He still hadn't gotten enough payback for last time!
As Hardy expected, within ten minutes, the Penguin's men were fighting the Two-Face Gang on New Mott Street.
"Excellent. Now it's our turn to make a move."
With that, Hardy waved his hand, and countless subordinates—
My younger brother drove the modified car, wielding heavy and light firearms, and charged straight toward the Iceberg Lounge.
At this moment, most of Penguin's men were being held off by the Two-Face Gang—making the Iceberg Lounge the weakest it had ever been.
"Goddamn Harvey Dent, I knew you were just someone's pawn!"
Penguin angrily threw down his hat, revealing his bald head with only a few wisps of hair.
"Boss, Hardy is coming at us himself! And this time, there's a flying suit of armor with him! What should we do?"
One of Penguin's lackeys spoke up, a little panicked.
"What are you afraid of?!"
Penguin grabbed the freeze ray gun beside him.
"Use all the Titan serum we got from Victor! No—save a few doses for the big guy!"
"And! Damn it, someone help me put this thing on!"
Penguin cursed as he struggled to put on the cold-resistant suit, but couldn't even fasten the belt.
Boom!
The tall, imposing black iron golem smashed open the doors of the Iceberg Lounge with a single punch, ignoring the hail of bullets and charging in at the front.
Outside the building, a white mechanical figure—like something from the future—hovered in the sky, dropping a few rockets before following in Black Gold's footsteps, darting into the Iceberg Lounge.
Along the way, White Samurai's infrared sensors were running at full capacity, scanning the area for differences in thermal radiation.
Any spot with a significantly different temperature from the surroundings would show a reduced heat signature—likely where Mr. Freeze was hiding.
But… not necessarily.
Hardy continued searching, eventually arriving at what seemed to be a banquet hall in the basement.
"Hello, my dear Mr. Water. Are you here to catch up with me?"
Penguin, wearing Mr. Freeze's cold suit, stood in the center of the hall with his short, comical figure, looking quite ceremonial.
"You know why I'm here."
Hardy , controlling the White Samurai, fired a burst of bullets at Penguin.
But Penguin simply pressed the trigger on the freeze gun, spraying a blast forward and instantly raising a thick, solid wall of ice in front of him, blocking the bullets.
"Hahaha, don't be so hasty, my friend Water. You know, a greedy man like me tends to be a collector. I must have anything that others have and I don't, and even more so anything I'm interested in."
"Right now, there are two empty spots left in my private museum—one for Batman, and the other… for the Puppeteer."
Hardy listened to Penguin's words without answering, instead using the infrared sensors to quickly locate all the ambushers nearby.
About a dozen—not too many.
Beep!
Penguin pressed a remote he pulled from his pocket.
Several side doors of the hall opened, and a group of Titan-enhanced men in full armor charged out.
Hardy couldn't be bothered to tangle with them, firing off a few rockets in all directions while controlling Black Gold to charge forward and smash through the ice wall with a punch.
Penguin immediately raised the freeze gun and fired at Black Gold.
Crack…
The sound of ice forming rang out.
The freeze ray was so fast that, even though Hardy reacted and tried to make Black Gold dodge, one of the golem's hands was still caught and frozen by the ray.
Other parts of Black Gold's surface were also coated with a layer of frost.
The freeze gun was indeed extraordinary.
But this only made Hardy more eager to get his hands on Mr. Freeze's cryogenic technology.
However, Penguin had more tricks up his sleeve.
Seeing that these Titan-enhanced men posed little threat to Hardy, Penguin pressed another button on his remote.