"Boss."
The secretary glanced at the message on his phone and leaned in close to Qingshui.
"That person sent a message. Penguin is dead. He's already sent the head to Rattlesnake, who will personally deliver it to you."
Qingshui's smile grew wider.
It seemed good things came in pairs.
Now, the newly appointed mayor, Hamilton, was his puppet. Even with shallow foundations, a little planning would easily give him significant influence in Gotham's political circles, making it no problem to secure a Gotham City Council seat for himself.
With Penguin dead and the Iceberg Lounge destroyed, the Two-Face Gang was now semi-subservient to Hogg United. And with Hogg United's absolute power, if Harvey Dent still wanted to get by, he'd have to drop the "semi."
On the surface, most of Gotham's underworld would be unified under him.
As for completely unifying Gotham's underworld, that wouldn't happen in a short time.
Gotham City was full of talented individuals and numerous villains, none of whom were easy to deal with. There were countless gangs of all sizes, and no one knew when a powerful character might emerge from some hidden corner.
However, with Qingshui's current strength, he could easily crush most ordinary villains; it would just take time to deal with them one by one.
From now on, in terms of influence in Gotham, perhaps only Wayne Enterprises, deeply embedded in every aspect of Gothamites' lives—from food, clothing, housing, and transportation to medical care and education—could surpass Qingshui.
After the mayor's inauguration speech, Qingshui also attended the subsequent banquet.
Business and political elites from all sectors of Gotham were present, as were the members of the mayor's team he had personally selected for Hamilton.
Qingshui's future plans absolutely required him to build good relationships with these people.
For example…
"Mr. Wayne."
Qingshui sat on the sofa, holding a wine glass, and addressed the tall, handsome man walking towards him.
The latter should have been there when the mayor's inauguration ceremony took place, but he was only just arriving now.
As for why he was so late, it was, of course, due to dealing with the troubles Red Hood had caused.
Of course, Wayne's butler, Alfred, implied that his master had overworked himself last night, toiling until dawn, and then slept until dusk.
Batman had truly been working tirelessly for at least a day and a night without rest. Even though Bruce Wayne had applied extremely skillful makeup, Qingshui, with his Transparent World, could still discern the heavy eye bags.
To others, Mr. Wayne's prolonged exhaustion was surely related to the two beautiful women by his side. Such beastly stamina was enviable.
*"Clap!"*
Bruce Wayne clapped the backsides of the two beautiful women in his arms.
"Go wait in the private room I reserved. After Mr. Watt and I finish our business, I'll come talk to you about our next business deal."
The two women offered Bruce Wayne passionate kisses and obediently withdrew.
They knew the two important figures had matters to discuss. As women accustomed to entertaining these high-society individuals, they were very discreet.
"You're the one behind Jason?"
Whispering the question, Bruce Wayne still wore a smile, taking the other glass of wine Qingshui offered, as if they truly were good business partners.
"Not entirely. You must have found out about my cooperation with Ra's al Ghul. He gave me this, and I just happened to need a good blade to help me with some things."
Qingshui swirled his red wine glass, smiling.
"It was Cobblepot."
"Don't falsely accuse me. How could the death of the esteemed entrepreneur Mr. Cobblepot be related to me?"
Qingshui took a small sip of the expensive red wine and said to Bruce Wayne.
"It really was you."
Bruce Wayne stated with certainty.
Although there was no evidence, how long had Penguin been dead?
Everyone present, from the new mayor Hamilton's inauguration ceremony until this current banquet, couldn't leave. How could anyone have found out about Penguin's death so quickly?
Unless someone was specifically monitoring the situation, or the person who did it sent a message to Qingshui.
"I told you, don't speak carelessly without evidence."
"What you're doing is becoming increasingly dangerous. Many people won't want someone controlling Gotham's darkness, let alone influencing the center of Gotham's power."
Bruce Wayne set down the red wine he hadn't touched.
Qingshui didn't answer directly, but changed the subject.
"Ah, Mr. Wayne, you know, our newly designed conceptual TSL new energy vehicle is sure to have an extremely broad market in the future. If you're willing to cooperate, we could jointly invest in research and development with Wayne Enterprises…"
Because Commissioner Gordon, wearing glasses, was also approaching with a glass of wine.
"Excuse me, Mr. Watt, for interrupting your business discussion with Mr. Wayne, but I have some questions about the new police weapons sponsored by Wayne Enterprises that I'd like to consult Mr. Wayne about. If you don't mind…"
"It's fine, you two talk."
Qingshui raised his glass and toasted Commissioner Gordon.
Gordon also politely clinked glasses with Qingshui, drank it down, and then walked away with Bruce Wayne.
Qingshui smiled, chatting and laughing with a new member of the mayor's team who had just arrived, while simultaneously using his Transparent World ability in conjunction with Airflow Manipulation to eavesdrop on the conversation between Bruce Wayne and Gordon.
"You're right, they have indeed started to make their move, but their target isn't clear yet."
"I know, but they're very cautious. Still, I've already listed a few potential targets and warned them in various ways to be vigilant."
"It would be best if I sent some people to protect them."
"One of them doesn't need it; his strength is enough to handle it."
"Good. Hold on, I need to take a call. Important intel from an informant…"
After seeing off the incoming official from the new mayor's government, Qingshui took a sip of red wine and fell into thought.
Make their move, warn… strength to handle it.
Clearly, that was referring to him.
Bruce Wayne had previously told him that some people didn't want to see the darkness that controlled Gotham, and to be careful.
Meaning, in his opinion, those people had the ability to threaten him.
But with his own strength, as long as he was careful enough, he could handle it.
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Qingshui's mind.
Soon, Qingshui used Transparent World to see Bruce Wayne make an excuse and leave the banquet less than ten minutes before it was scheduled to end.
Batman must be going out again.
"Being a hero is really an exhausting life…"
Qingshui took another sip of red wine, thinking to himself.
Good thing I'm not.
The banquet soon ended, and Qingshui got into a modified armored car with several bodyguards, making a total of three vehicles.
Gotham at night was very dangerous; even Gotham's former richest man, Thomas Wayne, could be killed in an alley.
Although Qingshui prided himself on being immune to ordinary threats, he still couldn't skimp on preparations. The White Knight, for instance, lay quietly in the car's trunk.
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