The moment Jude saw the letter, a certain scene exploded in his mind like a thunderbolt.
SYSTEM WARNING
Remaining access time for this branch: Less than 5 minutes. Final branch information auto-released.
A blue-grey hand with corpse spots grabbed the man's wrinkled, dirty suit. Powerful muscles lifted him effortlessly.
The terrified man's face was barely visible. His head was wrapped in white bandages, so densely wrapped that only his eyes and mouth showed through. Even so, people could easily see the abnormality on his left side through the little exposed skin.
Red eyeball covered in bloodshot veins. Eyelids and lashes completely gone. Bloody, ugly, creepy skin around the eye socket.
Burns. Or severe corrosion.
Strangely, the right half of his face remained intact. Completely normal.
"Solomon Grundy! Born on a Monday!"
The big blue-grey hand pressed his head and half his body directly into sewer water. Cold, turbid, foul-smelling sewage submerged his entire body. Any normal person would struggle desperately.
He held his breath silently. Without a word. Only after the hand withdrew did he raise his bandaged head. Filthy sewage dripped from bandages, under bandages, all over his body, making wet pattering sounds.
This situation was a desperate hellscape for anyone.
But he seemed unaware. His scarlet eyeball turned, looked at Grundy with interest, and recited lines from a nursery rhyme.
"Christened on Tuesday!?"
Grundy, who'd been about to continue, suddenly froze in place. Became confused hearing the ballad.
The bandaged man held a rusty water pipe and slowly stood. Still reciting.
"Married on Wednesday. Fell ill on Thursday."
Grundy, listening to the nursery rhyme, became unusually quiet. Walked silently to a corner of the sewer. Sat down and listened to the man reciting this somewhat familiar tune.
Since regaining consciousness, his memory had been barren blankness. Only this strange tune remained. So, he'd taken the name of this tune as his own.
"Worse on a Friday. Dead on Saturday."
"Buried on Sunday."
"Is this what happened to you? You died and came back to life?"
The man's hoarse voice sounded like he was talking to Grundy. Or mumbling in a dream.
"Can a person live twice?"
Grundy remained silent. He didn't understand birthdays. Couldn't go to church for baptism. Had never married. Would never get sick. Couldn't be critically ill. Didn't know what death was. Perhaps he'd never wait for someone to bury him.
Solomon Grundy could not remember any of this.
But Harvey Dent had already experienced it all.
"You really think you've got me?! Harvey Dent! You think you've got me?!"
Maroni screaming in the courtroom. Cursing at Harvey Dent who'd collapsed to the ground, hands covering his face.
It was at this moment the White Knight was completely buried by this city.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Intelligence released.
Jude stared at the vision fading from his mind.
"We have to go this time, don't we?"
SYSTEM RESPONSE
You can choose to block this task prompt.
"I'll block your grandmother." Jude sighed. "If I don't go this time, won't my conscience stab me in the spine for the rest of my life?"
Jason heard the familiar sound of a car starting from the soup kitchen. He trotted out and saw Jude behind the wheel. Scratched his head in confusion.
"Jude! Didn't you just come back?"
"Today is Christmas Eve. There's a knight waiting for me to give him a good night's sleep."
Jude winked. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
Half an hour before Harvey Dent arrived home.
Brake sounds outside the door. Then footsteps.
"Let me confirm. We can reconstruct the scene afterward, right?"
SYSTEM RESPONSE
You can purchase 'One-Click Cleaning and Restoration' service. Asset points deducted based on building damage extent. Points create replacement structures, erase traces, restore scene.
"Okay. How many points do I have left?"
CURRENT ASSET POINTS: $41,327
"Very good. Seems I don't waste many points on miscellaneous things."
Silence fell. After several seconds, a slight creaking sound came from Harvey's front door.
The lock core turned. The door opened gently. The whole process nearly silent.
Intermediate Lockpicking Mastery cost three thousand asset points. Jude thought this skill better be useful in the future, or he'd lose money on the investment.
He tiptoed inside and closed the door softly. Didn't turn on lights. Instead used infrared night vision to carefully scan the room's interior.
As he looked down, he saw footprints deep in the house. Very light footprints most people would never notice.
Not Harvey Dent's footprints. Didn't look like his wife's either.
Jude, possessing Intermediate Tracking Mastery, quickly determined something was wrong. Immediately became alert.
This meant the mission target—the super criminal—had already entered Harvey's house.
So much for ambushing in advance, Jude thought.
He walked lightly along the footprints. Entered a small study with a fireplace.
Saw a figure wearing a red Santa hat decorating a Christmas tree.
The intruder had deliberately broken into Harvey Dent's house and assembled an entire Christmas tree. If Gordon saw this, he'd know exactly where to recover all those stolen Christmas gifts.
Jude's footsteps were very light, but the man must have heard them. However, he continued fiddling with the tree nonchalantly, as if he didn't take the person behind him seriously at all.
"Oh, my dear boy." The voice was theatrical. Amused. "It seems one of the little lights on the Christmas tree isn't lighting up properly."
He turned his head with a smile.
Jude could clearly see his pale face. Dark red lips. That signature evil grin.
When he saw Jude, ecstatic delight appeared on his features.
"Santa Claus?! Ha! This Christmas is getting more and more interesting!"
"Damn it." Jude's eyes went dark with dread.
Of course it's the Joker.
CURRENT STATUS
Asset Points: $41,327
Skills Acquired:
Basic Driving Proficiency
Basic Firearms Proficiency
Intermediate English Proficiency
Intermediate Stealth Mastery
Intermediate Tracking Mastery
Intermediate Lockpicking Mastery
Advanced Wheelchair Driving Proficiency
Advanced Culinary Mastery
Items in Inventory:
Modified Electric Wheelchair
Demon-Repelling Pumpkin Lantern
Halloween Sans Pumpkin Head
Horn of Plenty
Protective Cross Necklace (9/9 charges)
Surveillance Equipment (Laptop + Bug)
Save Point (20/20 reads, Drake's destroyed apartment)