socalfunplaces Chapter 109 Chaos
Chapter 109 Chaos
"Dude, you might have to let me see the details."
Looking at Gordon, Li Wei also felt a surge of doubt.
But based solely on his account, there was far too little useful information, and Li Wei was unable to make any effective judgments.
"Oh, man, look how incredibly busy I am."
Gordon chuckled self-deprecatingly and tapped his head lightly.
"Why don't you take a look at the surveillance footage first? Maybe you can find some details that I missed."
Gordon said, turning the monitor toward Levi and gesturing for him to see for himself.
Li Wei sat down next to Gordon and looked at the monitor screen.
In the surveillance footage, He Mang and Gao Le sat quietly on the bed, their eyes devoid of any expression.
Judging from their expressions, Li Wei knew that they were probably contacting other people through the system.
However, this state did not last long, and the two soon regained their senses and their eyes became clear again.
However, after the two regained their senses, they changed from their usual composure and instead looked somewhat exasperated.
The two were stunned for a moment, and then began to frantically slam into the wall.
The force was so great that even through the surveillance camera, Li Wei could feel that they had used all their strength.
However, as Li Wei had specifically instructed beforehand, the rooms where the two of them were located had been specially padded.
Therefore, despite their best efforts, they were unable to inflict even the slightest harm on themselves.
He even sank into the padded wall because he used too much force.
After banging their heads against the wall for a while without any effect, the two of them fell into a dazed state again.
However, He Mang and Gao Le, who had just entered the system panel, were anything but happy.
They originally thought that at worst they would die and then start over.
After all, in this attempt, they discovered that Batman did not find them immediately.
Whatever the reason, they felt they had at least a better chance of winning.
But before they could even rejoice, they were locked up in Arkham Asylum.
They hadn't taken it seriously at first, thinking that at worst they would just die.
After being locked in Arkham, just as they were about to quit the game, they received a system notification.
The message was simple: the two of them were in a special state, and if they were to log off forcibly, they would not be able to enter the instance again.
The system's notification undoubtedly shocked the two of them, followed by intense anger.
Although they had been forced to leave before, it was only because they wanted to change to a better identity.
But this time, he was forcibly detained and couldn't even log off, which was a first for him.
They dared not log off at all, after experiencing the benefits of increased reputation, they didn't want to miss any dungeons.
After figuring out this crucial point, the two frantically banged their heads against the wall, attempting suicide.
However, due to Li Wei's special favors, the two of them were unable to do so.
At this moment, both of them recalled Li Wei's words and felt an overwhelming surge of anger.
"He Mang, what do we do now?"
Gao Le sat on the bed, his eyes vacant and unfocused.
If you don't look closely, you might mistake him for a lifelike human doll.
"What can we do? We can't just give up on this dungeon. If there's really no other way, we can only wait..."
He Mang sighed, feeling a pang of regret for making an enemy of Batman.
The thought of losing so much prestige made He Mang even more distressed.
"Are we just going to let this go like this? I'm not willing to accept it!"
Gao Le's heart was already filled with anger, and he couldn't stop his emotions from churning when he thought of what Li Wei had said.
"No... perhaps we have other ideas..."
After thinking for a moment, Gao Le slowly typed out the following line in the chat interface with He Mang.
"What method?"
Upon hearing Gao Le's words, He Mang was immediately excited.
"Perhaps... we can find someone. I believe that if the price is right, someone will definitely be willing to come to Arkham and release us..."
"This method is good, I think it'll work, let's find someone to take a look right away."
It wasn't that the two hadn't considered having their players rescue them, but they had already heard about Arkham's defenses.
Sending their rabble over would probably be of no use.
After much deliberation, the two decided that finding other players would probably be more effective.
After the two finished discussing, Gao Le started shouting in the public chat channel.
【ShenTu ALe】: "ShenTu Guild has issued a special mission. Interested friends can message me privately."
"The Divine Path Guild will reward you handsomely if you complete the mission!"
Gao Le sent out the simple recruitment information three times in a row.
He had barely sent out the message when players started commenting in the public chat.
[Building Materials Brother Wang]: "Don't trust the guys from the Shen Tu Guild. Players have fallen for their tricks before, and their fates are still unknown!"
【Riding a Pig to Watch the Sunset】: "I agree with the comment above. The guys from the Divine Path Guild are no good. Everyone should keep their eyes open!"
[Slaughtering Pigs Without a Knife]: "Although I'm not exactly a saint, I still have to speak up. Those guys from the Divine Path Guild are ruthless; everyone be careful!"
...As more and more players spoke out, everyone began to boycott the ShenTu guild.
A few players initially approached Gao Le with a "let's give it a try" attitude.
However, following the outcry from a large number of players, these players simply disappeared without a trace.
Looking at the chorus of voices denouncing the Shen Tu Guild on the public screen, Li Wei couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, buddy, have someone keep an eye on these two guys, just make sure they don't die."
Levi turned the monitor back to Gordon and smiled at him.
"They're both done for now, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Relax, buddy."
After hearing Li Wei's words, Gordon finally felt relieved.
For some reason, Li Wei's words, though simple, had a magical power to convince people.
"Okay, buddy, I'm relieved to hear that."
Gordon smiled at Li Wei, then closed his laptop.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure those two live well, I won't give them the slightest chance!"
...
Gotham Police Department mornings are always shrouded in a lingering gloom, much like the city's perpetually cloudy sky, so oppressive it's hard to breathe.
The incandescent lights in the office area emitted a low hum, their pale light falling on the desks covered with a thin layer of dust, making the creases on the edges of the documents even more clearly visible.
Li Wei sat by the window, wearing a neatly pressed dark gray suit.
He wore a black tie around his neck, and his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing his sleek wrists.
This is the standard attire for Gotham Police Department consultants: formal and meticulous, yet possessing a cleanliness that stands out from the surrounding environment.
He had just finished an all-night file review session, and there were still faint dark circles under his eyes.
With a few crumbs of worn paper on his fingertips, he slowly glided over the mountain of police files in front of him.
Most of the file folders were yellowed, with curled corners, and some were still covered with dried stains—traces left by time and countless cases.
Li Wei's movements were very gentle, as if he were touching a fragile treasure.
He carefully opened and browsed each file, then gently closed it and put it back in its original place, his movements skillful and steady.
As a consultant specially hired by the Gotham Police Department, Li Wei did not have specific duty assignments, but he took on the most tedious and crucial work of sorting out files and analyzing cases.
He relied solely on his keen observation skills and his calm and meticulous mind.
His understanding of Gotham's underworld and criminal patterns repeatedly provided crucial clues to the police department, assisting Gordon in solving many difficult cases.
Most of the Gotham police officers admired him, but some also kept their distance from him.
After all, Li Wei was too silent and too calm, seemingly always detached from the situation, yet he always made the most accurate judgments at the most crucial moments.
As Li Wei's fingertips traced the cover of the last file, his gaze suddenly stopped, landing on the police dispatch record that had just been delivered and still smelled of fresh ink on the corner of the table.
The emergency call log was brand new, with neat handwriting, densely filled with alarm information from various areas of Gotham over the past 24 hours.
Downtown convenience store robberies, Brooklyn gang fights, and suburban home burglaries.
Most of them are common cases on the streets of Gotham, trivial and messy.
But Li Wei's gaze was fixed on one inconspicuous record.
At 2 a.m., a citizen reported seeing a suspicious dark figure outside Arkham Asylum.
The man was tall, wore a mask, and moved mysteriously. When the police arrived at the scene, they found no trace of him, only a mark that looked like a footprint on the ground.
Due to the darkness and damp ground, no useful clues were found.
Li Wei frowned slightly, his fingertip lightly tapping the record.
As he ran his fingertips along the keywords "Arkham Asylum," "suspicious shadow," and "mask," his brain raced.
Arkham Asylum is the most dangerous place in Gotham, housing a host of heinous criminals, including the Joker, Scarecrow, and Two-Face.
Security there is tight, and ordinary people wouldn't dare to get close.
Not to mention loitering around the outskirts of the mental hospital in the early hours of the morning.
Moreover, based on the description of the citizen as "tall and wearing a mask," he was definitely not an ordinary petty thief or gang member.
Gang members in Gotham are mostly flamboyant and don't deliberately wear masks to hide their whereabouts.
The fact that he was able to evacuate quickly before the police arrived, leaving no useful clues, is enough to show that this person's vigilance and action ability far exceed those of ordinary people.
"Is it a new threat, or... someone spying on us in the shadows?"
Li Wei muttered to himself in a low voice, almost drowned out by the noise of the office area.
He raised his hand to rub his temples, trying to dispel the fatigue from staying up all night, but his gaze remained fixed on the police report, his eyes serious.
Since the Red Hood incident, Gotham has been unusually calm, but this calm has lasted too long, so long that it is unsettling.
Batman's recent actions have become increasingly sluggish, and he's making more and more mistakes while on patrol.
Li Wei had already noticed this from recent police reports and his occasional observations.
The suspicious shadowy figures appearing outside Arkham Asylum are more like a dangerous sign.
This foreshadows an even bigger storm brewing in this already turbulent city.
Just as Li Wei was about to pick up the police report and carefully examine the blurry footprint photos taken by the police officers at the scene...
The television in the corner of the office suddenly turned on, breaking the previous dullness.
The televisions were provided by the police department and broadcast local news from Gotham year-round, mostly case reports and municipal announcements, with occasional business news.
Although it rarely gets noticed on ordinary days, it only plays intermittently in the background.
But this time, the news broadcast on TV made Li Wei subconsciously raise his head, his gaze instantly drawn to it.
On the television screen, an image of the Wayne Group headquarters building appeared.
The camera slowly zooms in and focuses on the glass curtain wall on the top floor of the building.
The anchor's voice was calm and serious, and it clearly resonated throughout the entire office area through the television speakers.
Good morning, everyone. This is the Gotham Morning News.
Last night, Wayne Group officially announced that its clean energy project, which had been in preparation for many years, had officially come to a standstill.
The project reportedly aims to provide clean and efficient energy supply for the entire city of Gotham.
It can replace traditional energy sources such as coal and oil, and solve problems such as insufficient heating and severe air pollution in Gotham during winter.
However, as of now, the installation of the project's core equipment has encountered significant obstacles, and the specific reasons remain unclear.
Wayne Group stated that they will investigate the issue as soon as possible and release updates; they urge the public to stay tuned.
On the screen, the anchor looked serious, and the background behind him kept switching between photos of Wayne Group's clean energy project base.
Huge factory buildings, equipment that is not yet fully installed, workers in overalls, and large tanks for storing energy that are faintly visible in the distance.
Li Wei's eyes were fixed on the television screen, his brows furrowing even more deeply.
The hand that had been resting on the police report slowly withdrew, the fingertips unconsciously stroking the chin as the person fell into deep thought.
He had heard of Wayne Group's clean energy projects before.
As the head of the Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne has been dedicated to improving Gotham's urban environment and the lives of its citizens for many years.
This clean energy project is a key project that he has meticulously prepared, expending a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.
Rumors circulate that if this project succeeds, it will completely transform Gotham.
It brought a glimmer of light to this polluted and dark city.
But only a few people know that so-called "clean energy" is actually nuclear energy.
Li Wei wasn't an energy expert, but he was well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy is clean, efficient, and has a huge production capacity. Once put into use, it can indeed quickly solve Gotham's energy shortage problem.
In Gotham's winters, no more children will shiver from the cold because they have no firewood to keep warm, and no more families will suffer in the cold wind because they cannot afford the high cost of heating.
He had seen impoverished families in the suburbs of Gotham, whose homes had no heating equipment during the winter.
The children were dressed in thin clothes, their hands and feet were red from the cold, and their lips were purple, but they still tried to pretend to be strong.
Li Wei felt a pang of sadness. He also hoped that Wayne Enterprises' project could truly change the fate of those children and the lives of those impoverished families in the suburbs of Gotham.
At the same time, the risks brought by nuclear energy also made Li Wei very worried.
Gotham is a hellish place with a high crime rate, numerous gangs, and constant danger.
Robberies, fights, and murders occur here every day. Even serious criminal prisons like Arkham Asylum have experienced mass escapes of hardened criminals.
The worst thing for nuclear energy projects is chaos and destruction.