Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 178 Old Thousand Layer Cake Riddler

Late at night, outside a bar in East Gotham.

Chuck Brown walked out of the bar, humming a song, looking quite sober - after his drunken gaffe with Ma Zhaodi, he had been afraid to drink too much recently.

"Oh, I say let's fly, honey~"

The moment he stepped out of the door, Chuck's singing paused for a few seconds because he saw the big guy leaning against the window smoking a cigarette out of the corner of his eye - orange shirt and jeans.

He was the strong man who drove Ma Zhaodi away. He was at the door when I entered the bar. Why hasn't he left yet?
Chuck suddenly had a bad feeling - ever since he agreed to cooperate with Batman's plan, he has been like this, becoming suspicious at the slightest abnormality.

At this moment, the burly man seemed to notice Chuck's look. He immediately stared at him fiercely, as if to say, "What are you looking at? You want to fight?"

Chuck quickly turned his head away and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time - this guy's reaction was normal, he had been a little too suspicious recently.

"Oh, you scared yourself."

He walked towards the alley next to him and started humming the tune again.

"Where are you going, kid?"

"Fly to the sky, darling~"

At this moment, the strong man behind him suddenly moved. His feet were like a ball of mud, and the part that touched the ground became extremely soft, which made him walk silently.

He quickly came behind Chuck, and then his entire body began to relax and deform, along with his clothes, becoming soft and flowing, and then becoming the color and texture of mud.

To be precise, his entire body, including his clothes, were made of mud. Just looking at his monstrous mud face, you could tell he wasn't human.

The mass of mud suddenly expanded, completely enveloping Chuck. He didn't even have time to scream for help before being swallowed by the mud-faced monster like a bug. A moment later, the monster's body quickly recovered, transforming back into the burly man the size of two men.

Because of its large size, even though Chuck was trapped inside, others could not see any problem.

Just like that, without anyone noticing, the burly man walked away from the vicinity of the bar.

"Well, not surprising at all."

Ma Zhaodi stood on the rooftop of a building in the East District, and with his enhanced visual ability, he witnessed the scene of Chuck being "swallowed" in the alley in front of the bar.

When he was in the bar, he heard that there was something wrong with the strong man. He pretended to have the ups and downs of his breathing and the angry expression of a normal person. Even the texture of his skin was exactly the same as that of a normal person. His disguise was very deceptive.

But he didn't have the smell of sweat that a normal person should have, and there was no sound of heartbeat in his body. He showed a certain fear of the drink in his hand and all the drinks in the bar. From the time he entered the bar to the time he left, he tried his best to stay away from all the "liquids" in the bar.

So Ma Zhaodi made some attempts.

How should a strong man react to being blackmailed? Think calmly? No, this was Gotham, and he looked like an ordinary, easy target. He could just punch him directly—as long as he didn't shoot, even if he knocked him over, the bar owner would just kick him out.

But he was still afraid of the orange juice in his hand, so he didn't punch him directly, and even gave himself a hundred dollars.

This means two things: first, the other party really doesn't want to get involved; second, the other party really wants to drive you away.

What was there in the bar that was worth him risking his life getting wet? And why was he unwilling to stay?
Ma Zhaodi immediately thought of "Chuck". So, what did the other party think of Chuck?
Ma Zhaodi had a guess, but he wasn't sure, so before leaving the restaurant, he said to the strong man, "I didn't kill anyone."

If he just wanted to attack Chuck, he would not succeed; but if he wanted to kidnap him, Ma Zhaodi would follow him - if Chuck encountered any danger, he could also rescue Chuck.

After the strong man grabbed Chuck, he walked straight to a car parked on the side of the road - it was obvious that he was well prepared and not acting on impulse.

The car sped along, turning a few turns and going around in circles. It was obvious that this was a pre-designed route, which allowed the car to observe if there were any pursuers behind it and also to shake them off.

Finally, the car stopped next to an abandoned theater. The strong man got out of the car and walked straight into the theater without stopping.

He walked through the theater's lobby, stepped onto the royal blue carpet with a green question mark icon, and walked up the narrow steps to the stage. The theater's scenery was brand new, the bright red curtains were spotless, and the stage, which had not been used for years, was also cleaned. The bright lights showed that the power system was intact, and the surveillance cameras were flashing red. There was no sign of "abandonment" at all.

At the front of the stage, the Riddler, wearing a green suit and a green top hat, was leaning on the stage. He casually asked the burly man, "Didn't the policeman notice you?"

"No, he just left."

"That's fine. I've had enough of that idiot who messed with things."

When mentioning Ma Zhaodi, the Riddler gritted his teeth.

"Just transferred to Gotham, no father, no mother, no friends, no family, no girlfriend. He's an orphan, damn, sooner or later I'm going to see if he really has no weaknesses."

The strong man thought for a moment and asked, "How about just killing him?"

"Don't worry, he's used to going to that bar to drink. In that case, just shoot him when the plan begins."

As he was speaking, a sneer appeared on his face, and he leaned back on the stage. His expression became relaxed and his posture became leisurely.

"Also, these are the things on his body."

The burly man threw out a bag containing Chuck's belongings: wallet, cell phone, driver's license, cash, two candies and two lighters.

"Two lighters?" The man frowned slightly. "Interesting—take all these things and have someone take them for a spin around the streets. I don't want anyone interrupting, tracking, or eavesdropping on my conversation."

"Wait a minute, leave the lighter for me."

Poison Ivy beside her suddenly reached out and picked up the cheap plastic lighter: "There's a seed inside."

"You can disassemble the lighter and take it out." The man waved his hand: "I'm not interested in these trivial matters. As long as it is safe, that's all."

So the vines really tore the lighter into eight pieces - and it was indeed an ordinary lighter, with no other mechanical devices inside.

The Riddler was pleased with this.

"Alright." He clapped his hands. "Now that the preparations are complete, it's time to release Mr. Chuck."

Poison Ivy on the side was playing with the tiny seed, seeming to be lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)