Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 471 Do you remember her name?
“The only thing I don’t quite understand is why this matter is worth killing someone to investigate,” Ma Zhaodi asked. “Perhaps killing is not unusual for you, but it certainly can’t be as casual as eating and drinking, right? Otherwise, you should have been arrested long ago.”

Why are you so interested in the locomotive?

Upon hearing Ma Zhaodi's question, the butcher glanced at him.

"none of your business."

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to talk about it. Anyway, Hughie and I know about the same things. He doesn’t even know as much as I do. And I can tell from your face that you’re not satisfied with the information I’ve given you. I’m quite interested in this, which is why I sat down and had a proper talk with you.”

"Why should I believe you? You took money from the Water Corporation."

“What do you have that I could possibly lie about?” Ma Zhaodi retorted. “If I wanted to capture or kill you to exchange for a reward with the Vought Corporation, couldn’t I have just done it already?”

The butcher fell silent again.

He's always been a rebellious guy, and he loves to go against people. Even if someone holds his lifeline or leverage over him, if he feels that kind of coercive pressure, he'll charge straight at them and explode in 99% of the time. And at that moment, he has no rationality left in his head.

This is why Ma Zhaodi put down his gun and tried to talk to him properly, but he insisted on rushing up to get beaten up first. He simply felt very insecure and unhappy about being controlled by the other party.

He only believes the interrogation results obtained under his own control; in other words, he only likes to suppress others and doesn't like others to suppress him. Such a personality should have made him a thug and a disruptive element in a peaceful world, but interestingly, the era dominated by the Vought Corporation can hardly be called a peaceful world.

Thus, a villain was transformed by a twist of fate into a brave butcher who rebelled against the dark order.

At this point, Ma Zhaodi's attitude towards him was not bad, and it seemed that the villain's friendliness was beginning to take effect, so the butcher was finally willing to focus his attention on his original purpose.

"What this guy says seems to make some sense," he thought. "He can observe his surroundings, he can fight, he has accurate marksmanship, he can talk the dead back to life, and he can think clearly—it's impossible for someone from Vought to have these qualities."

"Why would a piece of trash with superpowers and money bother learning skills that ordinary people use to get things done?"

He lifted his buttocks, turned his head to face Ma Zhaodi, and downed another glass of strong liquor.

“Even if you may not have originally worked for Walter, and you certainly didn’t hand me over to those bastards just now,” he said, “the fact that you took Walter’s money means that your relationship with them wasn’t that bad.”

"Alright, forget it."

Ma Zhaodi stood up abruptly: "I've met so many people in my life, but you're such a fool. You never learn until you're faced with a fatal mistake. Only when you encounter setbacks do you start to think about whether you did something wrong."

"The left brain attacks the right brain, and the sharp point replaces thinking. Since you are so confident in your way of doing things, then go ahead and do things by yourself."

Even after Ma Zhaodi left the bar, the butcher showed no sign of chasing after him.

"Too early."

Ma Zhaodi sighed inwardly. The people he usually dealt with were at least smart enough. There were very few people like the Butcher who had brains but didn't use them. It wasn't that he couldn't weigh the pros and cons, but that he only trusted his own emotions and his usual way of doing things, and was simply unwilling to try new ideas.

"If I pretend not to notice and let him think that I have always been in control, I can at least gain some trust. Now I can only wait for an opportunity."

Meanwhile, Clark had just stepped out of the Vought Corporation building. "I need to tell Old Ma about what happened today," he thought to himself. "Sharing intelligence is always beneficial."

Of course, he didn't just want to exchange information; he mainly wanted to chat with Lao Ma and ease his mind.

Everything he saw today made him feel sad and angry.

The following day, Water Company officially held a press conference.

“A few days ago, A-Train, one of the Seven, was chasing a group of vicious criminals on the street when he nearly hit a Black woman walking by. Just now, Vought International provided some additional information about the incident—let’s hear what A-Train has to say about it.”

“Hey, listen, I’m a Black man too, okay? Dude, I’m not going to deliberately run into another Black person on the street, whether that person is a man or a woman.”

“I was chasing a bunch of criminals that day, you know, man. I was in a rush, so I was going faster than usual. I guess I might have broken a record—so I almost hurt her. Yes, I was braking hard, and I felt like I could control the speed.”

"Anyway, Superman showed up at that time, and whether I could control him or not, he provided me with a final safety measure and stopped me. I am very grateful to him for doing so. If I am a locomotive, then Superman is probably my braking system."

"With him on board, everyone will be safer, and this will never happen again."

“I want to apologize to everyone, especially to that girl, but from today onwards, you can trust me more, trust Walter.”

As the locomotive said this, the spotlights all started flashing.

Behind him, a huge poster of the Voughts was prominently displayed, with Superman standing next to the locomotive. The composition made it seem as if the eight heroes had become partners and close friends, ready to protect the city together—a scene that certainly deserved to be featured on the front page of newspapers.

However, in the Vought Building, Clark watched television with a displeased expression. He disliked lying, although what the train engine said today was not a lie, because "feeling that you can control the speed" is a subjective feeling, whether right or wrong, and he could not disprove the rest of the details. But he was not someone who only looked at the formalities; he also looked at the results.

He knew this was deception.

"Hey buddy, you're here early."

A voice rang out, and the locomotive suddenly appeared in the conference room: "I thought I'd be the second one to arrive."

"You were indeed the second one to arrive."

At that moment, Queen Maeve walked in from outside: "It seems that Homelander hasn't arrived yet."

"Huh? Isn't he usually the first one to arrive?"

"I don't know, maybe he has something to do today."

Clark suddenly spoke up at this moment.

"Locomotive, do you remember the name of the girl you almost hit?"

(End of this chapter)