"Dare to investigate and probe for information related to them, to scout their power shifts.
Aren't you afraid your boldness will create ripples in the dark depths, attracting sharks?"
Selina paused after her warning, then her expression turned angry.
"Moreover, aren't you overestimating a thief's abilities?"
She just wanted to steal things, but this person wanted her to poke the tiger's backside. What was the difference between that and giving her a gun to assassinate the president? Perhaps the consequences of assassinating the president would be better.
David, having retracted his gaze from the rainy, bustling street below and changed into a sharp, black suit, smiled at Catwoman, who was sitting on the sofa inside.
"I believe you can.
You're no ordinary thief."
There were too many notorious gang leaders in Gotham. Compared to approaching them one by one, having reliable information was undoubtedly faster.
"Absolutely impossible!"
Involving mortal danger, the young Catwoman refused with a resolute tone.
"Attracting the attention of those people and being eaten until not even bones are left is better than being caught by the police. At most, I'll serve a few years in prison."
"A few years in prison?"
David raised an eyebrow, his tone scornful.
"Don't try to reduce your sentence yourself.
I'd guess the total value of things you've stolen could warrant a hundred years."
Besides precious jewelry, Catwoman's targets also included various valuable cultural relics.
"Regardless, it's better than dying."
After hearing David's objective, Selina no longer cared about his threat. She got up huffily and walked towards the door, thinking that a single photograph might not be enough to convict her. She just didn't want to attract the police's attention.
Even if she were imprisoned, there was still the possibility of escape.
Prison guards were not necessarily more vigilant than private museum security.
She treated stealing from museums as casually as going home; prison couldn't hold her for long.
"Why don't you name your price?"
"I'm not interested in money."
Selina directly rejected David's financial temptation, her hand already reaching for the doorknob to leave.
Whoosh!
A dime, shot out like a pellet from a shotgun, shattered the brass doorknob.
"You… what do you want?"
She turned like a startled cat, instantly assuming a fighting stance, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"How did you do that?
With your hand?"
Seeing David retract the hand that had flicked the coin, Selina's eyes widened in shock.
"You're not interested in money, and you probably have plenty of jewelry.
But there are things you've never encountered before."
David said with a mysterious smile.
"In my hometown, there's a cave that was used as a hiding place by runaway slaves in the last century. They secretly cultivated a peculiar herb brought from Africa there, named—Heart-shaped Grass."
"Heart-shaped Grass?"
Catwoman was puzzled.
"Eating Heart-shaped Grass can push a person's physical fitness, strength, and speed to their human limits."
"Is that true?"
These fantastical words left her face full of doubt.
As a thief, the most important thing was to read people, to know who was an easy target and who was not to be provoked.
She had studied psychology to some extent, but when David spoke of Heart-shaped Grass enabling people to reach their human limits, he didn't seem like he was lying.
Besides, without Heart-shaped Grass, how could she explain this guy's strength?
"So, I give you the information you want, and you give me the Heart-shaped Grass?"
Selina asked, half-believing.
...
"Are you going for a motocross ride again this time?"
On the thirteenth sub-basement level of Wayne Tower, Lucius Fox, the head of Wayne Enterprises' technology research and application department, smiled as he saw the son of his late friend arrive.
"By the way, I just saw your headline news: Bruce Wayne, missing for many years, appeared at a senior meeting of Wayne Enterprises."
Bruce chuckled.
This morning, while William Earl was holding a board meeting to discuss the IPO, he officially reappeared in front of everyone. Without doing anything, he interrupted the meeting, and several promised directors said they would reconsider.
"Gotham doesn't seem to have forgotten me," he said with a sigh.
The day he almost fell into darkness after wanting to shoot the paroled Joe Chill, he left Gotham and had been traveling, learning all sorts of knowledge, and honing himself. He had been out of the public eye for six years.
"Your family built part of Gotham's prosperity; they will never forget you," the old man said with a sigh, looking at the young man before him and remembering his deceased friend.
"Mr. Fox, I was wondering if you have any clothing that specifically blocks laser weapons?"
After a brief chat, Bruce Wayne got straight to the point.
"What is it this time? Mountain climbing, cave exploration, or BASE jumping?" Lucius teased, putting away his emotions.
The son of his deceased friend had borrowed several high-tech tools from him using these excuses.
"I..." Bruce was speechless.
To be honest, even with his intelligence, he couldn't think of any reason why a rich second-generation playboy would need to face laser weapons.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me exactly what you're doing. At least when I'm asked, I won't have to lie," the old man humorously and considerately changed the subject.
Bruce fell silent. His high-tech equipment might be able to fool others, but it definitely couldn't fool the old man who had personally handed him several pieces of equipment.
The two of them tacitly did not continue the topic.
"There is one unfinished product."
Leading Bruce to a box covered by a curtain, he pulled off the dusty curtain and took out a pair of black bracers.
"Energy Absorption Bracers, made of superconducting composite materials. They are as light as carbon fiber but can withstand swords. Most importantly..."
Holding the bracers to a workbench, Lucius tapped the bracers with a stun gun.
Current flashed on the bracers, and the light flickered and disappeared.
"It was absorbed?" Seeing this, Bruce's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly.
"Lasers too?"
"Anything with energy can be absorbed, but there's one thing..." Lucius raised a finger seriously, "Once it reaches its absorption limit, any amount more will cause an explosion!"
"Its power is enough to blast through the armor of a tank. If a person wears it..." The consequence was self-evident; they would turn into a pile of minced meat.
"So it's an unfinished product." Bruce frowned at the obvious and fatal flaw.
"Why not continue the research?"
"Firstly, ordinary people don't need to deal with Star Wars stormtroopers. Secondly..." After a slight joke, Lucius spread his arms, a look of dejection flashing across his face, gesturing for him to look at the empty floor.
"Wayne Enterprises' technology research and development department is a mere shell of its former self. Earl believes that with the foundation Wayne Enterprises left behind, it can last for more than ten years, and there's no need to invest a large amount of capital in technology R&D for now."
"For example, the AK47 has been a bestseller worldwide for decades and is still not outdated." He implied with his words that some businesses are simple to invest in but highly profitable.
"AK47?" Bruce keenly noticed his tone and didn't know why he mentioned this.
"Weapon development was once part of Wayne Group's business, but its focus began to shift a few years ago. Now, the group's revenue is dominated by the arms trade."
"What?" Bruce Wayne's expression changed. He had ventured into war-torn areas and personally witnessed the harm war brought to people. He gritted his teeth.
"How dare he do such a thing in the name of Wayne."
"Speaking of the arms trade, there's something that might be important, and I need to tell you." Remembering something, Lucius frowned, his expression grave.
"What?"
"In the past few days, Wayne Enterprises has lost a large-scale technological weapon intended for war."
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