Chapter 273: The Bat Watches, Waiting Quietly for the Beauty at Midnight
In just one week, the underground order of Gotham's East End was completely overturned.
Lin Nuo had no intention of engaging in any gradual business negotiations.
He directly used overwhelming force to pay a visit to every notable gang leader in the East End one by one.
Diana stood by the desk, holding a cotton cloth, meticulously wiping the Water stains off her Godkiller sword.
She had changed into a tight black combat suit that outlined her explosive muscular lines.
"Your actions over the past few days have completely deviated from our goal."
Diana stopped her movements and looked directly at Lin Nuo. "We came here to find Ares. Yet you are spending your time taking over the territories of these criminals, and even seizing the docks of those merchants."
Lin Nuo put down the report, reached up to remove his glasses, and tossed them onto the desk.
"Do you think Ares would write his name on his forehead and stand in the street waiting for you to draw your sword and strike him down?"
Lin Nuo's tone was extremely gentle, carrying a sense of condescending guidance. "This is Gotham. Every bit of evil in this city is built upon profit. If the God of War wants to incite war, he cannot do it without weapons, funds, and, most importantly, logistics."
He stood up, walked over to Diana, and very naturally reached out to wrap his arm around her waist.
The demigod's scorching body temperature was transmitted through the fabric.
"I am cutting off the blood vessels of this city."
Lin Nuo's fingertips rhythmically stroked Diana's waist. "In the past 48 hours, I used black money to forcibly smash open three core logistics hubs at the Gotham port. These three hubs control over sixty percent of Gotham's smuggling and legitimate import-export trade."
Diana leaned into his embrace, following Lin Nuo's lead.
She didn't quite understand Lin Nuo's theory, but the sense of calculated control emanating from him left her unable to conjure any thoughts of rebuttal.
"What does this have to do with Ares?"
Diana asked.
"These three hubs originally belonged to Wayne Enterprises."
Lin Nuo curled his lips into an extremely malicious arc. "Wayne Enterprises is the lifeblood of Gotham. By cutting off this bloodline with one stroke, it's equivalent to slapping the Master of this city directly in the face. I've muddied the Water, and the big fish hiding at the bottom will naturally be unable to resist jumping out."
Lin Nuo knew exactly what he was doing.
To rebuild the hegemony of Star Umbrella in this new territory, he had to directly challenge the strongest local tyrant here.
He deliberately left extremely rough traces of the acquisition and intentionally exposed the fact that Star Umbrella had no historical records, all to lure out that bat hiding in the darkness.
Wayne Manor, the underground Batcave.
Dim blue light illuminated the massive circular console.
Bruce Wayne was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, his hands resting on the edge of the keyboard.
He stared at the massive display array in front of him, stitched together from dozens of screens, his eyes filled with extreme vigilance.
In the center of the screen was surveillance footage of Lin Nuo wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white shirt, walking out of the abandoned slaughterhouse.
The image was extremely blurry, but Lin Nuo's gentle, harmless, yet absolutely controlling demeanor was captured completely by the camera.
Alfred walked over carrying a silver tray and placed a cup of black coffee on the console.
"Master Bruce, the latest assessment report from the finance department is out."
Alfred's voice was steady, yet carried a hint of imperceptible gravity. "Our seven core logistics distribution centers in the East End port are completely out of control. The executives responsible for managing these hubs have collectively submitted their resignations over the past two days and have refused to communicate with the group in any way."
Bruce picked up the coffee and took a sip.
The extremely bitter liquid stimulated his nerves.
"Have the capital flows been traced?"
Bruce asked.
"It cannot be traced at all."
Alfred pulled up a data panel. "The other party did not use any electronic transfers, nor did they go through any formal financial institutions. They used the most primitive form of hard currency. Tons of pure gold bars, without any country or bank markings. They bought out all the shares of the people in charge and paid them hush money."
Bruce tapped the keyboard, and the screen cut to a few photos of bloody, mangled corpses.
Those were a few small gang leaders under Black Maskwho had tried to resist.
"Extremely brutal force, combined with an unfathomable pool of funds."
Bruce stared at Lin Nuo's photo. "This organization calling itself Star Umbrella appeared out of thin air in Gotham a week ago. There are no entry records, no past criminal files. They used Black Mask's casino as a springboard to directly annex the underground network of the East End."
Alfred looked at those photos of the corpses, his brows slightly furrowed.
"What does the Police department say? Has DirectorGordon not taken any action?"
"Gordon is tied up."
Bruce pulled up several internal Police documents. "While taking over the East End, Star Umbrella anonymously donated a massive sum of money to the GCPD's welfare fund. The Police who were supposed to be raiding the casinos are now busy replacing their new bulletproof vests and patrol cars. Gordon can't even get a single search warrant approved."
Bruce set his coffee cup down heavily on the tray.
The opponent's methods were extremely seasoned.
Using violence to intimidate the underworld, and black money to corrupt the legitimate side.
Most importantly, the opponent precisely cut off Wayne Enterprises' logistics supply chain.
This is not a typical gang turf war; this is a highly targeted capital invasion.
"He is declaring war on me."
Bruce stared at Lin Nuo's eyes on the screen.
"Do you intend to pay this new neighbor a visit in person?"
Alfred asked.
"No."
Bruce flatly denied it. "The fact that they dared to acquire Wayne Enterprises' assets with such fanfare means they are certain I will take action. They have left too many flaws; this arrogant rate of expansion feels more like a carefully laid trap. He wants to figure out my trump cards, and I cannot just walk in wearing my suit."
Bruce turned and walked toward the armory deep in the Batcave.
"I need someone to step into this trap for me."
Bruce took an encrypted phone out of a briefcase. "Someone who walks in the gray area, doesn't belong to Wayne Enterprises, and is not under the jurisdiction of the GCPD. Since the opponent is so wealthy and generous, they must have collected quite a few good things. This is perfect for attracting those cat burglars who like to operate in the middle of the night."
Bruce dialed a number with no contact name.
The phone was answered after just one ring.
A faint crackle of static came from the receiver, but no one spoke.
"East End, top-floor apartment of the former Black Maskslaughterhouse."
Bruce recited an address into the receiver, speaking rapidly. "Star Umbrella's temporary vault. Inside, there are unmarked gold bars beyond your imagination. I want you to get in there and figure out the background of that man named Lin Nuo. Also, find out the origin of the woman he keeps by his side."
A very light laugh came from the other end of the line.
Then the call was cut off directly.
Alfred looked at Bruce.
"Master, are you sure that lady won't just empty the vault and disappear?"
"That is exactly what I want to see."
Bruce walked back to the console. "If she succeeds, it means the opponent is just an upstart with some money. If she fails, I'll get to see exactly what fangs this Mr. Lin Nuois hiding."
Late at night, Gotham's East End.
The heavy rain ceased, and the thick clouds split open, casting pale moonlight onto the exterior wall of the top-floor apartment, which had been converted from an abandoned slaughterhouse.
There were no lights on inside the apartment.
Lin Nuo was wearing a black silk bathrobe, sitting very casually on a single sofa in the center of the living room.
He held a glass of whiskey with ice in his hand.
Diana was sleeping in the inner bedroom.
Lin Nuo deliberately restrained all his aura, disguising himself as an ordinary person without any defenses.
On the metal railing outside the balcony, an extremely alluring figure was hanging upside down in mid-air.
A tight black leather suit perfectly hugged her extremely exaggerated waist and hip curves.
She flipped over the railing with extreme agility, her cat-pad-like boot soles landing on the balcony tiles without making even a hint of sound.
A very faint chuckle came from the sofa in the center of the living room.
"I thought Wayne would send someone stronger to probe my bottom line."
Chapter 274: Night Patrol, Black Cat, the Prey That Walks Right Into the Trap
Selina hung upside down on the outer perimeter of the apartment, pulled out an extremely compact infrared detector from her tactical pack at her waist, and mounted it over her left eye.
A dense network of red lasers intertwined in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, leaving no blind spots.
This security system was top-of-the-line on the market, and its cost even exceeded the penthouse apartment itself.
"A nouveau riche's taste."
Selina gave her evaluation.
This level of security was not uncommon in Gotham's affluent district.
Those capitalists who accumulated wealth by exploiting the lower-class civilians were always extremely insecure.
She bit open the cap of a spray can and sprayed it towards the red lasers.
The light beams underwent an extremely faint refraction the moment they came into contact with the spray.
Seizing this gap of less than half a second, Selina exerted sudden force with her waist and abdomen, twisting her entire body in mid-air into a posture that completely defied ergonomics, and slipped through the gap between the two beams.
Her leather boots stepped onto the expensive Persian carpet without making the slightest sound.
She straightened up and put away the detector.
This apartment was astonishingly large.
To the left was a huge living room connected to an open kitchen, and to the right was a study filled with mahogany furniture.
"I actually thought Wayne would send someone stronger to test my bottom."
An extremely steady male voice came from the center of the living room.
Selina did not run.
She looked in the direction of the voice.
Lin Nuo was wearing a black silk bathrobe, sitting extremely casually on a leather single-seater sofa.
He was holding a glass of whiskey with ice cubes in his hand.
He didn't turn on the lights at all, just blending into the darkness like that, watching her complete the entire infiltration process.
Selina's right hand hung extremely naturally at her waist, her fingertips touching the long whip woven from high-strength fibers mixed with metal wire.
"Who is Wayne? I don't know him."
Lowering her voice, Selina took long strides and walked straight toward the study, "I'm just a passerby who likes shiny things. I heard that the new boss of the East District got a batch of unnumbered cuties, and I came to borrow a few pieces to use."
Lin Nuo raised his hand and pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose up by half an inch.
"Bruce Wayne is an extremely cautious person."
Lin Nuo swirled his glass, the amber liquid swirling against the glass wall, "He found out that I cut off his logistics network, but he didn't put on that black bat suit to find me himself. He chose you. A petty thief wandering in the gray zone, someone who can be discarded at any time."
Selina stopped in her tracks.
"I get paid to do a job, I don't care about the employer's identity."
Selina retorted.
"You do care."
Lin Nuo took a sip of whiskey, "If you didn't care, you wouldn't have chosen to continue infiltrating when you saw that infrared laser network. You thought this was just an ordinary commercial espionage, and you felt that the money Wayne gave you was enough for you to take a risk. But you didn't know that he didn't expect you to steal anything at all."
Selina walked to the extremely huge black steel safe in the study, and pulled out a silver USB flash drive from the seams of her leather jacket.
"He just treated you like a stone thrown into a pool of water to test the depth of this water."
Lin Nuo's tone was extremely cruel, "Wayne Enterprises monopolizes the lifeline of Gotham. Those self-proclaimed righteous dignitaries sit in constant-temperature offices and treat you bottom-feeders as consumables. You steal the intelligence, and he closes the net. You get killed by me, and he just happens to have an excuse to let GCPD seal off my turf. He wins either way."
Selina did not plug in the interface.
Because the lights in the study suddenly turned on.
The dazzling incandescent lamp illuminated the entire apartment floor to be extremely transparent.
Selina narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping quickly across the surroundings.
There were no hidden gunmen, no alarm sounds from the security system, only the man sitting on the sofa.
"To borrow things, you certainly don't need to bring a military-grade cracking USB flash drive."
Lin Nuo put the whiskey glass on the marble coffee table, his tone carrying extreme malicious mockery, "The password for that black steel safe in the study is six zeros. You are welcome to plug it in and try. Young Master Wayne sent just a wildcat to probe my bottom? He looks down on me too much."
Selina pulled out the USB flash drive and threw it directly onto the carpet.
The employer's intent was completely exposed, and the infiltration operation had lost its meaning.
"Your security system is even lousier than I thought, Mr. Lin Nuo."
With a flick of Selina's right hand, the long whip wove an extremely tricky arc in mid-air, heading straight for Lin Nuo's neck.
The leather whip tore through the air at an extremely fast speed.
If this strike landed solidly, it would be enough to sever an adult man's trachea.
Lin Nuo sat in place without even blinking his eyes.
The long whip stopped less than half an inch from the tip of his nose.
Selina pulled back hard.
It wouldn't budge.
Without any physical contact, the long whip was completely frozen in the air.
"What did you do?"
Selina exerted force in her wrists, the muscles of her entire arm tightening completely.
Lin Nuo raised his right hand and tapped his index finger extremely casually in the air.
A faint Reality Warping force field spread along the long whip.
Selina felt a completely irresistible force pouring backward along the whip handle.
Her fingers were forcibly pried open, the whip handle slipped out of her hand, and it fell obediently into Lin Nuo's hand.
"Cats in Gotham all have such big tempers?"
Lin Nuo stood up, toying with the long whip in one hand.
The collar of the black silk bathrobe was open, revealing firm and full pectoral muscles.
Selina took two steps back, pressed her palms against the tactical belt at her waist, and thrust out both hands.
Two darts carrying potent anesthetics headed straight for Lin Nuo's eyes.
The moment the darts touched Lin Nuo's skin, they were directly ground into powder by a layer of invisible force field.
Metal debris sprinkled onto the carpet.
Selina immediately pulled a smoke grenade from her waist and smashed it heavily onto the floor.
Thick white smoke instantly burst open, obscuring the vision of the entire living room.
Selina moved at high speed in the smoke.
She didn't choose to run away, but instead circled around to Lin Nuo's side and back, shooting out a tactical grappling hook with steel wire from her left hand straight toward Lin Nuo's throat.
Lin Nuo stood in the thick smoke without even turning his head.
He raised his left hand and accurately grabbed the steel wire flying at high speed.
The violent physical body of Hulk-level displayed overwhelming strength at this moment.
Lin Nuo exerted force with a single arm, directly pulling Selina and the grappling hook over together.
Selina forcibly twisted her body in mid-air, her right leg bringing up a gust of wind as it swept directly toward Lin Nuo's side neck.
For this strike, she used ten percent of her strength, enough to kick a solid steel pipe in half.
Lin Nuo raised his left arm and blocked it extremely casually.
Selina felt as if her calf had kicked against a solid titanium alloy plate.
Severe pain spread through her bones all over her body, and she clenched her teeth tightly without uttering a single cry of agony.
Lin Nuo backhanded her ankle and pulled hard.
Selina completely lost her balance, and her entire body was pulled directly into Lin Nuo's arms.
Terrifying strength locked her tightly against his chest.
Beneath that black silk bathrobe lay kinetic energy enough to tear apart an aircraft carrier.
"Let go!"
Selina's right elbow smashed fiercely toward Lin Nuo's heart.
Lin Nuo caught her elbow with extreme precision using his right hand that was holding the whip.
"Do you think smoke can block my vision?"
Lin Nuo lowered his head, his breath brushing against Selina's earlobe, "Or do you think that relying on these playing-house toys, you can figure out my trump cards?"
Selina struggled unable to break free, raised her head and looked straight at Lin Nuo.
"You'd better kill me."
Selina sneered, "Otherwise tomorrow the whole of Gotham will know that the new boss of the East District is a freak who uses superpowers to bully women."
Lin Nuo pulled a smile of extreme delight.
"They will know that too."
Lin Nuo wrapped the long whip in his hand around Selina's wrist, "How this woman enjoyed herself here with me."
He flipped his wrist.
The long whip made an extremely crisp friction sound in the air, binding Selina's hands behind her back in an extremely tricky manner, completely tying her up.
Selina twisted her waist desperately, trying to use her flexibility to break free.
Lin Nuo pushed his knee forward, directly pressing against the bend of her legs.
Selina's legs went soft, forcing her to half-kneel on the carpet.
The other end of the long whip was grasped in Lin Nuo's hand, and with a slight tug, Selina was forced to raise her head.
"You're crazy..." Selina panted heavily, her tight leather outfit squeezing out exaggerated curves amidst her violent struggles.
"I haven't even started going crazy yet."
Pulling the whip, Lin Nuo forced her close to himself, "Since Wayne sent you to my door, I'll accept this toll in full."
Selina stared at Lin Nuo's face, her breathing becoming extremely rapid.
An extremely slight sound of a doorknob turning came from the direction of the bedroom.
There was no pause in Lin Nuo's movements; he lifted Selina up from the ground extremely naturally and threw her directly onto the spacious leather sofa.
"Shh."
Lin Nuo raised his index finger, pressing it against Selina's lips, "Keep it down, every moment tonight is worth a thousand pieces of gold."
Chapter 275: Conquering the Heart First, The Taming Rules of a Wild Cat
Selina sank into the soft, oversized leather sofa, her legs losing all strength because they were pinned at the backs of her knees.
Her hands, cuffed behind her back, were tightly bound by that high-strength fiber whip. The slightest movement of her wrists infinitely magnified the squeaking sound of the leather rubbing together in the quiet living room.
She turned her head away, her long hair plastered messily against her cheeks, her gaze locked onto the man standing in front of the sofa.
"Do you think tying me up will pry the employer's business secrets out of my mouth?"
Selina let out a breath, trying to keep her tone consistently banterous, "Keep dreaming. Killing me straight up would be more useful than wasting saliva here."
Lin Nuo didn't reply.
He walked over to the marble coffee table and picked up the glass of whiskey again.
The ice cubes inside the glass collided against the rim, producing a crisp sound.
Holding the wine glass, he walked back to the front of the sofa, looking down at his prey from a position of condescension.
The hem of his black silk bathrobe swayed slightly with his movements, blocking the only floor lamp overhead in the living room.
A large patch of shadow pressed down, enveloping Selinaentirely within a cramped space.
"Business secrets?"
Lin Nuo shook his head extremely gently, the amber liquid in the glass swirling at the edge, "Selina Kyle. You grew up in the slums of the East End, learned to pick the back door of a bakery at twelve, emptied the neighborhood boss's wallet at fourteen, and relied on parkour on the rooftops at sixteen to evade pimps who wanted to catch you and sell you off."
Selina's body stiffened, the muscles beneath her leather jacket instantly tightening.
Lin Nuo chanted leisurely, "You rolled around in the worst mud pits of the East End, desperately grabbing onto every shiny stone, packaging yourself into a top-tier Master thief who only cared about money and lacked emotions. You used unruliness as armor, thinking that way no one could step on your head."
"You checked up on me pretty fast."
Selina clenched her back teeth, her back pressed tightly against the sofa cushion, trying to widen the distance between them, "The new boss of the East End—not only is he foolish with a lot of money, but he also likes to rummage through women's trash cans?"
Lin Nuo let out a light laugh.
Far from getting angry, he leaned down in one fluid motion, pressing one knee against the edge of the sofa.
This minimal shortening of the physical distance instantly stripped away Selina's social safety boundary.
The scent on his body, a mix of body wash fragrance and extremely potent whiskey, rushed straight at her face, forcing Selina to tilt her neck upward.
"I have no interest in rummaging through trash cans."
Lin Nuo pressed his left hand onto the back of the sofa, locking her completely within the gap between his chest and the sofa, "I just want to see what special value a woman whom Bruce Wayne specifically picked out to step on a mine actually has."
"I said, I don't know any Wayne."
Selina directly denied it, turning her face away to avoid looking into his eyes, "Rich people pay, I work. That's all there is."
"You've got quite a stubborn mouth."
The pads of Lin Nuo's right fingers brushed extremely gently past her auricle, stopping right against the pulse on the side of her neck.
The beating frequency there was extremely violent, directly betraying the panic in her heart at this moment.
"Bruce Wayne sits in a tens-of-thousands-of-square-meter manor, drinking red wine airlifted from France, watching people in the East End beat each other bloody over a piece of bread."
Lin Nuo's voice dropped extremely low, every word precisely chipping away at Selina's most sensitive nerves, "He puts on that black leather suit and plays hero games of saving the city at night. And you are just the most handy nighttime diversion in his game."
Selina abruptly turned her head, her gaze fierce: "Shut up!"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Lin Nuo applied slight force with his finger pads, forcibly turning her cheek back and compelling her to look straight into his eyes, "You like him. You are infatuated with the thrill of chasing and being chased by him in the dead of night. You think that as long as you are strong enough and rebellious enough, one day you can make that high-and-mighty young Master lower his head and give you a promise that truly belongs to you."
Selina's chest heaved violently, the knot of the whip tied behind her back sinking deep into her leather jacket even because of her struggle.
"But what has he given you?"
There was undisguised mockery in the depths of Lin Nuo's eyes, "Aside from fighting with you in the dead of night, speaking a few harmless warnings, and chasing you all over the streets on rooftops, has he ever given you a single penny's worth of shelter?"
Only Selina's heavy breathing remained in the living room.
"He didn't even have the heart to show his face personally when coming to probe my bottom line in the East End this time."
Lin Nuo laid all the cruel reality bare under the light, "He knew Black Mask died in the East End, knew I have heavy firepower in my hands capable of blasting through an entire building, and knew my security system is top-tier configuration. But he still sent you."
"Stop talking..." Selina's voice was hoarse, her eye sockets turning red due to extreme anger and the humiliation of being seen through.
"He knew you wanted to make his money, and he knew that even if you were caught, you wouldn't sell him out."
Lin Nuo's fingertips slid slowly down along her jawline, stopping just above her collarbone, "You chopped up a sincere heart, stuffed it beneath your arrogant leather jacket, and offered it to him, yet he treats you as a tool that can be consumed at any time. If the person sitting on the sofa tonight wasn't me, but that Black Mask who likes to peel human skin off, do you think your young MasterWayne would rush to save you before your corpse goes cold?"
This sentence completely shattered the mask Selina had maintained all night.
She knew the reality of Gotham all too well.
In Bruce Wayne's grand blueprint, she would forever just be a thief walking in the gray zones.
That man regarded justice and principles as heavier than life; it was utterly impossible for him to break the rules he set for himself just for her, Selina Kyle.
Watching that unruliness in the depths of her eyes begin to collapse on a large scale, Lin Nuo casually placed the whiskey glass in his hand onto the carpet.
He extended both hands, with a strong sense of tact yet extreme firmness, gripping her shoulders and pulling her slightly forward from the sofa back towards himself.
"He only treats you as a nighttime diversion in the dark of Gotham, but I'm different."
Staring into her reddened eyes, Lin Nuo spoke in a calm tone carrying absolute dominance, "I like ambitious women, and I like wild cats who know what they want even more."
Selina let out a bitter laugh: "What difference is there between you and them? Just an upstart changing methods to seize territory."
"The difference is that I don't engage in those illusory sentiments, nor do I want you to go die for so-called justice."
Lin Nuo released her shoulders, his fingertips landing extremely lightly on the knot of the wrists cuffed behind her back.
The leather whip loosened by a fraction as his fingertips flicked.
"You want the East End to no longer have pimps, want those street rats to be able to eat a full meal, and want a safe nest where you don't need to look at Wayne's expression to survive."
With every sentence Lin Nuo spoke, his fingertips untied a loop of the knot, "These, Bruce Wayne will never give you in his lifetime, because he needs the sins of the East End to fulfill his justice."
The knot completely unraveled.
The long whip slid down along Selina's wrists, dropping onto the Persian carpet.
Regaining freedom in both hands, Selina neither threw a punch to attack in the first moment nor immediately rolled over to escape.
The prolonged lack of blood circulation made her fingertips numb, but what felt even more numb was her heart.
"I can buy the entire East End and give it to you."
Rolling up the long whip, Lin Nuo placed it into the palm of her numb hand, "Not a loan, not charity. All the casinos, docks, and turfs in the East End will bear your name. You become the Master of the East End, and you set the rules."
Holding the whip handle that still carried her body temperature, Selina looked up at the Chinese-descent man in the silk bathrobe before her eyes.
"What's the price?"
She heard that her voice had already lost all its confidence.
"Be the fastest blade in my hand, and by the way..." Lin Nuo lowered his head slightly, his nose brushing past her strands of hair, "completely forget about that ruthless young Master who only makes you blow cold wind in the rainy night. What I have my eyes on, I absolutely do not allow others to touch."
Deep within the brain domain, a cold mechanical prompt tone precisely pierced through the silence.
[Target Selina Kyle's psychological defense line has been detected to produce severe shaking; the interception progress is rapidly soaring.]
Listening to the skyrocketing data in the background, Lin Nuo pulled a pleasant arc at the corners of his mouth.
He stepped back half a step, stood straight again, and adjusted the collar of his bathrobe.
He reached out and pointed to the French window leading to the balcony.
"The window isn't locked, and I've already turned off the infrared lasers outside."
Lin Nuo's tone recovered its initial gentleness and consideration, "Are you planning to take that worthless piece-of-junk USB flash drive back to claim a reward from your employer and continue being his on-call nighttime pet..."
Lin Nuo pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze falling upon the long whip in her hand.
"Or stay in this top-floor apartment in the East End that belongs to you, take a good bath first, and let's have a nice, thorough communication~~"
Chapter 276: Ultimate Agility, The Plunder of Night's Authority
Selina clenched her back teeth, her wrist loosening.
The long whip dropped onto the carpet, making an extremely muffled, soft sound.
She strode forward on her long legs, her leather boots stepping onto the soft woolen carpet, and walked up to Lin Nuo.
Lin Nuo raised his hand, the pads of his fingers resting on the edge of the zipper at the collar of her tight leather suit.
The chill of the metal zipper formed an extreme contrast with the temperature of his fingertips.
The zipper was pulled down bit by bit, the sound of the leather rubbing against itself magnified infinitely in the quiet living room.
Selina did not dodge.
She looked at Lin Nuo's highly deceptive face, and at that moment, all those rules and regulations concerning Wayne, along with her self-righteous pride, were completely torn to shreds by her own hands.
Lin Nuo wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her toward him.
The safe social distance between the two of them was forcibly cleared to zero.
The moment their skin touched, Selina trembled involuntarily.
Lin Nuo's gaze focused on the extremely fine trace of sweat at her collarbone, his breathing rhythm unchanged, yet carrying unquestionable aggressiveness.
"The rules of the East District will be rewritten starting tonight."
Lin Nuo spoke right against her auricle.
Selina tilted her neck back, her hands climbing onto Lin Nuo's shoulders, actively welcoming this heat that was enough to burn away all her past.
Light shone into the bedroom through the gap in the curtains.
Selina lay prone on the silk sheets, the muscle lines of her back presenting a posture of extreme relaxation.
Her breathing was steady.
This was a peaceful sleep she had never experienced in the dozen or so years she had struggled in the slums of the East District.
Lin Nuo leaned against the head of the bed, toying with the silver decryption USB drive in his hand.
The mechanical voice deep within his brain rang out punctually.
[Target Selina Kyle physical and mental possession achieved.]
[Ability acquired: Ultimate Reaction Speed, Top-tier Flexibility.]
Watching the data jump on the system panel, Lin Nuopulled a pleased smile.
High-dimensional energy poured directly down through his crown into his limbs and bones.
His Hulk-level, violent physical body was undergoing extremely subtle physical reorganization at this moment.
The density of the muscle fibers remained as they were, but the conduction speed of the neurons was multiplied several times over.
The agility shortcoming originally caused by the dormancy of Quicksilver's speed factor was forcibly leveled out by this energy.
His bones emitted an extremely faint, crisp sound.
The integration of top-tier flexibility gave this body filled with explosive power an extensibility that surpassed human limits.
Lin Nuo raised his right hand, his five fingers rapidly opening and closing in the air.
Only a blurred afterimage was left on his retina.
He closed his eyes, activating the Dark Night Stealth Rule Mastery.
His breathing frequency was forcibly elongated, and his body temperature quickly dropped to match the surrounding environment entirely.
The sound of his heartbeat was wrapped by an invisible force field, completely isolated within his chest cavity.
In the adjacent bedroom, Diana was fast asleep.
The demigod's extremely sharp perception currently detected nothing of Lin Nuo's presence.
If someone were to scan this bedroom with a thermal imager right now, they would only see the heat source of Selina alone.
Lin Nuo's entire person had completely melted into the shadows, becoming darkness itself.
This was precisely the core fortune that allowed Bruce Wayne to come and go mysteriously in the night sky of Gotham.
Now, this fortune had become the private property of Star Umbrella Group's tyrant.
Selina turned over, her arm habitually resting on Lin Nuo's waist.
She opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat hazy.
"You woke up very early."
There was a hint of languidness in Selina's voice, her fingers tracing circles on the contours of Lin Nuo's abdominal muscles.
"The mornings of Gotham always need someone to establish new rules of the game."
Lin Nuo grabbed her mischievous fingers, stuffing that silver USB drive into her palm.
Looking at the USB drive in her hand, Selina immediately sat up.
That languidness instantly faded, replaced by the sharpness of a top-tier cat burglar.
"Take it back to report on the task."
Lin Nuo issued an instruction.
"What is loaded inside?"
Selina asked.
"A fake ledger of Star Umbrella Group."
Lin Nuo leaned against the head of the bed, "I disguised the source of funds as Rex Group from Metropolis. Bruce Wayne is naturally suspicious; the more perfect the evidence is, the less he believes it. This kind of half-true, half-false clue is enough for him to investigate in Metropolis for half a month."
Selina clutched the USB drive tightly in her hand.
"Aren't you afraid he'll find flaws?"
Selina asked in return.
"I want him to investigate."
Lin Nuo's fingertip grazed across her cheek, "WayneEnterprises' energy is limited. Once he casts his gaze toward Metropolis, a vacuum will appear in the defense line here in the East District. This is the optimal solution for me to buy time for Star Umbrella to expand."
Selina understood.
This man not only crushed everything in terms of force, but was also vicious to the extreme when it came to scheming against human hearts.
She placed the USB drive on the bedside table, turned over, and straddled Lin Nuo's lap.
"This afternoon, people from Star Umbrella will take you to hand over the territory in the East District."
Lin Nuo supported her waist with both hands, "If you encounter anyone disobedient, clean them out directly. Your backing is me now."
Selina leaned down, leaving an aggressively possessive mark at the corner of Lin Nuo's mouth.
"If Young Master Wayne knew that the cat he sent over even changed the owner of her collar, he would definitely be too angry to sleep."
Selina turned and got out of bed, picking up the leather clothes from the carpet.
She dressed neatly, coiled the long whip up, and hung it around her waist.
When she walked to the edge of the balcony, Selinastopped, looking back at Lin Nuo leaning against the head of the bed.
"Take the balcony."
Lin Nuo pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, "A princess with a rather bad temper lives next door. The sword in her hand is much sharper than your whip."
Selina raised an eyebrow, realizing that the forces around Lin Nuo were far beyond what was on the surface.
"How should I explain to Wayne why it took me so long to break away?"
Selina asked.
"Tell him that the new boss of the East District is an extremely difficult pervert."
Lin Nuo gave a perfect excuse, "Your legs were almost cut off by the laser net, and you only managed to find an opportunity to copy the data with great difficulty."
Selina pulled out a dazzling smile.
"As you command, Boss."
With a leap, she vaulted over the railing with extreme lightness, disappearing into the morning mist of Gotham.
Wayne Manor, underground Batcave.
Bruce wore a black turtleneck sweater, sitting in front of the console.
His hands were crossed and resting against his chin, while the surveillance footage of the East District port flickered on the screen.
Alfred walked over holding a cup of hot milk, placing it on the edge of the console.
"Master, Miss Kyle has not sent back any news yet."
Alfred glanced at the time, "Perhaps she botched it."
Bruce stared at the blurred photo of Lin Nuo walking out of the casino on the screen, saying nothing.
The encrypted communication channel on the right side of the console suddenly lit up with a green light.
Bruce immediately pressed the answer button.
"I've got the stuff."
Selina's voice came out of the speaker accompanied by the howling wind.
"Are you hurt?"
Bruce could hear that her breathing frequency was faster than usual.
"Ran into a bit of trouble; that man named Lin Nuo is an extremely difficult pervert."
There was just the right amount of complaint and fatigue in Selina's tone, "I left the stuff in the usual place; remember to wire the money into my account."
Chapter 277: Pretense Made Reality, Teaching Batman a Lesson
Bruce stared at the screen.
"You were discovered?"
"Discovered?"
Selina sneered over the communicator. "He didn't intend to hide at all. He was sitting on the sofa, drinking whiskey, watching me unlock his safe. He didn't even ask a single superfluous word."
"He just let you take the things away like that."
Bruce directly pointed it out.
"That's right. He let me take them, so I took them."
There was extreme defensiveness in Selina's tone. "I am only responsible for stealing things, not for helping you analyze his psychology. This deal ends here."
The communication was cut off directly.
Bruce stared at the blackened screen.
Alfred walked over holding a cup of coffee. "Miss Kyle's emotions are not quite right. Her usual disguise is much more perfect than this."
"She was frightened."
Bruce scrolled the mouse quickly. "To be able to make a stray cat that grew up in Gotham's East End feel terrified, this Mr. Lin Nuo's methods are even more extreme than I imagined."
The progress bar reached one hundred percent.
Dense fund transaction statements popped up and filled the entire screen.
Alfred glanced at the data. "Metropolis, Rex Corp? Luthor's reach is really long indeed."
"This doesn't fit Luthor's style of doing things."
Bruce brought up several past files. "Luthor likes to use legal business mergers to encroach on opponents. He would never send a group of thugs holding submachine guns to rob a casino."
"Perhaps he changed his strategy."
"Impossible."
Bruce locked onto one of the highlighted data entries. "This is an interlocking trap. A glaringly obvious loophole was intentionally left in the flash drive. Tonight at two in the morning, a batch of unmarked gold bars weighing five tons will be handed over at the No. 13 abandoned chemical plant in the East End."
Alfred placed the coffee cup on the console. "This is an obvious trap. You sent Miss Kyle to test the waters, and the other party went with the flow, delivering this fake address right in front of you."
"Only traps need to be stepped on in person."
Bruce stood up and walked towards the armory. "If I don't go, how would he know I received this 'gift'? I want to see what trump card this Star Umbrella boss has hidden in the chemical plant."
No. 13 abandoned chemical plant in the East End.
The heavy rain had just stopped, and the air was filled with a pungent sulfur smell and the stench of fermented industrial wastewater.
Batman crouched on the rusted ventilation duct of the chemical plant, turning on the armor's night vision goggles.
Inside the factory building, dozens of armed personnel holding automatic rifles were patrolling.
In the central open space, a dozen huge black metal boxes were neatly stacked.
"Young Master, thermal imaging shows that the personnel distribution inside the factory building is extremely scattered."
Alfred's voice sounded in the communication channel. "They don't have a uniform, and their rifle models are all over the place. These can't be considered elites at all. They're just a group of temporarily hired street gangs."
"Decoys used as cannon fodder."
Batman gave up the idea of a frontal breakthrough, and directly used the grapple gun to swing extremely lightly into the steel frame structure on the second floor of the factory building.
Two sentries were smoking.
"I heard that the Star Umbrella boss deposited a down payment into everyone's account."
One of the sentries spat out a ring of smoke. "As long as we hold this place tonight, the final payment is enough for us to lie back in Hawaii for a lifetime."
"You have to have the life to spend it even if you get it. If Batman comes, is that crappy gun in your hand useful?"
Batman landed silently, both hands exerting force simultaneously, precisely striking the carotid arteries of the two.
The two collapsed softly to the ground without even making a sound.
He slid down the steel frame to the shadows of the first floor, avoiding the sweep of the searchlight, and sneaked all the way to the central open space.
These armed personnel were completely a group of temporarily cobbled-together street punks.
Batman fished a micro-decrypter from his belt and stuck it on the electronic lock of one of the black metal boxes.
The decrypter screen flashed twice, and the green light lit up directly.
The box sprang open.
There were no gold bars inside at all.
There was only C4 high explosive piled to the brim, with a counting-down red detonator tied to it.
"Batman!"
Beside the iron railing on the second floor, a fierce-looking bald punk leaned out half his body, holding a Masterremote control in his hand.
The bald man did not feel any fear because of Batman's appearance; instead, his face revealed an extremely fanatical excitement.
"The Star Umbrella boss said!"
The bald man roared at the top of his lungs, the veins on his forehead bulging, "As long as you are kept inside, everyone's overseas account will instantly be credited with five million U.S. dollars! Wives and children will buy big Villas in Miami for the rest of their lives!"
Bruce's vision froze.
"Put down the remote control!"
Batman warned in a deep voice, "He lied to you. Once the explosives detonate, all of you will die here!"
"So what if we die!"
The bald man laughed wildly. "Being a rat in the East End for a lifetime, I can't even afford the money to treat my daughter's illness! Five million U.S. dollars is enough to buy this wretched life of mine!"
Bruce had calculated that this was a trap, calculated that there would be an ambush, and even calculated that there would be heavy firepower suppression.
But the one thing he didn't calculate was that the other party simply didn't play by the rules.
No interrogation, no probing, no nonsense of villains showing off their trump cards.
The other party directly bought out the lives of these dozens of desperate criminals with capital, treating them as disposable consumables just to detonate this powder keg full of explosives.
The bald man pressed the remote control without hesitation.
"Damn it."
Batman turned around, his right arm firing the grapple gun, heading straight for the skylight at the top of the factory building.
Boom!
The deafening explosion directly tore apart the night sky of the East End.
More than a dozen boxes filled with C4 detonated simultaneously.
The violent shockwave mixed with scorching flames directly swallowed the entire factory building.
The sturdy reinforced concrete structure was fragile in the face of absolute physical destructive power.
The load-bearing walls collapsed, and the roof was blown off.
Batman was hit hard on the back by the shockwave in mid-air.
The explosion-proof layer of the armor made an extremely harsh cracking sound.
Utilizing this thrust, he smashed the glass of the skylight, and his whole body was thrown up into the night sky dozens of meters high.
The cape partially melted under the high temperature, and the gliding function was severely damaged.
He smashed extremely wretchedly onto a muddy open space on the periphery of the chemical plant, rolling more than a dozen times continuously to dissipate the force.
The armor on the right arm of the armor was completely shattered, and blood dripped down the fingertips into the muddy water.
He raised his head, looking at the chemical plant in front of him that had turned into a sea of fire, his expression under the mask ugly to the extreme.
The other party never intended to play any gang turf-grabbing games with him.
This was using capital and ultimate efficiency to crush his proud tactical reasoning.
But when has he, Wayne, ever been afraid of capital!
Inside a commercial building outside the chemical plant.
Lin Nuo was wearing a tailored black suit, holding a glass of red wine, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Diana was wearing a black tight combat suit, standing by his side.
"Is that what you call the Master of Gotham?"
Chapter 278: Red Lightning, the Light of Hope to Break the Impasse
"The so-called Master is nothing more than someone who controls the city's printing press."
Lin Nuo swirled the goblet in his hand, the amber liquid spinning against the glass wall.
"Bruce Wayne sits in his constant-temperature manor, using capital to piece together that Batman armor. He treats the East End slums as his hunting ground, coming out every night to catch a few disobedient rats to satisfy his pathetic sense of moral superiority."
Lin Nuo tilted his head back and took a sip of red wine, his Adam's apple rolling.
"I cut off his logistics and smashed his money bag, and the sanity he was so proud of completely collapsed."
Lin Nuo placed the wine glass on the marble bar nearby, "He didn't even do the most basic reconnaissance before diving headfirst into the powder keg I prepared for him. Stripped of that coat of capital, he is no more noble than those thugs who press remote controls for five million U.S. dollars."
Diana listened to these remarks, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Those armed personnel you used as bait, they are also living, breathing people."
Diana turned to look at Lin Nuo, "You gave them money just to send them to their deaths?"
Lin Nuo turned around, reached out very naturally to pinch Diana's chin, forcing her to look straight into his eyes.
"Princess Your Highness, you still don't understand the operating rules of human society."
Lin Nuo's tone was extremely gentle, yet it exuded absolute ruthlessness, "I gave them a choice. They could well have taken the deposit to buy a ticket out of Gotham. But they chose to stay, choosing to gamble their lives for five million U.S. dollars. Greed is their own business; I merely provided a platform to cash in on that greed."
Lin Nuo's fingertips gently rubbed against Diana's lips.
"When Ares instigates wars, he uses hatred and fear."
Lin Nuo continued his high-level brainwashing, "And I use interests. As long as the interests are large enough, so-called justice and bottom lines can be priced openly at any time. Wayne lost because he was reluctant to spend money to buy the lives of those desperate men."
Diana did not retort.
The demigod bloodline produced an instinctive submission under Lin Nuo's touch.
The black-and-white education she had received since childhood was stripped away completely in the face of this man's extremely self-consistent logic.
At the chemical plant ruins scene.
The aftermath of the explosion was still raging.
The surviving reinforced concrete structures made overburdened cracking sounds under the high temperature.
Bruce Wayne lay prone on the muddy open ground, the armor on the right arm of his battle suit completely shattered.
The high temperature burned out the communication module, and the electronic screen inside the helmet was in a static-filled state.
He used his left hand to prop up his body with extreme difficulty.
At least three ribs were broken, and his lungs inhaled a large amount of toxic gas; every breath was accompanied by knife-like sharp pain.
The siren had not yet sounded.
The response speed of the Gotham police department had become extremely sluggish under the interference of capital.
Bruce gritted his teeth, preparing to activate the backup signal transmitter.
The air suddenly underwent high-frequency vibration.
It was not the wind, nor the air wave generated by the explosion.
That was a pure physical acceleration, accompanied by extremely minute distortions in the surrounding gravitational field.
A red electric arc appeared out of thin air, directly tearing apart the thick black smoke.
Bruce raised his head, his retina capturing only a flash of dazzling red light.
Top floor of the building.
Lin Nuo's originally casual gaze completely changed the moment the red light lit up.
He abruptly pushed Diana away, pressing his entire body against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The Hulk-level violent physical body was completely tensed at this moment, and his excellent vision directly penetrated the two-kilometer night veil, locking firmly onto those ruins.
A trace of red lightning shuttled back and forth among the debris.
The speed was too fast.
Lin Nuo had once absorbed Quicksilver's speed factor in the Marvel Universe; he knew the physical state when breaking the sound barrier all too well.
But that red light below was not breaking the sound barrier at all.
It was breaking the speed of light.
Tons of concrete stones were forcibly moved away by the force field generated by the red light.
Those burning steel supports were neatly stacked at the edge of the open ground in less than a tenth of a second.
Where the red light passed, there wasn't even a sonic boom cloud produced in the air.
Because the speed of that figure had already surpassed the physical limits of sound propagation and air resistance taking effect.
Lin Nuo saw that red light pause in the center of the ruins for a tenth of a second.
A young man wearing a red combat suit revealed his figure.
The yellow lightning symbol on his chest was extremely conspicuous.
Barry Allen.
Barry stood in the ruins, waving his hands rapidly.
The surrounding space produced naked-eye-visible water ripples due to his extremely high frequency.
What made Lin Nuo feel even more scalp-numbing were the afterimages dragged behind Barry.
Those afterimages did not disappear as the main body stopped, but instead repeated Barry's actions from the previous second in an extremely bizarre manner.
The time scale was forcibly elongated at this moment, and even an extremely minute backward flow appeared.
Deep within Lin Nuo's brain domain, that emotionless mechanical voice rang out frantically.
[Warning: Extremely high-dimensional law fluctuations detected.]
[Analyzing law attributes... Analysis complete.]
[Target energy source determined to be: Speed Force.]
[Detected that this energy contains absolute time reversal, space folding, and parallel Universe shuttle privileges.]
[The Quicksilver speed factor in a state of deep dormancy within the host produces a strong resonance.]
Lin Nuo's heartbeat completely went out of control at this moment.
Purplish-red blood surged in his blood vessels, slamming against the heart valves and making muffled sounds like battle drums.
He raised both hands, pressing them tightly against the explosion-proof glass.
Because of excessive force, his ten fingers directly pressed ten clear fingerprints onto the special glass.
Spiderweb-like cracks spread outward along his fingertips.
"Lin Nuo?"
Diana sensed Lin Nuo's extremely abnormal emotional fluctuations and walked quickly to his side, "What is that thing?"
Lin Nuo completely ignored Diana.
His vision was completely occupied by that red lightning.
On the day Thanos snapped his fingers, he forcibly opened the river of time, trying to fish back Anna, Potts, Gwen, and others who had turned to ashes.
But he failed.
He suffered the backlash of the time dimension; the Space Stone shattered, the Reality Warping authority was sealed off, and he himself was exiled to this Universe.
He had always thought that to resurrect those women, he must gather the six Infinity Stones or search for those illusory Mother Boxes and the Anti-Life Equation in the Universe.
He was wrong.
The most perfect key was right before his eyes.
Speed Force.
This was not some mere speed superpower at all.
This was an absolute authority capable of arbitrarily modifying the timeline and reversing life and death.
As long as he mastered the Speed Force, he could directly outrun time, return to the second before the snap occurred, and snatch back all the assets that belonged to him.
Even, he could directly reshape the timeline of the entire Marvel Universe, trampling all those high-and-mighty deities under his feet.
Barry Allen completed the initial search and rescue in the ruins.
He found no survivors, only seeing the heavily injured Batman.
The red light flashed again.
Barry hoisted Bruce up and directly turned into an electric arc, disappearing into the night of Gotham.
Only a patch of cleanly cleared scorched earth was left at the scene.
Lin Nuo withdrew both hands.
The explosion-proof glass shattered with a crash, and glass shards fell onto the expensive carpet.
The cold wind from high altitude poured into the building through the gap, blowing the hem of Lin Nuo's black suit fluttering loudly.
He turned around, took out that pair of gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket, and placed them extremely carefully on the bridge of his nose.
Within the ink-black pupils behind the lenses, unprecedented greed and fanaticism surged.
That tyrant nature capable of destroying everything to achieve its goal completely awakened at this moment.
He had found his new plate.
"Wayne is not dead."
Diana looked at the empty ruins, her tone calm, "That red shadow rescued him."
"Whether he lives or dies is no longer important."
Lin Nuo straightened his tie, walked to the bar, and poured the unfinished glass of red wine directly into the sink.
The red liquid flowed away along the drain, as dazzling as fresh blood.
Lin Nuo turned his head and looked at Diana.
"Go notify Selina; she will temporarily have full proxy of the East End territory. The capital chain of Star Umbrellawill all go underground."
Lin Nuo issued instructions at an extremely fast pace.
"You are going to give up Gotham?"
Diana was somewhat stunned.
She did not understand why Lin Nuo suddenly stopped when he held an absolute advantage.
"Gotham is just a beginner village. The interests here can no longer satisfy my appetite."
Lin Nuo walked up to Diana, reached out to wrap his arms around her explosive waist, and pulled her domineeringly into his arms.
"We are moving to a new place, Princess Your Highness."
Chapter 279: The Storm Rises, the Layout Before the Floor-to-Ceiling Windows
"Give up Gotham?"
Diana followed behind Lin Nuo, her combat boots making a dull thudding sound on the carpet. "You were just talking about cutting off Wayne's logistics and forcing the God of War out. Now, because of a red shadow, you're just going to hand over the territory we just conquered?"
Lin Nuo pushed open the heavy wooden door of the conference room, walked straight to the leather seat at the head of the table, and sat down. "That red shadow is much more valuable than Ares."
The secret door on the other side of the conference room was pushed open.
Selina walked in wearing tight leather clothing, tossing an encrypted communicator in her hand.
"Wayne found out about the false accounts in Metropolis, and the people he sent to the chemical plant came up empty-handed."
Selina pulled out the chair to the right of Lin Nuo and sat down, crossing her long legs. "Those disobedient bosses in the East District have already been cleaned up. When are we taking over the docks?"
"We're not taking them over."
Lin Nuo crossed his hands on the marble tabletop, his tone extremely steady. "Package and sell off all physical casinos and underground money houses in the East District at a discount to the Penguin or Two-Face before dawn. Wash all of Star Umbrella's working capital three times through offshore accounts, and transfer it to Central City overnight."
Selina's motion of tossing the communicator stopped mid-air.
"Are you crazy?"
Selina stared into Lin Nuo's eyes, her tone rising. "We just swallowed up Black Mask's territory, and Wayne is now led astray by a fake clue. This is the prime time to expand our territory. And now you want me to spit out the meat that's already in our mouths? Sell it at a discount? That will result in a loss of at least forty percent of our profits!"
"You're still calculating with the mindset of a street punk."
Lin Nuo picked up the tablet on the table, pulled up a financial report of Gotham, and slid it directly in front of Selina. "Gotham's mob economy is stagnant water. Collecting protection money, running casinos, smuggling weapons—this money looks like a lot, but maintaining a massive team of thugs and bribing the police department incurs extremely high costs. Most importantly, the upper limit here is locked down by Wayne Enterprises."
Selina looked at the dense deficits and expenditures on the tablet and didn't reply.
"What capital fears most is not losses, but being locked in."
Lin Nuo leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. "Wayne suffered a secret loss tonight, but he's no fool. Once he comes to his senses, all formal financial channels in Gotham will be closed to us. The people at the bottom here can only join gangs, and the money made by the gangs ultimately has to be laundered through WayneBank or spent on weapons from Wayne Industries. This is a closed loop. Instead of playing cat-and-mouse with him here, it's better to cash out and leave. Leave the mess to the Penguin and let them wear each other down with Batman."
"What's in Central City?"
Selina asked back.
"The fastest courier in the World."
Lin Nuo brought up a blurry photo—it was the red electric arc captured earlier at the ruins of the chemical plant—"As well as emerging tech industries not controlled by Wayne Enterprises. There are middle classes there, and so-called hope that can be easily manipulated by capital."
Diana stood to Lin Nuo's left, her gaze falling on that photo.
"He saved Wayne."
Diana spoke, "He possesses some kind of extraordinary power. Do you want his power to deal with Ares?"
"Ares isn't worthy."
Lin Nuo took off his gold-rimmed glasses and placed them on the table.
He raised his hand and rubbed his brow, putting away his calculating tyrant posture and replacing it with an expression of extreme fatigue and deep regret.
"Diana."
Lin Nuo's voice was lowered very much, every word meticulously disguised. "I told you, I am a researcher. Before coming to your Universe, I tried to prevent a disaster that swept across the entire Universe. But I failed."
Diana's breathing paused for half a second, and she recalled the not-yet-fully-healed law cracks on Lin Nuo's body.
"That disaster took away the most important people in my life."
Lin Nuo opened his eyes, his ink-black pupils filled with bloodshot veins, acting out deep affection and pain to the extreme. "I forcibly mobilized my power, trying to break through the barrier of time to save them, but as a result, I suffered the backlash of the laws and ended up drifting to Paradise Island."
Selina sat to the side, looking at Lin Nuo's appearance, an unreasoned irritation rising in her heart.
She had thought this man was an absolutely rational madman, but she hadn't expected him to harbor such a cheesy old grudge deep down.
"That red shadow just now—"
Lin Nuo reached out and pointed at the Flash on the screen. "What he uses is not ordinary speed. I can sense that it is a dimensional law capable of reversing time and altering reality. As long as I get that power, I can go back to the past and pull everything back on track."
Lin Nuo paused, his gaze sweeping across Diana's and Selina's faces.
"This will be an extremely dangerous hunt. What we might face is not just a fast-running kid, but the rejection of the rules of the entire World."
Lin Nuo put his glasses back on, hiding the madness deep in his eyes. "If you want to quit, I'll leave you enough money to squander for the rest of your lives."
An extremely brilliant tactical retreat.
Diana didn't hesitate at all.
She stepped forward and gripped Lin Nuo's hand with great force.
The demigod's body temperature transmitted through her palm, carrying absolute loyalty.
"The Amazons never break an oath."
Diana looked straight into Lin Nuo's eyes. "You paid the price to save the World, and now, I will help you take back everything you lost. Even if it means making an enemy of the gods of this World."
Lin Nuo turned his hand over to clasp Diana's fingers, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand as the corners of his mouth twitched into a slight arc.
The first blade was sharpened.
He turned his head to look at Selina.
Selina clenched her back teeth, stood up, and grabbed the tablet on the table.
"The East District's territory, I'll handle everything clean before dawn."
Selina's tone was extremely cold, carrying an inexplicable desire to win. "Central City's underground network and tech company equities, I'll complete the infiltration in the name of an offshore company within forty-eight hours. You'd better make sure that kid in the red tights is really worth this price."
"He's much more valuable than you think."
Lin Nuo let go of Diana's hand and stood up.
His Hulk-level violent physique lay dormant beneath the well-tailored suit, and his highly aggressive aura retook control of the entire conference room.
"Selina, after going to Central City, the first thing to do is acquire all properties and logistics transfer stations around S.T.A.R. Labs."
Lin Nuo gave specific instructions, "I want to surround that laboratory on a physical level. Cut off all their external funding chains and buy out all their equipment suppliers. I want to make sure they can't even buy a single screw."
"Are you going to make a move directly?"
Selina asked.
"No."
Lin Nuo walked up to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the distant night scenery. "For a fast runner, what he fears most is not bullets, but ties. Find out all his family, friends, and colleagues around him. I want to know which shop he buys coffee from every morning, and who he cares about the most. To hunt this kind of prey, you can't rely on chasing; you have to rely on a net."
Lin Nuo picked up a cup of pure water from the bar and drank it down in one gulp.
"Go prepare. Before dawn, all traces of Star Umbrella in Gotham must be wiped clean."
Selina turned and walked out of the conference room, her high-heeled leather boots stepping heavily.
Diana stayed behind, very naturally helping Lin Nuo adjust the collar of his suit.
"Go rest for a few hours."
Lin Nuo patted Diana's waist. "On the road ahead, there will be many places where you need to wield your sword."
Diana nodded and turned toward the bedroom.
Only Lin Nuo was left in the conference room.
He looked at his own reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window glass, Quicksilver's superspeed factor pulsing extremely actively within his body.
This cross-dimensional plunder had only just begun.
Central City, Police Department Evidence Division.
Barry Allen slumped over his messy desk, a sense of exhaustion washing over his entire body.
The phone on the desk vibrated.
Barry rubbed his eyes and answered the call.
"Barry, you didn't go home again last night?"
Cisco's voice came through the receiver, "There's a slight abnormal fluctuation in the particle accelerator data here at the lab. You'd better come take a look."
"I'll be right over."
Barry yawned, "There was a huge mess over in Gothamlast night, and I ran over there."
"Gotham has plenty of messes, what are you worrying about?"
Cisco complained, "Central City is peaceful as can be, not even a single bank robber around. Hurry up and bring two iced Americanos over."
Barry hung up the phone and grabbed his backpack.
"Peaceful as can be?"
Barry muttered, turning into an electric arc and disappearing from the office.
He had no idea at all that a giant net woven from extremely barbaric capital and absolute violence had already precisely locked onto the coffee shop he passed by every day.
Two minutes later, Jitters Coffee Shop in Central City.
There were not many pedestrians on the streets in the early morning.
Barry pushed open the glass door, walked up to the bar, and lowered his head to rummage through his wallet for loose change.
"Two Americanos, one with sugar, the other..." Barry raised his head.
Behind the bar, a man in a black suit and gold-rimmed glasses pushed a prepared Americano in front of Barry.
"Would you like ice, Mr. Allen?"
Chapter 280: Capital Descends, An Offer You Can't Refuse
Barry's gaze fell upon the man in front of him, who was wearing a black suit and gold-rimmed glasses.
"Thank you."
Barry handed over the change, "Are you new? I haven't seen you before."
"Just arrived in Central City."
Lin Nuo pushed the change back to the bar, tapped his fingers twice on the cash register, "Experiencing the city's morning. Have a smooth workday, Mr. Allen."
Barry didn't think much of it, grabbed the coffee, turned around to push open the glass door, and walked briskly into the early morning street.
Central City, Star Laboratories.
Cisco sat in front of the central console, rubbing his already messy hair hard with both hands.
Dozens of red collection emails were flashing on the screen, and the old-fashioned printer beside it was spitting out a long stream of bills.
The paper tape hung down onto the metal floor, piling up into a small mountain.
Caitlin held a financial statement, walked up to Cisco, and slammed the statement heavily next to the keyboard.
"The cooling system of the particle accelerator needs three valves replaced. The supplier says that if the remaining balance from last month is not settled, they will stop supplying liquid nitrogen this afternoon."
Caitlin's voice revealed undisguised exhaustion, "And the electricity bill for this building, the city hall has issued an ultimatum. By tomorrow noon at the latest, they will cut off the industrial electricity here."
Barry walked into the main control room carrying a paper bag, and handed the two cups of coffee to the two of them respectively.
"Still no investors willing to take over?"
Barry pulled over a swivel chair and sat down, looking at the deficits all over the screen.
"Who would invest in a ruin that has exploded once and carries huge compensation claims?"
Cisco tore open a sugar packet, poured the sugar into the coffee, stirred it vigorously with a spoon, "The venture capital manager from Silicon Valley the day before yesterday didn't even enter the laboratory door, turned around and left directly upon seeing the cracks on the outer wall. We're bankrupt, Barry. Even the budget to maintain the friction loss of your suit can't be approved anymore."
A crisp prompt tone came from the direction of the elevator.
The metal elevator car doors slid open to both sides.
Five men wearing high-end custom suits and carrying black briefcases walked out of the elevator first.
Their steps were neat, and their leather shoes stepped on the metal floor of the laboratory, making an extremely oppressive sound of footsteps.
These five people lined up on both sides, making way for a passageway.
Lin Nuo walked out of the elevator.
He had changed out of the outfit in the coffee shop, wearing an extremely well-tailored dark suit, gold-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, and his tie tied impeccably.
He looked around the dilapidated Star Laboratories, his gaze lingered on the stopped instruments for two seconds, and finally fell on the three people in front of the central control console.
"Private territory, visits prohibited."
Cisco stood up, blocked in front of the screen, and looked at this group of uninvited guests with vigilant eyes, "Who are you looking for?"
"Looking for someone who can sign this transfer agreement."
Lin Nuo walked to the front of the central control console.
The chief lawyer behind him immediately stepped forward, opened the briefcase, and placed a thick document on the table.
Barry stared at Lin Nuo's face and recognized this person.
"You're that barista from the Jitter Cafe?"
Barry stood up, pointing at Lin Nuo, "What are you doing here?"
"I said, that was just a part of experiencing life."
Lin Nuo pushed his frames, his sight crossed Barry, looking at Caitlin and Cisco, "Allow me to introduce myself, Lin Nuo. Chief Executive Officer of the Star Umbrella Group. I'm here to solve your trouble."
"Star Umbrella?"
Cisco typed a few times quickly on the keyboard, pulling up the search page, "No public listing records, no public financial statements. Are you a shell company?"
Lin Nuo ignored Cisco's guard, pulled out a chair next to him directly, and sat down extremely naturally.
"This contract is a full acquisition agreement."
Lin Nuo crossed his hands and placed them on the tabletop, his tone steady, "Star Umbrella Group will acquire 100% equity of Star Laboratories at the price of ten billion U.S. dollars. Including this building, underground facilities, all unpublicized patents, and any research projects you are currently conducting."
The main control room fell into a brief silence.
Ten billion U.S. dollars.
This figure was completely an astronomical number for Star Laboratories right now.
"What price do we have to pay?"
Caitlin maintained her rationality, looking at Lin Nuo with vigilant eyes, "Pies don't fall from the sky. You spend ten billion to buy a debt-ridden laboratory, what do you want to get from us?"
"I want the scientific research potential here."
Lin Nuo leaned against the back of the chair, took a pen from the lawyer's hand, and twirled it between his fingers, "Your theories in the fields of particle acceleration and hyper-dimensional physics far exceed this era. You just lack enough funds to turn theory into reality. The shell of this particle catcher has already experienced metal fatigue. If another high-frequency oscillation is carried out, it will directly blast through the foundation of this building."
"That is our core equipment, as long as we replace the parts it can continue to run."
Cisco retorted loudly.
"But you don't even have the money to buy parts."
Lin Nuo directly interrupted him, his tone revealing the coldness unique to capitalists, "You are using picked-up garbage, trying to piece together a miracle that can change the World. This spirit is touching, but in front of capital, it's worth nothing. You are protecting this city, but this city isn't even willing to pay the electricity bill for you."
Lin Nuo threw the pen onto the contract, making a crisp sound.
"What Star Umbrella lacks least is funds. After the acquisition is completed, all of your positions will be retained. Cisco Ramon continues to serve as the mechanical engineering Director, and Caitlin Snow is in charge of biomedical. Your salaries will be multiplied by ten."
Lin Nuo gave a condition that couldn't be refused.
"Star Umbrella will settle all your debts, including those compensations generated because of the explosion."
Lin Nuo braced his hands on the tabletop, leaning forward, "Before three o'clock this afternoon, the brand-new liquid nitrogen cooling equipment will be delivered downstairs. I've already had people wire the electricity bill to the city hall's account, and by the way, bought the right to use the dedicated grid line for this neighborhood."
Cisco looked at the figures on the contract and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
He turned his head to look at Barry and Caitlin.
"This sounds too perfect."
Barry walked to the table, staring into Lin Nuo's eyes, "So perfect that it makes one feel this is a trap. You were selling coffee in the coffee shop an hour ago, and now you ran over to buy us out with ten billion. Just who are you?"
"An investor with a fanatical pursuit of cutting-edge technology."
Lin Nuo met Barry's gaze without any backing down, "Mr. Allen, I know you are also an unofficial member here. The forensic evidence expert of the Central City Police Department. You process those rotting pieces of evidence at the police station every day, getting a meager salary. Then you return here at night, facing a bunch of scrap iron that could shut down at any time. Is this your so-called persistence?"
Barry was hit in the sore spot by these words, pressing both hands on the tabletop.
"We can operate without your money."
Barry's tone was tough.
"Is that so?"
Lin Nuo pulled a mocking smile, "Those little moves you make behind the scenes, like tracking certain supernatural phenomena, or developing some equipment that can break through physical limits, all require huge financial support. Without Star Umbrella, you can't even afford next month's rent. If I withdraw this contract now, tomorrow the Central City court's seal will be pasted on your main door."
Lin Nuo straightened his body and tidied up the hem of his suit.
"I'rather not here to do charity. I'm here to make a deal."
Lin Nuo's voice lowered, revealing a condescending sense of oppression, "I provide you with infinite funds and the best equipment. You only need to concentrate on research. As long as I don't call it off, you can build whatever you want. You can't refuse this condition."
Cisco grabbed that pen, his hand shaking slightly.
"If we sign the contract, will you really not interfere with our specific research direction?"
Cisco confirmed the final bottom line.
"I only look at results."
Lin Nuo made a promise, "I have no interest in the process."
Cisco signed his name on the signature column, and then handed the document to Caitlin.
Caitlin glanced at the offshore account's fund proof, clenched her teeth, and also signed.
The control of Star Laboratories, in less than ten minutes, completed a complete change of ownership.
Lin Nuo looked at the signed contract, the ink-colored pupils surging with the fanaticism unique to Raiders.
He didn't mobilize a single soldier, didn't use any extraordinary power, and merely used a figure that wasn't even considered loose change to him to legally buy the core nest of the Speed Force.
The lawyer put away the contract and retreated behind Lin Nuo.
"Happy cooperation."
Lin Nuo tidied up his cuffs and turned to walk towards the glass office deep inside the main control room.
That was Harrison Wells's former office.
Lin Nuo pushed open the glass door and sat down on that large leather boss chair.
He turned the chair, and through the glass curtain wall, looked at the three people of Barry with complex expressions outside.
"This chair is not bad, suitable for looking down on those self-righteous heroes."
Lin Nuo evaluated with a voice only he could hear.
He pressed the intercom on the desk.
"Cisco, transfer the laboratory's firewall permissions to my technical team."
Lin Nuo gave the first instruction, "Caitlin, contact the medical equipment supplier, and replace all the medical rooms on the second underground floor with the top-level life support pods. The budget is unlimited."
He paused for a moment, his gaze passing through the glass, precisely locking onto Barry.
"As for Mr. Allen."
Lin Nuo's voice echoed in the main control room, "Go close the door."
Barry walked up to the glass door, pushed open a gap, and stood at the doorway.
"Mr. Lin Nuo, I'm just a forensic scientist for the police department, not an official employee of the laboratory."
Barry tried to draw a clear line and retain the last initiative.
"From now on, you are."
Lin Nuo leaned against the back of the chair, with his hands crossed on his abdomen, "Star Umbrella is very interested in a topic named'Super-Speed Particle Capture'. I've checked the past records of the laboratory, and you have made breakthrough progress in this field."
Barry's heart beat violently.
"That's only in the theoretical stage."
Barry forced himself to remain calm, "There are currently no physical results, and I don't want to participate in the project."
"The police department's confidentiality agreement is only valid for the poor."
Lin Nuo took off his gold-rimmed glasses, took out a silk handkerchief to wipe them slowly, "Tomorrow your Director will personally transfer you to my project team. In order to cooperate with the subsequent research and development, I need to build a brand-new database."
Lin Nuo put on his glasses, the gaze behind the lenses sharp as a knife, directly cutting open Barry's disguise.
"Go lie down in the medical room, Mr. Allen."