Chapter 349: Miss Gordon, the Hardliner!
A Favor for a Good Cop
A Police Commissioner's salary was enough for the Gordon family to live a comfortable middle-class life, but that was the extent of it.
It was absolutely impossible for Barbara to come up with one and a half million dollars to order armor; she simply didn't have the means.
Looking at the girl, who was caught in a dilemma, Luke laughed heartily, shaking his head as he did so.
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I'll send you the armor performance data later, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this. If your father asks, just say you stole the information from Tesla. Understood?"
Barbara gave him a strange look. "Why are you being so kind?"
Luke shrugged. "Commissioner Gordon is one of the few good cops out there. I don't want him to die accidentally because of armor produced by Tesla." He paused, then added,
"To be honest, the performance of those one hundred suits is extremely powerful. They were prepared by the FBI and A.R.G.U.S. for use against metahumans. If the police run into them, it's a death sentence."
"Alright, beautiful Miss Gordon, thanks for the coffee."
Luke put on his glasses and picked up his hat, preparing to leave.
"Wait a minute."
Barbara stopped him, sounding confused. "You're just going to leave like that?"
"What else?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Luke smacked his head. "When dining with a lady, the gentleman should pay the bill."
"Who cares about that!" Barbara tossed her head to the side and snorted coldly. "I don't want to owe you a favor for nothing. If you have a request, put it forward. I might consider it."
"Are you serious?"
Barbara nodded. "Of course. And don't even think about me sleeping with you. That's not happening."
Luke was instantly amused and sat back down. "Actually, I do have a request. The reason I dressed like this to meet you was to invite you to dinner. But judging from our conversation just now, you seem to have a deep misunderstanding about me, so I didn't bring up dinner. Now, though?" He smiled slightly and continued,
"Beautiful Miss Gordon, would you be interested in a romantic candlelight dinner with me?"
"Impossible! Don't even think about it." Barbara slammed her hand on the table in anger. "Luke Shaw, you have so many girlfriends! Girls like Julie and Havera admitted to sleeping with you. Why don't you ask them? Why are you bothering me? I'm not a supermodel or an actress!"
Luke sighed in frustration.
"Barbara, don't believe the tabloid news. That's all for fooling idiots. Do you know why ShowMe and Tesla are developing so fast? It's because their boss works fifteen hours a day."
"Do you really think a person who only has nine hours of free time every day has the spare time to have one-night stands with supermodels and actresses?"
"And those unscrupulous tabloids fabricate news to grab attention. They write about threesomes and nine-person parties and all sorts of crazy stuff. Do they think I'm a stud pig? Even if they're going to fabricate it, they should provide some evidence, like a photo or a recording. Barbara, when have you ever seen a close-up photo of me with an actress in a newspaper?"
The girl turned her head away. "How do I know if you're lying?"
"If you don't believe me, you can go ask around at the factory. Outsiders don't know the truth, but the employees who spend all day with me on the production line and in the lab know perfectly well. They're all witnesses."
Hearing him say this, Barbara was somewhat convinced. She muttered,
"I was just talking. Why are you so angry?"
Luke: "..."
He thought for a moment, then extended his right hand. "Come on, walk around with me."
Barbara hesitated briefly before reluctantly extending her hand. Luke suddenly pulled her into his embrace. Just as he was about to press his advantage, Barbara pushed him away.
"Behave yourself! I only agreed to a date, nothing else."
"Okay! We'll just window-shop."
Luke readily agreed, being the perfect gentleman. "Where do you want to go? The cinema, the arcade, a bar, or somewhere else? Honestly, I'm not familiar with Gotham."
Barbara's eyes twinkled.
"I'll take you somewhere."
The Challenge
Half an hour later, Luke stood in front of a martial arts dojo that looked extremely worn down. He read the information on the doorpost and was left speechless.
"I've never heard of a date at a martial arts academy. If you're interested in fighting, we can go to a professional venue, not..."
He truly didn't know what word to use to describe a martial arts school that didn't even have a proper sign.
"Don't underestimate it. This dojo is very good."
Barbara walked in first. Luke had no choice but to follow. The interior decorations were as old as the exterior: decades-old furniture, flooring that hadn't been replaced in ages. The only positive thing was that it was clean and tidy.
Barbara was very familiar with the dojo. She skillfully found her way to the training field, clasped her hands together, and bowed to a figure sitting cross-legged in the sunlight.
"Mr. Long, may I borrow your training area?"
The middle-aged man named Long nodded slightly. His calm eyes swept over Luke, who was following behind, lingered for a moment, and then closed again.
Long!
Luke raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtfully at the man. Yellow hair, an unremarkable face, about forty years old. His limbs were long and symmetrical, and his muscles weren't overly bulky but exuded a powerful sense of force, like a coiled tiger ready to spring. What attracted Luke's attention the most was his demeanor: peaceful, tranquil, and utterly still, like a statue of the Buddha.
"Interesting!"
If he wasn't mistaken, this man should be Richard Dragon, one of the pinnacle martial arts masters in the DC world. He hadn't expected him to be living in seclusion in Gotham.
"Don't use that kind of look. Mr. Long doesn't like to be disturbed."
Luke looked away and turned back.
"You brought me here. Don't tell me you want to fight me?"
"You guessed it! I want to fight you to let you know how good I am!" Barbara brandished her fists. Then, she retorted, "Of course, if you're scared, you can run now. I won't laugh at you."
Luke: "..."
"Fine, how should we fight?"
Barbara pointed to the ring, saying proudly, "Whoever falls off or begs for mercy loses."
It was easy to tell from the girl's expression that she was extremely confident in the match and even planned to use this opportunity to teach Luke a lesson. This thought was completely normal. Luke's displayed strength lay in his wealth and intelligence; his fighting skill was nothing to write home about.
Luke could only shrug at the idea. As a person who had lived two lives, there was no need to take offense at a young person's antics.
After changing clothes, the two stepped onto the ring.
Barbara clenched her left fist and held her right hand like a claw, leaning slightly forward, adopting a strange combat stance. Luke simply stood there casually, looking like a total rookie who had never seen real combat.
"Luke Shaw, I admit you're smart, but this is a fighting ring."
Hah!
With a sharp shout, the small body burst forth with terrifying speed, pouncing like a fierce tiger. Her right fist slammed toward his chest. Luke quickly dodged, but Barbara seized the moment, grabbing his waist and slamming into him with force that a normal eighteen-year-old girl shouldn't possess.
Barbara took advantage of the opening to attack fiercely, her whip-kicks and sweeps all aimed at his lower body. A final gut-punch sent Luke flying backward.
"I won!"
The girl put her hands on her hips, lifted her chin, and a subtle mockery appeared on her delicate face. This guy really is all bark and no bite. He couldn't even last five seconds.
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