Inside the Goth Estate, Lady Goth anxiously awaited news.
Her plan was simple. If she wanted to conceal the unspeakable deeds she had committed, she just needed to kill everyone who had a hand in the matter. This was very typical of the mindset in Gotham, where only the dead could keep a secret forever.
But now, it was difficult to find a killer in Gotham.
After all, the logistics industry was labor intensive, and the previous killers had all been captured by the mob for work. If she used killers from other mob bosses, Lady Goth felt uneasy, potentially leaving a handle for others to exploit. As for outsiders, they were not professional at all. After much thought, Lady Goth settled on one individual.
She had heard of the rise of a Joker truck driver in Gotham who created explosions and killed many people. In Lady Goth's view, why would anyone kill without a beneficial cause? Therefore, this Joker truck driver must have been a murderer, causing all the chaos to build his own reputation, as was common in the past.
If that was the case, she might as well put him to work. Even if it cost a little more, it would be worth buying some peace of mind.
After all preparations were made, Lady Goth let out a sigh of relief. She felt that once this night was over, everything would start to get better.
The nights in Gotham were always dark and deep, which was quite terrifying. The lights at the docks were not enough to warm this nocturnal scene.
A distance away from the dock, there were many strange machines. Lights blinked in their control rooms. Occasionally, busy dockworkers would pause and look up at these contrivances.
They all knew that the workers here were paid much more than they were, even the security personnel had a much more comfortable job.
Perhaps their job was too easy, and the pay too high. This made the security personnel here a bit lazy. They merely huddled up and slept in the security cabin. Under the dim lights, the name on the gate outside was somewhat blurred, reading 'Gotha Shipyard'.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared outside the security cabin and jumped in with nimble movements, silently eliminating the security guard.
Several more shadows swiftly infiltrated the shipyard, proceeded along the yard into the building, and began rummaging around.
From their clothing, it was hard to tell who they were, but when they captured an employee, their identity was revealed.
"Federal Bureau Investigation! Please cooperate with the investigation! Where is the document storage room? Where are the important bills and design blueprints stored?"
"Fed... Federal Bureau of Investigation?" The employee stuttered in fear: "I have done nothing wrong. I have only been working here for two months!"
His attitude aroused suspicion in the man facing him: "You haven't done anything? Does that mean someone else did something? Where's the storage room? Take us there!"
"Alright, I'll take you there. Just don't kill me!"
As the employee turned around, the agent restraining his neck did not see the insane smile that crept under his lowered hat brim.
A few minutes later, a figure wearing workers' clothes and a cap emerged from the shipyard, casually leaning on the shipyard sign, precisely on the word 'Gotha'.
He was playing with a remote control. As he straightened up and took two steps forward, a huge ball of fire erupted from the shipyard behind him. A loud "boom" echoed and debris scattered everywhere.
The explosion lit up the entire sea surface, and the small shadow disappeared into the black night of Gotham, leaving behind a series of maniacal laughter.
With a soft "pop", the telephone receiver in Lady Goth's hand fell to the floor. She stared in disbelief, her face twisted in fury as she screamed in agony.
Suddenly, her face turned white, and holding her chest, she collapsed to the floor, twitched twice, and laid still.
Leon, who had just entered the mansion, saw Lady Goth faint and immediately rushed over, lifting her onto the couch. He then wiped his face, hissing in pain.
There were three scars on his face, as if scratched by a cat. At that moment, fresh blood covered half of his face, even staining the right collar of his shirt red. Judging from the shape of the wounds, it seemed like the work of a feline. Clearly, his communication with Catwoman did not go well.
The pain made Leon somewhat delirious. The smell of blood kept assaulting his nose, and upon thinking that he might have been disfigured, his anger rose irrationally.
After a while, Lady Goth woke up slowly and burst into a desperate sob. She was so emotional that she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
Leon's route home was far from the sea, so he did not see the explosion. He had no idea what had happened and was simply frustrated. He said, "What on earth are you crying about? Is the lack of progress not because of your own issues?!"
"You only care about that broken shipyard of yours! If you hadn't been so stingy, our plans would have been successful by now!"
Hearing the word "shipyard", Lady Goth jumped up from the couch as if she were insane. She clutched at Leon's neck, screaming: "It's all your fault! All your fault! The bulwark that kept the Gotch family secure is gone!"
"If it weren't for you, if you hadn't made me work on those banned items, those damn weapons, how would... how would Goth family's shipyard..."
Lady Goth's long pointed nails dug into Leon's neck. The pain further provoked him. With a furious roar, he pushed Lady Goth away, yelling, "You damn fool! Because of your hesitation, my face was just ruined. How am I supposed to return to the West Coast now?!"
Lady Goth, scrambling to the side of the coffee table, picked up a vase and threw it at Leon. However, she was too weak, and lacked strength, so the vase missed Leon and fell at his feet instead.
Leon, having narrowly escaped danger, went completely berserk. He grabbed the neck of the incompletely shattered vase, dashed at Lady Goth, and sliced her throat with the sharp edge of the broken vase.
In a moment, blood spattered. The crazed Leon repeatedly struck Lady Goth's neck with the neck of the vase until it became a bloody mess.
The rain outside Gotham grew heavier — impartial to all, each night and each downpour in this place added a dose of madness to the soul. The unsuspecting lambs stuck in the middle would all end up swallowed by the darkness.
Many pairs of boots walked through the rain, their black clothes reflecting off the rain puddles with a silvery glow. When the men of the Falcone Faction stormed into the Goth Estate, all that was left here was a dead body and a madman.
Leon, who had completely lost his mind, mistook them for the Goth family's bodyguards and howled as he rushed forward to attack. However, Falcone's assassins were not as feeble as a noble lady. Seeing Leon charging at them, the leader pulled out a gun.
With a single "bang", the entire world returned to silence, apart from the incessant rain. The reason Falcone's men came here is traced back to the shipyard explosion.
Having received Catwoman's tip, the CIA wanted to investigate the Goth family right away. The only problem was, the Goth family was located in Gotham City, where they've experienced numerous setbacks.
In the past, they sent many agents together, openly drove into Gotham, found a place to live, just like visiting any other city. After all, under the title of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they could investigate with no hindrance.
Nonetheless, following several failures, they adjusted their strategy and infiltrated the city surreptitiously during the night.
In such a big city, not all gangs focus on strangers. They slipped in with little trouble. However, to avoid drawing attention, they decided to investigate secretly, with the Goth family's shipyard being their first target.
Unfortunately, the coordinates to the car accident site provided by Lady Goth, who dared to hire the Joker, was right at the entrance of the shipyard.
Putting aside why Lady Goth thought the Joker would take the job, his efficiency as an assassin was indeed high—there was no living creature within a few kilometers when he made his move.
The CIA agents investigating the shipyard faced a complete disaster—all of them perished.
The CIA learned from its previous experiences and equipped each agent with a black box that would send the footage before their deaths back to headquarters before being destroyed.
After viewing the recordings at the headquarters, they immediately suspected something was amiss.
If they had discovered something, they could let it go. But they were all eliminated before they could uncover anything, indicating that the Goth family was extremely suspicious. It might have even been a trap for the CIA set by a country overseas.
Initially, the CIA didn't prioritize this matter, as they had more important tasks at hand. Now, however, it had become their top priority.
But if more agents were sent for investigation, they might disappear silently like before. This time, the CIA decided to work with a stable collaborator—whom better for that role than Godfather Falcone?
Falcone was reluctant to cooperate with the CIA. However, he had noticed some of the suspicious moves by the Goth family. After all, there were many hands through which the raw materials traveled for the production of heavy weapons parts, making it hard to prevent people from noticing.
Falcone wanted to know what the Goth family was up to, so he sent his assassins to investigate. However, he didn't expect to find Lady Goth dead, the portly Leon gone mad, and nothing else remaining.
Miss Goth was indeed alive, but she was now studying at Gotham University—an area ruled by a certain professor.
After a moment, Falcone decided to start investigating from the Goth Estate. With no one left from the Goth household, the Goth Estate was basically defenseless.
This allowed for a detailed inspection. The secret compartment did not escape the professional eye. Thus, the entire collection hidden by Lady Goth was revealed to the CIA.
The good news within the bad was that there were indeed seven Soviet Guardian Medals. The bad news within the good was that there was also a NAZI medal—the Gold Diamond Double Sword Oak Cross Medal—the highest-ranking medal within the NAZI army.
That night, the last cold breeze of spring blew across Gotham.
On the highest mountain peak outside Gotham City, a muscular, mysterious figure loomed over the city like a king looking down from his throne.
He noticed that there were a few unique locations within the city. The Wayne building had the best strategic location, Gotham University was the most serene, and a secluded cave base tucked within the mountains on the other side was the most distinctive.
He then spoke in a deep voice:
"Go, investigate these locations for me... Master Mirror."