"So, you just hit him with an umbrella?"
Benjamin looked at Lionel's body. He clearly saw a deep bruise on Lionel's lower jaw; it looked like it was indeed from a blow, which matched Shiller's description.
After blurring the crucial parts of his conversation with Lionel, Shiller simply recounted their interaction. At the end, he said, "After knocking him down, I was planning to leave right away. But before I did, I noticed a shadow near the window..."
"A shadow?" Benjamin frowned, examining the few people present. Unexpectedly, Selina was the first to speak.
"After I finished my supper, I wanted to take a walk, but it was snowing outside and the hallways were full of secret agents, so I simply jumped down from the balcony."
Benjamin stared at Selina's beautiful face. There was no doubt that her features were exquisite and captivated attention. But no matter how he looked at it, Selina resembled more a socialite who belonged on a dance floor, rather than a female agent capable of hopping off buildings.
Just as Benjamin was about to refute her, a chill wind brushed his face. Accompanied with a "whoosh" sound, he turned his head and saw that a hairpin was embedded in the brick crevices behind him. Selina withdrew her hand, arching an eyebrow as she said, "Don't ask me how I did it. You just listen."
As Selina began her recount, time once again crawled backward, returning to the moment after Shiller knocked Lionel down.
When Shiller turned to leave, in the corner of his eye, he noticed an apparitional shadow beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Shiller didn't pause; he left the dining hall straight away. After the dining hall door closed, a shadowy figure sneaked in through the window - Selina who had been prepared to set up eavesdropping devices.
As it happened, Selina and Bruce's room was directly above the dining hall. It was the most accessible target location for Selina.
Moreover, choosing the dining hall as the first target location had its benefits. For instance, if she was spotted, she could claim to have been invited.
But Selina did not expect to find a body lying on the floor as soon as she entered. The culprit seemed to have only just left. Seeing that Lionel was still moving, Selina curiously leaned in for a look.
At that moment, Lionel finally regained his senses. Clutching his jaw and grimacing, he struggled up from the floor, only to find a curious Selina looking at him.
Lionel shook his head, and upon seeing Selina's face, a fleeting confusion passed over him. Then, he remembered that she was Bruce's companion.
Shiller's evaluation of Selina surfaced in his mind. It took him some time to connect her identity, appearance, and evaluation together.
At that moment, Selina suddenly realized that she was there mischievously, and Lionel was one of the hosts of this banquet.
With that, she intended to flee. But before she turned, she saw a gun in Lionel's hand. As Lionel rose to his feet, Selina rolled to the side. A muffled gunshot sound rang out, silenced by a suppressor.
Lionel's pent-up emotions exploded within an instant. He held the semi-automatic handgun and shot at Selina incessantly, his eyes filled with malice.
Lionel had never received special training in marksmanship; his accuracy dropped rapidly as the target distance expanded and the movement hastened. The magazine didn't contain many bullets. As he kept pulling the trigger in an outburst of emotions, he soon ran out of bullets.
At that moment, Selina stood up from behind the sofa, smoothed her hair, and placed her hands on her hips. Looking at Lionel she toyed, "We don't have a problem, right? I don't recall ever stealing from the Luther family."
Selina spoke lightly, as this was trivial to her.
During the gang wars in the East District, bullets and mortars raining down didn't stop her from stealing. Nor did she relent when the Falcone family and the Twelve Families managed the North District like a lockdown, coming and going like the wind. That little bit of movement earlier didn't even serve as a warm-up for Selina.
But that very attitude thoroughly enraged Lionel. Originally, Selina had been nothing more than an insubstantial socialite in Lionel's mind.
Lionel, wealthy enough to rival a country, had always seen socialites vying for his favor. Now, the way Selina looked at him was like she was appraising a child who couldn't even hit a target at a shooting camp.
That night, Lionel had endured too many jabs. Even the strongest mental defenses had broken down.
He loudly cursed, hurling all the derogatory terms he could think of at Selina.
If Selina had truly been a socialite, or in other words, the type of lady or married woman commonly found at dinners, she would have definitely turned red from anger, softly cursing "ruffian" and other harmless terms, stomping her feet until she ran away.
But Selina was not that sort of person; she grew up in the East District, practically living in rap concerts every day. When it came to obscenities, a man like Lionel who grew up in the city would never be her match.
The first few words from Lionel insulted Selina's appearance and figure, which Selina did not even notice. But when Lionel began to insult her mother, Selina instantly flared up.
Standing on the spot, a series of intense and derogatory curses flowed from her mouth.
In the following two minutes, she didn't even need to pause for breath. Various derogatory comparisons, English idioms, and joke insults streamed out from her mouth. Even three minutes after Lionel stopped swearing, Selina was still cursing.
Knowing that Leonard's gun was empty, Selina boldly walked over from behind the sofa, stood in front of him, and started hurling insults at him.
Her rap skills, honed in the grittiest parts of East Gotham, were nothing to scoff at. She continued her tirade for a good ten minutes before finally stopping.
She grabbed a drink from the table, downed it with gusto, and wiped her mouth. "Thank you, you dimwitted, old groundhog like Joe's frilly underpants. It's been a while since I've felt this exhilarated, ever since I moved into that damned Wayne Manor," she said.
Leonard's face turned beet red from the barrage of obscenities, something he had never experienced before in his life.
Eventually, he couldn't hold back any longer. He dropped his faux-niceness and completely tore off his gentleman mask. Extending his hands and charging at Selina like a zombie, he swung his fists, ready to strike her.
Selina easily dodged his punches with a quick bend of her waist. Standing back up, she picked up a vase from a nearby decorative table and swung it violently. The vase smashed straight into Leonard's face with a loud "crash", splattering blood everywhere as he fell to the ground.
With one hand on her hip, Selina casually dropped the shattered vase on the floor, spat at Leonard, and turned to head towards the window.
Halfway there, it seemed as if she remembered something. She ran back to Leonard, staring at his chest for a moment.
Noticing his still labored breathing, Selina sighed a breath of relief. If Bruce were to find out that she had killed someone, and at the very party he was hosting, he'd be livid.
Once she was sure Leonard was still alive, Selina left with a clear conscience. Her return route was the same as the one she'd used to get there, clinging to the exterior of the building. As she returned to the balcony of their room, she suddenly heard a noise inside.
Selina quickly pressed herself against the side of the balcony. Then, she heard Benjamin's voice resonating from within the room.
"In summary, there is a high possibility Philby handed over the list to a former colleague or student. As I mentioned earlier in the hall, the list is likely somewhere on the East Coast. That's definitely true, but not the whole picture…"
"From what we've observed, it could very well be in Gotham."
There was a quiet pause in the room before Bruce responded nonchalantly, "Oh, is that so? ...Then why don't you go look for it? Why come to me?"
Benjamin fell silent, struggling to articulate the awkward message he had to deliver. Yet Bruce showed no sign of picking up on the cues. Seeing Bruce lounging on the bed, looking completely demoralized and high from drugs, made Benjamin's message even harder to deliver.
Benjamin caught sight of the pile of wine bottles, briefly furrowed his brow, and came straight to the point, "We need your help. Our agents went to Gotham for an investigation, but..."
Something seemed to hit him. His face hardened, but then he softened when he looked at Bruce.
After all, when compared to the findings in the reports by the agents who were deployed to Gotham, Bruce appeared to be the lesser of two evils.
Bruce scoffed with disdain, "You just can't handle Gotham, can you? That's the foresight of the Wayne predecessors. You annoying agents... stick around like shit on a shoe…"
Benjamin looked uncomfortable, but he managed to maintain his patience and attempted to explain to Bruce, "A Soviet agent, possibly on par with Kim Philby, may well be lying low in Gotham City. This would pose no benefits to Wayne Enterprises; he might be planning to steal your company's secrets…"
"Steal secrets?" Bruce snorted, "You're just a ridiculously clueless agent. For a conglomerate like Wayne Enterprises, there is simply nothing to steal…"
"You're welcome to experience a day in my life. Feel free to inspect any one of Wayne Enterprises' factories and broadcast any data you obtain. I couldn't care less…"
"Mr. Wayne, I'm not sure why you hold such hostility towards agents, but I must stress the seriousness of this situation to you."
"Oh, heard it all before. Everyone tells me this or that is serious. Can't you guys chill out? Look at the time! It's already late at night!"
Bruce covered his eyes with his arm, "You lock me in here, fire questions at me, how is that different from kidnapping? I don't wanna hear any of this!"
Just then, the door was knocked. Selina walked in right on cue, stopped at the sight of Benjamin, scrunched up her eyebrows in displeasure and quizzed, "Honey, what's going on? Why are there strangers in our room?"
Bruce immediately sprung up from the bed and embraced Selina, "There's no choice. These fly-like agents... always buzz around incessantly."
Seeing the two of them huddled together, Benjamin had to leave. With a gloomy expression, he turned around and left the room.
"It seems like you didn't cause any fatal damage to Mr. Luther.
In the living room, Shiller looked into Selina's eyes, and she tossed her hair carelessly, saying, "I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. I wasn't planning on killing him."
Turning to Benjamin, Shiller said:
"Officer, if you wish to get some assistance from us, you might want to show some sincerity, don't you think?"