In her dream, time seemed to pass exceptionally quickly, and when Baia woke up, it was already daylight.
Staring at herself in the mirror above the sink for a moment, Baia made a decision. She lightly cut a small gash on her fingertip with a razor blade. The wound was thin and deep, and blood beads trickled down her finger.
With a hiss, Baia thought about activating her ability, and a light golden mist wrapped around her fingertip for a moment before dissipating.
It wasn't a dream.
She watched as her finger healed back to normal. Turning on the faucet, she washed away the bloodstains, leaving no trace of the injury.
Although it was a minor ability, the surreal feeling left Baia deeply shaken. After a while, she glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only eight in the morning.
What should she do? She had no idea, and couldn't remember anything.
Baia asked softly, "System?"
System: Here. Just call me in your mind, I can hear you.
Although Baia found it a bit annoying, it at least made her feel less lonely.
Looking out the window from the second floor, she saw several cats of various colors dozing off on a nearby wall. The twisted and unfamiliar streets had accumulated some water marks, indicating it had rained last night? The weather was still slightly gloomy, but it was still a beautiful morning.
At that moment, she heard the comforting voice of the system:
Newbie mission: Understand your city (1) Reward: 5 skill points Note: If you want to survive here, you must understand your city.
Understand my city?—The term "my" city sounded a bit strange.
Baia got dressed, counted the startup funds the kind police officer had left for her last night—several hundred dollars. She felt that she could get through a month if she spent it carefully, especially since her accommodation problem had been solved, and she had free utilities. The days wouldn't be too difficult.
She walked down the stairs.
Mrs. Hudson saw her and asked, "Heading out?"
Baia nodded. "I want to explore nearby, maybe I'll remember something."
"Child, this isn't a city for leisurely strolls," Mrs. Hudson shook her head. "Be careful, it's best to be back before dark."
Baia bid farewell to Mrs. Hudson and slowly walked along the road. The sky was white, with wispy clouds filling the sky. Only a thin light could penetrate them and fall on the dark glass of the high-rise buildings, barely igniting a bright color in the steel city.
Pedestrians hurriedly crossed at the intersection in the distance, cars zoomed by from time to time, and a sweet fragrance of coffee wafted from a roadside shop. Although it wasn't close to the city center, it wasn't much different from other cities. For most people, an ordinary and busy day was just beginning, and Gotham had just woken up.
She found a bookstore and went in to buy a map of Gotham.
As the shopkeeper helped her pack, he asked, "Not from Gotham? Here for tourism?"
Baia replied, "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be staying here for a while. I want to understand this city."
The middle-aged man's hand paused. "If that's the case, Miss, you won't learn anything from the map."
She was also given a copy of the Gotham Daily, just read by the shopkeeper.
She laid the map on a bench by the roadside to block the morning chill and then sat down, carefully unfolding the newspaper, which had coffee stains on the corners.
In Baia's impression, traditional print media liked to use official rhetoric, but this seemed somewhat different from what she had in mind.
The headline was bold: "Double-Faced Bank Heist," with the subheadline below reading, "Suspect Subdued by Batman." The accompanying photo was taken from a distance, showing a chaotic scene with vans, armored cars, and police cars with explosion marks blocking the entrance of the bank. There seemed to be a blurry figure wearing a two-tone suit, presumably the so-called double-faced man.
The reporter of this article wrote in a style reminiscent of Jin Yong's novels, vividly describing how the two-faced man suddenly appeared, detonated the vault, how Batman infiltrated the bank and captured the ringleader, and their fierce battle. Batman was depicted as being shot dozens of times and still standing (did that really happen?), and there was a smaller illustration of a man with a bat-like head, making one wonder who the real villain was.
However, the tone was completely different in the editorial section below. There wasn't much praise for Batman; instead, it seemed like they were both criticized equally. The emphasis was on condemning the lack of security at Arkham Asylum and the incompetence of the GCPD.
So, Two-Face is actually a mental patient? Why would someone want to rob a bank with crazy people? Thanks to the journalist's wild imagination, Baia found it quite intriguing. However, the second edition wasn't as interesting; it mainly speculated about the billionaire "Bruce Wayne" and his new girlfriend. Baia wasn't interested, so she flipped through a few more pages. Although they didn't seem significant, Baia still caught onto some keywords.
"The reconstruction work of Gotham Hospital after the explosion is progressing well." Hospital... explosion? "The suspect of the recent massacre was arrested, having committed dozens of crimes." Ah...? "The mayor reaffirms Gotham's water safety, ensuring that a large-scale poisoning incident will not happen again." Again... happening again? "Ghostly figures haunt Crime Alley at midnight, what's the mystery behind it?" This one's a bit far-fetched.
Baia took a deep breath after closing the newspaper. Well, every city experiences unexpected events; it's just that there seem to be too many recently.
Who would believe it! Think about all the advice from the landlady and Officer Grayson; there's obviously something wrong with this city! After finishing, she left the newspaper on the bench for others to enjoy, holding a cup of hot coffee she bought from Starbucks with nothing to do. Unknowingly, Baia had been walking along the street for two hours.
Today was Tuesday, and with work hours already passed, the number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased. A few unkempt homeless people sat motionless next to the trash cans in dark corners, whether they were alive or dead was unclear. Aimless young people sat or leaned against the roadside in groups of two or three, casting unfriendly glances at everyone who passed by.
The roadside gradually became more colorful, not with ubiquitous billboards and graffiti of indeterminate meaning, but with red silk lanterns, neatly written traditional Chinese shop signs, and weathered tenons and mortises on the eaves. There were many more Asian faces among the people passing by.
Baia found herself understanding Chinese, which wasn't surprising at all. After all, the words "Golden Oriole" were expressed in Chinese. To confirm this, she even wrote those two words on a note with a pen before leaving.
However, being here didn't trigger any memories.
Just strolling around would be fine. Baia enthusiastically explored every shop she entered. Once the shopkeepers realized that this green-eyed girl could speak Chinese, they immediately warmed up to her. Moreover, Baia was polite and well-behaved, overly quiet for the average Gothamite, but exactly the type that Chinese people would like.
As a result, Baia collected many small souvenirs, although they weren't valuable, they were particularly interesting. She took a bite of the candied hawthorn, which was a bit sour.
Although she had read about bank robberies, explosions, poisonings, and murders in the newspaper, everyone she encountered today seemed exceptionally friendly. In quite a good mood, Baia hung the flute around her waist. This seemed to be the first personal item she had owned since she had memories, how meaningful.
She casually found a small dumpling restaurant for lunch, and Baia was ready to head back home.
Walking from her place to here wasn't a very short distance, and the lingering effects of the system binding hadn't completely disappeared, with a faint pain still pulsating at her temples.
She walked into a supermarket run by Chinese people, where they sold some spices and ingredients from the East. After the incident with the Chinese characters, Baia could almost confirm that she had some connection with an Eastern country. It seemed like only life experiences had been forgotten, but life skills remained.
Maybe she could stock up on some food and cook at home, which would greatly reduce her cost of living. After half an hour of browsing, Baia struggled to carry a large pile of things out of the supermarket. She regretted buying so much, but the price was quite cheap, although now she definitely couldn't walk back home.
Although terrifying thoughts like cruel criminals pretending to be drivers robbing passengers lingered in her mind, Baia still stood on the roadside, hoping to catch a taxi.
Just then, the sparrows pecking at the debris on the roadside were startled by a gunshot and flew off in a flurry.
"Robbery!" Someone shouted loudly, no more than 50 meters away from Baia. Her hands couldn't help but tremble, and some of the things she had just bought fell to the ground.
The crowd not far away suddenly became restless, it seemed like someone had been shot, and low groans could be heard. A man wearing a black knitted hat and a mask rushed out of the crowd, tightly holding a blood-stained leather bag in his hands.
And the direction he was running in was right where Baia was standing.
In Baia's round glass-like green eyes, the man's hand holding the menacing black revolver was reflected.