Bern, although not as famous as other Swiss cities like Geneva or Zurich, is actually the capital of Switzerland. In order to preserve the ancient buildings in the city center, this small and exquisite city has not taken on too much modernity. The majority of the stone buildings with a long history are not tall, and the population is relatively sparse. Compared to the oppressive atmosphere of Gotham City, Bern is refreshing.
The destination of the nuns is the famous Bern Cathedral, where Baia got off the car midway. She changed out of the clothes provided by the kind nuns, replacing her attire from the Assassin's Guild. She slung her bag behind her back and looked around.
In front of the Federal Palace in Bern is an open space called Federal Square. It's not as solemn as it sounds. Baia arrived at a good time; the square had turned into a craft market. The items displayed by the small vendors were exquisite and exotic, but unfortunately Baia didn't have a penny on her.
She thought about selling the knife on the spot to buy the pocket watch she fancied, but fearing Talya would come after her for retribution, she decided against it. Although Baia had decided to hitchhike all the way home, taking things without permission was another matter. She could only look around with longing eyes before turning and walking away.
The crowds flowed like a river, and a black-haired girl dressed as a nun elegantly and quietly made her way through the crowd.
"Excuse me, miss," a brown-haired man with a Californian accent cautiously struck up a conversation with her, gesturing with the camera in his hand, indicating that he was a photographer, "You are truly beautiful. May I take a picture of you?"
Baia asked him to stop speaking in German with a Californian accent, so the man had to repeat his request in English.
"Okay," Baia said after a moment's thought, "but I hope you can send the photo to someone, preferably as soon as it's taken."
The photographer made a gesture indicating no problem, crouched down, and Baia looked into the camera without smiling.
It's not good to worry your family.
Fifteen minutes later, Tim received an email in his private mailbox, which almost no one besides Dick and a few others knew about. Tim rubbed his eyes as he had just gone to bed, unlocked his phone, and then rushed into the Batcave in his pajamas.
On the big screen, the girl looked coldly at the camera, her black dress accentuating her fair complexion, her black veil fluttering slightly in the wind. The strong sunlight made her glass-like green eyes appear even paler, as if they were shining brightly. The long knife on her back carried a faint hint of killing intent, forming a stark contrast with her tranquility. The bustling market and bustling crowds were just embellishments in the background.
Attached to the email was a smiley face emoticon: ";)"
Tim guessed this probably meant she was okay. He pushed the keyboard, letting the chair slide back a few steps, and relaxed his shoulders.
Five minutes later, the photographer received a large sum of anonymous instant transfer, with the note "Wish her a good time" attached. He looked at Baia with a shocked expression.
He insisted on handing over the money to Baia, and Baia didn't show any surprised expression when she found out, she just let the photographer take half of the money.
That evening, when the photographer checked the results of today's photos, he found that all the photos and email records related to the green-eyed girl had mysteriously disappeared, leaving only one on his camera memory card. However, no matter how many times he tried to upload it to the internet, it failed. After a few attempts, his computer was hacked, and the other party warned him to "carefully keep this photo," so he had to regretfully give up.
With Tim's sponsorship, Baia bought the pocket watch she wanted, much to the system's disdain, which told her that there was a better-looking one in the reward black box for Prisoner Zero. Baia said she hated that one. After purchasing a set of regular clothes and a few essential items like a cellphone, Baia wrapped the knife in cloth and sneaked into the train station without a ticket, but left the money for the ticket at the ticket counter, as she was an illegal immigrant.
System: Why did you buy towels?
Baia replied seriously, "A towel is the most useful thing for a wanderer."
System: ...As a hitchhiker, you are really dedicated.
Zurich, the richest and most prosperous city in Europe.
Baia bought a map and was about to find the bus to the airport according to the instructions when she stopped on a street.
As a brief commotion erupted and a screeching of brakes echoed through the air, a young man crossing the street lay on the ground, blood staining the pavement.
Before Baia could react, two women pushed through the crowd and ran to the injured youth.
"Don't worry!" Valerie crouched down, attempting to stem the bleeding, while shouting, "I'm a doctor! Please call an ambulance!"
Valerie was in Zurich to attend a medical summit. After the conference ended, she decided to stay a few extra days to visit an old friend who taught at the University of Zurich, the blonde woman next to her, Professor Ziegler.
During the healing of Nora, Baia had encountered Professor Valerie briefly.
Before she could even use the torn cloth to bandage the young man's wound, she noticed that his bleeding miraculously stopped. It was an unscientific sight, but it reminded her of someone. She hesitated for a moment, feeling it was impossible, then subconsciously looked around in the crowd. In the street corner, a black-haired girl with a towel covering her face smiled and nodded at her.
"Swallow..." Valerie murmured.
Professor Ziegler asked curiously, "What swallow?"
After providing emergency treatment for the injured young man, Valerie shook her head. "Nothing, just a wonderful person I met in Gotham. I didn't expect to see her here. Since she's here, he should be fine."
In the blink of an eye, Valerie couldn't see Swallow's figure anymore.
Professor Ziegler furrowed her noble brows, watching as the young man's wound visibly improved at an extraordinary speed.
With skills like Nightingale or Moon Dew from a distance, Baia had become quite proficient. As long as no one was watching her, she probably wouldn't be discovered.
Now, upgraded Moon Dew could restore 60% of the opponent's health in a day, so she didn't have to worry about not being able to save someone. She winked at Valerie and quietly disappeared into the darkness again.
System: Congratulations.
Baia: "Congratulations on what?"
System: When you first arrived in Gotham, there was a person lying in a pool of blood, and you asked me if you could save...
Baia sighed at the words. "It's been almost half a year in the blink of an eye."
She stayed in District Three for a while, took a photo on the west bank of Lake Zurich, and then sent it to someone's email.
Shortly after, she received a reply.
[Dangerous, don't be too playful. If anything happens, call me.]
There was no comment on her photo.
Baia didn't stay long in Zurich. She always felt that Switzerland was too close to the Assassin's Guild's territory, as if Talia had been watching her all along. Zurich Airport also didn't have direct flights to Gotham City, and the city sometimes seemed too conservative, not as welcoming as its sister city, Metropolis.
The destination of this flight was also Metropolitan Airport. After coming out of the airport, Baia hailed a taxi. The driver was a middle-aged man who looked ordinary and non-threatening.
Baia sat in the back seat and unwrapped the cloth-covered package at her side. "Hello, I'm going to Gotham."
"Gotham," the driver looked at her through the rearview mirror and started the car. "You're so young, it's dangerous to go to Gotham alone."
"It's okay." Baia smiled at the rearview mirror. Combined with her words, she seemed quite dangerous. "I'm a local in Gotham, I'm used to it."
She didn't deny being alone, the driver noticed.
And, she really was beautiful.
Baia had been playing with her phone absent-mindedly. The driver drove around for a while but didn't see the bridge to Gotham.
"Master," the black-haired girl put down her phone, sighed, not realizing that it wasn't common to call the driver 'master' in the United States, "you're going in the wrong direction."
The driver had some evil thoughts in his eyes, he chuckled, "Then how about I don't charge you for the ride? Come to my place?"
"I received sponsorship, I'm rich now, really." Baia leaned forward, "Don't you reconsider?"
The man looked at Baia again. She was wearing casual sportswear, with her hair down, looking like a high school girl. The backpack she carried and the towel draped over her shoulder might suggest she was just a backpacker who had returned from traveling.
In any case, she seemed harmless.
Just a little brainless to reveal her wealth in this situation.
"Uh, by the way, sir, is your name Tom?" Baia glanced at the driver's name tag in the car, "You don't look like him."
He dropped the pretense, his voice suddenly turning menacing, "You'd better be honest with me—"
With the crisp sound of a blade being drawn, a snowy white edge pressed against his throat, so close that it hadn't yet broken the skin, but the driver could already feel the pain.
The scent of blood, this was a blade that had tasted blood before.
The girl continued where he left off, "You'd better be honest with me. Understand?"
Baia noticed that Talia's knife was a bit too long. In such a cramped space, her movement wasn't as swift as she imagined, perhaps not as imposing as she had anticipated, which was a bit frustrating.
But she still achieved her goal.
The driver's reliance was a wooden box under his seat. But in this situation, if he made any sudden movements, the girl in the backseat could slit his major artery, and there would be no way to save him. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, swallowing hard.
"I—"
"I already said I'm a local in Gotham, and I'm rich," the girl continued on her own, "Why can't you just accept the fare properly?"
System: Sure enough, encountering a frozen situation, there are too many villains like Talia and Francine. Their strength upgrades are imperceptible... But be careful, don't really kill anyone.
Baia smiled, "Even if my hand shakes, I can still save him. No worries."
...Saving him only to kill him again, the system thought, doctors are really scary when they get angry.
Baia sighed, "I'm really angry. I haven't met any good people lately, and they're all stronger than me. Even my family members are stronger than me. I don't want to be bullied just because I'm soft!"
With Baia's skills, she wouldn't stand a chance against anyone in the Gotham vigilante community. In frozen situations, second-rate criminals, Baia could only let them point a gun at her and do as they pleased. She, the Batgirl, didn't even have a name in Gotham, just casually accompanying Baia for aerial shots of Gotham.
But she had at least learned swordsmanship from Damian, and practiced combat with Black Canary. Holding Talia's knife, she also had the positional advantage.
Was everyone just itching to bully her?
Cold sweat trickled down the driver's forehead. He trembled his lips and said, "I... I'll take you to Gotham. Stay calm, it's easy to get into trouble like this."
"Trouble comes when it comes. I can drive myself." Baia said coldly. This kind of person didn't deserve pity at all.
This statement really scared the driver. From the moment Baia's knife pressed against his neck, he began to turn into the city center of Metropolis.
"Superman, help!" he cried desperately.
The next moment, the roof of the car was lifted open, and a blue figure lifted Baia into the air.
The rustling of the red cape in the air, the reassuringly broad chest and powerful arms, the slightly curled black hair, the handsome face that didn't seem entirely human, and those unbelievably blue eyes.
The god among men.
Superman looked at Baia, frowning, "Criminals are getting younger and younger these days."
Baia looked at Superman, feeling that she couldn't handle this situation herself, "Um, can I make a phone call?"