"Penguin?"
Bruce turned off the sound analyzer and stood up. "He always has ulterior motives."
"Yes, sir, but he's also Gotham's only proper villain, isn't he?" Alfred said, holding a coffee pot, indulging in his rare bit of dry humor.
"Maybe you'll gain something at this banquet."
"Gain something?"
Bruce sipped his black coffee, the bitterness causing his brow to furrow. "I don't think there's any connection between Penguin and the Court of Owls. Wait..."
A lightning bolt flashed in his mind, a detail he'd overlooked suddenly becoming clear.
The black umbrella used by the mysterious man!
It was a detail he'd missed, perhaps because of the obscuring rain in the dark night, making it difficult to focus on the umbrella.
With this realization, Bruce immediately sat down and began operating the supercomputer in front of him.
"Yes, some gains indeed."
Alfred, unaware of Bruce's revelation, continued, "Not just clues for your investigation, but maybe something else as well, like some fresh air or a delightful encounter."
Bruce manipulated the computer to pull up information on Penguin and said to Alfred, "Sunlight to adjust the bats' internal navigation system, fresh air for survival, or a delightful encounter—none of these interests me right now. Because there's an unstoppable presence running rampant across Gotham."
As he spoke, he compared the memory of Eric's umbrella with Penguin's.
Sure enough, they were the same model, with identical details.
"Alfred, prepare my things. I'll attend the banquet hosted by Penguin tonight."
Bruce stood up, donned his coat, and instructed his butler.
"Oh? I'm surprised you've changed your mind, sir," Alfred said, a bit astonished.
"I found some clues, some closely related to Penguin."
"Is that so?"
Alfred replied with a somewhat regretful tone, "I thought you'd be going for the sunlight and fresh air."
At Gotham Grand Hotel, Eric was sitting on the couch reading a book.
He discovered an unexpected resonance with his mental world from a book of black magic he confiscated from the Metropolis Court of Owls.
The obscure magic spells and rituals, their rules and methods, imprinted themselves in his mind like a mental mark.
He even felt that he could cast powerful spells with just a hand gesture or a word.
The spiritual world and the magic book attracted each other, as if the enchanting magic was tempting him to possess and use it.
"Is that all there is?"
Eric closed the magic book with a slight smile.
If black magic could only enchant to this extent, it couldn't even stir his inner emotions.
To drag him into hell, it would have to create something more terrifying than the abyss.
Now, he only regarded magic as a pastime.
Until he fully understood the world's magical mysteries or could defeat those high-dimensional beings, he had no interest in courting such trouble.
Throwing the magic book onto the couch, Eric stood by the window and looked outside.
His gaze penetrated buildings and skyscrapers, crossed the Gotham River and Burnley District, roamed around Arkham Island, and finally settled on Gotham Tower.
All the crimes happening in the light and darkness were in his sight.
Retracting his gaze, he unintentionally glanced at the hotel's third floor.
In the corridor, a young woman in a black cleaning uniform was pushing a cleaning cart.
A white pearl necklace adorned her neck, her long legs wrapped in black stockings, and her well-proportioned figure was complemented by her delicate features. Even in an ordinary cleaning uniform, her natural beauty and elegance couldn't be hidden.
Most striking was her wild aura, like a graceful yet cunning cat.
Knock, knock, knock!
The woman knocked on a room door, said a few words, and the middle-aged man inside let her in.
"You look familiar," the middle-aged white man preparing to sit back on the couch said, eyeing the woman suspiciously.
"Do I? Hold this for me," the woman replied, handing her black dust hat to the puzzled man before swiftly punching him.
With a thud, her fist landed on his cheek.
The middle-aged man staggered backward, and the woman, utilizing her agility, jumped behind him, grabbed his arm, and, with a yoga-like move, threw him to the floor with his backward momentum.
Thud!
The floor shook slightly from the impact.
Despite the pain, the man didn't lose consciousness. He quickly pulled out a gun from his waist and fired at the woman.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots echoed.
The woman, seeing the danger, quickly dodged.
Using the gun to temporarily fend off his attacker, the middle-aged man painfully stood up, aimed at the bathroom where the woman had hidden, and cautiously approached.
"Hah!"
With a shout, the woman sprang out from an angle, kicking the man in the waist.
Losing his balance, the man felt another sharp pain as the woman turned and kicked his groin.
"Sorry, you forced me to use a dirty trick," she shrugged at the man clutching his groin and falling to the floor.
She glanced at him, then began searching his suitcase.
Finding a packet of seemingly valuable jewels, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Walking to the bathroom mirror, she adjusted her clothes and makeup, ready to leave.
But just as she reached the door, gunshots rang out!
The wooden door was riddled with holes.
Startled, the woman ran towards the window.
Leaping up, she prepared to jump out.
But seeing more of the man's henchmen below, she had no choice but to climb up.
Despite the smooth exterior and few footholds, she climbed swiftly like a nimble cat.
Eric's window was directly above her. A few seconds later, she reached it.
They made eye contact through the window.
Eric remained calm, but the woman was startled.
"Sir, do you mind if I come in?"
Dressed in a black maid outfit with a white cleaning cloth pinned to her chest and collar, the woman smiled slightly and asked Eric.
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