The bodyguards were speechless. The bodies were a mess of blue and purple bruises, completely unrecognizable.
Fragmentation grenades weren't large bombs; their damage was more of a slicing nature. The mixed flesh and blood combined with the Joker g4ng's paint, creating a truly colorful scene.
For a moment, they wondered if their boss had some peculiar fetish.
But the next second, when Atreus saw the state of the bodies, he retched.
This reaction made Louis and the other bodyguards secretly relieved. Atreus's sudden display of power had frightened them. Now it seemed this was just the result of his years of gun practice. In the end, he was still a rich young master who had never killed anyone.
Gotham City's safety depended on who you were.
For ordinary people, it was hell.
For the wealthy, it was heaven.
In this small world, the police and firefighters were just workers. The more taxes a neighborhood paid, the more police presence it had.
If you had fire insurance, firefighters would come to the rescue immediately in case of a fire.
No insurance?
Sorry, the firefighters would water your neighbor's insured house to prevent the fire from spreading, then watch yours burn to ashes with their hands in their pockets.
Forget about police patrols in the slums.
The same went for security.
As a black gold super VIP client of the security company, they received the news immediately after he was attacked.
In less than fifteen minutes, a 'civilian helicopter' equipped with two Gatling six-barrel machine guns arrived at the scene.
Twenty minutes later, three 'civilian' armored vehicles with cannons, carrying a full tactical squadron of fifty men, arrived.
That's right! This was the power of money!
In Gotham City, the 'safest' city in America, this was legal!
The lucky survivor, Atreus, returned to his stretched Lincoln, opened the fingerprint safe, and handed out stacks of hundred-dollar bills [Franklins] to Louis and the others in front of the new security personnel.
"Gentlemen, you were frightened. In addition to the previously agreed compensation, this is an extra tip for you. After this is over, everyone go have some fun and relax."
Bodyguards were also human. They risked their lives and naturally needed high rewards.
A full-time bodyguard like Louis only earned $1500 a day, which was paid to the security company, not directly to the bodyguard.
Fifty thousand dollars each was enough to turn their curses against Atreus's family into the most beautiful blessings in the world.
"Oh - you are the most generous boss I've ever met!" Louis and the others had "$" signs in their eyes.
The group of security personnel on the side watched with envy. Atreus smirked and pulled out another box: "Louis, give the new guys three thousand dollars each as a welcome gift. After this is over, each of them will also get an extra tip of the same amount."
"Long live the Boss!"
Whether they were called security or mercenaries, they all risked their lives. No one liked to talk about feelings with their employer. A generous employer who was willing to give extra tips was the best employer. Moreover, as ordinary security guards, their pay was only half that of full-time bodyguards.
Three thousand dollars was definitely not a small amount.
Just like that, a group of heavily armed men protected Atreus and Wonder Woman as they continued towards their intended destination.
Not long after, a slender figure appeared on the roughly cleaned battlefield.
She made a phone call: "Mr. Sionis, our provocation failed. The target's bodyguards' strength was unexpected. They defeated over a hundred members of the Joker g4ng."
"Useless! They're all useless!" Black Mask on the other end of the phone was furious.
The woman shrank her neck. After her boss calmed down, she continued to ask: "Boss, what should I do?"
"Miss Dinah Lance, I need you to do this..."
A moment later.
"Okay, Boss!"
On the other side, the frightened Atreus took his bodyguards by boat to his private island.
This small island, about seven square kilometers in size, was not only surrounded by the sea on all sides, but also had thirty-meter-high cliffs on three sides, with only one road leading to the manor inside.
The manor's walls were seven meters high. The lower five meters were half a meter thick, made of high-density reinforced concrete. The upper two meters were steel gratings with barbed hooks, infrared cameras, and sensors.
Inside the manor, the area within a hundred meters of the wall was empty. All movements were monitored by cameras and watchtowers at the four corners of the manor.
The inner circle was a ten-meter-wide 'moat' surrounding the entire manor, with five-meter-high walls.
The duty rooms inside were built to bunker standards.
Atreus couldn't fathom how afraid of death the original owner of this body was to build his home like this.
With the nearly one hundred security personnel who arrived later, equipped with a bunch of definitely illegal heavy weapons, it could be said that even a Marine Corps unit couldn't conquer this place.
Atreus wasn't relieved at all because this was only from the perspective of ordinary people.
He didn't know what kind of monsters he would encounter to protect Wonder Woman. After all, this was Gotham City, and there were quite a few villains who weren't human, or didn't act like humans.
Even for the Joker's g4ng, the ones who showed up today were just low-level grunts, slightly better than the cannon fodder who charge in with baseball bats. The truly d4ngerous, chemically-enhanced clown soldiers hadn't made their appearance yet.
These elite soldiers had all been exposed to str4nge chemicals from the factory—though a diluted version of what the Joker used, it still packed quite a punch. As a result, these clown soldiers possessed strength and vitality beyond that of ordinary humans.
He needed some insurance, so he made a call to Wayne Manor. To his surprise, it wasn't Alfred, the old butler, who answered, but a female secretary. Oddly enough, she seemed a little nervous.
"This is Atreus. I'd like to speak with Mr. Bruce Wayne."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
As expected, the secretary quickly found an excuse. Big shots were always like this—if you didn't have a personal connection, you were just another nobody, and there was no way you'd get through.
Atreus decided to compromise: "In that case, could you connect me to his butler, Alfred Pennyworth?"
Surely, you don't need an appointment to speak with a butler, right?
But…
"Mr. Pennyworth? He's not available at the moment. Would you like me to leave a message for him?"
"Just let him know I called and ask him to return my call at this number."
"Of course. Anything else?"
"That'll be all."
After h4nging up, Atreus frowned. As Wayne's butler for generations, Alfred was always dutiful. If he wasn't at Wayne Manor, it likely meant Bruce Wayne had been injured.
Atreus needed to reassure his bodyguards. He pulled Louis aside.
"Here's the situation: I accidentally brought back an important guest of Mr. Wayne's, which led to a bit of a misunderstanding with Mr. Black Mask. The Joker's g4ng was just an accident—I have no beef with Mr. Joker. Once we reestablish contact with Mr. Wayne, the Wayne Group will handle this mess."
That was his excuse.
But if it came to actually facing the Joker, who knew how much fight these mercenaries would have left in them?
At the very least… they'd need more money!
In fact, when Atreus and Wonder Woman holed up at this island estate, not only had the Joker disappeared, but even Black Mask found it troublesome.
Atreus had left Gotham, so Black Mask couldn't leverage his usual street resources. In Gotham, he could mobilize over a thousand men at will, but how would he get those men to an island?
Logistics became the biggest challenge.
This game was all about wealth and connections.
After Atreus hinted to a wealthy backer to fund some "legal" missile launchers, the estate settled into an eerie calm for three straight days.
It was safe, but a little boring.
Night fell.
"Life is as lonely as snow!" Atreus sighed dramatically as he lounged beside a 25-meter infinity pool, located next to the baroque-style manor. Various sized hot tubs lined the pool, and Atreus relaxed in one, enjoying the soothing water jets against his back.
Under the moonlight, a shapely figure appeared on the other side of the pool.
The curvy, fair-skinned blonde beauty had just arrived, and Louis, who stood by Atreus's side, smiled knowingly.
The four bodyguards didn't react—they knew the woman had been brought by Atreus's butler, Frank.
The old butler bowed deeply, saying, "My lord, forgive my presumption, but I believe you've been too tense and need to relax."
As he spoke, the blonde beauty strutted over with sultry, catlike grace. She was wearing a golden bikini, paired with a sheer white lace skirt that slitted up to her thighs—any more fabric would have been a waste of society's resources! The visual impact was intense.
"I forgive you," Atreus murmured, standing up as if mesmerized.
"Hello, Mr. Infiniti. My name is Anna," she purred. Her voice was so melodic it could melt bones, clearly the voice of a professional singer.
"Boss?" Louis asked with a grin.
"Bring me a rope. A sturdy one."
Louis: ???
Atreus repeated the request, and Louis complied reluctantly.
Then, right in front of everyone, Atreus smirked and said, "Turn around and lie down on the beach chair."
Miss Anna's eyes flashed with a mixture of shame and 4nger, but she obeyed.
Ignoring her attractive figure, Atreus tied her up like a turtle, much to the embarrassment of everyone watching. Their young master was always a playboy, but he had never been this bold before.
Before Anna could react, Atreus stuffed a knot of rope into her mouth. Finally, he laughed, "Impressive disguise—I almost didn't recognize you. Miss Dinah Lance from the Black Mask Club. Or should I call you… Black Canary?"
At those words, everyone else's eyes widened in shock.
Atreus then pulled a military-grade knife from under his robe and pressed it against her pale neck. "Shh… don't use your Canary Cry, or I can't promise my hand won't slip."
(End of Chapter)