"The cape is an indispensable part of the Batsuit; it allows me to have richer combat and movement options."
The sun set, night fell, and large clouds completely obscured the moon.
Batman didn't go to Hell's Kitchen tonight. Instead, he came to Roosevelt Island, which floats on the East River between Manhattan and Queens.
His daytime walks through New York were not only to scout for a Batcave location but also to gather various intelligence.
Tonight, at Southpoint Park on the southernmost tip of Roosevelt Island, there was a cigarette transaction, with the sellers being gang members from Hell's Kitchen.
The transaction time hadn't arrived yet, and Batman didn't let his brain rest. Instead, he was refining another one of his plans.
Batman didn't put all his hopes for establishing a business empire on Dr. Otto; he was simultaneously implementing three plans.
The first was Dr. Otto's nuclear fusion experiment. Unfortunately, this world-class nuclear physicist was currently in a police station detention room due to his tentacles losing control.
The second was to establish a company under the name of AI technology and cooperate with Stark Industries to provide technical support. This plan has now been successfully completed.
Excluding the money previously spent on purchasing various components and assembly tools, Batman now had a total of over 106.6 million, ready to execute the third plan:
Acquire suitable factories with the shell company and then mass-produce and manufacture memory fibers and nano-composite materials.
Batman didn't intend to commercialize the actual technology used for the Bat-cape, but by changing the process, he could obtain slightly inferior materials.
—Inferior relative to the true Bat-cape, but for the current global market, this bulletproof and impact-resistant, high-temperature resistant and flame-retardant, lightweight and high-strength material could be used in too many fields:
Bulletproof vests, fire suits, racing suits, aerospace, medical, laboratories... Batman didn't focus too much on the business sector, but having once been the head of Wayne Group, Batman was not lacking in market insight.
Taking the first real step towards a business empire and manufacturing the Bat-cape would proceed simultaneously, killing two birds with one Bat.
Only this way could Batman obtain sufficient financial support. Compared to the third plan, the 100 million obtained from providing AI technology was only a fraction, not even enough to design and build a Batwing, a lift platform, and an electromagnetic catapult device.
"Tonight, I need to go to the Manhattan Police Station; Dr. Otto is being held there."
"I need to get information and updates on Dr. Otto's case."
While the cape plan gradually took shape in his mind, Batman did not give up on Dr. Otto.
But there was no time to think deeply right now. As a tiny spark flickered in the dark Southpoint Park, the buyer in the cigarette transaction had already arrived.
Batman stood motionless, like a statue.
"This should be safe enough; no need to worry about the seller having any ideas."
Dean took a deep drag from the cigarette between his fingers, enjoying the pleasure of the tobacco burning and inhaling it into his lungs. The glowing red tip of the cigarette flickered in the night, like stars.
"Just don't go to Hell's Kitchen. I heard it's been really eerie there lately. Not only was there a spandex-clad pervert who caused a ruckus at the Blaus Hotel in the middle of the night, but there's even a vampire appearing and disappearing mysteriously."
Next to Dean, a thin-faced woman with long hair and a nose ring wrapped her arms around herself, as if it would give her some sense of security, and said, "Ellie, don't worry."
Dean exhaled a thick plume of white smoke, tossing the cigarette butt on the ground. "Although this isn't remote, it's still safe."
"Even if there really is a vampire, unless he's all stomach below the neck, he couldn't possibly drain the blood of all five or six of us, could he? At most, only one person would die," said the man standing behind Dean.
The others also quietly agreed, as if they wouldn't worry even if one of the five people died, as long as they could buy the cigarettes.
"But…" Ellie looked around, about to say something more, when the sound of footsteps interrupted her.
The sellers arrived, four in total, led by Black Cat.
"It seems you're in a hurry. You've been waiting here for a long time, haven't you?"
Black Cat approached the buyers, sizing up Dean and his group before speaking.
"Stop talking nonsense. Did you bring the goods?" Dean lit another cigarette and began to puff away, urging impatiently.
"Don't rush," Black Cat soothed. "You all know Kingpin is expanding his territory and has a lot of cigarettes. He plans to clear them all out within the next month, so…"
"Black Cat, we're just following orders to make the trade. Is there any need to tell them all this?"
A burly man behind Black Cat interrupted her.
Black Cat secretly sighed, then stepped back, allowing the burly man to pull a bag of cigarettes from his embrace. At the same time, a camera with its flash function already turned off quietly appeared in her hand.
"Guys…"
Ellie, with the nose ring and so thin she looked like only bones were left, spoke again.
"What?" Dean turned to look at her.
Ellie, trembling, raised her arm and pointed to a corner of Southpoint Park, her voice already tinged with a sob:
"Wh-who among you knows when a statue appeared in the park?"
What statue?
Dean turned his head suspiciously to look, only to see a completely black figure with two pointed ears standing silently not far from them.
"Va-va-va-va…"
The burly man who had interrupted Black Cat earlier stammered, unable to form a complete word. He watched with wide eyes as the statue moved, like a devil merging into the night.
As the thought of escape just arose in his heart, a smoke bomb dropped between the buyers and sellers.
Bang!
With a soft thud, the smoke bomb instantly exploded. The darkness and white smoke completely disoriented the group, making them spin around like headless flies.
Batman firmly controlled the force of his punches, avoiding turning these people into pulp.
But even so, Batman, clad in the Batsuit in the darkness of the night, was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.
Thump! Thump!
The dull thuds of punches connecting with flesh kept ringing out. The burly man who had interrupted Black Cat couldn't help but swallow, then reached into his embrace and pulled out a pistol.
Before he could even disengage the safety, the pistol flew out of his hand, and at the same time, Batman's uppercut sent the burly man's body bouncing in place.
Compared to the gang at the dock before, these guys were fewer in number and had fewer weapons. Black Cat only saw a blur, and Batman had already knocked everyone to the ground.
Whoosh, whoosh... The sound of a body being dragged on the ground echoed. Black Cat looked towards the source of the sound, only to see Batman already dragging the burly man, who had been bounced up, to the edge of the East River, grasping one of the man's legs with one hand, submerging his entire body into the water.
Gurgle!
The burly man's remaining three limbs thrashed desperately in the water, his mouth and nose filled with the icy river water. His mind was full of despair.
With a splash, Batman pulled him up, his voice low:
"Tell me everything you know about Kingpin's gang."
The burly man coughed twice, about to open his mouth and act tough, but the next moment his body plunged into the water with a splash again, only to be pulled up once his limbs gradually went limp:
"Now you can speak."
Black Cat was about to say something. The camera in her hand and the recording pen hidden in her sleeve had both recorded the scene of the cigarette transaction, but before she could open her mouth, she saw a searchlight light up in the center of Manhattan.
The light converged into a beam that shot straight into the clouds, forming a ball of light on a cloud, and in the center of the light ball was a massive Bat symbol.
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