That's right, this wasn't her first time using her hacking skills. In the past, she had hacked into countless other websites, not to do anything bad, just to improve her skills and refine her programming methods.
She had hacked into schools, community convenience stores, and even secretly hacked into the Gotham Police Station to see what Gordon was doing during work hours.
But she was always very careful because hackers were not well received in this world. Technology and the internet were still novel things here, and in news coverage, hackers were portrayed as cyber terrorists.
Even Gordon didn't know this secret because she feared Gordon would throw her in jail. So, all along, Gordon just thought his daughter liked playing on the computer, perhaps enjoying video games or something.
Now in a moment of urgency, she instinctively hacked into someone else's server to look for clues, only realizing what she had done afterwards.
"I... but... "
Barbara's face turned red, trying to defend herself, but the evidence was overwhelming, and there was no denying it.
Su Ming shook his head helplessly; they were on serious business now, and Cindy's remarks were of no help.
"Alright, she's just messing with you. What's legal or illegal? Are we going to testify in court against the police chief's daughter being a hacker?"
Barbara glanced at her colleagues by the wall with relief, thankful they were knocked out; otherwise, knowing men love to gossip, the whole station would surely know.
Su Ming also took off his helmet, and seeing Cindy puffing smoke cheerfully, he got the urge and planned to smoke too, suddenly realizing something.
"No wonder you rushed to deal with the signal jammer earlier. Did you already take the bet from the door frame in the corridor?"
Cindy smugly raised her cigarette, waving it like a magic wand in the air: "Hehe, this is your cigar. Gotta say, the taste is a bit different from ours."
"Men..."
Barbara again showed a horrified expression; she felt she'd uncovered the ultimate secret! Deathstroke was actually two people, and one of them was a man!
After knowing so much, could she survive?
Su Ming had gradually gotten used to these people's incredulous expressions after discovering he was a man. After all, in this world, men were synonymous with weakness, while Deathstroke was renowned as a global powerhouse. Such contradictory identities residing in one person were hard for anyone to accept.
"The results are out. Why are you staring at us blankly instead of looking at the screen?"
Su Ming nudged Barbara's computer, where a string of code had appeared, showing a set of coordinates.
"Oh, oh." Barbara adjusted her glasses and her breathing, gently exhaling: "These are the signal base station numbers my father passed through. By retrieving the base station locations from the database and comparing them with the Gotham City map... he went to Arkham at night!"
"Arkham?" Cindy shook her head, rolling her helmet on the table playfully: "That place is called an asylum, but it's actually more secure than a fortress. There are at least 400 armed guards patrolling 24 hours a day, plus gunboats, armored vehicles, and police dogs. The Man in Black wouldn't act there."
"Yes, at 12:03, he left there, followed this route back, and the final position of his phone is here."
Barbara pointed at the screen with one hand and tapped the keyboard with the other, zooming in the map, pinpointing even the street through triangulation.
Cindy leaned closer to look. A map of Gotham immediately formed in her mind, more detailed than the station's map because she remembered many undisclosed addresses, like black market arms dealers, smuggling gangs, and even a covert Shadow Dancer Alliance surveillance spot in Gotham.
But after looking at the screen, Cindy shook her head: "Gordon's route is correct, crossing the harbor bridge, then through the north tunnel, and just going straight leads back to the station. But it's raining today, and the tunnel may be deeply flooded."
"Whose turf is that?" Su Ming crowded over out of curiosity but couldn't tell anything.
"It's nobody's turf. It's a very subtle place." Cindy took a drag, thought of a term, and pointed around the map: "Here, here, and here, are Black Mask, Red Hood, and the Two-Faced Woman's territories, respectively..."
"So Gordon's final location is at the intersection of the three, truly embodying 'no man's land'." Su Ming understood too.
Just like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, no one can take this land entirely. If someone tried, the other two would definitely unite, leaving it empty as a buffer zone.
It's also one of the more peaceful areas in the Gotham slums. There might be some small gangs, but they can't grow into anything significant.
"What should we do?" Barbara now knew Gordon's location but was helpless, anxiously looking at the two.
Su Ming raised an eyebrow: "Can't you just call Bat Heroine or something? She always has a phone, right? Have her come to the rescue. We have something to discuss with the Bat too."
"We don't have her number. She always appeared when the Bat Lamp was on but... but Bat Heroine left. She's not in Gotham," Barbara was at her wit's end.