Marvel: The Sole Player

"Why didn’t you say so earlier? Why didn’t you say so sooner?"

Darian shrugged with an innocent look, indicating he wasn’t taking the blame for this.

He wasn’t a mind reader. Harvey had just shot him a look; how the hell was he supposed to know if it meant to retreat or to open fire?

"I... You..."

Harvey was so angry he couldn’t even speak straight.

He had been with the Gotham City Police Department for many years and had seen all kinds of people, but he had never seen a rookie this reckless.

On his very first day, he had straight-up gunned down a mob boss.

And the target was a top lieutenant of the supervillain Black Mask.

In all of Gotham City, Baso was a man of some standing; both the underworld and the authorities had to show him some respect.

After all, offending him was equivalent to offending the Black Mask behind him.

Yet Darian hadn’t hesitated for a second; he just raised his gun and sent him on his way.

Even Director Gordon probably isn’t as bold as you!

Baso’s suit-clad thugs were equally stunned on the spot.

Their boss was just gone like that?

They froze for several seconds before reacting, exchanging glances and reaching for the firearms at their waists, intending to avenge their boss.

Darian caught their movements out of the corner of his eye and shifted his muzzle, aiming directly at them.

"Don’t move. Drop the guns, or I’ll shoot."

As soon as he finished speaking, the thugs froze instantly. Almost simultaneously, they threw their guns to the ground and dropped to their knees with their hands behind their heads in a perfectly synchronized motion, terrified that being a second late would earn them a lead bullet.

Against any other cop, even a grizzled veteran like Harvey, they would have gambled that the Officer wouldn’t dare open fire recklessly.

After all, they were Black Mask’s men. Killing them meant making an enemy of Black Mask, and ordinary Police didn’t have the guts for that.

But the Officer in front of them was different.

He actually dared to shoot!

He’d gunned down their boss Baso without a word, let alone small-time lackeys like them.

Everyone was just out here to make a living; it really wasn’t worth throwing their lives away.

Watching this scene, Harvey clutched his forehead and sighed heavily. "You’ve caused a massive disaster. If Black Mask finds out about today, he definitely won’t let you off."

Darian nodded. "It is indeed a hassle."

Harvey rolled his eyes and said crossly, "So you finally know how to be afraid?"

"No."

Darian extended a finger and made a horizontal slicing motion across his neck. "What I mean is, as long as we deal with all the witnesses present so the news doesn’t get out, then naturally there’s no need to worry about Black Mask finding out."

The thugs in suits: "..."

Harvey: "..."

Those ’witnesses’ you’re talking about... they shouldn’t include me, right?

Seeing Darian’s finger actually move toward the trigger, Harvey snapped out of it with a jolt and lunged forward, his hands death-gripping the gun’s frame.

"Wait! Calm down! Don’t be impulsive!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Officer, let’s talk this out! You must never resort to illegal paths just for our sake!"

The thugs were scared out of their wits, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads as they chimed in frantically.

Even when facing Batman, they had never been this terrified.

At most, Batman would beat them into a pulp and dump them at the Police station entrance; at least they’d keep their lives.

But this psycho cop would shoot at the slightest disagreement; he was far more dangerous than Batman.

"Fine, I’ll give you face."

Darian curled his lip and lowered the gun with a look of reluctance.

Looking at his regretful expression, it was clear he still felt that silencing everyone was the most efficient solution.

Harvey’s mouth twitched violently.

He finally understood why Darian had been able to go undercover in the Penguin Gang for over half a year, sending so much core intelligence to the Gotham City Police Department without ever being exposed.

With such a brutal guy, who could have guessed his true identity was a cop!?

Terrified that Darian might change his mind again, Harvey quickly called for backup on his radio, then pulled out handcuffs and began shackling the thugs on the ground one by one.

The thugs were completely submissive throughout, lying motionless on the ground for fear that any movement might provoke Darian and cause them to suffer a sudden case of acute heavy metal poisoning.

Harvey watched this scene with mixed emotions.

In the past, whenever these mobsters saw a cop, they’d have their noses in the air, not giving them the time of day.

It was never like this—cowering as if they were criminals encountering a cop.

Oh wait, they *were* criminals encountering a cop.

This was exactly how criminals should look when they saw the Police.

Harvey couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt.

Could it be that this rookie’s simple and crude approach was actually the right one?

When Gordon received Harvey’s call and heard that frantic tone, his heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, something big had happened.

Darian had shot Black Mask’s lackey, and the cause of death was Harvey’s poor eye contact.

Gordon was stunned at the time.

Whose subordinate was this? To be so valiant—a lowly Officer actually daring to provoke Black Mask.

Oh, right, he’s my subordinate. Never mind then.

As soon as Darian returned to the Gotham City Police Department, he was immediately called into the Director’s office.

Unexpectedly, Gordon didn’t criticize Darian. Instead, he said in a rather satisfied tone, "Darian, you did well this time. Not backing down an inch in the face of criminal forces—this is how a Police Officer should be."

Gotham was different from other cities. The mob’s influence was deeply entrenched, often more influential than the Police station.

Before Gordon became Director, almost everyone in the GCPD was working for the mobs; even the Officers’ salaries were collected from the mobs. One wouldn’t be blamed for thinking the GCPD was run by the mafia.

After Gordon took office, he made drastic cuts and cleared out a group of people, and the situation slowly began to improve.

However, the rot was too deep; it couldn’t be pulled out clean overnight.

Even now, many Officers in the department would shrink back when seeing mob members. Their first reaction to a case wasn’t to enforce the law, but to ask about the other party’s background before deciding whether to intervene.

Faced with those powerful mobsters, most Officers’ attitude was to avoid them if possible, or just muddle through if they couldn’t. There were almost none who dared to go head-to-head.

An Officer like Darian, who wasn’t intimidated by the mob at all, was exactly to Gordon’s taste.

"Fighting crime is my bounden duty."

Darian answered with righteous indignation, which Gordon found very satisfying.

An Officer so full of justice must not be allowed to come to harm; he had to be protected well.

Thinking of this, Gordon’s tone became serious. "However, your enforcement methods this time were indeed too crude, leaving behind many issues. Those criminals will definitely hire lawyers to cause trouble for our department."

"To avoid further complications, you should take a break for a while. Come back once the storm has passed."

Darian understood immediately; he was being placed on Administrative Leave.

Administrative Leave meant continuing to receive salary and benefits but not participating in any Police activities.

Simply put, it was paid leave.

"Understood, Officer."

Darian didn’t mind. He hadn’t wanted to clock in for work every day anyway.

And so, on his very first day of work, Darian happily received Administrative Leave.

He handed over the Police ID he had just received and hadn’t even warmed up yet, then walked out the doors of the GCPD under the envious gazes of a group of Officers.

"What should I do next?"

Standing on the steps of the Police station, Darian thought for a moment and decided to take a good look around Gotham.

After all, this was a famous landmark in the DC Universe, a place where all sorts of iconic scenes happened. Since he was here, it would be a shame not to explore.

Plus, he could reveal the map and activate some teleportation points, which would make future missions more convenient.

Gotham’s streets during the day were busier than he had imagined.

Pedestrians came and went, with hot dog stands and carts selling sundries lining the roads. The air was a mix of grilled sausage and car exhaust.

Darian bought a hot dog and a Coke, eating as he walked.

As he passed a sundries cart, he glanced at it casually, and his gaze was suddenly caught by something.

It was a comic book.

The cover depicted a figure in a red skin-tight suit, frozen in mid-air.

It’s him, it’s really him.

He is our superhero, S...piderman!

That’s right, it was a Spider-Man comic book.

Darian’s eyes widened instantly.

The feeling was hard to describe—it was like going on a business trip to another city, walking down a completely strange street, only to look up and see your neighbor Tom’s photo on the front page of the local newspaper.

It was a bizarre sense of seeing someone familiar in a foreign place.

Isn’t this the DC Universe?

How can Spider-Man exist here?

Darian froze for two seconds, then his brain made a connection.

"Oh right, if the Marvel Universe has DC comics, then it’s perfectly fine for the DC Universe to have Marvel comics."

He picked up the comic and flipped through it quickly. It told the story of Spider-Man’s origin—Peter being bitten by a mutant spider and turning into a spider-spirit to save New York. It was pretty much the same story he’d heard from Peter.

It was definitely a Marvel comic.

Darian rummaged through the stall and found several more comics, their covers featuring various familiar Superheroes.

Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk—they were all there.

This was a huge win.

Darian’s eyes lit up.

In his eyes, these comics weren’t just reading material; in the main server, they were legitimate strategy guides.

"I’ll take all of these."

Darian pulled out a few bills and placed them on the cart, taking all the comics with him, planning to read them slowly when he had time.

Having obtained so many strategy guides, Darian was in high spirits as he continued his Gotham landmark tour.

Along the way, he passed several famous landmarks, including Wayne Tower and Crime Alley, which were closely tied to Batman.

Speaking of Crime Alley, a very dark riddle suddenly popped into Darian’s head.

If he wrote this riddle on a wall in Crime Alley and framed The Riddler for it, how would Batman react when he saw it?

Darian thought about it and decided against it.

If it caused Batman to break his no-killing rule, that would be a huge problem.

Besides, leaving riddles everywhere was an extremely obnoxious public behavior that everyone should condemn.

Riddler, get out of Gotham!

After spending half the day, Darian activated several teleportation points in Gotham City, which would save a lot of travel time in the future.

As the sky gradually darkened, the pedestrians on the street thinned out.

As Darian walked out of Crime Alley, seeing that it was late, he intended to head back to the hotel to read his comics.

Suddenly, a dozen figures appeared at the mouth of the alley, blocking the exit completely.

At the head was a burly man wearing a dark overcoat, his face expressionless.

He looked at Darian and said coldly, "Officer Darian, Mr. Cobblepot requests your presence at the Iceberg Lounge."

Clearly, The Penguin already knew Darian was an undercover mole and had sent men to seize him.

Darian knew the Iceberg Lounge was The Penguin’s lair and one of the map activation points, so he didn’t refuse.

He said cheerfully, "Sure, lead the way."

The burly man was stunned for a moment; he had expected Darian to resist, but the other party had agreed so readily.

He waved his hand, and several mob members came forward, grabbing Darian and leading him to a black sedan parked at the curb.

The engine started, and the convoy drove toward the Iceberg Lounge.

The convoy crossed half of Gotham and finally stopped at the entrance of a massive club.

This was a famous nightclub in Gotham City and the headquarters of the Penguin Gang. Its exterior was shaped like an iceberg, perfectly matching the image of a penguin’s habitat.

Darian looked over the Iceberg Lounge and remarked with a click of his tongue, "It seems The Penguin really thinks of himself as a penguin; there are penguin elements everywhere."

The burly man pretended not to hear.

This guy really wasn’t afraid of death; didn’t he know their boss hated being called ’The Penguin’ the most?

The burly man brought Darian into the Iceberg Lounge.

The interior space was huge, equipped with all sorts of underground entertainment: gambling tables, bars, and stage performance areas—it was a true den of vice.

However, the place had clearly been cleared out in advance; there wasn’t a single guest, leaving it empty.

Darian scanned the surroundings and saw a short, stout man sitting at the bar. He had a hooked nose, wore a sharp suit, a monocle over his eye, and held a black umbrella.

This image did indeed resemble a large penguin.

Looking at this figure, for some reason, Darian felt a phantom pain in his wallet.

[NPC: Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot]

[Code Name: The Penguin]

[Favorability: -50]

[Evaluation: King of Gotham, Batman’s sole designated information supplier. Everyone else is showing off, but only The Penguin is getting beaten up.]

Seeing Darian enter, The Penguin’s face wore a half-smile.

"Should I call you Darian now, or Officer Darian?"

"I’m on leave right now, so you can just call me Darian."

As if he didn’t hear the sarcasm in The Penguin’s voice, Darian walked up to the bar casually and sat down right next to him.

He said to the bartender, "I’ll have a glass of ice water. Heavy on the ice, light on the water."

The bartender didn’t move, looking at The Penguin instead. Only after the latter nodded did he begin preparing it.

The Penguin grinned, revealing a row of uneven teeth. "Darian, you’re as bold as ever. I really didn’t expect that you were the mole by my side."

Darian took the ice water from the bartender and took a sip. "There are many things you wouldn’t expect, Little QQ."

The Penguin asked in surprise, "What does ’Little QQ’ mean?"

Darian said cheerfully, "Little Penguin."

As soon as he said this, The Penguin’s expression froze instantly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"What did you call me!?"

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