Chapter 16 Deathstroke: I'm a legitimate mercenary! ...

As if understanding Dick's meaning, the little red bird flapped its wings and soared into the sky, its feathers spreading out like a fan. It hovered lightly above the red-headed hood, landing gracefully with its tail feathers outstretched in a joyful posture. As if in agreement, it let out a clear and melodious chirp: "Chirp chirp—"

Jason couldn't hide his smugness and was beaming with joy. Wen Yue, on the other hand, looked dejected and silently slumped in a corner, her expression gloomy.

Just then, Jason received news that the Red Hood gang had successfully taken over the Iceberg Restaurant. He was overjoyed and hummed an off-key tune on his way to bed, his steps light and quick.

Jessica was completely won over by Jason, and like a clingy little follower, she fluttered her wings and followed Jason affectionately around him, accompanied by cheerful birdsong all the way.

The player's eyes lost their sparkle; true disillusionment wasn't expressed through shouting or yelling. This robin bird was probably not a reward for the player, but rather a reward for Jason.

After giving Dick his emergency contact information, Wen Yue was about to leave when Dick suddenly called her back.

"You're Batman, right?"

"How did you know that?" Her disguise was exposed so quickly that she began to doubt her own ability to fake it.

"Jason said earlier that the snack box was on the Batmobile, and just now he said it was the Batcave."

Oh, it's alright then, this time it wasn't the players' fault.

"Yes, that's right, I am Batman!" Wen Yue put her hands on her hips, tilted her head back, and proudly admitted.

"..."

Dick fell silent, doubting his own judgment. Perhaps he should observe further; it seemed he wasn't so sure after all…

——

Wen Yue and Dick followed Jason, who was wearing a red hood, into the Iceberg Restaurant, listening to Jason's instructions and arrangements over the headset.

Some reckless warrior snatched Red Hood's new territory before he even had a chance to warm it up, causing Jason to instantly transform into a grumpy little bird and return to quell the unrest.

Originally, Wen Yue planned to show Jason and Dick their future work today. However, the unscrupulous player had completely mastered the essence of mission outsourcing. Apart from the special missions for Batman that required him to do things personally, the lazybones had mastered 108 ways to slack off without any instruction.

The player, equipped with the cheat-like "Work Assistant," plans to teach her two adopted sons how to be Wayne, starting with learning how to sign documents after inheriting the company...

Unfortunately, their trip to the company ended in failure, and the Iceberg Restaurant, which Red Hood had just taken over, ran into trouble. The three of them ended up in Red Hood's new territory.

The player participates in this family event as Bruce Wayne, turning a blind eye to Jason's shady dealings with the gang. As everyone knows, Batman, the anti-gangster, is a nocturnal creature; it's daytime now, Batman's off-duty. Outside of mission time, the player focuses on their own experience. Right now, she just wants to relax and be a bystander.

While adhering to social norms, Wen Yue is a fourth Calamity with professional ethics. When she's not Batman, players not following Red Hood's rampage are considered morally upright.

Faced with sudden changes, the restaurant staff were already used to handling emergencies calmly. Their resilience and composure during the evacuation were honed through the experiences of the past few days. They were simply used to the situation, where the noise was more bark than bite.

Since the Penguin's defeat, Attorney Harvey has been relentlessly pursuing the evidence, intending to use irrefutable proof to leave the other side with no room for argument and to completely defeat them.

Although the player didn't deliver a fatal blow to the mob boss in Batman's guise, Wayne Enterprises secretly fueled the flames and kicked him while he was down. All these factors meant that the Penguin wouldn't be able to climb out of prison anytime soon.

Red Hood seized the opportunity to strike while the enemy was down, taking over the Iceberg Restaurant. His gang's influence has now taken over half of Black Mask and Penguin's territory.

Players discovered last night that the Penguin had a large amount of money flowing out of his private funds, and today a riot broke out at the Iceberg Restaurant. By connecting the two events, anyone with a discerning eye can see the reason behind it.

A hole was smashed in the center of the Iceberg Restaurant's main hall, and an unidentified mechanical bomb reflected a cold arc. Nearby personnel had been evacuated, and Red Hood's men skillfully left after reporting the situation.

The cheat program [Work Assistant], which the player had kept running from the company to the Iceberg Restaurant, unexpectedly played a role, actually being able to analyze bomb information.

The bomb's detonation mechanism is related to the stability of the liquid; once the liquid's stability reaches or exceeds a certain threshold, the bomb will explode. After informing Jason and Dick about the bomb, the player volunteered to take on the task of disposing of it.

After the player's performance... bomb inventory +1, player's happiness level +100%!

Wen Yue calmly stored the bomb in her game inventory. Players firmly believed that as long as she acted openly and honestly, no one would question the plausibility of her actions. They'd simply say it was commonplace, that the other person was ignorant, or that it was Batman's mysterious storage technique!

The three ventured deeper into the Iceberg Restaurant, led by the man in red hoods. "Be vigilant," he said, "there might be a trap here." The enemy had been infiltrating the restaurant for some time, giving them ample time to set up their plans; the restaurant was no longer safe.

Wen Yue, holding the map, nodded in agreement. "Fifteen meters ahead on the right side of this corridor, there's a hidden room separated by a wall. The enemy might be hiding there..."

Dick leaned closer to look at the map and humbly asked, "What does it mean that the corridors are marked in yellow and red?"

"Yellow indicates areas that require vigilance, while red indicates a danger warning."

Jason turned around and was utterly astonished. "Where did this map come from? And in such detail?" It even knew more than he, the current boss of the Iceberg Restaurant, did. The Penguin would be devastated if he saw this; his home had been thoroughly excavated, leaving no privacy whatsoever, and even the hidden armory had been precisely marked.

Wen Yue was beaming with pride, her face practically screaming "I'm awesome!" This is the paper map exported from the game map section. The difference is that the game panel displays a dynamic map that updates in real time, while the exported paper map will no longer update.

A faint sound came from the ventilation duct above. Wen Yue folded the map into three sections and tossed it aside.

The drone crashed to the ground, billowing black smoke, followed by a crackling sound of electricity, and then suddenly exploded.

Wen Yue held the red hood up to her chest and pulled Dick to peek out, "That was close!"

Once their whereabouts were discovered, the drones were no longer able to hide, and a large swarm of drones swarmed into the corridor.

Red Hood drew his two pistols and swiftly stepped forward, hitting his target with a steady, unerring accuracy.

"The budget is outrageous..." Wen Yue exclaimed.

Red Hood gritted his teeth, "That's all my money being burned!"

Wen Yue was shocked. "What? They're all your drones?" Jason was really in a bad situation. Not only was his base raided, but they were also used to attack him.

One by one, the drones were shot down and blown to pieces. Red-hooded, who had personally wiped out all the drones, was heartbroken.

"Not bad." A mysterious figure wearing a black and yellow metal mask and fully armed with fine chainmail rushed towards them, briefly exchanging blows with the red-hooded man before landing in front.

"This guy looks so familiar, isn't he...that guy...that guy..." Wen Yue's brain, so dense, froze at the crucial moment. She racked her brains for a long time trying to figure out "that guy," and finally slapped her forehead and came up with the answer: "Deadpool!"

Deathstroke: "..."

Red Hood: "?"

One dared to speak, the other dared to believe. Dick nodded earnestly, his expression full of solemnity and piety after receiving instruction, while his learned look made Deathstroke grit his teeth in anger.

"My name is Deathstroke!" Deathstroke emphasized, unusually introducing himself, "I'm a legitimate mercenary." Not Deadpool, that comedian.

Deathstroke's real name is Slade Joseph Wilson. He is a supervillain in the DC Universe with superhuman physical abilities. He is cruel and cunning, with a brain development rate of up to 90%. He is one of the world's most powerful mercenaries, tactical masters, combat experts, and assassins.

—It's worth mentioning that Deathstroke was the source of inspiration for Marvel's Deadpool.

"So you're a mercenary." Wen Yue's eyes lit up, and she had a brilliant idea. "Do you take orders at night?" The player planned to outsource Batman's daily night patrol work.

Deathstroke: "?"

Jason: "?"

Dick: "?"

Deathstroke said with a dark expression, "When I told you I was a mercenary, I wanted you to understand that I'm not on the same side as Deadpool. Not for you to ask me, with a flushed face, how much would it cost to hire me for a night!" Mercenaries sell their skills, not their bodies!

Wen Yue: "?"

One more person has raised a question mark.

Seeing Wen Yue's puzzled expression, everyone realized that they had misunderstood, and Jason breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're not working the night shift?" Wen Yue offered her understanding with a working-class mindset, completely oblivious to the fact that the other person didn't seem to care. She suddenly realized and explained, "I understand you don't want to work overtime, but it doesn't have to be tonight! I can hire you another day." The clueless player's IQ was unknown, but she was understanding.

Deathstroke recognized Wayne's face, which screamed "expensive," and replied with a forced, dismissive tone, "If you can afford it..."

The minimum pay to hire Deathstroke is two million dollars, specifically 30% of the target's total net worth—no small sum for Bruce Wayne himself. But as long as the employer can afford it, Deathstroke, as a mercenary, will accept hiring from anyone or any faction.

“Someone hired me to deal with you, Red Hood.” Deathstroke showed no interest in Bruce Wayne; his gaze was fixed on Red Hood.

The Penguin spent half his fortune to hire Deathstroke to deal with all the enemies targeting Iceberg Restaurant, the most expensive of whom was Red Hood.

"How much did the Penguin give you? I can add more." The Wayne version player tried to use his money.

"This deal was paid in advance, and my professional ethics require me to see it through to the end." The worst thing a mercenary can do is to take money from both ends.

“Besides, this isn’t about money. I’m here for only one purpose.” Deathstroke stared at Red Hood and said, “My purpose is you.”

“I have long since taken control of the Iceberg Restaurant but have not made a move because I am waiting for you, Red Hood. All the difficulties and challenges I have set up for you before are trials and tribulations for you. I intend to take you as my apprentice. As long as you inherit my mantle, all my knowledge and abilities will belong to you.”

"We are evenly matched in strength and equally ruthless in our methods. We have many things in common; in essence, we are the same kind of people. Join forces with me and submit to me, Red Hood," Deathstroke said earnestly.

Wen Yue nudged Jason with her elbow and whispered, "How did you get involved with him? He can't live without you!" "I accidentally chipped half of his faceplate?" Jason pondered.

"Oh ho ho, so you're the one who made that two-faced mask. Is he a masochist and that's why he's taken a liking to you?" Wen Yue clicked her tongue in amazement.

“Maybe? Who knows?” Jason rolled his eyes.

"Shh, keep your voice down, he seems to have heard you!" Dick whispered a reminder from the side.

Noticing Red Hood's unmoved attitude and enraged by the three's dismissive demeanor, Deathstroke's voice was hoarse: "Looks like I'll have to deal with these two useless friends of yours first, make you watch them die, before we can reach an agreement..."

The death knell suddenly rushed toward the three of them—

A note from the author:

----------------------

The original quote in the text was, "When I tell you I'm a mercenary, I hope you understand that we're not on the same path. I don't want you to excitedly ask me how much it would cost to have sex with me."