129. Bruce's Line: Nothing

Ever since the farmer made the outrageous statement “I will make sure everyone has a happy mouth and teeth”, she felt as if she was being stared at more often when she walked through the streets of Zuzu City.

But this can't stop Aria's determination!

The farmer took firm steps and plunged into the sewer.

"We'd love to have you here! The farm has recently launched a new service. Simply post a task on the panel in front of the mayor's office, and you'll have a chance to receive enthusiastic service from the hardworking farmers... Hey?"

Aria looked at this familiar sewer area, and a memory slowly emerged...

She remembered that the limited-time task she accepted in the mayor's office today was to help Damian Wayne find the pearl necklace.

A quicker way had been offered to him by the farmer, in what seemed an eternity, and which he had evidently adopted.

"You're too slow." Damian emerged from the shadows, a bit impatient. "The announcement is almost faded on the notice board. Mayor Lewis said you might be tied up with other things."

"...So where have you been all this time?"

This question is a bit difficult to answer: she met Kara, flew to a desert thousands of miles away, and even teamed up with Red Robin to defeat a very scheming big boss...

The farmer scratched his head, imagining what Damian would say, and decided not to confront his sharp mouth.

"It's just farm stuff. You know, it's very busy every summer." When she said this, the farmer felt a little embarrassed - after all, she used to think that as long as she didn't do the task, the task progress would stop there and wait for her. In fact, this world is not like that at all.

And by the time she found out, Damian had already completed a large part of the work.

"Sorry, sorry." Aria quickly jumped into the water and handed him the crab cage. "How much more do you need?"

Damian slapped the map over to the farmer. He'd made two copies, just in case Aria suddenly appeared out of nowhere, rolled up her sleeves, and offered to help, leaving him unprepared. "It's halfway done. I've divided Gotham into several possible areas based on the direction of the water flow..."

Aria looked at it and was a little confused: "Why did you skip this area? I remember there was a large body of water there."

Damian frowned. "It's the ACE Chemical Plant."

"It's too dangerous for you there." Not to mention the historically questionable wastewater discharge standards of chemical plants - if Damian wanted to search there, he would have to change his own equipment.

The ACE Chemical Plant is filled with more mysterious atmosphere and danger from the villain who was born here - the Joker.

Batman sees that incident as a mistake, but the Joker sees it as a rebirth.

He really did like to lure Batman here with various excuses, replaying the scene over and over again as if he was reminiscing about the good old days.

"Anyway, don't go to that place, just leave it to me."

Damian does look a bit like his father when he's serious, but due to the obvious height difference between the two, his frown makes it difficult to tell whether it's anger or just an illusion caused by the angle.

So the farmer bent down and carefully distinguished it for half a second.

"What are you doing!" Damian's hair stood up like a hedgehog's.

"Okay, okay, I get it." The farmer nodded obediently, not at all embarrassed by being scolded by a child who was much younger than him - after all, they had experienced the adventure of the Court of Owls together, and Damian had proved with his actions that he was a very reliable child.

But adults have their own ideas, and the farmer smoothly changed the subject.

"Are you still using crab pots today? How did you like the batch I gave you last time?"

"……not bad."

The farmer's crab pot was indeed better than ordinary fishing tools, but there was one thing that Damian could never understand - no matter where it was placed in the water, even if that place was filled with the pungent smell of chemical waste, the farmer's crab pot could catch a series of things such as fish, wooden sticks, and paper balls.

There were several times when Damian wanted to find out more, but after seeing the farmer, he decided not to.

...After all, Aria herself couldn't figure it out, and asking would only cause her more trouble.

…

Today's results are quite encouraging. With the addition of the farmer, who can be revived to full health by eating something, the progress of finding scattered pearls has taken a big step forward and reached the finish line.

"A few more."

"That shouldn't be the case," the farmer scratched his head. "Logically, if a task is posted on the notice board, it should be completed."

"Is it suggesting that I use some other means? But the gem replicator can't replicate pearls..." Aria was a little frustrated: "I thought we could return an identical necklace to Bruce."

Damian crouched beside her.

During this period, Damian was busy with this matter except for the night patrol at school. Although this result did not conform to his usual perfectionism, he knew that he had no choice but to accept it.

“It’s much better than I thought.”

After all, that period of time was too far away from everyone except Bruce Wayne, and time could wash away so many things, enough to shatter a pearl necklace that carried longing into pieces.

He tried to comfort the farmer with his understanding.

"The ship of Theseus, once gradually replaced, is no longer the same ship, and the same goes for the pearl."

"Even if I don't get everything back, my father will be very happy."

…

But, but!

The farmer felt that he had to go there as long as he thought about the fact that there was still an area that had not been searched and that Damian might sneak off one day and rummage around in the sewers near the chemical plant.

She just said she understood, but she didn't agree to Damian's decision not to go.

The farmer made a very flexible decision. While it was still early, after leaving Damian's sight, she followed the location she had just noted on the map and went through the sewer.

The farmer's head never stopped turning along the way. Because of Damian's appearance, the farmer had to face up to how many secrets of Zuzu City he had learned along the way.

Unfortunately, there was no whiteboard in the sewer, and the farmer did not have the opportunity to lie in bed and sort out his thoughts before going to sleep. Many things had to be sorted out slowly when she was alone.

It's known that Bruce Wayne's biological son works for Batman, and Bruce Wayne's adopted son also works for Batman - what does this mean...

This shows that Batman’s welfare benefits are quite good, so good that even the children of wealthy families cannot resist the conditions he offers.

Ah, here we are.

The farmer looked at the area where even the water was a different color from other places, rolled up his sleeves, and couldn't help but cast a fishing rod there.

There is a certain probability of catching a box containing pearls when fishing. Although the farmer feels that his luck may not be that good...but what if? If he believes it, there is a chance that he will find pearls directly. If he doesn't believe it, he will get a few fish that are quietly developing abnormally in the sewer.

"Pudding, I told you not to go here! I worked so hard to get you out of Arkham to go on a date with me!" Harley Quinn complained sweetly to another person about how little the other person cared about the date, but judging from the other person's complete lack of response, the man she was looking for might not be her true love.

The fish took the bait, and while the farmer was struggling with the slider somewhat nonchalantly, he was thinking about whether he should do a good deed and help the poor lady break up.

"Harry! I told you I'm busy!" Another voice echoed in the sewer. It was a very strange voice, sounding like a dilapidated gear. Anyone who heard it would want to give this person some oil.

But obviously, now it is the lady who is adding fuel to the fire rather than the lubricant that does not exist in the reality in the farmer's thinking.

"Who would you see going on a date in a place like this? There's not even a single person here!"

Their voices grew louder until they turned a corner and met a farmer who was fishing.

...Actually, there were still people there, but the farmer looked at the lady as if he had seen a ghost and was not sure whether it was appropriate for him to stay there any longer.

"Hello," she said politely. "Although this is a public area, I can wander around now if you need me."

But Harley Quinn's focus is not here. She pointed at the farmer in an exaggerated manner, as if she had seen vegetables that grew legs and ran in the botanical garden.

"I know her!" Harley Quinn screamed, "It's her. She gave me a weird drink that put me into a coma, and when I woke up I found myself in Arkham!"

Everyone could recall it after hearing this. Before the farmer could skillfully put away her fishing rod and run away, Harley took out a giant hammer from somewhere and tried to stop her.

"You know Bruce Wayne, right? I remember you two had dinner together." Harley Quinn grinned, holding the hammer handle. "Pudding, we caught them all today. We've got a big haul!"

…

The farmer didn't think that fighting two people at once was an impossible task. The reason she paused was entirely because of what Harley Quinn said next.

"You don't know, Gotham's sweetheart was almost scared when we caught him, but even fear did not diminish his handsomeness..." As soon as she finished speaking, Harley Quinn threw a coquettish glance at her green-haired lover as if to make amends.

"Of course, I love you the most, sweetheart."

The clown showed no interest in these conversations. He just stared at the farmer with his cloudy and slightly yellow eyes, as if he saw an interesting new toy.

He watched as the farmer finished up the last bit of progress, pulling something from beneath the grimy surface of the water—a fish and a box.

She breathed a sigh of relief. At least today wasn't too unlucky.

"Farmer~Aria~" The pale-faced man mentioned her name like singing, but due to his limited voice, it sounded more like the groan of an old machine.

"I've heard your name in Gotham," the Joker grinned at Aria, revealing his teeth, which were also different from those of ordinary people. "Do you think this is a good thing worth celebrating, or a terrible bad thing?"

Aria opened the box and took a look - great, it was pearls.

Closing the box, the farmer replied quite sincerely, "Nothing."

But Aria would indeed go with them... After all, Bruce Wayne was still in the hands of these two people. Any honest or dishonest passerby would not sit idly by when they heard that someone had kidnapped Bruce Wayne.

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Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 have been merged for rhythm. Those who have purchased the game can check out the new content.

I've been saving drafts during this period

So there will be another chapter later (vomiting soul