18. Gotham: Good Cop

26.

Crime in Gotham never stops. Even on a relatively quiet night like this with a drizzle of rain, Bruce Wayne would suspect that the evils of Gotham were just taking a rest. They were hiding in those dark alleys and corners, watching everything, ready to come back at any time.

Although the Gotham Police Department is working hard to track Black Mask's human trafficking business, their speed in collecting information is obviously not as fast as the intelligence system established by Batman. When Batman first participated in the operation under the identity of Matchstick Malone, he roughly guessed that these people were not locals in Gotham.

He was just looking for a clearer example.

Perhaps sensing the undue attention, Black Mask scaled back his transport this time, reducing the dozens of individuals reported to just a handful. All of them had intellectual disabilities, unable to explain where they came from or how they were brought into this profit chain. The only person capable of normal communication, a black-haired woman—Batman paused as he searched the Batcomputer, then continued writing in the case log—also had cognitive issues and posed a certain risk.

Given Superman's experience, Batman is inclined to believe the other person is a human with some kind of spatial ability—a question mark next to "human," as the species remains undetermined. He can store certain items for use, though whether he can store living things is unknown. He can also shield himself from the types of bombs currently in use. So far, only cold weapons and... farm tools have been observed. His sword movements are simple, revealing no school or family of swordsmanship, suggesting self-taught training. However, he wields the pitchfork with considerable skill, suggesting a farming background or similar experience—perhaps from a traditional Kansas farming family.

For this type of space-based superpower user, you can refer to other members of the alliance and try to use pulse magnetic impulse to interfere with their abilities... The subsequent effects are still to be supplemented, and the degree of danger is yet to be determined.

Conclusion: An outsider that requires continued attention.

…

Aria had no idea that the man she had only met today was trying to study her from head to toe. She was now waiting outside the brightly lit small room for the detective to come and rummaging through the trash can.

I'd never rummaged through the trash before, completely out of a farmer's understanding of his own nature: rummaging through the trash is like gambling; you're not afraid of losing, you're afraid of winning. If you only pull out a broken CD or glasses the first time, it's fine. But if you pull out something useful, once it gets contaminated, it's completely impossible to live a normal life!

When I'm walking, I think how nice it would be if there was a trash can on the street to rummage through. When I'm going to bed, I instantly lose all sleepiness when I remember that there are still trash cans I haven't rummaged through today. Even when I meet a boy I like, the first words that come out of my mouth are: Can I go to your house to empty your trash can?

Smallville is a vast area with a sparse population, and the town center is too far away from her farm. Farming, watering and mining every day already take up most of the farmer's time. It is too uneconomical to travel thousands of miles to the town just to empty the garbage cans door to door.

And now! Just entering the police station, Aria spotted no fewer than three trash cans, each gleaming with the radiance of beautiful metallic packaging, practically welcoming her with open arms. However, the station was overcrowded with people and dogs, and each trash can cost a point in favorability. The farmer, enduring this with agonizing patience, finally found an opportunity during an unattended break and reached out his sinister hand to the trash cans.

The trash can was inspired and ran towards her. As soon as it got close, it opened the lid to accept Aria's inspection. The farm smiled gently and touched it lightly as if meeting a lover - a baguette popped out of it.

Just enough to restore her health! Although Aria had brought some health-restoring food with her, the amount was so large that it would be a waste to eat it now. This baguette would be the perfect complement to the remaining health. Without a second thought, she stuffed it into her mouth, but she didn't expect a pair of women's hands to shove it in her mouth, grabbing the baguette and pulling it in the opposite direction!

"This is something from the trash can! You can't eat it!"

Renée Montoya practically leaped over, still terrified, to stop this rather outrageous eating. Although she didn't know which colleague had thrown such a whole baguette into the trash can, as a detective, Renée's professional ethics simply couldn't stand someone rummaging through the trash can in front of her.

Detective Renee had her long black hair tied up into a neat ponytail, and the range of motion in her arms revealed strong, muscular lines. She could almost be said to be the image of a fairly just and reliable police officer in Gotham. But when she was looked at with brown eyes by such a person, the slight annoyance caused by protecting her food instantly turned into grievance.

Aria lowered her eyes to look at the baguette - it was slightly crushed in the struggle and lay miserably in her palm.

The detective tried to get things back on track: "I have a few questions for you."

"The commander has just finished interrogating Kyle, and he confessed some of the facts of his crime. You just need to cooperate with us to confirm some things."

"…So give it to me."

The farmer gave it a small funeral with his eyes. His voice was like a mosquito's, trailing off with reluctance: "But it's still edible..."

The detective pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing the undeniable coldness in his body: "Wait a moment."

She turned around, leaving Aria with her back. "I'll go find you something else to eat. No eating from the trash can, and no running around. Got it?"

When Renee came back, Aria was waiting for her in a chair in the interrogation room. The farmer sat crookedly, tapping his toes lightly, and seemed to be very bored with everything around him, but she felt that he was very well-behaved.

Whether it was her sixth sense or something else, Renee could sense whether someone was cooperating or not almost before she even began questioning them. This feeling was even more pronounced after she offered the girl some cookies and water. The girl gave him a dog-like look after receiving the gifts, as if she was about to go through fire and water for her.

"Are these cookies you made?" Aria, feeling sad about losing her baguette, was replaced by the satisfaction of finding something new. She picked up the squared cookies and asked curiously, "Looks like they used a lot of ingredients."

"Those are compressed cookies. I tried different brands and chose the one that suited my taste best. To save time, I cut the whole block into several pieces for later use." The detective flipped open his notebook and leaned forward slightly to adjust his posture. "Alright, miss, let's not waste each other's time anymore."

"Normally, there should be another detective here, but we're shorthanded today. There will be surveillance cameras to ensure the fairness and impartiality of our enforcement." Renee, completely immersed in the case, spoke sharply, like a hunting leopard. "Now, tell me everything that happened today from your perspective."

…

Aria found the process quite relaxing, a bit like a simplified tea party. Sipping mineral water and crunching on a slightly hard compressed biscuit, she confessed the entire crime process - but the difference was that she described the other party's evil behavior in great detail, while downplaying her own actions.

When she mentioned the man with the voice like butter, the other person blinked too quickly. Aria stopped talking decisively: "Is there something wrong with him?" So judging good guys by their health bars wasn't that accurate? What if there were bad guys she couldn't fight? Wouldn't she wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it and getting mad?

Renee shook her head, seemingly unwilling to reveal any information to her: "Go on."

After recounting the entire incident like pouring beans, the detective closed her recorder and notebook, finally forcing a smile. "It's pretty much what I expected." She pressed the pager for a finally available officer to come and uncuff Aria. "If the general trend is correct, we can conclude the case as self-defense," she explained.

"In other words, you can leave in a moment."

This time Aria was really surprised. She thought she would have to stay here for at least a few days and had already decided to escape from prison as soon as the strawberries were ripe. Unexpectedly, the police solved the case so perfectly.

Detective Renee said nothing. She walked to the side and turned off the surveillance camera before speaking: "But it's too late today. Gotham is not safe at night. You can rest here for a night before leaving."

"Thank you!" The black-haired girl held her hand and said with great enthusiasm: "You are the best city person I have ever met!"

Education in Gotham has always been a problem. You can't teach your children to be fearful and wary of everything, because that will make them refuse the occasional helping hand from a hero when they are in danger. You can't tell them that the world is completely beautiful, because in Gotham, that will cause them to fall into a bigger abyss.

Renee Montoya has been thankful countless times that she doesn't have children, so she doesn't have to worry about them in the long run. But facing such a naive person, she still did her best to fulfill her duty of reminding him: "Don't trust others so easily in Gotham."

"Even the police should only choose whether to trust the other party after they provide sufficient safety evidence."

"Because the people I meet are all good people." Aria vowed.

If they're good NPCs, she'll get along with them. If they're bad, she'll smash their heads in with a pitchfork!

…

Officer Renee assigned the temporary lounge to Aria. She turned on the lights, laid out a disposable mat, and left. Xiaobai then walked in slowly.

Aria squatted down and petted it. "You're worried about me, aren't you? I think it's safe here. You can sleep peacefully."

"The puppy must be very tired after helping others today." She picked up Xiaobai and brought him up to lie with her to prevent him from sleeping beside the bed and blocking the player's sleep. She gently stroked the dog's back and successfully felt out the sound of the dog snoring.

"Good night, Xiaobai."

"I hope you have a good dream."

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Bat's comment: I have a little problem with my brain. Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2024-07-02 23:36:36 and 2024-07-03 23:44:40~

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Bai Zhilan 2; Gene and Glass Peacock 1;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 3 bottles of Gucheng Weiyu; 1 bottle of Lihua;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!