60. Gotham: Protected List

68.

...That's a really sharp blessing.

"Yeah, yeah," the farmer said, not angry at all. He continued, "Who knew running a farm would be so difficult these days? I've lost everything I own."

At this point, she raised her eyebrows and spread her hands towards the red bucket: "So I'm here to beg for food."

"If you'd paid me back with that pair of purple shorts, I'd have thought it was pretty good." Red Hood held the sundry items the farmer had given him—she hadn't even bothered to give him a bag. It was only thanks to his extraordinary balance and control that he hadn't let a single parsnip fall to the ground. "...But if you're really hungry, I know a good hot dog place nearby."

…

Half a quarter of an hour later, Red Hood brought Aria to the hot dog stand he mentioned - he bought paper bags of fresh vegetables from a small shop on the street and paid the seven-cent disposable bag tax.

"Maybe next time you could try putting some extra in your belt?" Aria, a farmer who had her own inventory set up right from the factory, suggested earnestly to Red Hood, "That way you don't have to buy any more."

"Good idea. Maybe next time we get into a fight, we can suffocate a few thugs with a plastic bag." Jason Todd said this with a unique yin-yang tone. Unfortunately, none of his friends could accurately identify his meaning. If he continued, he was afraid that the farmer would think he was praising her.

Fortunately, the hot dog owner was already setting up shop. The butter melted on the iron plate, and the bacon-wrapped sausage sizzled on top. Then the owner skillfully added bell peppers, onions, and green peppers. The strips of vegetables trembled slightly on the iron plate, and soon they blended with the flavor of the meat.

The aroma of fat and milk blended together, a high-calorie food combination that easily evokes associations with words like warmth and freshness. Aria watched the boss expertly stir-fry and suddenly asked, "Is this what you always eat after a fight?"

"Not every time," Red Hood said coolly, crossing his chest, "It's just that a friend likes him, so I sometimes bring him here."

Eating is a right of the living*. Bizarro, due to the test subject, hadn't been able to fully exercise this privilege. After rescuing him, he'd deliberately introduced him to a variety of foods—perhaps every living being has a genetic preference for sweet, high-calorie foods, even Kryptonians are not immune. Under the supervision of the other Red, hot dogs soon joined other junk foods on the safehouse's limited supply list.

"So you see, I really don't have much time to tinker with recipes." Red Hood gestured for the farmer to turn his head and look at the bag hanging on the side of his motorcycle. The originally very cool modified motorcycle has become a good partner in the market. But that's not what he wanted to say: "I appreciate your kindness this time, but you don't have to give me these next time."

He glanced sideways at the boss, the half-cut bread slowly taking on a caramelized aroma as it roasted on the iron griddle. She buried her head in her own work, oblivious to their conversation. "I'm very busy, so I don't have much time to cook."

"So, if you feel you still owe me something, give it to someone here who needs it more."

"Do villains do this too?"

During her time in Zuzu City, she rarely saw citizens minding their own business in front of the "evildoers"—they even increased the size of the hot dogs! Filled with hot food, the bread instantly became bulging and looked like it was about to burst.

The boss gestured for Aria to choose the sauce.

The farmer, who had no requirements for food other than energy and health, waved his hand and simply tried every seasoning - the colorful sauces sprinkled on the hot dogs looked like the art class homework of the kindergarten students in Zuzu City. You can imagine how it tasted.

Jason Todd's taste buds trembled subtly, but facing the farmer's question, he avoided the question: "...This is my own business."

The line between good and evil in Gotham is never clear, and gray is the choice of most people.

"Yeah, I know." The farmer didn't care about the color at all. She seemed to have only her farm, which was in poor condition, on her mind.

"But don't worry about the things I gave you getting spoiled."

Aria swears: "You don't even need a refrigerator, you just need a place to stack them—they're all good stuff!"

The last time he heard the word "good stuff" was in an alley. Perhaps it was because Red Hood's suspicious look was too obvious that the farmer reached out to him.

"Give me."

"?"

She continued to hold out her hand: "Give me anything you want."

Red Hood threw potatoes at her, and the farmer raised them solemnly above his head.

What kind of special ritual is this? To appease the victimized potato before asking the boss to fry an extra batch?

Before Jason Todd could complain, Aria threw the potato into the air and swallowed it whole as it fell, instantly filling up the energy bar consumed by running around in Zuzu City.

After the live performance of eating raw potatoes alive, Aria stared at Red Hood with burning eyes: "Why don't you try it too? Just like I did just now-"

"..." Jason Todd took a small step back without hesitation, looking unimpressed by this novel way of eating. He even began to wonder if the farmer had some shark ancestry. "...Is this how you usually eat?"

"No, sometimes I cook food into dishes and eat them—that way the energy and health can be used more efficiently." Red Hood took his hot dog, paid for it, and left. When they appeared at the entrance of the alley, the hesitant figures disappeared in an instant. "But this is emergency food after all. It's not like you can just take out a dish and eat it anytime, anywhere?"

After imagining this scene, Aria felt that Red Hood would be more inclined to throw vegetables on the enemy's head rather than eat them, so she suggested: "Next time you are in danger, you can put some potatoes in your mouth. It can help you restore your health bar."

Ever since she learned the setting from Batman, the farmer has set aside spare food in addition to her planning - to support her NPC friends whose lives may be in danger at any time.

Due to the current limited production capacity of the farm, Aria simply put a few NPCs who she thought were most likely to die on the protection list - Red Hood was among them.

"Don't worry," the farmer said, slickly stuffing the hot dogs into his backpack right in front of him. His expression was serious, as if he was swearing, "I won't let any of my friends die."

Red Hood subconsciously lowered his head to glance at the tactical belt with enough weapons reserves to blow up half of the city hall, then flexed his muscles, which had grown significantly in recent days - feeling that he could still beat Black Mask once more, he raised his question reasonably.

"Is it possible that I might, perhaps, not need much protection?"

I know that no matter how I explain the update time, it seems a bit pale, but I still want to say that I have been busy looking for a job and internship recently, and the word count of this book has exceeded my initial expectations, resulting in a poor balance between the two sides ()

Although the situation is indeed not good, and life soon turned me into a soft bun, I still hope that everyone's life will be better than that of the stupid author (bow)

I will do a lucky draw later. I wish you all a happy National Day.