Day 14 of customs clearance

"What happened to the knight?"

Elena held Adrian's hand, unable to comprehend who could have wounded an Arkham Knight so severely; this was the first time she had ever seen an Arkham Knight so badly injured.

Adrian, holding a water glass, was astonished by Elena's mythical Arkham Knight, believing him to be invulnerable to swords and spears, and that anyone could be injured by him.

"It's nothing, I just got injured in a battle with Batman."

Batman!

Elena was momentarily stunned, unsure whether it was the clash between Arkham Knight and Batman, or the serious injury suffered by Arkham Knight.

One is a vigilante in Gotham, and the other is her boss who helps her.

Seeing Elena remain silent, Adrian comforted her:

"No one can win all the time. I believe the boss is prepared for that, so we don't need to worry about him too much. On the contrary, how did you and your sister meet the boss? I wasn't part of the team before, so you should be able to tell me now."

Elena looked into Adrian's eyes, then turned her head away. "It's not a novel plot; on the contrary, it's ordinary and cliché."

?

"A story of a rescuer and a rescued."

[Trigger side quest: Yes or No]

【yes】

Adrian didn't urge him; he simply placed the glass gently on the table, the bottom of the glass making a soft tapping sound that was particularly clear in the long-silent room.

In order to get Elena to talk, he took the initiative to walk up to her, giving her a sense of security while maintaining a safe distance, and waited patiently.

Outside the window, Gotham remained noisy, with the sounds of gunfire and explosions like the eternal background noise of the city's nights, never ceasing.

Perhaps those painful memories had been buried deep in her heart for a long time, unable to be spoken aloud. Elena needed a trusted confidante from her own faction, or rather, the sense of security that came from the approval of an Arkham Knight. She took a deep breath, her voice low, as if trying to dig that memory out from the depths of her being.

“At that time, Alice and I…we were almost unable to survive.”

Thinking of the past, Elena's voice trembled slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

“Gotham is full of surprises every day. After my parents died, Liz and I had no protectors. What they left behind was long gone in all sorts of ‘accidents’ and ‘debts.’ Everyone knows it’s a mess and has nothing to do with us, but you know we have to admit it for various reasons.”

"The only way to survive is to work, but I'm too young and nobody wants me. Even though Liz works her butt off, it's no use. At least it's no use in dealing with creditors while trying to make ends meet. In Gotham, it's good enough for people like us who have no one to rely on to find a job, even if it's for a meager salary, a harsh boss, and colleagues who flatter the rich and belittle the poor."

“These are all minor issues,” Elena’s gaze drifted to the window, the dim light flickering in her pupils, yet unable to penetrate the shadows in her heart.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to that supposed debt our parents owed a huge sum to a casino controlled by the Falcone family. The debt was compounded by interest, and we felt suffocated when we saw that number. It wasn't even my father's debt; they just made up some excuse and pinned the debt on us. Their people came several times, smashing things and threatening us. The last time, the leader said that if we didn't pay it back in a week, he'd take my sister to 'Paradise' to settle the debt." Elena's voice turned cold as she spoke of this injustice.

“We all know what that means. They just want to drive us to our deaths. The pressure from above has accelerated the process of toying with us.”

[Character's mood influence +1]

Adrian's brow furrowed deeply. In the shadows of Gotham, such stories played out every day, but when it happened to the girl before him, it felt particularly heavy.

“I remember that night, it was raining heavily,” Elena continued, speaking slowly, each word as if soaked by the rain of a Gotham night, cold and heavy.

“Those men came again, even more aggressive than before. They kicked down the door, and Alice pushed me into the inner room and locked the door. I heard her crying and pleading outside, then the sound of things being smashed, and the laughter of those men…”

Elena's fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes.

“I was terrified and climbed out of the window, trying to find someone to help me. But the streets were deserted, and the rain blocked out everything. I fell down, covered in mud, and was so desperate that I didn’t know what to do. Then… I saw him.”

A complex light flashed in Elena's eyes, a mixture of fear, awe, and an indescribable dependence.

“He stood at the alley entrance, like a cold statue, imposing and tall, his white glasses gleaming, strikingly conspicuous in the darkness. I even wondered if my prayers for divine punishment had been answered. Later I learned he was an Arkham Knight. After I came to my senses, I realized that there couldn't possibly be a normal person dressed in such strange clothes in Gotham at night,” Elena laughed.

"Back then, Arkham Knight was still called Red Hood. He was a newcomer, and there were many rumors about him in Gotham's underground gangs. Some people said he was more ruthless and dangerous than Batman. I thought he was just a passing monster, and anyone would be terrified if a gun was pointed at them."

“I was paralyzed on the ground and couldn’t move. He saw me and walked towards me.”

The tactical boots made a heavy thud on the ground, mixed with the clanging of metal from somewhere, which was unusually clear in the dead of night. When the muzzle of a gun was pressed against his chin, all that remained in his vision was a large expanse of red and the unique smell of gunpowder.

It turned out to be a red head covering.

“I thought I was going to die.” Elena paused.

"But he just stopped in front of me and looked down at me. His voice came from inside the hood, hoarse and cold. I was probably terrified. When he asked me something, I didn't dare to argue and just kept nodding. Then he walked past me and headed towards the apartment."

"The people inside were still making a scene. He kicked open the door, which was already rickety from being smashed. I got up and followed him to the door, peering inside from outside. The situation was completely one-sided."

Elena tapped her head, her voice becoming hurried as she drifted into memories.

"Those men didn't even have time to react. He moved faster than a human and with terrifying strength, each punch producing a cracking sound. The knight didn't say a word, but the gangsters' screams grew louder and louder. The bearded man pulled out a gun, but the bullets only sparked a few sparks when they hit the knight's inner armor. The knight didn't even dodge; he simply crushed the man's wrist, then snatched the gun, crushed it into a lump of scrap metal like a soda can, and threw it on the ground. In less than a minute, all the men he brought were lying on the ground, some with broken arms and legs, groaning in pain."

"Then he went up to the terrified leader and asked him. But the man knelt on the ground and kept begging for mercy, saying that they were Falcone's men and that messing with them would cause big trouble. The knight just listened in silence, then grabbed the man's hair and slammed his head against the wall once, twice... until the man was completely silent."

[Character's mood influence +1]

Adrian held his breath. He had heard of the knights' methods, but such a direct description still sent a chill down his spine.

“After doing all that, the knight didn’t leave,” Elena’s voice trailed off. “Only my sister Liz was left huddled in a corner, trembling, and him. His hood was a darker, more splattered color, and his white goggles looked at Liz, then turned to me, who was hugging Liz. At that moment, I felt he was more terrifying than those bastards. But he didn’t do anything to us.”

"He tossed Alice a thick envelope with enough money to pay off that damn debt, enough to last us a long time. He told us, 'Clean it up. Forget about tonight. If anyone asks, just say the debt is paid off.' I asked him who he was and why he was helping us. He walked to the door, paused, and just said, 'You're lucky.'"

“Actually, I don’t know if I was lucky or not. I guess I was, since I met the knight. Then he left, disappearing into the rainy night. Just as suddenly as he came. All that was left was a mess, people groaning in pain, and that…that person who will never move again.” Elena hugged her arms tightly, as if she felt cold.

“Liz and I supported each other and, as he instructed, cleaned up the traces as best we could, then left with the money. Later we heard that of Falcone’s men, the crippled ones were thrown back to their territory, and the dead one… disappeared forever. No one pursued the matter, at least not openly. The Falcone family seemed to have tacitly accepted the loss; they didn’t bother us again.”

She finally turned to look at Adrian, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "It's cliché, isn't it? A girl with nowhere to turn is saved by a more powerful, dangerous, mysterious figure. The price is witnessing extreme violence, even... death. But from that day on, my fate and Liz's changed. We survived. Later, the knight found us, offered us protection, and also gave us some... 'work.' Liz was in charge of information processing, and I... I helped him with some 'logistics' and communications. We became his people."

A long silence fell over the room. Only the faint noise from the street outside the window could be heard.

Adrian calmly processed the story. It wasn't exactly novel; in Gotham, violence was the currency, and fear was the universal language. But the weight and distortion it carried when it happened to specific individuals couldn't be described as "ordinary."

He understood where Elena's almost blind trust and myth of the Arkham Knight came from—he had pulled them out of the abyss in a powerful, cruel, yet effective way during their most desperate and darkest moments. The fear he brought was as immense as the hope he brought, ultimately intertwining into an absolute loyalty.

“So,” Adrian began slowly, “you saw not only his strength, but also another side of him that night…”

“I saw the way he did things,” Elena corrected, her tone becoming firmer. “Batman has a no-kill policy; he stops evil, then sends criminals to Arkham, letting them escape time and time again to continue their evil deeds. Commissioner Gordon upholds the law and procedure, but that often means slowness and inaction. Gotham is like a wounded person; their approach is just to put on a band-aid, occasionally squeezing out a little pus, but the scab is still festering underneath. And the Knight…”

She paused, as if searching for the right words.

“He would just rip out that piece of rotten flesh. In the most direct, the most horrific way. He saved me and Liz, but he also killed someone right in front of us. It's horrible, I know, Adrian, I know it's wrong!”

Her voice rose with emotion, “But that’s the rule in Gotham! Either get eaten or become more ruthless than them. The Knight chose the latter, and he gave us the opportunity to choose the latter as well. He was injured, which certainly shows that he’s not a god, that he bleeds. But it also shows… what a price he paid to do what he did. He battled Batman? I’m not surprised at all. Their philosophies are fundamentally opposite.”

Adrian fell silent. He couldn't refute it. He himself had chosen to follow the Knights, more or less because he was tired of Gotham's despairing cycle. The Knights' path was extreme, dangerous, and perhaps even wrong, but undeniably, at times, it could bring a brutal "efficiency" and "closure."

“I understand.” Finally, he said softly, reaching out to pat Elena on the shoulder, but stopping halfway. “Thank you for telling me all this.”

Elena seemed to relax a little from talking, but her worries quickly resurfaced. "How is he now? Is he badly injured? Where is he?"

“I don’t know the specifics, but I do know he’s seriously injured, though he shouldn’t be in life-threatening danger. He’s receiving treatment in a safe place.” Adrian sighed. “All we can do now is follow his instructions, keep a low profile, and wait for further orders. We can’t cause him any trouble at this time.”

Elena nodded, trying to suppress her unease. She knew Adrian was right. The world of knights was full of danger, and they, sheltered under their wings, could only try their best not to become a burden.

Just then, Adrian's encrypted communicator vibrated slightly in his pocket. He immediately pulled it out; the screen displayed only a short message from an unknown codename:

"At midnight, clear the warehouse at the third dock. Instructions to follow."

Adrian's expression immediately turned serious, and he showed the screen to Elena.

See, even though he was seriously injured, his plans never stopped.

Elena looked at the instruction, took a deep breath, and the vulnerability in her eyes was quickly replaced by determination. The girl she had rescued on that rainy night was now a soldier under the knight's command.

“I’m going to get things ready. My partner hopes we get along well,” Elena said with a smile.

Adrian said, "It was a pleasant time."

【——The twin sisters' obsession has been fulfilled——】