39. Gotham: Bullying the Honest
47.
The farmer was very interested in what the waiter was about to throw into the trash can, but he had to pretend to be indifferent. He put his fist to his mouth and coughed twice: "The catering department of Iceberg Restaurant needs to be cleaned up."
The waiter pressed the small intercom on his collar. "Attention, No. 3, Attention, No. 3, the food safety inspectors are here. Clean out all the frozen food."
He turned off the intercom and gave Aria a relaxed smile, not at all panicked by the sudden realization of his own situation. He seemed certain that even the new mayor wouldn't be able to do anything. "I can take you there directly, but you must not tell Mr. Cobblepot, or I'll lose my job."
The farmer nodded. She walked beside the waiter and followed him to the main kitchen. "I heard from the mayor that Cobert didn't provide you with the proper protection your employees deserve. Why don't you consider changing the boss?"
"Miss," the waiter rubbed his hands awkwardly, "Are you from out of town?"
This is not the first time that Aria's identity has been questioned, but she is used to the problems of outsiders in Gotham and has become able to turn a blind eye as long as the other party has no ill intentions.
The light from the corridor of the Iceberg Restaurant fell on the waiter's shoulders like a few light and dazzling feathers - but all the splendor here had nothing to do with him.
Seeing that Aria did not deny it, the waiter patiently unveiled a corner of the city's curtain for her: "The people of Gotham have very few choices." Here, what kind of person you become and who you choose to follow are not decided by a person's own will.
Although the Penguin has a weird temper and will lose his temper if he is carelessly touched, and will use his employees as shields when Batman comes, he rarely delays wages and is considered a rare good boss in Gotham.
Aria's expression turned strange after hearing "Several Reasons Why Penguin is a Good Boss": "...It sounds like you guys are going to have to use him as a human shield?"
"It's actually okay?" Facing his uncertain future, the waiter was quite optimistic. "I heard Batman doesn't kill people, and rarely attacks innocent people. As long as I don't follow the boss into any illegal activities and just stay honest as a waiter, I should be able to make a living."
"Of course," he extended his hand, motioning for Aria to follow him around the next corner. "If I ever get into trouble and get beaten up by him, I'll definitely deserve it. I just hope he doesn't hit me too hard, preferably to the point where I can recover after a short stay in the hospital, without any aftereffects."
The waiter grinned self-deprecatingly: "...After all, it would be hard to find another job if I became disabled."
…
The city hall is very old, and the facilities inside have a sense of history that has been severely washed away by time. It is naturally incomparable to the Penguin Man’s wealthy reception room.
If it was the previous mayor, even if he came from a family of council members, he would probably be dazzled by the Penguin's deliberate display of wealth - the floor was covered with a red Persian carpet with a sickle leaf pattern, and the sofa had the distinctive personal style of a designer who advocated classicism - Cobblepot had been trying to position himself as the heir to an old Gotham family. Although other old families were ashamed to associate with him, at least the Penguin had made great efforts in terms of material things.
Unfortunately, the current mayor is Lewis, who has never seen these works of art that transcend luxury, nor does he recognize the existence of sickle-leaf patterns or spiral patterns. In the mayor's eyes, only the initial impression of the soft sofa and comfortable carpet is clear. Cobblepot's attempt to intimidate him with the power of money is like flirting with a blind man.
Lewis put his hands on the sofa and sighed, "Since Mr. Cobblepot can afford carpets, sofas and some odds and ends, it should be easy to make up for the tax arrears."
Cobert was in no hurry to answer the mayor. He asked his men to open a bottle of custom-made red wine with his name on it. While waiting for the wine to wake up, he smiled and said, "Mayor Lewis, when I said there were some misunderstandings between us, I wasn't kidding."
Even when he sat down, the long-handled umbrella never left Cobblepot's hand. He held it as if asserting his authority: "I've always been a very law-abiding businessman. I've never had any problems with the IRS or City Hall." Anticipating that the mayor would mention the freak in a tights who went around beating people up, he snorted coldly from his hilly nose: "If you've heard any... less-than-good rumors about me, they were most likely spread maliciously by my competitors."
As Cobblepot spoke, he watched Lewis's expression to judge how much he believed it: "And a businessman like me who values reputation is even more impossible to make such a shameful mistake and become a Gotham parasite who evades taxes." Before, he would ask an accountant to cook the books, but since he found a more efficient method, Cobblepot took a two-pronged approach and extended a bribe to the IRS. With help from there, as long as Lewis didn't hold on to the matter, he could still get away with it.
"After all, Gotham is where I grew up. It taught me how to survive in the face of malice, and I've implemented the rules of survival very well..."
After saying this, Cobert took the red wine handed to him by his men. He moved the glass slightly, and the amber-colored wine inside swayed slightly, and even his mind relaxed - this was the purpose of asking Lewis to taste it.
"If the mayor insists on my response on the tax issue, I'm not an expert in this area. You may need to talk to my tax lawyer team again." Cobblepot smiled frankly. Perhaps only he himself knew how much of it was true and how much was false: "But if Mr. Lewis is visiting as a friend..."
Penguin Man leaned back on the sofa, fully grasping the aura of his master: "...Penguin Man is happy to share his wealth with his friends."
Lewis was reluctant to take his glass, and seeing this, Cobert didn't urge him. He moved his glass close to the unoccupied glass on the table and gently clinked it with it.
The collision of the glasses brought out some wine. The Penguin Man did not let his men wipe it clean. He used fine red wine as ink to circle a string of zeros on the table.
"I didn't give this price to other people before." Cobblepot complained in a friendly manner: "...It's entirely because you are worth it." Anyway, the mayor changes so quickly, and the Penguin can make him spit out whatever he has eaten. Cobblepot has plenty of abilities and means.
...This is a blatant bribe. Lewis's face flushed red as he realized this. For a moment, he didn't even know where to start getting angry. Should he be angry that his reputation as mayor for more than ten years was almost ruined, or should he be angry that in Cobert's eyes, he was just a mayor who would accept bribes.
Lewis stood up suddenly because of anger, and without caring whether the farmer could hear him, he shouted: "I'm sorry, I can't accept your 'kindness', Mr. Cobblepot. This is a complete humiliation to me!"
Cobblepot didn't believe that Gotham's public power system could produce another person like Gordon. In his opinion, the bribery method had touched the other party's minefield, or the profit offered was not enough. The Penguin also stood up to calm the mayor's anger, and saw Aria poking her head in from the door.
She had no idea that her boss was talking about confidential matters and slipped in very smoothly. "What's wrong? Is the tax collection not going well?"
Lewis was furious. He raised a trembling finger and pointed at Cobblepot: "He wanted to bribe me..." It was a huge insult to his reputation! He was out of breath and couldn't say anything to the Penguin Man. The farmer must still have enough strength to scold this bad guy!
Aria nodded, "I understand."
She took out her slingshot, loaded it with the square candy she had just picked up from the central kitchen, and aimed at the Penguin.
Pulling the slingshot, the almost perfectly cut sugar cube flew out in an arc and hit the Penguin's face accurately - not very lethal, but extremely insulting.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cobblepot," the farmer said without a trace of guilt. "Because you don't cooperate with us in collecting taxes, I will take compulsory measures against you according to the mayor's instructions."
This time, using this isn't considered violent, is it?
Cobert's reaction was bigger than she had expected. He flew into a rage, clucking like a penguin whose eggs had been robbed, and tried to shake people off by pressing the button - Aria was quick-witted and used a slingshot to knock off the two red buttons on his umbrella, leaving him isolated and helpless.
Lewis was terrified, and Cobert shot at him with the multi-purpose umbrella. The farmer dragged the sofa and rotated it in time, and a series of bullets hit the back of the sofa.
"It looks bulletproof," Aria exclaimed. "It's a great thing to use in Zuzu City."
"I asked you to verbally fight back for me, not to fight back for me!" The mayor did a Thomas turn on the sofa, his screams suppressed in his throat: "Ahhhh, he's hitting me again!"
"Don't worry, don't worry," Aria said, picking up the broken glass from the ground and using it as new ammunition. This one was far more lethal than the candy bars she'd used before. She actually had other weapons on her, and she was using this one to familiarize herself with them and to better control her strength. She could still tell the difference between debt collection and monster hunting. "I'll definitely collect all your taxes today!"
We shouldn't be concerned about taxes right now! Lewis screamed silently. Under the Penguin's fierce attack, Aria pulled the sofa and did another Thomas Spin.
He was about to vomit!
The Penguin's umbrella finally reached its end - because the meeting room was too soundproof, and Cobert never allowed his subordinates to get too involved in his business. They had to leave after delivering things, and there was no reinforcement for a while.
Aria exhausted his many methods with her slingshot and agile rolling. When the Penguin realized that she would not really kill him and lay on the ground gasping for breath, the woman slowly approached with a piece of glass and a slingshot.
She was still smiling, but the black eyes that had previously made Penguin feel a little peaceful now only brought him fear: "Mr. Cobblepot, about taxes..."
"I'll pay it! Isn't it okay for me to pay it?" The Penguin Man raised his hands in surrender. He had nothing to say to the lunatic. He just considered it as paying protection money!
…
After beating the Penguin to a pulp, Aria successfully retreated with Lewis from the Iceberg Restaurant - they also got the taxes that the restaurant should have paid.
"You're taking this too far," Lewis, revitalized, tried to persuade the farmer back from his radical path. "That just scared me to death."
"But I completed the task perfectly." Aria was thinking about something in her mind and answered perfunctorily: "I even issued him a tax receipt." Now the Iceberg Restaurant is really a law-abiding restaurant that pays taxes seriously.
"I have something to do before I leave," she said to Lewis, "...it's a private matter, so you don't have to worry about me."
She still had to search the trash can outside the Iceberg Restaurant.
Aria was picking out the food that the Iceberg Restaurant had just thrown away. She found a salmon dinner from trash can No. 1, and a pair of crab claws from the trash can next to it. This might be the old employee of the Iceberg Restaurant mentioned by the waiter. The labeling given to it by the game is also very interesting, directly classifying the crab claws as a weapon. It seems that it can be waved around to fight monsters like an insect head.
She didn't notice someone was looking at her. The person was shocked the moment he saw her, and hesitated and wandered, as if trying to confirm whether it was the person he remembered. Once confirmed, he immediately strode towards Aria who was rummaging through the restaurant's trash can.
The farmer was very satisfied with her spoils. She carried her new weapon in the air, drew a sharp arc of attack, and then heard a call mixed with emotions:
"Ms. Aria."
Lincoln March was standing behind her. This man, over 1.9 meters tall, was like a wall. He tried to relax his overall posture, but his uncontrollably trembling fingers betrayed him.
The farmer's gaze only fell on his hand in confusion, and Lincoln March immediately suppressed his unnatural state.
He looked at Aria, his gaze obscure but sharp - like a piece of new paper, one can never know how sharp its edge is until it is scratched.
And the farmer... The farmer stared at him. Aria couldn't understand why the NPC didn't take the initiative to start a conversation after calling her, but just stood there looking at each other stupidly - he even blocked her from taking out the next trash can.
Considering that NPCs would sometimes block the way, Aria decided to collide with them directly - according to past experience, as long as the collision with NPCs lasted long enough, they would move away on their own.
Aria reached out and tried to push Lincoln March. The rejection implied by this action woke him up from his dream. He smiled helplessly and took a step to the side. "I'm sorry, Miss Aria, I'm afraid you have no impression of me anymore..."
"I remember you." The farmer reached out to where March had retreated and found a strange little piece of bread from trash can number three! "You are Lincoln March."
"Just call me Lincoln." The man, adept at business, adjusted his silver cufflinks and displayed a charming smile as mellow as wine. He glanced at Aria, guessing she must be facing some financial difficulties, so he generously offered a helping hand. "Excuse me, may I have the honor of treating Miss Aria to a meal?"
He had to find out what was going on.
————————
Farmer: Have a nice day, yay!
Penguin: Middle finger raised
Lincoln March: I saw a ghost (trying to calm myself down
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-08-04 23:38:21 and 2024-08-06 23:59:16~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 30 bottles of Xinsha Painter; 2 bottles of Sichen; 1 bottle each of Yongsi, Yanyeli, and Yigong Huayu;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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