40. Gotham: Very Radiation
48.
"No problem!" After taking out useful things from three trash cans in a row, the farmer was in a very good mood. He hummed a song and accepted Lincoln March's invitation.
Wait, something doesn't seem right.
Aria looked from the strange little loaf of bread in her hand to the man standing next to the trash can—he had just seen her digging through the trash can, right?
Then why didn't he lose his favor with her, but instead invited her to dinner?
The farmer looked up, wanting to make sure whether the sun would rise from the west today. Normally, as an NPC, Lincoln March should have jumped up and condemned her when he saw her reaching her evil hands into the trash can. This would usually also reduce her favorability, so she usually took things out secretly where the NPC couldn't see.
However, the farmer pulled down the favorability panel and took a look. Not only did the favorability of the man in front of him not decrease, but it even increased a little without him knowing when.
Lincoln March smiled, seemingly not at all surprised by what Aria did—perhaps from his perspective it was tolerance for the downtrodden, but to Aria, it was pure admiration.
To verify her guess, she deliberately faced Lincoln and touched the trash can with her hand again.
Lincoln didn't understand, but the smile was like a mask firmly on his face: "?"
I get it, Aria realized. This was the Zuzu City version of Linus.* In some expansion mods, the creators added a setting for Linus to be a millionaire yet voluntarily wander the world. This character change was so popular that many players later took it as the official setting.
A character who longs for a free life of rummaging through trash cans but is trapped in the big city of Zuzu City can easily gain the sympathy of the farmer. Aria even feels a little guilty that she has rummaged through all the trash cans placed outside the Iceberg Restaurant and failed to leave one for Lincoln March.
"If I see you again next time," Aria said solemnly, closing the trash can lid with a heavy heart, "I will definitely invite you back." It's just a trash can, isn't it? She can still bear the pain of letting it go.
Lincoln March misunderstood Aria's meaning. He thought she said this out of a desire to avoid owing anyone a favor, so he considerately continued, "It's okay. I'm truly lucky to have a lady like you for dinner."
"Of course," March smiled. His eyes were like a salt lake in a deserted area, so clear that the sunlight could penetrate directly to the bottom. "If you are willing to invite me next time we meet, I will naturally accept the invitation."
His words somehow inspired the woman in front of him, and Aria suddenly became excited.
"Maybe we don't have to wait until next time!" There's so much going on on the farm, and there's no guarantee we'll run into each other next time. "Today is fine!"
Although she couldn't find a new trash can for him, she brought a lot of crab pots. If anyone who wanted to return to the countryside missed this way to experience the wildness of the countryside, she would deeply regret it.
The farmer quickly walked up to Machi and said enthusiastically, "I'll take you to find a place!"
Confused, he followed Aria around several corners and found the woman standing in front of a large manhole cover.
"Dangdang!" She couldn't hide the treasure in her tone: "From here, you will enter Gotham's sewers!"
Aria was still thinking about the placement of her crab pots. "Once we get to the sewer, we can lower them down. They usually collect a lot of trash, but sometimes we catch crayfish and clams too..."
Whatever material is collected, it will be useful to today's farmers.
Lincoln March's smiling mask cracked slightly. He even wondered if there was something wrong with his hearing. "You mean, we're not eating now, and we're going to..."
He glanced at the manhole cover, and the memory of Gotham's uniquely dampness came back to him, causing Lincoln to swallow his breath subconsciously. "Going to the sewers in Gotham?"
"Yes."
"I originally wanted to put the crab cages at the port, but there are too many people coming and going at the Zuzu City port, and I'm worried that the ships will knock the crab cages away." She hasn't found a quiet place suitable for putting the crab cages yet.
Aria didn't hear the hesitation in his words and thought Lincoln March was just shy - after all, not everyone would accept the hobby of wandering. She should express her understanding and consideration, just like she did to Linus.
"It's okay if you don't want to go down," the woman said, squatting down and easily lifting the metal manhole cover. She turned around and smiled, revealing her sharp fangs. "Just wait for me outside."
"I just want you to know that you can do whatever you want in the city and don't care about other people's opinions." In order to prevent people from falling from the loose manhole cover, the farmer stepped on the sewer stairs, exposing half of her body above the ground - she was still waiting for Lincoln March's final decision.
"Trust me, you can't stop yourself from liking something." The farmer smiled. "Want to come and unleash your true self?"
Lincoln March had made many important decisions, but one of them was definitely not to venture into the sewers with others one day. Any Gothamite knew that the underground world was far more dangerous than the surface world, and that one could be swallowed up if they were not careful. Even if he had enough ability to protect himself, it was better to avoid trouble.
...but this can gain the other party's trust.
Lincoln March had investigated Aria after the mayor attended the dinner party hosted by Wayne. Living in this world without leaving any traces was extremely difficult. Even the all-powerful court couldn't guarantee that Lincoln March's identity would never be exposed, so they asked him to be cautious in every way - but he didn't find any information about her.
If everyone is like water, evaporating and flowing with their own trajectory, then she is more like some kind of phantom, a shadow that makes him suspect that he is dreaming.
Where did she come from? Why was she working for the new mayor? He still remembered the feeling of his hands touching the corpse. All the vitality disappeared. Her blood tasted exactly like the time he bit his lip when he learned about his own life story. No, maybe she was not dead at all. It was his negligence during the court mission that allowed the person in front of him to use a trick, which allowed her to escape.
"Will you come?" she asked again. Lincoln March knew that if he showed any hesitation this time, the other party would go in without hesitation - the court knew nothing about the new mayor and his bodyguard. If he could establish a good relationship with her, the bargaining chips he had in the court would be much greater than they were now.
He had a plan in just a few breaths. The man unconsciously touched his forehead, as if this could give him some courage to deal with any emergency.
Lincoln March smirked, "I'd be happy to give it a try."
…
The suit he was wearing today was not suitable for exercise. Of course, Lincoln himself had not expected that he would have to climb the sewer stairs in suit pants one day.
To prevent flooding caused by heavy rain, Gotham's flood control facilities were quite magnificent, which also made the stairs leading to the sewer longer than those in other cities. Aria walked ahead of him, living up to her primate status. She climbed the stairs very quickly and went down in a few steps.
"It's too dark down there." He regretted agreeing to come down. This section of the sewer had no surveillance, and the lighting was dim, making it the perfect spot for murder and body disposal in Gotham. If he wasn't certain that Aria didn't know his identity, he would have started to suspect she had deliberately lured him here to kill and silence him.
Lincoln was still trying to stop this increasingly dangerous adventure. He shouted in a hollow voice, "...Let's go back and find a better-lit sewer to put your crab pot in."
"Don't worry!" Aria successfully landed and shouted back, imitating his example: "Don't worry, come down boldly. I'm on fire!"
Maybe she brought a flashlight? Lincoln sighed, knowing that this disaster today was unavoidable, so he simply used the cover of darkness to speed up his descent.
The remaining ten or so steel stairs came to an abrupt end half a meter from the ground. Aria then noticed that Lincoln was wearing leather shoes that made climbing difficult. She looked up and offered him a hand. "Would you like me to help you jump down? Don't twist your ankle."
Your hand just went through the trash can... Never mind.
In order to gain trust and conceal his own abilities, he handed his hand to Aria and landed safely with the help of her strength.
The sense of relief he felt upon landing on the ground was incomparable to anything else, and his heart was relieved. Even now, he was still maintaining the persona given to him by the Court of Owls.
"Now go put your things away." Lincoln March was stunned when his gentle gaze fell on the other person.
He hadn't understood what Aria meant when she said she was "lit," but now he completely understood.
Because she really is glowing from head to toe.
When the light was bright, she felt nothing, but when she arrived in the pitch-black sewers, a soft, moonlight-like yellow light spread out from Aria, illuminating the surroundings.
"You..." He was momentarily lost for words, unable to find the right words to describe this situation. Was it the magic side, or the magician? Did the court know what they were facing?
A drop of cold sweat quietly trickled down the back of his neck. Lincoln March's brain was working rapidly, trying to assess the possibility that the bodyguard knew that the person who had killed her was him - damn, he knew very little about a series of weird things and had no idea to what extent these things could be done.
Lincoln tried his best to suppress his desire to ask questions about the unknown, but Aria didn't let him go. The farmer caught his complicated look and followed the thread back to himself: "Are you asking me why I glow?"
NPCs in the past would never ask such questions, but Aria was a very patient farmer and was happy to dispel their doubts through explanations.
"It's thanks to the ring."
"I found a luminous metal ring. It glows when I put it on."
Lincoln March was not happy at all when he turned from magic to science.
Even Gotham's homeless people know not to pick up metal chains of unknown origin, especially those that glow - but not only did she pick it up, she also wore it happily.
If this thing had radiation, Aria would probably have been marinated by now.
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*Linus in Stardew Valley will not deduct favorability from players when they see them rummaging through trash cans
Lincoln March's perspective: (Aria: I'm kidding, we're not going to eat. Take off your coat, we're going through the sewers) (I borrowed a meme I like here)
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-08-06 23:59:16 and 2024-08-08 23:58:38~
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