67·Gotham:my love mine all mine
75.
When Batman saw the package placed under the Batlight, his first reaction was that the GCPD's security measures needed to be upgraded; his second reaction was surprise - someone would risk being caught by Gordon just to leave a bag under his signal light.
The person who delivered this gift slipped away quickly. The farmer, probably fearing Gordon's capture and subsequent arrest, snuck into surveillance range and then snuck out again, the entire process taking only a few minutes. If Batman hadn't known who it was, he'd probably have characterized the crime as "extraordinary skill and decisive action."
Batman doesn't like people abusing his signal light and will later make his boundaries clear to the farmer.
But Bruce Wayne bent down and picked up the bag of vegetables... He didn't refuse the gift.
The farmer had sent him a message before, but perhaps she guessed that he would only check it once in a long time, so she thought of using the signal light method - Batman was not surprised by this.
What surprised him was that someone would give Batman a "gift".
Batman opened the bag and found a simple piece of paper tucked inside. Without any elaborate design or packaging, this simple "card" was in keeping with the farmer's style. The ink was intermittent, like a hastily found piece of paper and pen:
“These are all good things I grew myself,” she wrote. “They’ll help you stay healthy so you can fight crime in a healthy way.”
"Please don't worry about my own lack of stock," the writer paused, presumably thinking about what would follow: "After all, spring is over, and summer will soon be here."
Batman glanced at the calendar. It was still a long way from summer, so was this also one of the farmer's abilities?
The last line is delivered with a mischievous smile: "P.S. I'm attending a banquet tonight with the mayor - if you happen to be there, don't make the mistake of grabbing me!"
…
After thinking about it, Aria decided not to remind him about Wayne's connection to the Court of Owls. Given Batman's character, he'd probably already privately researched Bruce Wayne's family tree! On the question of whether there was something wrong with the Wayne family, he probably had a say more than anyone else.
…
Unlike during the day, Lincoln March changed into a suit. The empire collar and the well-tailored waistcoat made him blend in with these men and women while subtly standing out from the crowd - just like the jewelry on display that stood out with its unique design and those astonishingly large gems.
But Aria didn't notice him.
Perhaps if she placed Lincoln March in a basket at the agricultural product exhibition, she would be able to more accurately identify him. But the farmer was now clearly focusing his attention on the powerful, and she followed the mayor, agreeing with him in a disjointed manner in order to extract more information.
Mayor Lewis's skill in making small talk is completely inadequate, so she has to step in at critical moments.
Amidst the dizzying array of topics like investment and real estate, the farmer finally found a way to chime in. "That's great! So, have you heard any rumors about owls lately?"
“…”
"Haha, you must be kidding..."
These wealthy people have a rather subtle attitude towards owls. Most people regard it as a boring nursery rhyme to scare children, but are reluctant to even make a joke about it.
Aria secretly curled her lips, feeling very bored, and even regretted picking this invitation from the pile.
...and Bruce Wayne wasn't invited to this party, nor were his children represented. Those present seemed to have reached some kind of consensus to exclude Wayne, even though they had chatted happily with the host at the banquet at Wayne Manor some time ago...
"Ms. Aria." Someone called her, and the farmer's thoughts were interrupted for a moment before he caught the source of the voice.
Lincoln March stood a little further away from the light—whether intentionally or not, a brightly lit banquet hall always had dark corners that the crystal ceiling lights couldn't reach. Lincoln stayed there quietly, only the silver lapel pin on his chest flickering a tiny, star-like light as it rose and fell with his breathing.
Seeing her, the man's naturally hanging fingers bent slightly uncomfortably, and he called out uncertainly for the second time: "Ms. Aria."
This time the farmer did not hesitate. She avoided the ladies in complicated skirts and walked towards Lincoln March, who was half hidden in the light.
When Lincoln March was sure that she was indeed walking towards him, his heart moved.
"How many times have we met today?" He smiled softly, the corners of his mouth smaller than the arc of a butterfly's wings when it rests. For some reason, Aria felt that Lincoln March seemed more tired now than when she had seen him in Wayne Tower before.
I seemed to have heard before that Lincoln March was the chief operating officer of a venture capital firm. Aria didn't understand finance, but she understood work.
Maybe this is what class is like…the farmer concluded sadly.
"Second time." Aria was genuinely curious. "I thought your work was over after you discussed business with Bruce, and you got injured today. So your company is so unkind?"
In her opinion, if it wasn't for checking the owl, attending such a boring party late at night would be overtime - of course, the farmer, who was already penniless, would not pay Mayor Lewis a penny - maintaining the security of Zuzu City and eliminating threats was the mayor's responsibility, so it was good enough that she didn't ask him for overtime pay.
"Nothing I can do," Lincoln sighed, following Aria's words. He lifted his suit sleeve to show her the gauze inside. "It's a good thing they can't see it."
"But..." Lincoln's bored gaze swept across the crowd before finally landing on her.
"It's not like I've gained nothing?" Lincoln March relaxed strangely, picked up a glass of wine from the waiter, and slowly shook his uninjured wrist, with the wine swirling regularly inside.
He didn't drink it either, as if just watching the swaying of the liquid was enough to make him intoxicated: "At least I meet you here again."
Because the direction was too clear, the words sounded quite subtle. Aria pulled down the panel and took a glance. She didn't know when Lincoln March's favorability had soared to six hearts.
What a fast leveling method! Is it possible to self-attack this?
But... since it's Six Hearts, it's not surprising. Although the system didn't say it explicitly, maybe a Six Hearts event is currently underway.
Honestly, because the game has added so many new interactions, it's hard to notice if you're actually progressing through the relationship progression when you're interacting with NPCs. It was only then that the atmosphere felt a bit strange that the farmer realized, "Oh, so the relationship progression has reached this point."
She was also curious about how things would develop next: "Yeah."
What does "hmm" mean? Lincoln March was still smiling. Although the two of them were out of sight, he felt that he was standing in the spotlight from beginning to end - the authoritative and irresistible eyes of the court were staring at him.
Even if the heroine did not give the expected response, he would still continue to perform the play.
Lincoln March slowly approached the safe distance like a shadow in the night: "Miss Aria, I actually have something I want to tell you, but you always seem to be in a hurry..." He spoke a little sadly, but did not stop approaching.
The shadow finally stopped in front of her, blocking his view of what was behind her, and held out his hand to Aria.
"It's too noisy here." This refers to the guests here.
Everyone is trying hard to find out what others are thinking. People are exchanging interests and emotions. The music seems harmonious, but you can always hear too much noise in it.
There were too many and too noisy things, which made him want to rebel occasionally and do something beyond the control of the court.
"So, you want to go out for some fresh air?"
As if he could see her concerns, Lincoln March pretended to be relaxed: "It's okay, nothing will happen to Mayor Lewis here."
"If something happens to the mayor here, everyone will be too suspicious... Even if there is someone you are looking for here, they won't get themselves into such trouble."
After he finished speaking, his blue eyes fixed on Aria, not intending to miss any of her reactions.
Was it fear or suspicion? He could clearly see that she had never learned how to control her expression, and he could naturally infer from this how much information the current mayor had about the court - the court was very annoyed by the failure of the assassination of Bruce Wayne. The more restless they were, the easier it was to make mistakes. He didn't want to get burned before his plan succeeded.
However……
She smiled with two dimples, and the arcs of the corners of her mouth were not as precise as those of a robot, with the left one slightly higher than the right - but they undoubtedly represented a good mood.
The farmer happily took his hand. It was not a polite handshake that was separated immediately and without sincerity, nor was it the cold, corpse-like touch of a court member. Her hand looked as if it had been exposed to the sun for a whole afternoon in winter, and the first impression it gave was dry and warm.
—he would have liked it if he could have erased the memory of her using those same hands to rummage through strange lumps of insect flesh and set up crab traps in the Gotham sewers.
"Then let's run away!" As if she was about to escape from the social quagmire, Aria pulled him in the opposite direction of the crowd.
His wrist was countered, a rather unexpected movement, and this time it was Lincoln March who was stunned.
…
Then Aria half-pulled, half-dragged him onto the roof of someone else's house.
“…”
It wasn't her fault; not everyone's estate had a garden as meticulously maintained as Wayne's, bordering on art. Finding a place to talk on someone else's property was a real test of one's ability to assess the situation.
The host of today's banquet is nothing more than an old nobleman who has lived off his wealth and wants to use a banquet to establish a relationship with the court. He may not even know the name of the court, but he knows that there is such an "organization" that can add color to his increasingly decadent life.
They were not interested in ants at first, but the mayor accepted the invitation and the banquet became worthwhile.
"That girl," the elderly lady in the owl mask pointed at Aria in the photo with her folding fan. She seemed to have endless energy, even smiling in the secretly taken photos. "Is she the mayor's bodyguard?"
"Yes." Lincoln March glanced at it and didn't look again. He knew who it was.
"Is that so? But in my opinion, her relationship with the mayor is much closer than that of a 'bodyguard' and an 'employer'." She is old, and her appearance may fade with time, but her eyes will only be reflected in the years, revealing shrewdness and decisiveness.
She faced her previous mistakes calmly: "Maybe the previous decision to win over the mayor was wrong." There is no such thing as an iron bucket in the world, and there will be loopholes in everything.
"yes……"
"We should show her more kindness and let her feel the justice of the court." She slowly fanned her folding fan, her old eyes resting on the edge of the fan as she looked at him. "...What do you think?"
The first thing to learn in court is not to contradict the most powerful person.
So he bowed with a smile and said, "Yes, you are right."
…
The farmer sat cross-legged on the rooftop, the dessert from the banquet resting on his lap. Even on someone else's property, Aria felt at home. "Okay, sit down."
Lincoln March followed her example and sat down. His expensive suit pants might be stained with dust. He would definitely not tolerate such uncleanness before, but who knows.
No one here cares.
It is difficult to see the stars at night here most of the time, and when people look at the black curtain, they can easily feel like they are lying in a huge coffin.
"It's a pity there are no stars today."
His whisper was caught by the farmer. Aria ate half a plate of snacks and looked up at the sky, feeling a little regretful: "The light pollution in big cities is too serious." If you were at her farm, you would see a lot of stars when you look up, some bright and some dim. You could dig a spoon into the sky and eat a bowl of giant star smoothie - of course, the smoothie part was fake. This metaphor is usually used to tell children who see the stars for the first time.
"But there's no need to be envious. Once I find the bus and fix it, we can all celebrate the Desert Festival together."
There were no stars here, but the soft light she emitted was comparable to the moon. Lincoln glanced at the ring on her hand and listened to Aria speak first:
"Didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
"Don't worry, no one here can hear you." If anyone tries to eavesdrop, the farmer will use the great memory disappearance technique on them, ensuring that every knock will hit the target.
Yes, no one else would hear anything he said here. Before inviting her, he had made sure she had no listening devices on her, completely ensuring that this conversation only existed today and there would be no evidence after today.
"If I'm not mistaken," Lincoln March pondered, his throat rolling, "today you encountered the claws of the Court of Owls."
"Claws?" A question could lead to more answers. Her confusion caught his eye, and Lincoln March couldn't help but touch the canine teeth lightly.
"I thought it was just a Gotham legend, something to scare kids..." The statement must be flawless and consistent.
"--I wasn't sure of their existence until I saw the monster with my own eyes today." Strong and nearly immortal, apart from the shortcoming of being controlled by the court, it was almost the perfect form he pursued.
"You and the mayor are already in the court's sights."
Aria wasn't surprised, she just wanted to know the reason: "But why the mayor?"
He said helplessly: "As far as I know, the mayor also agrees with the New Gotham construction plan, right?"
"Perhaps you have touched upon their fundamental interests."
Fundamental interests? The farmer, having obtained crucial information, couldn't sit still. She paced back and forth on the rooftop, carrying a plate, when a thought suddenly occurred to her: "Then the target of the claws today wasn't actually me, but..."
"Bruce Wayne?"
Well, now the suspicion of Prince Zuzucheng has been completely cleared. After all, who would have nothing better to do than to hire someone to kill him?
"I used to suspect he was colluding with the Court of Owls," she sat down again, apologizing to Wayne in her heart. "This will give us a direction to investigate. We'll know who has suffered losses in this construction and who might surrender to the court."
Lincoln March took a dessert from her plate, and having learned from his previous experience, he ate it himself even though he was not used to using the other hand.
"That's right."
He lowered his head. He hadn't put much effort into his hairstyle tonight, and his black hair fell slightly with the movement, covering his eyes. "And I guess, judging by the long history of the Court of Owls, they've been parasitic on the Wayne family for a long time."
This reminded Aria that since the puzzle given by the Lost Book was related to the base of the Court of Owls, she should continue to follow Alan Wayne's clues.
"Thank you, Lincoln! You've been a real help!" Aria praised sincerely, "I wish the game instructions were as clear as yours." Otherwise, the farmer would probably have to waste a few more minutes at the banquet. Summer was approaching, and the time left for her to complete the story missions would only get shorter and shorter.
Now everything is clear.
"No, Aria," Lincoln March said with a wry smile, "I'm only saying this to dissuade you from doing this."
Betrayal, tampering, the court always likes to perform Greek tragedy in the Colosseum.
"I won't let them succeed," Aria stood up quickly and retrieved the plate that almost flew out: "Don't tell Bruce about this first."
"He can't fight. If he knows his house has been robbed, he'll definitely panic. If the Court of Owls finds out, it'll alert them."
The farmer had allocated a large area for the Court of Owls during their various farming missions, and it looked as if he was going to attack the Court of Owls headquarters tonight. "Anyway, leave this matter to me. I will protect everyone and bring about a perfect ending!"
The court thought he was recruiting supporters for them, while he used external forces to eliminate the parts of the court that he didn't need. Aria's reaction was exactly what Lincoln March wanted, and he should have been pleased.
A dark thought spread, eventually forming an idea scribbled with a black pen in the mind.
...What a fraternity.
————————
Under pressure from a certain claw, the author changed the introduction of this chapter to "my love mine all mine"
It is a very gentle song, suitable for consumption with this chapter
Lincoln March: Pretending to like someone is just one step in the plan. Court, please don't worry about my progress. I have my own pace.
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