CH 1

Name: Mason Cooper

Race: Standard humanoid creature, human template

Age: 17

Identity: Gotham City high school dropout, low-level security guard at the Iceberg Lounge, Penguin Gang reserve pals

Status: Dazed (7 minutes and 27 seconds), on security duty (slacking off)

Special traits: None

Skills: None

Recommendation: The boss is approaching, it is recommended to end the slacking off state immediately.

"Swish"

At the busiest street corner of the Gotham slum, outside the Iceberg Lounge, Mason, who was in a daze, suddenly came to his senses. His dull eyes blinked and he stood up straight, looking around vigilantly among a group of horsemen who were also slacking off. Just then, the little boss who was smoking and walking out of the bar saw him.

"The quality of this batch of newbies is not bad."

For some unknown reason, the little boss with the word "soup" tattooed on his shoulder nodded in satisfaction and patted Mason's shoulder, encouraging him.

"This is the spirit that our Penguin Gang reserve members should have. You bunch of useless druggies and losers should learn from him!"

He shouted a few times while drunk, making the other horsemen around Mason, who were about the same age, scared and fawning. But after the little boss left with a grin, their eyes towards Mason were no longer friendly.

We agreed to slack off together, but you just had to secretly stop, right?

Mason didn't care about the malicious glances around him. After confirming that the little boss had left, he skillfully entered the mode of staring blankly at the words on the semi-transparent screen in front of him, seeming to want to pry them open and crush them to see what secrets were hidden inside.

Mason Cooper, the "True Black Flag" of old Gotham.

His father, who died in a gun battle on the pier last month, was a key member of the Penguin Gang, and it was said that he had fought alongside the famous Penguin in his heyday. As a less outstanding "second-generation black", Mason naturally could not complete his studies smoothly.

After his cheap father was hacked to death, he was summoned by the gang to become a glorious pals under the Penguin.

Before he was smashed to death by a bottle of alcohol falling from the sky last night, this young man had basically no objections to this career plan, but after another soul awakened inside him, the new Mason felt that this situation was simply rotten to the core.

"Devoting oneself to being a gangster in Gotham City is no different from joining the German army in 1944 and pledging allegiance to the captain in 1949.

No.

It's even worse."The young man with bandages on his head was bored watching the traffic on the street, and glanced at the luxurious Iceberg Lounge behind him.

For the seventh time, he refused the "cigarette" offered by the black guy next to him, and couldn't help but complain, "In a bad drama, I would be a cannon fodder role that wouldn't survive a single episode. This won't do! I need to find a way to clear my name, earn money, and leave Gotham. I can live under the protection of Superman in Metropolis, or follow the handsome and cool Wonder Woman in London. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Boom!"

Just as Mason, the "second-generation black," had a rebellious idea of "stay put and do nothing," a loud noise suddenly exploded on the top floor of the Iceberg Lounge behind him. A group of little pals hadn't realized what was happening when large burning debris fell from the sky, knocking down several unlucky people next to Mason and causing chaos on the street.

"Quick! Someone stole the boss's treasure! He ran that way! Follow me!"

The little head of a few moments ago now went crazy and rushed out of the bar with his boss and a group of real gangsters. He shouted at his new pals, and took out a black gun from his pocket and threw it to Mason, saying, "You, come with me! Remember your dad's contribution to the gang. Do a good job tonight, and your future is limitless."

"Ah, yes, limitless future. I understand."

What else could Mason say? The boss's gun was loaded.

He could only hold the gun with worn-out rifling and follow his boss into a car. In an instant, more than a dozen cars full of gangsters rushed into the night traffic on the main road, chasing in the direction of the bold thief who dared to provoke the Penguin gang.

"That guy was injured by the boss and can't run far. He's dead for daring to provoke the Penguin gang!"

The little head in the car was very excited. He drank alcohol that made his face turn red and maybe even took drugs, making him look like a crazy bull. But Mason only regarded his self-talk as nonsense.

His attention was focused on the gun in his hand. In his unique translucent screen view, this thing also had a small label on it:

Name: Gangster's Old Gun

Quality: Junk item, discarded item

Effect: There is a 15% chance of a gun explosion each time it is fired, and the highly worn rifling causes a 50% chance of the bullet entering Brownian motion.

Item description: For the sake of your life, try not to use it. Using it as a warhammer is the correct way to use it.

After reading this label, another line of text appeared in Mason's mind: Holding Engineering Creation, Engineering Skill Branch Unlocked, currently at Lv0, Engineering Item Modification Unlocked.

"Swish."Mason's eyes flashed, and a three-view of a handgun appeared in front of him.

It was obviously modeled after his "Blowback Gun," but it was more concise and powerful than the gun in his hand. The blueprint even listed the assembly process and suggestions.

It was basically a foolproof tutorial. With the materials, one could assemble a new gun.

"This thing is really cool."

The young man exclaimed.

He felt like he had unlocked a new career as a "black gun dealer" on his first day of rebirth.

The convoy stopped at the entrance of a dark alley filled with garbage. The shouting gang members jumped out of the car and rushed in. The small boss also led Mason into the unsettling darkness in front of him.

"You go over there, I'll guard the rear."

The boss grabbed his gun and pointed at Mason, making the young man angry.

What rear am I guarding?

He was obviously making me a cannon fodder scout.

The damn alley was pitch black, without even a street lamp. But considering that the persuasion power of the Blowback Gun in his hand was a bit insufficient, Mason, who had a bandage on his head, did not refute and walked into the slanted alley with his gun.

Loud noises and chaotic gunshots came from the other side, along with screams of terror and the sound of heavy objects falling, which startled Mason.

A black figure jumped over a low wall and hit the black garbage pile, flapping a few times before becoming still, as if dead.

"What happened?"

The boss guarding the entrance of the slanted alley also heard the noise and walked over with his gun.

Mason pointed to the front and looked at his boss dragging a woman covered in blood out of the garbage pile. She was wearing an exaggerated black bodysuit that almost showed off her terrible and slender figure. She also had a strange red visor on her head, resembling the red eyes of a black cat. The most peculiar thing was that her headgear had two cat ear decorations on the left and right.

Wow, a bodysuit cat ear girl, too seductive.

"Isn't this Catwoman?"

Mason immediately recognized the woman who was heavily injured by gunshots from her unique attire. She had a wound on her abdomen, which was probably caused by the Penguin when she stole something.

"Ha, I knew it. Today, I have the advantage!"

The boss was overjoyed when he saw his little brother discovering the thief. He bent down, lifted the unconscious Catwoman on his shoulder, and gestured to Mason, whispering:

"Go drive! Don't alert the others."

"Huh?"

The young man was stunned for a moment, then he heard his boss imparting some "tips for a gangster career.""You're stupid. What's the use of sharing the spoils with so many people? In our line of work, you have to be quick and efficient. The boss rewards based on merit. You're lucky tonight.

I'll eat meat, you drink soup.

Work with me in the future, and I won't treat you unfairly."

"Oh, I understand now."

Mason showed a grateful expression, giving a thumbs up to the Chief while glancing at the catwoman he carried. He pondered for a moment.

He had just thought about redeeming himself, and now the opportunity had presented itself.

So, the question now was, should he do it? And how?

With these thoughts in mind, Mason quickly parked the car in a secluded spot at the end of the alley and opened the door, whispering to the Chief who was carrying the catwoman out:

"Boss, the car is ready!"

The Chief was anxious and eager to take all the credit, so he was delighted and rushed over with the catwoman.

But as he bent down to get into the car, Mason squinted his eyes and swung the car repair pry bar he had hidden in his hand at his own boss.

Should he do it?

Of course he should!

How should he do it?

With all his might!

The two options of saving the catwoman and teaming up with the invincible Batman to redeem himself, or staying with the Penguin gang and following the Penguin man who would buy personal accident insurance for his underlings, were both in front of him.

If it were you, which one would you choose?

Mason didn't take more than a second to make his choice.

And in that instant of attack, his field of vision suddenly changed:

"Enter battle mode! Battle assistance activated, preset attack route marked."

The Chief in front of Mason had his back turned to him. When the battle assistance was activated, the lethal spots on the Chief's body were marked with red dots.

The young man could even see a virtual attack route generated in front of him. He only needed to swing the pry bar along that arc to either kill or knock out this guy.

There was no time for him to think.

The cold pry bar hit the Chief's back of the head with a bang.

The Chief, who had been drinking and taking drugs and was in an excited state, was now taking advantage of the unconscious catwoman's hot figure. He didn't even have time to scream before he fell to the ground.

Blood flowed from his head, but he was still breathing.

The scene also shocked the catwoman, who was lying weakly in the car but was already holding a short knife that looked like a cat's paw, ready to fight back. She stared in disbelief at the black gangster who had just attacked her boss, and couldn't understand why he did it.

"Can you still drive?"

Mason threw the car keys to the wide-eyed catwoman, who caught them and moved to the driver's seat while holding her wound. She glanced at the young man who was helping the Chief up and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Why did you save me?""I didn't have a choice before, but now I just want to be a good person."

Mason lowered his head and said, urging, "Hurry up and go. I don't need you to repay me, just remember my kindness. My name is Mason Cooper. Is this thing yours?"

The young man picked up a strange-shaped mechanical hard drive from the ground. Its shape was like a sword.

He wiped the blood off the surface and held it in his hand, while the weakened Catwoman started the car and didn't forget to show off her overflowing femininity in this desperate moment.

She stretched her body and joked, "I heard that Penguin also buys insurance for you guys. It seems that it's still not enough to buy people's hearts. This thing has a locator on it. I can't run far with it alone, and Penguin will definitely not let anyone who has come into contact with it go. You're in trouble, little guy. Get in the car. We have to hand it over to Batman. Only he can handle this."

"Bang!"

Bullets flew towards them with the sound of footsteps from the alley. They hit the car door and sparks flew.

Mason no longer hesitated and crouched into the car. Catwoman stepped on the gas pedal and the car shot off at full speed, crashing through the obstacles in front of them and into the streets under the cover of darkness.

The pursuing cars quickly caught up, and a chase began on the street.

The gangsters were crazy. They took out automatic weapons and fired at the car, shattering the rear window and forcing Mason to crouch down.

But he was still in combat mode, with his amazing combat assistance still in effect.

When he picked up the gun he snatched from the boss, the floating red aiming reticle and simulated trajectory made him feel like he was playing an ultra-exciting FPS game.

"Drive steady!"

A bullet flew over and knocked off the side mirror, causing Mason to shout at Catwoman. He then flattened the seat and crawled to the back seat, holding the gun with both hands and preparing to fight back.

"Are you crazy? Are you going to tickle them with a handgun at this distance?" Catwoman screamed in pain.

"Just drive, sis. Men are doing things, women should stay out of it," Mason said without looking back.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the floating aiming reticle on the screen and locked onto the windshield of the chasing car. When he locked onto the driver, Mason lowered his gun and aimed at the target with the preset trajectory in his sight, then fired two shots.

The first shot made a hole in the windshield of the car behind them.

The second shot hit the driver's arm.

The unlucky guy screamed and the car instantly lost control, crashing into a nearby taxi and flipping over before crashing onto the ground."Successfully completed a shooting execution, shooting branch skill proficiency increased, currently at Lv0."

A prompt appeared in front of Mason in a translucent screen, causing the young man's heart to shake.

Does this thing also have experience and levels?!

Hey! Is human life just experience? Don't make such a hellish joke! Bastard!

"Who the hell are you?"

Catwoman saw the "skill" of Mason's two shots from the rearview mirror. The mature big sister looked at him with a slanted eye and said:

"Are all the Pals in the Penguin Gang monsters? Or is it that there are unknown vigilantes with masks in this city again?"

"I've already said, I didn't have a choice before."

Mason looked at the gangsters chasing from behind again. He fired a few shots to stop the second car and shouted at Catwoman:

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to find Batman?"

Catwoman really wanted to tell Mason that she was going directly to Wayne Manor, but her old lover really hated the exposure of her true identity. Therefore, Catwoman could only remain silent and accelerate by stepping on the gas pedal.

"Turn ahead and go to the Gotham Police Station!"

Mason probably guessed Catwoman's thoughts from her silence. The young man immediately said in a deep voice:

"There is a device there that can contact Batman, and it is closer to here. I can hold on, but your injury can't be delayed anymore. Can you contact Commissioner Gordon?"

"You are really a little clever ghost, little cutie. You are young, but unexpectedly make people feel at ease."

Catwoman also understood the young man's plan. She gritted her teeth and threw her phone out, enduring the pain while steering the wheel and saying:

"The third number."

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

"Bang!"

A gunshot sounded.

Mason emptied the last bullet in the pistol magazine and the black gangster driver of the third car approaching from behind played a game of "flying man" again.

The fleeing vehicle raced forward. Against the backdrop of the bright explosion flames rising in the background, the young man threw the empty pistol out of the window and pressed the communication key of Catwoman's phone.

"Hello? Commissioner Gordon? I have something to tell you, don't panic first. The gangsters under the Penguin's command are going to attack the Gotham Police Station. God knows what these thugs are planning. I saw RPGs on their car, so you'd better be prepared in advance. They will definitely arrive within five minutes. Okay. You can panic now. Oh, don't forget to turn on the bat signal on the rooftop! We really need that man now... you know who I'm talking about!"