Volume 1: Welcoming Gotham Chapter 1: The Black Flag's Way of Seeking Help
Name:Mason Cooper
Race: Standard humanoid, human template
Age: 17
Identity: Gotham City high school dropout, low-level security guard at the Iceberg Bar, Penguin Gang reserve henchman
Status: Dazed (lasted 7 minutes and 27 seconds), security duty (slacking off)
Traits: None
Skills: None
Suggestion: The small boss is approaching, it is recommended to stop slacking off immediately.
"Shua"
At the door of the busiest Iceberg Bar on the busiest street , Mason, who was like a sleepwalker, came to his senses and blinked his dull eyes. Among a group of thugs who were slacking off nearby, he skillfully straightened his body and put on a majestic and reliable, alert posture looking around, which happened to be seen by the little boss who came out of the bar with a cigarette in his mouth.
"This group of new recruits has good quality."
The little leader, who had the word "Soup" tattooed on his shoulder for some unknown reason, nodded with satisfaction and patted Mason, the most outstanding among the useless subordinates, on the shoulder to show his encouragement.
"This is the spirit that our Penguin Gang's reserve members should have. You bunch of losers who can only do drugs and pile driving should learn from me!"
He yelled a few times while drunk, which frightened and fawned on the little ponies around him who were about Mason's age. But after the little leader left with a grin, the others looked at Mason with less friendly eyes.
We all agreed to slack off together, but you were the only one who secretly rolled up your sleeves, right?
Mason didn't care about the malicious looks around him. After making sure the little boss had left, he skillfully went into a daze mode, staring at the words on the translucent light screen in front of him, as if he wanted to break them apart and crush them to see what secrets were hidden in this thing.
Mason Cooper, the "Black Flag" of Old Gotham.
His father who died in a gunfight at the dock last month was a core member of the Penguin Gang. It was said that he was a veteran who had followed the famous Penguin to conquer the world. As a not-so-outstanding "second-generation gangster", it was naturally impossible for Mason to complete his studies successfully.
After his cheap dad was hacked to death, he was summoned by the gang and became a glorious henchman under the Penguin.
Before he was killed by a falling bottle last night, the young man had little objection to this career plan, but after another soul awakened in his body, the new Mason felt that the current situation was terrible.
“To be a gangster in Gotham City is like joining the German army in 1944 and pledging allegiance to the captain in 1949.
No.
It’s not as good as that.”
The young man with a bandage on his head looked bored at the traffic on the street, and glanced at the magnificent and luxurious Iceberg Bar 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 who wouldn’t survive a single episode.
This won't work! I have to find a way to clean up my name and save money to leave Gotham, live in Metropolis under the protection of Superman, or go to London to follow the handsome and cool Wonder Woman, wouldn't that be great?"
"boom"
Just when the "second generation gangster" Mason came up with the rebellious idea of "doing two-five on the spot", a loud bang suddenly exploded on the rooftop of the Iceberg Bar behind him, and before the group of pony boys realized what was happening, large pieces of burning debris fell from the sky, knocking down several unlucky guys next to Mason and causing chaos on the street.
"Hurry! Someone stole the boss's treasure! He ran over there! Follow me!"
The small leader who had just led a group of five or six people rushed out of the bar like crazy with his boss and a group of real gangsters. He shouted to his new henchmen, took out a black pistol from his pocket and threw it to Mason, saying:
"You, come with me! The gang remembers your father's contribution. Do your job well tonight, and you will have a bright future."
"Ah, yes, yes, the future is bleak, I understand."
What else could Mason say?
The eldest brother's gun is loaded.
He could only carry the pistol with almost no grooves on it and follow his leader into a car. In an instant, more than a dozen cars full of gangsters were rushing through the night traffic on the highway, chasing in the direction where the daring thief had fled.
"That guy was beaten by the boss, he can't run far. He's dead if he dares to provoke the Penguin Gang!"
The little boss in the car was very excited. His face turned red from drinking, and maybe he took drugs, which made him look like a mad bull. But Mason next to him just treated his mumbling as fart.
His attention was now focused on the pistol in his hand. In his unique translucent light screen, this thing also had a small label on it:
Name: Gangster Old Gun
Quality: Junk and discarded items
Effect: There is a 15% chance of the barrel exploding with each shot, and the highly worn rifling gives the bullet a 50% chance of entering Brownian motion.
Item Description: For the sake of your life, try not to shoot it. The correct way to use it is to use it as a war hammer.
After reading this small label, another line of text floated in front of Mason's eyes: Possessing an engineering artifact, the engineering skill branch is opened, currently at Lv0, and the engineering item modification is unlocked.
"Shua"
Mason saw a flash of light , and three views of a pistol appeared before his eyes.
This thing is obviously modeled after the "explosive gun" in his hand, but it is simpler and more powerful than the pistol in his hand. The drawing also lists the assembly process and suggestions.
It's basically a fool-proof tutorial. You can build a new gun as long as you have the materials.
"This thing is really torture."
The young man sighed.
It feels like I unlocked a new profession as a "gun dealer" on the first day of my rebirth.
The convoy stopped at the entrance of a dark alley full of garbage. The gangsters jumped out of the car and rushed into the alley, and the small leader also led Mason into the unsettling night.
"You go over there, I'll help you guard the back road."
The leader grabbed his gun and pointed it at Mason, making the young man so angry that he wanted to bite his teeth.
What a stupid retreat!
It's obvious that they want me to be cannon fodder to explore the way.
This damn alley was so dark that there wasn't even a street light. But considering that the gun in his hand was not convincing enough, Mason, with a bandage on his head, didn't refute and walked into the diagonal alley in front of him with the gun in hand.
A violent noise came from the other side, along with chaotic gunshots, screams of fear and the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, which frightened Mason.
A dark figure flipped over the low wall and fell headfirst into the black garbage pile. After flopping around a few times, it became motionless, as if it were dead.
"What's wrong?"
The leader guarding the entrance to the alley also heard the sound and walked over with a gun in hand.
Mason pointed in front of him and watched his leader drag a bloody person out of the garbage. It was a woman!
She was wearing an exaggerated black tights that almost fully revealed her terrifyingly slender figure. She also had a pair of weird red goggles on her head that looked like the red eyes of a black cat. The most peculiar thing was that there were two cat ears decorated on the left and right sides of her hood.
Eh~ The girl with cat ears in tights is so astringent.
"Isn't this Catwoman?"
Mason immediately recognized the woman in front of him who was seriously injured by the gunshot from her unique attire. There was also a wound on her abdomen caused by a sharp weapon, which should have been caused by the Penguin Man stabbing her when she was stealing something.
"Ha, I knew it. I have the advantage today!"
The leader was delighted when he saw his subordinate discover the thief. He bent down and carried the unconscious Catwoman on his shoulders. He gestured to Mason and whispered:
"Go drive! Don't alarm anyone else."
"Um?"
The young man was stunned for a moment, and then he heard his boss teaching him some "little tips for gangster life":
"You are stupid. There is no point in sharing the credit among so many people. In our line of work, we need to be quick-witted and swift-handed. The boss rewards people based on their merits. You are in luck tonight."
I eat the meat and you drink the soup.
Work hard with me from now on, and I won’t treat you unfairly.”
"Oh, it's all wasted time."
Mason showed an expression of learning, gave the leader a thumbs up, glanced at Catwoman who was carried by him, and a few thoughts flashed in his eyes.
I was just thinking about clearing my name, and here comes the opportunity, right?
So, the question now is whether to do it or not? And how to do it?
With this in mind, Mason soon drove the car to a hidden place at the entrance of the alley, opened the door and whispered to the leader who rushed out carrying Catwoman:
"Brother, the car is ready!"
The leader, who was anxiously waiting for fear that someone else would steal the credit, was overjoyed and rushed over carrying Catwoman.
And at the moment when he bent down to get into the car, Mason narrowed his eyes, swung the car repair crowbar hidden in his hand and hit his leader.
Do you want to do it?
Of course!
How to do it?
Just do it with force!
There are two options before you: save Catwoman and get rid of the invincible Batman and successfully cleanse yourself, or stay with the Penguin Gang and follow the Penguin who will buy life insurance for his younger brothers.
If it were you, what would you choose?
Anyway, it took Mason no more than a second to make his choice.
At the moment of the attack, his vision suddenly changed:
"Entering combat mode! Combat assistance is enabled, and the preset attack route has been marked."
The leader in front of Mason had his back to him. When the combat assistance was turned on, the fatal parts of the leader's body were marked with red spots.
The young man could even see a virtual attack route generated in front of his eyes. He only needed to swing the crowbar along that arc to kill the guy or knock him out.
There was no time to think for a moment.
The cold crowbar hit the back of the hot-blooded leader's head with a bang.
The leader, who was still in an excited state after drinking and taking drugs, was taking the opportunity to take advantage of the unconscious Catwoman's hot body, but he fell to the ground without a word.
Blood was flowing from his head, but he was still breathing.
This scene also shocked Catwoman, who was lying in the car very weakly, but had already grabbed a cat-claw-like dagger in her hand ready for a desperate counterattack. She stared in amazement at the gangster in front of her attacking his boss, and could not understand why he did this?
"Can you still drive?"
Mason threw the car keys in his hand to the wide-eyed Catwoman, who took them in her hand, covered her wound and moved to the driver's seat. She glanced at the young man who helped the leader up and said in a hoarse voice:
"Why 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 something, then urged:
"Hurry and go. I don't ask you to repay me, just remember my kindness. My name is Mason Cooper. Did you lose this?"
The young man picked up a strangely shaped mechanical hard drive from the ground. The shape of the thing was the same as a sword.
He took it in his hand, wiped the blood off it and held it in his hand. The weak Catwoman started the car and did not forget to release her overflowing female hormones at this desperate moment.
She stretched her body and said jokingly:
“I heard that Penguin even bought insurance for you, but it seems that’s still not enough to win people’s hearts.
This thing has a positioning function. I can't run far with it by myself, and the Penguin Man will never let go of anyone who touches it.
You're in trouble, little guy.
boarding.
We have to leave it to Batman, he's the only one who can handle this."
"boom"
Bullets flew over from the alley along with the noisy footsteps, hitting the car door and splashing sparks.
Mason got into the car without hesitation. Catwoman stepped on the accelerator and the car took off at top speed, violently knocking away the obstacles in front of them and rushing into the street under the night.
The vehicles behind him soon caught up and a chase began on the street.
Those gangsters were simply crazy. They took out automatic weapons and shot at the car in front of them on the street, shattering the rear glass and forcing Mason to duck his body.
He is still in combat mode, and his awesome combat support is still there.
When he picked up the pistol he had snatched from the boss, the floating red aiming frame and simulated trajectory made the young man feel like he was playing a super exciting FPS game.
"Drive steadily!"
A bullet flew over and knocked off the rearview mirror, forcing Mason to shout at Catwoman, then he laid his seat flat and crawled to the back seat, lying there with his hands holding the gun, ready to fight back.
"Are you crazy, tickling them at this distance with a pistol?"
The seriously injured Catwoman screamed, and Mason said without turning his head:
"Just drive, sister. Men are doing things, women should not butt in."
After saying that, he took a deep breath and watched the free aiming frame of the light screen in front of him lock onto the windshield of the chasing car behind him. The moment he locked onto the driver, Mason lowered the muzzle of his gun.
Aim the preset trajectory in the field of view at the target, then fire two shots in succession.
The first shot blew a hole in the windshield of the car behind.
The second shot struck the driver in the arm.
The unfortunate guy screamed and then the car lost control in an instant, crashing into a taxi next to it that couldn't dodge in time. The speed was so fast that it flipped sideways and hit the ground.
"Successfully completed a shooting execution. The proficiency of the shooting branch skill has increased and is currently at Lv0."
A line of prompts jumped into the translucent light curtain in front of Mason, shocking the young man.
Does this thing have experience and levels?!
Hey! Is human life experience? Don't make such a hell of a joke! Bastard!
"Who are you?"
Catwoman saw the power of Mason's two shots from the rearview mirror. The mature older sister squinted her eyes and said:
"Are all the men in Penguin's gang monsters? Or is there another masked vigilante in town that I don't know about?"
"I've already said that I didn't have a choice before."
Mason looked at the gangsters chasing him again. He fired a few shots to stop the second car, then turned around and shouted to Catwoman:
"Where are you going? Aren't you going to see Batman?"
Catwoman really wanted to tell Mason that she was going directly to Wayne Manor, but her old lover hated having his true identity exposed, so Catwoman could only remain silent and step on the accelerator.
"Turn ahead to the Gotham Police Department!"
Mason roughly guessed Catwoman's thoughts from her silence, and the young man immediately said in a deep voice:
“There is a device over there that can contact Batman, and it is closer to here. I can hold on, but your injury cannot be delayed any longer.
Can you get hold of Commissioner Gordon?"
"You are such a clever and cute little thing. You are so young but surprisingly make people feel at ease."
Catwoman also understood the young man's plan, and she endured the pain and threw her phone out, turning the steering wheel while saying:
"Number three."
"boom"
A gunshot rang out.
Mason emptied the last bullet in his pistol magazine, allowing the gangster driver in the third car approaching from behind to do another aerial acrobatic move.
The fleeing vehicle sped forward, with bright flames of explosions rising into the sky behind it. The young man threw the empty pistol out of the window and pressed the communication button on Catwoman's phone.
"Hello? Is that Chief Gordon? Don't panic, I have something to tell you.
A large number of gang members under the Penguin are going to attack the Gotham Police Station. God knows what these thugs are planning to do. I saw RPGs in their car, so you'd better be prepared in advance.
They must be here in five minutes.
alright.
You can panic now.
correct.
Don't forget to turn on the batlight on the roof! We really need that man right now...you know who I'm talking about!"
