Batman finished a day's work and returned home to a steaming hot meal.
After the Joker finished a day of committing crimes, he had to go grocery shopping and cook for himself. This was once a popular meme circulating on Earth, and Connors never expected it to become a reality. But it was not the Joker walking next to Harley Quinn—it was him.
The "gossip system" had given no rewards related to physical fitness so far, which presented a problem: he was almost exhausted.
Before he received rewards for his physical fitness, he had to boost himself through dietary supplements. Otherwise, looking at Harley Quinn, who had been muttering "reward" all afternoon, Connors doubted whether he could survive the night.
Fortunately, Connors knew what to eat to replenish his strength. He bought a lot of food and made a large meal in Gotham City, where Western food was everywhere.
Tonight's dinner ended with Harley Quinn's favorite Kung Pao Chicken. The girl fell asleep, while Connors wrapped his pajamas around his waist and stood by the window, smoking a cigarette.
—Then, he saw Batman, who seemed to be passing by again, and they stared at each other through the window glass.
It was not raining in Gotham today, so with the moonlight outside, Connors could see Batman hiding in the darkness, even with his naked eyes.
Mr. Wayne didn't really like men, did he?
Connors was glad he finally stopped smoking naked today. Otherwise, if he scored three "sightings," he would truly have to doubt Batman's motives.
At this time, Batman outside the window was also having a headache. He had effortlessly captured the Joker and the Riddler during the day, used Wayne Enterprises' industrial equipment to speed up Arkham Asylum's construction, and patrolled Gotham City at night.
When he passed by Connors' street, he thought he could sneak in and install a tracker, but he never knew that Connors was also a night owl and stood by the window smoking cigarettes every day.
Batman could not just knock on the window and hand the tracker to Connors: "Here, with this, I can know your movements at any time."
Contacting Poison Ivy was urgent, and he had to fully grasp Connors' information before he became a threat. Batman looked deeply at Connors, spread his cape, and flew into the night.
[Today's juicy gossip: The Laughing Man incident (ongoing) - Batman captures the Joker.]
[Reward for gossip: Lock Picking master]
"…"
The physical fitness reward that Connors was looking forward to did not appear. When the four words "Master of Lock Picking" appeared, he fell silent.
"There is no lock in the world that I cannot open…"
Connors could not help but scratch his head. But he soon recovered from his disappointment. With this ability, no matter where he was imprisoned, whether Arkham Asylum or the Gotham Police Department, he could use all available tools to escape, and he was no longer afraid of being imprisoned.
After realizing this, Connors tore off a piece of paper, walked out of the bedroom, and locked it.
He wanted to experiment with this ability. After folding the toilet paper several times, he inserted it into the keyhole. Then he heard a "click" sound, and the metal lock core was opened by a piece of soft toilet paper.
Even though he had successfully done it and possessed the knowledge, Connors still found it a little far-fetched. The name "Lock Picking Master" was well-deserved. In theory, as long as the lock was not super complicated, he could open it even by pulling out a few hairs.
Back in bed, Connors, feeling somewhat excited, used the "Green of All Things" to control the cactus in his next-door neighbor's house. It took him a long time to calm down and fall into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Connors was awakened by a shrill scream. The screams came from the family next door.
The unlucky male owner of that family woke up to find that the Batman-shaped cactus had transformed into the Joker again, and he was so scared that he let out a sharp scream.
Harley Quinn woke up earlier than Connors.
---------
After a while, amidst the sound of sirens (the next-door neighbor called the police again), Connors led Harley Quinn downstairs.
He planned to find the Joker today, whether by cooperation or other means, to end the "Man Who Laughs" incident. He wanted to upgrade the rewards from the "gossip system" to Level 2 as soon as possible and get the physical fitness rewards credited to his account sooner.
However, plans rarely go as expected. When Connors saw newsboys selling concert tickets on the streets of Gotham with a long line in front of them, he knew he could not escape.
—Harley Quinn quickly snatched two tickets from the newsboy and showed them to Connors excitedly. The reason she was so fast was that she neither queued nor paid.
Seeing the newsboy's tearful expression, Connors quickly stuffed two large-denomination bills into his hands and said, "No need for the change."
"I will sneak away quietly after the concert starts. If there is no new movement in Gotham City, it means that the Joker's subsequent plan has not yet been launched. I will come back to accompany Harley. Otherwise, I'll let her stay here alone." Connors made up his mind.
Harley Quinn's appearance this morning made him realize that the improvement of his physical fitness could not be delayed any longer.
The concert was held in an enclosed stadium in Gotham City, with only the stage lights on and the surroundings in colorful darkness.
The singers on the stage had top-notch figures and looks, and their singing voices were like heavenly music, but Connors' heart was not in it.
Just when he was about to slip away while Harley Quinn looked intoxicated, his Spider-Sense turned into a magnet again.
As a result, the innocent bystander sitting next to him was lifted into the air by spider silk that appeared out of nowhere and thrown to the outermost edge of the audience. The empty seat was occupied by Cindy Moon, wearing red, white, and black tights.
Because Cindy moved so quickly, no one else noticed anything unusual around Connors, but Harley Quinn did.
The two women looked at each other, then simultaneously grabbed one of Connors' arms and pulled him toward their own arms. When they found they could not pull him any further, they simultaneously moved closer.
[Today's gossip: Bigger or more elastic]
[Submit?]
Connors could not help but start to worry about himself.
Batman Bruce Wayne looked at the information about the singer "Seol Hee" on the screen and could not help but feel a headache.
"She's a singer on a global tour, but her real identity is a superhero called 'Luna Snow'… I hope she's really just here for a concert and not to cause trouble." (TN: She is an actual Marvel character who first debuted in a video game and later appeared in comics.)
His eyes turned to another screen, which showed the intelligence that had just been collected: Scarecrow was driving a tanker truck on the streets of Gotham.
According to analysis, his destination was the concert of "Luna Snow," seol Hee. There were nearly 10,000 people gathered there now.
If the Scarecrow were allowed to drive in a tanker truck full of unknown substances like this, the consequences would be disastrous.
The best-case scenario was that it was filled with sewage, but if the person driving the car was a Scarecrow, the situation was definitely not good.
It might be filled full of fear toxin.