"You really love stirring up trouble, old buddy."
Hearing Alfred's words, Axel playfully bumped his shoulder against Alfred's.
After staggering slightly from the bump, Alfred nodded with a bitter smile.
"What event could possibly be more serious than you fighting a god in Gotham City, Boss? Since that night, everything else in the world feels minor by comparison."
After saying that, Alfred gave Axel a relieved smile and continued directing the workers repairing the manor.
Watching the ever-diligent Alfred, Axel grinned in satisfaction.
"Alfred, having you around is truly my good fortune. I'm going to check out the club and try to drag the Madam back home so she can rest, haha. After all, I'm her first man. Even if I don't enjoy being tied down, I should still support her beloved career once in a while."
He paused, chuckling.
"Even if that career happens to be theft. Stealing from the rich is still better than bullying the weak."
Axel scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Wait, does that mean beating up Wakandans counts as bullying the weak too? Well, looks like I'm not such a good person after all."
Laughing to himself, Axel returned to his room. He changed into the underwear Lex had sent him earlier.
Nanotechnology truly was impressive. Even though these were only an early prototype and built using leftover components from LexCorp's nanoparticle control system, the results were remarkable.
The shorts were far more comfortable than anything Axel normally wore.
After putting them on, Axel lightly bounced twice to test the fit. Satisfied, a burst of fire flashed around him and he instantly appeared inside the Iceberg Lounge.
The moment the firelight faded, the noisy atmosphere of the club suddenly went silent.
A brief pause followed.
Then the crowd erupted even louder than before.
"Axel of Downton Manor, Gotham's new king!"
"Welcome our eternal ruler of Gotham, the godfather of the underworld, Axel!"
"The Boss is here!"
"Axel, I'm Haino's best friend. She mentioned me to you before, didn't she? I like you so much!"
"Axel, give me a hug!"
"Ah! Axel is here!"
Hands immediately reached toward him from every direction. Axel was quickly surrounded by the wildly excited crowd. In seconds they lifted him above their heads and tossed him into the air in celebration.
Axel laughed loudly as he felt the overwhelming enthusiasm.
A man like him would usually be met with fear and caution in any other world. Even if entire populations knelt before him, very few of them would ever be sincere.
Except in Gotham.
The longer he lived in this city, the more he felt it was his true home.
Only Gotham, a city filled with darkness, madness, and lunatics, could truly accept someone like him.
If he lived among the territories ruled by the Four Horsemen, their followers might appreciate him too. But those people were simply monsters and fanatics. Axel doubted he could ever get along with them.
Gotham, on the other hand, was different. Gotham loved him the way only its own kind could.
While being tossed through the air, Axel adjusted his posture mid-flight and landed smoothly on the nearby stage.
A dancer quickly wrapped herself around him from behind as the spotlight focused on him.
Axel waved enthusiastically to the crowd.
Then he walked over to the band, grabbed a microphone, and spoke.
"Alright, buddies. I feel the love, haha."
He paused, thinking for a moment.
"Tomorrow I'm giving all of you a big gift. If you're interested, stay close to your TVs and phones. The news will reveal it."
Axel grinned.
"Trust me, you're going to love it."
With that, he casually threw the microphone into the crowd.
Instantly, people began fighting over it like it was a priceless treasure.
Watching the chaos unfold, Axel exhaled contentedly before walking through the crowd and heading toward the back area known as Minus Forty-Four Degrees.
As he approached the door to his office, he could already hear a heated argument inside.
"Bat Buddy, are you insane? That was one of our drug dealers!"
Oswald's voice was full of frustration.
"What were you thinking? Instead of going after the Roxxon gang's drug market like I suggested, you smashed one of our own operations!"
He rubbed his temples.
"Over forty of our men were arrested and dragged to the police station. Just moving them into Arkham is going to cost us at least two hundred thousand Dollars!"
Oswald wasn't worried about the money. Two hundred thousand Dollars was nothing.
What terrified him was something else entirely.
Why was this "Bat Boss," who had been placed in charge of the Diamond District by Axel himself, targeting him first?
Was Axel secretly dissatisfied with him?
Oswald searched his memory desperately.
Aside from occasionally dreaming about becoming the boss someday, he had never done anything that could be considered betrayal.
Unless Axel somehow knew about those dreams.
That thought made Oswald sweat.
Nervously, he waited for Bruce's answer.
Bruce stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking in his deep, steady voice.
"I don't care whose drug operation it is. If I see something that filthy, I will shut it down."
After saying that, Bruce glanced impatiently at Oswald before turning his attention to Victor, who stood quietly behind the main seat.
Compared to Oswald, Victor carried a much heavier sense of pressure. Bruce's instincts told him Victor was extremely dangerous.
Victor noticed Bruce's gaze and sneered.
"Bat Buddy," he said mockingly.
"You talk like a superhero, not a gang member."
He spread his hands.
"You cleaned up a dirty business, so you smashed one of our own drug stores. What comes next?"
"Are you going to shut down our casinos and nightclubs too?"
"Our weapons smuggling? Our equipment shipments?"
Victor leaned forward.
"If you wipe out every one of those businesses, what exactly do you expect our people to live on?"
He slammed both hands onto the table.
"We joined the gang because we were tired of the garbage system run by the American government."
His voice grew colder.
"If we spend our lives in the gang only to end up behaving exactly like the people in the White House, then what was the point of any of it?"
"Damn it."
Bruce slammed his hand on the desk in frustration.
"The businesses you're talking about are poison. Even if this is a gang, there must be other ways to operate."
Victor laughed harshly.
"Not 'you.' It's 'us.'"
He pointed straight at Bruce.
"From the moment Axel put you in charge of the Diamond District, you became one of us."
"Whether you like it or not, your men have already spread your name across Gotham."
He leaned closer.
"You're a Dead Souls Gang leader now. One of Axel's chief generals."
Victor's voice became firm.
"In Gotham, once you're in the gang, you're in for life. Do you think people will ever forget the Bat?"
Bruce froze.
Even the hand resting on the desk began to tremble slightly.
After a moment, he forced himself to speak again.
"Forget the Bat Bar for now. I'm talking about the gang's business model."
He looked directly at Victor.
"You have the manpower and influence to run legitimate operations."
"Security companies. Logistics. Delivery services."
"There are dozens of ways to make money without drug trafficking."
Victor suddenly interrupted him.
"You're talking nonsense."
He pointed angrily at Bruce.
"Do you think we haven't tried that already?"
Victor slammed the table again.
"The problem is that every industry you just mentioned is dominated by Wayne Enterprises."
He scoffed.
"Every business we attempt ends up colliding with them."
Victor shook his head.
"Do you think I don't know that smuggling things like electronics or food shipments is more profitable than drugs? Even smaller gangs are doing that now."
"But Gotham is controlled by powerful families."
"And the biggest one is Wayne."
Victor leaned back in his chair.
"We can bribe officials to ignore our drug shipments."
"But the moment we interfere with those families' industries, every one of them turns against us."
"Wait."
Bruce suddenly raised his hand.
"So you're saying you would be willing to run legal businesses if the opportunity existed?"
Victor shrugged.
"Of course. We're here for money. Whether it's robbery or arson, it's all about profit."
Bruce's eyes sharpened.
"What if I could force Wayne Enterprises to give up part of the legitimate market?"
Victor blinked.
Bruce continued.
"If that happened, could we change the gang's business model?"
Victor stared at him for a second.
Then he burst out laughing.
Still laughing, he pointed at Bruce.
"You make it sound easy."
His grin widened.
"Making Wayne Enterprises back down?"
Victor chuckled.
"Who do you think you are?"
"Bruce Wayne?"
===
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