Marconi leaned forward, hands braced on the table, looking down at him.
"Tell me... am I right, Mr. Watt? More specifically, Mr. Clear Watt."
Qingshui's face instantly darkened.
Just how many people had that Penguin guy sold his information to?
"Don't misunderstand, Puppeteer, I didn't deliberately seek out this information. It's just... you know, a gang like the Two-Face Gang, which appears to develop quickly but actually has unstable foundations, often leaks information."
So, there was a traitor within the Two-Face Gang.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell Harvey Dent that you have someone inside the Two-Face Gang?"
"Of course, but I believe someone who can escape Arkham using the Joker, right under Batman's nose, and then establish a considerable gang afterwards, is worth the price."
Marconi chuckled.
So, he wasn't just interested in the Titan Formula, but in Qingshui himself.
Qingshui also smiled.
He's quite imaginative, isn't he?
"This can't be your offer, can it? If you had an informant capable of obtaining such vital information within the Two-Face Gang, you wouldn't have been beaten so badly by Harvey Dent and his men back then."
Marconi froze.
Was this guy deliberately taunting him, or was he truly as crude and thoughtless as Marconi had initially believed?
"It's Mr. Carmine Falcone's offer. We want to cooperate with Mr. Watt. All you need to do is betray Harvey Dent at some critical moments and screw him over. Once it's done, the Two-Face's territory will be divided among our three families, and Mr. Falcone will give you one hundred million USD as an upfront payment."
Qingshui closed his eyes, tapping his fingers on the table.
One hundred million USD!
He hadn't touched that much money in all his lives combined.
And splitting Two-Face's territory.
For a single deal to directly give Hogg United a significant piece of land, the sheer size of the Two-Face Gang's territory was unimaginable. Even if Falcone swallowed the biggest share, the remaining scraps would be enough to more than double Hogg United's territory.
Should he accept?
If Falcone really destroyed the Two-Face Gang, half of Gotham's underworld would fall into his hands.
And that was something Qingshui didn't want to see.
The more chaotic Gotham's underworld was, the more freely Hogg United could grow.
If he truly allied with Falcone to destroy the Two-Face Gang, he would certainly benefit in the short term, but then he'd have to figure out how not to be swallowed by Falcone himself.
For long-term development, the Two-Face Gang could not be destroyed.
Besides, Harvey Dent was no ordinary man. Even before becoming Two-Face, he was a talent recognized by Batman, intended to be Gotham's light, while Batman himself would be the darkness, guarding Gotham as one light and one dark.
This showed that at the time, Batman at least considered Harvey Dent to be on his level.
But facts proved that Harvey Dent couldn't shoulder that responsibility, forced by reality to transform from a good man into a villain.
And after his villainous transformation, Harvey Dent discarded his former soft-heartedness, forcefully establishing the massive Two-Face Gang with countless subordinates.
Such a person would definitely keep some territory for himself; it wouldn't be easy to take him down in one go.
Even Marconi, who was standing before him now, was an example. Despite being pulled off his throne by Harvey Dent, wasn't he still doing quite well?
If he failed, he would be forced to follow Falcone down a path of no return.
Moreover, Qingshui's goal was also to unify Gotham's underworld, or at the very least, become a top gang leader like Two-Face or Penguin, so he could expand his sphere of influence beyond Gotham and collect more Fortune.
And the benefits Harvey Dent offered him were also considerable, most importantly, Qingshui also needed to leverage his connections to approach Mr. Freeze.
Qingshui was very covetous of the freeze gun and other high-kill, low-temperature technologies.
Qingshui sat at the table, closing his eyes for a few minutes to sort out the pros and cons, then slowly opened them.
Marconi had lit a cigar at some point. Seeing Qingshui open his eyes, he exhaled a thick puff of smoke and asked:
"Have you made your decision?"
"My apologies, but your offer isn't enough. For me, cooperating with Harvey Dent is the way to maximize my interests."
Qingshui tapped his crossed leg, speaking to Marconi.
"So you're going to tell Harvey Dent about this?"
Marconi's face was calm as he took another puff of his cigar.
"That depends on how much hush money you're willing to pay."
"You really are despicable."
"For a gang leader, that should be a compliment, right? Thank you."
Marconi took the cigar from his mouth and pulled a pistol from his pocket.
"Killing you right here would have the same effect."
"Killing someone on Penguin's turf, aren't you afraid of offending him? If Cobblepot and Two-Face team up, Falcone might not be able to protect you, you know?"
Marconi chuckled softly, flicking off the safety on his gun. "No, no, no. Cobblepot will understand, as long as the price is right."
Just like Penguin, always chasing a buck.
"You came alone? More precisely, you don't actually think you can take me out with just one gun and yourself, do you?"
Seeing Qingshui's unconcerned demeanor, Marconi frowned slightly.
"Your high-tech suit isn't here. Don't worry, I'll take it for you."
With that, Marconi put his finger on the trigger.
Seeing this, Qingshui's fingers twitched slightly as well.
*Whoosh!*
A small white object hidden under the table instantly slammed into the hand Marconi was holding the gun with.
Wisdom Tooth One!
It was the first Puppet Qingshui had created after arriving in the DC Universe. At the time, being confined to Arkham Asylum, he could only use whatever was available – his own teeth, fingernails, and strands of hair – to create a makeshift Puppet.
Although he'd escaped Arkham before he could use Wisdom Tooth One, due to the chaos Joker caused, Qingshui had kept it.
As a Puppet made entirely from his own bodily tissues, it had a high affinity with Qingshui's Chakra, making its movements incredibly agile.
Qingshui had since modified it, adding a tungsten alloy poisoned needle, making it excellent for surprise attacks and assassinations.
"Ah—!"
The gun dropped from Marconi's hand, and he clutched his palm in pain with his other hand.
Qingshui picked up the gun with his left hand, grabbed Marconi's hair with his right, and slammed his head hard onto the table, making blood gush from Marconi's forehead.
The latter tried to resist, but his strength was no match for Qingshui, whose body was enhanced by Chakra. He was then shoved and repeatedly slammed against the walls.
The room door burst open, and several of Marconi's subordinates in black suits, seeing the scene, quickly raised their guns.
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