The night in Gotham was as thick as ink. In the employee dormitory on the 47th floor of Wayne Tower, Li Han suddenly opened his eyes.
His heart pounded violently, and cold sweat soaked his cheap cotton T-shirt. He sat up, his gaze sweeping across the single dormitory, which was less than twenty square meters—the Wayne Enterprises logo on the wall, the employee handbook on the table, and the Bat-Signal cutting through the night sky outside the window.
"Damn."
He had really transmigrated.
Memories of this body flooded his mind—an international student from the East, a master's in Computer Science, who had joined the Wayne Enterprises tech department three months ago through campus recruitment, a low-level code monkey. The original owner had died from overwork, benefiting him.
Li Han stood up and walked to the window. The night view of Gotham City was in full view, and beneath the neon lights was the true face of this city of sin. The sound of a police siren came from afar; it must be another lunatic causing trouble.
"Shadow Monarch System activating…"
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind. Li Han's pupils contracted, but his expression remained unchanged. He calmly drew the curtains and sat back on the bed.
"Host confirmed. Initial ability: Shadow Control Lv1. Eliminate living beings to absorb their souls and strengthen yourself. Warning: System exposure will lead to self-destruction."
Li Han closed his eyes, feeling the strange power within him. He raised his right hand, and a wisp of black shadow seeped out from his palm, writhing like a living thing.
Click.
The sound of a lock being picked.
Li Han instantly retracted the Shadow, his gaze coldly fixed on the door. A tall, thin Black man pushed the door open, holding a butterfly knife, his face bearing the madness characteristic of drug withdrawal.
"Hand over the money, yellow monkey."
Gotham's slums were not far from Wayne Tower, and such home invasions happened daily. Security? They couldn't care less about the lives of low-level employees.
Li Han slowly stood up: "I'll count to three."
"You goddamn…"
"One."
The Black man charged over, the blade glinting coldly in the dim light.
"Two."
Li Han sidestepped, reaching out his right hand to grip the other party's throat. The strength was beyond his own expectation—though the original owner was frail, his physical fitness after the system's enhancement already surpassed that of an ordinary person.
"Die!"
Crack.
The crisp sound of bone breaking was particularly jarring in the silent room. The Black man's eyes widened, the butterfly knife dropped to the ground, and his body slumped softly.
Li Han released his hand, looking at the corpse on the ground. According to his moral values from his previous life, he should have felt fear or guilt, but at this moment, there was only a cold calmness within him.
This was Gotham.
Survival of the fittest.
A wisp of grey mist, barely visible to the naked eye, rose from the corpse and entered Li Han's body. A warm power flowed through his entire being; he could clearly feel his muscles becoming firmer, and his reaction speed was also improving.
"Soul absorption complete. Physical fitness increased by 5%. Acquired skill: Street Fighting Lv1."
Li Han flexed his wrist, and some fighting techniques appeared in his mind. They were all low-level street moves, but better than nothing.
He bent down, picked up the butterfly knife, wiped his fingerprints off on the corpse's clothes, and then put the hilt back into the dead man's hand. Then he opened the window; cold wind poured in, dispersing the smell of blood.
"Another addict fell from a height," Li Han muttered. "Gotham has news like this every day."
He dragged the corpse to the window. From the 47th floor, falling would be certain death.
Just as he was about to push it down, the sound of high heels came from the corridor.
Li Han paused. At this time of night, there shouldn't be anyone in the employee dormitory area. He quickly dragged the corpse under the bed, tidied his clothes, and sprayed some air freshener.
A knock on the door.
"Come in." Li Han sat in front of the computer, pretending to be coding.
The door opened.
A red-haired woman stood at the doorway, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tall and perfectly curved. She wore a well-fitted professional suit, but Li Han noticed her posture—her center of gravity slightly shifted backward, ready to exert force at any moment, a sign of professional training.
"Excuse me, I'm Barbara Gordon from Human Resources." The woman showed a professional smile. "We're doing employee background checks recently, and I have a few questions for you."
Barbara Gordon.
Batgirl.
Commissioner Gordon's daughter.
Li Han adjusted his expression in 0.1 seconds, showing a shy smile: "Working so late, you must be tired. Please, have a seat."
He knew why she was here. Employee background checks at Wayne Enterprises did exist, but usually not this late, and certainly not in person. Unless… she was investigating something.
Barbara walked into the room, her emerald eyes subtly sweeping over every corner. Her nose twitched slightly—even with air freshener covering it, a trained person could still detect a hint of abnormality.
"I apologize," she sat down on the chair, elegantly crossing her legs. "I know it's late, but Gotham hasn't been peaceful recently, and Mr. Bruce has requested increased security."
"I understand." Li Han pushed up his non-existent glasses, perfectly playing the role of a socially anxious programmer. "What do you need me to provide?"
Barbara opened her tablet: "Your resume shows you graduated from MIT three months ago?"
"Yes."
"Excellent academic performance." Her finger slid across the screen. "But your social record is almost blank. You haven't joined any clubs, nor do you have any close friends."
"I'm more introverted," Li Han said, lowering his head. "And I had to support myself through school, so I spent most of my time working."
"I see." Barbara nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, someone just reported an unusual sound on this floor, did you hear it?"
Under the bed.
The corpse was under the bed.
The blood was congealing but still slowly seeping out.
Li Han's peripheral vision caught a small dark red puddle spreading out from under the bed, and it would be seen by Barbara in a few more seconds.
"It might be the noise from next door." He stood up, seemingly nervously rubbing his hands, but actually blocking her view. "Excuse me, I'm going to pour some Water, would you like anything to drink?"
"No, thank you."
The moment Li Han turned around, his foot lightly kicked over the trash can at the corner of the table. Papers scattered across the floor, perfectly covering the bloodstain.
"I'm sorry!" He frantically knelt down to clean it up.
"Let me help you." Barbara also bent down.
Their hands touched. Her fingers were cold, and Li Han could feel the calluses hidden beneath her soft skin—marks left by years of training.
"Thank you." He withdrew his hand, his earlobes turning red.
An act.
But perfectly executed.
A hint of amusement flashed in Barbara's eyes. She stood up and patted her skirt: "It's getting late, let's discuss the remaining questions another day."
"Alright."
She walked to the door, then suddenly turned back: "Li, do you know? You're the most interesting programmer I've ever met."
"Really?" Li Han scratched his head.
"Most tech geeks are either overly confident or so socially anxious they can't even speak clearly." She leaned against the doorframe, her posture relaxed yet dangerous. "But you're different. Your nervousness is very real, yet just right. It's like…"
She paused.
"It's like you're acting."