The rain outside the window grew heavier. The freezing rain of early autumn shrouded this dark city, and raindrops continuously slid down the windowpane under the pull of gravity.
However, the atmosphere inside the window was very peaceful.
This time, the employer, Morrison Gene, did not come alone. He also brought everyone's good friend, Mr. Franklin. With this green and excellent middleman, the communication between Zane and Gene instantly became completely unconstrained.
Of course, Zane was certainly not the kind of idiot who lost his mind at the sight of dollars. He still had many questions.
Sitting in the chair behind the desk, spinning a ballpoint pen in his hand, he asked, "So, Gene, you said the reason you want to hire me is that I know a little bit about exorcism."
"But as far as I know, Gotham doesn't lack true exorcism masters. What made you ultimately choose me?"
Although Zane wasn't very familiar with DC, he had casually watched a few movies and read some comics.
Magic existed in the DC Universe, and the number of magicians was not small. A wealthy tycoon like Gene, who could casually take out hundreds of thousands of dollars upon meeting, could absolutely hire a much more reliable mage.
Faced with Zane's question, Gene wasn't surprised. The latter cracked his index finger knuckles and looked out the window with complex eyes. "Every profession has its specialty. It's not like I haven't hired those... exorcism masters you mentioned before."
"However, they all failed. The things targeting me are very bizarre. They are dead, yet they can move like living people... Damn it, they are like a bunch of half-dead zombies!"
"But you." Speaking of this, Gene's bloodshot eyes, from several sleepless nights, looked at Zane. "According to my understanding, the few exorcism missions you've done before were all, without exception, related to the undead or similar things."
"So I thought, maybe you would have a way to deal with these damn terrifying monsters."
Hearing Gene's reasoning, Zane narrowed his eyes, leaned back tactically, and muttered, "Half-dead zombies hunting down a wealthy tycoon in Gotham... This combination of traits sounds so familiar."
Suddenly, it was as if a lightning effect flashed behind his head, and a guess was ready to burst out. Zane's tone became serious. "Gene, can you describe the specific appearance of these things to me?"
"Also, did they say anything to you?"
"Of course." Gene followed suit, leaning back tactically against the chair with a reminiscent expression on his face. "Their entire bodies are covered in a layer of pitch-black leather armor. Pale claw blades gleaming with cold light extend from their arms. The masks on their faces have owl-like contours, and two round glass mirrors cover their eyes."
"When I first encountered them, I was sentenced to... death."
After hearing Gene's description, Zane took a few deep breaths. The guess in his mind was confirmed, but he wasn't happy about it.
The one targeting Gene was exactly Gotham's true cancer, the poisonous dragon Nidhogg that had been hiding beneath this cursed city for hundreds of years, constantly gnawing at the city's lifeblood—the Court of Owls!
Combining this with the news of the Bat's disappearance he had seen earlier, Zane gradually understood everything.
The current events perfectly aligned with a major early event in the comics he had read: the Night of the Owls.
The secret organization that had been hiding in Gotham for hundreds of years came out in full force, sending out their killing machines, the Talons, to continuously assassinate the dignitaries of this dark city. Batman worked tirelessly for this, vowing to root out the mastermind...
As a result, he was thrown into a massive underground labyrinth by the Court of Owls, his entire being tormented until he barely looked like a bat anymore, and ultimately managed to escape by the skin of his teeth.
Recalling the general plot, it was considered a very exciting major event, but what did that have to do with Zane?
He had no free time to get involved in the Bat's affairs. He only wanted to transform into Grey Matter to study necromancy and become a qualified necromancer.
Then he would summon a bunch of undead tools to earn dollars for him, reaching the pinnacle of his life and enjoying a happy retirement.
What? You're saying Gotham is plagued with disasters, and Earth is constantly either being invaded by aliens or having a Superman-killing monster suddenly drill out of its crust, making a peaceful life completely impossible?
Well, you actually make a very good point!
In order not to get involved in these messes on Earth, Zane had even considered immigrating to an alien planet. However, after careful consideration, he suddenly realized that the whole damn DC Universe was exactly the same!
Zane was very helpless about this. In this broken place called DC, if you weren't strong enough, it was very easy to die from an unknown area-of-effect attack by some big shot, without even a chance to struggle.
Dying accidentally from the aftershocks of a battle was a way of dying Zane couldn't accept. Therefore, after weighing the options, he still decided to get involved in the Bat's affairs.
His Omnitrix could scan and store the DNA or energy of other creatures, and those Talons from the Court of Owls were a pretty good target.
Due to their extremely powerful healing factor, these Talons could almost be considered immortal.
Having their heads crushed, being sliced in half at the waist, having their limbs severed, falling from high buildings, or suffering close-range bomb explosions... none of these could kill a Talon. Their only weakness was low temperatures.
Perhaps he could fuse it with Heatblast's DNA, that way the weakness to low temperatures could be resolved.
Zane's thoughts drifted, and he blinked, returning to the present. After knowing that his enemy was such a behemoth, he looked again at the hundreds of thousands of dollars on the desk.
It's too little.
Gene keenly noticed the change in Zane's expression, leaned forward, and asked, "Zane, do you know who these guys targeting me are?"
"I know." Zane nodded, staring intently at the green dollars on the desk. The more he looked at them, the less they seemed.
"Gene, what we have to face is a behemoth. I mean, a true behemoth. The opposition is the most powerful secret organization in all of Gotham. Their subordinate Talons, which are those half-dead zombies you mentioned, are incredibly powerful existences..."
"This..." Gene's mood instantly sank to the bottom. The death sentence pronounced by the Court of Owls was set for tomorrow. He really didn't have much time left.
"Zane, just say it straight. Are you still going to take this case now? If the entity targeting me is really that terrifying, I can understand your decision..."
"Take it, of course I'll take it." Zane let out a breath and shifted his gaze to Gene. "However, I have one condition."
"What condition?" Meeting Zane's fiery gaze, Gene couldn't help but lean back a little.
Zane didn't answer immediately. Instead, after pondering for a moment, he thoughtfully lowered his head, crossed his hands, and then said with a straight face, righteous and awe-inspiring, "Gotta pay extra."