Chapter 47 I Can Learn

Hearing the conversation between the two, Zhaodi Ma immediately felt a surge of profound respect.

He had long heard that the Falcone family was full of ruthless individuals, but today he truly understood that seeing was believing. Such bold boasts as dealing with Two-Face first and then taking care of Batman were things he had never even dared to imagine in his dreams; he only dared to whisper a few criticisms of Batman quietly in his heart.

"Idiots."

At that moment, a cold and mocking voice came from the side.

Zhaodi Ma subconsciously nodded. Exactly, precisely, that sharp critique was spot on.

Wait, why did that voice sound so familiar?

"Who the hell are you cursing? Looking for a fight?"

The family member whose proposal had just been dismissed by his companion was already extremely annoyed. Hearing someone else's harsh critique instantly ignited a fire deep within him. He widened his eyes, twisting his head to the side to find out who dared to pop out and run their mouth while he was in such a foul mood. Meanwhile, Zhaodi Ma spotted the mocking bulky figure a step ahead of him.

Oh crap, it was Clinton Banner!

It was literally that bird-man who had spent half a year riding the bus and then chased after him and Drake with a pistol! He actually came over to join the Falcone gang?!

Clinton seemed to recognize Zhaodi Ma as well, giving him a slight nod of his head as a form of greeting.

Upon seeing Clinton and the Beretta tucked at his waist, the man's angry voice suddenly quieted down. If Zhaodi Ma guessed correctly, Clinton had probably already earned a bit of a reputation within the Falcone family based on his marksmanship.

Of course, it was equally possible that he had simply blown the brains out of a few gang members who dared to provoke him.

"Stop arguing." The one who had initially warned him about a death wish spoke up, easing the tense atmosphere. "If you have nothing better to do, stop chatting about family business here. Instead of wasting that idle time, you'd better start figuring out how to survive the upcoming Thanksgiving."

"How are we supposed to spend Thanksgiving? I don't even have a wife..."

The topic gradually drifted off track. Clinton sneered, turned around, and walked away directly. Zhaodi Ma also lost any desire to linger. Prompted by the two men's tangent, he suddenly remembered he still had a quest unfinished.

"Prevention is Better Than Cure"
Status: Pending (0/1)
Reward: Advanced Culinary Mastery

Blowing up someone's home with a bomb felt somewhat against his conscience, carried massive risks, and the bounty reward wouldn't even count toward his asset points. Yet, considering that Falcone's bounty remained active and might at any moment attract a few thugs to help Two-Face complete his origin story, Zhaodi Ma was forced to undertake this task.

Besides, the twenty million hidden in the factory by Falcone had been burned by him anyway, leaving Harvey Dent to take the fall for it made his conscience prickle just the slightest bit.

So, he walked toward Clinton.

"Hey, Clinton," he greeted, "long time no see."

Clinton turned his head. He still wore a gloomy expression, virtually indistinguishable from how he looked on the bus that day or the night he helped Zhaodi Ma chase away the robber. Curiously, his bald head now bore a few extra scratch marks, though it was unclear who had clawed him during some vendetta.

"Coward, what do you want?"

As soon as he spoke, Zhaodi Ma found it slightly difficult to keep a straight face. He should have been angry, but seeing that ferocious expression paired with a shiny, claw-scratched round head made him suddenly want to laugh.

"My name isn't Coward, it's Zhaodi Ma, thank you."

"Makes no difference. Got business with me?"

"Yes, yes, a little matter—do you happen to know the Irish mob?"

***

"I was the one driving the getaway car that day to get everyone away from the scene. I'll write all of it down, if you need me to."

The mustache-wearing, shifty-eyed skinny man was Jimmy the "Weasel."

"I was the one who delivered the package to that woman, Harvey Dent's wife, Mrs. Dent, you know. I'll write all of it down, if you need me to."

The upright-looking man was Kevin the "Hypocrite."

"I followed Dent all the way to his house, yep, that was me, tailed him right back to his doorstep. If you need me to, I'll write it all down, I will."

The bespectacled, Mediterranean-bald chubby man who always liked saying things twice was Willie the "Duet."

"I was the one who pressed that damn remote button. And I'll write all of it down, if you need me to."

The thick-browed, black-haired, big-nosed man was Donnie the "Kid."

"I bought the materials and made the bomb, that's right, the job was mine—I'll write all of it down, pal, you just want me to say it like this, right?"

The last man, with big ears and a slender face, was Mickey the "Weasel."

Five people, five voices, five airtight confessions echoed sequentially inside the room. Meanwhile, Zhaodi Ma, who was hiding outside and eavesdropping on the conversation, couldn't help letting his mind wander.

"This guy is actually named Mickey, and his nickname is even Weasel... Is this really okay? Won't the Disney legal department have something to say about this?"

An image of a certain red fumo from a certain game involuntarily popped into his head.

Meanwhile, the conversation inside the room continued.

"Everything's settled then, right, Mickey?"

"No problem at all, we've all memorized the lines thoroughly. If anything goes wrong when the time comes, we just stick to this story."

"Sigh—we can finally get some rest. I'm completely exhausted these past few days."

"What the hell are you tired of? You didn't do a single thing from start to finish—aside from going out to practice hitting on married women and scamming ordinary girls."

"It was all for the plan, what could I do? You spent every night staking out Harvey Dent's place until midnight before coming back, and I didn't say anything either, did I?"

"What the * are you talking about? I spent hours every damn night squatting outside Harvey's house just watching when he'd come home, I was getting * bored out of my mind—why didn't you trade with me then?"

"Do you have a gentleman's face like mine?"

"You mean a 'hypocrite's' face, right?"

"Why not look at our Mickey here? Who was it that wanted to trade places with him?"

"You know how to make a bomb? Then why don't you go do it? Mickey must have been sick of doing dangerous grunt work like this ages ago, someone stepping up to take his place is probably what he's been praying for."

"I could learn..."

"F*** off. Last time you said you wanted to take Jimmy's place driving the getaway car, you used those exact same words, and as a result, the boys ended up sitting in a holding cell for a solid half-year."

Zhaodi Ma desperately bit the corners of his mouth to keep from smiling. Those four bird-brains were simply too hilarious; he was finding it difficult to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.

He put away his laptop and recorded the precise locations of these individuals before walking away. The Irish mob's usual hideout was located in the East District, so Zhaodi Ma simply made the round trip on foot. Had both of his vehicles not been far too conspicuous, driving a car or rolling in his wheelchair would have been much more convenient.

As for how he managed to wiretap them...

"Bundle—Laptop, a lighter-shaped bug/locator
Price: $4,000
Note: Wondering why it's so expensive? Buy the hacking skill, and you'll find out.
Note 2: Even in a world without ctOS, its built-in hardware and software configurations make it a supreme tool in the hands of an expert."