When he heard her name, Arthur froze for a moment. He turned his head and looked, surprised, at the charming woman in front of him.
He never expected to run into the cat-woman on his very first day in Gotham.
"What is it? Does my name attract you?" Selina leaned casually against the wall, smiling at Arthur.
"It's not that. I was just surprised because you have the same name as someone I know," Arthur replied as he finished unlocking the door.
"See you later, Selina," he said as he stepped into his apartment.
Selina looked a little surprised. Aside from a certain bat, he was the first man who hadn't been tempted by her beauty.
(How interesting...)
"Tell me about yourself." Selina slipped into Arthur's apartment with ease before he could shut the door.
"Mrs. Kyle, breaking into a stranger's apartment at this hour is very dangerous. Aren't you afraid I might do something to you?"
Arthur frowned as he spoke. The woman before him had entered his apartment without a shred of shame—clearly relying on her own abilities.
"I believe you're a gentleman. Tell me, do you have a wife or a girlfriend?" Selina asked while walking into the kitchen and making coffee for both of them.
Shortly after, she returned with two cups and handed one to Arthur.
Maybe if he had a wife or a girlfriend, that would explain his resistance to her charm. Selina had a great deal of confidence in her beauty.
"I don't have a wife, but I do have a girlfriend. Satisfied?" Arthur replied.
He just wanted that woman to leave his room so he could finally get some sleep.
Bang bang bang.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the window. Arthur brought his hand to his forehead, speechless when he saw who it was.
It had a compact, cylindrical shape in a light gray color.
Its design was minimalist, with sharp angles and smooth surfaces, and it was equipped with a small indicator light on top.
It was one of the login rewards Arthur had received earlier.
[A/N: For some bizarre reason, I forgot to include him earlier, even though I had always planned for him to appear in this DC arc.]
It was Pod 042 knocking on the window. Arthur had sent him to investigate nearby criminal activity, and now it seemed he had finished and returned to report.
Selina raised her eyebrows at the sight and walked over to the window. She opened it with curiosity and looked at the floating robot.
"What are you?"
Ignoring Selina, Pod 042 floated straight to Arthur.
[Report: Investigation of criminal activity within designated area complete. Elimination may begin at any time.]
"Arthur, what is—" Before Selina could finish speaking, there was a violent knock at the door, followed by another.
BANG!
The door to Arthur's freshly rented apartment was kicked open with force.
"That damn floating robot came flying in here," a tall man said as he stepped into the apartment.
Following him was a group of five men, all wearing black masks.
Judging by their masks, they were likely part of the Black Mask Crime Syndicate.
They quickly spotted their target—and someone they hadn't expected to find there.
"Hoho~ If it isn't the infamous thief, Catwoman," the leader chuckled.
"We hit the jackpot tonight, boys." He grinned as he stared at Selina.
"Ah~ That's fine for Selina, but you bastards not only broke into my apartment—you also kicked down my door. Do you really think I wouldn't be pissed off about that?"
Upon hearing that, the leader turned his attention to the young man who had just spoken.
Aside from his good looks and well-toned body, the guy didn't appear to be carrying any weapons or pose any kind of threat.
"Oh? Looks like her new toy knows how to talk," the leader mocked, making the others laugh.
"Ahh~ That's why I hate idiots like you. You picked the worst time to show up. I'm giving you ten seconds to get out and never come back, or I swear you won't walk out of here."
"HAHAHAHA!! Did you all hear that?" They burst out laughing even more.
"Ten..." Arthur began counting.
"You picked a real comedian as your boy toy," the man said to Selina while still laughing.
"Five..." Arthur said as he stood up from the couch.
"The joke's over, kid," the leader said, stopping his laughter.
"Three..." Arthur continued, walking forward.
"Trying to act tough, huh? You—blow his brains out!" the leader ordered one of his men to shoot.
Selina's face changed, and she rushed toward Arthur, but...
"One... I warned you," Arthur said as he caught the gun aimed at him.
CRACK!!
With a single squeeze, the pistol shattered into pieces.
"What!?" But before the man could think further, Arthur grabbed his neck—and what followed was a symphony of screams.
Within seconds, every single man was lying on the floor, legs completely broken or crushed.
"Once again, I warned you..." Arthur muttered.
When Selina came to her senses, all she saw was Arthur wiping blood from his hands and several men collapsed on the floor.
After cleaning his hands, Arthur gave Selina a brief glance and walked out of the apartment without looking back.
He now needed to find another place to live.
"You owe me compensation!" Arthur suddenly heard Selina say.
"What?" Arthur turned to her, confused.
"Because of you, I can't stay here anymore. Just so you know, I really liked living in this place. So you have to make it up to me," Selina said with a smile.
"Is that so? And what if I kill you to keep tonight's events from spreading?" Arthur said coldly as he walked up to Selina and grabbed her by the neck.
(Just get it through your head—I don't want you near me, woman!!) Arthur grumbled internally.
"You won't kill me," Selina replied confidently.
Arthur had no idea where she was getting that confidence from.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while before Arthur sighed in defeat.
The "compensation" she wanted was probably his help in a heist. He might as well agree.
"Fine. Just tell me what you want," Arthur said as he backed away slightly.
"It's simple. When you find a nice place to live, I want to live there too. Of course, with you paying for everything," Selina replied with a smile.
---
(End of the chapter)
Yes, I noticed the weird thing I did in this chapter, don't beat me up.
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."