# Chapter 346: Harley Quinn VS Penguin
"Damn it! Gotham City isn't that big, how can finding one person be so hard?!" In the Manor's master bedroom, watching the sky outside gradually darken without any news of Harley Quinn's whereabouts, Penguin was practically fuming. He shoved away his mistress, who was wearing lingerie, grabbed the phone by the bed, and roared into it, "A bunch of useless idiots! Has the Gotham Underworld fallen so low that you can't even find one person!?" The Subordinate on the other end of the phone silently endured his Leader's rage, not daring to say a word. Although he knew very well that while the Gangs had sent people out, they weren't trying their best because they feared that man; they were just going through the motions.
After thoroughly chewing out his Subordinate, Penguin hung up the phone. He half-lay by the bed, leaning against the headboard, and wearily rubbed his Between the Eyebrows. He wasn't afraid of rivals facing him head-on, but the surveillance footage from the scene, which he'd obtained from inside the Police Station, clearly showed some change in Harley Quinn that he didn't understand. Harley Quinn's killing methods made him feel a faint unease. For Penguin, who was used to controlling everything, the unknown was the most terrifying thing, despite having arranged over a hundred armed Gunmen in this Manor. But thinking of that crazy woman Harley Quinn's phone call, Penguin felt exceptionally irritable. He grabbed the long hair of the blonde, blue-eyed mistress beside him and dragged her down.
"Hmph!" Penguin, his eyes slightly narrowed, somewhat relieved his inner irritation. He then picked up the Manor's internal phone. "How's the Manor's Security setup?" "Leader, we've set up over thirty overt and Hidden Sentries, and the outside of the Manor is full of our people. Don't worry, even if Harley Quinn grew wings, she couldn't fly in!" The Subordinate's confident assurance didn't bring Penguin much comfort. For him, with his extremely strong sense of danger, only seeing Harley Quinn's corpse with his own eyes would put him at ease. But that bunch of Gangs in Gotham City were clearly useless. After all this time, they hadn't even found a single hair of Harley Quinn.
"Hiss! Get those four big guys out of the Warehouse, pick good positions, and set them up!" Penguin's breathing suddenly became a little ragged as he ordered his Subordinate. "Leader, isn't it overkill to use those four big guys just to deal with Harley Quinn alone?" "Just do it. Also, get all the heavy weapons out of the Warehouse and distribute them. If anything goes wrong, I'll cut off your head and throw it into the Iceberg Lounge to feed Charli! Hiss!"
Charli was a great white shark Penguin kept in the Aquarium at the Iceberg Lounge! Everyone who followed him knew that Penguin's greatest hobby was bleeding his enemies and throwing them into the Aquarium to watch them be bitten and devoured by the shark! "Leader, I'll go arrange it right away!" The Subordinate on the other end of the phone shivered involuntarily at the thought of that bloodthirsty great white shark, no longer daring to speak further.
Three kilometers away from Penguin, the Gotham Underworld Mob Boss's Manor, in a patch of woods, Harley Quinn, chewing gum, parked an old pickup truck. She then lifted a black plastic suitcase from the truck bed. Judging by Harley Quinn's strenuous movements, the suitcase was quite heavy.
Dragging the suitcase to a Slope, Harley Quinn crouched down and opened the case. Inside, neatly arranged, were firearm accessories, along with two Tactical Glock 19 9mm pistols with attached silencers and ten fully loaded magazines. There were also four military green hand grenades and a multi-tool tactical dagger.
Harley Quinn hummed a tune as she happily assembled the firearm accessories in her hands. Click, click. Soon, a Barrett Heavy Sniper Rifle was fully assembled under her smooth, flowing movements. Harley Quinn lifted the modified Anti-materiel Sniper Rifle with both hands, placed it on the ground, extended the bipod, and aimed the muzzle towards the location of Penguin's Manor in the distance.
"Looks like the fat Penguin left quite a few penguin eggs at home!" Lying on the grass, Harley Quinn looked towards the Manor through the Barrett's thermal scope. "Come on, let big sis see where you are?!"
At this moment in the Manor, the dense red figures on patrol appeared in the thermal imaging scope, causing Harley Quinn's adrenaline to surge. A wave of thrill washed over her, and she even trembled all over. For the crazy Harley Quinn, this was naturally not fear, but the trembling enjoyment of excitement.
After being dumped, ordinary women might choose to cry or drink heavily to vent their inner frustration. But Harley Quinn, after being dumped by the Joker, desperately needed a place to vent her rage. Unfortunately, Penguin walked right into her crosshairs.
Harley Quinn didn't care how many Gunmen Penguin had arranged; all she needed was a good release. Moreover, she urgently needed souls to repay the debt she owed. "Fat Penguin! Are you ready to receive your gift?"
As the sky gradually darkened, Harley Quinn lay in the woods, bathed in the cold moonlight. She first placed a fist-sized crystal ball beside her. Her index finger rested on the trigger of the Barrett Heavy Sniper Rifle, accompanied by a slightly crazy, mocking laugh.
Harley Quinn's finger pulled the trigger. A .50 tungsten core bullet streaked through the extended Barrett's rifling and burst out of the barrel, which had no silencing equipment attached. A standard Barrett Sniper Rifle has an effective range of up to 1600 meters and can penetrate most light armored vehicles in the world when using high-strength armor-piercing rounds. The Barrett Anti-materiel Sniper Rifle in Harley Quinn's hands, however, was custom-made for her to help her boyfriend deal with Batman's battle vehicle. Its range was even greater, and its force was even more astonishing.
The bullet exited the barrel. From a distance of over 3000 meters, Harley Quinn could see through the sniper rifle's scope that with a single bullet, the figure under thermal imaging she was aiming at, the one walking a dog, was instantly torn in half. Harley Quinn could even imagine the scene of blood splatter.
Harley Quinn's face in the moonlight flashed with a blush. She aimed at the next target and pulled the trigger again.
Unlike what ordinary persons might think from shooting games, the Barrett Sniper Rifle isn't a single-shot sniper rifle that requires cycling the slide after each shot; it's a heavy sniper rifle capable of continuous fire.
The Gunmen patrolling the Manor in pairs hadn't even reacted to the situation when their companion's upper body exploded into a mass of blood mist. Sticky, foul-smelling liquid, intestines, and internal organs splattered all over him.
"Ugh!" He pulled a piece of intestines off his shoulder and examined it closely under the Manor's lights. When he realized what it was, he instantly started dry heaving. The next moment, accompanied by a burst of gunfire like muffled thunder, his head exploded, and his hundred-pound sturdy body swayed before crashing to the ground.
"Enemy attack!" accompanied by the noisy warning sound. The Gunmen patrolling the Manor began scrambling for cover.
A professional bodyguard wearing a bulletproof vest, who had previously worked for Blackwater Security Company, quickly rolled into a Reverse Slope. Having received professional training, he quickly identified the gunfire direction and distance: "Barrett, southeast direction, three thousand meters. Be careful, this gun is modified; ordinary barrier thickness can't stop these bullets!"
Before the bodyguard finished speaking, a Gunman hiding behind the Manor's barrier had his head explode. "Shit, her gun has infrared equipment installed!"
"Bang!" "Three!" "Bang!" "Four!" Harley Quinn happily counted as she pulled the trigger.
Through the infrared thermal imaging device, she could clearly see the gunmen who thought they were well hidden. These gunmen, huddled behind walls and cars, were completely unaware that the barrier providing them with a sense of security was useless against the bullets from her Barrett Heavy Sniper Rifle, like paper.
A light poke, and it would go right through! As Harley Quinn was enjoying the pleasure of killing, several wisps of gray mist appeared within the crystal ball placed beside her.
This was a crystal ball that could collect souls. The souls of anyone who died by Harley Quinn's hand would be collected by this magic crystal ball. Harley Quinn had obtained this magic crystal ball from that Mysterious Existence.
After leaving the Rose Apartment, out of curiosity about the small sword in that bitch Catwoman's hand, she tried to analyze the white jade bone beads she had. Following the subtle hints from the bone beads, she used her own blood to draw a magic array. Then, using a few bone beads as beacons, her consciousness left her husk and traveled to a Mysterious Place.
That was a world impossible to describe with words. Thirty-six cloud masses, tens of thousands of kilometers wide, rose layer upon layer like stairs. On each layer of cloud mass, countless Palaces and Pavilions stood. Inside the Palaces, there were existences with powerful auras everywhere. Her consciousness floated upwards along the Cloud Top, all the way to the Palace at the Highest Point.
In that magnificent Palace, hundreds of miles wide and dozens of miles high, supported by countless white jade pillars carved with eastern divine dragons, she saw an Existence seated high on a throne.
That Existence's aura was so powerful that just standing before It, Harley Quinn felt her body turn ice-cold, and even her consciousness froze. Harley Quinn thought she was going to die, but she eventually escaped that Mysterious Place and returned to reality alive.
"Nine!" As Harley Quinn pulled the trigger, she spared a glance at the crystal ball beside her. The mist rising within the crystal ball made her beam with joy.
According to the Red-clothed Woman who explained things to her, one crystal ball could hold a maximum of ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine souls of intelligent life. Some high-quality souls could even count as a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand. And in that Mysterious Space, a crystal ball filled with souls could be exchanged for ten years of lifespan, plus two injections of the Venus Potion for eternal youth.
Harley Quinn knew clearly that anyone who could make deals using souls was either a legendary Demon, an Evil God, or a devil. But she couldn't resist; the price offered by that suspected devil Existence was simply too high.
Thinking of the things listed on that list in the Mysterious Palace, formed by streams of purple qi hanging from the mouths of two eastern divine dragons circling the top of the white jade pillars, Harley Quinn's trigger-pulling speed increased significantly.
After all, what woman could refuse a Golden Apple for eternal youth, and the opportunity for eternal youth and immortality?
Although the prices listed seemed despairing, exchanging for one Golden Apple required the souls of ten billion people! How many people were there on the entire Earth? Less than seven billion combined. To exchange for one Golden Apple, even the destruction of Earth wouldn't be enough.
Of course, besides using souls as currency, the Red-clothed Woman also gave her another list, which indicated that barter was also possible. Every world had its specialty products. In her Universe, those Superhumans, including their blood, corpses, and internal organs, were all listed with a clearly marked price.
For example, a living Superman was worth fifty thousand contribution points according to the Red-clothed Woman who explained things, and could be directly exchanged for a Golden Apple. As for Superman's corpse, the value for the first exchange was halved, assessed at 5000 contribution points. The price for a tube of Superman's blood was 100 contribution points.
Barry Allen (alive), worth 10000 contribution points! Wonder Woman Diana Prince (alive), worth 10000 contribution points! Aquaman Arthur Curry (alive), worth 10000 contribution points! Lex Luthor (alive), worth 1000 contribution points! On that acquisition list, Harley Quinn saw many familiar names, but the one with the highest acquisition price wasn't Superman, but a name she was somewhat unfamiliar with.
Darkseid, worth one hundred thousand contribution points! It didn't specify if he was dead or alive, clearly, whether dead or alive, even his corpse was worth one hundred thousand contribution points. Second only to Darkseid was a name called Trigon, also worth one hundred thousand contribution points, and similarly, it didn't show if he was dead or alive.
Although Harley Quinn had never heard of these two "people," she had heard of Superman from Metropolis. This God Among Men was only worth fifty thousand contribution points.
One hundred thousand contribution points. When Harley Quinn saw the list, she immediately had a faint, strange feeling in her heart.
Of course, if she had watched the ancient Eastern mythological drama "Journey to the West," she would have been able to understand how Benbo'erba felt when the Nine-Headed Beast ordered him to kill the Monkey King and his master.
What she didn't know was that the first entry on this portable acquisition directory, which could be scrolled up and down like a tablet computer, was originally not Darkseid.
When a certain unscrupulous Boss originally wrote down the name Doctor Manhattan, even someone as black-hearted as him reflected on whether he was being excessive after looking at the acquisition directory. So he crossed that name off the acquisition directory! Even so, comparing the exchange list and the acquisition list, and compared to the black-hearted merchant with the Surname Tang, even the Black-hearted Great Light Sphere, named Main God, shone as purely as its bright appearance at this moment.
Besides the character list, this acquisition list also included the Universe's technology and some supernatural items on the exchange list. For example, Doomsday's complete manufacturing process was worth more than a living Superman! Acquisition price: 100000 contribution points! Apokolips Mother Box Acquisition price: 10000 contribution points.
Aquaman's Trident (genuine item) Acquisition price: 10000 contribution points! Lasso of Truth Acquisition price: 2000 contribution points! Out of curiosity, Harley Quinn even found her own name on this acquisition table: Harley Quinn (alive), Acquisition price 50 contribution points! Joker (soul), Acquisition price: 5000 contribution points.
A tenfold difference from that scoundrel. Although she felt indignant, Harley Quinn had to admit that her ex-boyfriend's crazy soul could indeed fetch a high price.
A heartbroken woman's favorite thing to do is shop, shop, shop. So Harley Quinn tentatively asked if she could get an advance on her credit limit for the treasures on the exchange list that made her mouth water.
She didn't expect that just by trying, after that Mysterious Existence nodded, the Red-clothed Woman actually gave her a credit limit of 1000 contribution points.
With 1000 contribution points, Harley Quinn went on a shopping spree! Venus Potion that could improve her skin, shrink her pores, and restore her skin quality to its best state? Buy, buy, buy! Appearance-Fixing Pill that couldn't increase her lifespan but could keep her body permanently young? Buy, buy, buy!
A jade pendant that emitted a strange fragrance when worn? Buy, buy, buy! Before she knew it, Harley Quinn had spent all 1000 borrowed contribution points. She didn't buy many things to increase her strength; most of the contribution points were spent on her face.
From beginning to end, the Red-clothed Woman didn't tell Harley Quinn what would happen if she couldn't repay the money. But Harley Quinn didn't dare to gamble, so she specifically spent one contribution point to exchange for several magic containers named crystal balls, which were actually bank cards.
She lay on the grass, pulling the trigger, her corner of the eye glancing at the constantly changing crystal ball. In her ears, she even heard the auditory hallucination of her bank card balance increase, like gold coins clinking into a money pot.
"Counterattack! Open fire and shoot her dead!"
From several corners of the Manor, a group of Gunmen and bodyguards, who had been suppressed by Harley Quinn, somehow wheeled out four Browning M2 water-cooled machine guns.
Although this type of machine gun was an old relic from the WWII period, this machine gun using 12.7mm bullets had a rate of fire of up to 600 rounds per minute.
It was a formidable weapon used by the Federal Army for ground-to-air defense back then. During the WWII period, it was an anti-aircraft machine gun that shot down countless Japanese fighter jets. Its force after using direct fire was exceptionally astonishing.
"Bang!" Harley Quinn keenly noticed these great killer weapons through her thermal imaging scope. She aimed at the clustered thermal imaging figures and pulled the trigger.
This time, however, the effect of the Barrett Heavy Sniper Rifle was not ideal. The bullet penetrated the defensive steel plate but hit a pile of sandbags and got stuck.
And as the machine gunners operating the four machine guns pulled their triggers simultaneously, Gunfire erupted like popping beans. Ammunition belts containing countless bullets converged and attacked the area where Harley Quinn was located.
Facing such a fierce focused fire attack, Harley Quinn scooped up the Barrett Heavy Sniper Rifle with one arm, grabbed the crystal ball beside her with the other hand, rolled over, and tumbled down the Slope.
"Leader! We've found Harley Quinn's trace! She's on the Hillside opposite!"
A Subordinate knocked on Penguin's bedroom door.
Although it was the Manor's master bedroom, Penguin, a Mob Boss who had been wielding influence in Gotham City for many years, always took his safety very seriously.
Therefore, his master bedroom wasn't near a window and was even sandwiched between two rooms. The walls were also specially reinforced with bulletproof layers, so even Harley Quinn's thermal scope couldn't find him.
"I can hear the gunfire! Send out the helicopters and bring her corpse back!"
"Yes, Leader!" The bodyguard leader wearing a black suit quickly went to make arrangements after hearing Penguin's orders from inside the bedroom.
In the Federation, having helicopters for travel was standard for even moderately wealthy tycoons. Of course, someone like Bruce Wayne, who possessed cash power, flew his own bat-jet when traveling at night.
And at Penguin's Manor Helipad, two Hind Attack Helicopters were routinely parked.
The Hind Attack Helicopter was the first generation dedicated attack helicopter developed by the Soviet Mil Design Bureau, named M-24. Hind was the codename given to it by its enemy, NATO.
The Hind Attack Helicopter began development in the late 1960s and entered service in the 1970s. It was the most advanced attack helicopter in concept at the time and was exported to over 30 countries, including Afghanistan, Vietnam, Algeria, Angola, Cuba, and India.
It participated in the Afghan War and the Iran-Iraq War, and even today, some countries still operate it. It is a reliable weapon tested by the flames of war.
Helicopter collecting by tycoons was not uncommon in the Federation, but these two Hinds were unarmed, neutered versions that Penguin had bought back from a foreign airshow a few years ago under the guise of "Collection."
Later, Penguin used his extensive connections to smuggle prohibited weapons like GUV-8700 machine guns and S-5 rocket launchers back to Gotham City from other countries in batches and assembled them at his Manor.
This was also one of his backup plans. If he encountered any emergency, the helicopters, fully loaded with fuel and weapons, could take off immediately.
At Penguin's command, the rotor blades of the two Hind Helicopters began to rotate, carrying two Machine Gunners towards the Hillside where Harley Quinn was located.
On the State Road two kilometers away from Penguin's Manor, a police car was parked. The moment the Gunfire erupted, two drowsy Police Officers instantly woke up.
"There's a commotion! Notify Commissioner Gordon!"
"Commissioner! There's an intense gunfight at Penguin's Manor! Yes, the gunfire is very dense, denser than when they set off firecrackers in Chinatown! Understood, Officer!"
The Black Person in the front passenger seat was staring in the direction of the gunfire in the distance with night vision binoculars. "What did the Commissioner say?"
"He told us to continue surveillance and report immediately if there's a situation!"
"Shit! I knew I shouldn't have faked fainting in the elevator!" The Black Person couldn't help but pound the car seat.
"Hey! If we hadn't faked fainting, we might be lying in the Morgue right now! Look on the bright side, buddy, we're just working overtime and feeding the mosquitoes. At least we're still alive!"
Gotham City. At this moment, the moonlight had been obscured by dark clouds at some point. On the Rooftop of a Tall building, an old man wearing a trench coat slowly turned on the Bat-Signal, which struck fear into the entire Gotham Underworld.
When he confirmed that the Bat Phantom had appeared in the Cloud Layer, replacing the moon, Old Gordon stood on the Rooftop, silently waiting for his old friend's arrival.
Gotham City, Wayne Manor, Batcave!
Inside the Batcave, two groups of people had been in a standoff for a long time. Hawkeye Barton and Green Arrow Oliver faced each other with their bows raised, both with the impulse of meeting a worthy opponent in their eyes.
Aquaman Arthur Curry held his Trident, glaring angrily at Captain America before him.
Black Widow and Iron Man stood together, facing Batman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg.
As for Constantine and The Flash, the former had disappeared somewhere, while the latter's head was currently resting in Black Widow's arms. Black Widow had one arm around his neck and was holding a gun in her right hand, pressing it against his temple.
"Mr. Wayne! We have no intention of antagonizing you!" Tony Stark opened his faceplate at this moment, revealing his face. He spread his hands and pointed at Star-Lord, who was being held by the neck by Wonder Woman. "You should have learned our origin from Star-Lord. We are merely visitors to your Universe. Believe me, we don't want to interfere with the development process of your Universe!"
"How about we reach a compromise? We'll give you Barry Allen back, you release Star-Lord, and we'll leave this place!"
Tony Stark said, pointing at the image of the Bat-Signal projected onto the sky that appeared on the big screen in the Batcave, which was used for surveillance of the entire Gotham City.
"Looks like someone's looking for you. Aren't you going to check it out, Mr. Bruce Wayne? Your territory is under attack!"
(end of chapter)