Cherreads

Chapter 65 - Chapter 65: The Fear of Gotham's Leader

So you are Penguin?

Eric looked at the burly bodyguards standing beside him, put down the umbrella in his hand, sat on the sofa opposite Penguin, and asked in a calm tone.

Penguin's lips trembled slightly, and he looked at the long-legged, black-stockinged woman beside him.

The woman in black stockings glanced at Eric and handed the black top hat in her hand to Penguin.

Penguin, wearing a black top hat and a monocle, leaned forward and asked Eric in an unfriendly tone, "Who are you?"

"Uh-huh."

Eric nodded, "A cane, a black top hat, and a monocle—this is the traditional Penguin. As for my name, you can call me 'Umbrella Man' or Homelander; it completely depends on your preference."

Eric said casually, "Should I say I'm honored now? After all, I've met the famous Penguin."

"I don't like people calling me that."

Penguin, his face showing anger, heavily tapped the table with his cane, "I don't care if you're 'Umbrella Man' or some 'Homelander,' you dared to steal my umbrella and even came to provoke me. Do you know what kind of end you'll face?"

"Actually, I really don't know."

Eric pretended to be very sincere and asked Penguin, "Could it be being locked up in Blackgate Penitentiary, spending ten years in darkness?"

Upon hearing Eric mention "Blackgate Penitentiary" and "ten years," Penguin immediately became furious.

His only pain was being imprisoned by Jim Gordon in Blackgate Penitentiary for ten years, only to be released recently.

That was a deep-seated humiliation and betrayal for him.

"How dare you?!"

Penguin, filled with rage, roared loudly to his left and right, "Kill him! Now!"

The tall bodyguards immediately rushed towards Eric, who was sitting on the sofa.

Facing the charging strongmen, Eric turned his gaze.

Orange-red beams of light shot out from his eyes in an instant!

The beams shot straight at the wall, forming a horizontally cutting blade, slicing parallel through the room.

The moment the bodyguards touched the Heat Vision, their bodies were instantly cut open.

The gruesome corpses fell heavily to the ground, and blood splattered out.

Everything happened in an instant!

Facing his tragically dead subordinates, Penguin's eyes showed disbelief and terror, and the woman in black stockings sitting beside him was also completely stunned by fear.

Penguin, recovering from his shock and terror, immediately pulled out a pistol from his Pregnant and fired at Eric.

But before he could pull the trigger, Eric was already standing in front of him.

One hand grabbed his neck, lifting him into the air.

Penguin's small body swayed continuously in the air, making painful "ho ho" sounds, and his pale face turned beet red.

His right hand desperately tried to pull the pistol's trigger, but all his strength seemed to have been drained from his body, and the trigger could not be pulled no matter what.

"You look very pained, Mr. Oswald."

Eric tilted his head, staring at Penguin's painful expression.

"You!"

Penguin's eyes showed terror, and he stammered out a few words, "Who exactly are you?"

Having been in Gotham for decades, he had never seen such a non-human existence.

Lasers shooting from his eyes, a speed that even the naked eye couldn't catch—all these non-human displays instantly extinguished the anger in his heart, replaced by an unshakeable fear.

"Surprised? I thought that as Gotham's gang boss, Death wouldn't be an option you feared."

He released his hand with a "bang," letting Penguin's body fall heavily onto the floor.

"Cough cough!"

Penguin coughed heavily, clutching his throat, desperately gasping for air.

He didn't even care that his body was covered in blood.

"Death?"

After coughing for a while, Penguin staggered to his feet, "In Gotham, boring scoundrels dress impeccably, pure loyalty is unfortunately betrayed, the golden crown is shamefully worn by walking corpses, and heroes are crippled by the powerful lame. Here, Death is not necessarily a release."

Penguin said to Eric in a mocking tone.

He suppressed the fear in his heart and regained his composure.

"Shakespeare's sonnets, I heard—"

Eric gently reached out and touched the face of the frightened woman in black stockings, "Penguin likes Shakespeare; it seems it's not just a rumor."

Changing the subject, he, who had been exuding dangerous killing intent, reined in his aura, "I have a business deal to discuss with you."

"What business?"

Penguin, confirming his life was temporarily out of danger, let out a long sigh of relief and asked Eric cautiously.

"I have some gold, silver, and precious metals to trade for the US dollars you possess. And what you need to do, besides conducting the transaction fairly, is to circulate these gold and silver. I believe this should not be difficult for a underworld leader like you."

Eric casually took out a silver coin from his chest and threw it to Penguin, "This is the gold and silver that will belong to you, and it is also the token of our contact. Do not discard it."

"This is—"

Penguin took the silver coin from Eric's hand and froze when he saw the Owl pattern on it.

"Court of Owls?!"

"Oh, you've heard of them too?"

Eric was a little surprised.

"That was a long time ago."

Penguin fell into a memory, "To reach the pinnacle of Gotham, I had to eliminate all forces that stood in my way. I had heard of this force, rooted deep within Gotham, secretly controlling everything, so I tried every means to find them."

"I held a banquet in the name of the mayor, inviting Gotham's prominent families, and revealed my ambition and threats to them—"

Penguin's expression turned sinister as he finished speaking.

"I'm not interested in hearing your story, Mr. Oswald."

Eric stood up, interrupting him, "Those precious metals will be sent to you soon, and what you need to do, besides preparing the US dollars for me, is to invite those prominent families again, just like when you were mayor, and display what you have in your hand to those nobles at the dinner."

"You want to draw out the Court of Owls?"

Penguin looked at Eric with surprise and uncertainty, "And then deal with them?"

"No!"

Eric stood up, glanced at the rainy night outside the window, picked up the umbrella beside him, "What I want is just money, and the one to deal with those Owls is a Batman."

After speaking, he walked outside, "I think you are very smart, Mr. Oswald, so don't do anything foolish."

After warning him, Eric left the Iceberg Lounge.

Penguin just watched Eric with a complex expression and did not stop him.

Upon returning to the hotel, just as Eric put down his umbrella, the hotel phone rang.

----------------------------------------

If you'd like to follow the story earlier than the public release, come join my Patreon:

👉 patreon.com/TripleCrown07

There, you can read up to 40 chapters in advance, enjoy exclusive content, and help support me to keep releasing chapters more regularly.

Thank you so much for your support and for being part of this journey! ❤️

More Chapters