"Talia, my daughter."
Leixiao Gu looked expressionlessly at Talia, who was incessantly stirring the tea leaves. Her eyes were obviously vacant, and although her hands didn't stop moving, her thoughts were already elsewhere.
"Hmm? What's up, Father?"
She snapped back to reality, looking at him in confusion. The cold wind from afar was carrying off the last wisp of steam from the teacup, and if it continued, it would soon freeze.
The fire in the hall blazed brightly, casting the shadows of the two onto the wall, resembling black demons.
"What were you thinking?" Leixiao Gu turned his head, continuing to gaze at the distant mountains. In this place, half of the year is daytime, and half is night. At this moment, South Badar was in the polar night.
"Nothing... just... a bit distracted. It's been really cold lately."
Talia found an excuse; she couldn't reveal that she was thinking about Gotham.
Leixiao Gu snorted softly, noncommittal. He knew what his daughter was thinking. The distant mountains knew it too; her little thoughts were like a black dot on the snowy mountain. No matter how small, it was very clear to Leixiao Gu.
"I've told you, Gotham must be destroyed. Its existence is a stain on this world."
Talia lowered her head, adding a bit of hot water to the bowl and placing the kettle back on the nearby fire: "Yes, Father."
Leixiao Gu sat quietly on the cushion, savoring the scent of matcha. He liked Talia's obedience. The reason she could live and enjoy the eternal life granted by Lazarus' Spring was because he liked hearing the word 'father,' filled with parental authority.
Her mother died early, so she only had a father, and could only have a father. Even though he had access to Lazarus' Spring, he never resurrected that woman, even though she was his wife.
"When Bane brings me what I need, we will start the operation. Gotham will pay in blood for the lives it took from the Alliance."
Though he spoke such words, Leixiao Gu's expression remained serene, as if he was merely trying to wipe away a smudge on the snow, rather than obliterate a city of eight million people.
Even if Gotham City was empty, he would erase that city that symbolizes ugliness, to find peace.
These years, he has been moving further from peace. The calm on his face was just a facade; his heart had always been a tumultuous storm.
"Yes, Father."
Talia pursed her lips, responding lightly. She knew that when Leixiao Gu had a fit, no one here could stop him. Coincidentally, Batwoman was missing at this time, and even with the Alliance's intelligence capabilities, no one knew where she had gone.
Talia originally wanted to suppress this news because she knew that without Batwoman, her father would surely target Gotham. It happened every time; even knowing it was a trap, Leixiao Gu would dive into the bottom of the trap to see what lay within.
The Alliance had suffered losses precisely because of this before.
However, the situation deteriorated too quickly. A few days ago, one of the assassins lurking in Gotham went missing, and at dawn today, another assassin discovered her corpse was discarded by the roadside, left to be drenched by the rain.
Ordinary assassins have no right to use the Pool of Lazarus. Dead is dead.
When this news came, she knew she could no longer suppress the fact that Batwoman was not in Gotham. A member of the Alliance died, and the Alliance had to avenge her. This was the code of the assassins and the core guarantee that brought so many assassins together under the organization's banner.
She reluctantly informed Leixiao Gu of the news.
Leixiao Gu's face remained unchanged, but she could see the fire in his eyes seemed to 'buzz' and ignite instantly.
He sent his subordinates to contact Bane, the person most familiar with Gotham.
................
Bane was once a member of the Assassin Alliance, brave and skilled, with infinite strength, until, for some unknown reason, he angered Leixiao Gu and was expelled.
Afterward, this big brute didn't know who he joined, and years later, when they met again, he was wearing a gas mask and equipped with a venom device.
The venom on his back, called 'Titan,' could double his size and strength, greatly enhancing his recovery and resistance. But long-term use of Titan venom can damage the brain and cause organ failure, and currently, only Bane's unique physique could endure it.
Leixiao Gu seemed to see the scrap metal he once cast aside being forged into a precious sword by someone, placed right in front of him.
He certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity. At that time, he sent Talia to contact Bane to stir up trouble in Gotham.
Bane didn't hold a grudge, and he always had a good relationship with Talia. As soon as they met, he agreed to assist his old employer.
During their operation, he broke Batwoman's spine with a wrestling move, throwing her into the 'pit of death' in the Middle East, where he had once suffered, leaving her helpless to watch Gotham's demise as a form of torment.
Unexpectedly, Batwoman was rescued by her former enemy, Lady Siva. Not only did she heal Batwoman's shattered spine, but she also taught her new moves and fighting techniques.
Batwoman returned to the city, drove Talia away, and discovered Bane's weakness— the plastic tube that delivered venom to his back. Once she pulled it out, she easily defeated him and captured him into Black Gate Prison, using specially made equipment weighing 50 tons to contain him.
Until a few days ago, somehow Bane acquired the raw materials in the prison and reformulated the Titan venom. With his enhanced strength, he escaped again, hiding somewhere in Gotham.
The Ninja Master thought of Bane again and sent someone to inform him that the Assassin Alliance needed some special things, saying the Alliance owed him a favor.
This so-called special things were only known to Leixiao Gu and Bane, not even Talia knew what it was.
But as far as she thought, it wouldn't be anything good.
At this moment, Talia's emotions were complex. On one side was Batwoman, her friend, and on the other, her father and the organization, as if two voices were constantly tugging at her mind.
In reality, she felt Gotham couldn't escape this calamity. Batwoman was nowhere to be found, and even if she wanted to secretly inform her, she couldn't.
Leixiao Gu, of course, understood this too. So now he pretended to wait calmly, anticipating Bane's good news. He was even in a good mood, dragging Talia to admire the snow scene in the dead of night, a scene he had watched for hundreds of years.
"Ah, Talia, is my tea ready?" he asked softly, gently stroking his beard. "Or will it be after Gotham's destruction that I can taste it?"
"Of course... not, Father, it's ready. Please enjoy."
Talia knelt, placing the teacup on a wooden tray, and slowly pushed it towards Leixiao Gu.
Leixiao Gu nodded with satisfaction, a gentle smile on his face. He looked at her approvingly, picked up the teacup, and took a gentle sip.
"Very good, this time the matcha from the capital is authentic, and your tea-making skills have improved."
"Thank you for the compliment, Father." Talia bowed. She was educated this way from a young age. Obeying her father seemed to be her instinct.
Previously, she had been fighting against this instinct, but this time it seemed that there was no hope in the future.
"Hehehe... Hahaha!" Leixiao Gu laughed up at the sky. His mighty aura radiated out without reservation, making the flames flicker more violently, even the distant mountains echoed with his laughter.
The laughter was filled with triumph, relief, and madness.
"No one can stop me anymore! Destroy Gotham, then the world!" he patted Talia's head, lifting her up. "We will make the world reborn from the corpses of the Amazonians and the ruins of the Earth! It's my world!"
However, as he envisioned a beautiful future, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded from the dark corner of the room, interrupting his beautiful dream:
"I think not."
"Who goes there?!"
Leixiao Gu instantly drew the sword from his waist, a double-edged long sword in an Eastern style, his most adept weapon. He was reputed as one of the world's best in using knives and swords, a masterclass swordsman.
He had never thought someone would dare infiltrate the Assassin Alliance headquarters, let alone get so close to him.
The visitor did not answer his question, only took a few steps forward, letting the flickering firelight illuminate her. Black cloak, black uniform, black mask, she had wavy black hair draping over her shoulders, with two pointed ears standing erect on top.
She wore black lipstick, a gold medallion with a Bat insignia hung around her neck, serving as both an ornament and her voice changer. A pair of blue eyes looked at Leixiao Gu through the mask, expressionless.
Leixiao Gu frowned, pushing Talia aside, gripping his sword's hilt with both hands, and prepared for battle, boosting his aura.
"How could you have found this place?"
Batwoman flung two Bat darts, hitting the fire pit directly. The darts emitted strange gray smoke, extinguishing the flames instantly without a trace of ash, plunging the hall into darkness.
Her voice, altered through the voice changer, resonated from another direction in the darkness.
"Because... I am Batwoman!"