Chapter 804: Outdated Strategies Bring Deep Trouble (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

If you were attempting to conquer an exceedingly challenging video game, and your efforts yielded no results for a long time, suddenly, a detailed guide was placed before you. It was meticulously written, logically structured, with not only vivid illustrations but also highlighting key points. What would you do in such a situation?

Perhaps many would initially resist the idea, but eventually, they would find it quite appealing. Even the most hardcore players, after rejecting the guide, might regret not giving it a glance when facing a super-difficult level that tormented them.

Savage had chosen Gotham as his base on the East Coast, opting for the "hell" difficulty level. His strategy was to gather information by recruiting ordinary citizens and the villains of the central city to spy for him. In the midst of this "hell" difficulty level, he had chosen the most hardcore approach.

Not everyone was a fan of masochistic hardcore gaming. The majority preferred games with moderate difficulty levels, where they could steadily progress step by step. Savage, however, was proud and preferred a fast-track approach. He hoped to obtain a kind of "cheat code" to immediately dominate the Earth.

Through his unwavering efforts, he had acquired the lantern he held in his hands. But it was far from enough; he was determined to conquer the city that had thwarted him repeatedly.

If the relatively inexperienced Batman could rival the later legendary Batman in any aspect, it was undoubtedly in strategic planning.

Before officially becoming Batman, he had already devised numerous plans. He targeted various dangerous elements within Gotham City, conducted thorough reconnaissance, gathered information on their weaknesses, and outlined plan after plan, all in preparation for his hero career.

Observing these plans, Savage couldn't help but feel that the person who devised them must be a strategic genius. These plans were interconnected, logically sound, and highly executable, far from the whimsical dreams of an amateur.

However, what he didn't know was that the person who had created these plans was only 18 years old in 1987, just starting college.

What was Gotham like three years ago? Even the city's residents had somewhat hazy memories. Three years might seem short, but for them, it felt long because the city had undergone monumental changes.

Yet, Savage, who had only arrived a few months ago, had not witnessed the rapid changes of the past three years. And from his perspective, the city did not seem to have improved.

All the phenomena mentioned in the plan book were still present. So, Savage naturally believed that this was the perfect walkthrough strategy for him. By utilizing these plans, he believed he could conquer Gotham.

Inside a suite in a high-end Gotham hotel, a stack of papers gently fluttered in the breeze by the window.

Soon, a piece of paper drifted out and hovered in the air. A rough hand reached out, grasping the thin sheet of paper, and pressed it onto the felt-covered board behind the computer. Then, a nail was picked up, and the paper was affixed to the board.

On the paper was the image of Godfather Falcone, and across from it sat Savage, squinting his eyes.

Godfather would be his first target.

The planbook detailed how Godfather ruled Gotham, and even Savage had to acknowledge that establishing effective order in such a chaotic city was as challenging as reaching the heavens.

This Old man in front of him had not only established such order but had maintained it for 40 years. To this day, he remained the uncrowned king of Gotham.

"I enjoy grappling with the fiercest of beasts," Savage's voice echoed, and as the wounded Pied Piper lying on the bed saw Savage stare at the paper for a while, he pulled out the nail and crumpled the paper, tossing it into the trash.

Outside the window was the ceaseless flow of traffic in Gotham, the bustling heart of commerce, with buildings' lights bearing witness to Savage's bold words. This should have been the battle horn sounded by the Great King from primitive times.

However, the first problem Savage faced was his lack of manpower. The Great King couldn't possibly carry out an assassination alone, right?

But Savage knew that in a city like Gotham, finding an assassin wasn't difficult; the challenge was finding one willing to kill Godfather.

Savage believed that all the gangs in Gotham were not united. Having once ruled as kings among men, Savage understood that even in a small court, there were dozens of power factions, alliances, and rivalries. When he was king, he thought about these matters every day.

He didn't believe that Falcone and his Twelve Families would be entirely harmonious. He also doubted that among the Twelve Families, there were no ambitious young individuals eager to oust the aging lion king from his territory.

But he knew he couldn't act recklessly, as it might alert the enemy. He needed to first identify which families among the Twelve Families could be swayed and which were loyalists, to avoid targeting the wrong people.

The materials he obtained from the Batcave contained some information about the Twelve Families. After reviewing these materials, Savage had a better plan. He discovered that Godfather had a son, and he was an only child.

According to Batman's character materials, Evans Falcone had a somewhat poor reputation within the Twelve Families. Many considered him too weak, lacking ruthlessness, not resolute enough, and unsuitable for the criminal world.

However, this made Savage very pleased. Having been an emperor himself, he knew what kind of prince was easier to control. He understood the preferences of ambitious ministers who liked to support a certain type of puppet ruler, and Evans possessed all the qualities of a puppet.

A puppet couldn't be too good or too bad, too strong-willed or too weak, too self-aware or completely devoid of thoughts. They needed to have some desires of their own, so they could be gradually manipulated.

In Batman's materials, it was mentioned that Evans had recently taken over some of the Falcone Family's businesses. He appeared overly eager, and from the descriptions, Savage could tell that Evans was eager to prove himself.

This made Evans a perfect candidate. If he could be used to overthrow Gotham's Godfather, the entire gang system in Gotham would crumble in an instant. Savage would seize the opportunity amid the chaos, just as he had done before.

According to the materials, Evans frequently visited several bars he managed, and Savage planned to wait for him there.

The addresses of these bars were clearly written in the materials, and with the lantern that allowed him to move freely, infiltrating them was not a problem. The only issue was that when Savage arrived at a nearby alley, he found that it wasn't a bar.

This location was on the southern edge of the East District, a relatively late-developed entertainment street. There were supposed to be three bars, two nightclubs, and two casinos on the entire street, with neon signs hanging like in other entertainment areas, keeping the streets brightly lit all night.

But when Savage arrived, there was nothing there—no signs, no traffic, and no bustling scene. The entire street was lined with peculiar buildings.

Savage noticed that gang enforcers were patrolling at the entrances of these buildings. He didn't want to confront these low-level thugs, so he used the lantern's power to pass through the walls and entered a room. And then... he froze.

He had entered an above-ground cold storage warehouse connected to an underground cold storage facility. The temperature was extremely low.

After the "Freeze Gotham" incident, Gotham's old sewers had frozen naturally, and gangs had utilized the underground ice layers to establish various cold storage facilities for perishable goods.

However, the quality of the underground ice layers varied. When Freeze Victor initiated the freezing of Gotham, his technology hadn't reached its current level, and he had to sacrifice some stability for coverage and efficiency.

Therefore, some areas had excellent underground ice layers that required minimal maintenance and could continuously provide low temperatures. But in other areas, the ice layers were not as stable, with signs of cracking or melting, especially in more remote locations.

Everyone knew that the logistics industry was the most profitable after it developed, and places with good conditions for underground ice layers were rare. Regardless of what was originally on the surface, it was lucrative to demolish and rebuild with cold storage facilities.

Even in the northern part of Gotham, when high-quality underground ice layers were discovered under several gang leaders' manors, the owners themselves led the demolition of their homes just to make space for cold storage.

Although they had spent a lot of money on the mansions, the steady income from a cold storage facility was more than worth it. They understood this calculation very well.

Today, Gotham was full of such above-ground and underground multi-level cold storage structures. Savage, who knew nothing about this, had inadvertently entered Freeze Victor's freezing trap.

Savage quickly activated the lantern's ability to teleport out, but there was a problem with the teleportation direction, and he ended up in the adjacent cold storage. Fortunately, he teleported out again, but before he could do anything else, he was discovered by patrolling gang enforcers.

This was still Falcone Family territory, and the Falcone Family had no shortage of skilled enforcers.

These were not the amateur security guards of small-time gangs, but top-tier enforcers on par with the major gangs. They were highly alert and didn't overlook any suspicious activity.

Savage's figure had just appeared at the street corner, and within seconds, gunshots rang out. The entire street was alarmed, and Savage hadn't even figured out where so many people had come from when he found himself surrounded.

Not wanting to alert the enemy, he had to waste the lantern's energy again to teleport a long distance before leaving the street.

Back in his hotel suite, Savage didn't feel discouraged. He reviewed the materials again and thought that he might have chosen the wrong location. He decided to try his luck again the next day.

But as he was about to take a break, Falcone Manor was brightly lit. In front of Alberto stood a gang leader in a suit, trembling slightly as he said, "Yes, young master, we found a suspicious person there, but we couldn't catch him..."

Looking at Alberto's expression, the gang leader continued shakily, "It's not that the brothers didn't try their best, but that person could teleport, and he disappeared in an instant..."

Alberto's face darkened, and he stared at the gang leader. "Did you personally see him teleport and leave Gotham?"

The gang leader vigorously shook his head.

"Since you didn't, why didn't you pursue him?" Alberto turned away, paused for a moment, and then said, "Forget it, a bunch of useless people... Go get Copperpot."

"Daring to tamper with Falcone Family's affairs... may God help him."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 805: Outdated Strategy with Severe Consequences (Part 1)