The short, fat Penguin was now forced to hide out in the sewers. All his assets had been stolen by Kaitou Kid. But that wasn't even the worst of it—the worst part was that his creditor had come knocking.
He took the money but didn't deliver the goods. Penguin's behavior wasn't exactly honorable.
"Penguin, the weapons." The shadow of a giant bear loomed over Penguin, swallowing him whole.
"You can't blame me! I already had the weapons ready. It was Batman—he ruined everything." Penguin trembled, his short legs shaking uncontrollably.
"Batman?" The giant muttered the name with disdain, then smirked. "I'll crush him. Remember, Penguin, I want the most powerful weapons you've got."
Penguin bent low, his voice trembling. "Yes, great Lord Bane, I'll get you the strongest weapons."
Another earth-shattering plot was born in Gotham's sewers.
Iselin requested a transfer to another department, and Liu A'dou simply took a two-week leave. Director Howard wasn't pleased. He thought young people shouldn't fall in love too soon—look at them now, letting it mess up their work.
Everyone at the station knew Liu A'dou and Iselin had broken up. The male colleagues were pretty happy about it—Iselin was a beauty, and more than a few had their eye on her.
So, for the time being, both of them disappeared from the office.
Liu A'dou took advantage of the two weeks to leave Gotham for some solo training.
Oxygen flows into the lungs, through the blood vessels, reaching every part of the body, keeping cells alive.
And the collection of those cells makes up the human body. The body's strength comes from the power of blood circulation. So by using breathing to generate energy in the blood vessels, that energy can be transmitted everywhere.
By mastering a special breathing technique, one could gain immense strength. This was the principle of Ripple Energy.
The fragments of knowledge Liu A'dou had snatched from the Pandora's Magic Box included the method to train in Ripple.
Liu A'dou used his annual leave. Since Iselin needed space, he gave it to her. And he used the time to focus on this hard-earned knowledge.
Ripple training hinged on breathing. As long as he mastered the breathing technique, he could unleash great power. After two weeks, Liu A'dou had fully grasped Ripple.
He sat cross-legged atop the water, his breathing calm, his abdomen rising and falling slightly. The ripples on the water's surface held his weight. This proved he had mastered the Ripple.
With Harvey Dent's return, Gotham stabilized once more. The iron triangle was back, but the pressure was greater than before. But that had nothing to do with Liu A'dou. Today, he was finally home.
After two weeks of intense training, he could finally take a proper bath and go downstairs for a good meal. For half a month, he'd been so focused on his training he hadn't even thought about Iselin. Liu A'dou was naturally easygoing, never forcing others or himself.
But what he didn't know was that an uninvited guest was waiting at home.
Coming home felt great. Nothing beat sinking into his own bed after training. Liu A'dou eagerly took out his keys, only to find the security setup he'd left behind had been tampered with. Before leaving, he'd trapped a strand of his hair between the door and the frame—but now, it was gone.
A guest? Liu A'dou grinned. It couldn't be Iselin—she'd left her keys. So who had broken in? Which bold thief dared steal from the king of thieves himself?
He entered cautiously. Everything outside his bedroom looked untouched, except the bedroom door was open. The quiet made him suspicious—this thief had come prepared, heading straight to the target. But who?
Liu A'dou didn't suspect any friends. He chose to go straight into the bedroom, and sure enough, the hidden door in the wardrobe had been found. Inside the secret room, he could hear breathing. Liu A'dou smirked—perfect, time to test his training.
But before he could make a move, the intruder had already sensed him. This wasn't just some random burglar.
A magnetic, lazy female voice drifted from the secret room, smooth as silk. "Kaitou Kid, who would've thought your secret room would be so... plain."
Liu A'dou mentally cursed a thousand times over. Could this world not give him a break? Could he not have just one chance to show off? This was deeply wounding, you know?
"Who are you?" Since the intruder had already noticed him, Liu A'dou didn't bother hiding anymore. He casually stepped forward, standing face to face with the uninvited guest.
When he saw who it was, Liu A'dou froze. The woman in the secret room was Asian, with short black hair, a red leather jacket, black tight pants, and a pair of high heels. A fiery red scarf was wrapped around her neck.
That look, that presence, and that magnetic, sultry voice—it almost made Liu A'dou blurt out in shock, "Ada Wong?"
"Kaitou Kid, I knew it. You're exactly the one I've been looking for."
Hold on. Hold on a second—Liu A'dou was completely confused. Why was a character from Resident Evil showing up in a superhero world? Did she also get isekai'd like him? This made no sense. Even if she did, what were the chances they'd end up in the same world? And from the look of it, she seemed to know who he was too.
"You know me?" Up until today, they'd never had any connection—no matter the world. Why would Ada suddenly come looking for him?
"Yes, Kaitou Kid, I need your help."
"Wait, wait, slow down. We've got a lot to talk about here. How did you get here, why are you looking for me, and what exactly do you want from me? Help comes last—let's sort the rest out first." Liu A'dou motioned for Ada to take her time. He needed a moment to wrap his head around this. "One thing at a time. Let me process this."
"You're really something." Ada Wong sat down without hesitation. "You already know my name, which means you're not from this world either. As someone from another world, I was guided to seek your help. There's nothing strange about this."
Ada made it sound like all these absurdities were perfectly normal—it was just Liu A'dou who couldn't keep up.
But he still didn't get it. "How did you end up crossing over?"
"That was just... a small accident." Ada wasn't about to tell Liu A'dou that she got caught in a government clean-up nuke and was saved by the Pandora's Magic Box. Instead, she simply said she was rescued by Pandora, leaving out the nuclear explosion part entirely.
Back then, with no time to spare, Pandora had used the force of the blast to force open a passage for transporting knowledge and flung Ada Wong into this world. But since she was a human, she couldn't be sent into the Magic Box's inner space, so Pandora just tossed her out somewhere random. Before leaving, the gem told Ada to find Liu A'dou, that he would help her.
As a trained spy, Ada hadn't planned on seeking out Liu A'dou. In fact, she had no idea where to find him, especially since she didn't land in Gotham but in some remote town. At first, she wasn't going to bother. But when she realized the virus she'd been carrying had gone missing, she had no choice. She spent a lot of time and effort tracking down Liu A'dou's whereabouts. Once she reached Gotham, it didn't take her long to figure out he was Kaitou Kid—it wasn't hard, his style was way too obvious.
Liu A'dou couldn't help thinking, Pandora really was humanity's last hope, always lending a hand. But she went and saved Ada Wong, only to lose the virus somewhere in the process? That's just asking for trouble.
"So you want me to help find the virus?" Liu A'dou asked, unsure.
"Yes. If it leaks, I think you know what the consequences will be." Ada's tone was serious.
Liu A'dou, however, said, "That virus probably won't be a threat to the superheroes, but yeah, the casualties would be massive. This kind of virus doesn't get taken seriously until it's already spread everywhere. And by then, the damage will be done. Yeah, we'd better find it." He paused. "But the world's huge—where are we even supposed to start?"
"That's why I need your help. Actually, I've already located the virus." Ada's voice was steady.
"You found it?" Liu A'dou looked at her suspiciously. He knew what Ada Wong was capable of—moving through hordes of zombies like it was nothing. As long as she didn't fight the boss head-on, she could go wherever she wanted. What did she need him for?
But Ada was serious. She wasn't interested in saving the world anymore. She used to do that because it was her job, but now that she was isekai'd, there was no reason to keep risking her life. She was sick of zombies. So even after finding out where the virus was, she still came to Liu A'dou. She wanted Kaitou Kid to steal the virus for her. After that, she planned to wash her hands of it all.
Of course, that was only part of it. The other reason was, as a fellow traveler from another world, Ada wanted to find someone she could relate to. At least with Liu A'dou, they'd have something in common.