Chapter 19: Penguin

Zi Liang was smart, but he was also a very lazy person, both before and after becoming human. In fact, if it weren’t for the burden of “saving the world”—a cliché yet unavoidable task—he would prefer to stay in the “hospital” forever, smoking, reading the news, occasionally dragging old Joey to that “little tavern” for a few drinks, chatting with the bartender about the “next stage of evolution in the universe” and other mundane matters...

Although he enjoyed that leisurely pace of life, unfortunately, everything has its responsibilities. For instance, the sun must shine, the earth must rotate, farmers must farm, doctors must treat patients, old Joey must feed the “pigs,” and the bartender must tell stories to newcomers in his tavern, while Zi Liang... must traverse various times and dimensions to find those scattered “fragments of sin.”

Alright, some people might understand this, while others might not, but it doesn’t matter. All anyone needs to know is that Zi Liang is now just an ordinary person, locked up in Arkham Asylum, and by the morning after his incarceration, he had become a mythic figure. That’s all that matters.

...

...

Once upon a time, in a certain dimension, there was a saying: “In fact, gods are also humans; they just do what humans cannot do, thus becoming gods.” And at this moment, Zi Liang had undoubtedly accomplished something that no one else could do... because after spending a night in the “infirmary,” he emerged holding a pack of Professor Yang’s cigarettes...

Yes... although it was just a pack of cigarettes, which might not sound like a world-shattering event, to the prisoners, it was almost equivalent to saying: “This kid went to hell and came back holding a pair of Satan's underwear.”

This news was simply too explosive, too unbelievable, too insane. So it wasn’t just the prisoners; even among the guards, they began discussing this newcomer, and the night he spent alone with Professor Yang was spun into various versions, some of which even included some pink, quirky scenarios...

But speaking of it, over the years, the professionalism of Gotham City’s criminals had really deteriorated. If it were Gotham ten years ago, there would have been plenty of people who could chat, drink tea, and eat sunflower seeds while being tortured by Professor Yang. Moreover, let’s not even get started on Professor Yang’s torture methods; a few years ago, he probably wouldn’t even have had the chance to establish himself in Arkham. Now, his fearsome reputation simply indicated that he had struck at a good time.

In any case, overnight, nearly everyone came to know Zi Liang.

However, with fame came trouble.

The biggest troublemaker was Mr. Cobblepot.

...

...

Cobblepot was a businessman, and at the same time, a criminal.

His full name was Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. It’s a mouthful, so before he was locked up in Arkham, people in Gotham’s underground gang preferred to call him “Penguin”...

Mr. Penguin stood just over five feet tall, weighed around 80 kilograms, had almost no neck, and was a bit balding. This deformed stature made him look like a walking, oversized kiwi. Combined with his underdeveloped left eye and prominent hooked nose, these elements naturally categorized him as a “mental patient” in people’s minds. When he was captured, he wasn’t even given a chance to explain and was directly thrown into Arkham Asylum.

So, it’s really not good to judge people by their appearance, because Mr. Penguin wasn’t a mental patient at all. Not only that, but he was also a very typical “high emotional intelligence criminal.” He paid great attention to his demeanor, clothing, and had refined tastes. He often quoted Shakespeare while speaking... and even had a bit of a cleanliness obsession.

He had a childhood filled with bullying and ridicule, a father who died mysteriously, a hysterical mother, a declining family, and he rose from the ashes, enduring hardships to eventually become one of Gotham’s four major gang leaders. In short, he was a model of perseverance, climbing up from the bottom through sheer will. Aside from his peculiar habit of eating live fish, he was, in fact, one of the most rational and intelligent people in Arkham Asylum.

So after entering Arkham, he quickly utilized his normal human reasoning, intelligence, emotional skills, and negotiation tactics to become the “boss” of the asylum.

Now, one might ask, why could he become the leader of a bunch of lunatics when he was a normal person?

You see, that’s where your thinking is narrow. His negotiation targets were not those prisoners, but Warden Quincy Sharp.

Arkham Asylum is a strange place. Although all the inmates are closely monitored, and fighting, causing trouble, and forming gangs are completely prohibited, with someone as amiable as Professor Yang personally overseeing things, strange incidents still occur from time to time.

For example, it was quite normal for Zi Liang to stab someone in the throat with a spoon and leave them in shock... 

Can you imagine someone late at night scraping rust off a water pipe with their fingernails? They would take the scraped rust and used toilet paper, roll it together with saliva, and freeze it outside during winter. Within ten minutes, it would harden like steel. That person used this makeshift projectile to kill two guards and one inmate, forcing the prison to start calculating the usage of toilet paper for each inmate... Yes, they even had to go through the used paper in the trash to ensure that every sheet had been soiled, comparing it to the total amount of toilet paper, and then collecting it all again... It’s said that during that time, the guards’ resignation rate tripled compared to previous years.

And there were even crazier things... Can you imagine someone saving up to raise cockroaches in prison? That person was a deranged entomologist, and the cockroaches he raised were as big as slippers. When they swarmed, it was like an invasion of demonic creatures, leading the prison to start large-scale extermination efforts, during which this inmate successfully poisoned 12 guards with insecticide and then escaped.

In short, Arkham Asylum was always filled with unexpected events, and the guards couldn’t possibly monitor every inmate 24/7. Thus, the prison needed someone with enough charisma to keep the inmates in check from within, and that person was naturally our Mr. Penguin.

Chapter 20: The Deal

Without a doubt, Penguin was Gotham City’s most outstanding businessman. After being locked up, he quickly established his own intelligence network, navigating between guards and inmates. From initially selling small bits of information to eventually monopolizing all the beer, drinks, bottled water, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and playing cards in Arkham, even some guards had to call him Mr. Cobblepot. In just six months, he became the most powerful inmate in Arkham Asylum...

How powerful was his influence?

To give you a few examples, he had two fresh live fish with every meal, his cell was carpeted with the finest rugs, he had his own phonograph with records updated monthly, and his cigars were even more expensive than Warden Quincy Sharp’s.

Yes, Penguin was a true businessman. In his eyes, as long as someone was human, they would fall into the abyss of profit. Whether you were buying arms in Gotham or selling yourself in Arkham, as long as you had a demand, he could calculate your bills down to the last detail.

...

Now, without further ado, four hours later, it was lunchtime.

Zi Liang sat alone at a table. Since the muscle spasms hadn’t fully subsided, he could only slowly tear at a piece of bread.

As for why he had to switch his dinner to bread... it was obviously because bread didn’t require utensils.

The inmate who had been stabbed in the throat was still unconscious, so no one knew how long this ban on utensils would last. However, some informed individuals said that the logistics department had overnight purchased various flavors of butter and jam... tons of it. This news was undoubtedly a disaster for the inmates in Arkham, but strangely, very few people seemed to care about it...

Because at that moment, something even more attention-grabbing was happening in the asylum.

Mr. Penguin had stepped out of his luxurious cell and personally come to the cafeteria in Zone 3, sitting down directly across from Zi Liang. This meant that Penguin believed this newcomer was a troublesome individual, and trouble... naturally needed to be dealt with.

“Hello... Zi Liang,” Penguin said.

His voice was very gentlemanly. If you closed your eyes, you would never guess he was a congenital deformity standing under five feet tall.

“My name is Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. You can call me Mr. Cobblepot.”

Zi Liang looked at the guy in front of him, who was barely taller than the table... and slowly stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth. Although he didn’t speak, it was clear that his seemingly perpetually dazed eyes had gained a hint of alertness.

“Well, I know you’re a smart person, and people like you won’t say much until they fully understand me. But I still want to express my intentions,” Penguin said with a smile. “You’re drawing too much attention as a newcomer. Because of you, we all have to eat bread for a month, so I think I should warn you that Arkham Asylum is a warm and friendly place. If you keep causing trouble, you might attract some issues. You understand what I mean, right?”

After finishing this sentence, Penguin immediately fell silent and stared at Zi Liang, waiting for a response.

“Uh...” Zi Liang swallowed the bread in his mouth. “While you speak quite politely, I can’t shake the feeling that if I give an answer you don’t like, your brothers over there will immediately tear me apart?”

He casually nodded toward a few muscular men sitting at a different table.

Penguin raised an eyebrow slightly, “So, you’ve already noticed... Hehe, did you memorize the faces of everyone in the prison the day you entered?”

“I’m not that diligent,” Zi Liang said lazily. “Although those guys aren’t from your side, it’s pretty obvious that everyone else is either staring at you or them.”

Penguin seemed quite pleased and nodded, “Good, your observation skills are sharp. From what I understand, meticulous people like you usually know how to read the room, so...”

“So how long have you been in Arkham?” Zi Liang suddenly interjected.

Penguin frowned slightly, “Why do you ask that?”

“Nothing much, just curious. If I’m not mistaken, you must have known why I was arrested and why I was sent to the infirmary before coming to see me, otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here,” Zi Liang stated. “You should have figured out everything about my time in Arkham, but I only know your name. That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Hehe... very good. I’m a businessman, and my favorite word is ‘fair.’ So I can reintroduce myself,” Penguin said: “You already know my name. I have a nickname I dislike, which is ‘Penguin.’ The most I’ve killed in my life are those who dared to call me that in front of me. I was locked up in Arkham eight years ago for arms trafficking, and I can tell you clearly that I despise unstable prison life. So from this second on, if I hear you causing any trouble, I’ll break your limbs and tie your face to the toilet bowl.”

“You're disgusting.” Zi Liang made a clear face of disgust upon hearing the last part of Penguin’s speech. “But anyway, you’re the only person I’ve met in Arkham in the past few days who seems to have some sense... so I’d like to make a deal with you.”

Penguin’s frown deepened. He had originally come to warn this newcomer to behave, but as the conversation progressed, this guy named Zi Liang had shifted the topic to making a deal.

Although he found this deviation from the main topic quite irritating, since a deal had presented itself, there was no reason not to listen, right? This should count as a professional habit.

“Alright, let’s hear it,” Penguin said, professionally crossing his chubby hands on the table.

“I want to know... what happened eight years ago?” Zi Liang’s lazy tone turned slightly serious.

Penguin’s expression showed no change, but he stared at Zi Liang, remaining silent for a long time.

After a few seconds... “Hehe, it seems I underestimated you. I know a bit about that incident, but the question is, what’s your bargaining chip?”

“A bargaining chip, huh~” Zi Liang mused. “In a few days, when I tear down this prison, I’ll take you with me. How about that?”