American comics: Only I know the plot

Chapter 74 The Beginning of Chaos

West Side of Gotham City.

At a high-end hotel owned by the Wayne Group, a man, who was bundled up tightly, entered the elevator while being courted by the staff.

The elevator soon stopped on the 18th floor. The man stepped out of the elevator, checked his bearings, and walked straight into a room with a half-open door.

Inside the room, a burly black man sat listlessly in a chair; it was none other than He Mang, who had just come into contact with the Falcone family.

Hearing the door close, He Mang got up and went to greet him at the door.

"Mr. Mayor, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come here."

He Mang said, "Mr. Maroni would be very moved if he knew."

"Stop talking nonsense, where is Maroni?"

The mayor, who was bundled up tightly, spoke in an unfriendly tone, "Does he even know how much effort we put into protecting him this time?!"

"If you need anything, just say it now, and don't contact me again next time!"

"Mr. Mayor, please don't get so angry."

He Mang showed no displeasure at the mayor's tone, stood up and slowly walked towards him, "Mr. Maroni asked me to come see you, of course it's something very important."

As He Mang spoke, he slowly approached the mayor and, taking advantage of the mayor's inattention, grabbed the mayor by the neck.

"Mr. Maroni said he wanted me to give you my regards."

With a look of horror in the mayor's eyes, He Mang twisted his hands forcefully, snapping the man's neck...

In Gotham's East Side, after strolling through Crime Alley, Li Wei saw that he still had some time to spare and was wondering where to go next.

Thinking about the Crime Alley he had just seen, Li Wei felt like he had been deceived.

If it weren't for the story of the Wayne couple's deaths there, Crime Alley would just be an ordinary alley.

It's not even as good as many alleys, since Crime Alley is just too narrow.

Just as Li Wei was thinking about whether to go somewhere else, his phone, which was in his pocket, suddenly rang.

Li Wei was a little puzzled. Who would contact him so late at night? After all, he didn't know anyone in this world.

Fortunately, there are no harassing phone calls in this world. After thinking for a moment, Li Wei took his phone out of his pocket.

Looking at the name on the screen, Li Wei had a bad feeling.

After all, this guy just said he wouldn't bother me for a while.

"Hey buddy, what brings you to contact me so late?"

"Li Wei, where are you?"

Gordon sounded anxious, and his first question was about Li Wei's exact location.

"What's wrong, buddy? What happened? I think you need to calm down first."

"The mayor is dead! Assassination!" Gordon exclaimed, his voice trembling. "Man, I can't stay calm!"

Gordon's words startled Levi, who was then filled with disbelief.

You have to understand, that's the mayor of Gotham City, not some random nobody you might bump into on the street.

"Where are you? I'm coming right away!" Li Wei said. "Of course, it would be even better if you could arrange for someone to pick me up in the East District."

"You're in the East Side? Dude, what are you doing there?"

Gordon was surprised. "Okay, I'll contact the officers in the East District. Tell me the exact location."

"I'm in Crime Alley, you can just have them come over."

Li Wei told her his exact location, feeling a little relieved that Crime Alley was a well-known place.

The thought of the mayor's cup going to be ruined made Li Wei's head start to ache again.

"Who did this, the Falcone family? But what good would it do you..."

He put away his phone and turned to look at the alley behind him.

The streetlights cast skewed shadows on the damp ground, and next to a trash can in the corner, a stray cat was munching on something.

Seemingly sensing Li Wei's gaze, the wildcat suddenly darted into the darkness.

Less than three minutes later, the headlights of the police car pierced the night.

The tires drove over the puddles, splashing up tiny droplets of water.

Upon seeing Li Wei standing at the alley entrance, the police car screeched to a halt, the air thick with the unpleasant smell of rubber rubbing together.

"Mr. Li Wei, please get in the car." The police officer in the driver's seat lowered the window, revealing Robin, who had just been discharged from the hospital.

Li Wei nodded to him, bent down and sat in the passenger seat.

With the roar of its engine, the police car shot off like an arrow.

The hands on the dial jumped wildly, and the lights outside cast long streaks of light on the glass.

The air, thick with the smell of coffee and smoke, rushed in, causing Li Wei to frown involuntarily.

"The crime scene was a hotel owned by the Wayne Group in the West End."

Robin gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes fixed straight ahead. "Chief Gordon has already gone there. He told me to follow your instructions, Mr. Levi."

"Let's go to the hotel and meet with Chief Gordon first, then we'll consider what to do next."

Li Wei looked out the window; the night in Gotham was so thick it seemed impossible to ignore.

The shadows of tall buildings loomed over the streets, and occasionally the shouts of drunkards could be heard from the alleyways, only to be quickly drowned out by the sound of traffic.

His left hand rested on his knee, his fingers unconsciously tapping his trouser leg, his nails scraping against the fabric, making a soft rustling sound.

Despite racking his brains, he still couldn't figure out who would do such a thing.

It's often said that whoever benefits is the most likely murderer, but the problem is that by taking down this guy, it seems the police are the ones who benefit.

After all, the guy who was just killed refused to sign the police's arrest warrant for Maroney yesterday.

Could it be that the police assassinated the mayor? Upon reaching this absurd conclusion, Li Wei's expression became strange.

The police car stopped in front of the Wayne Hotel. The waiter, pale-faced, quickly stepped aside to lead the way.

The two stepped into the elevator. Robin pressed the button for the 18th floor, and the elevator doors slowly closed, leaving only the hum of mechanical operation in the small space.

The elevator doors opened, and a cordon had been set up outside, with several police officers standing guard at the entrance.

Upon seeing Li Wei emerge, they all greeted him, and Li Wei nodded in response to each of them.

Crossing the cordon, Li Wei walked straight into the room on the soft carpet.

A group of people were bustling around at the door of the room.

The mayor lay slumped at the doorway, his neck twisted at an eerie angle, his hands curled up at his sides, his fingers stiffly digging into the carpet fibers.

"The forensic doctor's preliminary assessment is that the time of death was two hours ago, and the neck was fractured, which was broken by brute force."

Upon seeing Li Wei, Gordon stepped forward and explained the situation to him.

"The waiter said the deceased entered the room alone. However, we checked the security footage, and the door was ajar, indicating that someone was waiting for him in the room beforehand."

Li Wei crouched down, his gaze carefully sweeping over the corpse's neck.

The fracture marks were clearly visible, and a purplish-black handprint appeared on the neck.

Judging from the size of the handprint, the person who snapped this guy's neck must have been very tall.

He pointed to the doorknob in the air and turned to look at Gordon.

"Have your fingerprints been extracted?"

"It's being processed, Mr. Li Wei," a police officer said, handing Li Wei a statement. "You can take a look at the waiter's statement first."

Li Wei took the transcript and examined it carefully. He quickly found the key information.

"The deceased entered the hotel completely covered up, went up to the 18th floor, and went straight to this room, but no other guests had entered the room before him..."

"Have you checked the surveillance footage?" He stood up and turned to look at Gordon.

Gordon gestured with his chin toward the end of the corridor: "Several key surveillance cameras suddenly malfunctioned; only the camera over there captured the elevator opening."

Gordon's answer left Levi completely bewildered, leaving him feeling utterly at a loss for words.