The track of dawn in the world of American manga

Chapter 42 42. There is a trend of younger patients with mental illness in Gotham City, which is really scary

Time flies and three days pass.

Mason quickly adapted to the exciting new rhythm of life. Everything seemed to be on the right track, and good news came one after another.

Two days ago, the first aid skill officially broke through to Level 2.

Another big boss in Gotham City, Mr. Falcone, was also a very "enthusiastic" person. He "sent" four or five test subjects to Mason every night for three consecutive days, which greatly improved the efficiency of identifying unknown potions.

Kite Man’s renovation of the Iceberg Bar is also on the agenda.

He plans to keep the name of the Iceberg Bar but wants to operate it in a style that will make his bar a gathering place for Gotham City's street heroes, and he is very confident in his business idea.

Mason didn't care.

After getting enough "volunteer testers", his progress in specializing in alchemy skills has been much faster, and he has decided to officially "work on" the production of joy potion tomorrow night.

As for why not tonight?

The reason is simple, because Mason's store will officially open tonight.

It was a small street store located near Crime Alley, just one street away from Dr. Leslie's clinic. It was originally a grocery store with a bleak business, but the store owner quickly completed the transfer procedures under the banknote attack personally directed by the Kite Man.

By the way, taking advantage of the interior decoration of the Glacier Bar, workers were able to complete the cleaning and renovation of the shop. Mason spent some time last night with Charles to transport some of the things he had recently made to the shop.

He didn't hold any opening ceremony either.

Just open the rolling shutter door called "Cooper's Mystery Item Shop" after getting off work from the clinic at ten o'clock in the evening, and it will be open for business.

The store is not big, just a small shop facing the street. The second floor is where Mason rests, with a bed, wardrobe and several workbenches. The renovation is complete after paving wooden boards in a minimalist style.

The first floor is the main part of the store.

There are no tables and chairs to receive guests. Instead, there is a circular counter and five large display cabinets, where Mason's handmade "goods" are placed according to the distinction between alchemical creations and engineering creations.

There are only two display cabinets which look a bit shabby, but the remaining three display cabinets are reserved for future production branches.

Mason turned on the dim light and let the light shine along the shop door onto the street outside. The retro neon lights used for the sign outside the door and the colorful revolving lanterns also gave a wonderful feeling when they shone on the water stains on the street.

He pulled up his chair and sat behind the counter, where there was a rather peculiar thing.

A sewing machine.

He has to spend the three hours every day from opening the shop at 10 o'clock to 1 am to study tailoring skills. The importance of armor like him, a pioneer of the Star Society who wants to explore other worlds, is self-evident.

But the location of Mason's store was terrible.

Are there any serious customers near Crime Alley? Given the public security situation in Gotham, anyone wandering the streets at night is definitely not a philanthropic guy.

There was not a single customer in the store for an hour after it opened. The only ones who came to visit were a group of gangsters dressed in flashy clothes. They looked like they were high and wanted to have some fun.

But after seeing Mason's shotgun and a magazine filled with bullets on the counter, the gangsters immediately sobered up.

He obediently put away the baseball bat in his hand, nodded and bowed, and walked out.

As for Mason himself, he was a little clumsy on the sewing machine trying to make the simplest work. After spending an hour making an apron that was too crooked to be used as clothing for a dog, he frowned and thought that maybe he should start from scratch.

How to prepare raw materials for tanning leather?

Or do you mean that you really don’t have the talent in this area?

"Boss, these potions look very scary, and why don't they have a price tag?"

Just when he was frowning and thinking about how to improve his proficiency in the tailoring branch, a crisp voice sounded in the shop, and Mason, who was busy doubting his life, said casually:

"I am exchanging these medicines for materials, my friend, not for sale. You can see the specific exchange terms next to the cabinet for yourself."

The questioning voice was a little confused by the boss's indifferent service attitude. The little customer frowned and looked at the introduction next to the display case filled with medicines of various colors.

The first line on the header is "All the goods in our store are not for sale, they are only used for material transactions. If you buy a fake, you will get ten for it. No one can be deceived."

The customer who entered the store at unknown time frowned and continued to look down:

“Ten bottles of healing potion are exchanged for five sheep stomach stones, which must be removed from a goat between 4 and 7 years old in the last month of summer.

The exchange is valid for the long term.”

The next line is:

"Ten bottles of vitality potion are exchanged for five sets of four materials: dried nettles, ground snake teeth and porcupine quills, and slugs with tentacles. This exchange is valid for a long time."

"Five bottles of paralysis potion are exchanged for five sticks of any one of sneezeweed, scurvy and lovage. Because this material is relatively rare, the exchange must be made after inspection."

"One bottle of the high-grade truth serum can be exchanged for ten sets of narcissus root powder, mugwort infusion, valerian root and sleepy bean ingredients. The production process of this medicine is complicated, and you need to order one month in advance and pay a deposit for four sets of ingredients."

This shows that the required materials and items on the cardboard are so diverse that the little guest frowned when he saw them.

He also believed that he was well-informed due to his family background, but there were many strange names of herbs and items on the cardboard listed by Mason, which was the first time even he had heard of them.

This made the young customer, who was wearing a black coat and baseball cap, feel that this store might be some kind of "performance art" that he couldn't understand.

But the little guest frowned and looked at the various potions placed in front of him. Relying on his intuition, he felt that these things were not fake. Well, at least the appearance of the bottles was somewhat similar to the real ones he had used.

So the little guest hesitated for a while and then said:

"Your exchange conditions for this potion are so harsh. Although it's free, it's much more expensive than paying for it."

Mason was thinking about how to get started in the tailoring branch. He had no time to play with the guests, so he replied with a straight face:

"Look at how many real alchemists there are in Gotham City now? This potion of mine is unique, made from solid ingredients and has first-class effects. If you think it's expensive, I still think it's expensive."

This seems to drive people away.

The young guest sneered and said in a long voice:

"I didn't say I wouldn't buy it, but are these potions real?"

"I am a professional alchemist, can I sell you fake medicine?"

Mason finally raised his head and glanced at this busy little guest.

He looked him up and down, looking at the guy's baseball cap that was pulled down low to cover most of his face, but he could tell that he was at most a teenager, or a child.

The young man's tone became gentler, and he reminded with some helplessness:

"Kids, go home quickly. Don't wander around at night. It's quite dangerous around here. Come on, this bottle of soda is a gift from my brother."

"Who wants your soda!"

The little guest was furious because of this kind gesture.

He stared at Mason closely, with a fierce look on his face under the brim of his hat, as if he was very angry because Mason regarded him as a child.

He said fiercely:

"I'm asking you if these potions are real!"

Mason felt that something was not right about this. He frowned. When did this kid enter the store? Why didn't he have any impression?

The young man stood up and grabbed the pistol at hand, lying on the counter and looking at the fierce little boy in front of him.

He said:

"Are you here to cause trouble? Who asked you to come?"

"I'm not!"

The little boy snorted, casually took a bottle of healing potion from the display cabinet, bumped it up and down in his hand, glanced at Mason sideways, and said:

"If your medicine is real, I will definitely buy it. Although the ingredients you want seem outrageous, they are not impossible to find. My family is, um, a veterinarian.

There are many such things as sheep stones.

But what if the potion you gave me is fake?

Can I bring my friends back and smash up your store?"

"You naughty kid!"

Mason laughed angrily.

He was obviously looking for trouble, but he was too lazy to say anything to a naughty kid of unknown origin. He just waved his hand and joked to him:

"You are the first customer in my store, so I will give this bottle of medicine to you. Take it back and play with it. If it is fake, you are welcome to come and destroy my store.

Don't look at what's over there.

They are all special accessories made for firearms and are not for children like you to play with.

Okay, I'm going to ask you to leave.

As you can see, I'm very busy right now."

He pointed to the sewing machine on the counter and the various shapes of cloth that had just been cut out.

"Just wait for me to expose your shenanigans!"

The naughty kid snorted, picked up a bottle of potion and walked out of Cooper's store.

Mason watched him leave, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then sat back at the counter and started working on his "sewing work" again.

And the naughty kid who took the medicine turned along the dark street and entered the alley next to it, where a low-key black car was parked.

Four bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses stood guard beside the car like iron towers. The boy approached the nearest bodyguard and took out a dagger from his arms, and slashed the bodyguard's wrist.

Immediately there was a flood of blood.

During the whole process, neither the bodyguard nor the boy showed any change in expression, as if this was an ordinary thing.

"Drink it and tell me the effect in five minutes."

The little boy threw the potion in his hand to the bodyguard, then took off his baseball cap, revealing short black hair.

He bent down and picked up an oriental-style black and white devil mask from the open car door and put it on his face, then clicked the safety of the black military pistol in his hand.

The other three bodyguards also opened the trunk and took out the long and short guys.

This fierce naughty boy said that if Mason gave him counterfeit medicine, he would smash up his store. It seemed that he was not lying. He had made all the preparations in advance to bloodbath that small store.

Even something as outrageous as a personal rocket launcher is prepared in the trunk.

It would be outrageous for something like this to appear in other cities, but in Gotham everything seemed to fall into place.

"Master, mistress's phone number."

Two minutes later, the bodyguard next to the naughty boy who was sitting in the car with his eyes closed handed him a specially encrypted satellite phone. The little boy who was about to have a big fight suddenly frowned and put the phone to his ear.

Then, a nice and magnetic but very cold voice rang on the phone:

"Damian, you were supposed to leave Gotham this afternoon, but you haven't left yet. This will cause you to miss your geography and history classes tomorrow. I need an explanation.

You'd better not lie to me."

"Mom, I'm just verifying something that I'm very interested in. Just leave me alone. I've grown up."

The little boy was a little angry and helpless and said:

"I'll get on the plane at midnight, and I promise I'll be home on time."

"What the hell are you doing?"

The indifferent mother on the other side of the phone asked again and said:

"explain!"

"I just want to see what's so special about Mason Cooper who is being paid special attention to by that man."

The naughty kid answered honestly:

"As you know, Mason escaped during the last pursuit I commanded. It was my first mission failure in three years, and I hate humiliating failures! My grandpa taught me since I was a child that the best way to face failure is to try again.

.

After you stopped me from killing Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, are you going to stop me from facing failure?"

The voice on the other side of the phone was silent for a few seconds and said:

"I'll give you an hour! And, Damian, don't think I don't know why you've been avoiding being taught by doctors I've carefully selected.

If you miss tomorrow's class.

Then the heads of your geography and history teachers will be placed on their dining tables tomorrow afternoon!"

This sentence completely angered the little boy, and he screamed angrily:

"Is there any difference? Even if they escape tomorrow's murder, after I complete your coursework assessment, the two doctors who are regarded as useless will still be stuffed into cement and sunk into the sea by you!

From the time I was six years old to now, seventeen PhD professors from various industries have died just because of the ‘study’ plan you made for me!

I don't like this! Mom.

They are not puppies that I raised since I was a child and that you forced me to kill with my own hands when I was eight years old. They are people! Living people. It is also good for us that they stay in the organization. They should not be like this just because of me."

"You're too weak, Damian."

The little boy's rebuttal was coldly interrupted by his mother, who said:

"How can you, who is so fragile, inherit the great legacy that your grandfather will leave to you in the future? How can you, who is so pitiful, fulfill the mission you have been shouldering since you were born?

You saw that man in Gotham with your own eyes!

You know how powerful he is, almost invincible and indestructible, just like the God of Terror born in Gotham.

If you don't study hard now and arm yourself with knowledge, how will you defeat him with your own hands in the future? Damian, half of your blood belongs to him.

But it's a pity that I don't see the same potential in you that makes me and even the entire Assassin's League fascinated by him!

If you continue to indulge yourself in idle kindness, don't come back.

Stop calling me mom!

I will not accept a weak failure as my son.

That’s all!

Remember, Damian, you still have fifty-five minutes."

"Dudududu"

The phone was hung up, the vibrating busy tone was ruthless, and brought a trace of silent desolation in the dark night.

But the little boy in the car seemed to be used to all this. He handed the phone in his hand to the bodyguard expressionlessly, and tightened his grip on the gun.

The bodyguard who tested the medicine came over at the end of the five-minute countdown and showed his young master the back of his hand that had been completely healed with only a shallow scar left.

Damian Al Ghul looked at the shallow scar in front of him.

That proved that Mason Cooper's healing potion was indeed effective, and he had lost the legitimate reason to bloodbath that small shop.

Of course, perhaps before the reason was lost, the little boy had already lost interest in taking action tonight.

He threw the pistol aside, closed his eyes and ordered:

"Go prepare the materials and buy all the products in that store as much as possible. At the same time, apologize to Mr. Mason for me and say that I will visit his magical shop again the next time I come to Gotham.

Let's drive, I'm tired.

It’s time to go home and go to class.”

The black car, which is low-profile but can withstand rocket attacks at close range, started silently and slowly slid into the Gotham night.

In Cooper's magical little shop, Mason hummed while pressing the shining single-head bullet into the magazine, while touching the shimmering Hell's Eye lapel pin on his collar.

At his feet were eight flying engineering bombs, six bottles of weak petrification potions and a whole row of paralysis potions. The hand cannon was stuck on his waist. The Penguin's armed umbrella was also placed by his legs. The invisibility cloak was folded on his body.

forward.

This set of weapons is enough to deal with any crisis that may arise tonight.

But as Mason waited expectantly, not only did the attacker not appear, the glimmer of light on his lapel pin quickly dimmed.

This made the young man blink his eyes in surprise.

"Huh? Has Damian Wayne given up on killing me? The little devil who was raised by the King of Assassins has shown rare mercy?

What a shame, I was ready to tie up that little guy and send him to Wayne Manor to extort him out of a billion dollars.

Alas, Lord Batman, it looks like your 'father and son reunion' will be postponed."

(End of chapter)