"Oh, my friend, you finally came out of your little rundown base. Is that your weapon? He's truly a perfect big guy."
The Penguin walked into the factory and immediately saw the tall and steel-tech beautiful black-gold puppet.
"Where is it?"
Hardy took off the welding face shield and asked the Penguin.
"Boss, everything is outside. There are over twenty guns, thousands of bullets! And also bomb shields and bulletproof vests!"
The accountant nodded and bowed to Hardy.
"Hehe, these guns are just a small business. If you can mass-produce this thing and sell it, I guarantee you can become the richest... well, the second richest in Gotham."
The Penguin rubbed his hands, holding a cigar, examining the black-gold figure.
"Why the second richest?"
Hardy asked the Penguin.
"Because the richest in Gotham is Bruce Wayne. Just relying on this won't surpass Wayne Enterprises' wealth."
The Penguin pushed his glasses.
"How about it? Do you want to cooperate? You provide the technology, and I provide the resources and channels. By then, no matter how strong Batman is, can he defeat an army composed of these robots?"
"Unfortunately, only I can operate this thing once it's manufactured. Even if I give you the technology, you can't make it move."
Hardy extended his left hand, manipulating the black-gold to disassemble beside him invisibly with chakra lines, then covered his whole body within three seconds.
"Let's go."
The massive black puppet moved with steady and swift steps towards the factory gate.
Buying ordinary things from the Penguin only required money, but for extraordinary items like the cutting-edge sensors from Queen Industries, it required more than just money.
Fortunately, the Penguin knew some of Hardy's background, so he tentatively proposed a cooperation with Hardy.
Hardy invested money through the Penguin's channels to purchase arms, develop gangs, buy materials, and enhance the puppet with high-tech products. Meanwhile, the Penguin needed an ally who could fight well and had no direct connection with him to deal with some opponents.
This time was a test, to see how strong Hardy, a villain who could escape from Arkham Asylum with Batman and Nightwing present, really was.
From the current situation, it had exceeded the Penguin's expectations.
"Going there directly is too conspicuous. I'll sell you the delivery truck, giving you a friendly price, just five thousand dollars."
The Penguin stood at the door, smiling, pointing to a large truck parked in the front yard.
"I want you to help me deal with the Sparletta family on Deck Street. They robbed a batch of my goods last month. Although they did it very covertly, I have no evidence, but I'm sure it was them. If you take care of Simmons Sparletta and his son John Sparletta, Deck Street will be your territory."
"We have no reason to act. You find one for us."
Hardy glanced at the large truck and said to the Penguin.
"Isn't it simple? Just find anyone. For example, you can directly blame the death of the former boss of the Cole Gang, Chidi Cole, on them. This can help you avoid conflicts with the Two-Face Gang, right?"
The Penguin took a puff of his cigar and replied.
"Okay, but we are not called the Cole Gang now, we are the Hogg Union.
And I can't come up with five thousand dollars, and although this truck has been modified, it is second-hand, at most three thousand. Also,"
"Deal."
The Penguin readily agreed.
Hardy: ...
Miscalculated, should have negotiated the price further.
"Let's make it three thousand first, on credit."
"No problem, the interest rate here is very low, only three percent..."
"Oh, that's really low. How about I borrow a million first..."
"A three percent monthly interest rate, you just said you want to borrow a million, right?"
The Penguin pushed his glasses, a smile on his face.
"You call this a low-interest rate?"
"Of course, among Gotham's loan sharks, I am the most conscientious type. Others would give you an interest rate that you can never fulfill, but not me. I will push it to the limit, just enough to squeeze every penny of your value so that you can create more wealth for me to harvest."
The Penguin proudly said, taking out a calculator from his coat pocket.
"You just said you want to borrow a million, plus the three thousand for the truck, the interest for one month is..."
"I won't borrow, I'll return the three thousand to you tomorrow."
"Alright, it's a pity. According to three percent per month, the daily interest is one-thousandth, you'll have to make up for it when you return it tomorrow."
Hardy was speechless.
This guy really knows how to make money but also truly squeezes every penny as he said.
"The driver is mine. He will take you to find Simmons S.
Balata, wish you good luck. Also, try not to make too much noise. Although there are people helping us suppress things on the Gotham Police side, it's best to keep it low-key to avoid attracting the attention of the Bat's offspring. Finally..."
The Penguin took off his cigar and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"My driver's wages are calculated at fifty dollars per hour, and you have to pay that money."
This money-grubbing scoundrel.
"Let's go!"
Hardy walked into the truck compartment and shouted to his men.
"Charge!"
"Destroy those bastards!"
...
The thugs cheered, brandishing their newly acquired weapons as they got on their motorcycles.
The truck's gate lowered, and the roaring of motorcycle and truck engines filled the air as the group rushed towards the street.
"Boss, will we win?"
A man in a suit stood behind the Penguin, watching the Hog Joint members disappear at the end of the street.
"It should be fine. The puppeteer's strength may far exceed our previous assessment. Just look at the big guy he's wearing. However, his men don't seem too capable. They look like they've never done any real work. They probably can only fight in a cheerleading manner."
The Penguin leaned on his umbrella, looking up at the sky.
Night fell quietly, and Gotham's sky turned dark and gloomy.
That was Gotham's base color, also the color of the Bat.
But...
"Perhaps soon, there will be significant changes in the underworld power structure of Gotham. Although it won't change drastically, if we invest now, we should make a big profit. At least I'm sure we won't lose."
The Penguin glanced at the time on his watch, then got into the luxurious car parked nearby.
"Let's go, Bob. It's time to go talk business with Maroni. We can't waste precious time that could make us money."
"Yes, BOSS."