Chapter 389 - 389: New Advertising Space

"Huh? Don't do this! I'm a cop! Help! Somebody save me!"

Several miserable screams echoed through the air, accompanied by the crisp sound of bones breaking.

The pitiful cries lingered beneath the night sky.

But such things were hardly unusual in Gotham City, and no one had any interest in finding out exactly what had happened.

All that remained was Constantine, lying broken among a pile of garbage and sighing hopelessly.

"Help... somebody save me... What rotten luck, running into someone that terrifying... I should've known better than to use magic. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten beaten this badly if I hadn't... Ow!"

After finishing with Constantine, Wonder Woman cheerfully leaped back onto the rooftops.

For some inexplicable reason, she was in an excellent mood.

It reminded her of the beginning of World War I, when she had charged at the front lines through a hail of German machine-gun fire.

"That was a wonderful fight, wasn't it?"

Princess Diana tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Wait... what did I come out here to do tonight?"

She thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm... Forget it. It's rare that I get to come out like this. I might as well explore Gotham City. Maybe I'll find a few more thieves to teach a lesson—and get into a few more fights while I'm at it!"

Humming an obscure little tune, she disappeared into the hazy night.

Karl, completely unaware that he had just dodged a bullet, was still busy working in his office.

At this point, all he needed was to secure an agreement with an advertising company, and the casting call for the Batman television series could officially be announced.

Unfortunately, almost every television station had rejected him.

None of them were willing to run advertisements for him on their channels.

Perhaps this was simply the price Karl had to pay for refusing to compromise and becoming a target for attacks from every direction.

In a sense, members of the Court of Owls stood behind a large portion of Gotham City's industries.

Karl might already be famous on both sides of the law, but these media tycoons still did not consider him one of their own. With the Court of Owls behind them, perhaps they simply did not feel the need to fear him.

"Karl! What are we going to do about the advertising?"

Edward Nygma spoke anxiously.

"The auditions are about to begin. If we don't advertise them, no one might even show up!"

Nygma had recently bought himself a seaside villa and was currently worried about whether he had enough money to keep paying for it.

Naturally, the profitability of ABC Television was now directly tied to the continued survival of his luxurious lifestyle.

Hearing him, Karl smiled calmly.

"This is nothing to worry about. If those people refuse to run my advertisements, then I'll simply advertise somewhere else."

He leaned back.

"The Gotham City Police Department has more than a dozen blimps patrolling the city every night to maintain public order. I've already spoken with Bullock. From now on, those police blimps will carry our advertising banners."

Karl smiled.

"That should be enough to make sure every person in Gotham sees our ads the moment they look up."

Everyone immediately relaxed when they heard that Karl had actually secured access to the police department's patrol blimps.

The television consortium had not gone so far as to pull their station off the air, but its advertising restrictions were extremely strict. Essentially, none of its affiliated stations were willing to broadcast news about the talent show.

If they could actually advertise from the police blimps, it would go a long way toward solving their immediate problem.

"But won't that attract unnecessary criticism?"

The Riddler frowned.

"This is only the second time I've ever heard of someone advertising through a police department..."

Karl waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't worry. The police blimps are under Bullock's control, and he owes me a favor. Besides, it's not like I'm refusing to pay him."

He spoke casually.

"We'll get what we need."

There was also another reason Karl had not bothered mentioning.

Bullock's partner, Gordon, had already been taken off the job by Harvey Dent and was currently sitting at home with nothing to do.

Bullock was furious about that.

Naturally, he would never pass up an opportunity to make Dent's life more difficult.

Back when Commissioner Loeb was still in office, the Mayor's Office had been unable to fully fund the police department.

Loeb therefore negotiated with the previous mayor and obtained permission for the department to conduct legitimate commercial activities, provided nothing they did violated the law.

That old arrangement was precisely the loophole Karl was now using.

As long as Bullock did not pocket the advertising money himself, even if Harvey Dent wanted to use the matter against him, there would be very little he could actually do.

He would simply have to swallow his anger.

Incidentally, even though Harvey Dent had become police commissioner, his position gave him surprisingly little actual leverage.

Karl had burned all the compromising files that had once been used to control Gotham's police officers.

As a result, insubordination had become commonplace.

The powerful figures running the various precincts barely acknowledged Dent's authority, leaving him sitting alone in the commissioner's chair like little more than an isolated figurehead.

Karl secured the new advertising placements with almost no difficulty.

Everyone was greatly encouraged by this success and immediately began proposing more ideas for promoting their television network.

They could place advertisements at bus stops.

They could distribute promotional flyers at stadiums.

There were countless possibilities.

...

At that moment, someone suddenly shouted,

"Something happened!"

Karl immediately frowned.

He had been distracted all day, and he had already suspected that an enemy might come looking for trouble, so he had deliberately taken several precautions.

After all, Karl possessed Grand Prophecy.

Although it was a passive ability, whenever he developed a strong premonition, it almost always came true.

So the moment he heard someone shouting that something had happened, Karl immediately became tense.

He hurried outside, expecting to find an enemy at the door.

But when he got closer, he discovered that there was no danger at all.

There was only a television playing a program, with a group of employees gathered around it.

"Isn't that Bruce Wayne?"

Someone pointed at one of the guests on the television.

"I heard he was secretly meeting a Russian ballerina near the Bering Sea and broke his leg during a storm. I didn't expect him to show up again this quickly—and looking perfectly fine!"

A radiant Bruce Wayne appeared on the television screen.

He did not even need a cane.

Instead, he sat there comfortably as usual, laughing and chatting with the beautiful female host.

"Huh?"

One of the employees looked confused.

"Doesn't this guy almost never appear on serious talk shows? Why would he suddenly make a public appearance today?"

Another employee immediately began explaining the situation to his colleagues.

(End of Chapter)

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