Chapter 81 – Leo: “A mere 100x profit? I don’t even care.”

"Before you head out, we've got a few real things to talk about."

Bruce brought everyone into the lounge and set the pneumatic injector on the table.

"You got more of these? I'll buy a few more."

"Doing business? Always!"

Now that Batman had seen his storage ability, Leo didn't bother pretending. With a casual flourish, two different-colored items appeared in his hands:

"Left one's the RevitaHeal Injector, right one's the PulmoBoost Inhaler. Three dosages each, based on active drug concentration—$50,000 apiece, take your pick!"

"Impossible. That's way too expensive."

Bruce's deadpan reply wiped the smile right off Leo's face.

"How is that expensive? These are universal treatment drugs from a hyper-tech civilization. You don't have anything remotely close in this world. And I sold them at this price a few days ago—"

Bruce silently rotated the bottle and pointed to a tiny line of text:

"You read English, don't you? Read that."

[Suggested Retail Price: €90]

Leo blinked and reread it silently. His eyes began to wander.

"Well, uh… see, this is from my world, and I only brought a few because storage space is limited. Rare things are expensive, you know?"

Leslie's eyes sparkled as she stared at the medicine, but Bruce wasn't soft-hearted.

"$10,000 each. Even factoring in currency exchange, you're making at least a hundred times profit. Don't get greedy."

Leo gritted his teeth.

A hundred times profit? Did Bruce think that would rattle him?

Please—don't underestimate a real profiteer.

"Deal! How many do you want?"

When you're broke, your pride's cheap. Besides, better to be generous—for now.

"How many do you have?"

Ah. That look of contemplation—another test.

Bruce's brain was always on. Tirelessly.

"Told you. Not many. I still need some for myself. I'll sell you three of each type. Next time, I'll bring more."

18 units sold. $180,000 earned. Win-win.

Leo's safety cushion thickened.

Bruce was satisfied too. Whether it was $180,000 or $18,000,000—it was just a number. What interested him was the tech.

Reverse-engineering the formula would be tough. But analyzing this could give insight into a whole other world's medical knowledge—priceless.

However, when he saw the other versions were listed at €30 and €45, Bruce thought:

"Honestly, this guy belongs hanging from a lamppost."

"Any more of those med kits?"

"None right now. If I leave Gotham in one piece, I'll gift you one before I go."

Bruce didn't push the issue. Instead, he changed the subject.

"You've got storage space. I assume you brought food and water too? Judging from your reaction to our meals, your world's resources must be lacking. Sell me your rations. You can hit the supermarket for something better."

Leo peeked into his inventory. The corner was full of instant meals and synthetic food—all junk, basically.

He'd originally planned to toss it all when he got back. Who knew someone actually wanted this crap?

But the packaging might leak too much info. Selling this stuff could be risky.

[PureWhite, is it safe to sell?]

[Yes. Batman's too smart. He'll figure out where you're from eventually. I've reviewed DC Universe archives—cross-universal travel is rare. Your Singularity Space offers protection. Telling a trustworthy Justice-type hero small pieces of info is acceptable.]

Leo thought about it. Yeah, Batman didn't care about anything beyond Gotham.

He probably wouldn't set foot in Night City even if invited.

Fine. Let's sell.

Leo walked to an open area and stretched out his hand.

In an instant, a mountain of colorful junk food cascaded to the floor like trash.

He dumped a month's worth of rations and water without hesitation.

Bruce hurried over, frowning hard.

"Didn't you say your storage was limited? If I'd known it was this much, I'd have brought a container. These aren't stable. Food can grow bacteria. Are these safe?"

Leo recalled the "sterilization" feature of his Singularity Space and lied.

"Already decontaminated."

Bruce still looked concerned. He fetched a trolley and carted everything to the lab quarantine chamber.

When it came to price, Leo took the base cost, multiplied by 100, and rounded it down—$200,000.

Bruce paid without blinking.

Doing business with the rich? Bliss. No bargaining—just cash.

Now came the main event: the Home Surveillance System.

They returned to the sofa. Only Alfred remained.

Bruce assumed his usual business negotiation pose.

"I've reviewed it. I'm buying. What's your offer?"

"We partner up. You know—eat well once, or eat forever. I'd rather eat forever."

Leo's expression turned serious.

"There's a saying from where I'm from: 'No property, no commitment.' I want to build a legit business here in Gotham. Legal operations. Win-win."

"Go on."

"I provide the tech. You fund the operation. I only handle R&D and system maintenance. You, as the majority stakeholder, handle everything else. Perfect for both of us—and it keeps you in control. Sincere, right?"

Leo and PureWhite had already discussed this.

Truthfully, they could just hand Bruce the tech.

But what they needed was a legal excuse to build an internet data center (IDC).

The IDC would serve as PureWhite's external processing server, assisting with decoding the Singularity Space—the real goal.

Bruce thought it over, then nodded.

"Partnership's doable. Got a business plan?"

Leo almost blurted out:

What's that?

Bruce got the picture.
This guy was completely clueless when it came to business.

Which was actually good. For something tied to city security, Bruce couldn't let others handle it anyway.

"Alright, whatever. You got nothing. How much startup capital are you thinking?"

"Ten billion?"

Leo said it timidly—figuring it was too much, but hey… maybe Gotham's richest man wouldn't care?

Spoiler: He cared.

"I've got money. But I'm not stupid."

And with that, Bruce stood up and left.

Leo was stunned.

Wait, what!?

Highballing the price, then negotiating down—that's normal, right?

Why's he walking away like I offended his soul!?

"Wait—what are you doing!?"

"I don't handle trivial matters like this. I just needed to know your intent. My staff will take over."

Bruce didn't even look back.

Leo was left confused and speechless.

Starting a company is a 'trivial matter'?

So this is… what real wealth looks like…