"Ah… it's time to part again."
Zatanna had just received a message from her father, Zatara, telling her to return home and continue her training in backward magic.
This time, however, Zatanna hadn't secretly escaped on her own. Instead, Zatara had simply turned a blind eye and let her go. By now, he was almost permissive about it.
"Separation only makes the next reunion better."
Jin could only comfort her as much as he could. After all, he couldn't exactly fight with his future father-in-law.
"I'll miss you, Jin."
"Me too, Zatanna."
"Spell."
As the backward magic activated, a swirling white portal appeared behind Zatanna.
With a reluctant gaze, she slowly stepped backward until her entire body disappeared into the portal.
---
After passing through the portal, Zatanna returned to a Western-style house—her home.
Inside, Zatara was sitting on the sofa, holding a newspaper and calmly reading it without even looking at her.
"You're back," he said casually. "How was your evening with your boyfriend?"
If you hadn't interrupted, we would've already reached the final step, Zatanna thought to herself while pouting slightly.
Afterward, she briefly told her father about how she and Jin had spent the evening together.
But when Zatara heard that Jin had learned backward magic in just one hour, he couldn't help but frown.
He had never seen—or even heard of—someone mastering it that quickly.
"Next time you have the chance," Zatara said calmly, "bring him home for dinner."
Zatanna's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
She knew what that meant.
Her father had finally started taking an interest in Jin. As long as Jin could pass her father's test, she believed the day of their marriage might not be too far away.
Zatanna couldn't help but start fantasizing.
Zatara naturally noticed what his daughter was thinking. He shook his head helplessly, feeling a slight headache over his daughter's overly romantic imagination.
At home, worried that she might feel bored, he brought back novels and other books for entertainment.
But ever since then, Zatanna would sit by the window every day, holding a book while staring outside with a blushing face.
Zatara could only sigh inwardly and apologize to his late wife.
It seems I've spoiled our daughter a little too much.
---
Meanwhile, in Gotham City…
Jin stared at the portal until it completely disappeared before finally turning around to leave.
As he walked back toward his apartment, he couldn't help but think about something.
When he first arrived in the DC world and came to Gotham, he triggered the system's check-in reward for the first time.
Now, more than ten years later, he had triggered it again—this time through Zatanna.
From what he could tell, the system's check-ins seemed to activate only with important locations or famous characters.
"What exactly are the conditions?" Jin muttered while frowning.
Two or three minutes later, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Maybe the key factor was representative figures of each city.
For example, Superman in Metropolis and The Flash in Central City had not officially appeared yet.
That might be why the system hadn't triggered there.
As for why Gotham had worked before…
Perhaps it was because Bruce Wayne's destiny had already begun the moment his parents died in Crime Alley.
"It seems I've roughly figured out the rules."
Jin's mood improved instantly.
Now he began thinking about how he could eventually trigger a check-in with Bruce Wayne—also known as Batman.
However, as Jin walked through a dark alley, he suddenly heard voices coming from inside.
"Hand over your money, chick."
"O-Okay, sir… please calm down. I'll give you the money."
It was clearly a robbery.
And considering the victim was a woman, it could easily turn into something even worse.
Jin glanced around.
It wasn't that no one heard what was happening.
People nearby simply chose to ignore it.
After all, no one knew whether the criminal inside had a weapon.
Typical Gotham, Jin thought sarcastically.
"Ugh… what a hassle."
Under the silent gazes of passersby who looked at him like he was some kind of brave volunteer, Jin walked into the dark alley.
"Hey, idiot! Get lost!"
The thug immediately became irritated when he saw Jin approaching.
He turned around with a vicious expression—only to see Jin standing there, a full head taller than him.
Instinctively, the thug took a small step back.
But then he quickly remembered he still had a knife and a gun.
If he backed down now, wouldn't that be embarrassing for a Gotham criminal?
"Kid, are you stupid or what?" the thug sneered. "Trying to play the hero and save the beauty?"
As he spoke, he deliberately waved the dagger in his hand in front of Jin, trying to intimidate him.
"Wait! He's my brother. He's not very stable mentally."
The blonde woman who was being robbed suddenly stepped forward nervously and stood beside Jin as she spoke to the thug.
While saying that, she secretly tugged at Jin's sleeve, signaling for him to play along.
But Jin remained completely expressionless.
The woman became even more anxious and whispered to him quietly,
"He doesn't just have a knife… he also has a gun."
Jin glanced briefly at the blonde woman.
Then—
He suddenly grabbed the thug's wrist that was holding the dagger and twisted it violently.
Crack!
A crisp sound echoed through the alley.
The thug's wrist was instantly twisted out of place.
"AAAAAAAH!"
The intense pain caused the thug to drop to his knees while screaming.
He immediately began begging for mercy.
But Jin knew better.
The begging was fake.
Reaching for the gun was real.
"Go to hell!"
The thug suddenly tried to pull out his gun.
But Jin reacted instantly.
With a powerful side kick, he sent the thug flying sideways into the wall.
The thug slammed into it and then collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"Oh my God…"
The blonde woman stared at the scene in shock.
She hadn't expected Jin to be this good at fighting.
Jin turned around and finally looked at the woman he had just saved.
She wore a white coat like a doctor's.
Her beautiful blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, and she wore gold-rimmed glasses that gave her a gentle and intelligent appearance.
Her face was naturally beautiful—far more pleasant than the artificial "internet celebrity" faces that were popular these days.
Then Jin noticed the name badge on her white coat.
On it was a very familiar name.
Harleen Quinzel.
Some people might not recognize that name.
But they would definitely recognize the name she would later take—
Harley Quinn.
The famous Clown Girl.
Without hesitation, Jin suddenly grabbed Harleen's wrist.
The sudden action startled her.
For a moment, she even suspected that Jin might have bad intentions toward her.
If not for the calm expression on his face, she might have slapped him already.
Meanwhile, Jin was thinking something else entirely.
In his mind, the system probably only allowed check-ins once a character had reached their full potential.
For example, the Flash would only count after obtaining the Speed Force.
And Harleen…
She would only qualify once she became Harley Quinn.
Only then would he be able to check in with her.