The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman

The early spring in Gotham is not as gentle as in the wilderness. In this season when all things grow, the wind is still howling here every night.

However, the sound of the wind coming from the window could not cover the sound of the blazing fireplace flames. Merkel, who was chilling, put the firewood she had just brought from the warehouse into the fireplace again.

The flame made his shadow very long. In the hall where the lights were not turned on, the outline of every piece of furniture was faintly visible in the light and shadow of the flame.

The sound of footsteps came from the stairs, and Merkel got up and turned around. He walked quickly to Schiller who had just come downstairs, and took a coat from the hanger next to him. After Schiller put on the coat, he picked up a black umbrella from the umbrella stand. Umbrella.

Merkel glanced down at her watch and said, Sir, the opera doesn't start until nine o'clock tonight. Do you have an appointment with someone else?

That's right, someone invited me to the restaurant next to the Grand Theater for dinner. He called the school directly to find me, so you don't know. Schiller adjusted his tie in the mirror, and Merkel picked it up. Duster, to dust off the dust from the corner of his clothes, he said: It seems that this is a modernist gentleman who invited you to dinner and actually called the school directly.

Yes, after all, this year is 1990, the new year has a new atmosphere, and many old orders should be withdrawn.

After finishing speaking, Schiller walked out from the gate and boarded the car that he had reserved in advance. Through the window glass, he could see the unusually bustling road along the road. The West End Manor District, which had declined, had become brightly lit again.

After the development of Gotham's logistics business is getting better and better, the corresponding supporting service facilities are also constantly developing. The catering business in the East District is extremely hot, especially those local restaurants that are small, even slightly poor and dilapidated. A favorite of dock workers and truck drivers.

Every restaurant near the logistics gathering area will have the following characteristics. The materials used may not be the best, but the quantity must be large enough. Word of mouth among the group, then there is absolutely no need to worry about business.

While Schiller was in the car, heading to a restaurant near the Grand Theater for an appointment, Coppert was also in the car, traveling from the North District to the East District to prepare for the opening of the Bingshan Restaurant.

Before deciding to open a restaurant, he did a lot of research, so he chose the East Side location.

The vast majority of restaurants here conform to the guidelines mentioned before. Sitting in the car and looking out the window, the roads here are still a bit broken. Compared with the re-prosperous West End, there is no luxurious Goth here. There is no Chinese-style door, no cursive characters, no restaurant signs written in French, and no waiters in suits and leather shoes whose reflections are brighter than lamps.

Cobblepot saw that all the restaurants here did not have any decent facades. Most of them were remodeled on the first floor of residential houses. There was a small round window for delivering food and a wooden door with an awning on top of the wooden door. , there is a sign hanging next to the awning, which says what exactly is sold here.

French lamb chops and Italian desserts are not popular here at all. As the vehicle slowly advances, it enters the commercial street with the most traffic. The most popular restaurant there is called Anderson Old Street Steakhouse.

The steak here is not the kind of high-end steak that is placed on a delicate porcelain plate. After being cut, it is slightly red and still oozes juice. Cobbot, who has investigated the purchaser and purchase channel, knows best, that old bastard Anderson He was reluctant to buy good beef, he would only buy the cheapest one.

The steaks here are not authentic. The most famous dish here is called Old Street Secret Steak, which is poured on the steak with a large bowl of chili sauce. The secret chili sauce is the capital of Anderson's life here.

There are less than ten tables in the small steakhouse, and they are all full of people at the moment, and many people are squatting outside the door to eat.

Gotham is wet and cold all year round, and the spicy food here is very popular. Coppert took advantage of this and found a Mexican to make chili sauce for him. Carbon water, the bigger and thicker the steak, the better. It would be even better if you can dip it in bread with some juice.

Copperpot recalled his restaurant menu, and he certainly hadn't forgotten to put a large thick-cut steak with bread at the top of the main course.

The moment the car whizzed past, the jingle bell bell rang, and Cobblepot looked out the window on the right side, a dozen children surrounded a bakery, some were carrying boxes, some were packing Bread, and milk was counted.

Coppert also did this kind of work for a while, when his mother was just hospitalized in a mental hospital. Of course, he went to deliver bread and milk, not just to make money, but more importantly, to find out the behavior of these hawkers. Movement tracking.

There is a huge ambition in his heart, he hopes that these children can be used by him, and in the end he did, and now he is the veritable king of children in Gotham.

It sounds like this is not a very powerful title, but everyone in Gotham knows that a person with this title will definitely have a place in Gotham's upper class, and the foundation is stronger than anyone else.

In the process of the development of the logistics industry, it is not that it has experienced setbacks. The previous snowstorm hit Gotham's newly developed industry head-on, but it made Gotham's children's gang develop better and better.

The door was blocked by heavy snow, the weather was freezing, and the roads were congested, making it impossible to go out to work. Everyone stayed at home, so what about food, drink and firewood?

Most people will not choose to buy by themselves. On the one hand, they don’t know which store has the goods. If they walk there with so much effort against the cold wind, but are told that the goods are sold out, it is not a waste of time. ?

On the other hand, in a city full of gangsters, a strong adult walking around other people's territory at will is easy to get shot.

But the children don’t have to worry about this. They are here to do this. They know which bakery has stock, where to get the freshest warm milk, spiced beer, and where to buy daily necessities.

The gangsters don't care about these kids, and they don't see them breaking into the territory as a provocation, and they know too many small roads, especially the underpass, as long as they pay a little errand fee, newspapers, bread, milk, beer, everything have.

It took Coppert a short time to figure out their context, and because the former King of Children was involved in Constantine's matter, he has now been sacrificed to the devil.

After that, the gang of several children fought very hard, just to compete for the throne of the king of children. At the beginning, Cobbot, who came out halfway, was questioned by many people.

However, Penguin's ambition and wisdom are unquestionable. He can successfully sit on the throne of the King of Children not only by violence, but more importantly, he can bring everyone together to make money.

No child has his strength. He can coordinate all the children in Gotham, rearrange suitable positions and the most efficient routes for them, so that their daily income can be doubled, and there will be no conflicts due to robbing customers. .

The bakery in the East District will sell milk part-time. Every morning, fresh milk will be sent to the bakery from a pasture outside the city. Children can directly buy bread and milk here. According to different customer groups, they may also go to a tobacco shop Buy cigarettes and beer from the bar, and go to the newsstand to buy a newspaper by the way.

Coppert set these things into different packages. If someone only buys bread and milk, the hawkers will recommend adding a newspaper to them. If someone buys cigarettes and beer often, the hawkers will recommend him breakfast. combo.

During the snowstorm before, they were trapped at home, so they had no choice but to drive these children to go shopping, but after they got used to it, they found it really convenient.

Before getting up every morning, hot milk and steaming bread are already waiting outside the door. When you want to drink every evening, you can have a drink without going to the bar.

After a few months like this, the vast majority of Gotham citizens have bought the full package,

For a family of three in an ordinary family in the East District, for breakfast, they will order a pound of ordinary white bread, a bottle of milk, and those with better family conditions will add two slices of bacon and ham, plus a newspaper.

As for those who like to buy cigarettes and alcohol, they usually order the day before and deliver it the next day, and the same is true for daily necessities.

Although the East End is a slum, because Gotham's overall economic level is good and the supplies are relatively abundant, the people here are not so poor that they go hungry for nine meals in three days. The biggest problem in Gotham's slums is that the living conditions are very poor, and water and electricity are often cut off. Plus diseases caused by poor hygiene.

The transformation of the slums of the Living Hell is going very smoothly, and now it has reached the third phase. The entire periphery of the Living Hell has been completely remodeled, but when it is implemented to further places, it encounters great resistance.

The living conditions and sanitation conditions in the Living Hell have become unbearable, but other places are not so serious, and because people are not starved to death, many people are not so eager to improve the living environment, and many people even feel that it should remain the same just fine.

A local who has lived here since he was a child, has never studied, and has almost no contact with other places, has no urgent need to improve his life. After all, life is not impossible.

They are very envious of those gentlemen who live in the manor and go to theaters and high-end restaurants every day. They occasionally have such dreams, but this does not mean that they are willing to let people change their houses into a mess.

The living habits of this generation have been formed, and they have no higher pursuits, as long as they have enough food and the house is not leaking, so in the end, the problem went around and went back to education.

If they want to accept the change from the bottom of their hearts, they must raise the level of education and make them realize that this kind of living environment and sanitary conditions are abnormal, but the possibility of this generation starting education from scratch is very low, so in the end , still have to start with the child.

This is why the godfather allowed Cobbot to change the originally luxurious mansion into an ordinary restaurant. This will let the children here see that another society is different from the environment they live in, and they must have the desire to move forward. The motivation to climb is the motivation to receive education.

Coppert arrived at the Bingshan restaurant by car. At this time, the children who had changed into waiter uniforms were standing in a row, listening to a waiter explaining the job requirements to them.

First of all, I want to teach you to clean. I don't know if you have done such a job, but it is very simple. Everyone is divided into three groups, one group is responsible for dry cleaning, one group is responsible for wet cleaning, and the remaining group is responsible for changing Water, what you have to do is to wipe the ground, tables and chairs here...

The ones with the stronger strength go to the water change group, and the weakest ones go to the cleaning group. You, yes, it's you. Has your fever gone? The waiter called out the thinnest boy among them, and he stretched out his hand to touch the water group. He touched the little boy's head and said, No, your fever hasn't subsided, go back and take another medicine, and then go to lie down.

But who knows, the little boy tremblingly said: I can work... I am not sick, I can mop the floor, I have done it before...

Yeah, if you take a rag and put it in cold water to wash, then you will die tonight, do you expect me to get up in the middle of the night and throw your body into the trash can? Coppert walked forward quickly One side said: If you are all dead like this, who will do the work?

The waiter urged the little boy, Go, if you are well tomorrow, we will call you.

The little boy sniffed, the fear on his face subsided a little, he nodded, and walked on.

After the rest of the children started working, Copperpot discovered that they couldn't work at all, not even the simplest mopping.

The oldest of these children is only seven or eight years old, and they are extremely thin due to long-term malnutrition. They can hardly do any physical work, but in fact, the scope of erasure is not large. With the cooperation of nine children, it should have been done quickly. .

But they didn't know how to wipe the floor. They didn't wipe the floor backwards, but wiped forward. As soon as they wiped the floor, they were trampled and dirty again. The two of them cooperated to wipe a chair, and the surface of the chair was wiped off. The legs were not wiped at all.

Cobblepot stood there and watched for a while. He was not angry, but turned to the waiter and said, Is Mrs. George there? Let her come over and teach them how to work. Apart from mopping the floor, they You also have to learn how to boil water, serve dishes, shine shoes, carry luggage, collect umbrellas, etc...

The waiter shook his head and said, It's okay to wipe the floor and serve dishes, but other tasks require a lot of strength. Maybe we should try to see if they can do it...

It's not that I haven't hired professional waiters like you. Tomorrow, they will come to report. One person will take care of two children. Let them help out first. If they can't do this job, let them deliver newspapers.

After Cobbot finished speaking, he turned around and went upstairs without any further arrangements. His attention was never completely on these children, as if he didn't care about them at all, but those children saw him like this. attitude, but heaved a sigh of relief.

Because they knew that if Cobbot put all his energy on them like his original parents, it meant that he would definitely want to get back ten times and a hundred times the reward from them.

If Coppert didn't care much about them, how well they worked and how much money they made, it meant that he was actually rich and didn't need to squeeze them to make money.

After arriving upstairs, Coppert stood on the balcony of the mansion building, where he could see the lights of the pier. Although it had started to rain, the pier was still full of traffic. Countless goods were moved from the cargo ship to the truck. In storage in cold storage.

It won't take long for these goods to be taken out of the cold storage, put on other cars, and sent to various parts of the East Coast.

Gotham has now become the largest distribution center for cold chain transportation on the east coast. The natural cold storage covering the entire Gotham underground has become the trump card for the sustainable industry of this megacity to turn around.

The cold chain industry can be used as the economic pillar of a city. Generally speaking, the cold chain industry in coastal cities does not exist in isolation, and most of them also cooperate with fishery, light processing industry and tourism.

Such supporting industries may not necessarily make the city a first-tier city, but it can indeed become the basis for economic development.

The problem is that Gotham has no way to develop fishery, light processing industry and tourism, and the cold chain industry alone cannot replace those unsustainable gray or even black industries.

It's indeed much better now. Gordon put down the fork in his hand and wiped his mouth. For the security of a city, the most terrible thing is that there are vagrants everywhere, but on the contrary, if everyone has If you do your job, the chances of committing a crime are much smaller.”

Working consumes physical strength. Under the condition of exhausting physical strength, the gangster fire will bleed and get injured. Working can make money. Fire may expand your territory, but the income may not be as much as working, so why don't you work? What? Schiller said, cutting the steak on the plate.

That's right, that's it. The bosses of the gangsters I often deal with say that. The people below are too busy to hold guns. He said that if I drive a police car along the entire street, I may not touch them. The last person who would shoot me was unimaginable before. Gordon said with a sigh.

Holding the wine glass, he leaned back on the chair and said, But the most important issue now is the children's education.

There are 23 community elementary schools in Gotham, which may sound like a lot, but for a megacity on the east coast, this number is pitifully small, even if it is not compared with the metropolis, it is only compared with Brudhaven, Brud Haven is one-fifth the size of Gotham, but they have 16 elementary schools.

It's actually against the law, but because the previous mayor was so weak, no changes were made at all.

There are even fewer middle schools, and there is only one university. This kind of educational conditions, even in the west, can be said to be pitifully weak.

Schiller lightly tapped the table with his fingertips and asked, Do you think there are fewer schools because people in Gotham are unwilling to receive education, or is it because people in Gotham are unwilling to receive education because there are fewer schools?

Gordon froze for a moment and said: I think it's the former, because I saw in the file that there were originally more than forty schools in Gotham City, but later, many schools were closed for various reasons. The reasons account for the vast majority.

Schiller shook his head and said, I think it's the latter.

Want to hear more, said Gordon.

Some time ago, I read the book The History of Urban Construction on the East Coast. No.

Churches and private primary schools have monopolized the education here, which has led to the loss of education opportunities for the vast majority of citizens. Church primary schools only allow a very small number of citizens to enroll, and privately funded private primary schools are only for the children of the rich. open.

Later, the law and order in Gotham City began to get worse and worse. Some rich people left here, their investment was interrupted, and the school was abandoned. Later, the church also stopped paying attention to this evil place. Now, it is still open Primary schools are either invested by the Twelve Family or the Wayne Family.

No matter in terms of quantity or quality, it is impossible to support the educational requirements of such a large city. Over time, the vast majority of Gotham citizens are limited by their education level and cannot engage in technical jobs.

Gordon fell into deep thought. He said, I haven't really paid attention to this issue, but why didn't there be a public elementary school when Gotham was built? Doesn't the state assembly care?

Schiller shook his head. Lucifer erased the existence of the Court of Owls before, but Gotham has not changed for the better, which means that the setting of Gotham as a city of sin may be the basic rule of the DC universe, the Court of Owls It has been erased, and there may be other forces.

In short, someone must have artificially interfered with the development of Gotham's education, otherwise there would not be a city in the United States at the end of the 20th century, and most of the people did not even go to elementary school.

If you want to improve the education level of citizens, you have to run primary schools. If you want to run primary schools, you have to be rich. If you want to be rich, you have to develop new industries. If you want to develop new industries, you have to improve the education level of citizens. This is a dead cycle. ’” Gordon said, putting his hand to his forehead, “But if you let corporations and gangsters get involved in building schools, it’s not going to work.”

The gangsters have spontaneously started to set up schools. Schiller put a piece of shrimp steak into his mouth and said: But they are destined not to develop systematic education. If there is a shortage of electricians, they will recruit people to learn electricians. If there is no security guard, they will recruit people to go there Security training, no one wants to teach grammar, numeracy, art and logic at the same time.

That's the problem. Schiller shook his head and said, They have no way of understanding what systematic education is teaching. They feel that it is very correct to learn what they don't know.

Actually, I also thought about this question before. Gordon touched his cheek and said: I used to think, I don't plan to be a musician, so why do I need to take music lessons? The work I do now doesn't require calculations, then Why should I learn arithmetic?

Again, the process of learning these things is actually helping people build a way of thinking, but it is difficult for you to explain these things to the gangsters. They hope to see the effect tomorrow.

Schiller tapped the plate lightly with a fork and said, I discussed this matter with Victor and Anna. We think that we can open a vocational high school and let all those who want to learn technology go there.

Learning technology can improve their living standards, enhance their horizons, understand the outside world, and realize the significance of systematic education. Then, they may let their children receive systematic education like people in other cities , which is a relatively conservative approach.”

Gordon nodded in agreement, but Schiller said: The problem is that this technical school must maintain its purity. We can't let this turn into a gang war.

Some gangsters hope that their subordinates will have more electricians, and some gangsters manage tap water. Naturally, they need talents in this area. Even the twelve families have their own priorities. They want the school to teach only this subject. Let them squeeze in more students, but you know, that's not going to happen.

Gordon sighed with some regret and said: In a city where no force can suppress gangsters, it is very difficult to confront them. The Gotham Police Department may be able to carry out some security work, but we certainly cannot deal with gangsters. Second family.

What if the Wayne family enters? Schiller asked.

But he doesn't need to do this at all. Gordon shook his head and said, Everyone knows that this must be a troublesome matter, which department recruits more people, which department recruits fewer people, how many people can be admitted by each family, How to distribute between the big gang and the small gang... This will cause a lot of conflicts.

And Gordon hesitated and said: I always feel that Bruce has not turned a corner. I don't know what he thinks. He seems to want to save this city and everyone here.

Schiller smiled and asked, Why do you ask such a question? Don't you think so?

Gordon shook his head helplessly and said: No, we are different. Batman wants to send all the patients to the hospital, all the criminals to the prison, and all the children to the school. He wants to keep everyone in the hospital. The place to stay, to create a perfect society.

I'm not saying this is wrong, but we all know that it's unrealistic. Maybe he knows it too. Maybe he thinks that if he can save one person in practice with such a high goal, it's at least a good thing.

Schiller looked at Gordon and asked, Who do you think Batman or Bruce can save Gotham?

If it was Batman who asked me this question, I would definitely say it was him. Gordon pursed his lips and said, I hope to give every good person the answer they want to hear, but because you are the one who asked this question, a Professor of Psychology, so I can only say that I prefer Bruce.

We all know that Bruce Wayne is a rich man. Rich people in this world do things much more simply, and the same is true when it comes to saving people.

Then you know why he doesn't want to do it? Schiller lowered his head to eat, and then asked: You know why, he would rather spend a lot of money to maintain that expensive ridiculous armor, and then go to fight with criminals Fist, saving people one by one, are you not willing to save this city as Bruce?

Gordon shook his head and said, That's what I can't figure out the most. It's spending money, why not spend it in more useful places?

Have you ever thought that someone might have done this, but it didn't work out, and it cost him so much that he's been resisting doing it, Schiller said.

But I don't think Batman is such a person who is easily swayed. Even if others fail, he will feel that he may not fail. He is quite aggressive and will not be swayed by others. Gordon said, spreading his hands .

What if this person is his parents?

Gordon fell silent.

A wealthy businessman, a generous philanthropist, and a kind-hearted rich man, these identities did not bring a good ending for his parents. The Wayne couple tried to save the city, but in the end, they died, and Bruce I’ve seen it all with my own eyes.”

If it was you, would you go this way again? Schiller looked at Gordon and asked.

Gordon was silent for a long time, and Schiller went on to say: We regard the soul of Bruce Wayne as the identity of a third person. He has two choices, either becoming Bruce Wayne or becoming Batman.

His rationality will definitely tell him that the path to becoming Bruce Wayne is much simpler, and there are too many resources at his disposal. If combined with his wisdom, he may really be able to save this city. City.

His reason will also tell him that the road to becoming Batman is too difficult. It sounds like a joke to save a sin city by fighting crime.

People seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. If anyone violates this innate instinct, it means that there must be a reason driving him to do so. Most of the time, this driving force comes from the heart.

At least in my observation... Schiller paused and said, He hates the identity of Bruce Wayne, he doesn't want to be Bruce Wayne.

He became Batman not because he wanted to be Batman, but because he didn't want to be Bruce Wayne, he didn't want to be like his parents, and he was terrified of it.

Schiller sighed softly and said: When he was Bruce Wayne, he was also doing charity non-stop. He spent a lot of money, but his purpose was not to save people, but to spend money. He Feels like Bruce Wayne can't save anyone, any more than his parents.

He has no hope for Bruce Wayne, because Bruce Wayne couldn't save anyone if he didn't save his parents.

Gordon looked at his plate and said: I feel very sorry for his tragic childhood, but if it continues like this, he may go to the other extreme.

His parents chose a good family and a peaceful life, they didn't use violence to deal with the city, but they fell under violence, and Batman is the opposite. If he chooses violence, he may not To have a family again.

Gordon showed a sad expression, and said: ...I am the same way. I really hope that he can realize this earlier, and maybe there is a chance of redemption.

He will.

After Schiller finished speaking, he turned his head and looked out of the window of the restaurant. The night was getting darker, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the manor buildings were looming in the rising rain and fog.

When the wind blows over the roofs of the manor area, you will feel the fear of those sharp Gothic spires, and when you blow into Wayne Manor through the warm windows, it doesn't become warm.

Now, you're going to sleep, go to sleep, understand? Don't stand here, don't look at me like this, lie on the bed, and fall asleep, is it hard? Bruce put his hands on the shoulders of an extremely thin little girl Said to her.

This little girl was one of the few children he took to the hospital before. The other children were already lying on the hospital bed for treatment, but she was the only one. No matter how Batman tried to persuade her, she would only cry and cry Barking, only fleeing and biting.

The little girl kept looking up at him, big eyes full of fear, but she didn't move at all, Bruce tried to hug her, she ran away, cornered her, she bit, couldn't speak, couldn't communicate , like a wild cat gone mad.

Bruce squatted in place, covered his eyes with his hands, and said, Then can you tell me, what do you want to do?

The little girl turned to look at the window. Bruce closed his eyes and said, It's raining outside, and you have a high fever. If you go out, you will die immediately. Why don't you understand?

Bruce felt that he had made it very clear, even Aisha could fully understand what he said, but this little girl just didn't seem to understand anything.

Bruce even had the illusion that she was deliberately against him, but when he calmed down, he felt that this was impossible. He didn't abuse her. Why did she do this?

Dick, Dick! Come here and look at her, I'll go find a book. Bruce called Dick and asked him to look at the little girl. He went to his study and brought a book related to child psychology.

This is his textbook, he didn't read it seriously before, but now he has to read it carefully.

After watching for a long time, Bruce found that this little girl should have stress trauma disorder, which is a disease that often occurs in abused children. a safe environment.

Bruce looked up and looked at Wayne Manor. He felt that there was no safer place in the world than here.

The hall is covered with warm-colored floors, and all the furniture is made of solid wood. The flames burning in the fireplace are very strong, bringing warmth, and the windows and doors are tightly sealed, so that no cold wind can blow in.

If it is not safe here, is it safer in those dark and cramped alleys?

Bruce felt that the consolation he had done was much more than what was written in the book. She kept asking, caring, and caring, but it was completely useless. Not only did she not respond, she also refused to take injections, take medicine, eat, or Drinking water, also showed aggressive behavior.

After tossing until midnight, Bruce felt that he was very tired. Fortunately, the little girl was also tired. Her physical strength could not last so long, so she just passed out. Fortunately, Alfred checked him and fed him. Some medicines, the fever has gradually subsided, and now I just need to rest.

Bruce leaned on the sofa and wiped his face. He felt drowsy, and at this moment, he heard the sound of da da da footsteps. Dick, who had already changed his pajamas, came down the stairs with Also holding a pillow.

In the dark hall, only the fire in the fireplace was lit, and the outlines of the furniture were clearly visible. Bruce had an illusion, as if the scene he had lived in for so many years was very strange.

What's wrong, Dick? Bruce asked mentally.

I just...I just want to ask, what happened to that little girl...she?

...she's sick. Bruce replied, It might make her a little grumpy, but she'll be fine soon, don't worry, go back to sleep.

Dick sighed, went to sit next to Bruce, he was next to Bruce, Bruce could even feel his body temperature, Dick turned his head, looked up to Bruce and said, I have something to say to you.

Go ahead. Bruce didn't look at him.

The fire from the fireplace shone on the two of them, and the light and shadow passed over their bodies. When two figures, one big and one small, sat side by side on the sofa, there was always a kind of warmth, like the scene of a father-son conversation engraved in human genes .

I think... that little girl might not really want to stay here. Dick hesitated and said, She might not like us very much.

Dick rubbed the pillow in his hand and said: Or, she is in pain, staying here makes her in pain, we shouldn't make her suffer, right?

Why does it make her miserable to be here? Bruce asked rhetorically.

If this place makes her suffer, should I send her back to the place she used to be? That broken shed with a piece of iron sheet randomly built between two alleys as a roof?

I don't know. Dick said, tilting his body the other way, I just think that if she's feeling bad, we should think about why she's feeling bad and try to make her feel as good as possible.

I'm trying to do that, Bruce said, raising his voice. He's on his meds and he's asleep now, which means there's progress.

But she passed out from exhaustion... Dick whispered, I just saw that she was frowning when she was sleeping...

Suddenly, there was a bang sound, which startled Dick. He saw that Bruce thumped the table with his hand, and he immediately stood up, standing one meter away from the tea table, and then looked at Bruce .

Suddenly, Bruce lowered his head, took a deep breath, and said, Go back to sleep, Dick... Go back to sleep.

Dick faced him, took two steps back, and turned and ran upstairs until he was out of the range of the light source. Bruce leaned on the sofa alone, listening to the night rain outside the window, and then fell asleep.

In the early morning of the next day, there was no Dick on the dining table. Alfred explained: Master Dick left very early today, he went to school.

Bruce nodded and didn't speak, but Dick didn't come back until the evening. Bruce asked Alfred, Can't you go home on Monday and Tuesday? Why didn't he come back?

Master Dick asked the newsboy to deliver a letter just now. The general content is that he is too busy with studies and needs to stay for a few days.

Bruce took the letter from Alfred, he saw the handwriting on it, but he couldn't recognize it, he remembered that the last time he saw Dick's workbook, the handwriting on it was still immature .

But now, the English on this letter has some swashbuckling style, which looks like a letter written by an adult. Bruce found that he had never paid attention to these changes.

And when Gotham started to rain again, he was still sitting on the sofa alone, accompanied by only the dark and heavy bells in the manor.

Before he fell asleep, he clenched his fists tightly, as if he had made a decision, but as he fell asleep, he relaxed his arms, and his fingertips trembled slightly with his breathing, as if playing the firelight of a fireplace .

On this cold night in Gotham 1990, all that can be seen are the fleeting lightning in the sky, and the cloud shadows hidden in the rain and fog in the distance under the light.

Gotham has gone through three years!

(In fact, Marvel is also three years)