Chapter 742 Gotham 1990

The early spring in Gotham is far from being as gentle as in the wilderness. In this season of growth, the cold wind still howls every night.

However, the sound of the wind outside the window cannot cover the sound of the blazing fireplace. Merkel, who was cold, put the firewood he had just taken from the warehouse back into the fireplace.

The flames made his shadow very long. In the hall without lights on, the outline of each piece of furniture was looming in the light and shadow of the flames.

Footsteps came from the stairs. Merkel stood up and looked back. He walked quickly to Schiller who had just come downstairs and took his coat from the hanger next to him. After Schiller put on his coat, he picked up a black umbrella from the umbrella stand.

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

"Yes, someone asked me to have dinner at the restaurant next to the Grand Theater. He called the school directly to find me, so you didn't know." Schiller adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. Merkel picked up the duster and dusted off the dust on the corner of his clothes. He said, "It seems that this is a modern gentleman. He asked you to have dinner and called the school directly."

"Yes, after all, this year is 1990. New Year, new atmosphere, many old orders should be retired."

After that, Schiller walked out of the gate and got on the car that he had arranged in advance. Through the car window, he could see that the road was extremely prosperous. The originally declining West District Manor District became brightly lit again.

After the logistics business in Gotham developed better and better, the corresponding supporting service facilities were also developing continuously. The catering business in the East District was extremely popular, especially those local restaurants with small stores, even slightly poor and shabby, which became the favorites of dock workers and truck drivers.

Every restaurant near a logistics cluster has these characteristics. The ingredients may not be the best, but the quantity must be large enough. If it has its own flavor and characteristics and can be spread by word of mouth among drivers, porters, construction workers and other groups, then there is absolutely no need to worry about business.

Just as Schiller was sitting in the car and heading to a restaurant near the Grand Theater to keep an appointment, Copperbot was also sitting in the car, going from the North District to the East District to prepare for the opening of the Iceberg Restaurant.

Before deciding to open a restaurant, he did a long investigation, so he chose the location in the East District.

Most of the restaurants here meet the criteria mentioned above. Sitting in the car and looking out the window, the roads here are still a bit shabby. Compared with the re-prosperous West District, there are no luxurious Gothic facades, no cursive letters, no restaurant signs written in French, and no waiters in suits and leather shoes whose reflections are brighter than lights.

Cobert saw that all the restaurants here had no decent facades. Most of them were renovated from the first floor of residential houses. There was a small round window for handing out food and a wooden door. There was an awning on the wooden door. Next to the awning was a sign that said what was sold here.

French lamb chops and Italian desserts were not popular here at all. As the vehicle slowly moved forward, it entered the commercial street with the most traffic. The most popular restaurant there was called "Anderson Old Street Steakhouse".

The steaks here were not the kind of high-end steaks that were placed on exquisite porcelain plates. After being cut, they were slightly red and oozing juice. Cobert, who had investigated the suppliers and supply channels, knew best that Anderson, the old bastard, was reluctant to buy good beef. He would only buy the cheapest one.

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

The small steakhouse has less than ten tables, all of which are now full of people, and many people are squatting outside the door to enjoy their meals.

Gotham is cold and damp all year round, and spicy food here is very popular. Cobblepot has taken advantage of this and found a Mexican to make chili sauce for him. At the same time, people who do physical labor always crave a lot of meat and carbohydrates. The bigger and thicker the steak, the better. If there is some juice to dip in bread, it will be even better.

Cobblepot recalled the menu of his restaurant. Of course, he did not forget to put a large thick-cut steak with bread as the first main course.

At the moment when the car whizzed past, the "dinglingling" car bell rang. Cobblepot looked out the right window and saw a dozen children outside a bakery. Some were moving boxes, some were packing bread, and some were counting milk.

Cobblepot also did this kind of work for a while, just when his mother was just admitted to a mental hospital. Of course, he went to deliver bread and milk not only to make money, but more importantly to find out the activities of these vendors.

He has a huge ambition in his heart. He hopes that these children can be used by him, and he did it in the end. Now he is the real king of children in Gotham.

It doesn't sound like a very impressive title, but the locals in Gotham know that the person with this title will definitely have a place in the upper class of Gotham, and his foundation will be more solid than anyone else.

In the process of logistics industry development, it is not without setbacks. The previous snowstorm dealt a heavy blow to the newly developed industry in Gotham, but it made the children of Gotham develop better and better.

The heavy snow blocked the door, the weather was cold and the roads were congested. It was impossible to go out to work. Everyone stayed at home. What about food, drink and firewood?

Most people would not choose to buy it by themselves. On the one hand, they don’t know which store has the goods. If they go there in the cold wind and go there with so much effort, but are told that the goods are sold out, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip?

On the other hand, in a city full of gangs, a strong adult who walks around in other people’s territory at will is easy to be shot.

But the children don’t have this worry. They are doing this originally. They know which bakery has stock and where to go to get the freshest warm milk, seasoning beer, and daily necessities.

The gangs would not care about these kids, nor would they regard their intrusion into their territory as a provocation. Moreover, they knew too many small roads, especially underground passages. As long as they paid a little errand fee, they could get newspapers, bread, milk, beer, and everything else.

Cobblepot figured out their connections in a short time, and because the previous child king was involved in Constantine's affairs, he has now been sacrificed to the devil.

Afterwards, several children fought very hard to compete for the throne of the child king. At the beginning, Cobblepot, who came out halfway, was questioned by many people.

However, the ambition and wisdom of the Penguin are unquestionable. He can successfully sit on the throne of the child king not only by violence, but more importantly, he can make money with everyone.

No child has such strength as him, who can coordinate all the children in Gotham, rearrange suitable positions and the most efficient routes for them, and make them double their daily income without conflicts due to snatching customers.

The bakery in the East District sells milk part-time. Every morning, fresh milk is delivered to the bakery from the ranch outside the city. Children can buy bread and milk directly here. Depending on the customer group, they may have to go to the tobacco shop and bar to buy cigarettes and beer, and then go to the newsstand to buy a newspaper.

Cobert has set these things into different packages. If someone only buys bread and milk, the vendors will recommend them to add a newspaper. If someone often buys cigarettes and beer, the vendors will recommend him a breakfast package.

During the previous snowstorm, they were trapped at home and had no choice but to drive these children to buy things, but after they formed a habit, they felt that this was indeed very convenient.

Every morning before getting up, hot milk and steaming bread are waiting outside the door. Every evening when you want to drink, you don’t have to go to the bar to have a drink.

After a few months, most of the citizens of Gotham had already bought the full set meal.

A family of three in the East District would order a pound of ordinary white bread and a bottle of milk for breakfast. Those with better conditions would also add two slices of bacon and ham, plus a newspaper.

As for those who like to buy cigarettes and alcohol, they usually order them the day before and they will be delivered the next day. The same goes for daily necessities.

Although the East District is a slum, because the overall economic level of Gotham is good and the materials are relatively abundant, the people here are not so poor that they have to go hungry for nine meals in three days. The biggest problem of the Gotham slums is that the living conditions are very poor, and there are frequent water and power outages, plus diseases caused by poor hygiene.

The slum renovation work in the Living Hell is going very smoothly. It has now reached the third phase, and the entire periphery of the Living Hell has been completely renovated. However, when it was implemented in more distant places, it encountered great resistance.

The living and sanitary conditions in the Living Hell have reached the point where it is unbearable, but other places are not so serious. Because it has not reached the point where people are starving to death, many people are not so eager to improve the living environment, and even many people think that it is better to keep it as it is.

A local who has lived here since childhood, has never been to school, and has almost no contact with outsiders, has no urgent need to improve his life. After all, life is not impossible.

They envy those old men who live in manors and go to theaters and high-end restaurants every day. They occasionally dream of such a dream, but this does not mean that they are willing to let their houses be messed up.

The living habits of this generation have been formed. They have no higher pursuits. As long as they have enough food and the house does not leak, it will be fine. So in the end, the problem goes back to education.

If you want them to accept the change from the bottom of their hearts, you must improve the level of education and let them realize that this living environment and sanitation are abnormal, but the possibility of educating this generation from scratch is very low, so in the end, you still have to start with the children.

This is also the reason why the Godfather allowed Cobert to change the original luxurious mansion into an ordinary restaurant. This will let the children here see another society different from their living environment. They must have the motivation to climb up before they have the motivation to receive education.

Cobert took a car to the Iceberg Restaurant. At this time, the children who had changed into waiter uniforms stood in a row and were listening to a waiter telling them the work requirements.

"First, I want to teach you how to clean. I don't know if you have done such a job, but it is actually 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 clean the floor, tables and chairs here..."

"People with stronger strength go to the water changing group, and the weakest go to the dry cleaning group. You, yes, you, have you gone down?" The waiter called out the thinnest little boy among them, and he reached out and touched the boy's head and said, "No, your fever has not gone down. Go back and take another pill, and then go lie down."

But who knows , the little boy trembled and said: "I can work... I'm not sick, I can mop the floor, I've done it before..."

"Yes, if you take the rag and put it in cold water to wash, 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?" Cobert walked up quickly and said, "If you all die like this, who will work?"

The waiter urged the little boy and said, "Go quickly, if you are better tomorrow, we will call you."

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

After the remaining children started working, Cobert found that they actually didn't know how to work at all, and couldn't even do the simplest mopping.

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

But they wiped the floor without any method. They did not wipe backwards, but wiped forward. As soon as they finished, the floor was dirty again because of footprints. Two people worked together to wipe a chair, and the seat was wiped shiny, but the chair legs were not wiped at all.

Cobert stood there and watched for a while. He was not angry, but turned to the waiter and said, "Is Mrs. George here? Ask her to come over and teach them how to work. In addition to mopping the floor, they also have to learn to boil water, serve dishes, polish shoes, carry luggage, collect umbrellas, and other waiter tasks..."

The waiter shook his head and said, "Mopping the floor and serving dishes are OK, 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. Each of them will take care of two children. Let them help first. If they really can't do this job, let them deliver newspapers."

After Cobert finished speaking, he turned and went upstairs without making any more arrangements. His attention was never completely on these children, as if he didn't care about them at all, but the children were relieved when they saw his attitude.

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

If Cobert doesn't care much about them, doesn't care how they work, and how much money they can make, it means that he is actually very rich and doesn't need to exploit them to make money.

After coming upstairs, Cobert stood on the balcony of the mansion building, where he could see the lights of the dock. Although it had rained lightly, the dock was still busy with countless goods being taken off cargo ships, onto trucks, and stored in cold storage.

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

Gotham has now become the largest cold chain transportation distribution center on the East Coast, covering the entire Gotham underground natural cold storage, and has become the killer of this megacity's sustainable industrial turnaround.

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

Such supporting industries may not necessarily make this city a first-tier city, but they can indeed become the foundation of economic development.

The problem is that Gotham has no way to develop fisheries, light processing 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 and said: "For the public security of a city, the most terrifying thing is that there are unemployed vagrants everywhere, but on the contrary, if everyone has a job, the probability of crime is much smaller."

"Working will consume physical strength. Gang fights will not only consume physical strength, but also bleed and get injured. Working can make money. Fights may expand their territory, but the income may not be as much as working, so why not work?" Schiller said while cutting the steak on the plate.

"Yes, that's it. The gang bosses I often deal with all say that the people under them are too busy to take guns. He said that if I drive a police car along the entire street, I may not encounter anyone who will shoot at me. This was unimaginable before." Gordon said with great emotion.

He held the wine glass, leaned back, and said in his chair: "But the most important problem now is the education of children."

"There are 23 community elementary schools in the whole Gotham. It may sound like a lot, but for a megacity on the East Coast, this number is pitifully small. Even if we don't compare it with Metropolis, but only with Blüdhaven, Blüdhaven's area is only one-fifth of Gotham, but they have 16 elementary schools."

"This is actually against the law, but because the mayor had no power before, no changes were made at all."

"There are even fewer middle schools, and there is only one university. This kind of education condition, even in the West, can be said to be pitifully weak."

Schiller gently tapped the table again and asked: "Do you think that there are fewer schools because Gotham people are unwilling to receive education, or because there are fewer schools, Gotham people are unwilling to receive education?

Gordon was stunned for a moment and said: "I think it is the former, because I saw in the files that Gotham City originally had more than 40 schools, but later, many schools were closed for various reasons, among which public security reasons accounted for the vast majority. "

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

"I'd like to hear more about it." Gordon said.

"Some time ago, I read the book "History of Urban Construction on the East Coast". The book mentioned the situation in Gotham. At first, all the schools in Gotham were established by the church or invested by wealthy families. There were almost no municipal elementary schools."

"The church and private elementary schools monopolized the education here, which led to the fact that most citizens lost the opportunity to receive education. Church elementary schools only allowed a very small number of citizens to enroll, and privately invested private elementary schools were only open to the children of the rich."

"Later, the public security in Gotham City began to deteriorate. Some rich people left here, and investment was interrupted, resulting in the abandonment of schools. Later, the church began to pay no attention to this sinful place. Now, the elementary schools that are still in operation are either invested by the twelve families or the Wayne family."

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

Gordon fell into deep thought. He said, "I haven't really paid attention to this issue, but why was there no public elementary school when Gotham was built? Didn't the state legislature care?"

Schiller shook his head. Lucifer had previously erased the existence of the Court of Owls, but Gotham did not get better. This means that the setting of Gotham as the City of Sin may be the basic rule of the DC universe. The Court of Owls was erased, and there may be other forces.

In short, someone must have intervened in the development of education in Gotham, otherwise there would not be a city in the United States in the late 20th century where most people had not even attended elementary school.

"If you want to improve the education level of citizens, you have to run elementary schools. If you want to run elementary schools, you have to have money. If you want to have money, 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 circle." Gordon covered his forehead with his hand and said, "But if companies and gangs are allowed to participate in school construction, it won't work."

"The gangs have already started to form schools spontaneously. "Schiller put a piece of shrimp into his mouth and said, "But they are destined not to develop systematic education. If they need electricians, they will recruit people to learn electricians. If they need security guards, they will recruit people to security training. No one wants to teach grammar, calculation, art and logical thinking at the same time."

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

"In fact, I have thought about this problem before." Gordon touched his cheek and said, "I used to think that I don't plan to be a musician, so why should I take music lessons? My current job doesn't require calculation, so why should I learn arithmetic?"

"Again, the process of learning these things is actually helping people establish a way of thinking, but it is difficult to explain these things to the gangs. They hope to see the results tomorrow."

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

"Learning technology can improve their living standards, broaden 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. This is a relatively conservative method."

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 gangs want more electricians under their command, and some gangs manage tap water, so they naturally need talents in this area. Even the twelve families have their own focuses. They want the school to teach only this course so that they can squeeze in more students, but you know, this is impossible."

Gordon sighed with some regret and said, "In a city where no force can suppress the gangs, it is very difficult to fight against them. The Gotham Police Department may be able to carry out some security work, but we certainly can't deal with the twelve families."

"What if the Wayne family enters?" Schiller asked.

"But he doesn't have 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 less people, how many people can each family squeeze in, how to allocate big gangs and small gangs... This will cause a lot of conflicts."

And Gordon hesitated and said, "I always feel that Bruce has not turned around. 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 patients to hospitals, all criminals to prison, and all children to schools. He wants everyone to stay where they should be, so as to create a perfect society."

"I'm not saying this is wrong, but we all know that this is unrealistic. Maybe he also knows that, maybe he thinks that with such a high goal to practice, it is at least a good thing to save one person."

Schiller looked at Gordon and asked, "What do you think Batman is? Batman and Bruce, who 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 it is you, a psychology professor, who asked this question, I can only say that I am more optimistic about Bruce."

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

"Then do you know why he is unwilling to do this?" Schiller lowered his head to eat, and then asked, "Do you know why he would rather spend a lot of money to maintain the ridiculously expensive armor, and then fight with criminals and save people one by one, rather than saving the city as Bruce?"

Gordon shook his head and said, "What I can't understand the most is this. It's the same money, why not spend it on more useful places?"

"Have you ever thought that someone may have done this before, but failed and paid a huge price, which led to him resisting doing these things." Schiller said.

"But I don't think Batman is such an easily shaken person. Even if others fail, he will feel that he may not fail. He is a very enterprising person who will not be shaken by others." Gordon spread his hands and said.

"What if this person is his parents?"

Gordon was silent.

"Rich businessmen, generous philanthropists, and wealthy people who are kind to others, these identities did not bring a good ending for his parents. The Waynes tried to save the city, but in the end, they died, and Bruce witnessed it all."

"If it were you, would you take this path again?" Schiller looked at Gordon and asked.

Gordon was silent for a long time, and Schiller continued: "We regard Bruce Wayne's soul as a third person. He has two choices, either to become Bruce Wayne or Batman."

"His reason will definitely tell him that the path to becoming Bruce Wayne is much simpler. He has too many resources to use. If combined with his wisdom, he may really be able to save the city."

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

"People are always seeking benefits and avoiding harm. If someone 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. "I don't want to be Batman, but I don't want to be Bruce Wayne. I don't want to repeat the mistakes of his parents. He is afraid of this." Schiller sighed softly and said, "When he was Bruce Wayne, he was also doing charity. He spent a lot of money, but his purpose was not to save people, but just to spend money. He felt that Bruce Wayne could not save anyone, just like he could not save his parents." "He has no hope for Bruce Wayne, because Bruce Wayne could not save his parents, and he could not save anyone." Gordon looked at his plate and said, "I feel very sorry for his tragic childhood, but if he continues like this, he may go to another extreme." "His parents chose a happy family and a peaceful life. They did not use violence to deal with the city, but they fell under violence. Batman is the opposite. If he chooses violence, he may no longer have a family."

Gordon showed a sad expression and said, "...I feel the same way. I really hope that he can realize this earlier, and maybe there is still a chance to save it."

"He will."

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

When the wind swept over the roofs of the manor area, people would feel fear for those sharp Gothic spires. When it blew into Wayne Manor through the warm windows, it did not become warm.

"Now, you have to go to bed, go to bed, understand? Don't stand here, don't look at me like this, lie on the bed, and then fall asleep. Is this difficult?" Bruce said to her, pressing his hands on the shoulders of an extremely thin little girl.

This little girl was one of the children he had taken to the hospital before. The other children were already lying on the bed for treatment, but only she, no matter how Batman persuaded her, she would only cry and scream, run away and bite people.

The little girl kept looking up at him, her big eyes full of fear, but she didn't move at all. When Bruce wanted to hug her, she ran away. When he pushed her into a corner, she bit people. She couldn't speak or communicate, like a mad wild cat.

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

The little girl turned her head to look at the window. Bruce closed his eyes hard and said, "It's raining outside, and you have a high fever now. 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 this, but the little girl seemed to understand nothing.

Bruce even had an illusion that she was deliberately going 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 and watch her. I'll go find a book." Bruce called Dick to watch the little girl. He went to his study and brought a book on child psychology.

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

After reading it for a long time, Bruce found that the little girl should have stress trauma disorder, which is a disease that often occurs in abused children. The treatment advice given is to build a sense of security for her, especially to create a safe environment for her.

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

The hall was paved with warm floors, all the furniture was solid wood, the flames burning in the fireplace were very strong, bringing warm warmth, the windows and doors were sealed very tightly, and no cold wind could blow in.

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

Bruce felt that he had done more comfort than in the book. He kept asking, caring, and taking care of her, but it was completely useless. Not only did she not respond, she also refused to take injections or medicine, refused to eat, refused to drink water, and showed aggressive behavior.

Bruce felt very tired after tossing and turning until midnight. Fortunately, the little girl was also tired. She couldn't hold on for so long, so she just fainted. Fortunately, Alfred examined her and gave her some medicine. The fever gradually subsided. Now she just needed to rest.

Bruce leaned on the sofa and wiped his face. He felt sleepy. At this time, he heard the footsteps of "da da da". Dick, who had changed into pajamas, walked down the stairs with a pillow in his hand.

In the dark hall, only the fire of the fireplace was on, and the outlines of the furniture were clearly visible. Bruce had an illusion that the scene he had lived in for so many years was unfamiliar.

"What's wrong, Dick?" Bruce asked with a perky look.

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

"... She's sick." Bruce replied, "This may make her a little irritable, but she will be fine soon. Don't worry, go back to sleep."

Dick sighed and walked to Bruce and sat down. He was next to Bruce, and Bruce could even feel his body temperature. Dick turned his head, looked up at Bruce and said, "I have something to say to you."

"Go ahead." Bruce didn't look at him.

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

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

Dick rubbed the pillow in his hand and said, "Or, she is in pain. Staying here makes her very painful. We should not let her suffer, right?"

"Why does staying here make her suffer?" Bruce asked back. He said, "There are medicines and food here, a safe room, and a soft bed. Why does this make him suffer?"

"If this place makes her suffer, should I send her back to the place where she originally lived? The broken shed with a piece of iron sheet randomly placed between two alleys as a roof?"

"I don't know." Dick leaned to the other side and said, "I just think that if she feels uncomfortable, we should think about why she feels uncomfortable and try to make her life better."

"I'm trying to do this." Bruce raised his voice and said, "He has taken medicine and fallen asleep now, which means there is progress."

"But she fainted from exhaustion..." Dick whispered, "Just now I saw that she was frowning when she was sleeping..."

Suddenly, a "bang" sound came, which scared Dick. He saw Bruce hit the table with his hand. He immediately stood up and stood one meter away from the coffee table, 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 around and ran upstairs until he was out of the range of the light source. Bruce leaned on the sofa alone, listened to the sound of the night rain outside the window, and then fell asleep.

The next morning, there was no Dick on the dining table. Alfred explained, "Master Dick left early today. He went to school."

Bruce nodded and said nothing. However, until the evening, Dick did not come back. Bruce asked Alfred, "Can't he go home on Monday and Tuesday? Why didn't he come back?"

"Just now, Master Dick asked the newspaper boy to send back a letter. The content is roughly that he is too busy with school and has to stay for a few days."

Bruce took the letter from Alfred's hand. He saw the handwriting on it, but he couldn't recognize it. He remembered that he had glanced at Dick's homework book last time, and the handwriting on it was still very immature.

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

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

Before he fell asleep, he clenched his fists, 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 the fireplace.

On this cold night in Gotham in 1990, all that could be seen were the fleeting lightning in the sky and the shadows of clouds hidden in the rain and fog in the distance under the light.

()