Chapter 102 Bat in a Jar

February 23, 1987, Chicago, night.

In the Chicago Grand Theater, Miss Tina, who had finished the splendid and lively dance, gently stroked her fur cape. She held the driver's hand and got into a luxury car. When she returned to her luxury apartment, a handsome man with blue eyes put his arm around the lady's waist. Tina said, "Our dance has just begun, right? Mr. Bruce?"

The moonlight outside the window shone in, and the beautiful blue eyes were shrouded in the shadow of the brow arch. The handsome profile fascinated Tina. The man turned around. It was Bruce Wayne.

On an ordinary afternoon on February 20, 1987, Schiller woke up in the bed of Falcone Manor. He did not forget that he rested in the guest room of Godfather Manor before he traveled to Marvel.

The morning in Gotham was never sunny, but the early morning always brought Schiller special inspiration. When he had breakfast with Falcone and his son, the professor got some inspiration again and quickly perfected it in his mind.

"What do you think of the future of Gotham?" Schiller asked Falcone.

Falcone shook his head and said, "If you asked me this question 40 years ago, I would definitely tell you that this city is hopeless, but now I want to say that this city does not need anyone to save it. It is what it is and will continue to be like this..."

"Do you think Gotham needs a new order?"

"Many people have asked me this question, but I can only say that any effort to make this city better will eventually come to nothing, no matter how passionate it is at the beginning, it will eventually return to nothingness."

"Why is this?"

"You asked the key question, but I don't know the answer."

The Godfather lit up a cigar, and the smoke slowly dissipated. He said, "In the past 40 years, I have seen firm revolutionaries and saviors with moral realms like saints. There are so many people in this world, and there are no shortage of one or two good people or heroes, Firm determination to save the city. "" They came to Gotham with this idea, you have to admit that even if you know that they will not succeed, they still deeply shocked that determination. "But because I have seen these, I have experienced that era, and I know that good people can't save Gotham, as well as heroes." "So where do these people go?" Where is he? "The godfather seemed to be in memories. After a while, he drew a cross in his chest and said," I swear to the Lord and keep this secret for him. " The next day, Bruce was called to Schiller's office. Schiller almost never took the initiative to call him over, so Bruce was very curious about what Schiller wanted to do.

They sat down on both sides of the desk, just like when they first met, and Schiller asked him:

"Have you ever thought about saving this city completely for a second?"

"Of course I..."

"I mean, after you clearly realize what the essence of this city is."

Bruce opened his mouth, and Schiller took off his glasses. He looked directly at Bruce and said, "I think you should have seen the essence of this city that does not need to be saved and cannot be saved at all."

"So, are you trying to persuade me not to do this anymore? Don't be Batman anymore?"

"Of course not, I don't care whether you are Batman or not, I just want to know if you really want to save Gotham?"

"What's the difference between the two?"

"Are you sure you are Batman to save Gotham?"

Bruce was silent.

"Let me ask you another question. If there is a possibility of bringing a new order to Gotham, are you willing to make some efforts for it?"

"Although I have this guess now, I am still not sure what the essence of this city is? Why did it become like this? Is it really impossible to save it?"

"Falcone once told me that many people have tried to save this city, but they have not succeeded. Most of them are buried here, but some have stayed and integrated into this place and become a part of Gotham."

"Who is he?"

"The only priest in Gotham Cathedral, I think you can go and meet him, and then come back to give me the answer."

Bruce shook his head. He felt that Schiller was a little inexplicable.

But he was actually very interested in the stories of Gotham's past. This city has too many mysteries for him to explore.

At first, his purpose was simple. He wanted to take revenge on all criminals. But when he learned part of Gotham, he felt that he should save the city. But when he learned more about Gotham, he felt that the city did not need to be saved.

Now, he has learned Gotham again, and he found that the city seems to be unsalvable.

As Schiller said, Gotham is like a book that can never be finished. There are endless puzzles here. Every time you read it, you will have new insights.

When Bruce came to Gotham Cathedral, the priest warmly received him. The old priest looked over 70 years old. To be honest, there are few ordinary people in Gotham who can live to such an old age.

In Gotham, no one will teach children to help the elderly cross the road, because there is no one to teach children or the elderly here.

In front of the pulpit, the priest smiled and pulled Bruce's arm and said, "I have heard of Mr. Wayne's name for a long time. Of course, I am sorry that I don't have anything better to receive you. After all, this church is too old, as old as me."

"Look, these tables and chairs are about to fall apart. I wonder if there is any kind-hearted person who can replace the pulpit that does not need bricks to support the table legs for the Lord..."

Bruce is very familiar with such words. He drew a cross on his chest and said, "If I don't let the Lord bless me, the Wayne construction team will carry out a thorough renovation of the interior of the church to make His Kingdom clean and new. Everything belongs to the Lord..."

The old priest seemed very satisfied with this. When Bruce talked to him about the past, he did not mean to hide anything, but spoke frankly about his experience.

"I come from an ordinary family in the UK. When I was young, I worked in the church. I came here to let more people listen to the gospel of the Lord."

"Originally, I just settled in a small town on the East Coast, but I heard that Gotham was not bad, so I came here."

"You may find it a little incredible, but in fact, Gotham at that time was indeed not bad. Because of the existence of the dock, it was quite prosperous, there were many people, and the living conditions were not bad. By the way, the gangs at that time were all in their infancy, and there were only a few people in total."

"At that time, there were still some ordinary people with dreams here. They wanted to establish order here and grow with this city. Of course, I thought so at that time."

Then, the priest's voice began to become lower and lower, echoing in the empty church. The colorful light from the stained glass on the top of the church window was like a tunnel through time and space. The priest's voice seemed to follow these tunnels and return to that era.

"There were many such people at that time. They were ambitious and thought this was a golden coast and a new gold mountain. Although there was some chaos at that time, everyone felt that it was just an ordinary pain relief in the city's development stage."

"A young missionary, holding a Bible in his arms, set foot on this land with the fleet. This story of coming from afar is not as magnificent as others imagine, but there are still many people here who are interested in me."

"Of course, I spread faith here, help everyone as much as possible, and mediate some overly intense conflicts and disputes among gangs. Almost everyone is willing to give me a face."

When Bruce heard this, he looked at the priest with a new look. This old man of the same generation as Falcone seemed to have occupied a place in Gotham.

In this city ruled by gangs, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want.

No one would dare to make up such a story and claim that all gangs should give him a face. Bruce knew that the only one who really had this ability was Falcone. If anyone else dared to brag about this, his body would be thrown into the sea the next day.

But the old priest seemed to be talking about something insignificant. Bruce heard the modesty in his tone. He thought, perhaps this old man who was a contemporary of Falcone once had the same reputation as the Godfather.

But now they are very different. Falcone has become the godfather admired by everyone in Gotham, but this old priest is guarding a dilapidated church, and there may not be a believer to pray for several days.

Bruce has always been very curious about that era that was a little dim like a faded photo, just like people always imagine the glory of their fathers.

The story about the dock that Falcone once told him showed the rise of the gang in that turbulent era.

But now, in this empty cathedral, what the old priest revealed to him seemed to be another look of the city in that era.

"When I came to Gotham, the war was far from over. Isolationism prevailed here, but most of the lower-class civilians were afraid of war. They didn't understand why things had suddenly turned into a mess on the other side of the earth."

"I started to spread the doctrine here. I believe that faith can calm people's hearts. At the beginning, I did quite well. You know, there were still many British people who had not evacuated here at that time. They would invite me to their manors to listen to my sermons. I spent almost every afternoon like this."

"At first, some small gangs were just roaming around the docks, and even fewer could reach the inner streets. At that time, I knew Falcone, but there was no Falcone or the Twelve Families at that time. Perhaps there were not even twelve decent gangs in the whole of Gotham."

"At that time, this place was basically a colonial economy. Because of an accident, I started dealing with gangs. They saw that I had channels from wealthy British people, and they hoped that I could be a middleman to help them expand their power."

"I didn't want to get involved in these whirlpools, but I had no choice. If I had to, I would choose the most promising one, which was Falcone."

"Later, many people began to find that Gotham was not as good as they thought. Some wealthy people from Britain began to gradually withdraw from this place and gather in other more prosperous and promising places. "

"The main legacy they left to this city is the manor area and this cathedral. Under my lobbying, they collectively funded the construction of this place, and I became the only priest in this church."

"So what happened next? What happened next?"

"When the upper class that maintains a stable order suddenly leaves, the people with the most bullets in their guns fill these upper structures. Falcone and his twelve families are such people. They made trouble for a while, and then took over here."

"I used to be a good partner with Falcone, because I know that he is different from other gangsters. He wants to build a A new order, although a violent order, is better than no order at all. "

"I helped him as much as I could. I thought that the gangs were just a temporary replacement for the upper blocks that were emptied. One day, Gotham would be back on track."

"But I didn't expect that everything got out of control. After Falcone and his gangster family ruled the city, it began to become a real crime capital. From twelve gangs, there were 120 gangs, 1,200 gangs, and finally, it became a city where everyone was a gangster and a criminal."

"Evil spread here, but I was powerless. I knew that Falcone might be the same. Many people thought he was the culprit for Gotham's deterioration, but I knew very well that this was not the truth."

The most The priest then looked up and looked around the church. He said, "There aren't many buildings left from that era. I'm grateful that they left me a place like this so that I can have a place to stay."

"Why don't you leave? Even if you can't return to your hometown, at least you can go to the Metropolitan Cathedral, where there are still many clergy and they live well."

The priest said, "You don't understand. I not only witnessed how sin infected the city little by little, but I was also deeply trapped in it."

He made a cross on his chest, prayed a few words in a low voice, and then said, "The biggest truth I understand in this process is that this city will only accept people who belong here, and those heroes who really want to save this place will eventually leave because they don't belong here."

"So why is all this happening?"

"I don't know, but I always believe that my choice back then was right. Falcone and I are both defenders of this city, not destroyers. "

"In your opinion, the Godfather may be a successful man who has ruled the underground of Gotham for 40 years, but I know that both Falcone and I know that we are just losers who can only weave an unstable order in the abyss of sin to protect ourselves."

The priest shook his head and said, "But unfortunately, I am just an ordinary person who has lived longer than others. I know even less than Falcone, or perhaps Falcone does not know the real answer."

As the sun gradually set, the shadows of the tables and chairs in the church were dragged longer and longer, and the light from the stained glass began to flow onto Bruce.

Finally, the old priest said, "I can only stay here and guard a piece of His kingdom, and when I die, this piece of pure land will also dissipate, just like countless hopes that have dissipated in Gotham."

"Of that group of people, only Falcone and I are left. We are all old. Perhaps when we all go to see our Lord, the only order left in this city will no longer exist. "

"Do you think it is possible to establish a new order?"

"Countless people have tried to do this, but they all failed. Falcone succeeded in a small part, but it only delayed it for a while. Perhaps no one can delay it for longer."

Accompanied by the sigh of the old priest, Bruce fell into deep thought again.

Whenever he heard these historical stories about his hometown, Bruce couldn't be like a wanderer returning home, full of nostalgia.

Because the story of Gotham reveals absurdity and despair from beginning to end. Everything that happened here has no cause and no result. Even people who experienced that era can't explain it clearly.

In this mysterious journey to explore the history of Gotham, the parts of the time machine are always stuck by some foggy fragments. Whenever Bruce wants to repair this old-fashioned projector and explore the truth, there are always various forces stopping him.

Bruce walked out of the church and began to think about the question Schiller asked him. The priest's answer to him was that the city would probably have no chance to have a new order. After the old generation died, it would fall into darkness completely.

He suddenly came up with a strange metaphor, but it was very vivid.

All the sins in the city of Gotham and all the criminals living here are like salt grains sprinkled from a salt shaker.

This is a salt shaker that will never be empty. The person holding this salt shaker slowly pours out some crystal salt grains, just like a patient angler making his bait.

Bruce, who had just become an adult, learned a fact earlier from his professor, from Falcone, and from the old priest.

Gotham has become what it is today, not simply a natural evolution. His goal of revenge on criminals may never be accomplished, and he will never be able to completely save Gotham, because the salt jar over Gotham will never be empty. The sinful salt grains are crystal clear and come with the wind, just like the fine rain lines that will never stop in Gotham City.

But this did not make Batman feel frustrated, but made him have an ambition earlier.

Batman did not want to fly around these salt grains that were sprinkled like alms, like a stupid fish circling around bait, hoping that the water would flush out some residue to fill his stomach.

What he wanted to do was to crush the salt jar directly, or, as he did to Louis before, appear behind him like a bat, let the shadow cover the man who was complacent with the salt jar, and make him tremble with fear for the bat.

Then, get this salt jar and all the salt grains in it.

If there is a salt jar in this world that is destined to hold all criminals, then this salt jar should belong to Batman.

It also has to belong to Batman.