Chapter 158 Party and Umbrella (End)

Cobblepot looked around. He first looked at the gun on Gordon's waist, then at the cold aura around Batman, and then at his right arm, which was still tied to the armrest of the bed and had not yet healed from its fracture. He sighed and said:

"It is true that I killed the old umbrella maker Viking, but I am not a thief or a robber. This umbrella should have been mine."

Accompanied by Cobblepot's voice, the mystery was gradually revealed.

"My father, old Cobblepot, was once the leader of the Cobblepot family, one of the four major families in the East District. At that time, the East District was still very prosperous. The four major families controlled dozens of streets in the entire East District. The most central street is Green Street next to the living hell now. Our old house was also spacious and luxurious."

"I heard Bullock mention this history." Gordon leaned on the table and said, "But what does this have to do with you killing an innocent umbrella maker?"

"Innocent? He is not innocent!"

Cobblepot snorted coldly and said, "Then, you should also know that a few years ago, the old umbrella general Viking was the only handmade umbrella maker in Gotham City."

"Until now." Gordon looked at Schiller and said, "This profession does not require too many people. Few people will spend a lot of money to buy a handmade umbrella."

"But at that time, the gangster bosses in the East District would go to Viking Umbrella Shop to customize a handmade umbrella."

"You may think that this is just chasing handmade products or showing off their status..."

"Isn't it? Because handmade products have a long production cycle, slow speed, and small output, they will be sold at a high price, But in fact, its quality is no better than that of mechanically produced products. "Batman also set his sights on Schiller.

Cobert shook his head and said, "You don't understand."

"My father also went to the Viking Umbrella Shop to order an umbrella, but the umbrella maker breached the contract. He took my father's money but didn't give him the umbrella on time, so my father got caught in the rain and died of pneumonia..."

"This is ridiculous!" Gordon looked at Cobert like a madman and said, "You're not saying that you killed the umbrella maker to avenge your father?"

He stretched out his hand and said, "Okay, I admit that the old umbrella maker took the money but didn't deliver the goods on time. It was his fault, but your father was only waiting for this umbrella? Without this umbrella, he would rather get caught in the rain than use an umbrella???"

Cobert stared at Gordon gloomily and said, "That's why I said you don't understand anything."

"Who said my father didn't bring an umbrella when he went out? He brought it, but those umbrellas were useless."

Gordon looked at Cobert as if he was looking at a madman, but Cobert didn't care. He closed his eyes, as if he was recalling something, and said, "My father knows something that others don't know. He has investigated these things, That's something I can't describe..."

Then he opened his eyes, looked into Gordon's eyes firmly and said, "There's something wrong with the rain in Gotham."

"He told me this: when you want to prepare an umbrella for Gotham's rainy days, you'd better buy one from the Viking Umbrella Store, otherwise it's useless."

Gordon frowned and asked in confusion, "What do you mean? Are you saying... only umbrellas sold by the Viking Umbrella Store can block the rain in Gotham? ? What's this theory? How are factory-made umbrellas worse than those handmade umbrellas? Aren't they all just needed to block the body?"

But Schiller and Batman heard something. They looked at each other with different meanings, and Batman asked, "Are you saying that there is something wrong with the rain in Gotham, and only the umbrellas sold by the Viking Umbrella Store can really block the rain?"

Cobolt nodded and said, "I don't know if you have heard that not everyone can buy the umbrellas sold by the Viking Umbrella Store. Some people can buy them, but some people can't."

"This means that someone wants some people to block the rain and wants others to get wet."

"But what's the point?" Gordon never understood that the issues they talked about were completely inconsistent with his three views, and more like some mysterious codes.

Schiller put his finger on his chin and asked, "What happened to your father? Why did he buy an umbrella but still get caught in the rain?"

"I don't know." Cobblepot answered very straightforwardly, "I only know that he didn't get the umbrella on the day he was supposed to receive it, but something forced him to go out. He knew it might be dangerous, but he still had to go."

"What was that?"

"The old godfather's eldest son died, and my father was going to the funeral."

"Do you think your father died because he didn't have an umbrella to really block the rain?"

"That's right, so I said that this umbrella should have been mine. My father paid for it, but he didn't receive it, and he paid for it with his life."

Schiller frowned, and he looked at Batman again. Obviously, they both thought of the same thing.

"So, you killed the umbrella maker to avenge your father?" Gordon asked Cobblepot.

Before Cobblepot could answer, Batman said, "No, he didn't. He didn't do it for revenge."

Gordon looked back at Batman, but before he could ask, Schiller poked Gordon with the umbrella in his hand and said, "Don't ask. You just need to know that he is an absolute expert in revenge."

Then he turned to Cobblepot and said, "You are indeed not a person with revengeful traits. In your opinion, things that can bring you practical benefits are more important."

Cobblepot exhaled from his nose and said, "Yes, I am not doing this for my father, but for my mother."

"That's why I keep asking you, doctor, can this disease really be cured?"

"What do you mean?"

Cobblepot said gloomily, "I suspect that my mother's disease may be... a curse."

"Curse? Tell me more."

"Before my mother got sick for the first time, she asked me for help, and I I don't remember what she said, but at that time, she was conscious and kept calling for help. "

"Finally, on the eve of her madness, she said to me, umbrella, take back the umbrella, be sure to bring an umbrella..."

"I have known about my father's research for a long time, but it was not until then that I realized that his death was probably not just an accident. He became the abandoned one. Without an umbrella and without blocking the rain, he could not survive."

"My mother is crazy. Whenever I mention anything about my father to her, she will start twitching, hiding in fear, and can't say any useful information."

"You suspect that your father and mother may know something, so one was killed and the other was cursed, right?"

"Did your father tell you that there is something wrong with the rain in Gotham?" Batman asked Cobblepot.

"He mentioned it, but more importantly, I have proved it all." Cobblepot tried to stand up from the bed. He said, "You upper-class people and rich people, won't you notice the changes in the living hell."

"Didn't you notice that the order there has improved a lot?"

"Of course I have." Gordon said, "The frequency of homicides there has decreased a lot, because people's living conditions have improved..."

"Don't talk nonsense, aren't there enough rich bad guys in Gotham?" Cobblepot interrupted Gordon and said, "In the past, the residents of the living hell drank water from wells, you know, the kind of open-air wells."

"It's different now. After the transformation is completed, they All drinking water must pass through the water purifier buried underground..."

"That's the crux of the problem." Cobblepot looked at Schiller and said, "I don't understand any psychological theory, but I know that a person's bad habits are difficult to change. If all the residents of the living hell are born bad, then the improvement of living conditions cannot change them so thoroughly."

"I have seen with my own eyes how chaotic and crazy the people there are, but since the transformation of the living hell was completed, they seem to have changed into different people. Although they still follow the gangster's set, they are obviously much more normal."

"Do you think it's because their drinking water may have been mixed with Gotham's rainwater before?" Batman asked.

"Yes, in fact, with the help of Fish's people, I tried to investigate the water purifier several times, but I didn't succeed. That thing is too complicated. I can't figure out how it works based on some descriptions of the appearance."

Schiller looked at Batman. He saw that Batman was thinking. As a time traveler, he knew that this might be the truth. At least in some comics, it was mentioned that the reason why Gotham was so chaotic was because there were special substances in the water cycle that would drive people crazy.

But he couldn't say it directly, he had to make inferences. So he knocked on the table to attract everyone's attention, and said, "Let's analyze this logical chain."

"Oswald said that there is something wrong with the rain in Gotham, and it will change people's personalities. The umbrellas sold by umbrella maker Viking are the only tools that can effectively block the rain."

"Assuming this is true, then umbrella maker Viking has the ability to make umbrellas that can resist this kind of rain, but he sells them to some people and refuses others. What is his purpose?"

"Maybe he just can't do it?" Gordon guessed, "After all, making an umbrella by hand should be quite slow, right?"

"Not many people buy umbrellas." Cobblepot said, "He sells them so expensively, how many people can afford them? Tens of thousands of dollars ten years ago, only the top gangsters in the East District could afford them. Even if he makes one a month, in a year, it is enough to equip all the gangsters in the East District with an umbrella."

"So he is for selection." Batman's voice came: "" Such logic forms a closed loop. "

"The person behind the scenes used some method to make Gotham rain with problems, and then controlled an umbrella maker to sell useful umbrellas to some people, so that some people can hold umbrellas, while others have to get wet in the rain... What will this lead to?"

He said to himself: "Some people are trying to maintain order, while others are in chaos and madness..."

"Or rather..." Schiller sighed and said: "One group of people are creating wealth for them, while another group makes this city never peaceful and always shrouded in darkness. "

"There is only one question left now, who are they?" Cobblepot's tone was very cold. Even if he was not a revenge-driven person like Batman, in the eyes of the Penguin, the organization that destroyed his family must pay the price.

At this time, Schiller took the umbrella and walked to the bedside. Looking at Cobblepot, he showed a creepy smile and said:

"No wonder they knew that I was the one who caused all the changes. It turns out that they have been eyeing me for a long time."

Cobblepot stared at him silently. Schiller turned the umbrella in his hand, then held it in the middle, handed the handle to Cobblepot, and said: "Mr. Cobblepot..."

"It's called the Court of Owls. Take the umbrella and kill them."