Chapter 286: The Car Thief Caught

Batman rarely goes out during the day, and when he chooses to appear in Gotham City during the day, it means that he has something very important to do, such as catching the car thief who pried off his tires.

Batman was not very angry about the theft of his Batmobile tires, but felt a little absurd. A person who can independently crack the Batmobile security system can only be a car thief in Gotham. This city is really magical to the extreme.

It was not difficult for Batman to find the base of the car thieves. Obviously, the two thieves who pried off the tires were not as strong in counter-reconnaissance work as in technology. Not long after, Batman found the cellar at the end of the alley on Curly Tail Street.

This underground base did not have any security measures. Batman got in without much effort and found the tire that was hung on the wall and had not been dealt with in time.

Originally, according to normal development, Batman should wait here for the owner to come back and then arrest him.

Batman had planned to do so, but while waiting for the thief to come back, Batman had nothing to do, so he started investigating the base.

But the more he investigated, the more confused Batman became. Various signs showed that the people living here were not adults, but children.

This was actually easy to judge. The ground here was not a floor or tile, but fine sand. The footprints left behind were not cleaned up. It was obvious that they were not adults. The tools on the tool table also left fingerprints, all of which showed that the person who used these tools was a child under ten years old.

Batman was surprised, but he couldn't help but have some other thoughts. He knew that the adults in Gotham City were almost hopeless. Their thinking concepts and ways of doing things were already formed. There was almost no other way to deal with them except throwing them into jail, but children were different.

Batman also knew that even if the children in Gotham were worse than those in other cities, forming gangs and fighting on the streets every day, as long as they were children, they could be educated to be better, especially if they were so talented.

By the evening, Jason, wearing a worn-out jacket, was limping towards his base. The little sly guy supported him and said helplessly, "I know you have to fight with them to keep your territory, but the fights have been too frequent recently, and your last injury hasn't healed yet..."

Jason wiped the corner of his mouth, and a trace of blood flowed from it. It stained the sleeves of his clothes, but he was used to it. He grinned and said, "I can't help it. Those damn red-mouthed gangsters are too tight. If I give up the territory at the entrance of the alley, then we really can't make any money..."

He rubbed his eyes hard, then broke free from the little sly guy's hand, walked to the cellar, opened the door, and slowly climbed down.

The little sly guy was afraid that he would fall, so he hurried down to support him, but just when they walked to the workbench, they heard the cellar door being locked with a "click", and then a dark shadow appeared behind them.

The two were startled. When they turned around, the little sly guy looked at the black figure opposite and said, "Batman???"

Batman paused and asked, "Do you know me?"

Jason looked back at the bat tire he had hung on the wall, then looked at the intimidating Batman in front of him, and then looked up at the locked cellar door. Knowing that he couldn't run away, he leaned against the workbench behind him and said, "Well, how could we not know you? The famous hero Batman..."

But there was no respect or admiration in his tone, only deep annoyance. The little sly guy looked at the current situation on the field, rubbed his hands, and said to Batman, "I'm sorry, Batman, it's true that we stole your Batmobile tire, but we didn't damage it. You can take it back and don't bother with us..."

"After all..." Little Slip pushed his glasses and said, "The police station doesn't accept children of our age. If you arrest us, they will send us back tomorrow. Why don't we apologize to you sincerely and save you this process..."

Batman looked at Jason. He saw a deep bruise on Jason's exposed neck, and the corner of his mouth looked like he was beaten, not to mention the blood on his sleeve. He asked, "How did you get hurt like this?"

Jason shook his head and showed a fierce expression. He didn't seem to want to talk to Batman at all. Fortunately, Little Slip was there. He said, "He is the boss of the Curly Tail Gang. In order to grab territory, he had to fight with others..."

"And he won!" Jason emphasized.

"How did you pry off my tire?"

"What's so difficult about that?" Jason deliberately raised his voice and said, "Your car is in such a mess. If the tires weren't so big, I would have removed all four of your tires!"

He mixed some slang and swear words commonly used by local gangs in his words, and his tone of voice was very much like that of a gang member. From his behavior to his temperament, he was a typical bad boy.

Batman was not angered by his behavior, because he had been a vigilante in Gotham for so long, and all the kids he met were of this character.

"Batman, don't worry about us. We are just a group of kids. Jason stole your tires because he was in urgent need of money. We know stealing is wrong, but there is no other way."

The little sly guy explained to Batman: "Jason's Curly Tail Gang has more than a dozen kids, five or six of whom are too young. When they go to sell cigarettes, they are always bullied by older kids from other gangs, and they can't sell much in a day. Jason must make money to help them, otherwise they will be beaten to death by their leader."

Batman frowned and asked: "You mean, the kids under him are all cigarette vendors?"

"Yes, the members of the Juvenile Gang are all members of the Juvenile Gang. Aren't all the members of the gang these people?"

"Who do they have to pay the money to?"

"Their boss is usually some older children, and then these children are handed over to their "parents."

"Then what?"

The little sly shook his head and said, "I don't know, I don't do this, but I heard that they will hand it over layer by layer to a person called the big boss."

"You don't do this?" Batman looked at the little sly and saw that he was indeed different from the common children in Gotham. He didn't wear a jacket, but a half-new turtleneck sweater, a pot-cut hair, and glasses, looking more like a nerd.

"I am a skilled worker and now I am studying at a vocational education school in Gotham. Jason saved my life, so I followed him."

"I didn't save you to let you repay me! You'd better leave quickly! I want to steal the tires, and if you have any trouble, come to me!" Jason said loudly.

"Don't be like this, Jason. I believe Batman is a good man. I heard that he saved a dancer who was robbed. He should be happy to listen to our explanation..."

Then the little rascal continued, "Not all children are as lucky as me. I have a good skill to work for the gangs and even go to school safely. Most children are under the control of their "parents". They either sell cigarettes, beg, or do some dirty work..."

"You stole my tires. I should have arrested you or taught you a lesson, but since you are children, I can let you go, but you must agree to one condition..."

Jason turned his head and looked at the little rascal. He touched the wound next to his mouth and said : "I did it. What are the conditions? You tell me."

"I want to know what's going on with those people who manipulate the kids to work for them? Who is the so-called big boss? I hope you can help me investigate these things..."

"No chance." Jason shook his head and said, "The big boss is very mysterious. We kids can't see him. Besides, there are too many people who do this kind of thing. How do you want me to investigate?"

"I think you will always find a way, right?"

"Your name is Jason, right? Listen, Jason..."

Batman looked into Jason's eyes and said, "Since you are willing to fight for the business of those kids and even give them money to help them, it shows that you are not a bad person and you are very loyal."

"You also know Chu, this is not a solution. When these children grow up, there will be another group. You can't keep protecting them like this. The only way is to thoroughly find out who is controlling them and then find a way to deal with them. "

Jason supported his forearms on his knees, lowered his head and said nothing. Batman continued: "Since you have heard of my name, you should know that I have fought many criminals, but in this kind of thing, I do need an assistant. After all, I am not a child and cannot participate in your group..."

"If I succeed, you and the children under you will all have a better life, right?"

Jason was silent for a long time before saying: "Okay, but you have to listen to me on this matter. You can't do it recklessly, and you You have to promise that you won't cause any trouble to us, whether you succeed or not."

Batman nodded, and then he threw a cylindrical device to Jason, which was a small flashlight. He said, "Press the button at the tail to project a miniature bat light into the air. When I see it, I will rush over. Long press the button to send a communication that only I can receive, which is used to contact me in an emergency."

The little sly looked at the thing with shining eyes, and Batman said to him, "Don't think about taking it apart, you can never put it back together. If you can provide useful information, I can lend you a laboratory in my base in the southern suburbs. There are many good things in it..."

The little sly and Jason looked at each other, and then looked at Batman. They said in unison: "Okay, deal."

After Batman left, Jason said to Slippery: "You'd better leave here. You don't need to get involved in this kind of thing. If I really want to help him investigate this matter, it will be very dangerous. Those 'parents' will not let me go."

"Batman is right, Jason." Slippery's tone has always been calm. He said: "You also said before that those 'parents' have been getting more and more excessive recently. They have begun to set higher goals and ask for more money. Those who fail to achieve them will also be punished more severely. If this continues, those children will definitely not survive. We really have to stop this."

Jason frowned and said, "I've thought about it, isn't it a bit strange?"

"Since I started hanging out on the streets, I haven't heard of any changes to this system, but it seems to be getting more and more excessive recently. Could it be that something happened to the big boss that made him so anxious to exploit these kids?"

"Not only that." The little rascal touched his chin and said, "When I was in vocational school, I met the parents of those students, that is, the gang bosses. From their gossip, I heard that the situation of the Gotham gangs has been unstable recently, and the twelve families at the top seem to be a little turbulent..."