Chapter 19 Gaining fans
"You said, a week has passed in Gotham?"
Du Mu looked surprised.
Bruce nodded, "Yes, Master. I have been heading to Crime Alley every evening this week, but only tonight when I was being chased... did I manage to come to you."
Upon hearing this, Du Mu looked towards the repaired wall of the martial arts hall.
Is it that the speed of time flow has been different from the beginning, or is it that the time of both parties is misaligned when the martial arts school is damaged?
Du Mu felt that the latter was more likely.
He looked Bruce up and down, thinking that a week from the time he put on the bat costume to the time the League of Assassins invaded Gotham was reasonable.
Du Mu threw Lei Xiaogu into the woodshed and stacked him together with the two men from the Beggars' Gang.
With his current senses, this distance was no different from looking directly at these people.
Then he continued to instruct Harry in his moves in the training grounds while chatting with Bruce.
"Tell me about what you did this week."
Bruce had been carefully observing the clumsy Harry, wondering how he had managed to deliver that horrible punch.
But when he heard the teacher's question, he immediately became serious, realizing that this was a test on his own homework.
He recounted in detail what he had done that week.
At first, Bruce, who had just returned to Gotham, was very excited because he had mastered a powerful power in a short period of time.
Bruce told himself to calm down, so he began to observe Gotham again.
But this time, the observation is no longer about observing evil, but about finding like-minded companions.
Is it possible to find someone who has never committed a crime in a swamp like Gotham?
Of course it is possible, and quite a lot.
After all, this is a big city with a population of 3000 million. People without criminal records should account for at least half of the population, right?
However, it is very unfortunate that in Bruce's eyes, some of those who have never committed crimes simply do not have the ability to commit crimes, and some are very indifferent and only care about themselves, and have no interest in whether Gotham can become better.
But more of them are ordinary people who are struggling in the iron jungle of Gotham, killing each other, working their best but still cannot get enough food and clothing.
Seeing this scene, Bruce suddenly realized that if it weren't for his master's reminder, he might have missed this part of Gotham's people.
They are actually the majority, they are the cornerstone and soil of Gotham.
If you keep focusing on fighting crime without winning these people over, then crime itself will just keep growing back out of the fertile soil like leeks.
"At this point, fighting crime has taken second place in my heart... I realize that the most important thing right now is to bring hope to the people of Gotham."
Bruce clenched his fists, looked at Du Mu, and said with determination in his eyes: "I want to let the people of Gotham know that there are people who care about them, who protect them, and who can bring them justice."
"So I put on this conspicuous outfit."
Bruce put on a ferocious bat mask and explained: "I made the mask very ferocious. When I get close to criminals, it can imprint a deep sense of fear in their hearts."
He waved his cloak again, and it fluttered up and down like wings.
"And my cape, combined with the ears on my mask, can create a clear silhouette when backlit. In my tests, no children have ever been scared. They... well, like it."
indeed.
Du Mu looked at Harry, his eyes almost sparkling with stars.
Harry covered his mouth in disbelief and said in a trembling voice: "Then you... aren't you the equivalent of Zorro or Robin Hood in modern society?" Bruce was silent for a moment. In fact, he hoped that he was just Sherlock Holmes.
But I have to say that Harry's summary is actually very accurate.
Traditional story characters such as Zorro and Robin Hood are themselves representatives of fighting crime and punishing evil and promoting good.
To a child of Western culture, knowing that there is an invincible Zorro in his city is almost like seeing Sun Wukong descend to earth to fight the bad guys.
But doing it yourself is one thing, and being told off by others is another.
In particular, the almost uncontrollable 'speechless' expression on the master's face dealt a heavy blow to Bruce's self-confidence.
After all, he had just started out and hadn't yet reached the point where he considered Batman his own.
The effect is not obvious yet, and Bruce is in an unconfident experimental state of mind.
Fortunately, there was someone else supporting us nearby.
Bruce quickly took off his mask and changed the subject: "After that, I fought crime as much as possible while looking for comrades who could help."
In fact, not only that, he also immediately began to invest money in facilities such as orphanages, hospitals, and nursing homes, and opened a number of similar institutions.
But Bruce believed that most of the credit went to Alfred, so he didn't say it.
"On the third day, I knocked out an Italian gang... They've been operating in Gotham for decades. But fortunately, they haven't dealt with people like me in the past."
A masked weirdo who uses hiding as a passive skill, wears a full-body Kevlar bulletproof vest, and can use true chi.
"After we brought their leader to the police station, the Italian almost had to pay for parole. Fortunately, the deputy chief of the police station, Jim Gordon, was very responsible and did not accept bribes."
When Du Mu heard this, he suddenly asked, "If he is really released on parole, what will you do?"
The so-called parole can also fall within the legal scope.
Although that is no different from just paying the money and leaving.
Bruce was silent for a moment.
He said in a deep voice: "I will keep an eye on him, and the moment he exchanges criminal information with his men, I will break his limbs and throw him back to the police station."
Du Mu shook his head and said nothing more.
After all, he doesn't live in Gotham, and Bruce's behavior has nothing to do with him.
"This incident introduced me to Jim Gordon, but I didn't fully trust him yet, so I didn't tell him my true identity."
"In the following days, I was in a cycle of fighting crime and looking for new partners...but I didn't expect that the man named Lei Xiaogu would appear."
"He is the master of the League of Assassins. I once studied under him for a period of time. But his real purpose in teaching me... was to use me to destroy Gotham."
Du Mu showed a confused expression and asked a question that he had never understood since he read the original novel: "Why does the Assassin's League want to destroy Gotham?"
Bruce shook his head and frowned, "I don't really understand it either. He explained to me that the Assassin's League has always been responsible for clearing out the world's cancer. They will clear out all the corrupt cities one by one. This includes using plague to cleanse Rome and burning London with fire."
Harry opened his mouth in horror: "They burned down London?"
Du Mu held Harry's head and shook his head, saying, "You two are not from the same world. Don't let your imagination run wild. You are not even from the same era."
(End of this chapter)