บท 3217: Chapter 2362 Gotham Music Festival (64)_1
Beihan briskly walked through the corridors of Wayne Manor, adjusting his freshly tied necktie, and after descending the staircase, he flashed a smile at Alfred, who led him toward the exit.
"I'm so sorry, Alfred, I was invited to come, but I can't stay for the entire music festival..."
"Don't apologize, sir, your business is more important than anything else. If you don't mind my asking, what trouble have you encountered?"
Beihan pursed his lips and his expression turned serious. He said, "My friend Rachel works at the Gotham City District Attorney's Office. While organizing the prosecution files, she stumbled upon something: Gotham's mob is engaging in a large-scale drug deal with a supervillain known as Scarecrow."
"I see, but if I may say so, that's quite common in Gotham City," Alfred remarked.
"Yes, drug deals are commonplace here, but this time it's different. Not only is the amount of drugs remarkably large, but Rachel noticed that an unusual group is trying to interfere with the deal. I fear they are my fans."
Alfred suddenly understood, while Beihan appeared deeply concerned. He said, "Mob boss Falcone has been infiltrating the upper echelons of Gotham, rendering Rachel powerless against many violent criminals. Recently, the large-scale bank robbery on Central Street resulted in many deaths and left the public in panic. Both Rachel and Harvey believe it's the work of another supervillain."
They had reached the door by then, with Bruce waiting for them by the road. As Beihan approached, he noticed a huge van parked behind Bruce.
"What's this?" Beihan asked.
Before he could take a closer look at the van, something soft was thrust into his arms. He looked down to see Aisha grinning up at him.
Beihan stroked Aisha's head and smiled back at her, then continued to look up at Bruce, who pointed at the van and said, "These are some of the little gadgets for Aisha's daily life. The portal isn't limited by size, so you can take it all back with you."
"Little gadgets." Beihan repeated the word, then walked around to the van's rear doors, peeked inside, and after pulling his head back out, he stared at Bruce with wide eyes.
"I can understand the rest, but what's with the children's slide at the very back?"
"That's one of her toys."
"But there's no need to bring it along, I can just buy her one..."
"One probably isn't enough, and she only likes the taste of this particular model."
"More than one... taste???"
Beihan looked down at Aisha again, and she flashed him another brilliant smile, her shark-like fangs glinting fiercely.
Beihan immediately stopped asking questions.
"What kind of trouble have you run into? You seem in a rush," Bruce asked curiously, but this only provoked a litany of complaints from Beihan.
"Collusion between officials and businessmen, manipulation by the mob, drug deals, corporate espionage... I really don't know when all of this will end." Beihan let out a heavy sigh and said, "Rachel sent me a message saying she found a lead on a deal between mob boss Falcone and the supervillain called Scarecrow, and she hopes I can come back to help her investigate."
"But we both know that even if we catch him, there's no way to get him to court. Using the mental illness defense to escape justice is a trick they commonly resort to..."
"Psychiatrists have been bought off?"
"Of course, and it doesn't stop there – almost the entire legal system has been bought out."
"Then buy them back."
Beihan stared at Bruce, who said, "Spend money to buy them back."
"But that's bribery and interference with judicial outcomes, I can't engage in illegal activities."
"You're just correcting all this, using the same tactics they use," Bruce countered as he looked at Beihan. "It's the money you spend that ensures justice."
Beihan turned his head away, hands on his hips, and said, "You should understand that these people are jackals with huge appetites; they'll make excessive demands of anyone. I can't interfere with the operations of Wayne Enterprises like this, the shareholders wouldn't agree to it."
"Then don't use Wayne Enterprises' money, use your own private funds instead."
"I don't have that much money," Beihan said. "Most of my funds are tied up in fixed assets, and a small portion is needed to run foundations and trusts."
"I suppose you could also consider investing in some business ventures. Thomas and Martha left you a vast estate, but the liquid assets are limited. Plus, with inflation, living off your savings isn't viable."
"I have thought about it," Beihan said. "But the former CEO Earle vetoed all my joint investment plans and even interfered with my personal funds. He caused me a lot of trouble at the shareholders' meeting, and I've been too preoccupied with him to have time for my own investments."
"Do you have any specific investment plans?"
Beihan thought for a moment and said, "There's a concept in my mind, but it's nothing new. I've decided to pick up some of the charitable projects previously abandoned by Earle. I can put my own money into them too. Even if the returns are low, the important thing is saving lives."
Bruce shook his head and said, "This is completely unsustainable, you understand."
The color drained from Beihan's face; he understood all too well. By the time he had grown up to inherit Wayne Enterprises, Earle had nearly seized control of all the shareholders. They had not only abandoned all charitable ventures but had also engaged in all the things a conglomerate would do: exploiting workers, bribery and corruption, manipulation of elections.
After his return from Battleworld, Beihan resolved to reclaim his rights from Earle, but at this point his plan was still incomplete. Wayne Enterprises was too feeble to enact reforms, let alone generate profits for himself.
It was a vicious cycle; without money, he was even less able to deal with the officials, criminals, and shareholders that were all in cahoots, yet to handle these people, he first needed money.
"The personality that currently dominates Professor Shearer's psyche is a master of financial planning. If you're willing to pay, he can provide you with a financial plan that is not only effective but also simple to execute."
Beihan raised an eyebrow; he trusted in Shearer's abilities, but he had no idea that Shearer was also into business. Bruce patted his shoulder and said, "Their personalities specialize in different areas. Some excel in psychology as much as others do in economics. Want to give it a try?"
Beihan licked his lips and looked at Bruce, asking, "How much money?"
Bruce pulled out a business card from his pocket, slipped it into Beihan's pocket, and said, "You have the Battleworld trial version terminal, right? Contact this number. Perhaps what he wants isn't necessarily money, but trust me, paying is the cheapest option."
Beihan touched his suit pocket and nodded, saying, "I appreciate your kindness, but I have to ask, where are you going on this long trip? I heard you wanted to send the Robins to that Batman in Metal Armor."
"The places I'm going aren't too far, but there are several to visit." Bruce stretched and said, yawned, "What can I do if the boss doesn't work hard, always slacking off, and doesn't even try to escape when locked up?"
Beihan clapped Bruce on the shoulder and the two shared a smile, then Bruce stood at the entrance to Wayne Manor and watched Beihan leave.
Then he turned back and shouted toward the manor's hall, "Come on! Everyone, come here! Pack up, we're going to the concert!"
The children cheered and rushed out, with Jason running the fastest. He thundered down the stairs, saying, "Did you guys listen to the radio last night? Biggie's new song is just amazing! I thought he was going to release an album, but it turned out to be a new single!"
"You're wrong, 2pac's new single is the real top of the B-Charts! Let's speak with our achievements." another voice came from the back garden, with Peter jumping in from the window, holding a rolled-up poster in his hand.
"I can't believe he's having a signing event for his new song in Gotham. Look at the new poster I got! It's signed by the two of them!"
The kids immediately crowded around, only to find the poster was a photo of Biggie and 2pac together.
"God, whoever printed this joint portrait must have a death wish. I heard those two had a falling out." Dick's eyes widened as he said, "Wait, there are signatures? How would they sign on their joint photo?"
"You're so out of the loop." Peter looked somewhat disdainfully at Dick, saying, "Didn't you know Biggie showed up at 2pac's signing event? And as a surprise guest, no less, they've reconciled."
"That's right, that's right." Tim said, "I listened to the radio broadcast late last night. Biggie said in the broadcast that their conflict was all a misunderstanding, and I think he was hinting that someone was stirring up trouble between them."
"Wow!" Jason exclaimed at the explosive gossip, and immediately pulled Tim to recount the contents of last night's broadcast.
"I tried to get you to listen last night, but you refused." Tim pushed him away, saying, "You insisted on sleeping, missed the exciting parts, and now you want me to tell you? No way!"
Jason scoffed and said, "If you don't tell me, I'm going to tell your aunt that you listen to rap!"
"Oh God! Have you lost your mind? That will make her nag my dad for hours… Okay, okay, don't grab the phone, I'll tell you," Jason relented.
They gathered around the fireplace, chattering excitedly, while Alfred walked over and turned on the TV, tuning in to the local Gotham station. The host's voice came through.
"I can't believe such a huge surprise happened in this city. I've always said Gotham has its unique artistic aura, second to none."
"I think you're being too modest." a music critic on the show said, "If both top rap artists find inspiration here and can even set aside their differences for the sake of creating better music, then I must say, Gotham truly deserves to be called the city of music."
"Do you know anything about the past of those two rappers?" the host asked with a slightly gossipy tone.
The discussion in front of the TV also paused, everyone perked their ears, eager to hear if the insider might reveal something they didn't know.
On the TV screen, they saw the host was white, while the music critic was black. The critic flipped his hand and said, "Undoubtedly, the subtext of Christopher's radio interview yesterday suggested someone wanted to sabotage their relationship."
"Biased or too much of a conspiracy theory?" the host asked.
"I don't think so," the black music critic sighed, "You know how much the popularity of rap music has cost those who must frame popular music in their narrow categories."
"Society doesn't want to see a music group dominated by black people gain such commercial significance because the greater the commercial value, the more powerful their voice becomes."
"I'm not sure if I can say this on the show, but the perpetual silence of the black community has made people forget we have tongues, and even we ourselves have forgotten."
"When we come across some kids who'd rather deal drugs than make music, I know that society has spent a hundred years making a whole race feel worthless, inherently evil, dishonest, beyond redemption; but that's not the case."
"If all pathways are blocked, if we're destined to be silent, then music will be our only redemption."
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