Chương 101: The Value of Batman
Selina glanced at her old flame, feeling a tiny bit resentful of his sudden return, which left her with no excuses to avoid Shiva. Pushing Bruce aside, she reluctantly accompanied Shiva to the other side with a forced smile to negotiate the terms of payment.
As for Bruce, he was feeling quite awkward now. While he had a high net worth, much of his wealth was tied up in assets that couldn't easily be liquidated, such as his shares in Wayne Enterprises, Queen Consolidated, Merlyn Global, and even LexCorp, among others. According to unwritten rules, these shares couldn't be easily cashed out without a legitimate reason.
Additionally, his real estate holdings around the world, such as ski resorts in Switzerland and vineyards in Belgium, were also difficult to sell on short notice.
Most of his income was reinvested into gear, much like Thea, though he had already established a significant arsenal while she was still getting started. Maintaining this equipment required significant funds. Both of them appeared prosperous on the surface but were struggling financially.
Faced with the assertive Shiva, Bruce could only offer moral support to his lover in her predicament.
Inside the meeting room, everyone listened quietly as Shiva and Selina haggled over payment terms.
"We agreed on delivering the person within a month, and you're three days late. I definitely can't pay the full amount," Selina pointed out.
"I haven't even asked you for my travel expenses yet! Do you know how hard I worked to find your man? I didn't even rest when I cut my finger. Do you know that?" Shiva retorted.
Both women abandoned their usual elegance and composure, focusing solely on the matter of money.
Cough, cough. Bruce tried to divert the attention of those present. He found it quite absurd that they were treating him like merchandise up for sale. Clearing his throat twice, he attempted to shift the focus away from their heated negotiation. "You were discussing the issue of rescuing civilians in-depth earlier. Let's continue that conversation."
But everyone ignored him. Rarely did they have the chance to indulge in gossip, and they weren't about to miss out. The people of Gotham wouldn't die in the next few minutes; they could spare the time. The group, with Thea leading, disregarded Bruce's silent plea and continued to watch the two women negotiating on the other side of the room.
Soon, Selina, feeling defeated, took out her phone with a hint of trembling in her once firm fingers. With a crisp "ding," the sound of a successful transaction echoed in the room. Satisfied, Shiva glanced at her phone screen. "Not bad, Kitty. You've got quite a bit of money. This will serve as the down payment. Remember to send me the rest at the beginning of next month."
After saying this, Shiva didn't even look at Selina's crestfallen expression. She surveyed the room and caught Thea's eye. With a wave of her hand, she bid farewell. "It's been a while since I left home. I wonder if my daughter misses me. I'm leaving now!"
With that, Shiva pocketed her phone away, her dark hair swaying as she left with a graceful stride.
As she watched the woman, who had been her mentor for the past six months, leave, Thea felt a bit reluctant to see her go. The key issue was that they were currently lacking combat-capable individuals. How could she leave now? If Shiva had waited just two more minutes, she would have gotten to the main point.
But after considering it for a bit, Thea decided it was fine for Shiva to leave. Just look at Selina's example—this money-obsessed woman was truly beyond their means. It was likely that she demanded a significant sum from Malcolm in exchange for teaching Thea.
"Mr. Wayne, have you recovered?" Thea quickly asked Bruce beside her, their current strongest asset. The unspoken question was whether or not he was fit for combat.
Bruce, being the highly intelligent person he was, understood her implication right away. However, understanding aside, he couldn't ignore the objective fact of his physical condition.
Raising his cane, he said, "I can walk around normally now."
Thea felt like the entire world was mocking her. After finally getting back two valuable assets, one ran away, and the other had a debuff. It felt like going in circles and ending up back at the starting point, relying on the same people as before.
She wasn't sure how much Bruce had heard of the previous discussion, so Thea briefly recounted, "Mr. Wayne, do you think large-scale rainfall and neutralizing radiation will disrupt the superficial evolution of enhanced individuals?"
"Call me Bruce, Miss Thea. I will always remember your assistance to Gotham," Bruce responded politely, standing up to express his gratitude.
"As for your suggestion, we can try this: I once developed a special wavelength trigger years ago. This type of sound wave is harmless to normal people. We just need to test the data on enhanced individuals and adjust it to a specific frequency to emit infrasound waves specifically targeting enhanced individuals. I'm not sure about the effectiveness, but inducing dizziness should be achievable."
From this, one can see the value of Batman. Most of his combat prowess was based on his intelligence. He had self-taught over a dozen doctoral degrees, which was no small feat. It was no wonder that Ra's al-Ghul valued him so highly. Being able to learn so much in one's lifetime showcases his top-tier talent.
Furthermore, his approach sounded much more advanced compared to Thea and their dry ice and boron spray approach. The two of them quickly engaged in a lively discussion. Felicity, who initially felt awkward in the presence of her idol, eventually joined the conversation with delight.
This left the few remaining individuals in the room who were scientifically illiterate feeling quite miserable. Apart from Selina, who was still lamenting her lost money and pondering whether to commit a major robbery to make up for the loss, the others had confused expressions. They wanted to leave but were afraid of being assigned tasks, so they could only listen in a daze.
Bruce was feeling quite pleased at this moment. His vast knowledge often went unappreciated. The only person he could truly connect with was an old villain who had lived for eight hundred years.
Usually, he had no outlet to showcase his knowledge, which was frustrating. But now, encountering these two girls from Starling City, he found their clear thinking and quick reactions refreshing. Most importantly, they understood what he said! This was no small feat.
Bruce was initially somewhat upset about being unable to join the action. However, discovering that his intellect still had a role to play transformed his previous frustration into joy.
As they chatted, he also developed a favorable impression of the duo from Starling City.
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Hopeless_Reader
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