下載應用程式
3.4% Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics / Chapter 146: Chapter 101 Bat in the Jar_1

章節 146: Chapter 101 Bat in the Jar_1

February 23, 1987, Chicago, night time.

In the Chicago Grand Theater, Ms. Tina ended the dazzling and lively dance party. She gently touched her fur shawl, and with the assistance of her driver, she sat into a luxurious car. When she returned to her luxurious apartment, a handsome man with blue eyes wrapped his arms around her waist. Tina said, "Our dance party has just begun, hasn't it, Mr. Bruce?"

The moonlight outside the window shone in, shining on his beautiful blue eyes, partially concealed by his eyebrows shadow. The handsome side profile of the man fascinated Tina. When the man turned around, it was Bruce Wayne.

On an ordinary afternoon on February 20, 1987, Shiller woke up in Falcone Manor's bed. He hadn't forgotten that before he crossed into Marvel, he was resting in the guest room of the Godfather's Manor.

Gotham's mornings were never sunny, but the early morning always brought special inspiration to Shiller. While enjoying breakfast with Falcone and his son, the professor once again received some inspirationand quickly perfected it in his mind.

"What do you think of the future of Gotham?" Shiller asked Falcone.

Falcone shook his head and said: "If you had asked me this question 40 years ago, I would definitely tell you that this city is hopeless. But now I want to say, this city does not need anyone to save it, it is as it is, and it will continue to be…"

"Do you think Gotham needs a new order?"

"Many people have asked me this question, but I can only say that any effort to make this city better will ultimately be in vain, no matter how enthusiastic the beginning, but in the end, it will return to nothingness."

"Why is that?"

"You asked the key, but I don't know the answer."

The Godfather lit a cigar, and the smoke slowly drifted away. He said, "In these 40 years, I have seen determined revolutionaries and saviors with moral boundaries like saints. Among so many people in this world, there are certainly one or two good guys or heroes, determined to save this city."

"They came to Gotham with this idea. You have to admit that even if you knew they wouldn't succeed, you would still be deeply shocked by that kind of determination."

"You may find it funny, but I have indeed been changed by these people. You may wonder how I became the Godfather of Gotham, the biggest mob in this mob city."

"But it's because I've seen these, I've experienced that era, that I know that good guys can't save Gotham, nor can heroes."

"So where are they now?"

"Most of them are dead, and some who were being lucky escaped from here. Those who do not belong to Gotham will eventually leave Gotham. If someone stays, then he must have belonged to Gotham originally."

"Is there such a person? Where is he?"

The Godfather seemed to fall into a memory. After a while, he made the sign of the cross on his chest and said, "I swore to the Lord to preserve this secret."

He did not give Shiller a clear answer, but Shiller already knew who he was referring to.

The next day, Bruce was called into the office by Shiller. Shiller almost never took the initiative to call him over, so Bruce was curious about what Shiller wanted.

They sat down on either side of the office desk, just as they did the first time they met. Shiller asked him:

"Have you ever thought of saving this city completely in a second?"

"Of course…"

"I mean, after you clearly realize what the nature of this city is."

Bruce opened his mouth, and Shiller took off his glasses. He stared at Bruce and said: "I think you should have seen that this city doesn't need to be saved, and it can't be saved fundamentally."

"So what, are you trying to persuade me to stop doing this? To stop being Batman?"

"Of course not, I don't care whether you're Batman or not, I just want to know if you really want to save Gotham?"

"What's the difference between the two?"

"Are you sure you became Batman to save Gotham?"

Bruce fell silent.

"Let me ask you another question, if there is a possibility of bringing a new order to Gotham now, would you be willing to make some efforts for it?"

"Although I have this speculation now, I still can't be sure, what is the essence of this city? Why did it become like this? And is it really unsaveable?"

"Falcone once told me that many people have tried to save this city, but they all failed. Most of them have buried here, but some have stayed, integrated here, and become a part of Gotham."

"Who is he?"

"The only priest in Gotham Cathedral, I think you can go see him and then come back and give me an answer."

Bruce shook his head. He thought Shiller was a bit bizarre.

But he was also very interested in the past stories of Gotham. There are too many mysteries in this city to explore.

At first, his goal was simple. He wanted to avenge all the criminals. But when he learned a part of Gotham, he thought he should also save this city. But when he learned more about Gotham, he felt that this city did not need to be saved.


next chapter

章節 147: Chapter 101 Bat in the Jar_2

Now, as he learned about Gotham all over again, he realized that it seemed like a city that couldn't be saved.

Just as Shiller had put it, Gotham was like a book one could never finish reading, filled with endless mysteries. Each time you read it, new insights would arise.

When Bruce arrived at Gotham Cathedral, the priest warmly received him. The elderly priest looked as if he was already in his seventies. Truthfully, very few ordinary people in Gotham lived to such an age.

No one in Gotham teaches children to help the elderly cross the street because there are neither teachers nor elderly here.

At the podium, the priest said cheerfully as he held Bruce's arm: "I've heard of Mr. Wayne. Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to offer you as this church is old, just like me."

"Look, these tables and chairs are falling into disrepair. I wonder if some kind-hearted soul would give us a new podium that wouldn't require a brick to prop it up..."

Bruce was familiar with these kinds of pleas. He made the sign of the cross on his chest and said: "With the guidance of the Lord, the Wayne Construction Team will undergo a thorough renovation of the interior of this church to return it to its former glory... All for the glory of God."

The old priest seemed very satisfied with this. When Bruce started to talk about his past, the priest didn't hold anything back and shared his experiences openly.

"I came from an ordinary family in England, served in a church during my youth, and came here so that more people could hear the Gospel," he said.

"Originally, I only landed in a small city on the East Coast, but I heard that Gotham was nice, so I came here."

"You might find this hard to believe, but back then, Gotham was indeed not bad. Thanks to the existence of the docks, it was relatively prosperous. There were a lot of people, the living conditions were decent, and the mobs were just starting out, so there weren't many."

"Back then, there were still ordinary people with dreams here. They wanted to establish order and grow alongside this city, and of course, I was one of them."

The priest's voice grew softer and echoed throughout the empty cathedral. The light from the stained glass at the top of the cathedral windows formed a colorful tunnel, and the priest's voice seemed to travel back in time.

"There were many like-minded people at that time, full of ambition. They saw this place like the Golden Coast, a new El Dorado. There was some chaos back then, but everyone thought it was just the ordinary growing pains of city development."

"Young missionaries, carrying a Bible, set foot on this land with a fleet. The story from afar is not as grand as others imagine, but I still managed to pique people's interest."

"Of course, I came here to spread faith, tried to assist everyone as much as I could, mediating some of the more intense disputes among the gangs. Almost everyone was willing to give me face."

Upon hearing this, Bruce started to see the priest in a new light. This man, a contemporary of Falcone, appeared to have also had some influence in Gotham at one point.

In a city ruled by the mob, you could eat what you wanted but you had to watch what you said.

No one would dare to fabricate such a story, claiming that all the gangs respected him. To Bruce's knowledge, only Falcone had that ability. If anyone else dared to boast like this, their body would be in the sea by the next day.

Yet, the old priest's words were spoken as if they were mundane. Bruce could sense the humility in his tone and thought that perhaps this old man, a contemporary of Falcone, once shared the same level of prestige as the revered Godfather.

But now they were worlds apart. Falcone had become a respected figure in Gotham, while this old priest was left tending to an old church, likely with no parishioners coming in for days to pray.

Bruce was always curious about that era, which seemed somewhat faded like an old photograph, much like how people tend to romanticize their forefathers' generation.

The story Falcone once shared about the docks depicted a turbulent era in which the mob rose to power.

However, now in this empty cathedral, the elderly priest revealed a different side of the city during that bygone era.

"When I arrived in this city, the war was far from over. Here, isolationism was the norm. Still, most ordinary folks were afraid of the ongoing war; they didn't understand why a war was happening on the other side of the world."

"I began to spread the teachings here, believing that faith could bring peace to people's hearts. Initially, I did well. You know, many English people hadn't left yet and they would often invite me to their estates to give sermons. That's how I spent most of my afternoons."

"At first, small gangs only lurked around the docks and seldom ventured into the main streets. It was around this time that I met Falcone. Back then, he wasn't the Falcone he is today nor were there the Twelve Families. Maybe, the whole of Gotham couldn't have gathered twelve decent mobs."


Load failed, please RETRY

禮物

禮品 -- 收到的禮物

    每周推薦票狀態

    批量訂閱

    目錄

    顯示選項

    背景

    EoMt的

    大小

    章評

    寫檢討 閱讀狀態: C146
    無法發佈。請再試一次
    • 翻譯品質
    • 更新的穩定性
    • 故事發展
    • 人物形象設計
    • 世界背景

    總分 0.0

    評論發佈成功! 閱讀更多評論
    用推薦票投票
    Rank NO.1 推薦票榜
    Stone 38 推薦票
    舉報不當內容
    錯誤提示

    舉報暴力內容

    段落註釋

    登錄

    tip 段落評論

    段落註釋功能現已上線!將滑鼠移到任何段落上,然後按下圖示以添加您的評論。

    此外,您可以隨時在「設置」 中將其關閉/ 打開。

    明白了