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56.02% Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics / Chapter 2403: Chapter 1662: No Time to Face Death (25)_1

章節 2403: Chapter 1662: No Time to Face Death (25)_1

The Joker called the cops.

Yes, he scrambled over the couch, ran to the side of the phone table, and dialed the Gotham Police Department on an old, worn-out telephone.

When Gordon arrived at the Joker's home, Spider-Man had one hand on a knife and the other on the Joker. The experienced chief, shocked, widened his eyes and yelled at Spider-Man.

"Spider-Man, what are you doing? Are you planning to kill him?!"

Seeing a circle of policemen pointing guns at him at the door, Spider-Man immediately let go, raised his hands, and said to them, "Hey, you've got it all wrong. I saw that he hadn't shaved his stubble in a while and couldn't find a razor anywhere, so I had to make do with this knife."

Barely able to hold himself together, the Joker scrambled up from the ground and rushed toward the farthest wall. He slammed into it, and turned around with both hands tightly against the wall, then pointed at Spider-Man, "Get him out of here!!!!"

Gordon put down his gun, glanced at the Joker, then at Spider-Man, then back at the Joker. He sighed deeply and then said to Spider-Man, "Whatever you were trying to do, bursting into someone's house with a knife is wrong."

"But I didn't burst into his house with a knife. I found it in the kitchen..."

"Enough, listen, Spider-Man. Have you discussed this with Batman?"

Spider-Man put the knife on the nearby tea table, followed Gordon out the door, and said, "No, I did not discuss it with him, but I think he might have guessed it."

Gordon looked back at Spider-Man, but on the monitor screen in the Batcave, it looked like Gordon was looking into the camera.

Gordon led Spider-Man outside and said, "Listen, kid, I know you're probably furious about the things the Joker has done. But without evidence, we can't arrest him."

"Similarly, you can't assume he's a criminal and threaten him with a weapon when he's not committing a crime. I believe Batman has explained this to you. Promise me, you won't let anger cloud your judgement, okay?"

Gordon was calm, clearly having anticipated this situation. Almost every new recruit to the Batman family has had a similar experience.

After spending some time with Batman, the Robins would start to think, "Maybe I could do better than Batman." Some young police officers in Gotham think the same way.

But the Robins' reckless attempts to apprehend offenders didn't result in anything. First and foremost, their brazen intrusion into the villains' headquarters often landed them in traps. And even if they were martially skilled, villains could still call the cops without evidence.

Gordon had lost count of how many times he'd had to stop the Robins from beating up Penguin Man in the Iceberg Restaurant. The looks the Robins would give him then made him feel painful, as if he had become a guard dog serving these criminals.

But it's not like that. Does Gordon not know that Penguin Man is up to no good? Does he not know about the countless unlawful dealings within the Iceberg restaurant? Doesn't he know that even if Penguin Man got badly beaten up, he had it coming?

But if he didn't adhere to the little order that remained, Penguin Man wouldn't either. The result would be that illegal transactions would no longer be confined to the Iceberg Restaurant, they would appear in every venue that corrupt officials could reach and in the homes of Gotham's lower-class citizens.

By then, even Batman couldn't possibly go door-to-door to investigate, or save every proletariat caught up in the ruling class's grip.

Gotham at this point is a thoroughly poisoned and corrupted city. The few conscientious people left are striving to clear the rubble and remove the pests, not to restore its health, but to prevent it from dying, to keep it alive, it must live on.

So in a sense, both Gordon and Batman are accomplices to the darkness of Gotham because they chose not to destroy Gotham. Instead, they're doing their best to maintain the status quo, slowing its decline.

Both of them have long recognized this and are indifferent to all related criticisms. This is also the main reason for the disagreements between Batman and his Robins.

The Robins often ask Batman two questions: "Why not save them more persistently?" and "If you can't save them, why not destroy it?" Batman never responds.

The messes that the Robins often create: Bursting into the villain's home, giving them a beating and letting the police clean up; recklessly stepping into the villain's traps, sacrificing police officers to rescue them. Gordon never complains.

Because both of them know full well that you can't, and shouldn't, tell a group of youngsters to see reality with sober eyes, accept the dark status quo, and struggle to survive.

This isn't what children should be thinking about. The almost utopian ideals of salvation in their minds are the most precious things to the human race and shouldn't be brutally destroyed, at least not by the hands of those close to them.

So, all the smart and sober people in this city silently refuse to respond to any of the numerous questions from these inquisitive birds. They remain silent, forever silent, just like Batman, just like Gotham.

In Gordon's view, Spider-Man's break-in at the Joker's house was just another fruitless and reckless attempt by these brave birds. So he didn't say much else, only patted Spider-Man on the shoulder and then left.

Two days later, the Joker stormed into the Gotham Police Department to surrender.

Before the police could question him, he confessed all his crimes in painstaking detail, leaving nothing out.

"Chief Gordon, you have to believe me, I really wanted to help him." Spider-Man was nearly in tears, complaining to Gordon outside the police station, while holding onto his arm.

"The other day I visited his home and noticed that his living conditions suggested he was in dire financial straits. I thought his poverty was due to his inability to find steady work, so when he went out that day, I followed him."

"I have a Spider-Sense that can detect danger, so I knew he wasn't aware of me. I thought he was going to commit a robbery, kidnapping, or maybe even a bank heist. But he ended up working as a laborer at a chemical dye factory, where his job was to dump their unfit waste water."

"Of course, the work itself wasn't exactly legal, but he was honestly trying hard. Since dumping waste water was done secretly, he couldn't use the factory's large truck and had to use a small van to haul it to the sea, then dump it by hand."

"On such a hot day, he kept at it for five or six hours and made three or four trips. He seemed to have skimmed off some dangerous chemicals, but in the end, his employer even docked his wages..."

As Spider-Man narrated, Batman, sans his bat suit, and appearing as Bruce Wayne in the Batcave's monitoring room, was reminded of the events that took place two days ago with a look of utter despair on his face.

The factory was shrouded in darkness save for a small security room shone brightly. Two figures were arguing at the door, and one of them, a somewhat chubby man, was yelling.

"This job was supposed to be twenty bucks to begin with! Take it or leave it! You really think that messing up your face and applying some lipstick to imitate the terrorist Joker would scare me?!"

"Let me tell you, even if the real Joker were to show up, I'd still blow his brains out with a shotgun! Only that sissy Batman would put on an endless show with him. Don't fucking expect to intimidate me!"

"Take your money and get lost. Don't come back. I can't stand you bloodsucking leeches who only think about money. Scram, scram, scram!"

Two wilted banknotes floated down. The Joker, dressed in a somewhat wrinkled short-sleeved outfit, bent down to pick up the money, rubbed his nose and flicked the banknotes with his fingers.

When he turned around to leave, a figure was perched atop the factory building in the night backdrop of Gotham. It was Spider-Man, who had followed the Joker to this place.

With an unusually grave expression on his face, Spider-Man watched the unfolding scene, directing his glare more at the arrogant security guard and thus missing the sly grin that appeared at the corner of the Joker's mouth as he turned away.

If Batman was considered the world's greatest detective, then the Joker would be the world's best at manipulating emotions. He excelled in exploiting every emotion of every individual.

Many believed that the Joker was especially adept at stimulating the dark side within people. Yet, he was also exceedingly skilled at exploiting the goodness in their hearts. He understood that a righteous heart inflamed with anger but misdirected could be more harmful than any form of evil.

The manipulation began the moment he first met Spider-Man.

The Joker was merely a pitiful character suffering from mental illness. Aside from opposing Batman, he had to work hard, cook meals, and even endure hunger if discount groceries were absent from the supermarket. He was nothing more than a poor, helpless individual forced into crime by circumstances - the first step to gaining empathy and eliciting sympathy.

Aside from resisting Batman, he also complied with societal norms, working dutifully only to be oppressed. What wrong had this marginalized poverty-stricken individual done? It must surely have been due to societal injustice! - the second step to expunge his insane and brutal criminal history.

The Joker was well aware that Batman's innocent Robins, like all heroes in this world, strongly advocated for seeking justice without bias. Even if the offender were oppressed, he ought to be curtailed.

If it were any of Batman's Robins before, they would have certainly jumped off from the building and punched the security guard by now. After knocking the guard out, they would have looked down upon the Joker and said, "Even though you're a lunatic and criminal, I won't ignore any injustice you face. Because I am a hero."

The Joker would only laugh manically in his heart.

Indeed, this abusive security guard often deducted wages from the laborers hired to dispose of the waste water. But without him, even these exhausting and low-paying jobs wouldn't land in the hands of the weakest who could only work part-time. The person-in-charge would just contract it out to his own relatives.

"They will hate the heroes," Joker thought amidst his wild laughter. With such ease, he turned good and evil upside down, manipulated emotions, and no one could stop him, not even Batman. Because this was human nature.

But Spider-Man didn't jump down. From hundreds of meters away, Joker could sense the burning rage inside the young man.

But Spider-Man didn't jump down. He didn't punch that security guard; he merely squatted quietly on the roof of the building, observing this farce.

It didn't matter, Joker thought. The intelligence of the Robins was their own misfortune. Soon this innocent bird would realize that Batman and the Joker were not as he expected.


next chapter

章節 2404: Chapter 163: Unfazed by Death (26)_1

That night, Spider Man snuck into the electronic information room of Gotham City Public Library. Using their computers, he found information about the chemical factory where the Joker had worked.

This factory was named ACE Chemical Factory, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. While searching for information about Wayne Enterprises, Spider Man discovered that its current leader, Bruce Wayne, was the one financing Batman's vigilante actions.

Spider Man instinctively felt that something was off, but since this wasn't the focus of his investigation, he let it go without further inquiry.

Spider Man collected all the online information about Bruce Wayne's appearances at various events and his celebrity gossip, and used them to infer Bruce Wayne's approximate daily routine and recent schedule.

He chose a time when Bruce Wayne had just finished an important meeting and returned to his office to confirm reports. Spider Man went straight into Bruce Wayne's office.

"Hey, how's it going, buddy? I'm Spider Man. I have a few questions I'd like to talk to you about. Can I take up five minutes of your time?"

Bruce never dreamed that he'd walk away from the surveillance room for a bit to take care of some business matters, only to run into Spider Man who'd slipped away from surveillance.

But nevertheless, he pretended to be a wealthy businessman who was panicked by the sudden intrusion.

"Who are you? What do you want? I'm warning you to leave right now, or I'm calling the police!"

"I'm afraid that's going to be hard for you to do, sir. All the phone lines within a two-kilometer radius have been cut by me, and I'm quite sure it's for your own good. Because what I'm about to discuss with you cannot, under any circumstances, be overheard by the police. If it were, it could have a very negative impact on your organization."

Bruce glared fiercely at Spider Man. Spider Man took two steps closer, which was clearly beyond the socially acceptable distance amongst Gothamites, so Bruce stepped back.

"You shouldn't be dodging me, sir. The suggestion I'm about to make is genuinely for the good of your organization." Spider Man stepped forward again, explaining sincerely.

"I know you're the president of a huge corporation, busy with a million things. You certainly don't have the time to care about some minor matters. Therefore, it's not your fault that this oversight occurred. But I hope you can rectify it before it does real damage to your organization's reputation."

"What are you trying to say?" Bruce asked, pretending to be impatient.

"Does ACE Chemical Factory, which is under your Wayne Enterprises, keep dumping untreated sewage into the sea, are you aware of this, Mr. Bruce Wayne?"

"I..." Bruce made a shocked face, but in reality, Batman was already furrowing his brows. He remembered having equipped each of his Wayne Enterprises' chemical industry parks with the most comprehensive wastewater treatment systems.

Even Batman needed sleep, he only had twenty-four hours in a day. Hence, it wasn't possible for him to monitor the wastewater discharge of each factory. Even if he could, in a Gotham where anything could go wrong, to create a villain who is polluted by chemicals in order to promote ocean conservation, his factory's wastewater system might just be compromised.

"The fact is, ACE Chemical Factory has been continuously discharging non-compliant wastewater into the ocean. These are the photos I took before." Spider Man held up a piece of paper to Bruce and pointed to a person on it, adding, "I only saw this security guard and a worker on the job. I'm not sure if it was the security guard's idea, or if someone else instructed him."

"But I don't believe you intended this, Mr. Bruce Wayne." Spider Man took another step forward, looking sincerely at Bruce, "Because once this is exposed by the media, the damage to Wayne Enterprises' reputation will be far greater than the cost of purchasing a few wastewater purifiers, right?"

Just as Bruce was about to reply, Spider Man suddenly said: "Of course, this situation is quite concealed, it may not be discovered. But, by chance, I found it and even took photos. Now, these photos are saved in a mysterious mailbox, and the timer is set."

"The recipients include all the major newspapers I could find, prominent journalists, critics, and forum moderators of well-known websites. You can imagine the tremendous damage to Wayne Enterprises' reputation when these undeniable proofs are exposed. Even if you double the charity funding for Wayne Enterprises next year, you won't be able to salvage it."

Bruce drew a sharp breath, immediately rushing forward to hold Spider Man's hand enthusiastically. Then, with the voice of a savvy businessman, he said: "You must give me all the details about this matter. You know, I manage too many things and am too busy. I can't possibly monitor the emissions of a small chemical plant."

"But I didn't expect my inferiors to be so audacious. If you hadn't come to warn me, it'd be a real nuisance if this gets exposed someday. Come here, tell me in detail what you saw that day. I will arrange for rectifications immediately."

About two hours later, Spider Man knocked on the door of the Joker's house. When the Joker opened the door, Spider Man made an apologetic gesture and said: "I'm truly sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be able to transport wastewater tonight. That's because the wealthy Bruce Wayne has charged into the factory which was discharging non-compliant wastewater, and fired all the subordinates involved in the act."

"I suggested to him that he should periodically inspect the other chemical factories under his control. I will monitor this anytime, and he agreed. So, you might not see factories under Wayne Enterprises discharging freely anymore."

The Joker slammed the door shut with a "bam".

That noon, the Joker wound up helping out in the kitchen of a restaurant that happened to be part of Wayne Enterprises. The kitchen hygiene there was subpar, to put it mildly - it was filthy.

Spider-Man followed immediately behind him, snapping a series of photographs, then appeared in Bruce Wayne's office an hour later. An immediate inspection was carried out and after firing approximately a handful of kitchen managers across several chain restaurants, the conditions at every food-related company under Wayne Enterprises dramatically improved.

As evening approached, Joker parked near a luxurious mansion preparing for a banquet thrown by the Wayne family. While exotic cars came and went, and fine wine and exquisite cuisines were served non-stop, Joker was mistaken for a valet and was treated arrogantly, even insultingly, by an assistant of a wealthy man and almost got hit.

That night, Spider-Man found that valet-man's house, and lectured him in length about the importance of maintaining good relations in the business world, and how hiring an insulting assistant like that might ruin his network.

Being a businessman, he knew that nothing was more important than making money. After asking his other subordinates and confirming these offenses, he fired his assistant on the spot.

Within the next twenty-four hours, Joker and Spider-Man witnessed an array of dark situations under Wayne Enterprises: wage arrears in a rubber tire factory, drug trafficking in the logistics industry, members of Wayne's board bribing government officials, and a key manager of their largest chain store abandoning his wife and child due to an extramarital affair.

Spider-Man then demanded Bruce Wayne to investigate wage arrears across the entire firm, revamp logistics networks to ensure no drug smuggling, report those who engage in bribery and put them behind bars, and help the manager's ex-wife sue for alimony she was entitled to.

The Joker quickly realized that he had to halt the plan or risk Wayne Enterprises flourishing even more.

The Joker's intention was to reveal to Spider-Man that the Wayne Enterprises, the power that controlled majority of the capital and wealth, was the main culprit behind the city's decay.

His goal was to make Robin think that the super criminals in Gotham had their reasons, and the root of these crimes was due to the existence of both Wayne Enterprises and Batman.

Thus, confusing the roles of good and evil, Batman, along with financially supportive Wayne Enterprises, was perceived as oppressors who control and manipulate the city, while the super criminals were seen as the oppressed fighting against capitalism.

While it all sounds absurd, young people - full of idealism and justice - are often easily misled. Feeling they have discovered a hidden dark side of society, they will stand with the underprivileged and resort to extreme measures to fight these injustices.

The more the rationale is resolved, the more they reject the distractions of the moderate faction trying to find the middle ground. This would only strengthen their resolve in fighting for justice, even if it meant their descent into terrorism.

If it were like before, Robins would probably storm into the Batcave and confront Batman, but he would remain silent, never revealing the truth about these dark realties.

If Batman tried to explain to them that they had been misled by the villains, the Robins would explode like ticking time bombs, accusing Batman of belittling them, trying to cover up the truth, or even being complicit in the darkness.

In this way, a battle would almost certainly erupt between Batman and the Robins, a feud impossible to resolve, comparable to the class struggle. In reality, these were all meticulously set traps to divide Batman and his sidekicks.

If Robins stood against Batman, choosing to rise in rebellion representing the 'people', Gotham would once again descend into chaos. This would inevitably lead to armed riots, detriment and plundering. At this rate, even the facade of order would not be maintained.

At that point, no matter how reluctant Batman was, he would have to cast his child out of the city, as if carving out a piece of his heart again, sinking him deeper into darkness.

That was how Gotham continually devoured Batman.

As for the piece that was supposed to have been eaten away, Spider-Man, he was now crouched in front of the Joker's house, knocking on the door while shouting towards the inside.

"Mister Joker, if you have grievances against Wayne Enterprises, you should voice them out loudly, so they can be addressed!"

"If you don't stand up and voice out, the errors will never be corrected. Never doubt the validity of your claims just because it's what everyone else is afffirming."

"There is no wrong in the world that can become right with the passage of time. The right is right, the wrong is wrong. We should strive to praise what is right, criticize what is wrong, and try our best, tirelessly, until the errors are rectified."

"Regardless of the difficulties and how many people doubt you, never give up. Even if I only manage to correct one thing after ten years of hard work, that's one less error in the world. Even if I couldn't correct anything, I'll have at least left behind a good example for those to come."

"Even if not every wrong in the world can be righted, correcting one wrong can save one person."

"Look, haven't I already saved you from polluted wastewater, subpar hygienic conditions, and discrimination?"


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