Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Why don’t you let me earn this money directly…

Although he had never fought Batman head-on, Smith could probably guess what the consequences would be. Unlike the assassin, he didn't have any superpowers. As long as he stripped off his armor -

You'll discover that besides being "Gotham's nighttime terror incarnate," he's also a muscular hunk mastering over a hundred existing fighting styles. Whether familiar or lesser-known, he possesses abilities far beyond the reach of his enemies' imaginations.

All in all, an assassin would have to be a fool to fight Batman head-on.

Smith acted decisively and slid back. Batman's armored fist slammed against the wall with a clang, sending the entire sewer trembling in shock and shedding spiderwebs of debris. The aggression rivaled that of the crocodile man, who stalked around with his tail swishing all day. Smith, who was sheathing his gun, couldn't help but glance over and smack his lips in amazement.

After missing his first strike, Batman quickly changed his attack. He noticed the gunman sheathed his pistol and tucked it back into his waistband; this was normal; a pistol was often a hindrance in close combat. So Batman would be wary of any magical gadgets the gunman might pull from his trench coat pockets, and try to end the fight before he could unleash his destructive power.

Danger! The gunman's hand came out of his windbreaker!

Batman quickly grabbed his wrist, raising his knees—

"I'm sorry I shot you," the gunman said, holding up his hands. "I didn't realize it was you, Dark Knight."

Batman's knee slammed into his elbow. The gunman let out a soft cry, his fingers numb, and the toy he was holding rolled obediently into Batman's grasp below.

"I'm not sorry for punching you just now." Batman squeezed the small ball and scanned the internal structure. "Have we seen this before?"

Despite this, Batman didn't continue his attack. He straightened himself again, the ball flashing past his eyes. The armor's built-in scanner quickly analyzed the result. It was a smoke bomb with little lethality. Its only novelty was its technological content.

This made Batman let down his guard a little, but only a little.

"You're welcome," the gunman replied. "Just consider it a welcome gift from me."

He flicked his finger, and a flash of knife light shone in the darkness. It broke through the air currents, whistling like a butterfly from the assassin's fingers, pinning the man who was about to escape in the chaos to the ground with precision. He screamed in agony, and just as he was about to pull out the flying knife stuck in his palm, the assassin stepped on his back again.

"Although I don't know why you noticed this," the assassin said, "I believe you are here for this reason as well."

"Him," corrected Batman who followed.

"He might be planning to hurt Elio," the assassin gestured to the man on the ground. "I haven't had time to ask why."

"Don't you know why?" Batman said.

The assassin heard the tentative tone behind his flat voice, but didn't answer. He peered inside, confirmed Elio was still there, and then, reassuredly ignoring the boy still struggling in the bulky cloak, turned back.

"Hurry up and tell me," the assassin said to the man on the ground, "Honestly, you should be thankful that Batman is here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so easy to 'entertain' you."

Batman stood there motionless like a heavy black mountain. He watched the assassin bend down and pull the knife out of the man's hand on the ground, even rubbing it on his clothes on the back before putting it back to his waist.

"...I don't know anything!" The man stubbornly insisted between screams. "Someone offered me two hundred dollars to go into the sewer and bring a little kid up. Would you do it?"

"Two hundred dollars? Seriously?" Elio, who had finally freed himself from his cloak, walked over with it. "Why don't you just let me earn the money? I could even send myself to them."

The assassin and Batman turned their heads at the same time, looking at him in silence. Elio shrugged and handed the cape to Batman, who covered it again in silence and glanced at the assassin again.

"Two hundred is still too little." The assassin caught his gaze and pondered for a moment, "At least five million."

Elio burst out laughing. The assassin almost laughed at the thought of the kid not knowing what the future would hold, but he suddenly felt a chill run down his side. Turning around, he saw Batman giving him a disapproving look.

"No matter how much money someone offers you," Batman said, "you shouldn't go with them."

Elio joked, "Not even five million?"

"Five million is not enough. Tens of millions is not enough. Hundreds of millions is not enough."

The money that most people in Gotham might not even touch in their lifetime just floated out of Batman's mouth. He gathered his cape and squatted down, looking the boy from the bottom of the society in the eye.

"No price is ever right if it's used to buy a living person, a living soul." Batman said slowly, "In this sense, every person is an unsaleable and priceless treasure."

Elio stopped smiling. He kept his lips flat and looked at Batman silently.

"I wish I could convince you of this, but I also know that this isn't how things work in Gotham," Batman said. "People work for a few dozen bucks every night, no matter what they do. I've seen it all. I can even tell you what a healthy little boy like you could fetch. But hidden behind those prices is what they're asking for, often times, more than you're willing to pay. And when they're willing to pay far more than that? That's even worse. You'll find you can never satisfy their appetite. You'll pour all your energy, money, and soul into it, but it won't help until they've sucked your soul, your future, and your destiny into this crazy blender..."

"Until you're dead. Until they can no longer extract any surplus value from your corpse."

"But that's not the end. They'll find the next person who's willing to sell themselves and then continue on."

Elio remained silent. The assassin remained silent, standing there with his arms folded, silently looking at Batman. When Batman glanced at him, the assassin seemed to wake up and reached out to touch Elio's head.

"He understands," the assassin said briefly. "Doesn't he, boy?"

Elio removed his hand from his head in disgust, but nodded silently.

"Very good," Batman said. "Finally and most importantly, if you need help—any help—you can contact this number."

Batman pulled a business card from his utility belt. Elio took it and was surprised to see the hotline number for the Martha Foundation Youth Rescue Center printed on it. But even more surprising was that Elio found a few candies and chocolates in his hand.

"This is a reward," Batman winked at him, "for those children who are particularly brave."

Elio stared at him blankly, then looked at the chocolate in his palm. It seemed like he hadn't done anything special tonight. The assassin standing there smiled softly and patted his head again.

"Alright, brave boy," the assassin patted his shoulder. "Once we're done here, remember to tell Batman everything you've found. Now, step aside a bit. We're going to do something inappropriate for minors."

Batman watched. The assassin pretended not to notice and resumed the interrogation from the sewer water. But the interrupted interrogation suddenly went smoothly. The unfortunate man sobbed and spilled every detail of the deal, even racking his brains to reveal the color of the socks worn by the contact who paid him.

"At least this is a detail that minors don't want to hear." The assassin commented.

"Adults don't really want to know either," Batman said.

But they still acknowledged the help of the two-hundred-dollar mercenary and enthusiastically banged his head against the wall, rewarding him with a baby-like sleep.

After a thud, Elio, who had been eavesdropping, immediately emerged from behind the burning barrel.

"I knew there was something else behind my parents' deaths!" he cried, his face flushing. "Someone murdered them, and they're determined to silence anyone who finds out!"

"…the car accident that happened in front of Paulie's fast food restaurant near Chinatown eight years ago?" Batman whispered. "Those were your parents?"

"Yes!" Elio was so excited that he didn't notice that Batman's reaction seemed unusual. He just hurriedly took out his notebook from his pocket and flipped through it quickly.

Only the assassin glanced at Batman with an unsure expression.

"Right here!" Elioli ripped off a page and held it up to Batman. "I was still organizing my thoughts this morning, and I happened to jot down Tim and my progress here."

"Are you sure you want to give it to me?" Batman asked. He took the thin piece of paper. His hand was steady, and no one could tell that he was momentarily reminded of the eight-year-old boy he once was.

"Of course! Tim and I both remember those things anyway," Elio said. "Besides, you're Batman! If there's only one person left in Gotham who can find out the truth, then that person must be you!"

Batman was silent for a moment, until finally, he said nothing, just nodded solemnly.

"There's one last thing I need from you, little soldier," Batman said. "I need you to move to a safe place. The Tim you mentioned, Timothy Drake, is in danger. I just learned his location—" He stopped Elio, who was about to jump, and calmed him with his eyes. "I'm going to get him now. But you can't put yourself in danger again. Can you do this? Help me? Wait for me at my designated location until this is over?"

Batman had plenty of experience dealing with children, ever since he adopted a kid who always liked to hang upside down from a chandelier and wish him good morning. He looked at Elio encouragingly, while mentally ruling out places where a lively ten-year-old could be placed.

The sewers are the first to be eliminated. Everyone who should know this now knows that safety is almost zero.

Orphanage? No, the security is too poor.

The police station? No, there's a Two-Face inside...

“I promise!” Elio said. “Smith can take me—wait, Smith?”

Batman turned his head sharply. Unbeknownst to them, the only person left behind was the unfortunate man who had fainted. Amidst the sound of dripping water, the assassin who was supposed to be standing there had vanished.

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Author's words: Oreo: I took some time out of my busy schedule to look at my childhood self. I'm so glad I'm still alive. I'm so glad Batman is here. I heard you have a lot of experience in taking care of children (slip)

Batman:?