Chapter 37 Super Detective! Solving Cases Seriously!
It may sound impossible, but it is indeed a conclusion that Dick reached after careful consideration and verification from multiple sources.
When Dick first connected Bruce with the night owl, he was startled and then began searching for arguments to support the idea.
First, judging from Night Owl's luxurious hideout and his seemingly formidable armor, he must be extremely wealthy, and has been wealthy for many years.
Secondly, Bruce's disappearance and the sudden appearance of Night Owl coincide perfectly. After Bruce returned to Wayne Manor, Night Owl also gradually reduced his public appearances. It is very likely that he has been operating in Gotham under the identity of Night Owl for the past few years.
Third, the time Bruce is not at Wayne Manor each day coincides with the time when Night Owl spawns in Gotham.
Finally, the only major thing Night Owl did upon arriving in Gotham was to ban guns, and Bruce certainly had every reason to hate guns.
Having summarized these four points, Dick officially began his investigation.
He was quite talented. Under the pretext of doing a research report assignment for the school's social investigation course, he asked Thomas for several years' worth of newspapers (fortunately, Thomas had been investing in newspapers for the past few years). After school, he and Thomas flipped through them together, collecting evidence.
"Are students this young nowadays doing such difficult homework?" Thomas sat on the floor with Dick, slightly shocked, staring blankly at the newspapers scattered all over the floor.
“I’m going to do this the best I can.” Dick replied enthusiastically. “You understand me, right, Thomas? I heard from Bruce and Alfred that you started elementary school at the age of four and have always been at the top of your class.”
"..."
Thomas slightly shifted his gaze.
I don't really understand it.
Thomas was not interested in the children's lessons at all; his homework was completely perfunctory, and one could only say that he was very good at faking it.
At that time, he couldn't perfectly hide his values (and he was too lazy to hide them, and not everyone was qualified for Thomas to go to the trouble of pretending), so sometimes he would come up with some shocking and abstract reports, such as suggesting that individuals with serious genetic defects should be given humanitarian euthanasia as soon as possible to reduce the social operating costs, etc. Fortunately, elementary school students don't have a big enough vocabulary to understand.
But Thomas couldn't bring himself to say no, and could only quietly accept his new "diligent student" persona, saying seriously to Dick, "Okay, so what's the topic of your report?"
"The security situation in Gotham in recent years," Dick replied, looking at a newspaper from a few years ago with a picture of Thomas with a cast on his leg.
"What conclusion are you trying to prove? Do you want to prove whether Gotham's security has improved or worsened? I need to find the data."
"Um, can this be determined in advance?"
“Of course,” Thomas looked at him incredulously, “how am I supposed to collect the right data if I’m not sure about your research findings?”
“I still want to draw conclusions from the data.” Dick hesitated, having already found another newspaper article about Thomas.
Thomas squinted.
"You want to investigate Night Owl?"
“How could that be, Thomas?” Dick shook his head. “How did you get injured back then?”
“You’re going to use this as an excuse to investigate Night Owl,” Thomas said confidently. “Your lying skills are still too poor, Dick. The newspaper you’re holding seems to have written about the reason for my injury. Repeating this question will only make you look guilty.”
Dick resolutely refused to put down the newspaper in his hand.
"...And it's related to Bruce?" Thomas said thoughtfully.
“Okay, that’s true, Thomas.” Dick resignedly put down his newspaper. “Can you read minds?”
“With enough information, even a fool can read minds,” Thomas said with interest. “Do you need me to teach you?”
"So how exactly did you figure that out?"
"If you really want to investigate Gotham's security situation in recent years, why bother looking at the newspapers? The newspapers are full of entertainment news. It's as difficult to count cases here as to find rats in Alfred's kitchen. So you must have other purposes, and these purposes are very likely not mentioned in the official reports. Considering your recent experiences, there's only one person worth all this trouble."
"That Bruce..."
“It really is related to Night Owl. I didn’t say who that person was.” Thomas crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I could only be sure that you were investigating Bruce.”
"How did you figure that out?"
"It's strange that Bruce specifically avoided working during the day to ask me for help, without even mentioning it to Alfred or Bruce."
“I was actually worried that Bruce would be too tired from working at night…” Dick stubbornly defended himself.
“Actually, we all know that Bruce isn’t really committed to starting the business.” Thomas tilted his head to look at him.
Dick conceded defeat.
"So you suspect Bruce has a connection to Night Owl?" Thomas asked thoughtfully. "You suspect Bruce sponsored Night Owl?"
"I will not speak until I have found out the truth."
Even me?
“Even if it’s you,” Dick said earnestly.
"Okay, where do you plan to start your investigation?"
Dick smiled slightly: "Of course, it starts with you, Thomas."
Looks like I don't need to flip through these boring newspapers anymore.
Thomas sat up straight with amusement.
...
Afterwards, Dick asked Alfred some questions and looked at the postcards Bruce had sent to Wayne Manor over the years.
He even went to Wayne Enterprises and the police department to interview Lucius and Chief Gordon.
Finally, after much deliberation and with countless pieces of evidence at his disposal, he knocked on Bruce's door, trusting in Bruce's character.
Dick believed that Bruce must have had a purpose in doing so.
Bruce was prepared. He didn't intend to hide it from his family for long. The Batcave was located underground at Wayne Manor, and Dick and Thomas would find out his identity sooner or later, so he didn't even spend too much time disguising himself at home.
He just didn't expect that Dick would be the first to arrive.
It seems that Thomas still can't accept the reality that Bruce is Batman?
Dick took a deep breath and then said firmly:
“I’ve been investigating you lately, Bruce.”
Bruce knew, of course, that Dick was investigating him. Alfred had hinted at it to him, and Dick had even used the excuse of needing Thomas's help to do a social survey report. He went home in the afternoon and stayed in the room with Thomas until dinner time.
So Dick was investigating him.
Because anyone who knows Thomas even slightly and is of sound mind would not bypass Bruce and ask Thomas to help with their sociology-related schoolwork.
Thomas's social sciences are an absolute disaster.
Bruce also recalled a report by Thomas that suggested abolishing cemeteries and centralizing the disposal of the deceased's ashes in landfills to reduce funeral costs, increase urban land use, and improve soil fertility.
...
Stop thinking about these things.
Bruce banished Thomas and his report from his mind and encouraged Dick to continue with a look in his eyes.
“I’ve discovered your hidden identity at night, Bruce.”
Bruce put his hand approvingly on Dick's shoulder.
Dick took another deep breath.
"So clever..."
"You must be Night Owl!"
?
etc.
What?
Bruce took a step back abruptly, staring at Dick in shock.
Who do you think I am?
“Don’t hide it from me, Bruce.” After saying this, Dick became even more determined. He took a step forward, entered Bruce’s room, and listed all the investigations and clues he had gathered over the past period of time.
"...Do you think I'm the kind of person who would murder my own brother?"
“Of course I believe you’re not that kind of person,” Dick said righteously. “So I specifically asked Thomas, and he said he wasn’t actually seriously injured. He was faking it. He put on a cast to make it look more real. He didn’t show up for several days to give himself a break. His main purpose was to guide public opinion against Night Owl and at the same time to gain Alfred’s sympathy so he could have more dessert.”
...
As expected of Thomas.
“And Thomas and Night Owl didn’t have any further physical altercations after that.” Dick meticulously took out the notebook he had been using to organize clues and evidence over the past two days, and turned to a page. “At first, I thought this was all in cahoots between you, but Thomas doesn’t seem to know your identity.”
"...Don't you think that judgment is far-fetched?" Bruce took a deep breath. "Wayne Manor has another one that meets your requirements."
“Thomas? I’ve actually suspected him too, but he really didn’t have time.” Dick said very seriously, “When I saw Night Owl a few days ago, both the GCPD and Wayne Group’s security personnel received calls from Thomas. I secretly watched the surveillance footage, and Thomas really didn’t leave Wayne Tower.”
Dick pressed his advantage: "Moreover, both Alfred and Mr. Fox said that Thomas is very dedicated, coming to work almost every day on time, and rarely missing a day from the company. His work hours and the curfew hours set by Night Owl can be seamlessly connected... It's impossible that he doesn't need to sleep, is it?"
Bruce looked at Dick in silence.
"And I checked specifically last night, Thomas has indeed been in his bed these past few days, only you haven't been in the bedroom, admit it, Bruce."
Bruce hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"What is your purpose?" Dick looked at him excitedly. Spending several days solving a major problem was very exciting, especially a story about the mysterious identity of someone close to you.
“I’m not Night Owl,” Bruce finally said. “I really am not Night Owl. I haven’t been in Gotham for the past few years.”
-
“He won’t admit it, Thomas,” Dick said to Thomas, frustrated. “Am I really wrong?”
“You can follow him and catch him red-handed,” Thomas Night Owl himself Wayne told him.
After saying that, he pulled out a small nightlight that looked like an oil lamp from somewhere and solemnly handed it to Dick.
"This lighting can be used to create a better atmosphere."
-----------------------
The author says: The Riddler Driving School is really effective. When shooting the tunnel boring machine, I could pass through both tracks in one go, and I could pass through the other track in one go. The only difficulty was that the second barrel had poor eyesight. I fired several shots and it didn't notice me. My hand was sore from pressing the combat mode button, but it just wouldn't move towards me.
After finishing the main storyline, I suddenly felt how incredibly strong Batman's willpower was... not in the story itself, but outside of it. The moment I saw the words "Knightfall," I didn't want to do any side quests and I was so upset that I shut down the game. All that effort only resulted in this ending; I just couldn't accept it. Batman still has to keep catching criminals... And then I think about how the sequel is about killing the protagonist... And then I think about how DC has produced so many terrible games... I feel so pessimistic. It's ridiculous that such a good IP could be turned into so many messes.
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