Chapter 96, "Disorder," is probably a transition.
"Is Night Owl there?" Batman asked sharply.
"He's not here, and his men don't seem to be trying to stop this incident."
“That’s strange. Based on what I know about Night Owl, he absolutely cannot stand this kind of offense. He would be furious if even one person disobeyed him, let alone something he puts a lot of effort into,” Thomas said thoughtfully. “Unless the Penguin really has a falling out with him.”
Batman remained noncommittal, stood up, and said as he walked toward the Batmobile, "Computer, upload the surveillance footage, and Thomas Jr., you..."
Thomas Jr. looked back at him.
“Never mind, Alfred,” Batman abandoned his order to Thomas and turned to Alfred, “Keep an eye on him for me, don’t let him leave the Batcave.”
“No problem, Master Bruce,” Alfred nodded. “I believe that young Thomas will not run around on his own.”
This makes Thomas sound like a wind-up toy car.
The situation was urgent, and Batman rushed to the scene.
“Okay,” Thomas turned to Alfred, “I’ll watch you work from here. Do you want me to show you the live footage?”
“Of course, young master Thomas, I would even like to ask you for advice,” Alfred said, turning on the monitor, “Do you have any leads on this matter?”
In the center of the screen, a "Batman" dressed in full Batman suit, who is only slightly older than Batman, is standing in the Penguin's Iceberg Restaurant. He is fighting with Batgirl and even finds an opportunity to raise his gun at the Penguin's henchmen.
Alfred paused the video and zoomed in.
“We know nothing about this ‘Batman’ right now,” Alfred continued, “but apart from those two guns, the equipment he carries is indeed the same as Batman’s.”
"Hmm, so you suspect I'm supplying this fake Batman with equipment?"
“Don’t you have one?” Alfred retorted. “Although this may not make you happy, you are probably the only one in all of Gotham who can do this and profit from it.”
“Of course not,” Thomas replied to Alfred confidently, calmly, and without a hint of guilt. “Let’s make a bet: if I can prove that there are other people who meet this requirement, you can make me a strawberry milkshake, okay?”
He simply changed the color of old Thomas's original gear and made some minor upgrades.
“Even if you did do it, I would keep it a secret, young Thomas. I will stand with you,” Alfred continued, zooming in on the image. “But I agree.”
Nobody would believe that.
This statement is clearly a tactic Alfred used as an agent to break down the enemy's psychological defenses.
If Alfred really knew about Thomas's plan, he would definitely inform the other young master of the family, Wayne, immediately. The final result would simply be that Alfred, from a family of butlers in England, would resume the aristocratic education model of the classic English butler...
Okay, it probably won't be so extreme as to whip him, but at least they'll find some psychiatrists for Thomas and work with Bruce to keep an eye on him and prevent him from doing anything dangerous.
“Great, I knew you couldn’t bear to see me not being able to eat what I like,” Thomas said confidently. “I’m sure Batman warned you to be careful about Bruce Wayne lately.”
"That's right, how did you know?"
“Actually, he told all of us that,” Thomas replied. “'Night Owl’s true identity could be the future Bruce Wayne. Be careful.'”
“That’s absolutely right. Considering the timeline, the technological sophistication of the equipment, the fact that Night Owl’s fighting style was almost identical to Batman’s a few years ago, and the claim that he’s known Batman for over forty years, we certainly shouldn’t rule out these possibilities. But there’s still one suspicious point,” Alfred turned to observe Thomas’s expression, “What benefit would this bring to Night Owl?”
He pressed play again, and the "Batman" on the screen pulled the trigger, causing a person to fall to the ground.
“Night Owl has spent years maintaining his position and authority,” Alfred calmly analyzed the situation. “Now you’re going to abandon your dignity just for the Penguin? You’ve said it yourself, he can’t stand this kind of offense. Based on my and Batman’s behavioral profiles, after being betrayed by the Penguin, Night Owl will find a way to publicly retaliate and show everyone the consequences of betraying him.”
“That makes sense, but you’re wrong about one thing,” Thomas Jr. calmly retorted. “Actually, for Nite Owl, nothing is irreplaceable. This is good for him, and there’s only one good thing: it disrupts Gotham’s old order and keeps Batman from keeping track of his whereabouts.”
The cool-toned light from the Batcomputer illuminated Thomas's face, making him look more like a rational and ruthless robot.
The surveillance continued. The Penguin escaped, but Night Owl's men failed to appear. He seemed to realize that his betrayal of Night Owl had been exposed, and that his men alone would be insufficient to subdue "Batman." He decided to give up and immediately left the Iceberg Restaurant, sending messages to all the Gotham criminals he could contact:
"Night Owl has gone mad. He has a nuclear bomb and wants to destroy Gotham."
“Whoever planned this attack,” Alfred’s voice was tinged with coldness, “is a madman, a complete and utter madman.”
In recent years, Gotham's nighttime order has been barely maintained under the Night Owl's overwhelming military power and his insane and harsh oppressive rule. Its abnormality is even greater than that of the Roman Empire.
In this situation, if Nite Owl suddenly stopped his control, it would only cause Gotham, this giant powder keg, to explode.
Thomas Jr. didn't even deny it; he simply shifted his posture, secretly pressed a button, and continued, following Alfred's words, "And the Penguin's words also gave those disorganized Gotham criminals a reason to unite."
Of course, one of the criminals indispensable to this plan is definitely not within this united organization; he has to be counted separately.
Alfred looked at Thomas again.
“Furthermore, a Batman who suddenly starts killing people with a gun will find it difficult to gain people’s trust, and most people can’t tell the difference between the real Batman and the imposter, especially criminals.” Thomas sighed and lowered his head slightly. “What follows is a madman fighting a trapped beast, with a poor, unlucky bat caught in the middle.”
The "Batman" on the screen suddenly put down his gun, threw a smoke grenade, and disappeared from the spot.
Great, it seems that old Thomas has successfully received the signal, and so far the plan has not encountered any problems.
That's rare; it seems no one can be unlucky forever.
“Although I will make an exception and prepare a strawberry milkshake for you tomorrow, I still don’t think it will do Nite Owl any good to make a bunch of mad dog-like enemies,” Alfred insisted on his doubts, “even if he is a madman.”
“So you still doubt me?” Thomas looked up at Alfred. “Well, Alfred, to prove my innocence and reduce the problems caused by misunderstandings, I can work under your watchful eye around the clock.”
"That's great, I'm happy to be able to protect your personal safety."
-
As everyone expected, and without a doubt, Gotham has gone completely mad.
For some unknown reason, Night Owl did not appear after that night, and neither his men nor the Penguins paid any more attention to the so-called "curfew".
Most of the criminals, desperate to survive, huddled under the Penguin's banner, who still held a prominent position after the attack. Through his efforts, they managed to establish a clear division of labor: a small group of criminals were responsible for "making money," while the rest searched for the mysterious bomb in every corner of Gotham.
Some paranoid criminals suspect that the Penguin is the mastermind, that the Night Owl might be dead, and that the Penguin wants to use these methods to completely rule Gotham. This group of criminals barely manages to stay together, "making money" while constantly looking for opportunities to take over territory from the Penguin.
All of this resulted in enormous casualties.
“There’s also good news.” Thomas took a sip of the strawberry milkshake that Alfred had given him out of love. Apparently, Gotham had become so chaotic lately that Alfred felt the children (including older children) should be allowed to eat more of what they liked.
"What good news?" Bruce was clearly dejected, poking at his steak with his fork as if he intended to mash it into a pulp. "I haven't heard any good news for three whole days."
Isaiah Thomas is untrustworthy, yet he proactively contacts us; the Batman from another timeline is even less trustworthy than Isaiah Thomas; it's unclear whether Owl is truly dead or has escaped; there's no news about the Quantum Bomb; and "Batman" is still committing crimes in his own name.
"At least everyone around Wayne Manor has run away. These people who want to be resurrected are clearly not prepared to die the first time."
“…What kind of good news is this?” Bruce increased the pressure of his stabbing of the steak. “They left because they were attacked, and there was almost a stampede…Luckily, no one died.”
"Smack."
The plate broke.
"Oh my god," Martha said with concern, pulling his hand to examine it closely, not missing a single suspicious mark, "Has it been scratched?"
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Bruce gently withdrew his hand and stood up. “I’m a little sleepy, I’m going upstairs to catch up on some sleep.”
"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Old Thomas asked in a low voice.
“Don’t worry,” Alfred answered for Bruce, “I’ll prepare another one.”
"Thank you." It's unclear who this thank you was directed at.
Heavy footsteps sounded, and everyone looked worriedly at Bruce's tired back.
Even Thomas Jr.
But clearly, he had no intention of stopping the plan.
-----------------------
Author's note: It feels so difficult to explain Qinggu's entire plan...
-
This month should be the last month. Let me tell you in advance how I plan to write the side stories.
The side stories mainly consist of side stories related to the main text and side stories with "what if" scenarios. All side stories related to the main text are planned to be fan service stories, which may include playing games together, abstract short dramas, animal transformations, and watching the main text. Due to length constraints, the watching the main text stories will be released little by little after other side stories are released, and may even be released at random times.
As for the "if" scenario, since I was writing it around midterms and had final exams for my major courses, my mental state was probably a bit erratic (and there might be bad endings). To prevent accidental reading, I'll set it up as a regular side story, which you can choose to read selectively.
In short, you can tell me if there are any side stories you'd like to see, and I'll write them whenever I have inspiration.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
