Chapter 8: Little Ringo prepares to have a heart-to-heart talk
87.
After Bruce discovered that the system had been "invaded", he did not repair it immediately. Instead, he let the screens of the entire secret base keep my "Great Supervision Map" for a whole night.
The next morning, he mentioned the incident lightly at the breakfast table.
"Leona." Bruce's tone was calm, but I could sense the hidden pressure. "You seem to be very interested in my secret base?"
I looked up at him while spreading jam on my toast, pretending to be clueless. "Secret base? What secret base?"
Bruce narrowed his eyes and slowly pushed a photo onto the table - it was a screenshot of the "The Great Miss Leona is Watching You!" on the screen last night.
"Oh, that!" I pretended to be enlightened and said seriously, "I'm just reminding you to keep your parent-child relationship transparent!"
Bruce looked at me, was silent for two seconds, and then said slowly, "Did you know that the firewall of the secret base automatically upgraded this morning?"
"What?!" I slammed the table and almost spilled the jam. "You leveled up?!"
He took a sip of coffee and gave a faint smile: "Yes, and this time, I will make sure that neither you nor your 'allies' can easily invade again."
Barbara's voice came from the doorway: "Are you sure, Mr. Bruce?"
We turned around at the same time and saw Barbara holding a laptop with the same sly smile on her face as Bruce.
88.
Hey, I invited Barbara to sleep over at our house yesterday. We had a whole night of discussions! She still looked very sleepy this morning, curled up in her quilt like a kitten, so I didn't wake her up. I was going to bring her some food later.
"I just want to remind you," Barbara walked to the dining table and put down her laptop, "that upgrading the firewall doesn't mean it's truly invulnerable."
Bruce raised an eyebrow slightly, his eyes looking back and forth between our two little girls, "Are you declaring war on me?"
I nodded without hesitation, "Of course! Bruce Wayne, the great Miss Leona and her allies never back down!"
Barbara raised the corner of her mouth and added: "And we just want to prove that no one can hide it from us."
Bruce sighed softly, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Okay, then let's see who has better skills."
89.
Over the next few weeks, Wayne Manor was engulfed in an intergenerational technological war.
Bruce continued to upgrade his firewall, from logical encryption to dynamic traps, and every step was full of challenges.
Barbara and I never backed down. We not only cracked every layer of his defense, but also left more "Great Supervisory Maps" and my recorded voice messages in the system: "Bruce, we know all your secrets. You'd better confess before we can no longer tolerate it!"
Alfred kept a subtle attitude. Whenever Bruce complained, he would just smile and say, "Sir, the lady and her friend obviously inherited your excellent genes."
Bruce: “…”
90.
One day, I specifically chose to study Bruce's latest firewall in my room late at night. After cracking it so many times, I skillfully bypassed many traps and successfully saw the surveillance in his room.
After just one look, I sat up straight.
Bruce isn't in the room!
I looked at the surveillance of the secret base again, but there was still no one!
No wonder I got in so easily just now. It turns out that there was no one on the opposite side competing with me.
I quickly retrieved the tracker I had dropped on Bruce, and sure enough, he had found it and provocatively displayed the location in my room.
I curled my lips, entered the consciousness space and began to track his whereabouts.
Hehe, don't forget I'm a dual cultivator of magic (and physics)! A little spell with a little mark is a piece of cake!
Magic is much more useful than technology! (During a battle of wits with Bruce)
91.
By the time Bruce had used his sandbag-sized fists to give those who committed crimes in Gotham a baby's sleep, I was already sitting in a chair in his secret base, with my arms folded across my chest, staring at him expressionlessly.
As soon as he saw me, his expression changed instantly: "Leona? Why are you here at this time?"
"What do you think?" I sneered as I walked forward, raised my chin, and looked at him with a sharp gaze. "You run out and do these things every night. Do you think I don't know? I know everything. I'm just waiting for you to tell me!"
Bruce opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked by mud, his lips trembled, and he said nothing.
"You're not going to tell me?" I pressed in a harsh tone, "What do you think I am? A brat who stays in the manor and plays house with you?"
"Leona, calm down and listen to me. This is not your business." Bruce whispered, with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "These things... are too dangerous."
I clenched my fists in anger. "Danger? Have you ever considered the danger when you face these criminals alone every night? And I'm your daughter! I have the right to know everything!"
92.
The air was filled with silent tension.
Bruce rubbed his brow. He was still young at that time, and not as stubborn as he would later be. He sighed, "I just... didn't want to worry you."
"Worried?" I sneered, but my eyes couldn't help but feel sour. "You didn't tell me, which made me more worried."
Bruce looked up at me, his eyes struggling. "Leona, I promise you, I will definitely pay more attention to safety in the future."
But I shook my head and said firmly, "I'm not asking you to be careful, I'm asking you to trust me. Bruce Wayne, as your closest family member, I need your trust."
Bruce was still silent as if his throat was blocked by mud. The soft words he just said seemed to be the only sound his throat could produce. After that, no matter how much his lips trembled, he did not utter another soft word.
Instead, as if he gained strength from my words, his voice became colder and more resolute: "This is none of your business, Leona. As a good child, you should go to bed."
"Oh my God!" I was so angry that I almost jumped up. "You're telling me now that this is not my business?"
Bruce didn't respond, just stood there like an impenetrable wall.
But my anger erupted like a ignited volcano.
"Bruce Wayne! Do you know how ridiculous you are?" I put my hands on my hips and stared at him fiercely. "You run out all day and use your fists to commit violence, and now you tell me that good kids shouldn't be awake at this hour! When my mother and I were chasing danger around the world, you were still in the university library. Now you tell me that telling me it's dangerous or not is ridiculous. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
I gasped and glared at him, feeling angry and sad - he was obviously my closest family member, but he always kept me at a distance.
"I'm not trying to stop you from doing these things." I took a deep breath, and my tone calmed down a little. "I just hope you don't treat me like a child who needs to be excluded. Bruce, I'm your family!"
"Leona--" Bruce lowered his voice, but when the words came to his lips, he seemed to swallow them back.
Then, no matter how I accused him, he remained silent, like a cold stone, as if my anger and concern were insignificant in his eyes.
He didn't even look at me, just said, "Go to bed."
He turned and left, leaving me with an indifferent back.
93.
From that day on, the air between us dropped to freezing point.
Bruce always avoided me when I approached, and I stubbornly pretended not to see him.
The atmosphere in the manor became stiff and depressing.
Alfred saw this and sighed softly. He could clearly see that Bruce and I were slowly softening, but neither of us was too embarrassed to bow our heads first.
94.
"Sir, may I ask a question?"
Bruce was flipping through the newspaper in the restaurant. Alfu walked up to him with a cup of hot tea and spoke softly.
"Do you think this cold war will make things better?"
Bruce put down the newspaper, frowned slightly, and was silent for a while: "I just... don't want her to be involved in these dangers."
"But have you ever thought about where her anger comes from?" Ah Fu's voice was as gentle as ever, yet it carried a force that could not be ignored. "What the young lady needs is your trust, not protection from being rejected."
Bruce rubbed his brow and whispered, "I understand...but I don't know how to say it."
Ah Fu smiled slightly, his tone encouraging: "Sometimes, sir, a simple 'I'm sorry' is enough."
95.
On the other hand, I was also telling Barbara about my grievances.
"He doesn't trust me at all! I'm so angry!" I sat in the classroom, poking hard at the keyboard of my laptop.
Barbara looked at my code and smiled. "Leona, Bruce just wants to protect you. His methods are wrong, but his intentions are not bad."
I stopped and turned to look at her, "Are you trying to say that I am also responsible?"
Barbara nodded and said softly, "You want his trust, but he also needs your understanding. If you're willing to try to have a good talk with him, perhaps there will be a different outcome."
"Okay, I'll try." I hugged Barbara and touched her cheek. "Maybe I do need to think about it from his perspective."
96.
Finally, Ah Fu created an opportunity.
He deliberately arranged a quiet afternoon and "accidentally" placed Bruce and I in the study of the manor.
I sat on the sofa, reading a book, while Bruce stood by the window, looking out. The room was so quiet that only the ticking of the clock could be heard.
Finally, I took a deep breath and broke the silence: "Bruce, actually... I don't want to argue with you."
He turned around and looked at me, his eyes softening. "I don't want to argue with you either."
We looked at each other in silence for a long time, but after a while, we said almost at the same time: "I'm sorry."
We were all stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing at the same time.
"Bruce, I just hope you can trust me," I whispered, "You know, I can't be judged by a normal, common-sense kid. I'm capable of protecting myself."
"I don't... distrust you." He whispered, his voice a little hoarse, "but I have to make sure you're safe."
"But this is not the way to show trust!" I raised my head stubbornly and looked straight into his eyes. "You think you are protecting me, but in fact, you are alienating me!"
"Leona, I'm just... scared." Bruce's voice was soft, but I could hear the deep worry in it. "I don't want you to get hurt."
I walked up to him and hugged him. "But family is about trusting and supporting each other, isn't it?"
"You have no idea how dangerous this city is." Bruce's voice was low and helpless. "If I let you get involved, I would be truly sorry for you."
"But Bruce, do you know who I am?" I took a step back, spread my hands, and looked at him seriously, "I am Ringo, Leona Wayne! I am not a weak and incompetent child, I am your family!"
Bruce patted my back and whispered, "You're right, Leona. I'll try... to open up."
97.
"Okay," Bruce's tone softened a little, as if he had finally made up his mind, "I can't agree to let you participate in this, but... I will try to let you know something."
"Just 'some'?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
Bruce nodded slightly, but his tone was filled with an unquestionable firmness: "Some, enough to ensure your safety."
I stared at his stubborn and obstinate face, my teeth itching with anger, but in the end I snorted coldly: "Alright, Bruce Wayne, you win. But I won't give up easily!"
He curled the corners of his mouth helplessly and whispered, "I know you won't."
Then he told me that he was still exploring and learning, and he wanted to find a way to truly change Gotham, but for now he could only start with small criminals on the street and accumulate experience.
"So, that's why you sneak out every night?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Yes." Bruce nodded. "I need to familiarize myself with the streets of Gotham, understand the methods of criminals, and hone myself at the same time."
I stared at his face and suddenly sighed, "Bruce, I'm not trying to stop you, I just hope you don't exclude me."
Bruce stopped and looked down at me, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Ringo, do you know how old you are?"
"Age doesn't matter!" I snorted. "What matters is that I can help you. You never know what my brain and abilities can accomplish."
Bruce chuckled, "Well, Ringo, maybe I should re-evaluate your abilities."
98.
From that day on, the relationship between Bruce and I returned to its former closeness, and even became a step further.
Although he still didn't want me to directly participate in his actions, I knew I shouldn't push him too hard. At least he no longer hid too much from me, and I understood his responsibilities and pressures better.
Although we still quarrel, we always use a simple "I'm sorry" to bring us closer together.
Because we are family.
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