Chapter 190 Chapter 190 [VIP]
Megan just had her winter break, and the Joker had no plans to take her back to Arkham Asylum for the time being. Since 'Arthur Damon' had resigned, it was necessary to examine what he would do next and how his career should unfold in order to avoid falling into a similar situation again. This was a troubling issue and an important decision that required Megan's participation.
Nelson brought a lot of paper information about various aspects of Gotham. This busy subordinate certainly would not stay here for their reference. There were only Joker and Megan in the small building. A man in a rose-purple tuxedo suit sat on the sofa and looked through the information in front of him. He also had his new bow tie, which was tied to his shirt in a standard way. After all, as a parent, you can't blame your children.
The younger child sat on the plush carpeted floor next to the sofa. Compared to the clown's relaxed and nonchalant demeanor, she was much more serious. However, there was so much information in front of her that her eyes were dizzy. In the end, she learned to skim through the text, only catching the key words between the lines, but she still couldn't help but make a bitter face.
The Joker barely glanced at the information in his hand. Didn't he already know the situation in Gotham? He only occasionally glanced at Megan with interest. He looked at her like that for a long moment before he spoke, "Did you come to any conclusions, kid?"
Megan carefully read a lot of information and knew from a long time ago that they lived in downtown Gotham, a place where the environment was not good, but perhaps it was still acceptable?
She herself hadn't witnessed much evil, but the reality was that the environment in this area wasn't great. It had been designated a residential area decades ago, and while economic development lagged, educational resources were poor. No one was investing in factories nearby. Even if she could find a job to make ends meet, there were simply too many people in Gotham City...
Due to a combination of factors, most residents are unemployed, so there are gangs of thieves and robbers. In the deeper areas, there are illegal places that the Blue Boys can never find. They crowded with a group of prostitutes, pimps, gamblers and even drug addicts, as well as undocumented illegal immigrants who smuggled in from the port. The environment is the same as that of the downtown area, or even worse, and can be found everywhere in Gotham.
Young people live in fear, and the fate of the elderly is even more unpredictable. Every winter, there are residents and homeless people who freeze to death. During the rainy season, there are many cases where damaged and leaky houses cause residents to be infected with diseases, have high fevers, and die due to lack of medical treatment. There are also many people who die of illness due to exploitation, overwork, and poor working conditions in various illegal small workshops.
When the living environment was at its worst, people would drown every now and then in small ditches only a few dozen centimeters deep on the side of the road for no reason.
The prosperity and splendor of Gotham has never had anything to do with the lower class. They have suffered from poverty and have never seen the peaceful and friendly world outside from birth to death, let alone finding their life goals and realizing their self-worth. All that is left for them is the conflicts caused by the extremely narrow living space, and all the consequences after the conflicts, such as bloodshed and death, vigilance and indifference between people. However, the harsh living environment also leads to greater exploitation and oppression. People begin to form gangs, and thus gang culture prevails among the lower class.
All of this information was clearly laid out in front of Megan. Unlike the embellished statistics given out by the city government every year, it was obviously more realistic and shocking. The Joker had long been curious about Megan's reaction when she saw this information, but this bit of anticipation could not stop him from throwing this difficult problem to Megan.
"You only have this one choice now, to help those you see." The Joker's tone was always weird and strange. Even though he sometimes liked to ask questions and ask rhetorical questions, the meaning in his words was certain. When he made a decision, no one could change it. Megan could not retreat now.
Megan's wish was to help those in pain, but pain was a constant in Gotham, and those suffering were everywhere. So who did she want to help? And who could she actually help? These weren't simple questions, but she had to come up with a plan. Even if her little brain couldn't come up with anything complex, she should at least offer some advice for her own sake, right?
His strange green eyes stared at Megan, and his smile was extremely twisted. "Even if I can help you and pay for your future failures, you still have to make your own plans, right?"
Under his increasingly eerie and terrifying gaze, Megan raised her head. She was a little slow to react and answered the Joker's first question first, "Gotham is so bad," this was the conclusion she came to after reading the information.
But what's so bad about a land without a mind, a city that doesn't function on its own? So she was just talking about the environment here.
Megan has a different way of thinking than most people, and sometimes she is very imaginative. She said something strange: "I am a child of Gotham like them. Dad, I will not back down or regret it. This is my home."
What she said made the Joker raise his eyebrows. He frowned fiercely, as if he had heard an absurd joke, "But you are not Gotham's beloved child." Megan was abandoned outside the deserted playground. If he hadn't picked her up on a whim, she would have died of illness or starvation, and it is very likely that she would not have a peaceful death even after death.
She is the clown's child.
"You are my child," the clown pointed at her and corrected her unhappily, "but you haven't inherited my ideals at all, and now you say such hurtful words."
Megan looked at him, put down the information in her hand, squeezed next to him arrogantly, and said very reasonably: "What about you? Dad, are you a child from Gotham?"
If they are related by blood, if the Joker was born in Gotham, the city of sin... then Megan is undoubtedly a child of Gotham.
Seeing her clear logic now, the Joker couldn't help laughing. He let out a low, crazy laugh, and the expression on his face became more and more hideous and terrifying, and then slowly calmed down. He was not a child of Gotham, but an ancient curse hanging over Gotham. But he would not say this out loud. Even if it involved some secrets of long history, it was really funny and ironic in the present moment -
They were discussing Megan's plan to 'save Gotham'! He had to realize once again that he had raised a child who looked like a typical good person. It was hard enough for him to realize this fact, and there was no way he could keep going back to it.
"Okay, let's get over this. Can you tell me about your plan?"
The clown avoided the main point and easily revealed this little episode. He looked at Megan who was holding her head high and looking very confident, but she spoke very cautiously and quietly, and said uncertainly: "...Shall we start a company?" The little bear rubbed his hands behind his back, then hugged the clown's arm and shook it, pouting and drooping his eyes to pretend to be pitiful, obviously wanting to seek his help.
This is not too surprising to the Joker, and it is even understandable. Considering the situation of the Damon family they pretended to be and Megan's personal experience, she had long been lost in this illusion and betrayed him for various reasons. So, what's so strange about finding the Wayne Group as a "reference" and taking it as the standard answer?
Ever since he realized that his child was raised astray, the Joker has been finding fun all the time. He didn't get rid of his sunk costs, but it just dragged him into the water. It can be foreseen that the character of "Arthur Damon" has to do good things. He used to do it to maintain this identity, but later he had to do it for Megan. Who doesn't find this funny?
Megan's suggestion was understandable, but it didn't stop the Joker from feeling unhappy about it. He was used to this feeling, but this was not something he could let go of lightly.
So Megan watched her father's moodiness, even if his expression didn't change, he looked secretly angry, and coaxed him familiarly: "Dad, that way, I can be with you while you work."
"You used to be away for a long time." When Megan was little, Arthur sent her to a nursing home, and when she first started school, he always went out to work for a long time, and Megan had no way to find him, so she could only wait.
When she said this, she looked really aggrieved. The clown was secretly angry, and she also secretly dropped her little pearls, hiding her cheek behind the clown's arm like trying to cover up her ears and stealing the bell, and wiped her tears with his suit.
Joker:? He almost laughed at the kid's reaction!
"I've given so much for you, and in the end you still blame me?" This was simply a pair of father and daughter blaming each other. The Joker couldn't help laughing. He could imagine what Megan would say in response, and the result was as he expected -
Megan came out from behind his arms and looked at him, "Dad, I want to be with you." Her eyes were moist and bright, and the love in them was honest and never faded, just like before.
"I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't tell you that my wish is to help others, but the premise is that we will never be separated." If her father did not grant her wish, she would not be stubborn for too long. She would just stay by his side and be a person who is 'a little good, a little bad', just like she and Robin said there are bad guys everywhere, but she would never abandon the Joker and leave.
The clown fell silent. The smile on his face didn't change for a long time. Finally, he moved the corners of his mouth to reveal an expression that was hard to describe. "Oh my God, it's hard for you to say such corny words." His tone was exaggerated, as if he was not moved at all.
He saw that there were still traces of tears on Megan's face, and he wiped them away gently with his thumb. "Let's get back to the point, okay? You want to start a company? It's a good idea, but it's not enough to be called a plan."
"Even if your brain can't think of too much right now, some important decisions... all depend on you."
"This is your wish, child. I will only be your executor." This was his greatest tolerance and biggest concession.
The author has something to say:
Megan: I forced my dad to start a company from scratch, and I became the CEO of Damon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
