After buying the earth [Comprehensive British and American]

"New business?" Martina nudged Hilda with her elbow, "I thought of it on the spur of the moment?"

"Well," Hilda wiped her face, "I heard them talking and suddenly thought, I can be a bodyguard to solve troubles or something."

"Wow, that's a good idea." Martina thinks this idea is really good. Although she doesn't really work in the bar, in this way, Hilda can completely "employ" while protecting her.Why not do it?

"But there are some small details that need to be dealt with," she said after thinking about it.

Hilda: "What do you mean?"

Martina: "For example, what if we encounter some difficult gang leader and he brings people to revenge us? For example, what if a couple gets into an argument and ends up intervening / what if we stab him? "

Hilda couldn't help thinking along Martina's words, and her consideration was not unreasonable.

"Maybe I can mask?" Hilda said uncertainly, "like Batman?"

"...to be a vigilante? No... If you charge a fee, you will become a mercenary-like role? The kind that can help solve troubles as long as you give money?" Martina rubbed her chin, "But, everyone has already Now that you know who you are, at least among the dancers at the 'Under the Light' bar, you no longer have any secrets. After all, they all know that you are with me. Since it is impossible to keep a secret, why don't you simply mark the price clearly and follow the requirements? To solve the troublesome large and small charges, I will raise the price appropriately to avoid some untimely small situations."

Martina suddenly remembered something: "...What about your music hobby?"

Hilda has no energy: "You also said it's a hobby."

"God!" Martina raised her forehead, "When you gave up your begging job to pursue your music dream, I thought you were serious!"

Hilda: "I was serious."

Martina: "People who are serious about pursuing their music dreams don't put it aside after a day of work."

Hilda said bluntly: "...so I said it's just a hobby."

Martina: "Just admit it, a woman who loves the new and dislikes the old. But, to be honest, begging in Gotham can't last long. This job also has off-season and peak season in Gotham. When the weather is cold... Or occasionally those super Criminals do something horrific and the peace is shattered and they either starve to death or join a gang and follow the rules and hope they survive every fight."

Hilda was silent for a while: "...how do you know so well?"

Martina smiled: "Didn't I say it before, I was born on Bowery Street, when I was young, those were my daily life. So I hoped that you would occupy the territory at the beginning, and it is best to hire some thugs , slowly gathering into a force, in this city, this is the most common and fastest way of survival."

"But," Martina turned her head, her teardrop-shaped earrings dangling in the air, "you're not willing to do that—in fact, if you do it alone, there is another way, and that is to be a bodyguard. Gotham has many people who are afraid of death." There are rich people who are willing to hire powerful killers or mercenaries to be their bodyguards—it’s just that this line of work is unavoidably dangerous, and there may be times when they must obey orders to kill.”

"It's not that I can't kill people," Hilda said.

Martina was stunned: "You can? I thought... I've never seen you actually kill people. You seem to knock people out at most, but you haven't used a gun—I thought you were like Batman, sticking to your guns. The principle of killing..."

"I'm not," Hilda denied, "it's just that I haven't been in a situation where I have to say killer. I mean, is it necessary? If dead people are good for me, I might think about it." Do, like you do, but, I haven't encountered that situation yet. All I have encountered are some ordinary punks and hooligans, what do I kill them for? And I don't like to use guns, use guns It's boring... But, does Batman have a no-kill policy?"

"Yes, he's a superhero." Martina nodded, "He never killed any criminals... Sometimes, I hate him for that, but sometimes, I think... he's right. "

Bringing up Batman again.

Hilda found that it seemed that every time she talked about Batman with other people, the end result was always silence.Batman is a black mystery, just like Gotham is also a black mystery. Although everyone discusses him, everyone can't really fully understand this huge mystery that makes people feel clueless, so no matter the beginning is Whether it is ridicule or praise, it will always be attributed to confusion and silence in the end.

However, to Hilda, Batman is not important, what matters is those who talk to her about Batman, whether it is Martina, or... Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne no longer exists, and maybe from that night onwards, only "Batman" survived.The current Bruce Wayne is just a mask to cover up the frightening monster under the identity of the frivolous and rich Wayne heir.At least, that's what Batman himself claims.

On the outskirts of Gotham City, underground of Wayne Manor, inside the Batcave.

The butler Alfred passed behind Batman several times, and said quietly: "... Maybe you think I'm wordy, Mr. Batman, but I sincerely hope that you can treat Master Wayne better and let me How could he fall asleep at the right time even once?" He repeated the word "right"

Batman stared at the data on the screen without looking back: "You know that's not realistic."

Alfred sighed: "...you are more like a cruel capitalist than Master Wayne."

Batman rubbed his eyebrows: "Ah Fu..."

Alfred's face remained unchanged, and he said indifferently: "After all, he has disappeared from Gotham City for a long time, and the morning newspapers began to speculate whether something happened to the heir of the Wayne family."

"I'm just too busy." He replied, the files on the computer unfolded rapidly, and Clark Kent's frontal photo appeared in front of him. He filed the file and opened the next one.

"Iron Man? Yes, Mr. Tony Stark," Alfred glanced at him, "you secretly helped him a lot before he got into an accident, how long has it been... Could it be that he has been on your surveillance list?"

Batman: "...he's too impulsive." The briefing was zoomed in on the screen, and Tony Stark in bold was clearly in sight. In the center of the newspaper, Tony Stark was calmly announcing his identity as "Iron Man".

"That's indeed his usual style." Alfred commented lightly, "But—what happened to these billionaires in the United States? Is it popular to become superheroes now? Who is next? Lex Mr Luther?"

Thinking of Luther's hypocritical smile, the Dark Knight couldn't help feeling a little chilled: "...Please, Ah Fu, only this one."

Alfred shrugged his shoulders: "... By the way, master, I answered a call for you today."

Batman: "Whose phone number?" He called out the next file while talking, the girl with brown eyes raised her eyes lazily, and looked at the surveillance camera with a half-smile.He hesitated for a moment, and it was rare for him to be entangled in whether to directly file Hilda Walker's information temporarily - after all, she was indeed not a dangerous person, but her past hidden in the mist did make him care.

Alfred bowed slightly: "Hilda, Miss Hilda Walker."

Even Batman couldn't help but pause when he heard this name: "Her? What is she calling for?"

"She sincerely apologized to you," Alfred said, "She said that she will be very busy during this period and will not perform on the street again."

Batman thought for a while: "She went to the 'Under the Light' bar to apply for a job." He frowned, marked the file that could have been archived with an asterisk, and put it in the "to be watched" folder.

Alfred watched his actions quietly, and asked, "Is there any problem with that bar? Master."

Batman's face flashes in the blue light: "There's nothing wrong with that bar, there's a funder behind that bar."

"—Penguin."

Knowing nothing about Batman's defenses, Hilda is still adapting to this temporary life.She followed Martina for several days, but found no danger, or in other words, no one related to Martina's past appeared, maybe that day was really just an accident.However, a new business was unexpectedly opened up - Hilda did not expect so many women to be entangled: whether it was stalked by an ex or by a strange man she met.Even though they would regularly pay protection fees to the site boss like everyone else, the people who pestered them also paid protection fees, or worse, they were the class that collected protection fees from the dancing girls.

Therefore, Hilda's "business" expanded uncontrollably and rapidly. Even if Martina repeatedly adjusted the price, it could not stop the enthusiasm of the women.They even became free propagandists for Hilda's business, and soon the dancers and even some wandering warblers from the whole neighborhood came here admiringly.

"I didn't expect this situation at all." Martina said in shock, "I thought it would be safer to be close to the Diamond District...Why...? Could it be because it's on the border."

Hilda casually wiped off the blood on her hands with a tissue: "... Isn't this good?"

Martina sighed: "What the hell... how long has it been? You are about to be crowned the patron saint of women. Maybe after a while, Batman will come to talk to you."

——Hasn't Batman come to my door to talk to me a long time ago?Just as Hilda was about to say that, she immediately remembered that Martina didn't even know about the time she was approached.

Martina: "And the bigger the work we do, the more likely we will be approached by the surrounding gangs...Damn it, I heard that the Penguin had an accident not long ago, I don't know if it's true or not, maybe it's because of this, recently Big and small gangs and scoundrels have the guts to be so unscrupulous."

"So I suggest you just do your job with peace of mind." Hilda folded her arms and leaned against the wall, "Let me do this alone. I came here to protect you. Don't make trouble to the end, but let you in danger."

"If they obey the rules..." Martina had a headache, "We have to make money quickly. If we have money, we can move to the Diamond District, which is more stable than the East District."

"Speaking of which," Hilda said, "did you hear? Somebody claims to take the East End under her protection."

"..." Martina stopped what she was doing, "You mean, Catwoman?"

Hilda: "You know her?"

"Of course not," Martina replied, "but I've met her, after all...I live on the East End."

Hilda didn't take it seriously: "Is she strong? If she's strong... strong enough to deal with the threat Maroni brings, then maybe living in the East End might still be a good choice."

"She's one," Martina said, "and the Maroneys are a family."

Hilda sighed: "Occasionally, I also feel that I need some followers, mechanical legions and the like. It is the kind that completely obeys my orders and can automatically sleep when I don't need them."

"Hehe," Martina was amused, "are you dreaming?"

"Just kidding," Hilda shook her head, "but maybe one day I will really have such an underling?"