[Comprehensive British and American] Family Matters

Jason's "New Gotham Plan" started with public works. The infrastructure of Gotham City, including sewers and water systems, is very old. The elders often regard their tenure in Gotham as a springboard for their political journey, and they are all obstacles to the implementation of their plans.

In the end, the sewers and the underground railway, which were half built, became a sanctuary for criminals.

Although Bruce agrees with Jason's idea of ​​transforming Gotham from the ground up, if he wants to invest in the name of Wayne Enterprises, Jason must persuade other board members of Wayne Enterprises besides Bruce.

"It's definitely not my intention to reject you in a roundabout way." Bruce emphasized again, just short of writing "I agree 100% with everything you say" on his face, "But this kind of major decision will have a big impact on the company." The impact is not just a matter of cash flow, the feasibility of the overall plan will definitely have an impact on the company's stock price, if you can't convince other directors, even if I am the only one who supports this plan, it is useless."

Having experienced Robin Jason's emotional explosion and running away from home, death, resurrection, and the red hood on the parallel earth, etc., no matter how stubborn Bruce is and how bad he is at words, he has already realized that Jason should not fall into an emotional depression and cause Self-doubt has broken the family, and he has to speak up.

For example, now, Bruce can't wait to pull out the entire set of corporate governance rules and explain clearly to Jason from the first rule that he must let his son know that it's not that his father doesn't support him, but that the company operates its own rules.

What he didn't say was that even if the board of directors didn't approve of Jason's proposal, he was also prepared to help Jason set up an engineering consulting company directly, and then help him find a well-known construction company. · Wayne's name forced the plan to get the green light all the way to the city government ready to sign the contract.

It's just that if he does this, Jason may feel that his plan is not good enough. Those who support him are buying Bruce's face, not Jason's plan itself.Jason is very open-minded in front of Damian, and often persuades Damian not to care about what others think of his Robin.After experiencing Jason's Robin period, Bruce knew that his second son actually valued the approval of others.Same goes for the fact that he keeps rejecting Bruce's offers to put him in R&D because he doesn't feel like he's good enough.

"I understand, old man." Jason didn't seem frustrated because Bruce asked him to persuade the board of directors. On the contrary, he seemed full of fighting spirit, "You are not the type to use authority to suppress people. It was reported by them. As long as they don’t freak out, they’ll be fine!”

"That's good. If you have any questions, you can ask Lucius." Bruce found out the contact information of other senior company executives with whom he had always had a harmonious and friendly relationship, including Lucius, and handed it to Jason.

Sure enough, he did not confess that the second plan was right.Bruce was always ready to help his son open the way with authority. Wayne patted his beating heart, picked up the phone and started contacting some not so friendly directors.

Of course, Jason has said so, he will never do such things as authoritarian oppression.

He just wanted to remind that some of the items in the resolution passed by the board of directors last time seemed suspicious, and I hope they can pay attention to it.

Alfred entered the study with tea and snacks after Jason left the study.Bruce glanced at the cookies on the plate, double the size from yesterday.

Sure enough, his decision was correct!

Bruce ate the cookie, rekindling his hope of being a good, good dad.

***

Gotham's latest rumor: In addition to the area around Crime Alley, Red Hood's territory has now expanded to Gotham's sewers.

If someone really confirmed it to Red Hood, he would probably hit that idiot on the head with the butt of his gun, and curse: "Do you know the importance of sewers? Don't be so simple-minded and only think about building territory. Don't just think about such superficial things in your mind!"

The various branches of Wayne Enterprises do not have construction-related industries. After all, the profits of the construction industry after the completion of the project are considerable, but the funds invested in the early stage and various external influences may cause delays in the construction period and require compensation, or project funds The risk of being defaulted is one of the reasons why we did not choose to operate in this area when expanding our business territory.

Especially for municipal public works, the profits are high and stable—although there may be disputes about the performance of the contract, the municipal government can't run away, unlike ordinary private enterprises declaring bankruptcy, and the boss spreads his hands: there is no death if you want money.But relatively speaking, the competition is also fierce. The original builder is unlikely to give up the golden hen of the past because of Wayne's signboard. Therefore, if Jason wants the board of directors to approve his plan, he must have a good understanding of these infrastructures. To be solid enough, at least one has to answer questions in front of the board.

That's why he was here, the oldest sewer in Gotham City, to observe the traces of the past few maintenance projects.

Encountering the killer crocodile at the corner was purely accidental. Jason cursed his "good luck" in his heart while recalling the recent information about the killer crocodile, but the result was astonishing—nothing.

After the last group escape of Arkham, Killer Crocodile disappeared without a trace as if it had evaporated from the world. The GCPD and Batman have tried to locate him and bring him back under surveillance by the authorities, but no matter how much they investigate rumors of a sewer monster or a new mob hitman, the results are in vain.

Jason knew that Killer Crocodile's file had been sitting in the "pending" section of the Batcomputer's folder, but other, more urgent investigations had buried it there.In fact, even Bruce once suspected that Killer Croc had left Gotham.

Well, at least he can go back and update the Batcomputer's data.

"Ah." Unexpectedly, it was the killer Crocodile who first showed Jason an expression of "I'm very tired and will never love again", accompanied by a sigh of lovelessness, "If you If you want to chase the poisonous insects from the Trident Gang, don't bother."

"What?" If it wasn't for the red hood on his face, Jason was pretty sure his expression was a black question mark, "I'm not here to find someone, Waylon."

Killer Crocodile snorted, looked up and down the red hood in front of him, narrowed his eyes dangerously: "I know you, you are one of the headlines in the newspaper, red hood, huh?"

"Before you go on, I have nothing to do with the Joker and his old Red Hood gang. See this bat? I'm on the good side!" Jason knew what the papers said about him, those horrible His deduction made him want to knock on the window of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper in the middle of the night and have a spiritual conversation with him.

There was the sound of kicking and treading water from behind Jason, and from the swaying shadows on the sewer wall in front of him, it could be seen that a small group of people were approaching.

"Your friend?" Jason pointed to his back, "I don't know that you are also following the trend to start your own little gang. What is it called? The Crocodile Gang? No? I must have missed the headlines this morning. .”

A young voice yelled behind Jason: "We're not any gang! We're just unwanted scum washed down the sewers to survive. Go back to the ground! You costume freaks! Go back and protect the people on the ground. If you are rich and mentally retarded, stay away from us!"

Like a snowball, the crowd shouting for Red Hood to get out grew louder.

"Mr. Crocodile didn't provoke you, get out! Get out!" The child threw an empty can in his hand towards Jason, he easily avoided it sideways, and grabbed another with one hand, intending to secretly hit him on the knee with a crowbar child, lift him up in the air and look at him.

"Okay, the golden rule—I don't like crowbars." As Jason's eyes shifted to the crowbar, the child let go of it wisely, and the crowbar fell into the sewage with a plop, "Very good. Now , let’s be fair, I’ll put you down, and then tell the lower one not to chew on my feet, okay? I’m afraid his teeth will break.”

The child nodded timidly, and waited for the red hood to slowly support his body to put him down, and waited for him to stand firmly.He quickly comforted the other child, and the two of them retreated into the group of homeless people who were ready to go.

"Seriously, Waylon, you have to teach them not to rush out in the first place, it's too dangerous." Jason turned back to Killer Crocodile, pointing at the two dry kids as he spoke, "And they Where are the parents?"

"None of your business!" The kid, the one who hit him with the crowbar, rushed out and gestured obscenely at Jason again.

If Alfred were here, he would probably be soaking in soapy water to wash someone's mouth by now, but Jason is not a good housekeeper, so he was completely unaffected by rude language or provocative gestures, squatting down Eye level with the child, he asked again: "Little devil, I'm serious, where is your mommy and daddy?"

The child's face was wrinkled, as if mentioning his parents was like eating feces, and he replied viciously: "I don't know, I don't care. That woman is probably lying on some man's bed with her legs spread out and screaming. As for the sperm donor? I never knew which one it was, why are you asking so much? Could it be that you donated it?"

Jason groaned, patted the child's head, and quickly withdrew his hand before being bitten.

From the child's narration, we can probably piece together the situation. A child born to a prostitute's mother and a prostitute is very unfavorable for business.Maybe they don't even have a registered permanent residence, let alone go to school.

Jason took a rough look at the other homeless people, old and young, or with disabilities or deformities, no matter which one is not the type that can survive on the ground, just grab a place to sleep There are also cardboard boxes that may not be able to win, and the disabled and those with deformed looks who want to do odd jobs may not have a chance.

"Don't try to take them away, even if you are a bat man, I won't let you hand them over to the police." The killer crocodile stepped forward intimidatingly, with scales and sharp teeth and claws enough to scare the GCPD into tears. The police officer, but he was facing Jason, who had already faced the killer crocodile in the days of wearing the scaly shorts, and Waylon was ten times more fierce then than he is now.

Faced with the threat of Killer Crocodile, Red Hood just shrugged his shoulders, took out the folded floor plan of Gotham sewers from the many small bags on his belt under the watchful eyes of the other party, shook it with some effort, and then took out a small piece of clay to remove the map. Stick it on the wall.

"I suggest that you and your small group move here temporarily." Jason circled an area on the map with his finger, "The sewer here is relatively new, and..." Jason looked up at those in the group. The gray-haired old man and the angry children frowned under the hood, "I just visited there last week, there are many restaurants and pharmacies on the ground, I need to dig some food and drink." more convenient."

Killer Crocodile didn't speak, but still looked at the red hood suspiciously, as if worried that there was some trap waiting there.

"Listen, I'm not here to judge or anything. I know what it's like to survive in this city. I'm from Crime Alley, okay?" Jason raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. I have no intention of starting a conflict, "I just remind you kindly that there will be sewer renovation work here in the near future, and the current pipeline is a mess, left over from the last century, abandoned and newly built in this century. Together. If construction starts, people will come and go here, you don't want to be bumped into by workers and cause unnecessary problems?"

The crowd began to stir, with voices of approval, doubt and disapproval.

Looking at the red hood, and then at the picture posted on the wall, Killer Croc took a few steps back into the shadow of the sewer: "If this is Batman's trap, I don't care which hapless ghost he sent , I will crush them!"

"As long as you don't come up with any shocking crimes, I can make it a bat-free zone as much as possible - sewers are restricted. The night patrol route above is not up to me." Not to protect the killer crocodile, but for this group of obvious The wanderers who followed him.

As they said, the world above does not want them, they can only turn here to survive.Without the protection of the killer crocodile, they would likely fall victim to those who want to use the cover of the sewer to do their dirty work.

As for Killer Crocodile, he has been keeping a low profile for so long that Batman didn't take the initiative to investigate him. Jason believed that he could continue to keep a low profile.

As for this gang or that faction, Jason would not send this group of people to Old Gordon in order to help a few scumbags get justice. Judging from their desire to protect "Mr. Crocodile", for the death of those underworld elements These people have more or less contributed a little effort.Jason took one last look at the group of homeless people who were starting to retreat, and shouted again with some concern: "In short, keep a low profile, okay?"

The answer he got was a ball of paper wrapped in a stone and thrown in his face.Jason caught it easily, and watched the figure of the killer crocodile gradually recede on the wall of the sewer.Jason spread out the ball of paper until only he and the big mice were left in the surrounding area, and he could clearly see what was drawn on the paper with the brightness of the fluorescent stick.

"This is... a map of the sewer?" The picture is very rough, and even the words marked on it are very simple, it looks like it was for children.

But there are many marks on this map that are not on the floor plan brought by Jason.

If you compare the two pictures together, there are some spaces marked as "food room" and "tool room", and even the passages "do not open" and "do not approach" are not in Jason's floor plan .

This is a gift in return, as Jason told them that there will be a renovation coming here, and it is also a symbol that they owe nothing to each other.Regardless of whether the news Jason told them is true or not, Killer Crocodile will not let his whereabouts be exposed to the "bat", which means that the next time Jason comes again, they have already abandoned this section of the sewer and found a new base .

Jason decided to check out the rooms that didn't exist on the floor plan.

The first and second rooms are full of daily necessities, most of which are canned food or processed food that has expired, candies and biscuits, as well as some old clothes, wrenches, screwdrivers and other tools.The crowbar that the kid used to beat him was probably also dug out here.

He continued to search for the passage of "Keep away from danger" according to the map, until he met a dirty and rusty iron door, the metal plate of "Keep away from idlers" on it had been loosened, and he pushed it lightly. There was a harsh metal friction chirping sound.

There is no keyhole or handle on the door, and even if there is, it is on the other side.Jason walked back to the homeless man's tool room, picked up a screwdriver, and poked it into the gap between the door and the door frame to pry the door open.

As Jason had expected, the door was padlocked on the other side.It's just that the lock seemed to be very rusty, and it was deformed by the forceful prying, and fell off the door frame, and the iron door slowly opened with a teeth-piercing creak.

"Generally speaking, by this time, ghosts should appear, right?" Throwing the fluorescent stick in his hand through the crack of the door, and taking out the gun just to be on the safe side, Jason pushed the door open with his shoulders, ready to welcome any nausea screen.

But apart from the dusty tunnel, there is no explosive footage.

Jason walked forward for a short distance until he reached the edge of the limit range that the fluorescent stick could illuminate. He hesitated whether he should go back and make more preparations before investigating.

"The Red Hood is calling the Prophet." Jason turned his head to the side and waited for a while, but there was only a rustling sound from the headphones built into the hood. He tried to change another channel, "The Red Hood is calling the Batcave."

Looks like there's no signal here.

Looking back at the iron gate that had been opened, Jason continued to walk forward in a heartbroken way. The way was unbelievably peaceful. After passing a series of steep stairs, the noise of the city outside told him that he had returned to the surface. .

The road in front of Jason ended in another door, this time made of stone. Behind the door was a room that had been abandoned for many years, and everything was covered with a thick layer of cobwebs.What caught Jason's attention was not the antique furniture that looked old, but a full set of armor neatly worn on the display dummy.

"Ah... what's wrong with this city?" Jason stared at the equipment, which was also covered in dust and was severely corroded by moisture at the joints. "Is transvestism a Gotham specialty or something?"

Batman's call came from next to his ear, and Jason answered the call from Batman while inspecting the room: "This is the Red Hood."

"Hood, you disappeared from the radar for two hours, report the status." Batman's background sound vaguely has the characteristic engine noise of the Batmobile, and Jason can imagine the old man racing all the way in the direction of his signal .

"I'm fine. I just...found something." Jason looked at the huge coin in front of him, and the totem on it, "Owl. I found the owl."

Batman found Jason and what he called "Owl" in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The chamber of secrets was hidden behind a tomb. map, but cleverly concealed the existence of the other party, only saying that he met the homeless people in the sewer and got this map from them.

Jason even took Batman through a small secret passage back to the sewer.

"Look, it's here. It's marked as dangerous." Jason pointed to the mark on the map to Batman, "Although I don't know why the homeless people marked this door that couldn't be opened as dangerous, But... it's really weird."

Batman accepted the map, nodded to indicate that he would track it down, and asked Jason to go back first.

After confirming that the red hood had left the sewer, Batman followed the instructions on the map, walked back for a while, and then turned and stood in front of another small door.

The door was easily opened, revealing a mess of various tangled pipes inside.It was the result of the past contractors not following the construction and wiring diagrams. I don’t know why it was not revealed. It can be guessed that it was probably one of the results of compromises in the political chess game.As long as the city can continue to operate, anyway, this area is the poorest and most chaotic area in Gotham.

Batman looked down at the map, quite sure that the danger above refers to this place, and he should warn the homeless children not to play with the pipeline here, so as to avoid accidents.

From the place where Jason took him just now... To be honest, there is a gap, it should be the wrong turn at the very beginning intersection.

"After so many years, the old problem of not being able to read maps is still there." Batman thought about whether he should go back and do some intensive training on this point.

I remembered the day Jason went to school for the first time, the teacher called home to say that the child didn’t show up for the first class, but it turned out that Jason took the school map from the school’s academic affairs office all the way to find the school’s east building, but couldn’t find the classroom. He was also thin-skinned and embarrassed to ask for directions, which caused a misunderstanding.

By the way, the classroom at that time was actually in the West Building.Just like today, the Academic Affairs Office turned in the wrong direction as soon as they left the door.