Chapter 163: Unfazed by Death (26)_1

That night, Spider Man snuck into the electronic information room of Gotham City Public Library. Using their computers, he found information about the chemical factory where the Joker had worked.

This factory was named ACE Chemical Factory, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. While searching for information about Wayne Enterprises, Spider Man discovered that its current leader, Bruce Wayne, was the one financing Batman's vigilante actions.

Spider Man instinctively felt that something was off, but since this wasn't the focus of his investigation, he let it go without further inquiry.

Spider Man collected all the online information about Bruce Wayne's appearances at various events and his celebrity gossip, and used them to infer Bruce Wayne's approximate daily routine and recent schedule.

He chose a time when Bruce Wayne had just finished an important meeting and returned to his office to confirm reports. Spider Man went straight into Bruce Wayne's office.

"Hey, how's it going, buddy? I'm Spider Man. I have a few questions I'd like to talk to you about. Can I take up five minutes of your time?"

Bruce never dreamed that he'd walk away from the surveillance room for a bit to take care of some business matters, only to run into Spider Man who'd slipped away from surveillance.

But nevertheless, he pretended to be a wealthy businessman who was panicked by the sudden intrusion.

"Who are you? What do you want? I'm warning you to leave right now, or I'm calling the police!"

"I'm afraid that's going to be hard for you to do, sir. All the phone lines within a two-kilometer radius have been cut by me, and I'm quite sure it's for your own good. Because what I'm about to discuss with you cannot, under any circumstances, be overheard by the police. If it were, it could have a very negative impact on your organization."

Bruce glared fiercely at Spider Man. Spider Man took two steps closer, which was clearly beyond the socially acceptable distance amongst Gothamites, so Bruce stepped back.

"You shouldn't be dodging me, sir. The suggestion I'm about to make is genuinely for the good of your organization." Spider Man stepped forward again, explaining sincerely.

"I know you're the president of a huge corporation, busy with a million things. You certainly don't have the time to care about some minor matters. Therefore, it's not your fault that this oversight occurred. But I hope you can rectify it before it does real damage to your organization's reputation."

"What are you trying to say?" Bruce asked, pretending to be impatient.

"Does ACE Chemical Factory, which is under your Wayne Enterprises, keep dumping untreated sewage into the sea, are you aware of this, Mr. Bruce Wayne?"

"I..." Bruce made a shocked face, but in reality, Batman was already furrowing his brows. He remembered having equipped each of his Wayne Enterprises' chemical industry parks with the most comprehensive wastewater treatment systems.

Even Batman needed sleep, he only had twenty-four hours in a day. Hence, it wasn't possible for him to monitor the wastewater discharge of each factory. Even if he could, in a Gotham where anything could go wrong, to create a villain who is polluted by chemicals in order to promote ocean conservation, his factory's wastewater system might just be compromised.

"The fact is, ACE Chemical Factory has been continuously discharging non-compliant wastewater into the ocean. These are the photos I took before." Spider Man held up a piece of paper to Bruce and pointed to a person on it, adding, "I only saw this security guard and a worker on the job. I'm not sure if it was the security guard's idea, or if someone else instructed him."

"But I don't believe you intended this, Mr. Bruce Wayne." Spider Man took another step forward, looking sincerely at Bruce, "Because once this is exposed by the media, the damage to Wayne Enterprises' reputation will be far greater than the cost of purchasing a few wastewater purifiers, right?"

Just as Bruce was about to reply, Spider Man suddenly said: "Of course, this situation is quite concealed, it may not be discovered. But, by chance, I found it and even took photos. Now, these photos are saved in a mysterious mailbox, and the timer is set."

"The recipients include all the major newspapers I could find, prominent journalists, critics, and forum moderators of well-known websites. You can imagine the tremendous damage to Wayne Enterprises' reputation when these undeniable proofs are exposed. Even if you double the charity funding for Wayne Enterprises next year, you won't be able to salvage it."

Bruce drew a sharp breath, immediately rushing forward to hold Spider Man's hand enthusiastically. Then, with the voice of a savvy businessman, he said: "You must give me all the details about this matter. You know, I manage too many things and am too busy. I can't possibly monitor the emissions of a small chemical plant."

"But I didn't expect my inferiors to be so audacious. If you hadn't come to warn me, it'd be a real nuisance if this gets exposed someday. Come here, tell me in detail what you saw that day. I will arrange for rectifications immediately."

About two hours later, Spider Man knocked on the door of the Joker's house. When the Joker opened the door, Spider Man made an apologetic gesture and said: "I'm truly sorry, but I'm afraid you won't be able to transport wastewater tonight. That's because the wealthy Bruce Wayne has charged into the factory which was discharging non-compliant wastewater, and fired all the subordinates involved in the act."

"I suggested to him that he should periodically inspect the other chemical factories under his control. I will monitor this anytime, and he agreed. So, you might not see factories under Wayne Enterprises discharging freely anymore."

The Joker slammed the door shut with a "bam".

That noon, the Joker wound up helping out in the kitchen of a restaurant that happened to be part of Wayne Enterprises. The kitchen hygiene there was subpar, to put it mildly - it was filthy.

Spider-Man followed immediately behind him, snapping a series of photographs, then appeared in Bruce Wayne's office an hour later. An immediate inspection was carried out and after firing approximately a handful of kitchen managers across several chain restaurants, the conditions at every food-related company under Wayne Enterprises dramatically improved.

As evening approached, Joker parked near a luxurious mansion preparing for a banquet thrown by the Wayne family. While exotic cars came and went, and fine wine and exquisite cuisines were served non-stop, Joker was mistaken for a valet and was treated arrogantly, even insultingly, by an assistant of a wealthy man and almost got hit.

That night, Spider-Man found that valet-man's house, and lectured him in length about the importance of maintaining good relations in the business world, and how hiring an insulting assistant like that might ruin his network.

Being a businessman, he knew that nothing was more important than making money. After asking his other subordinates and confirming these offenses, he fired his assistant on the spot.

Within the next twenty-four hours, Joker and Spider-Man witnessed an array of dark situations under Wayne Enterprises: wage arrears in a rubber tire factory, drug trafficking in the logistics industry, members of Wayne's board bribing government officials, and a key manager of their largest chain store abandoning his wife and child due to an extramarital affair.

Spider-Man then demanded Bruce Wayne to investigate wage arrears across the entire firm, revamp logistics networks to ensure no drug smuggling, report those who engage in bribery and put them behind bars, and help the manager's ex-wife sue for alimony she was entitled to.

The Joker quickly realized that he had to halt the plan or risk Wayne Enterprises flourishing even more.

The Joker's intention was to reveal to Spider-Man that the Wayne Enterprises, the power that controlled majority of the capital and wealth, was the main culprit behind the city's decay.

His goal was to make Robin think that the super criminals in Gotham had their reasons, and the root of these crimes was due to the existence of both Wayne Enterprises and Batman.

Thus, confusing the roles of good and evil, Batman, along with financially supportive Wayne Enterprises, was perceived as oppressors who control and manipulate the city, while the super criminals were seen as the oppressed fighting against capitalism.

While it all sounds absurd, young people - full of idealism and justice - are often easily misled. Feeling they have discovered a hidden dark side of society, they will stand with the underprivileged and resort to extreme measures to fight these injustices.

The more the rationale is resolved, the more they reject the distractions of the moderate faction trying to find the middle ground. This would only strengthen their resolve in fighting for justice, even if it meant their descent into terrorism.

If it were like before, Robins would probably storm into the Batcave and confront Batman, but he would remain silent, never revealing the truth about these dark realties.

If Batman tried to explain to them that they had been misled by the villains, the Robins would explode like ticking time bombs, accusing Batman of belittling them, trying to cover up the truth, or even being complicit in the darkness.

In this way, a battle would almost certainly erupt between Batman and the Robins, a feud impossible to resolve, comparable to the class struggle. In reality, these were all meticulously set traps to divide Batman and his sidekicks.

If Robins stood against Batman, choosing to rise in rebellion representing the 'people', Gotham would once again descend into chaos. This would inevitably lead to armed riots, detriment and plundering. At this rate, even the facade of order would not be maintained.

At that point, no matter how reluctant Batman was, he would have to cast his child out of the city, as if carving out a piece of his heart again, sinking him deeper into darkness.

That was how Gotham continually devoured Batman.

As for the piece that was supposed to have been eaten away, Spider-Man, he was now crouched in front of the Joker's house, knocking on the door while shouting towards the inside.

"Mister Joker, if you have grievances against Wayne Enterprises, you should voice them out loudly, so they can be addressed!"

"If you don't stand up and voice out, the errors will never be corrected. Never doubt the validity of your claims just because it's what everyone else is afffirming."

"There is no wrong in the world that can become right with the passage of time. The right is right, the wrong is wrong. We should strive to praise what is right, criticize what is wrong, and try our best, tirelessly, until the errors are rectified."

"Regardless of the difficulties and how many people doubt you, never give up. Even if I only manage to correct one thing after ten years of hard work, that's one less error in the world. Even if I couldn't correct anything, I'll have at least left behind a good example for those to come."

"Even if not every wrong in the world can be righted, correcting one wrong can save one person."

"Look, haven't I already saved you from polluted wastewater, subpar hygienic conditions, and discrimination?"