1 Chapter 1

"Get up, you brats!"

A man yelled with anger in his voice, which woke Dio from his sleep.

Maybe it wasn't a dream; who knows? 

Dio hasn't remembered any of them since his reincarnation.

Dio threw off the covers and rose from his small bed.

There was an old wooden bed with a worn-out mattress and a pillow that was so hard that sleeping on a rock might have been more comfortable.

Dio was the first to get up, as usual. The other kids who were sleeping in beds with him still hadn't gotten up.

But that didn't matter. Soon, the older kids would "gently" awaken them. That's what pushed Dio to wake up immediately after the first shout.

Dio left the shabby bedroom by getting through the small spaces between the beds.

It had been nine years since Dio came into this world.

At first, he couldn't remember anything about his previous life. But when he turned four, the memories started to return. 

At first, he thought he was crazy or dreaming, but as time passed and he turned seven, all the memories came back to him.

It would be more accurate to say that many of them came back. There were important things he was missing, like my family, my job, his name from his previous lives, and so on.

The details about his daily life were blocked, but he couldn't complain.

The memories he did remember were full of information about basic knowledge, life knowledge, and, most importantly, the world he was living in at the time.

In his previous life, he wasn't that smart.

He doesn't know if he completed college, but judging from his knowledge of architecture, he might have been an architecture graduate or student.

However, that didn't mean he became a genius, and his learning speed remained average.

Moreover, he couldn't just go to the library to acquire more knowledge. He went to the bathroom, which all thirty of the kids shared. 

Everyone who thought it would be organized was very disappointed; it was coming apart like everything else in this place.

After brushing his teeth as quickly as possible, Dio washed his face and looked in the mirror.

Dio's new body was young, with slightly sunken cheeks and black eyes, and short black hair on his head.

He was very skinny and looked like an average guy—not handsome, but not ugly.

Dio is walking toward the door to avoid the older kids, who would probably find a reason to bother him.

It was quiet on top of the shelter, and he loved the quiet.

"Hahaha!"

Dio laughs unconsciously because this city is connected to the whole world.

He walks over to the edge of the roof, sits down on an old chair, and puts a plate of food on his lap.

Dio can eat peacefully here while enjoying the magnificent view of the city, which is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

"Good morning, Gotham!"

Dio said this and smiled at this cursed place.

He was pretty far from the middle of Gotham. He could see a few buildings in front of him, and some of them had been covered by fog and darkness.

There are a lot of different sounds in the city, like police sirens, fire trucks, and ambulances. In addition, even though it is daylight, this evil city is always dark.

The clouds are so heavy here that a sunny day is unusual. The way Gotham is built doesn't help its image, as Superman said in one of the comics he read.

"It's like someone built a nightmare out of metal and stone."

When Dio learned which universe he was in, he cried for a whole hour.

A reincarnation in one of their favorite worlds should bring a lot of joy to a fan. Of course, he was a bit happy, but he literally reincarnated in the worst possible place.

Gotham is not the safest place for a child left without parents, especially in an orphanage located in a small alley in the East End, officially known as "Park Row," but locals call it Crime Alley.

Once, this district was one of the richest in the city, but now, after so much time has passed, it has become a haven for all the city's filth.

On every corner, anyone can encounter prostitutes, killers, thieves, and other evil people.

If he wandered too far from the safe zone, a fate much worse than death could happen to him.

After finishing his breakfast, he went downstairs to return his tray and then went to the bathroom again to shower and change.

It's almost time to go to school.

All the younger kids gathered in their shabby uniforms and worn-out backpacks by the gate.

There are a lot of tough things about going to school here.

The lessons make Dio want to end it all, but revealing some of his knowledge right now would be the same as suicide.

"Ma, we're ready."

One of the boys at the front of the line said.

Faye "Ma" Gunn, the old woman who runs this orphanage, always wears clothes that make her look like she's from another century and always has a sweet smile on her face.

"I see, John. Thank you for looking after your brothers. Now go, or you'll be late."

Ma spoke as she leaned on her cane and gently stroked the hair of John, who was the oldest of the children.

As we walked out of the gates in a line, she called after us.

"Don't forget to fulfill your daily duties, children, or you'll be punished."

"Yes, Ma Gunn!"

All the children shouted in unison, and Dio did too.

The children can walk to school through Crime Alley without fear of being hurt because no one would be stupid enough to go near Ma Gunn's shelter for boys who have gone astray.

This place was meant to be a school to help criminals change, but Ma Gunn is so kind that she takes in all the kids who are left alone near Crime Alley.

The people here think Ma Gunn is a saint because she chose to stay in this place full of sin.

They're all complete idiots.

They don't know that this nice woman is actually raising kids and training them to be good soldiers at the same time, and they all end up joining her criminal organization.

For those who think like villains, this is a great idea: all the kids and teens end up loving Ma Gunn, and she gets many new recruits.

So they can go to school without risking becoming a corpse with a slashed throat.

In the end, most people respect Ma Gunn's image as a holy woman.

The gang leaders here know her true identity and dare not start a war with her. They know many people will be there for her and guard her no matter what.

In addition, she is in charge of a big part of the drug trade in this area.

The thought of turning her into the police and using her to escape from this cursed place has crossed Dio's mind more than once.

It's a crazy idea—a ten-year-old accusing a "saint" of something like that, and she has many friends, likely even inside the GCPD and among the guardians.

Dio does have an escape plan, of course, but it's going to be very dangerous.

... 

A/N: The MC will choose to become a hero not anti-hero. I am tired always reading anti-hero fanfics, if this is not your thing. This is not for you

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