The lab that appeared before Thomas was fairly advanced, but the problem was that it was too small, and the experimental equipment was scarce.
Being Batman, Thomas could discern that this place essentially only has tools for manufacturing basic Bat Equipment, data storage devices, and computers for calculations.
Compared to other labs in this world, it was advanced enough, yet far from enough for Batman.
Thomas knew that his world's cosmos was older than here, but even so, the lab tables and apparatus in his Batcave were much more advanced and numerous.
As Thomas walked in and examined, he found that the underground of Wayne Manor in this universe was consistently modest, both inside and out.
Thomas didn't find any hidden doors, password doors, or other underground facilities here. It was merely a very straightforward lab, trimmed down to its simplest. Thomas even wondered if Bruce handcrafted all his equipment, as there were even parts missing from the lathe.
Thomas rummaged and searched here, eventually had to admit that he probably wouldn't find what he wanted here. Therefore, he had to walk out of the door and turned to Alfred asking, "Where does Bruce usually put his stuff?"
"Are you referring to his diary?" Alfred asked with a smile.
Appearing somewhat embarrassed, Thomas shook his head and said, "No, I don't mean to intrude on his privacy. I'm asking, where does he keep Batman's equipment? I just want to see what his research level is like."
The smile on Alfred's face didn't alter, but it was evident that he was conjuring a euphemistic manner of speaking in his mind, and then he responded, "Master Bruce is very much like you. He's very emotional, with rich experiences in love matters. He uses his spare time properly, and his friends all praise him as a good person."
The more Thomas heard, the more he felt something was off. Thus, he looked at Alfred and said, "So, where is his Batcave? I want to take a visit."
"It's in a cave in the suburbs."
"Can you prepare the car for me?"
"Of course, sir."
Alfred turned and walked out, but that bad premonition in Thomas' heart did not fade, and it was verified the moment he saw that extravagant ostentatious rainbow-colored sports car.
Thomas pointed at this vehicle with a finger and asked, "… Is this the best selection? Where's the Batmobile?"
"The Batmobile has a slight malfunction and can't be driven at the moment." Alfred was still beaming, perhaps attempting to conceal his other grins with a smile.
"Show me."
"Alright."
Thomas was led by Alfred to walk towards the back of the Manor, and as he was walking, he began to feel something was off. He said, "Isn't the garage on the other side? Did he transform the structure of Wayne Manor?"
"No, sir, just that the Batmobile isn't in the garage."
"The Batmobile is not in the garage, then it is at..."
Having just turned a corner, Thomas saw a gigantic, black Batmobile, parked right on the lawn in the garden.
Tim and Jason, each holding a jack and an iron crowbar, were pushing a huge bat tire past him, their laughter melodious like ringing bells.
Staring blankly at the Batmobile that had been disassembled into a mere skeleton, Thomas turned his gaze to Alfred and said, "Don't tell me, this was the work of the children?"
"I'm afraid so, sir. Their hands-on skills are quite strong."
Thomas opened his mouth, looking back again at the fancy and colorful car parked outside. He somewhat hesitatingly looked at Alfred and asked, "There really is no more subtle choice?"
In the end, Alfred found an old pickup at the back of the garage left by Thomas' father and Bruce's grandfather. Therefore, a fully armed Batman Thomas was reluctantly reminded of the old days when Gotham was still a small fishing village.
After a bumpy journey to the Batcave, Thomas finally found a door in the wild bushes growing in the cave.
When he heard Bruce's recording asking for the password, he felt almost moved. It was as if his naive son had finally learned to eat by himself.
Thomas pondered a bit, then said, "Martha?"
"Password incorrect."
Thomas frowned, coughed twice, tapped the ground with his toe, then said, "… Thomas?"
"Password incorrect."
"Alfred?"
"Password incorrect."
Thomas pondered for a moment, tentatively began to speak, "Aisha? Elizabeth? Dick? Jason? Tim?"
"Password incorrect, password incorrect, password incorrect."
A series of errors came through, leaving Thomas somewhat puzzled. Fortunately, his equipment was quite comprehensive.
Thomas walked up to the door, fumbled on the wall, pried open an interface with a Batman dart, reconnected the circuit, then opened his arm guard and plugged a port into it.
After a moment, the door beeped twice and opened directly. However, Thomas did not walk in immediately but stood in place, a bit puzzled, mumbling to himself, "I wonder what password you set."
He fiddled with his arm guard again, and the screen lit up with a flurry of data. Among the data, Thomas keenly captured a logical line of text— "Get to writing your paper!"
Staring blankly at the line of text, Thomas tried to understand the logic behind it. However, his paternal thinking took over, and he frowned, muttering, "Did he not finish his thesis?"
Thomas rose to his feet and strode through the door, soon realizing he might have been overthinking.
If Bruce hadn't completed his thesis, it would imply that he had spent most of his time on scientific research. But looking at the state of the equipment inside the Batcave, it seemed that Bruce valued his thesis.
The Batcave was a half-completed cave. Yes, despite the passing years, only the two lower levels had been completed, and above everything was mere exposed rock.
Inside were several sets of Bat suits, Batman darts, Bat-belt accessories, and so on. To an outsider, it was already an incredibly magical base. However, this time, the visitor was a legitimate Batman.
Who is Batman? He is the biggest skeptic in human civilization, suffering severely from firepower deficiency syndrome. No matter how advanced the equipment is, it doesn't bring him a sense of security unless it's in tons.
After a thorough inspection, Thomas found the Batcave to be surprisingly shabby. In his world, he often prepared several fake Batcaves to lure enemies. However, this Batcave didn't even compare with his fake ones.
But there was a reason for this. Bruce's biggest opponent over the five years since becoming Batman was his professor, Shiller.
Bruce, the hero, hadn't fought a single common shrimp but instead encountered the Sunset Overlord Shrimp right from the start. After scratching at it for five years, he finally dealt some real damage.
During this process, there were some residual effects. Shiller, being an academic, preferred mental oppression. Bruce had been tempted to physically confront his teacher, but his firm moral grounding held him back, and he continued to mentally spar with Shiller.
As they say, consumer demand forces industrial upgrades. Without demand, there's no need for upgrades.
Over the past few years, Bruce hadn't encountered many adversaries that could only be satisfied with fists or physical suppression. The opponents he met mostly weren't ones that he could beat with his personal strength, so naturally, he didn't prioritize upgrading his equipment.
So, Bruce didn't have as many fancy Bat equipment as other Batmen. His technology tree was also quite skewed, with most of his skills focused on infrastructure, quick construction, and internal security defense. His most notable achievement was the enlargement of the Ark Reactor. However, the device had already been installed underground in Gotham and was not in the Batcave.
For these reasons, all Thomas saw were the different types of Bat suits, ordinary bat equipment, and several garages full of Batmobiles.
Thomas was puzzled about his son's situation. How did he have so many Batmobiles? Was he a car enthusiast? Then why did he leave Batmobiles in the garden for the kids to play with?
The reason Bruce had so many Batmobiles had to do with Aisha.
For a long time, this energetic little girl would only go to sleep if she was in a moving vehicle. Therefore, Bruce and Selina had no choice but to take her out for a drive every night.
However, everyone knows that Gotham drivers are fearless. Even if the Batmobile looked like a next-generation tank, as long as you dared to overtake them, they would challenge you. They could handle one or two cars, but if they spent the entire night battling all of Gotham's night drivers, they needed to have extra Batmobiles prepared.
With these questions in mind, Thomas toured several hills in the suburbs but found no other facilities. He had confidence in his investigative capabilities, so he suspected that Bruce had not set up a Batcave that he could not detect.
Reflecting on the password to open the door earlier, Thomas thought, if Bruce had chosen not to invest a substantial amount of time and energy into developing Bat equipment, surely his thesis must be quite good, right?
In this frame of mind, Thomas returned to Wayne Manor and asked Alfred, "How are Bruce's grades at university? If he has just graduated, he should have published his thesis, right?"
"Master Bruce chose to continue his graduate studies. His academic journey has just begun and is full of promise," Alfred replied.
Narrowing his eyes at Alfred, Thomas said, "Alfred, I've never noticed before how strong your British accent is. Is there something you can't just come out and say?"
"This is mainly in consideration of your health," Alfred gently pressed his lips together and glanced aside.
The feeling of foreboding in Thomas's heart grew stronger. So, clad in his Batman suit, he made his way to Gotham University and headed straight for the student records office. There, remarkably easy, he found the name Bruce Wayne in the graduate files.
The first few pages were basic information, which Thomas flipped through quickly.
Therefore, when he unsuspectingly opened the page with the GPA, Thomas's heart stopped.</p