Chapter 1681: Off to Death Without Distraction (44)_1

Batman never doubted whether Gotham needed him. Gotham needs every person with a sense of justice, even if they couldn't completely save it, they could at least make it a bit better.

The way Batman saves Gotham is by combating the criminals, but now a question arises: who is the criminal?

Or rather, who isn't a criminal?

It's like this - in a group of ten people, if one person was slicing at the other nine with a knife, Batman would definitely strike down that one person. But if each of the ten had a knife and were slashing at one another, things would become complicated.

If these ten people were slicing and robbing each other, relishing in the chaos and not attempting to run, common folk would usually choose to respect and bless, hoping they don't die on their doorstep.

Now, the upper and midtown areas have become a hodgepodge of chaos, with the densely populated lower city area ripe with eager participants in this ongoing war. Seventy percent of the city's population is partaking in the conflict, cheerfully devoid of the usual desolation and sorrow caused by warfare.

In fact, it could be said that this is the most prosperous time for Gotham in the past decade.

Firstly, the fight for territories naturally involves an increase in populations. The families residing in these territories have absorbed a great number of people from the lower city area, effectively handling the wave of unemployment caused by economic sanctions — after all, mobs are a by-product of unemployment.

Secondly, the process of fortifying the security of each family's territory necessitates large quantities of material supplies, the transportation of which requires logistical systems, the building of which, in turn, requires even more material supplies. This greatly stimulates the city's internal consumption. The various things built in the territories truly exist, and, to a certain extent, count as an industrial development.

Lastly, war unavoidably consumes the disadvantaged, and yet simultaneously opens channels of ascent for the robust and young individuals. Due to the high rate of personnel loss, positions become quickly vacant. Mobs don't require a high degree of skill or education, and there's almost no barrier in terms of social class. As long as one isn't afraid of death, they can ride the tailwind of the era and proceed further and further down the path of crime.

With ample employment opportunities, the majority of the capital is invested in industry, and economic bonuses are distributed to the lower classes. Channels for attaining increasingly benefits or achieving self-worth have been opened, which can help to temporarily eradicate almost all conflicts, enabling the weeds of this chaotic land to take root and then grow into new, good, and healthy branches.

Of course, war can never be beautiful. This kind of chaos signifies thousands of lives passing on. When Batman stands at the highest point of Gotham, overlooking the city, he can hear the desperate cries every second, but the gunfire is even deafening.

Both to die abruptly on the battlefield amidst the booming gunfire or to pass away silently on a quiet rainy night are not good choices. But Batman knows Gothamites too well; given a thousand, even ten thousand opportunities, they would choose the former.

This crowd of rare villains never think of themselves as pitiful. They only exhale smoke from their lungs, hotter than the tunnels of Hell, wanting their evil blood to splash even farther at death, to let everyone know that, aside from them, no one else has sins so deep.

Batman doesn't pity them either because this bloodstained flower, which blossoms fully in just one rainfall, is their ultimate good karma their hearts have longed for. But Batman couldn't accept it — he couldn't accept a rainfall that didn't even include a drop of him.

Whether Gotham is good or bad, Batman can't just be an observer. He could never leave Gotham alone in these times of passionate change, and if someone must stand on the cusp of this era, it should be him — always him.

In another rainy night, a cloak darker than the night sky dived down, cutting through the rain. If you listen closely, the sound of the gunfire was even more muffled than before, like a deafening thunderclap heralding the beginning of life in the awakening of spring from the freezing cold.

Batman joined this chaotic feast, but not as Batman.

Even if those by his side were still his "birds", this time, Batman became the leader of the Naiwei family, completely going through the process of establishing and fighting for dominance of a gangster family as an insider rather than a law enforcer.

Batman used to slum around the mobs with the fake identity of Match Malone after he embarked on his journey, but by then, Gotham's mobs had already faded away. What was called the mob was nothing more than an iceberg restaurant-like semi-black and semi-ash interest group set up by the Penguin Man.

But this time, Batman was engaged in the complete process of establishing a traditional gangster family, or it should be said, the establishment of the Italian Mafia-style family.

The biggest characteristic of the family-style mob is many matters cannot prioritize profit but must prioritize righteousness and emphasize emotions and kinship. The bond of family or emotions is the cage that restrains violence, and it's also the maximum driving force for quick and ruthless actions.

The essence of manipulation is love. If a mob boss emphasizes only profit, his subordinates will betray him for their interests someday. If you want to firmly lead dogs by their leashes, naturally, you have to talk about love and emotions.

No one can truly comprehend emotions as they are a confusing account of affairs that cannot be clearly calculated. If someone can make all other people have the illusion of being loved, then everyone would owe him and would have to respect, admire, and be loyal to him.

To truly develop the Naiwei Family, which was essentially just a shell, Bruce first had to recruit manpower. However, during the recruitment process, he discovered that nearly all family leaders were adopting a charisma-based recruitment approach.

In simple terms, they don't discuss money or treatment with you. All you need to know is that I never mistreat my subordinates. With me, you'll be well-fed, more accepted, understood, and be put to use more than with anyone else. It's basically a case of dying for a worthy master.

Bruce, with ample experience running modern companies, had no choice but to start comparing the human resources model of a modern corporation with that of a traditional mob. He wondered why the corporation's recruitment model wouldn't work.

After a few attempts, Bruce discovered that the key issue was the difference in the nature and hazards of the work.

The job of an office worker, sitting in an air-conditioned room and typing on a keyboard, doesn't really depend on the boss's character. Even if the boss mismanages the company and it goes bankrupt, the worst-case scenario is unemployment and finding another job.

But fighting in a mob, on the other hand, is a life or death affair. All potential mob enforcers may be prepared to die but who doesn't want to live longer?

They need to be assured that their immediate superior is principled, sentimental, smart, and energetic, so as not to selfishly or foolishly lead his subordinates to their deaths.

If they don't admire their boss's charisma, then what smart person would want to work with him? If there are no smart people and professionals, wouldn't going into battle be tantamount to suicide?

Under such circumstances, Bruce had no choice but to adjust his conversation style. His previously shrewd, capable, and elite businessman persona, who could talk knowledgeably about all kinds of market data and trends, had to be abandoned. The mobsters didn't want to discuss the ebb and flow of stock prices.

What they were concerned about was the matter of whether the base's flanks were adequately defended, how to plan tomorrow's attack on the neighboring street, whether there were enough bullets, and how long the opposite gang could hold out.

As omnipotent as Batman, he swiftly changed his usual style, almost instantaneously adjusting into the type of leader that mobsters preferred; oppressive but loyal, attacking fiercely like a wildfire, and defending relentlessly like an old dog.

But soon, Bruce discovered another problem; the enforcers within the Naiwei Family were unbelievably young, mainly teenagers aged sixteen or seventeen years.

Although those who dared to do this kind of work had already physically developed and looked strong despite their young age, Bruce felt incomprehensible. He could accept a few such young men, but eight out of ten were teenagers.

There was another puzzling point. Despite changing his style to align with the mob, Bruce occasionally revealed aspects of Batman's nature. He did his best to avoid such situations. As a mob boss, Batman's character was not particularly likable.

However, whenever he accidentally showed his Batman side, his young subordinates would reveal fanatical admiration. The more Batman remained silent and unexplainable, the more frenzied they became.

Although these two phenomena were strange, they had very positive impacts on the development of the Naiwei Family. On one hand, in Mob-style confrontations that could turn deadly in an instant, youth were seen as a strength.

Young people dare to fight and compete. They have quick reactions, are open to new knowledge during training, and their minds are flexible. Even from Batman's very critical and demanding perspective, he could pick out a few talented individuals to hold key positions.

Additionally, their pure admiration of Bruce was near worship. They were naturally loyal and the execution was no problem. They could be described as a perfectly obedient force, something many other mob families could not accomplish. This capability allowed the Naiwei Family to gain an advantage.

However, even so, Batman, the incurable skeptic and control freak, was eager to know what caused these phenomena.

So, he started to carry out a comprehensive investigation and visited his subordinates to understand why it seemed like the whole youth population of Gotham was flocking to him.

After researching for three full days, from studying Gotham's low birth rate problem to the prospect of aging in Gotham, he reviewed Gotham City's population birth structure. After careful analysis, he realized the problem did not lie with Gotham but with him.

Then, after some self-investigation and reflection, just as he was about to blame himself, Batman suddenly realized-

The person in charge of recruitment and initial screening within the Naiwei Family was Tim Drake, his Red Robin.