Chapter 2125: Ultimate New World (Four)_1

Regrettably, at this moment, Bruce Wayne could only make out a set of Arabic numerals in the dim light, lacking the nocturnal equipment or night animal-like vision of Batman to see clearly what the numbers represented.

Moreover, there were about twenty test tubes in the box, each one with a ten-digit number, Bruce Wayne could not possibly remember 200 random numbers in such a short time.

It sounds ridiculous, but in reality, most ordinary people cannot do this, and neither can this Batman, who is equally ordinary.

In fact, remembering didn't provide much assistance either. Observation and memory were interdependent. The regular Batman could through keen observation discern the difference between each liquid, then by remembering the disparate number sequences, find some pattern - thus, by associating the changes in numbers with the differences in the liquids, hypothesize the production process and experimental purpose of the liquids.

However, this Bruce Wayne could not spot any difference in these liquids in the box and moreover, lacked any fundamental knowledge in chemistry and toxicology. His understanding of chemical experimentation was limited to high school laboratories, thus anything more complex would fall within his blind spot of knowledge.

Therefore, he reacted like any common person would. Upon seeing a multitude of chemicals, his immediate suspicion was of an attempt to poison the water supply, unable to glean any further information.

As for the appearance and attire of the potential poisoner, most intelligent villains would stay clear of any noticeable uniforms or logo-bearing clothes. Unfortunately, Bruce lacked the skill to glean any clues about their identities from subtle details.

Thus, the situation had not offered him any other course of action. He better order his meal first.

Bruce left.

His prior plan had totally failed because the strangers that appeared on the construction site had exceptionally tight security measures. Several of them were armed – action would result in his death.

He couldn't discern any further information from his hiding place and taking them by force wasn't an option. Therefore, what option remained except leaving?

While Bruce was sneaking out, he considered the usual alternatives. Like finding a camera to capture the scenario, but he encountered the same kind of problems that any normal person would- where to get a camera from.

Purchasing a new one was unfeasible, gradually saving up to buy even the cheapest second-hand model could work, but the inspection at the construction site was stricter than most. He wouldn't be able to bring it in even if he did manage to purchase one.

As for miniaturized cameras, that idea was out, even if he had the connections, he wouldn't be able to afford one.

Besides, to whom would he show the photos that were taken? If the project was indeed established for poisoning the water supply, then it would imply that the government and police were already in cahoots with the culprits in the shadows. Reporting such activity would only result in an unspeakable demise.

Thus, in this regard too, our Bruce distinguishes himself as the most inept Batman. A chief characteristic of being the worst is the total absence of the innate scepticism of Batman, preferring answers on the very day he has questions. He, more like most common people, takes his time over complex problems and if no solution becomes apparent then he simply abandons the issue.

Upon leaving, Bruce did not immediately return to his apartment. Instead, he visited a discount Supermarket, purchased a few daily necessities, moving boxes and some processed food.

When he returned to his apartment with two overflowing hand-carry bags, it appeared as though Elsa had just woken up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and then joined him on the sofa.

Bruce switched on the lights, began to organize the things from the bags on the kitchen island platform, and while busying himself he spoke words to the effect of, "Even though fast-food is fine, it's full of calories. Too much of which is bad for children, so I think we could prepare our meals at home."

From within the plastic bags he retrieved a dozen eggs, a vacuum-sealed packet of bacon, two loaves of sliced bread, lettuce, chicory, tomatoes and the like, along with fresh poultry and burger meat.

Elsa was already sitting across from him, watching him with anticipation.

Typically, a hearty sandwich ought to have been a straightforward task, comprised of toasting slices of bread, followed by frying bacon and eggs and then layering the vegetables before capping it off with the toast. If still hungry, one could add another layer or squeeze on some sauce.

This was probably the simplest of simple dishes, yet Elsa watched helplessly as Bruce's attempt ruined all the ingredients. He succeeded only in cooking but managed no real food in the process.

Bruce had bought fresh thin slices of bacon, yet he held the belief that bacon should be fried for a long time. Consequently, he chose to fry the bacon before the eggs and because he feared the risk of undercooking, he used high heat for both.

Then came the problem of cracking the eggs. Having failed to crack two in a row, half a minute had already passed with the already frying bacon, by the time the eggs hit the pan, one side of the bacon was already charred.

Discovering that the bacon was overcooked, he took too much time looking for a plate to remove it with. Consequently, not only did the other side of the bacon get burned but so did his eggs.

In the end, all that remained on the plate was the unevenly burnt bacon and a thoroughly blackened fried egg.

The bread should have been perfect thanks to the automatic settings of the toaster, meant to eliminate error. However, Bruce, while attempting to retrieve the toasted slices, forgot to use oven gloves and was burned by the edge of the device, resulting in blisters on his fingers.

Cutting the tomatoes proved troublesome as they were soft and his hand still hurt. The result resembled chunks of tomatoes rather than slices. The cleaning process of the lettuce was also awkward as he couldn't figure out how to drain all the water, hence ended up placing the wet leaves onto the plate.

Looking at the meal served before her, Elsa was at a total loss and was much rather inclined to have fast food again.

However, it was clear from Bruce's recent expenses that they could not afford to eat out anymore. Hence, Elsa reluctantly consumed two pieces of bread before declaring herself full.

It was clear to Bruce that even though his attempt at cooking wasn't successful, it was far less healthy for Elsa. Thus patting Elsa on her head he remarked, "I have never cooked previously since Alfred made a point of stating his desire to not lose his job yet."

Elsa's expression froze for a moment. She thought to herself about how Alfred always knew how to console someone. If this level of skill could result in Alfred's unemployment, how must the Batman Family be getting by?

Elsa swallowed hard, yearning for Alfred's roasted turkey, a litany of dish names began to clutter her head.

Contrary to Elsa's expectations though, Bruce consumed all of the failed dishes. He might have been exceptionally hungry due to the physical labour, or perhaps he did not wish to waste food. Even though it was painful to consume, he managed to finish his unfortunate meal.

A sigh echoed in Elsa's thoughts- truly an unusual Batman.

After their meal, Bruce, while washing the dishes, pondered, "I think this job isn't quite up to scratch, first it lacks income, secondly, the income isn't stable, and there is an element of danger associated with it."

Turned towards the TV while sitting on the sofa, Elsa swiveled her head towards him. Bruce continued unperturbed, "The large scale water pipe replacement seems quite suspicious. The chemical carriers make the situation even more questionable."

"Who?" Aisha asked.

Bruce paused his hand movement and said, "I don't know who they are, but they're definitely not workers."

"I mean... What do they look like?"

"Well, there are about four or five of them, not very strong, quite thin, and then their skin is very pale."

"Hair? Skin details? Fingers?" Aisha said.

"I couldn't see clearly." Bruce shrugged and said: "It was almost dark at that time. They were standing where the sunset's light made it hard to see the color of their hair, let alone their fingers."

"What about getting closer?"

"I'd definitely be discovered. They are not stupid." Bruce placed the cleaned dishes aside and said: "There's only one shelter there. I would be discovered the moment I moved out."

"Try another direction?"

"Workers were standing on the other side, blocking them tightly. It was even less clear."

Aisha covered her eyes and said: "Throw something to distract them, then steal one back."

Bruce's eyes widened slightly and he turned to look at Aisha. After a while, he sighed: "You're really your father's good daughter. If I get caught, I would be beaten to death."

"You won't get caught."

"I will definitely be caught." Bruce finished washing all the plates, put them into the dryer, then said, "I can't distract everyone. They will surely leave someone armed there. In that case, no matter which direction I go, I'll be shot. If there are guns, it's better not to have anything to do with them."

Aisha sighed and then asked, "License plate number?"

"What?"

"The license plate number of their car."

Bruce was stunned.

"They didn't fly here." Aisha struggled to speak: "There are cars outside, and there are license plates. You can see them when they are not there."

Bruce opened his mouth, but said nothing. After a while, he said, "I... I didn't think of it. And they would leave a driver there, right?"

"They don't know you." Aisha kept making hand gestures, trying hard to express her meaning, "They think this is their place and feel they are safe, so they won't."

Right, Bruce realized. At that time, he was being overly cautious, thinking that he would surely be noticed if he approached, but in reality, the other party didn't know that someone was spying on them in secret.

Considering the progress of the construction, they'd been doing bad things for at least two months. The fact that the project was still ongoing meant that no one had exposed them, or even knew. That much time had been enough for their guard to relax.

So whether creating an accident to draw others away, or sneaking around outside to find their car while they were inside causing trouble, jotting down the license plate number would have been a more effective way to handle the situation.

And he had already noticed something was wrong during the day. He could've used the intervals between deliveries to take something to cause an accidental accident without suspicion.

Bruce silently took note of these suggestions and planned to try them the next day. Aisha jumped off the couch and sat on the high stool in reverse, propping her face on one hand, watching Bruce.

"Don't do that, it's not efficient. Go buy hard drives, copy the surveillance!"

Bruce widened his eyes and said: "Are there cameras on the construction site? … Oh, wait, there probably are."

"But even if there are cameras, how am I going to copy the data? They won't let me into the surveillance room... Well, maybe I can try to knock out the guard."

"Don't knock out! Distract them!" Aisha said, raising her voice.

"You're right, if I knock them out, they will definitely realize that I'm after the surveillance data and will probably immediately notify the person behind the scenes, so I can't alert them." Bruce nodded and said, "Then I'll steal the data when he's not there."

"But there's likely a password on the computer, right?" Bruce frowned again, saying, "I don't know the password."

"HACK IN!!" Aisha raised her voice again.

Bruce looked at Aisha, Aisha looked at Bruce. After about ten seconds, Bruce spread his hands and said: "I'm not a hacker. How am I supposed to hack in?"

Aisha took a deep breath, jumped off the stool, ran into the bedroom, and pulled out a paper and pen. She quickly filled the paper with symbols and pushed it into Bruce's hands, saying,

"Go to the internet café, write a program, connect it to the hard drive to run automatically!"

Bruce was dumbfounded.

"Uh, wait, what's an internet café?"