Chapter 41 Cat and Bat (Part 2)_1

When Shiller saw the gloom etched on Bruce's face, he knew the conversation with Catwoman must not have gone well.

"Did you two get into a fight again?"

Bruce replied, "Even worse."

"Alright, which hospital room is she in now?" Shiller asked.

"I mean, the situation in Gotham is worse than I imagined."

"There's a bunch of villains here you can't get too tough with, because in this environment, they're already doing their best," Bruce said.

"I guess you've realized by now that being Batman isn't as easy as you thought it was?" Shiller proposed.

"Indeed," Bruce agreed, "I initially thought that with my sturdy armor, bulletproof helmet, sharp bat darts, guns, and bullets, no mob would be too tough."

"Guns sure are handy," Shiller conceded.

"At least they assure that someone would be willing to listen to what you have to say."

"I couldn't tell Selina 'you're wrong'," Bruce covered his eyes and spoke, "In reality, she's already doing her best."

"Jonathan probably doesn't see it that way. What if I told you that Jonathan, too, grew up in such an environment, and his crimes are simply the result of never having been taught better? What would you think then?"

Bruce opened his mouth, realizing that he initially thought he was just until he found out that nothing is absolute, then he thought he was fair until he realized he might not be fair enough.

He had to admit he favored Selina. The mobsters he punished were no different from her; they were just not as fortunate.

Their backgrounds and pasts were all a mess, and they didn't join the mob because they're inherently evil or naturally bad people - they were simply trying to put food on the table.

Breaking free from one's social class is harder than one might think, especially in Gotham.

This reality left Bruce feeling somewhat hopeless as he finally understood why Shiller said he didn't understand Gotham.

Because anyone who wants to fully save Gotham doesn't understand Gotham.

Everyone here is a villain, yet there isn't a single villain here.

Among these lifeless people, you won't find a single one who should be saved nor a single one who was born to be destroyed.

There's no chief culprit here, but everyone here is a chief culprit.

The path to becoming a hero was much different than what Bruce had imagined. He thought all he had to do was arrest enough criminals, extract information from them, trace it back to the few main tumors affecting Gotham, bring them to justice, and Gotham would progressively get better.

But now he realized this was a bottomless pit. When he arrested a batch of tumors, another would come along. When he punished a chief culprit, another always came forth.

No one could withstand this kind of depletion. It's not about wealth or physical strength. Harvey thought only those who reached the finish line were winners, but Batman, he didn't even have a finish line.

It was only now that Bruce realized his struggle with Gotham would consume his entire life.

And only then did he understand that wealth, equipment, and martial arts skills alone wouldn't make him a true Batman, because his greatest enemy wasn't criminals, but his own propensity to surrender.

The biggest problem he was facing wasn't cunning rivals but his own determination. He wondered whether he was determined enough, whether he could bear to spend his lifetime struggling endlessly with a city that seemed impossible to save.

This was as if a mere mortal was trying to alter the course of the sun, wishing it to rise from the west for a lifetime.

Batman stood on the rooftop of the Gotham Central Building. The wind was fierce, whistling past his ears. Below him, countless despicable people bustled about like ants building their nests. From here, he could see all of Gotham clearly.

Batman initially thought Gotham lacked order and was in chaos. Yet now, he saw not only was there order, but it was much sturdier than anywhere else. If there were only chaos, he could rebuild the order. But now, he couldn't even break the existing order of Gotham.

After a while, Batman heard footsteps behind him. Catwoman, hands behind her back, approached.

Seeing Batman turn around, she smiled, whipping out a gemstone from her back to hand to him and said, "This beauty is from my collection. Of course, I couldn't bear to give you the biggest one, but I believe this one isn't bad either."

Before Bruce could respond, she continued, "I was chatting with Maggie yesterday, and she felt I should apologize to you. After all, I shouldn't have scratched you with the knife, regardless."

"I've never apologized to anyone before. If they wanted to assault me, I'd fight back. But you've been pretty good to me, even taking me rooftop hopping, and I knifed you. That doesn't seem right."

She blinked her beautiful eyes whose brown pupils sparkled in the dark Gotham night, and continued, "I can tell you're troubled. I hope this gem can help lift your mood."

Batman glanced down at the gemstone in his hand. It was a finely crafted, triangular ruby resembling his ear and emitted a mesmerizing luster under dim light.