Chapter 8 He's not Batman Yet_3

The entire Morson district isn't large, just six little lanes, and the building Bruce fell off was on the first lane of the Morson district. There was a nightclub there, controlled by the Gutter Gang.

The Gutter Gang was a small mob in Gotham, named for its proximity to a drainage gutter in the Morson district. The gang had a morbid tendency to throw their unfortunate victims into this gutter, which as a result reeked terribly, and subsequently other mobs began to use 'gutter' as a nickname for this specific gang. The Gutter Gang were thrilled and took pride in this.

The first enemy that Batman defeated was no infamous villain; they were just a bunch of hoodlums smoking on top of the nightclub. Batman managed to deal with most of them using his combat skills, but his lack of real combat experience resulted in him being blinded by a handful of quicklime and stammering off the building.

In the early days, Batman had no assistant and his equipment was not yet perfect, so his stumble in the gutter was perfectly understandable. However, the Gutter Gang wouldn't be so lucky again. Shiller leaned against the wall at the end of the Morson district, soon hearing cries of terror coming from the nightclub. The night quickly fell quiet, and a small mob, which no one would care about, disappeared from Gotham.

Batman came out again, looking much better than last time. He was bowing his head, seemingly thinking about how to modify his Bat Equipment.

Suddenly, he remembered something, and moved forward, taking a turn. He sought out the beggar again to give her some more dollars, and told her that he had sorted out the Gutter Gang, so she would face no danger with the money.

Sure enough, he found the beggar in the usual spot. She was still tightly wrapped in her blanket, shivering in the damp cold air of Gotham night. The umbrella Shiller had once given her was nowhere to be found.

Batman handed her the money, and in his deep voice, told her, "There are no mobs left in this district, and you are safe now."

The beggar shivered and looked up, but Batman did not see a hint of gratitude in her eyes. To his disbelief, all he saw in her eyes was hatred.

"Do you not feel happy?" asked Batman.

"Obviously not." A familiar voice came from above Batman, where Shiller was standing on the balcony of the beggar's building, looking down at Batman.

"Because of the existence of the Gutter Gang, the nightclub had a steady flow of customers every day. Some customers would hold food in their hands, and when they were down to their last bite, they would casually throw it on the side of the road for the beggar to pick up and continue eating."

"But now that the Gutter Gang is gone, the nightclub cannot continue to operate. Without customers, there is no food."

"But several hundred dollars is enough for her....."

"Indeed. You have access to the best medical system in Whole Gotham, private doctors, family health consultants. You've never experienced the misery of multiple bouts of cold and fever, nor do you have any idea what it's like to be frozen to the point where you cannot stand."

"In your imagination, she can take those several hundred dollars to the nearest supermarket, buy sufficient supplies, maybe even afford some nights in a motel, then get treatment for her illnesses..." Shiller dragged out the last word and continued, "

"Unfortunate, she can't even do step one."

Batman crouched down, pulling back the blanket at the beggar's feet, seeing that her entire lower limbs were frostbitten and discolored. The continuous rain in Gotham City over the past few days had soaked and swollen her legs to the point they were unrecognizable.

Batman was well versed in surgical theories, and he knew that even in the best hospital in Gotham, the only treatment for such legs was amputation.

He fell silent, looking at the many dollar bills fluttering down to the ground from the beggar's hand, he felt an incredible absurdity and an asphyxiating shame.

He suddenly felt a wave of negative emotions swallowing him whole, making him want to roar. Batman felt he had never been this out of character before; he stood up, staggered backward a few steps, and then fell to the ground.

Apparently, a heartbreaking twist of fate coupled with a slight dose of fear gas had brought out the negative emotions, which were enough to keep Bruce tranquillized for days.