Chapter 157: Party and Umbrella (End) _1

Cobblepot looked around, first at Gordon's gun, then at the lingering cold aura around Batman, and finally at his own fracture yet-to-heal right arm tied to his sickbed. He sighed and said,

"Indeed, I killed the old umbrella maker, Vicki, but I'm not a thief, nor a robber. This umbrella should have been mine in the first place."

With Cobblepot's voice, the mystery gradually unfolded.

"My father, the elder Cobblepot, was once the head of one of the four great families of the East District, the Kolbott Family. At that time, the East District was very prosperous. The four great families controlled dozens of major streets in the whole East District. The most central street was Green Street, next to Living Hell, where our old house was once spacious and luxurious."

"I've heard Brock mention this history." Gordon leaned on the table and said, "But what does this have to do with your killing of an innocent umbrella maker?"

"Innocent? He was not innocent!"

Cobblepot snorted and said, "Then, you must know that a few years ago, the old umbrella-maker, Vicki, was the only handmade umbrella maker in Gotham City."

"And it's still the case." Gordon looked at Shiller and said, "Not many people would spend a lot of money on a handmade umbrella. This job doesn't need many people."

"But at that time, mobsters in the East District would all go to Vicki's Umbrella Shop to order a handmade umbrella."

"You might think it's just a chase after handmade products or a show of status ..."

"Isn't it so? Because homemade products have a long production period, slow speed, and small output, they are hyped up at high prices. But actually, their quality is not better than machine-made products." Batman also set his gaze on Shiller.

Cobblepot shook his head and said, "You don't understand."

"My father went to Vicki's Umbrella Shop and ordered an umbrella, but the umbrella maker breached the contract. He took my father's money but didn't give him the umbrella on time. So, my father got wet in the rain and died of pneumonia ..."

"That's absurd!" Gordon looked at Cobblepot as if he was looking at a madman and said, "You wouldn't say that you killed the umbrella maker to avenge your father, would you?"

He reached out and said, "Okay, I admit, the old umbrella-maker took the money but didn't deliver on time. That was wrong. But your father was just waiting for this one umbrella? If he didn't get this umbrella, he would rather get rained on than use another one???"

Cobblepot stared gloomily at Gordon and said, "That's why I said, you don't understand anything."

"Who says my father didn't bring an umbrella when he went out? He did, but those umbrellas didn't work."

Gordon looked at Cobblepot as if he was a madman, but Cobblepot didn't care. He closed his eyes as if recalling something, and said, "My father knew something that others didn't. He investigated these matters. They were some indescribable things…"

Then he opened his eyes and looked firmly into Gordon's eyes and said, "The rain in Gotham is problematic."

"He told me that if you want to prepare for a rainy day in Gotham, you'd better buy an umbrella from Vicki's Umbrella Shop, otherwise, it will be useless."

Gordon frowned in confusion and asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying…only umbrellas sold by Vicki's Umbrella Shop can block the rain in Gotham? What's the theory behind this? How do factory-made umbrellas fall short compared to handmade ones? Isn't it just about keeping your body dry?"

Shiller and Batman, however, heard something different. They exchanged glances, and Batman asked, "Are you saying the rain in Gotham is problematic, and only umbrellas sold by Vicki's Umbrella Shop can really block such rain?"

Cobblepot nodded and said, "I don't know if you've heard that not everyone can buy umbrellas at Vicki's Umbrella Shop. Some people can, but some people cannot."

"That means, someone wants some people to stay dry and some others to get wet."

"But what's the point?" Gordon didn't understand. The problems they were discussing completely contradicted his values. They seemed like some sort of secret code.

Shiller propped his chin with his fingers and asked, "So what happened to your father? Why did he get wet even though he had bought an umbrella?"

"I don't know." Cobblepot answered very straightforwardly, "All I know is, on the day he was supposed to receive the umbrella, he didn't get it. Nevertheless, something forced him to go out. He knew it might be risky, but he had no choice."

"What was it?"

"The Godfather's eldest son died, and my father had to attend the funeral."

"Do you think your father's death was because he didn't have an umbrella to truly block such rain?"

"Exactly, that's why I say the umbrella should have been mine. My father paid for it, but he didn't receive the good and lost his life."

Shiller furrowed his brows. He exchanged glances with Batman again. Obviously, they were both thinking of the same thing.

"So, you killed the umbrella maker to avenge your father?" Gordon asked Cobblepot.

Before Cobblepot could respond, Batman said, "No, he didn't. He wasn't seeking revenge."

Gordon turned back to look at Batman. Before he could ask, Shiller pointed his umbrella at Gordon, and said, "Don't ask. All you need to know is that he is an absolute expert in the field of revenge."

Then he turned to Cobblepot and said, "You indeed don't have a personality prone to revenge. In your view, something that can bring tangible benefits to yourself is most crucial."

Cobblepot exhaled through his nose and said, "That's right, I'm not doing this for my father, but for my mother."

"That's why I keep asking you, doctor, can this disease really be cured?"

"What do you mean?"

Cobblepot said somewhat gloomily, "I suspect that my mother's illness... may be... a curse."

"A curse? Elaborate."

"Before my mother first fell ill, she cried out to me for help. I don't remember what she said, but at that time, she was lucid and constantly calling out for help."

"In the end, on the eve of her madness, she said to me, 'the umbrella, get the umbrella, you must have the umbrella...'"

"I had long understood my father's research, but it wasn't until then that I realized his death was likely more than just an accident. He was the one who was abandoned, without an umbrella to shield him from the rain, he couldn't survive."

"My mother went insane. Anytime I brought up anything about my father, she would start convulsing, hiding in fear, unable to say anything useful."

"So you suspect that your father and mother might have known something, and that's why one was killed and the other cursed, correct?"

"Did your father tell you that there's something wrong with the rain in Gotham?" Batman asked Cobblepot.

"He mentioned it, but more importantly, I've corroborated all of this." Cobblepot made an effort to sit up straight on the bed, saying, "you elites and wealthy people will not notice the changes in Living Hell."

"Haven't you noticed that the order there has improved considerably?"

"Of course we noticed." said Gordon, "The frequency of homicides there has significantly decreased because people's living conditions have improved..."

"Stop talking nonsense, is Gotham lacking in rich villains?" Cobblepot interrupted Gordon, remarking, "In the past, residents of Living Hell used to drink water from wells. You know, the kind of open-air wells."

"But now it's different. After the renovation, their drinking water has to pass through purifiers buried underground..."

"That's the crux of the problem." Cobblepot looked at Shiller and said, "I don't understand psychological theories, but I know that it's hard for a person's bad habits to change. If all the inhabitants of Living Hell are born bad, then improving their living conditions won't completely change them."

"I've personally seen how chaotic and crazy the people there can be, but since the renovation of Living Hell, they seem to have changed. Even though they still follow mob rules, they're clearly much more normal."

"You think it's because their drinking water might have been contaminated with Gotham's rain water?" asked Batman.

"Exactly. In fact, I've used Fish's manpower to try to investigate the purifier a few times, but without success. That thing is too complex, and just from its external appearance, I can't figure out how it works."

Shiller looked at Batman. He could see that Batman was thinking. As a transmigrator, he knew this could be the truth. It's been mentioned in some comics that the reason Gotham is so chaotic is because the water cycle contains a special substance that makes people go crazy.

But he couldn't blurt that out, he had to deduce it. So he tapped the table to attract everyone's attention and said, "Let's analyze this logical chain."

"Oswald said there is something wrong with Gotham's rain, that it changes people's characters. And the umbrellas sold by Vicki's Umbrella Shop are the only ones that can effectively shield against the rain."

"Assuming this is true, then Vicki who possesses the ability to make rain-resistant umbrellas would sell them to some people and refuse others. What's the motive behind this?"

"Maybe he just couldn't keep up with the demand?" Gordon guessed. "After all, making a handmade umbrella takes time, doesn't it?"

"Not many people buy umbrellas." Cobblepot replied. "They are so expensive, who can afford them? Ten years ago, only the top mob bosses in the East District could afford prices in the thousands of US dollars. Even if he made just one umbrella a month, he could have equipped all the mob bosses in the East District with his umbrellas within a year."

"So he's filtering." Batman's voice came, "This logic forms a closed loop."

"The people behind the scenes make Gothic rain fall with some kind of method, then they control an umbrella maker, and sell effective umbrellas to certain individuals. Some people get to use the umbrella, while others have to endure the rain... what would result from this?"

He murmured to himself, "Some people are striving to maintain order, while others are descending into chaos and madness..."

"Or perhaps..." Shiller sighed, "A group of people are creating wealth for them, while another group is preventing this city from ever having peace, forever shrouding it in darkness."

"Now there's only one question left, who are they?" Cobblepot's voice was icy cold. Even if he wasn't driven by revenge like Batman, in the eyes of Penguin Man, this organization that destroyed his family must pay the price.

At that moment, Shiller holding the umbrella, walked to the bedside, looking at Cobblepot, he wore a somewhat chilling smile, saying,

"No wonder they knew I was the one who sparked all the changes. They've had their eyes on me since the beginning."

Cobblepot stared at him silently. Shiller flipped the orientation of the umbrella he was holding, handing the handle forward and said, "Mr. Kopot..."

"They are called the Court of Owls. Take this umbrella, and annihilate them."