Chapter 1781 S: Apocalypse Major Event (48)_1

The current situation is that by 1986, the Soviet Union was in chaos, but it still had some residual strength. The problem was that it was struggling with numerous issues and didn't know which route to follow. To make things worse, the Chernobyl Disaster caused a significant reputation damage that led to a sense of despair and disappointment even among those who still held onto their ideals.

On the side of Mexico, the left-wing was like a small boat amidst the stormy waters, affected by the poorly received new economic policy. People were disappointed, the liberal parties are waiting for the right moment to strike, and there were internal disputes within the Mexican Revolutionary Party.

However, if someone were to build a bridge between these two parties, some people would have an immediate revelation.

Although it might seem extreme, the darker side of human nature does exist. In a situation where one does not know how to develop themselves better, one of the options could be to pull the other party down. The news from Mexico is making some high-level Soviet officials realize this.

The Soviet Union is indeed not in a good situation now, as they have garnered a lot of criticism due to a series of mistakes. It would have been better to improve their circumstances so that the people would stop the criticism, but it seemed easier to deflect the blame onto others.

Who else could this 'other' be?

The fact is, both America and the Soviet Union intended to win the Cold War. But if one of them were to change their approach from winning the Cold War to making the other lose it, things would become interesting.

In 1986, America had just undergone this shift and took advantage of the Soviet Union's confusion to deal it a heavy blow.

This time, the news from Mexico practically spelled out an invitation for the Soviet Union to stab America in the back. Sky has no limit, but abyss has a bottom. If causing the others to look worse is a quicker remedy, why not?

Though shifting the blame externally as America did is actually against the Soviet Union's long-promoted credo, this credo has been slipping away anyway. The loss of the Soviet Union lies in the fact that they were barely holding on and should have adopted America's shameless 'naked running' tactics earlier. If they had done so, the Cold War could last at least 30 more years.

This way, some in the Far Eastern great power realized the benefit of joining those they can't beat, becoming American to counter America. Everyone can partake in a race to the bottom, pulling each other's leg; who would fear then?

When the first aid was received, Oliver sighed and shook his head, saying, "The other side doesn't really care about any beliefs or ideals, they just want to secure their own positions."

Bruce shrugged lightly: "It is indeed like this but we never relied on them. Having gained the material resources needed from them, we can follow our own path."

"What if they lay down the line?" Diana asked.

With a serious tone, Oliver said, "Even if we don't make our stance clear now, they will find out one day. If both sides start to suppress us, we might not be able to withstand it."

"They will not oppress us simultaneously." Bruce smiled, revealing a look of realization, and said, "Haven't you noticed that this piece of history has occurred before?"

Diana, being knowledgeable about human history, raised her eyebrows and blinked, revealing an enlightened expression. She then explained to the others who seemed a bit confused.

"Indeed, there was a country in the East that caught the attention of the two great powers. After falling out with one, it entered into honeymoon period with the other, and the cycle continued."

"Moreover, they are very close to one of the big countries, and thousands of miles away from the other, which is very similar to Mexico's situation."

Bruce then added, "But from an objective standpoint, for example, land area, climate conditions, strategic depth, etc., both sides have their advantages and disadvantages."

"Firstly, the climate in Mexico is very conducive to agricultural development. We've conducted tests, as long as we cultivate carefully, everyone can be fed."

"However, Mexico's small population is a factor. A small population means a small development potential and less potential for war. The good thing is that it's easier to feed a smaller population. But if we want to continue to develop and become stronger, we must find ways to increase the population."

"Let's not delve into this any further, what do we do next?" Clark asked. He had almost been worn out recently. It wasn't that socializing was such a tiring task, but his conscience made him feel bad about engaging in activities that were not much different from fraud, and it cost him an additional amount of energy.

"Let's stir up some chaos here," Oliver gave an unexpected answer, and then explained, "To seize power, there must be loopholes to exploit. Mexico's current industrial model can't last long, so there needs to be more chaos for society to reshuffle."

"I have pondered over this issue," Hal said, touching his chin, "But I think that it will be hard to achieve the desired effect merely through the conflict between the two parties."

"Then let's add a new party," said Bruce with a smile. "Haven't we met a lot of people who made their fortunes through illegal industries but have nowhere to launder their money? Why can't the criminal industry strive for self-improvement and enter the political arena?"

All eyes were now fixed on Bruce.

The following day, Galado, the biggest mob boss in the Guadalajara system, gave a speech.

"...You've never governed us, where's the army? The police? Where were you when I was beaten as a legitimate small merchant? Where were you during the earthquake?!"

"Ha, now that we're making our own money, you're saying we're illegal. Yes, we're illegal. We sell that damned stuff to the Americans and let them die, they deserve it!"

"We're making big money, and you want to throw me in jail to devour my assets. All I can say to you is- fuck off!"

From then on, a crushing new force was added to Mexican politics - the Anti-government Army, led by mob bosses from various criminal industries, which didn't care whether you belonged to the left or the right wing as long as you interfered with their money-making.

Leaders in the criminal industries usually have two features: one is having no morals. They wouldn't have been involved in criminal industries if they had morals. So for money, they can completely abandon their previous agreements with any officials.

The second one is not being afraid of death. After all, this kind of profession has much higher risks than others. So they obviously dare to band together, striving for more space and stage for this universally-condemned profession.

Bruce's knowledge in psychology has not been great over the years, but his skills in other areas are top-notch. Many Mexican mob bosses have been either persuaded or coerced into joining him due to his extensive lobbying and deception.

Let's get back to the Primary Universe Batman.

His actions here have been successful. Unlike Bruce, who had just gone to the slums and stubbornly adhered to morality while neglecting his own wisdom, he returned to Gotham after making a lot of money in Metropolis and initiated a new round of investment.

His primary capital accumulation was now complete, and the impending danger in Gotham was no longer a concern for him. Although his assets still didn't match those of the Wayne Enterprises in the real world, he was already considered a major capitalist.

Achieving this in a few months was shocking, but for Batman, it was still far from enough. Gotham was facing a problem with its social system, not an economic one.

In simple terms, Gotham was like a car. It wasn't lacking wheels, an engine, or fuel; it was lacking everything else.

The money Batman brought back was meant to assemble the car frame, not to add more fuel or buy more wheels.

The biggest obstacle to assembling the car frame was the mob. To make the same analogy, the gang system was like a bicycle frame. Batman wanted to dismantle this frame and assemble a more advanced one.

Without the influence of dark power, Batman could think of dozens of systems more advanced than the mob system. But before that, he had to dismantle the bicycle frame created by the mob.

The characteristic of the mob's bicycle frame was that, although very backward and simple, they had focused entirely on density and strength. Unless Batman enacted a full massacre of all Gotham's mob, it would be virtually impossible to dismantle this outdated frame.

But here was the problem: the mob had welded the frame and it was inseparable. When Batman tried to dismantle it, it would inevitably affect its wheels, fuel tank, and engine. Unless he exterminated the mob in one fell swoop, the economic system of Gotham, built on criminal industries, might collapse all at once. And if he didn't exterminate them all at once, it would be almost the same as exterminating none.

Now Batman had two options: either keep developing the economy until he was wealthy enough to salvage the situation without affecting people's livelihood when the mob was totally eradicated; or break old traditions and establish new ones regardless the cost, wiping out the mob and the innocent people involved, and then relocating the population.

Given ten thousand choices, Batman would still choose the first. He was the kind of person who insisted on bearing responsibility for the unfortunate deaths of a minority in every world-saving mission. In his world, there was no thought like "I've tried my best, it's already very good." It was always "any mistake means the plan is not meticulous enough".

Batman was very clear that he would only have one such opportunity. This might also be the only situation he had ever dealt with where not all the answers were wrong. So he had to be cautious.

Just as Batman was figuring out a perfect solution to the mob problem, Bruce approached him.

Then, the Batman from the Prime Universe finally got to see how innovative Shiller's outstanding graduate Bruce was.

Bruce suggested that Batman move all of Gotham's criminal industries to Mexico - not just anywhere in Mexico, but to Mexican Gotham.