Chapter 790: Deadly Joke (17)_1

Harvey Dent has been working in Gotham Court, mainly providing legal consultation services.

Previously, his situation was not so good, because the issues the mob sought consultation on were often not legitimate. Most people consulted him in order to be exonerated. However, ever since the logistics industry started to develop, his condition has improved significantly.

It's wishful thinking to expect the mob to understand the law. Nevertheless, to transport goods, inevitably one has to liaise with other cities and sign contracts, which requires understanding the laws of various places. Now, lawyers and accountants are the two most sought-after professions in Gotham, and Harvey is no exception.

Currently, he mainly serves as a legal consultant for the Falcone Family, and Godfather Falcone doesn't mind his reluctance to vindicate mob members as long as he can provide the best legal aid for the Falcone Family's logistics industry. Falcone is more than willing to pay for such services.

When he received the call from Gordon, he was working overtime. Hearing that Bruce was in trouble, he hastily dropped his work and even took time off the next day to meet Gordon.

Harvey and Bruce have been in contact regularly. They actually have a lot in common, especially regarding law. The principles of the Knight of Light and the Dark Knight are quite similar, and their moral compass aligns. They often chat in Wayne Manor, spending the entire afternoon together.

Harvey was quite comfortable chatting with Bruce and answering his various questions. Therefore, seeing the current situation, he didn't express surprise, but instead sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, saying,

"I know, you wanted to understand the people, to know how Gothamites are living. So, you came here and experienced life for over a month, only to find it a lot harder than you imagined."

"Everyone here has their own virtues and vices. Those pitiful are not necessarily free from resentment, and those deserving of hatred also have their pitiful side. It's not necessarily evil to indulge in crime, nor is it necessarily righteous to strike down criminals. Whether to judge by deeds or intentions first...these are questions you can't figure out."

"You've found that this world is far more complex than you thought, and all the solutions you envisioned before are unable to solve these problems."

"So, you feel that the old you was naive and ridiculous, that too much time was wasted. Your previous misunderstandings and resentments now seem meaningless. From now on, you don't know what to do..."

Harvey put his arm around Bruce, finding his body cold, as if devoid of any warmth. He said, "Tell me, do you feel this way, Bruce?"

"I've just suddenly realized the truth of this world," Bruce replied, his tone always very calm, even somewhat rigid, which was also a manifestation of being in a dazed state.

"Do you know? During the past month, I've experienced a lot. I'm not upset about these bad things. Instead, I find that whenever I feel life is getting better, some less significant but still troubling incidents happen."

"These bad things are not my fault, they are beyond my control. I am always in a passive situation and can't control anything."

"I have avoided so many pitfalls, and I believe I have made no mistakes in my choices, but everything is sliding downward uncontrollably."

"But what's even scarier is that I've done well enough. I haven't fallen into the many pitfalls, like treating those drugs as medicine, squandering after earning a stable income, falling into the abyss of gambling and carrying gambling debts, borrowing high-interest loans and unable to repay, or sustaining injuries from a direct conflict with the mob…"

"I haven't done any of these things. I skillfully avoided these occurrences. That is only because I received a good education and have more knowledge than the ordinary people. Can the people living here really escape trap after trap?"

"I have the house Selina left me, several tens of dollars she didn't take away with her, a muscular body and strong physique, as well as accumulated fats and energy from previous days' life. But what do ordinary people have?"

"Not to mention money, houses, and muscles, they are likely born with drug addiction, gambling debt, and probably even owe money to the mob from the moment they are born."

"When I thought I had hit rock bottom, I've imagined even more frightening possibilities. Then I realized…"

Bruce paused, put on a very stiff smile, and said, "Actually, it only takes one bad day for ordinary people to lose everything."

"No, it might not even take a whole day. It could be due to bad weather and they can't go out to work, road repair on their commute, or food poisoning. Just a few minutes or a few hours is all it takes, and everything becomes irreparable."

"Harvey...Harvey..." Bruce called his friend's name in a daze. He said, "Don't you think it's all incredibly scary?"

"In just a few minutes, your life uncontrollably slips into an abyss. You can only watch helplessly and can't do anything about it. This is the daily life of everyone here…"

Harvey closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Are you afraid? Bruce, I can feel your fear, but you're not from here, you don't belong here, you won't fall into the abyss because of these trivial things…"