Chapter 1200 Lamb's Cry (Twenty-one) (Patreon)

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"Hey, Jason, have you heard the news on the radio that Batman will appear on the rooftop of Wayne Tower tonight?"

In the study of Wayne Manor, Dick, who was sitting at the desk reading a book, looked at Jason, who was engrossed in writing something. Jason, without looking up, said, "I don't listen to the radio, I have a hard time understanding the written words conveyed through audio, I prefer reading newspapers."

"I see." Dick tilted his head a bit and said, "The radio stations in Gotham are full of gang wars, oh, they now call that uncivilized mutual abuse 'East Coast rap', and I heard they even plan to hold a competition to see who can curse better."

"But that new travel and automotive radio station is quite interesting," Dick continued.

"Because Batman is on it?" Jason glanced at Dick.

"I really like the line he said today, Gotham's nights belong to Batman, it's really cool," Dick said, resting his chin on his hand, his eyelids drooping as if he was a bit tired.

Seeing his demeanor, Jason shook his head and said, "Dick, I know the recent psychological trauma has been keeping you from sleeping well, but you have to actively rest, instead of letting yourself wander out late at night. Haven't you noticed your mental state is not good?"

"Of course he hasn't noticed, and he's definitely planning to go out again tonight, maybe even join those Batman fans to stay up late waiting for him to appear," Tim's voice came from the doorway as he walked in carrying a stack of books, passing by Dick's desk and glancing at what Jason was writing, letting out an exclamation.

"Wait a minute? What are you writing? A math homework report? I don't remember the teacher assigned that."

"Impossible, I heard the teacher say in person that we need to finish the three daytime practice problems' reports tonight..."

"Hey, wait, you two have been transferred to the same class?" Dick looked a bit puzzled at Tim and Jason.

"He's the one who transferred to my class," Tim said as he put down the stack of books. "Bruce felt he should still go to school normally, and he's been looking for a school for him, and just happened to run into my dad at a party the other day."

"You know my dad is a sales maniac, he frantically pitched my school to Bruce, saying we could keep each other company if we went to the same school, and Bruce actually agreed," Tim said with a shrug.

Jason also shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm actually older than him, but I still have to be in the same grade, it's really a pain!"

"That's not unfair to you, your science grades are really terrible," Tim said, leaning over to look at the homework Jason was writing, poking a finger at one of the lines and saying, "The homework is to write the problem-solving process, what you've written here is the grammatical errors of the question setter? Even if I don't turn in the homework tomorrow, I won't get scolded more than you."

"God, leave me alone! Having to sit in the car with you scrawny little kids to go to school every day is almost killing me!" Jason said irritably, scratching his hair. "I hate math!"

However, Tim grinned brightly, grabbing Jason's arm and pulling him closer, saying, "We're counting on you for the football games this semester, you have to smash the big guy from the other class!"

"Don't worry," Jason said, patting his chest, then pushing the notebook in front of him towards Tim, "Hurry up and finish my math homework report for me, and I'll write your grammar paper."

"Okay, but you have to do the arithmetic problems yourself, these questions are so simple that I don't want to waste a second on them... Oh, Dick, where are you going?" Tim looked up in confusion as Dick stood up.

Dick turned around, so no one saw his expression, and he coughed lightly, saying, "I'm going to do my homework too."

"Can't you just stay here and write? Have Alfred bring your notebook up, and you can save a few lamps," Jason said, grabbing his arm.

Dick gently shook off his hand and shook his head, saying, "I'm too far behind in grade level, I need a quieter environment to finish my homework."

With that, he left, and Tim looked at his retreating back with some confusion. Jason pursed his lips and said, "Can you tell? He's actually not very happy."

"Why?" Tim asked, a bit puzzled.

"You forgot, Dick went through psychological trauma recently, and Bruce has been keeping him company, leaving us two to fend for ourselves. Of course, I've always been self-reliant, so I don't really depend on anyone," Jason shrugged.

"So what?" Tim still didn't quite understand. Jason sighed softly and explained, "Now that he's recovered, Bruce is busy with work, only has time in the evenings, and lately, he's been checking our homework first when he gets home, instead of going straight to Dick's room like before."

"But I remember Dick saying a while ago that he hoped Bruce wouldn't always go to his room, saying he 'needs personal space' or something. Now that Bruce really doesn't go, he's feeling sad?"

Jason spread his hands and said, "The book says that every child of this age will be like this, but I don't think I will be."

"I'm sure I won't be either," Tim agreed.

When Dick came downstairs, he was a bit listless and greeted Alfred, then went straight to his bedroom, closing the door tightly and not coming out again.

In his own bedroom, Dick first sat on the edge of the bed and flipped through his backpack, organizing the homework he needed to write, and didn't go to the desk, just sitting cross-legged on the floor with the homework in his hands and starting to write.

But before he had written much, his brow furrowed. Dick's grade level was higher than Jason and Tim's, so the difficulty of the math problems was also more difficult.

They all attended a private school and received an elite education, so the difficulty was not low. Dick's grades were actually not that good, and he had previously been in the upper middle range, but after resting at home for a while, he had fallen behind in the course and was now in the lower middle range.

Dick wrote and scribbled for a long time, but couldn't get the answers at all. He became a bit irritated and threw the draft paper to the ground, but after a while, he pursed his lips and showed a stubborn expression, as if he didn't want to admit defeat and continued to calculate.

But with math, if you don't understand it, you just don't understand it. Dick lost the thread of thought and got stuck in a dead end, and the more he calculated, the more he couldn't figure it out.

Dick pounded the side of the bed hard, but didn't know who he was venting his anger at. He glanced at the clock and had a wistful expression.

After sitting and thinking for a while, Dick put down the homework, dragged a toolbox out from under the bed, put on his Grappling hook gear and other equipment, opened the window and climbed down the wall to the garden.

The vast city, reflected in the moonlight from the sea, became a silhouette with a bright outline. A slender, powerful figure ran quickly across the rooftops, finally stopping in the center of the moon.

Dick touched the edge of the eye mask, turning his head to look at the tallest building in the city center, where there was another black figure, taller and stronger, like an insurmountable mountain.

Dick knew that when he was looking at Batman, Batman was not looking at him.

Batman was looking at this city, this city that belonged to him. He was the god of this city, and every building, every car, every person here was his child.

Dick had once admired Batman's great ideals and also wanted to follow this path, but when he stood here again looking at Batman's figure, what flashed through his mind was the eye contact with Bruce by his bedside, who looked a little tired but still watched over him.

Dick had once thought that Batman was the god in the darkness, the greatest person he knew and understood and could contact. He would always revere Batman.

But now he felt a little guilty, as if he had made another friend behind his best friend's back, and that new friend was even more likable to him. That new friend was Bruce.

Compared to Batman, Bruce was more like a living person. When he tucked Dick in, he didn't look great at all, even a bit too ordinary, not satisfying any teenager's hero dream.

Dick wanted to become Batman, but he also wanted Bruce to accompany him. He felt he was too greedy, and was disappointed that he couldn't achieve both.

After standing on the rooftop for a while, Dick didn't jump to a closer building to observe Batman more closely as he usually did, but turned around wistfully, planning to go back to Wayne Manor to do his homework.

But just as he turned and jumped across the gap between two buildings, he saw a dark figure in the alley below.

He was so tall and strong, but out of place with the surrounding environment, exuding a thick aura of darkness, even darker than the night of Gotham.

"...Batman?" Dick unconsciously called out, then shook his head vigorously and said, "No, how could that be Batman? Batman is over there."

But the fleeting glimpse had aroused his curiosity, and Dick crouched on the rooftop, hesitating for a while, but still climbed down the drainpipe and into the dark alley.

But when he landed on the ground, the figure had already disappeared. Dick looked around, feeling disappointed, thinking that his psychological trauma might not have healed yet, causing him to have hallucinations.

Dick stood in place and scratched his head, turning to leave, but at that moment, two whooshing sounds came from behind him.

Dick instinctively jumped to the side, doing a somersault up the wall, crouching on the wall like an agile cat, his gaze fixed on the darkness at the end of the alley.

Accompanied by a black figure emerging from the darkness, Dick stared at it in shock.

"Batman?!" he shouted.

But immediately, he retreated two steps, leaning against the side wall and standing up, staring intently at the figure in front of him, saying in a deep voice:

"No! You're not Batman!"

An even darker and deeper voice than the night of Gotham came from the end of the alley:

"I am."

Guess who I am.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1201 Lamb's Cry (Twenty-two)