Chapter 778: Deadly Joke (Part 5) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

In a dimly lit corridor, Maggie, carrying a slightly worn cloth bag, briskly walked towards the end of the hallway. She turned around, pulled out a key from the pocket of her thick half-skirt, inserted it into the lock, opened the door, entered the room, and closed the door behind her.

Her movements were seamless, as if she were in her own home, but, in reality, this was not her apartment.

After closing the door, Maggie took a deep breath, as if recalling something. After a brief pause, she mustered the courage to walk further into the room.

On the coffee table in the living room, Maggie noticed a photo. She approached and picked up the frame, revealing a smiling picture of her and Selena.

It was their only photo together. Maggie came here to retrieve this picture. Selena had left in a hurry, packing hastily. Only upon reaching the West Coast did she realize that the photo was still in the original room. She called Maggie, who promptly rushed over.

Maggie carefully wiped the photo clean, placed it in her cloth bag, and just as she was about to turn and leave for the door, she suddenly heard a sound from the bedroom.

Alert, Maggie heard the bedroom door creak open, and a figure emerged.

Bruce closed the bedroom door and, as he turned around, found the barrel of a gun, a black hole, pointed at him.

The woman across from him wore a slightly worn sweater and a woolen half-skirt, not well-maintained and now showing signs of wear. The cloth bag she held had turned slightly yellow from washing.

Bruce immediately recognized her. He spoke, "You're Selena's friend, Maggie, right? I've heard her mention you."

Maggie squinted, aiming the handgun at Bruce's head. She asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm her boyfriend, Bruce Wayne." Bruce walked over to a nearby sofa, tossed a woman's shirt onto the back, and said, "Before Selena left, I met her once. She didn't seem well. Do you know what happened?"

Maggie still didn't lower the handgun, but she appraised the man in front of her, confirming he was indeed from the affluent area.

Men from Gotham slums didn't wear leather shoes; the roads were so bad that shiny leather shoes turned matte by the time they returned. Most people wore durable boots, and some even welded rain boots onto their feet.

Moreover, the men here usually didn't groom their beards neatly or wear a watch that, while the brand might be unknown, screamed uniqueness.

Maggie slowly lowered the gun and said, "Before she left, you saw her, so why didn't you stop her? Let her go to such a distant place alone?"

Bruce touched the scars on his face, and Maggie understood what happened. But she was angry. When Selena felt vulnerable and helpless before, Bruce Wayne was probably out somewhere, unaware. Now he remembered to come, too late.

Maggie didn't want to say much to him, turned her head, and started to leave. However, Bruce quickly stepped forward to block her path, saying, "Can you find the landlord of this house? Until when is the lease for this house?"

"What are you up to?" Maggie asked, "If you're just idle, go back to your wealthy area. Don't cause trouble here!"

"I want to live here," Bruce replied. "If there's still time on the lease, can I stay here?"

"You're just looking for trouble!" Maggie walked straight out. When she reached the door, she sighed, turned to Bruce, and said, "I don't care what crazy idea you have, but this is not the place for you. If you don't want to lose your life here, you better leave quickly!"

"I'm serious," Bruce said. "I'll live in the slums for at least a month, starting now."

Maggie looked into his eyes and said, "If you want to risk your life, I can't stop you. But as far as I know, Selena hasn't fully recovered. If she finds out you're dead, she'll be even more devastated."

"She didn't tell you that I..." Bruce hesitated. He knew Maggie and Selena had a very close relationship, almost to the point of sharing everything. Therefore, Maggie probably knew he was Batman.

"I know. Every night, you fly between high-rise buildings in a tight suit, but it's useless, understand, rich person?" Maggie sighed, "I don't have your strong physique, not even good health, but I can survive here because I grew up here."

"And you, you've been pampered in a honey jar since childhood. You're not one of us. No matter how strong you are, you won't survive here. Hurry and leave. This is the last time I'll say it."

With that, Maggie left. Before stepping out, she left one last sentence, "There are two months left on the house lease. If you want to stay, it's better to bring some bodyguards."

After Maggie left, Bruce began to tidy up the room. As he said, he was serious. He needed to know what challenges lay ahead, what obstacles needed to be overcome, and how best to navigate through them.

So, he planned to stay in the slums for one or two months to understand what was going on here.

However, he didn't rent a house himself because he didn't know where to rent, and if he used Bruce Wayne's name, he would surely end up with a luxurious apartment. No rental agency would dare to rent Wayne a slum house.

At this moment, Bruce realized that Selena had left impulsively. Her rent should not have expired yet, so she could lend him the place for a while. As he anticipated, there was plenty of time left on the lease.

The only problem was that there were too many remnants of Selena in this place, making it difficult for both Selena and Bruce to move on. Bruce truly loved Catwoman; she was mysterious and passionate. Often, Bruce wondered about the environment in which Selena grew up, shaping such a mysterious, versatile, and charming personality.

After seeing off Maggie, Bruce resumed tidying up the room. Besides creating space for his own life, he also wanted to explore Selena's usual living environment.

The apartment's location was decent, situated in the East District, quite close to the city center. However, the house's orientation wasn't great; both the bedroom and living room windows faced east, with good sunlight only in the late afternoon.

The one-bedroom apartment had a simple layout. Upon entering, there was a small living room, the bedroom to the left, a small bathroom further ahead, and surprisingly, the living room had a small balcony for drying clothes. Although lacking a kitchen, it was a compact yet well-equipped space.

Bruce, however, had never lived in such a small room in his life. Standing in the center of the tiny living room, he felt like he could touch the walls with a simple stretch. Wasn't this akin to being in prison?

Perhaps Selena, being petite, deliberately rented such a place. With a nearly 20-centimeter height difference between him and Selena and distinct body shapes, it was normal for him to feel uncomfortable.

Coming to the balcony, Bruce looked down and saw a row of low houses below, the gaps between buildings so tight that he doubted if they could even see the sun. Well, sunlight wasn't a significant living condition in Gotham because, originally, there was no sun here.

Bruce was about to return when he heard movement on the balcony above. Instinctively, he dodged to the side just as a "puke" sound followed by a puddle of vomit landing on his balcony railing.

As he looked up, Bruce saw a drunkard leaning over the balcony, vomiting downwards. He held a bottle, swaying unsteadily, and it fell with a "thud," shattering near Bruce's feet.

Bruce was about to speak when the drunkard started cursing loudly. Many words were unfamiliar to Bruce, but he could tell the drunkard seemed to be cursing at him.

Bruce had been educated to refrain from retaliation when bitten by a dog. Instead, he should seek compensation from the dog's owner or involve the authorities for containment. There was no need to argue with the dog.

So, Bruce just watched the drunkard for a while and then turned back to his room.

However, while he was tidying up the living room, he heard a "bang" from outside. Grabbing a broom, he walked out again to find a large bag of garbage thrown onto his balcony. Due to the impact, various juices and debris had spilled out, emitting an unpleasant smell.

When Bruce looked up, the drunkard was smiling at him, making an insulting gesture with his hand. Bruce reached for his waist but realized he hadn't brought a gun.

Having come here alone, Bruce had no Batman equipment, no weapons, not even money. Thinking of this, Bruce felt he didn't have the time to deal with this person now; there were more important things to do.

Fortunately, the drunkard seemed to be overly intoxicated and lay down on the balcony, sleeping. Bruce returned to the living room to continue cleaning.

Under the sofa's cushion, Bruce found a bit of money, around 20 dollars. He reached the bottom of the closet and got the key to the room's door. Under the carpet, he found another one.

More importantly, in the TV cabinet's hidden compartment, he discovered a small, delicate lady's handgun, the kind that could fit into an exquisite handbag. Of course, its power was much weaker than a regular handgun and had to be pressed very close, preferably against someone's head, to be lethal.

Bruce played with the petite gun, thinking that at least now he had some weapons. With his skills, basic safety was ensured.

Sitting on the sofa, Bruce looked at what he had – 20 dollars, a small handgun, two keys to the room, an ink bottle, a few clothes Selena hadn't taken, and nothing else.

Bruce first looked at the 20 dollars, not having a concept of prices in the slums. He wasn't sure what 20 dollars could buy here but, comparing it to his usual spending, he felt that if he didn't start earning money immediately, he would probably go hungry today.

After all, the restaurants Bruce Wayne usually frequented cost at least a thousand dollars, not including tips to waiters, and Bruce wasn't sure if this money could even buy vegetables.

Living here for one or two months wasn't as simple as a day or two. Bruce had to maintain a sufficient diet with standard levels of carbohydrates, fats, and vitamin C. Otherwise, he couldn't consider it normal survival. Bruce's goal was to see just how challenging it was to survive in the slums.

After some thought, Bruce felt he needed to deal with dinner first. He could cook, but this house didn't have a kitchen. What did Selena eat normally? She couldn't be buying ready-made food every day, right?

Carrying his few belongings, Bruce locked the door and headed downstairs. However, at that moment, he caught a whiff of a delightful aroma. Following its source, Bruce looked towards the end of the corridor and saw an open-air kitchen set up on the terrace roof on the second floor.

At this moment, a plump Asian woman was cooking. Bruce decided to go down the staircase and approached her.

Seeing a stranger, the middle-aged woman became wary, reaching for her bag. Bruce immediately extended his hand, saying, "Don't pull out a gun. I mean no harm. I'm Selena's boyfriend, just moved in here. I wanted to ask, do you usually cook here?"

"Selena? The girl who lives on the sixth floor?" The middle-aged woman looked Bruce up and down. "How did you end up living here? You don't seem like a resident."

"Uh, I encountered some problems, in short…"

"Oh, I see. You must have offended the Gang in your area, right? Quite a few debt dodgers end up staying here." The middle-aged woman put down the spatula and said, "Correct, this is the kitchen. You can cook here, but remember to clean the pots."

After saying that, she left with the dish she had just cooked. Bruce looked around and saw that the stove and utensils were covered in a thick layer of grease. Just by looking, he lost his appetite.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 779: Deadly Joke (Part 6)