Chapter 794: A Fatal Joke (Part 21) (Patreon)

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In the end, Bruce had no choice but to return to Selena's newly rented house with her because he felt that if he stayed any longer, he might not go into shock from gastritis but from high blood pressure.

When Bruce was dating Selena, he had often wondered about the environment she lived in and what kind of experiences had shaped her charming personality. At that time, Bruce didn't have a clear concept of the East District, and he felt sympathy for everyone here, including Catwoman.

But when he came here, he realized that he was the one who needed sympathy. Selena was thriving in this place. She was like a fish in a shallow bay, effortlessly navigating the ins and outs of renting, transportation, job hunting, and shopping, things that Bruce needed time to figure out. Of course, Bruce had only been here for less than two months, while Selena had spent 20 years in this place. Still, when it came to dealing with a woman, especially his girlfriend, a man's pride always came into play.

Moreover, the truths Selena told him made him understand that he had truly been deceived, but at the same time, it left him feeling bewildered. He hadn't heard a single cry for help here, and no one had complained about how miserable life was in these slums.

If other strangers refrained from showing weakness, Bruce recalled that even Selena, who was very close to him, had never said a bad word about the slums.

This was actually quite incredible because Selena was a lucky girl who had risen from the slums to the upper class. Since she started dating Bruce, she had been to all the high-end restaurants in Gotham, even those on the entire East Coast. Each trip involved the finest hotels, chauffeured cars, and never a shortage of servants and security.

She was like a true-born socialite, having seen the materialistic world in all its prosperity. Bruce had once imagined listening to Selena's vulnerable side, her painful past, and wondered if Selena's distance from him was due to recognizing their class differences.

But today, Bruce discovered that Selena had never felt inferior because of his background. Even after enjoying the most luxurious life in the world, she could still thrive in the slums. This was strange, wasn't it? Bruce thought. People worked their entire lives to strive for a better living environment, and transitioning from luxury to frugality was difficult. After living in Wayne Manor, even the best houses in Living Hell looked like shacks. But Selena didn't dislike this place at all; in fact, it seemed like she preferred the life here.

What was there to like about this place? This question left Bruce feeling confused because his experiences here had been quite challenging, and he believed that the people here should be living in hell. However, the truth was that when he regained a more objective perspective, no longer swayed by emotions, he found that the people here were not as negative as he had initially thought. In fact, they were somewhat optimistic and positive.

Their smiles were not forced; they seemed genuine.

This once again shook Bruce's views. He felt that he would continue to be perplexed by this question for a long time, and he needed to stay here to find a genuine answer.

However, he soon encountered a new problem. After Constantine, Gordon, Harvey, Alfred, and Selena, the one person who was supposed to arrive here sooner or later, Schiller, finally arrived.

It was a night when Bruce was still wandering, and Schiller, in the midst of his dreams, received a phone call from Victor. Victor's first words were, "Schiller, I need to tell you some news, but please don't get angry, really, stay calm, don't get angry..."

At that moment, Schiller was just about to fall asleep, and being awakened by a phone call already annoyed him a bit. However, because it was Victor on the other end, he could tolerate it. But what Victor said next made Schiller furious.

Victor told him that his former star pupil, Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, had skipped class for a month after Schiller had relaxed his requirements and missed the first round of internships.

Anyone who had been a teacher, a parent, or even an elder brother or sister would understand that the most infuriating thing was when you thought this troublesome child was finally making progress, and then they turned around and made an even bigger mess. Even at Gotham University, missing class for a month in a row was a big deal. If any student other than Bruce had skipped class for a month, the teacher could practically write their death certificate with their eyes closed. Yet, it was Batman who had skipped class for a month.

Although Schiller really wanted to write his death certificate, his rationality told him that Batman was unlikely to die, and even if he did, it wouldn't be for a whole month.

Although Schiller didn't want to acknowledge it, Batman had made significant progress. Besides his pre-existing combat skills and inventiveness, he had also improved in terms of social skills and emotional intelligence. With Gotham's external conditions becoming somewhat peaceful due to Schiller's involvement, everyone was too busy making money to care about Batman.

Given the circumstances, the possibility of Batman's death was extremely low. So why didn't he go to class?

With this question in mind, Schiller found the exhausted Bruce in the East District.

As Schiller laid eyes on him, he wondered if he was seeing things and had Grey Mist adjust his vision cells to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

When Schiller and Bruce crossed paths on the street, Bruce was wearing a drab gray coat, his pants were covered in mud stains, and his rain boots were mismatched. He held a broken umbrella in his hand.

What was even more peculiar was his current appearance: a scruffy beard covering his face, shoulder-length hair that nearly touched his shoulders, sunken cheeks, and a large burn scar extending from his neck to his cheekbone, with traces of chemical corrosion all over his face.

Upon seeing this, Schiller almost exclaimed "Joker!" until he used his Spirit Realm vision to confirm that this was indeed Bruce, Bruce Wayne, the man who had been Batman just over a month ago.

The two men locked eyes in silence.

Schiller speculated that Bruce might have done something, but facing a Bruce like this, Schiller didn't know what to say.

He stood still for at least two minutes before approaching Bruce. He tapped the ground in front of Bruce with his umbrella and said, "Perhaps you should go back to writing your thesis."

Bruce was also taken aback. He hadn't expected the first words from the professor to be this.

Bruce had never hoped to hear anything good from Schiller's mouth. This professor seemed to hate every person in the world equally.

His language was based on the fact that everyone owed him eighteen million, and his style of speech was designed to break down anyone who talked to him, without exception.

Bruce was sure that this was the gentlest thing he had ever heard from Schiller since they met, and he hadn't even mentioned Bruce's absences and missed assignments.

Schiller sighed and said, "Regardless of what you've done to yourself or what you're currently wrestling with, you can still go back to school. It's a good place for anyone, including you, Batman."

"Thank you, but I don't want to go back," Bruce replied, feeling like his ears were ringing as he said those words.

"Then where do you want to go?" Schiller asked, frowning.

"I want to stay here, in the slums, and live here," Bruce said.

Schiller surveyed the chaotic surroundings, a street in the East District. So far, dark alleys still peeked out, greedy eyes fixating on every living being here.

"Why do you want to stay here?" Schiller asked again.

"Because I want to know what it's like to live in the slums," Bruce answered very directly, a style that was completely unlike him.

"Living in the slums?" Schiller furrowed his brows, showing a puzzled expression. But Bruce took the initiative to continue, "Professor, have you ever lived in the slums? Do you know what life is like here?"

Schiller paused for a moment and began searching his memory high and low. He was sure he had never lived in any slums in his past. In his previous life, he had followed a conventional path, and after graduation, he had never left the big city. Back then, while the overall conditions were not great, it couldn't be called slums.

And in the two worlds he had been to, the DC world and Marvel's New York, Schiller had always resided at Gotham University, then bought the Manor. Both of these places were far from what could be considered slums. The closest he had come to slums was living in Hell's Kitchen in Marvel New York.

But even that couldn't be considered slums; it was more like a gathering place for gangs, with poor security but not necessarily poor living conditions.

Indeed, it had once been one of the most famous slums in the Manhattan area, but that was a long time ago. Now, Hell's Kitchen was very close to the Manhattan business district, with a commute of just a few minutes each way. It could be considered prime real estate, and even Stark couldn't call it slums now.

And it was now 1990, even though the East Coast was relatively prosperous, there were still many slums, especially in Gotham. In contrast, other cities had more normal areas, and slums were the exception. But in Gotham, the normal areas and the wealthy areas were the exceptions.

"What are you trying to say?" Schiller asked Bruce.

"Do you know how hard it is to live in the slums?" Bruce asked. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a very puzzled expression on Professor Schiller's face. Then, with a very puzzled tone, Schiller asked, "Is it difficult to live in the slums? What's difficult about it?"

Then, in the midst of Schiller's shocked gaze, Bruce forced a stiff smile. Although it was a shallow smile that looked like crying, he still smiled.

The rigid expression flashed by, and Schiller slowly said, "I'm not worried about the slums; I'm more worried about your mental state..."

"But I want to stay here, and I won't go anywhere else," Bruce said. "If you want to give me treatment, you'll have to stay here too."

Schiller pursed his lips and said, "So, you don't want to attend class and want me to skip class with you? Isn't that a bit too much, Bruce?"

"Moreover, is it really difficult to live in the slums? Is it harder than writing a thesis? You're almost done with your thesis, and you can't handle the slums?"

Bruce looked into Schiller's eyes and said, "Are you willing to try it?"

Schiller was genuinely perplexed and said, "You can't be serious, right? Do you really think that living in a place like this is harder than living in the upper class?"

He sighed and added, "Well, since most of the students are on internships now, I'll stay here for a while."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 795: Deadly Joke (Part 22)