Chapter 106: Bat in a Jar

February 23, 1987, Chicago, night.

In the Chicago Grand Theater, Miss Tina, who had finished the gorgeous and lively ball, gently stroked her fur shawl. She sat in a luxury car with the help of the driver. When she returned to her luxury apartment, a handsome man with blue eyes wrapped his arms around the waist of this lady. Tina said: "Our ball has just begun, right? Mr. Bruce?"

The moonlight outside the window shone in, and those beautiful blue eyes were shrouded in the shadow of the brow bone. The handsome side face fascinated Tina. The man turned around, it was Bruce Wei En.

On an ordinary afternoon on February 20, 1987, Schiller woke up on the bed in the Falcone manor. He didn't forget that before he traveled to Marvel, he was resting in the guest room of the Godfather's manor.

Cat Getan's morning was never sunny, but the early morning always brought Schiller special inspiration. While enjoying breakfast with the Falcone father and son, the professor gained some inspiration again and quickly perfected it in his mind.

"What do you think of Cat Getan's future?" Schiller asked Falcone.

Falcone shook his head and said: "If you asked me this question 40 years ago, I would definitely tell you that this city is hopeless, but now I want to say that this city doesn't need anyone to save it. It is like this, and it will always be like this..."

"Do you think Cat Getan needs a new order?"

"Many people have asked me this question, but I can only say that any effort to make this city better will eventually come to nothing. No matter how generous and impassioned the beginning is, it will eventually return to a void."

"Why is this?"

"You asked the key, but I don't know the answer."

The Godfather lit a cigar, the smoke drifted away slowly, and he said: "In these 40 years, I have not seen determined revolutionaries, I have not seen saviors whose moral realm is like a saint. There are so many people in this world, not lacking one or two good people or heroes, who are determined to save this city."

"They came to Cat Getan with this idea. You have to admit that even if you know they won't succeed, you are still deeply shocked by that determination."

"Perhaps you will think it is ridiculous, but I have indeed been changed by these people. Maybe many people will think, if it is really like this, how did I become the Godfather of Cat Getan? How did I become the biggest gangster in this gangster city?"

"But it is precisely because I have seen these, I have personally experienced that era, that I know that good people cannot save Cat Getan, and heroes are the same."

"Then now, where did these people go?"

"Most of them died, and some lucky ones escaped from here. People who don't belong to Cat Getan will eventually leave Cat Getan. If there are any left, then he must be someone who originally belongs to Cat Getan."

"Is there such a person? Where is he?"

The Godfather seemed to fall into memory. After a while, he made a cross on his chest and said: "I once swore to the Lord to keep this secret for him."

He didn't give Schiller a clear answer, but Schiller already knew who he was referring to.

The next day, Bruce was called to the office by Schiller. Schiller almost never called him over actively, so Bruce was very curious about what Schiller had to do.

They sat on both sides of the desk, just like when they first met. Schiller asked him:

"Have you ever thought for even a second about completely saving this city?"

"I of course..."

"I mean, after you clearly recognized what the essence of this city is."

Bruce opened his mouth. Schiller took off his glasses. He looked directly at Bruce and said: "I think you should have already seen the essence that this city doesn't need to be saved and cannot be saved at all."

"So, are you trying to persuade me not to do this anymore? Not to be Batman?"

"Of course not. I don't care if you are Batman or not. I just want to know if you really want to save Cat Getan?"

"Is there any difference between the two?"

"Are you sure you are Batman to save Cat Getan?"

Bruce was silent.

"Let me change the question. If there is a possibility of bringing a new order to Cat Getan, are you willing to make some efforts for it?"

"Although I have this guess now, I still can't be sure. What is the essence of this city? Why did it become like this? And is it really impossible to be saved?"

"Falcone once told me that many people have worked hard to save this city, but they didn't succeed. Most of them are buried here, but some have stayed, integrated here, and become a part of Cat Getan."

"Who is he?"

"The only priest in Cat Getan Cathedral. I think you can go see him, and then come back and give me an answer."

Bruce shook his head. He felt Schiller was inexplicable.

But he was actually very interested in the stories of Cat Getan's past. This city had too many mysteries for him to explore.

Initially, his goal was very simple. He wanted to take revenge on all criminals. But when he learned a part of Cat Getan, he felt that he should also save this city. But when he learned more about Cat Getan, he felt that this city didn't need to be saved.

And now, he learned Cat Getan again. He found that this city seemed impossible to be saved.

Just like Schiller said, Cat Getan is like a book that can never be finished. There are endless mysteries here. Every time you read it, you will have new insights.

When Bruce came to Cat Getan Cathedral, the priest received him warmly. This old priest looked to be over seventy years old. To be honest, there are very few ordinary people in Cat Getan who can live to such an old age.

Yu Getan, no one will teach children to help the elderly across the street, because there are neither children nor elderly people here.

Before the preaching platform, the priest smiled and pulled Bruce's arm and said: "I have long heard of Mr. Wei En's name. Of course, forgive me for not having better things to receive you. After all, this church is already too old, as old as me."

"Look, these tables and chairs are about to fall apart. I don't know if there will be any kind-hearted person who can change a preaching platform for the Lord that doesn't need bricks to pad the table legs..."

Bruce was too familiar with this kind of talk. He made a cross on his chest and said: "I don't ask the Lord to grant me grace, Wei En Construction Team will carry out a thorough renovation of the interior of the church, making His Kingdom as clean as new, and everything belongs to the Lord..."

The old priest seemed very satisfied with this. When Bruce chatted with him about the past, he didn't mean to hide it, but spoke directly about his experience.

"I came from an ordinary family in England and worked in the church when I was young. In order to let more people listen to the Lord's gospel, I came here."

"Originally, I just stayed in a small town on the East Coast, but I heard that Cat Getan was not bad, so I came here."

"You might think it's incredible, but actually, Cat Getan at that time was indeed not bad. Because of the existence of the wharf, it was still prosperous, there were many people, and the living conditions were not bad. By the way, the gangsters at that time were in the starting stage, and there weren't many people in total."

"At that time, there were still some ordinary people with dreams here. They wanted to build order here and grow with this city. Of course, I thought so at that time."

Then, the priest's voice began to become lower and lower, echoing in the empty church. The colorful light from the colored glass at the top of the church window was like a tunnel through time and space. The priest's voice seemed to follow these tunnels and returned to that era.

"At that time, there were many such people. They were ambitious and felt that this was a Golden Coast, a New Gold Mountain. Although it was a bit chaotic at that time, everyone felt that it was just ordinary growing pains in the development stage of the city."

"A young missionary, with a Bible in his arms, stepped onto this land with the fleet. This story of coming from far away actually didn't have as magnificent as others imagined, but there were still many people here who were interested in me."

"Of course, I spread faith here, helped everyone as much as possible, adjusted some overly intense conflicts and disputes between gangsters, and almost everyone was willing to give me face."

When Bruce heard this, he looked at the priest with admiration. This old man who was in the same era as Falcone seemed to have once occupied a place in Cat Getan.

In this city ruled by gangsters, you can eat randomly, but you can't talk randomly.

No one would dare to boldly fabricate such a story, claiming that all gangsters had to give him face. The only one Bruce knew who really had this ability was Falcone. If anyone else dared to brag like this, his body would be thrown into the sea the next day.

But the old priest seemed to be talking about a trivial matter. Bruce heard the humility in his tone. He thought, perhaps this old man who was in the same era as Falcone also once had the same prestige as the Godfather.

But now they are very different. Falcone became the Godfather admired by everyone in Cat Getan, but this old priest kept a dilapidated church, and maybe no believer came to pray for several days.

Bruce had always had considerable curiosity about that era, which was somewhat yellowish like a faded photo, just as people always fantasize about the glory of their father's generation.

The story about the wharf that Falcone once told him showed the rise of gangsters in that turbulent era.

But now, in this empty cathedral, what this old priest revealed to him seemed to be another appearance of this city in that era.

"When I came to Cat Getan, the war was far from over. Here, isolationism prevailed, but more grassroots civilians were afraid of the war. They didn't understand how it suddenly became a mess on the far end of the earth."

"I started to spread the doctrine here. I believe that faith can make people's hearts get peace. I did quite well at the beginning. You know, there were still many British people who hadn't withdrawn from here at that time. They would invite me to their manor to listen to my preaching. I spent almost every afternoon like this."

"Initially, some small gangsters were just running around near the wharf, and even those who could reach the inner street were relatively few. At that time, I knew Falcone, but there were no Falcone and twelve families at that time. Perhaps the whole Cat Getan couldn't find twelve decent gangsters."

"At that time, it was still colonial economy here. Because of an accident, I started to deal with gangsters. They took a fancy to my channels with rich British people. They hoped that I would be a middleman to strengthen their power."

"I didn't want to participate in these whirlpools, but I had no choice. If I had to, I would choose the most promising one, which was Falcone."

"Later, many people began to find that Cat Getan was not as good as they imagined. Those rich British people began to gradually withdraw from this place and gathered to other more prosperous and more potential places."

"The main legacy they left to this city was that manor area and this cathedral. Under my lobbying, they collectively funded the establishment of this place, and I became the only priest in this church."

"Then what? What happened later?"

"When the upper layer that maintained a stable order suddenly left, the one who filled these upper structures became the one with the most bullets in the gun. Falcone and his twelve families were such people. They made trouble for a while, and then took over here."

"I was a good partner with Falcone, because I knew that he was different from those other gangsters. He wanted to build a new order here, although it was a violent order, it was better than no order."

"I did my best to provide him with help. I thought that gangsters were just temporary substitutes for those upper-layer building blocks that were emptied. One day, Cat Getan would return to the right track."

"But I didn't expect that all this was out of control. After Falcone and his gangster families ruled this city, it began to become a real crime capital. From the twelve gangsters, what spread out were 120 gangsters, 1200 gangsters. Finally, it became a city where everyone was a gangster and criminal."

"Evil spread here, but I was powerless. I know that Falcone might be the same. Many people think he is the culprit of Cat Getan's deterioration, but I know very well that this is not the truth."

Finally, the priest looked up and looked around the church. He said: "The buildings left from that era are actually not many. I thank them for leaving me such a place, so that I can have a place to stay."

"Then why don't you leave? Even if you can't return to your hometown, you can at least go to the church in Metropolis. There are still quite a few clergy there, and they live quite well."

The priest said: "You don't understand. I not only witnessed how evil infected this city bit by bit, but also have long been deeply trapped in it."

He made a cross on his chest, prayed a few words in a low voice, and then said: "The biggest truth I learned in this process is that this city will only accept people who originally belong here. Those heroes who really want to save this place will eventually leave, because they don't belong here."

"So why is all this?"

"I don't know, but I have always firmly believed that my choice back then was not wrong. Falcone and I are the same. We are both guards of this city, not destroyers."

"In your eyes, the Godfather might be a successful person. He ruled Cat Getan underground for 40 years, but I know, Falcone and I know, we are just losers, only able to weave an unstable order in the abyss of sin to preserve ourselves."

The priest shook his head and said: "But it's a pity, I am just an ordinary person, just lived longer than others. What I learned is not even as good as Falcone, or perhaps, Falcone doesn't know the real answer either."

As the sun gradually set, the shadows of the tables and chairs in the church were dragged longer and longer. The light from those colored glass began to flow onto Bruce.

Finally, the old priest said: "I can only stay here, guard a piece of His Kingdom, and after I die, this piece of pure land will also dissipate, just like the countless hopes that once dissipated in Cat Getan."

"The group of people back then, only I and Falcone were left. We are all old. Perhaps when we both go to see our Lord, the only remaining order of this city will no longer exist."

"Do you think there is a possibility of establishing a new order?"

"Countless people have worked hard for this, but they all failed. Falcone succeeded in a small part, but it was only delayed for a while. Perhaps no one can delay it longer."

Accompanied by the old priest's somewhat sighing voice, Bruce fell into contemplation again.

Whenever he heard these historical stories about his hometown, Bruce couldn't be like a returning wanderer, full of nostalgia for this.

Because Cat Getan's story revealed absurdity and despair from beginning to end. Everything that happened here had no cause and no result. Even the people who personally experienced that era couldn't explain it clearly.

In this mysterious journey of exploring Cat Getan's history, the parts of the time machine were always stuck by some fragments full of fog. Whenever Bruce wanted to fix this dilapidated old-fashioned projector and explore the truth, there were all kinds of forces preventing him.

Bruce, who walked out of the church, began to think about the question Schiller asked him. The answer the priest gave him was that this city probably wouldn't have any chance to have a new order. After the older generation died, this place would completely fall into darkness.

He suddenly thought of a strange metaphor, but felt it was very vivid.

All the sins produced in this city of Cat Getan, and all the criminals living here, are like salt grains sprinkled from a salt jar.

This is a salt jar that will never be empty. The person holding this salt jar pours out some crystal salt grains unhurriedly, just like a patient fisherman making his bait.

Bruce, who had just reached adulthood, learned a fact earlier from his professor, from Falcone, and from the old priest.

Cat Getan becoming like this today is not a simple natural evolution. The goal of revenge on criminals he once held might never be completed, and he might never be able to completely save Cat Getan, because the salt jar above Cat Getan will not be empty. The salt grains full of sin are crystal clear, coming with the wind, just like the fine rain lines that will never stop in Cat Getan city.

But this didn't make Batman feel frustrated, but made him have a kind of ambition earlier.

Batman didn't want to fly around these salt grains sprinkled like charity, like a stupid fish circling the bait, hoping that the water flow would wash out some residue to fill its stomach.

white dream book.

What he wanted to do was to directly flatten this salt jar, or rather, just like he did to Louis before — appearing behind this person like a bat, letting the shadow cover this person who was complacent about holding the salt jar, making him tremble with fear of the bat.

Then, get this salt jar, and all the salt grains inside.

If there is destined to be a salt jar in this world that accommodates all criminals, then this salt jar is best belonging to Batman.

And must belong to Batman. ===== CHAPTER 107 =====