Chapter 163: Cat Getan Avenger (Part 1)

In the office of Arkham Asylum, Gordon stood with his hands on his hips, watching Shiler tinkering with his umbrella.

Shiler dismantled the entire umbrella surface, leaving only the ribs. He lowered his head, removed the handle, and tugged hard at one of the ribs.

The rib snapped with a *crack*, and a part from the middle flew out. Gordon let out an "Ouch!" of pain, covering the left side of his face. Shiler straightened up, looked at him, and said helplessly, "I told you long ago not to watch me repair things. I don't have any mechanical or engineering education, so accidental injury is inevitable."

Gordon covered his face and stood up, took the part from between his fingers, and said, "I also told you long ago that you definitely couldn't repair this thing. It looks common, but it's actually very complex."

"Don't you have anything else to do?" Shiler lowered his head, continued to tinker with the umbrella frame, then looked out the window and said to Gordon, "Are you police that idle?"

"I'm solving the problem from the root." Gordon folded his arms, looked at Shiler, and said, "I've discovered a pattern: as long as I keep an eye on you, no troublesome work will find us."

Before Shiler could refute, Gordon continued to ask, "So, the secret society you invited me to join last time was established to confront the mysterious organization that Cobblepot mentioned was poisoning Cat Getan's rain?"

"That wasn't an invitation. When you knew this fact, you had already joined, and you had to join, because even if you don't confront them, they will definitely find you."

Gordon's brow furrowed tightly. He said, "Are those supernatural powers real? For example... some magic, witchcraft, and the like?"

"Do you believe in God?"

"I certainly..."

"God exists, so why can't magic and witchcraft exist?"

Gordon opened his mouth. He felt Shiler's words made sense, but he wasn't a very devout believer, only a pan-believer, so he had no concept of those mystical things.

Shiler twisted the umbrella handle, and the handle fell off directly. Gordon heard him curse, then picked up the handle and threw it away.

Gordon really couldn't stand his layman-like repair method. He walked over, picked up the handle, and said, "How about this: as long as you give me a detailed introduction to that organization, I'll find someone who can repair this thing for you, how about that?"

"Stop joking. The only umbrella maker in Cat Getan is dead. People from other cities, even if they know how to do this work, wouldn't dare come to Cat Getan. I can't run to Metropolis just to repair an umbrella, right?"

"Actually, even if you ran to Metropolis, it might be faster than repairing it yourself." Gordon and Shiler lowered their heads at the same time, landing their gazes on the umbrella that had been dismantled into pieces.

Shiler had to admit that Gordon was right. He had no talent in this area and was just messing around. From Stark's laboratory, he should have understood that he could screw in a lightbulb, and only screw in a lightbulb.

"Where do you plan to find someone who can repair umbrellas?"

"I can't find someone who can repair umbrellas, but I know someone who can modify traffic lights."

Gordon dialed a number on the phone while saying to Shiler, "Remember that kid who tampered with the traffic light lines during Traffic Civilization Day last time?"

"Oh, I do have some impression of that. He made it so that only the right-hand intersection could pass smoothly among the four intersections, and then a shootout happened there..."

Gordon picked up the phone and said to the other end, "Hello? Go to the East District and bring that little slippery kid over. I have something to find him for."

Not long after he hung up the phone, a young police officer brought in a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. The boy was grabbed by the collar from behind, cursing and swearing, but as soon as he saw Gordon, he suddenly wilted like an eggplant hit by frost.

Gordon patted his back to let him walk over and said, "This is Little Slippery, a genius kid. He can do electrical work, tinker with lines, and even invented some mechanical devices."

"What's your name?" Shiler asked him.

"I don't have a name. People all call me Little Slippery."

Although Gordon already had a good image and civilized behavior among Cat Getan's police, working on the front line for a long time also gave him a fierce temperament. In contrast, Shiler, this scholarly university professor, looked much better. Little Slippery ran behind Shiler quickly and made a face at Gordon.

Gordon introduced helplessly, "This little guy is the culprit who tampered with the central turntable traffic light lines. At that time, he was hired by a gang boss on Madrid Street. To make that gang's truck go faster, he pried open the traffic light shell in the middle of the night and changed the lines inside..."

"He's also not a native Gothamite, but from the countryside of Blüdhaven. His parents died, and his uncle was an electrician who brought him to Cat Getan to work and earn money. However, his uncle was in poor health and died of illness a few months after coming to Cat Getan, leaving only him."

"This kid is very smart." Gordon looked at Little Slippery with admiration.

"He actually survived in Cat Getan alone, and lived very well. Relying on the electrician skills he learned from his uncle, several gang bosses treated him as a guest of honor. If it weren't for the fact that I still had some face, I wouldn't have been able to invite him."

Shiler looked back at Little Slippery. He was a white boy with messy red curly hair and a pair of glasses.

He indeed didn't look like a child from Cat Getan's slums. Although he was young, his body wasn't thin at all, even stronger than

There aren't many children in Cat Getan who wear glasses, because here, they neither read books nor go to school, so they won't tire their eyes out. Furthermore, not many parents are nearsighted, so it isn't hereditary. Thus, the image of a "little nerd" seems quite out of place.

Schiller picked up the broken umbrella and handed it to the little nerd, saying, "If you help me fix it, I'll give you a super cool toolbox."

The little nerd took the umbrella, looked it up and down, and said with some surprise, "How did this umbrella get so badly damaged? You didn't take it to the battlefield, did you?"

Gordon said with schadenfreude, "The last time I saw this umbrella, it wasn't broken this badly. It's just that someone didn't know how to fix it but insisted on trying anyway..."

Schiller rolled his eyes, dragged a chair over, sat down, and said, "Blame that Fish and Cobblepot. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have to..."

"Wait!" the little nerd suddenly exclaimed. He said, "This umbrella is too amazing, isn't it? Why is every part different?"

Schiller stood up and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go get the toolbox for you."

He walked to the door, called the nurse, and said a few words. After a while, the nurse brought in a toolbox.

Once opened, it revealed three or four layers of tool displays. The little nerd exclaimed, "Too cool! I've always wanted a toolbox like this. It's a pity my uncle's toolbox is too small..."

"If you can fix this umbrella, then this toolbox is yours."

"Watch me." Saying this, the little nerd picked up the umbrella and took it completely apart in a few quick motions. He busied himself for a long time while Schiller and Gordon watched from the side, but neither of them understood a thing.

After a while, the little nerd stopped at the edge of the table. He rubbed his chin and said with some difficulty, "This is a bit troublesome."

"This thing must have been handmade, right? Like, casting the parts, polishing them, and then assembling them together, right?"

"Indeed, this is a custom-made handmade umbrella."

"Then why don't you go find..."

Seeing Schiller's face turning dark again, Gordon stepped forward, covered the little nerd's mouth, and said, "Don't ask about this anymore. Just hurry up and fix it for him."

"But this umbrella is very strange. I'm afraid only the person who made it can fix it." The little nerd shrugged. He pointed to a small pile of parts and said to Schiller, "Look, look here. Originally, there should have been 6 parts here, but now there are only 5."

Then he pushed over a broken part from the side and said, "This is the missing one. This screw looks like it was burned by fire; the threads are completely destroyed."

"It's what's causing one of the umbrella ribs to be unable to stay up, but to fix it, you must find an identical screw."

"Originally, I could have replaced the nut as well, but I don't know what's up with this material; the soldering iron doesn't work at all..."

The little nerd said to Schiller, "I really want that toolbox, and I tried my best, but the material the maker used is too special. It's completely different from factory assembly-line products, and I can't handle it."

Schiller and Gordon exchanged a look; clearly, they were both thinking of something else. Schiller asked the little nerd, "Are you sure only the umbrella maker who crafted this umbrella can fix it?"

"Most likely, yes. I'm not bragging, but I was screwing bolts into nuts before I could even walk."

He picked up a screw and showed it to Schiller, saying, "Look at the threads on this. You can see some traces of manual work, but more importantly, the design of the threads is very special. You can't screw it in with a standard-spec screw at all."

"What about recasting one?"

"You can try." The little nerd shook his head and said, "But I don't think there's much hope. This fit is very unique. If the material isn't consistent, it might not be able to bond."

In the end, Schiller still gave the toolbox to the little nerd and said to him, "If you're willing, you can go to the vocational school in Hell's Kitchen to study. There is a mechanical engineering professor from Cat Getan University teaching there. With your talent, he will surely be very pleasantly surprised."

After the little nerd left, Schiller picked up the phone, dialed a number, and said, "Yes, it's me. Do you have time to come over now? What? You're already on your way? Alright..."

About 20 minutes later, Batman appeared in the office. Gordon, Schiller, and Batman gathered around the table, looking at the umbrella.

"So, you're saying that this umbrella, which the Court of Owls instructed the umbrella maker Wigin to manufacture, can only be repaired by them?"

novel library.

Batman picked up one of the parts, squinted his eyes to look at it, and said nothing.

"Alright." Schiller threw the handle in his hand onto the table, then sized up Batman and asked, "You spent a long time in Cobblepot and Evans's ward last night. What did you talk about?"

Batman, while fiddling with the umbrella parts, said, "The three of us intend to join forces."

Gordon also looked at him and asked, "Join forces? To do what? Deal with that Court of Owls?"

"That's right. We are all interested in that mysterious organization, so we intend to investigate it from different angles."

"You said you were already on your way here today? What's the matter?"

"I originally just came to discuss a question, but now I already have the answer." Saying this, Batman took out another part, almost identical to the damaged one, and said, "This is what I found last night, on another umbrella."

As Batman recounted the story, time traced back to last night.