Chapter 291: The Caught Car Thief

Batman rarely goes out during the day, and when he chooses to appear in Cat Getan City in broad daylight, it means he has something very urgent to attend to—for instance, catching the car thief who pried off his tires.

Batman wasn't even very angry about his Batmobile tires being stolen; he found it somewhat absurd. Someone capable of independently cracking the Batmobile's security system could only be a car thief in Cat Getan—this city really is magical to the extreme.

Finding the thief's hideout wasn't difficult for Batman. Clearly, these two petty thieves who pried off the tires weren't as skilled at counter-surveillance as they were at technical work. Before long, Batman had tracked them to a cellar in the alley at the end of Tail-End Street.

slkslk.

This underground base didn't have any security measures to speak of. Batman slipped in without much effort and found the tire hanging on the wall, which hadn't been processed yet.

Normally, according to standard procedure, Batman should have waited here like a rabbit waiting for a tree stump, waiting for the owner to return so he could apprehend them.

Batman had intended to do just that, but while waiting for the thief to return, he had some idle time, so he began to investigate the base.

The more he investigated, the more puzzled Batman became. Various signs indicated that the people living here weren't adults, but several children.

This was actually easy to determine: the floor here wasn't made of floorboards or tiles, but fine sand and dirt. The footprints left behind hadn't been cleaned up, and one look told him they weren't an adult's. The tools on the workbench also had fingerprints, all of which indicated that the person using these tools was a child under ten years old.

Beyond his surprise, Batman couldn't help but have other thoughts. He knew that the adults in Cat Getan City were almost beyond saving; their mindsets and ways of handling things were already set. Aside from throwing them into prison, there was almost no other way to deal with them, but children were different.

Batman also knew that even if Cat Getan's children were worse than those in other cities, forming gangs and fighting in the streets every day, as long as they were children, there was a possibility of educating them to be better—especially when they were so talented.

By evening, Jason, wearing a tattered jacket, was limping toward his base. Slippery was supporting him, saying somewhat helplessly, "I know you have to fight them to protect your turf, but the fighting has been too frequent lately. Your previous injuries haven't even healed yet..."

Jason wiped the corner of his mouth, where a trace of fresh blood was flowing, staining his sleeve. He was used to it, though, and bared his teeth as he said, "I have no choice. That damn Red-Mouth gang is pushing too hard. If I give up the territory at the entrance of the alley, we really won't be able to make any money..."

He rubbed his eyes hard, then broke free from Slippery's support, walked to the cellar, opened the door, and slowly climbed down.

Fearing he might fall, Slippery hurried down to support him. But just as they reached the workbench, they heard the cellar door lock with a "click," and a dark shadow appeared behind them.

The two were startled. When they turned around, Slippery looked at the dark shadow's attire and said, "Batman???"

Batman paused for a moment and asked, "You know me?"

Jason looked back at the Bat-tire hanging on the wall, then at the imposing Batman before him, and finally up at the locked cellar door. Realizing he couldn't escape, he leaned dejectedly against the workbench behind him and said, "Fine, how could we not know you? The famous hero Batman..."

Yet there wasn't a hint of reverence or admiration in his tone, only deep annoyance. Slippery looked at the situation in the room, rubbed his hands, and said to Batman, "I'm very sorry, Batman. It is true that we stole your Batmobile tire, but we didn't damage it. You can take it back; please don't hold it against us..."

"After all..." Slippery pushed up his glasses and said, "The police station doesn't take children our age. If you arrest us, they'll just send us back tomorrow. Why don't we apologize to you sincerely and skip that process..."

Batman looked at Jason. He saw a deep bruise on Jason's exposed neck and a corner of his mouth that looked like it had been hit, not to mention the fresh blood on his sleeve. He asked, "How did you get hurt like this?"

Jason shook his head, showing a fierce expression, as if he didn't want to talk to Batman at all, but still said, "He's the boss of the Tail-End Gang. To grab territory, I have to fight others..."

"And I won!" Jason emphasized.

"How exactly did you pry off my tire?"

"What's hard about that?" Jason deliberately raised his voice. "That car of yours is rotten to the core. If that tire wasn't so big, I would have definitely stripped all four of your tires!"

His words were mixed with local gang slang and profanity, and his tone was very much like a gang member's. From his demeanor to his temperament, he was a typical bad boy.

Batman, however, wasn't provoked by this behavior, because having been a vigilante in Cat Getan for so long, every child he encountered was like this.

"Batman, leave us alone. We're just a bunch of kids. Jason stealing your tire was just because he was in a hurry for money. We know stealing is wrong, but we have no other choice."

Slippery explained to Batman, "The Tail-End Gang under Jason has over a dozen kids. Five or six of them are too young, and they are always bullied by older kids from other gangs when they go out to sell cigarettes. They can't sell much in a day. Jason has to earn money to support them, otherwise, they'll be beaten to death by their bosses."

Batman frowned and asked, "You mean, the children under him are all cigarette peddlers?"

"That's right. Aren't all members of youth gangs like this?"

"Who do they have to pay money to?"

"Their bosses, usually some older kids, and then these kids hand it over to their 'mommies and daddies'."

"And then?"

Slippery shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I don't do that kind of work. But I heard they pass it up layer by layer to someone called the Big Boss."

"You don't do that?" Batman sized up Slippery, seeing that he was indeed different from the children commonly seen in Cat Getan. He didn't wear a jacket, but a semi-new turtleneck sweater, had a bowl cut, and wore glasses, looking more like a nerd.

"I'm a skilled worker, currently attending a vocational school in Cat Getan. Jason saved my life, so I hang out with him."

"I didn't save you so you could repay me! You'd better leave quickly! I was the one who wanted to steal the tire; if there's any trouble, come at me!" Jason said loudly.

"Don't be like that, Jason. I believe Batman is a good person. I've heard he saved a dancer who was being robbed. He should be willing to listen to our explanation..."

As he spoke, Slippery continued, "Not all children are as lucky as me, having a good skill to work for gangs and even being able to attend school steadily. Most children are under their 'mommies and daddies,' either selling cigarettes, begging, or doing some dirty work..."

"You stole my tire, and I should have arrested you or taught you a lesson, but for the sake of you being children, I can let you off this time. But you must agree to one condition..."

Jason turned to look at Slippery, then touched the wound near his mouth and said, "I did it. What condition? Tell me."

"I want to know what's going on with those people who control children to work for them. Who is that so-called Big Boss? I hope you can help me investigate these things..."

"No chance." Jason shook his head and said, "The Big Boss is very mysterious; it's not something a bunch of kids like us can see. Besides, there are too many people doing this kind of thing. How do you expect me to investigate?"

"I think you'll have a way, won't you?"

"Your name is Jason, right? Listen, Jason..."

Batman looked into Jason's eyes and said, "Since you're willing to fight for those kids' business and even willing to take out money to support them, it shows your nature isn't bad, and you're very loyal."

"You also know that this isn't a solution. This batch of children grows up, and there will be another batch. You can't protect them forever. The only way is to thoroughly investigate these people who control them and then find a way to deal with them."

Jason rested his forearms on his knees, head down, silent. Batman continued, "Since you've heard of my name, you should know that I've struck down many criminals. But in this matter, I do need an assistant. After all, I'm not a child and can't participate in your group..."

"If I can succeed, you and the children under you can all live a little better, can't you?"

Jason was silent for a long while before saying, "Fine. But this matter has to be up to me. Reckless action won't work. And you must guarantee that regardless of whether you succeed or not, you can't bother the two of us again."

Batman nodded, then threw a cylindrical device to Jason. It was a small flashlight. He said, "Press the button on the tail, and it will project a miniature Bat-Signal into the sky. When I see it, I will come over. Long-press the button, and it will send a communication that only I can receive, used to contact me in an emergency."

Slippery's eyes lit up when he looked at the object. Batman said to him, "Don't think about taking it apart; you definitely won't be able to put it back together. If you can provide useful information, I can lend you one of my laboratories at the southern suburb hideout. There are many good things in there..."

Slippery and Jason looked at each other, then at Batman, and said in unison, "Fine, deal."

After Batman left, Jason said to Slippery, "You should leave. There's no need for you to get involved in this kind of thing. If I really am going to help him investigate this, it will definitely be dangerous. Those 'mommies and daddies' won't let me go."

"Batman makes sense, Jason." Slippery's tone was always calm. He said, "You also said before that those 'mommies and daddies' have been getting more and more excessive lately. They've started setting higher goals and demanding more money. Those who can't finish will also face heavier punishments. If this continues, those children definitely won't survive. We really have to stop all this."

Jason frowned and said, "Actually, I've thought about that too. It's a bit strange, isn't it?"

"Since I started hanging out on the streets, I haven't heard of any changes to this system, but lately, it seems to be getting more and more excessive. Could it be that something happened on the Big Boss's side, making him so anxious to squeeze this group of children?"

"Not only that." Slippery stroked his chin and said, "When I was attending vocational school, I saw the parents of those students, who are those gang bosses. From their idle chatter, I heard that the situation with Cat Getan gangs has been unstable lately, and the Twelve Families at the very top seem to be in some turmoil..." ===== CHAPTER 292 =====