Chapter 3254

"Hello, Ms. Ruth. I am Schiller Rodriguez. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Schiller sat down at a window seat in the restaurant, observing the black woman across from him. She was wearing a trench coat and was somewhat overweight, looking like a larger version of Amanda.

"No need for pleasantries, Mr. Schiller. What business do you have with me?"

"I would like to ask about the Natural Disaster Fund. I heard that you have always been the one managing this money."

"That's right. Does the new mayor have any thoughts on this?"

"No, none at all. It's just that I have a piece of news here." Schiller leaned back in his chair, looked into Ruth's eyes, and said, "Batman is going to take over the GTO. Did you know that?"

Ruth frowned deeply, but soon she shook her head and said, "Impossible. Batman has never approved of the formation of this squad. For this, he even broke ties with his assistant."

"You and your masters don't approve of this squad either, but that's only because this blade isn't in your hands. How do you know Batman doesn't think the same way?"

"What does this have to do with the Natural Disaster Fund?"

"There is another piece of bad news," Schiller changed the subject again and said, "I talked to the Joker. He claimed he wasn't willing to work for you and rejected my cooperation invitation."

Ruth stared intently at Schiller's face, seemingly trying to find some clues in his expression, because she truly couldn't see through what this man was trying to say.

Schiller reached out, slowly spread his hands apart, and said, "You built a stage and let the forces of good and evil fight on it. No matter who beats whom half to death, you can claim damage to the stage and demand compensation."

"But the premise is that they are fighting with their bare hands. What if one side has a gun?"

Ruth's hand holding the coffee cup tightened. She said, "It seems you know a lot. Then I'll speak plainly: we will not allow Batman to possess the GTO."

"He is offering a high price."

"Do you think we will peacefully bid against him?" Ruth sneered and said, "Either we get this blade, or we throw it back into the furnace to be reforged."

"Quite bold," Schiller nodded and said. "You are too good at these tricks. First, use large sums of money to corrupt the management, interfere with personnel management, set various harsh requirements, replace fresh blood with a bunch of losers who can't even figure out their own gender, and eat up all the equipment and training funds. The sharp blade will soon become scrap metal."

"I never said we did that." Although Ruth's answer was concise, it was an admission.

"Gordon cannot stop this kind of thing, and Batman might not be able to either. You can even make bribery legal, so that no one can find any fault."

Ruth blew on her coffee and did not answer.

"The mayor asked me to arrange for his supporters to enter the GTO."

Ruth finally sat up straight, her eyes burning as she stared at Schiller, and said, "What do you mean? He wants to let that group of empty-headed, parrot-like brutes enter the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad??"

"You know, for anti-terrorism personnel, the traits you mentioned are all advantages."

"Stop joking. They wouldn't dare," Ruth seemed to suddenly relax again. She said, "If they really dared to do something, they would have done it long ago, instead of just holding signs and shouting slogans."

But her mood did not seem as calm as she appeared. She sipped her coffee; it was clearly very hot, but she swallowed it anyway.

"You're the one joking, ma'am. You seem to only use one-sided negative vocabulary to describe them, but that's not your true intention. It's just a bluff you made out of fear. You know better than anyone that the difference between the rich and the poor isn't that great. They weren't born stupid; on the contrary, among them are many warriors and wise men who just lack a single opportunity to soar."

Schiller leaned forward, looked into Ruth's eyes, and said, "Then tell me, how many such people are there among the Pale Knight's six million supporters?"

"You're the one bluffing," Ruth said coldly. "They haven't received a good education, don't know what it means to obey orders, and have even less courage. Even if they had all that, you couldn't screen such people out, let alone make them fight terrorism."

"Is that so? Perhaps I really can't, because I'm just an advisor to the mayor," Schiller suddenly lowered his tone. "Even the mayor can't; he's just a small-town boy who struggled at the bottom, neither understanding nor capable of controlling this city."

Ruth was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard Schiller say, "What about Batman?"

Her heart was suddenly gripped, as if it had skipped a few beats in an instant.

"Batman wants to control the GTO, and he doesn't have to just bid fairly against you. What you can do, he can do too, because he is one of you."

"But he has a greater advantage than you. It's not that he's richer, nor that he understands Cat Getan better, but that he stands on the side of justice and will truly do something for the people at the bottom of this city."

Schiller put down his cup, leaned back in his chair again, and said, "Everything you can give, he can give too. If he uses the money he intended for bidding to win people's hearts, perhaps he can give even more than you."

"And what he can give, you cannot. He can teach them what justice is, what a sense of honor is, and tell them they are fighting for the safety and happiness of their families. He will use practical actions to make them understand this point."

"He can't do it," Ruth said.

"Can't do what? Make the poor fight for the poor?"

"Yes, because the poor are not all the same," Ruth took a deep breath and said. "They support different parties, have different political views, are of different races, different genders, and have different identities. They don't even eat the same food. It's impossible for them to stand together."

"That's right," Schiller nodded and said. "But what if Batman and the Pale Knight cooperate?"

Schiller sighed lightly, somewhat like pity, and said, "The Pale Knight has a group of supporters with basically the same political views. Judging from what happened during the day, most of them can tolerate others' differences because they support the Pale Knight and stand with them to attack you."

"Batman has money and power, is the representative of Cat Getan's justice, understands you better than anyone, and can completely use the methods you use to pick out the most elite among these supporters to cultivate, and use them to control the GTO."

"That's impossible," Ruth said. "The Pale Knight caused Batman to be imprisoned and reviled by thousands. It's impossible for Batman to cooperate with the Pale Knight."

Schiller shook his head and sighed again, but this time it sounded more like he was lamenting Ruth's intelligence.

"Are you trying to tell me that the basis of cooperation is emotion?"

Ruth was choked up. Of course she knew it wasn't. The basis of cooperation is interest—it will always only be interest.

Emotion does account for a certain proportion; people naturally tend to cooperate with those they have good relationships with, but that is on the premise that no one else promises more benefits. Even mortal enemies can choose to cooperate temporarily in the face of sufficiently large benefits.

"You should be glad that the Pale Knight had to choose to hurt Batman in order to rise to power, which created a conflict between them and caused them to be unable to see clearly for a moment."

"But soon they will discover that there is no one in all of Cat Getan whose interests are more unified than theirs. They both hope this city will become better, both are representatives of justice, and both want to thoroughly save Cat Getan."

"Isn't it a coincidence? Beyond their common interests, they even have a common enemy, and this enemy has become so powerful that they must join forces to deal with it to gain any advantage. In this light, what reason do they have not to cooperate?"

Ruth's complexion had become very ugly. The coffee in her cup was at the bottom. To regroup, she left her seat, went to the bar to order another cup of coffee, and stood there until it was made before walking back.

This adjustment was indeed effective. She looked calmer than before. She looked at Schiller and said, "I admit what you said is correct, but what did you come to find me for today?"

"Don't be in a hurry," Schiller shook his head. Ruth discovered that the person currently talking to her had an attitude that was always unpredictable. When you think he should be proud, he acts humble; when you think he should retreat to advance, he insists on pressing the attack.

It was as if his definition of victory and defeat was completely different from others, like a madman living in a dream and talking to himself—a madman who points straight to the vital point.

"Batman and the Pale Knight should have been in close cooperation, but they didn't. Besides the fact that their reactions were a bit slow, perhaps there were other reasons. What do you think?"

Ruth didn't want to follow Schiller's line of thinking, but she also realized at this moment that the hesitation of Batman and the Pale Knight was their last chance. Once these two joined forces, the situation would become very unfavorable for them.

Batman and the Pale Knight were both smart people. They might indeed be a bit awkward because of past grievances, but they shouldn't have been unable to realize it for so long.

What was the final obstacle standing between them?

Suddenly, Ruth's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. A flash of brilliance appeared in her eyes, and she uttered that name: "Joker..."

The corners of Schiller's mouth curled up slightly, but Ruth, immersed in thought, did not see it. Schiller lowered his head to take a sip of coffee, checked the time on his watch, and said.

"My time is running out. Regarding the question you've been curious about, I can only tell you that I don't care who Batman and the Joker's enemy is, nor do I care if this city is saved. I do what I'm paid to do."

After saying this, Schiller stood up. Ruth suddenly came to her senses, called him back, and said, "Someone hired you to say these things? Who is it? One of us?"

"Sorry, I cannot reveal his name," Schiller shook his head and said.

"How much did he pay you?" Ruth stared intently at Schiller.

"Just to be a lobbyist, 2 million dollars."

"You're asking for the moon."

"Everything you say is correct. I have other things to do, so I won't disturb you further."

"Wait!" Ruth hurriedly called him back and said, "I don't need you to tell me who hired you, but I need some information about the mayor."

"For example?"

"I know he is taking a certain medication," Ruth stood up, seemingly having regained her confidence. She said, "This medication can improve his mental state, but it must be taken without interruption. If you can tell me the information related to this medication and the specific details of his medication usage, I can give you 2 million."

Schiller smiled and said, "That happens to be my specialty. Deal."