Chapter 3318: Bloodbath in New City (30)

"Oh? Who is that?" Shiller asked.

"Someone... a wicked criminal," Gordon said, clearly hesitating, but continued, "To be precise, a clever criminal, a great foe of the pale knight."

"Isn't the pale knight's great enemy Batman?"

Gordon shook his head and said: "Although the pale knight once put Batman in jail, their stances are consistent, both hoping for a better Gotham. After the misunderstanding was resolved, they were no longer enemies."

"That Mr. Cobblepot..."

"He's a very pure egoist, daring to do anything for his own benefit. This made him the most ferocious lapdog of Gotham's elite for a long time."

Gordon fell into reminiscence, and as he recalled, he said, "The greatest resistance during the early implementation of the Napier Act came from this evil genius. He came up with many ways to stop the act from moving forward."

"And the result?"

"It could be said they both suffered." Gordon again showed pain as he said, "The current bad economic situation of Gotham City's municipal government can largely be attributed to this guy, and he obviously did not overcome the pale knight and is probably now being held by the pale knight alone."

"Forgive my bluntness, Commissioner, but you don't seem like someone who would recommend such a person, unless he truly has exceptional talent."

"How should I put it?" Gordon's tone was actually a bit complex as he said, "If Cobblepot could use his talent for good, then he might even be stronger than the pale knight. But unfortunately, he's just too evil."

"Tell me specifically about his evil deeds."

"I told you, he's an extreme egoist, capable of doing any terrifying thing for his own benefit, including but not limited to murder, arson, creating terrorist attacks..."

Shiller showed an expression of understanding. After thinking for a while, he said, "Could it be an issue with Gotham's environment?"

Gordon was clearly stunned, then said somewhat shamefacedly, "He may indeed have lacked proper guidance on his path to maturity, which is somewhat related to the city's atmosphere."

"No, that's not what I meant," said Shiller shaking his head, then continued to ask, "Is it possible that what is considered evil here might not be considered evil elsewhere?"

"Where would it not be considered evil?" Gordon really couldn't understand, he said, "Such cruel methods would make him a villain anywhere, right?"

"Yes, he's a bad guy, but you may also be viewing those politicians too favorably." Shiller also looked into Gordon's eyes and said, "Do you think the State Council members don't know how much improvement GTO has brought to Gotham? Do you think they don't know how many civilians this anti-terrorism squad has saved?"

"Do you think they don't know that dissolving this squad would lead to many people dying? No, they know better than anyone, but they would still dissolve GTO just to get even a breath of satisfaction."

"Do you think that doesn't count as murder?"

Gordon was left without words.

"We should let the wicked deal with the wicked, instead of letting good people who are bound hand and foot be beaten, and then let the evil who are now free harm even more good people."

Gordon was a bit dizzy from Shiller's words but surprisingly found them reasonable.

He also very much hated those politicians who, just for the sake of their own face, didn't consider the survival issues of ordinary people. Arguably, this might be even more evil than simple murder.

He equally loathed the Penguin Man's cruel methods; he kept causing trouble, harming others, and after causing everyone a great deal of problems, he had the luxury of disappearing himself.

With this in mind, why not let these two sides harm each other?

This way both had their own preoccupations, and the real good people, like the pale knight and Batman, wouldn't need to spend energy on them and could actually free up their hands to do more good.

But Gordon was still worried, so he asked, "But if we let the Penguin Man gain a position, wouldn't he turn around and target Gotham?"

"What kind of position do you think he could get?"

"Being a council member at least wouldn't be a problem," Gordon said very conservatively, "Perhaps he could wield not insignificant influence."

Shiller shook his head and said, "You've already said he's a genius and very greedy. Do you think a state council member would satisfy him?"

"Uh, does he also want to enter Congress?"

"Why not? Isn't he younger than you?"

"Well, that's true, he's not old." Gordon nodded and said, "I'm not sure of his exact birth date, but he should be under 40 this year."

"Then he's too young," Shiller said. "State council member can't be his end goal; he must be aiming for Congress."

Gordon began to feel a headache and said, "Is it really a good thing to let such a person into Congress? Could the Federation really have any good days ahead?"

"Birds of a feather flock together. If he really did make it in there, it would mean Congress is full of people like him."

"That makes so much sense that he's rendered speechless," Gordon thought.

"Once he enters Congress and aims for even higher positions, our state and our city will become his staunch grounds, his largest vote bank. Would he dare to mistreat us?"

"Although that sounds plausible, it doesn't seem like the current President treats his own hometown all that well," Gordon said.

"But at least it's not bad, nor will it kick us when we're down." Shiller said, "Pushing him to that position is only a temporary measure. It would be best if he returns the favor out of gratitude, but if he's unwilling, he won't take such a big risk to stab himself in the heart, at most he would just neglect it, and it wouldn't get worse."

Gordon had to admit, Shiller was right. The Penguin man was a profit-only man; he wouldn't do anything to betray his interests. If he wanted to go further on his political path, then his home state of New Jersey would surely provide him with the strongest support, and he had no need to stab himself.

Gordon suddenly felt that there was some advantage to purely interest-driven people. They didn't act based on personal likes or dislikes; enemies one second could become friends the next, without feeling the slightest bit of guilt.

Even if the pale knight had defeated him and locked him up, as long as the pale knight could secure the position of mayor, then for the sake of his own career, the Penguin Man would certainly form the most stable political alliance with him, without caring about any old grudges.

Then he looked at Shiller again; did this guy really not know the Penguin Man? Why did he happen to have such a suitable person to fulfill his plan?

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"You're saying the mayor has Penguin Man locked up?"

"Yes, but not in a jail. It's probably a private house. Knowing Napier, he wouldn't mistreat him, probably just having someone watch over him."

"Are you confident you can persuade the mayor? I'm worried he might refuse, citing Penguin Man's dangerousness."

"Of course, I'm confident." Gordon said, "I'm against illegal detention. No matter how evil the guy is, it's no reason for Napier to lock him up without a court judgment. I'll persuade him."

Shiller smiled.

He thought, the pale knight is a hero, Gordon is a hero, congressmen are heroes, Penguin Man is also a hero.

Let heroes investigate heroes, and the brave investigate the brave. Since everyone's in a bind, might as well make the best of a tough situation.

"There's one more thing." Gordon spoke, seeming to have made up his mind and now ready to act on it.

"What?"

"Money issues. How much do you think we should pay..."

"Pay what?"

"Aren't you saying you want to get Balk out of there?"

"Yes, to get him out."

"So, how much do you think we should spend?"

"Who said we should spend money?"

Shiller's retort stunned Gordon, who said, "Didn't you say to use that money from GTO…"

Shiller immediately gave a disapproving look and said, "That would be misappropriation of public funds, Commissioner. If you keep talking like this, I'll have to withdraw my respect for you."

Gordon's face turned the color of liver.

"But you said…"

"I said to get him out, but I didn't tell you to misappropriate that money. That would be illegal; you can't do that!" Shiller warned him sternly.

"What should we do then?"

Gordon had thought Shiller would come up with a clever name and help him figure out a way to use the money. Instead, he heard Shiller say:

"I never said we should pay. The money should come from Wayne Enterprises."

"Ah?" Gordon was utterly confused. He asked, "Wayne Enterprises should pay? Why should they pay?"

"Because they have money."

Seeing Gordon's perplexed face, Shiller spread his hands and said: "Wayne Enterprises had money for investing in GTO and taking over its management. Unfortunately, they couldn't outbid the Charabang."

Gordon nodded; he was aware of this. He had thought Wayne Enterprises would be the final winner.

"Wayne Enterprises didn't get GTO, so they wanted to use the money to improve the X15 district's environmental pollution. Again, unfortunately, the materials to improve the pollution were trapped in the Natural Forest lands, so the environmental improvement plan also failed."

Gordon didn't know this, but he knew that Batman's character would indeed lead him to such actions.

"Now, the heir of Charabang Family is lying unconscious in the hospital, leaving the entire family headless. Environmentalists protesting against their polluted Natural Forest walk in standing up and leave being carried out, all caught on camera. What do you think the state of the family is now?"

Gordon didn't need Shiller to remind him; he knew the Charabang Family was finished. It was an unstable time, and if the new heir Thunder had an effective approach, he might be able to stabilize things. But unfortunately, the heir was down.

If they kept a low profile, acted like a turtle withdrawing its head, and got through this period, although the family business would shrink, they could still preserve the core and prevent fragmentation. But now there's also the assault on environmentalists and a public opinion crisis.

The Charabang Family certainly wasn't without competitors who were just looking for a handle on them, and these environmentalists unwittingly delivered themselves.

Gordon didn't even need to watch the news to know that Big Beard was now vigorously denouncing the Charabang Family at the bedside, accusing them of hiring killers. Charabang's competitors would never miss this opportunity.

The Charabang Family was doomed.

"Hold on." Gordon suddenly realized something. He said, "If the Charabang Family is crumbling, does that mean they can't employ GTO anymore?"

"Yes, they can no longer control GTO, and GTO is free now," Shiller nodded.

And now Gordon felt as if he was stunned by a pie falling from the sky. His hands trembled as he said, "Then that money is still there..."

"Yes, it's still there. At your free disposal, Commissioner."

Gordon wanted to pinch his philtrum.

He really didn't understand how things had developed to this point. Now, the liquidity in his hands might be more than that of Wayne Enterprises!

"Now that GTO is free again, Wayne Enterprises can spend the money to take over GTO." Shiller said, "After all, this was their initial target for preparing that money, wasn't it?"

"But now GTO has money; they don't need theirs."

"But GTO is now facing the threat of dissolution. Whoever can help you solve this crisis can get the management rights, and the way to solve the crisis is to spend money to fish out Balk."

"That's why I said, we shouldn't be the ones to spend this money, it should be Wayne Enterprises. Because the one who's always wanted the GTO management rights is Batman."

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