Silence echoed through the empty room, and finally, Batman said, "Everything I've done since that day, everything I've been through, has been for revenge." ”

"The law and the trial told me that it was Joe Chel who killed my parents, but I knew that was not the case, and it took me years to empower myself to question the outcome."

“…… And now, it's time for the bats to take revenge. ”

With the dull evening bell of the Gotham Cathedral bell tower, the figure of Batman disappears.

The recent changes in the Edward family have led Batman, who has been monitoring the whole of Gotham City all the time, to discover that the Edward brothers were the leaders of the alley where his parents died when they first came to Gotham.

But now, the Edward brothers are dead, only their nephew remains, and little Edward has offended his godfather, and if Falcone is unwilling to let him go, then the Edward family will cease to exist.

Batman found little Edward first, he didn't need to send someone to ask for someone like the godfather, he could appear directly in the shadow behind anyone.

The next day, Gotham was again filled with a dull haze, and later on, dusk made the hazy fog over Gotham more colorful.

Schiller was talking to the priest at the door of the church, and like a native Westerner, he came and went in and out of the church on time without any disobedience.

The priest here was very knowledgeable, he had a very deep understanding of theology, and Schiller liked to talk to him about philosophical and theological issues, and at the same time, he could learn about it by the way.

The old priest has lived in Gotham all his life, has lived through all the eras of Gotham, and knows all the stories here.

"Recently, the workers of the docks have not come very often, perhaps because their business has improved, and I hope that is so, God tells the people that it is necessary to atone for their sins with such hard work," said the priest. ”

"Recently, the number of merchant ships at the terminal has increased, and the business of cargo ship owners has also improved." Schiller said.

"I remember many years ago, there was a time when a lot of laborers liked to come here to pray, and the church was never so lively."

The old priest's voice bears the marks of the times, like a railroad track paved from history, old and somewhat faded.

"It can be seen that they were not busy at that time, maybe there was not much business, many people were complaining, some people were very angry, and there were quarrels, and I tried my best to dissuade them."

"You're a good guy." Schiller said.

The old priest squinted his eyes and recalled: "In those days, everything was chaos, and I remember that the man who dominated the docks at that time was a man named Lef, who was not easy to mess with, and people called him Bearded, and some called him a Viking. ”

"He was burly and strong, with a beard, and a dozen equally strong men, who were rampant and domineering at the docks, and no one dared to mess with them, and they specialized in collecting protection money from laborers and extorting others."

"And then, who sanctioned them later?"

"It's Falcone, His Excellency Godfather gave him a ruthless blow."

The priest stroked his fingers, which were a little dry from old age, and said, "The godfather was supposed to take over the docks, but somehow it ended up in the hands of the Edwards. ”

The priest shook his head and finally said, "I'm not saying that the Edward family is not in good hands, but perhaps, if the Falcone family had taken over the docks and the entire East End was connected into a line, the Falcone family would be much stronger than it is now." ”

"I've often heard people say......" said Schiller, "that the godfather had a weak grip on the East End, because he controlled only some of the north-east and south-east, and left the most important part of the docks unchecked. ”

The priest shook his head and said, "Maybe he has his own plans." ”

Schiller thought that what the priest had told him was not a secret, and that the reason why it was not widely circulated was because there were not many survivors of that era.

Of course, as to why the Godfather didn't control the docks in one fell swoop, Schiller guessed, there could be a more complicated dispute here.

When it was dark, Schiller said goodbye to the priest and walked out of the church alone.

When the last rays of the setting sun had sunk below the horizon, he heard seven heavy ringings from the bell tower of the church above him, which carried an indescribable smell of decay.

The priest was in front of the church door, drew a cross on his chest with his hand, and whispered: "This is the death knell...... God willing, your soul will be liberated......"

Schiller stood outside the door, and when he turned around, in a dark gray haze, he saw a black and yellow figure standing on the high bell tower.

On the other side, little Edward collapsed to the ground, facing the shadow of the two pointed ears in front of him, and he said in a trembling voice, "I only know...... All I know is that at the beginning...... The Godfather put an end to the chaos at the Eastern Docks, and my father and uncle wanted a piece of the pie, even if they could only get one dock......"

"But, but the godfather suddenly didn't want any of them...... So, our family got all five docks, and I don't know what's going on...... I was so young then, you can only ask the godfather, I really don't know anything......"

After the bat shadow left, little Edward got up from the ground trembling and cursed in a low voice, and suddenly he saw another shadow appear in front of him.

He looked up and saw a large umbrella facing him, and behind the umbrella, a gloomy owl was staring at him, and Edward was about to scream in fear, his vocal cords were severed along with his throat.

After a faint thud, the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground was accompanied by the extinguishing lights in Edward's old mansion, and everything fell silent.

Eventually, Batman made it to Falcone's mansion, which was pitch black and quiet as if no one existed.

Unlike Edward's old mansion, which was brightly lit and guarded all night, the Gotham Godfather's mansion was as if it had no defenses, and Batman knew that this was not normal.

Eventually, Batman meets him in Falcone's office, where there is still no one, and Falcone sits alone in his office in the early hours of the morning, as if waiting for him.

"I knew you were coming." Falcone said, "You weren't careful enough when you investigated Edward Sr.'s resume. ”

"That means there must be something special about his resume that deserves so much of your attention." Batman said.

"Indeed, would you be interested in hearing stories from many years ago?"

Then, from the godfather who had ruled Gotham for forty years, Batman learned about a turbulent era he had never seen or heard of.

“…… They are ruthless and ruthless, and the Viking Pirate Leif is the most powerful. ”

"I know very well that if the Falcone family wants to really gain a foothold here, I have to cut him."

"That bearded man has made a lot of money from years of blackmail or ship owners, and he is not convinced and wants to rebel against me."

"So, in front of many people, I killed all his family members and stuffed him into a powder keg."

"Of course, that scared a lot of people and made my plan go well."

"What I want to know is about Park Street." Batman said.

"Don't worry, it's almost there."

Falcone spun his chair around, and he turned to look at Batman and said, "You're kind of like your father." He nodded and said, "...... It's a lot like. ”

Before Batman could say anything, Falcone said, "I cleaned up the major forces in the docks at that time, but I didn't take over the docks, but left them to the Edward family, and this matter has something to do with your parents." ”

"Your mother is a good man, a kind wife, and she sympathizes with the laborers on the docks, and thinks that their work of ten hours a day is too hard, and your father agrees, and they feel that they should be better to the poor people."

"So, they didn't allow the gangsters to oppress the laborers, and they made it easier for them to work, you know, for a few hours and they had to take a break, eat something and drink some water."

"The Wayne family is determined to change the order of the entire Gotham Docks, but I know it...... I know. ”

"I knew they couldn't do that, but I didn't want to fight the Wayne family, so I pulled back and let them do whatever they wanted."

"I let the Edwards control all the docks, and the Edward brothers are smart."

Falcone lit a cigar, the faint light of the fire shining on his face, casting a dark shadow under the sharp arch of his eyebrows, enveloping his eyes, and faintly recognizing the appearance of the powerful young godfather of that era.

"So, it was Edward who hired that thug named Joe to kill my parents?"

The smoke of the cigar slowly drifted up, and Falcone's speech began to slow and slow, as if the memories were becoming more distant and unclear.

"You say the real hands-on guys? No, not them, not Edward. ”

"The real hands-on man is a dock laborer named Louis."

"Labor?" Batman felt ridiculous and asked, "Why?" How can it be a dock worker? ”

"I know you don't understand, the Waynes helped them, yes, the laborers didn't have to work so long a day, they were oppressed by the gangs and the cargo ship owners, they found their savior......"

Falcone shook his head and said: "But you don't understand, the laborers are also divided into three, six, nine and so on, and the work of carrying sandbags and carrying heavy objects is the most tiring. ”

"Your parents want everyone to not work hard, no one to do the dirty work, and the cargo ship owners have been delayed for too long and have lost a lot of cargo, and they would rather take a long detour than come to Gotham Docks again."

"I remember...... That Louis is...... The third was the chief engineer of the fourth dock, and he was watched very closely by the Wayne family, and had to be assigned the same work to everyone, only nine hours a day, with a two-hour break in between to allow them to eat. ”

"The cargo ship was parked there, no one moved the goods, the fresh food and fruits on it were broken, and the owner of the cargo ship, Louis, could not afford to pay, and he was beaten by the owner of the cargo ship and the sailors, and his leg was broken."

"So, he hired that thug and killed the Waynes?" Batman's voice was hoarse about falling to the bottom.

"He turned to old Edward for help, and together they committed that murder on Park Street."

"You must think it is ridiculous that Judas betrayed his Lord and caused his benefactor to suffer." Falcone said.

“…… But this is Gotham, a place where the devil has to take a detour when he sees it. ”

Batman closes his eyes, and the truth is completely different from what he imagined.

This is not a story of the perpetrator and the innocent entangled and confrontational, and there is no justice here that can be done at a glance.

Everything is not white walls and black shadows, but an old, faded gray videotape with the thick dust of that era.

"The gangsters and the Edward brothers are dead, but Louis is alive, and if you still want revenge, go to 7 Grace Street on the east side of the church, where he lives."

With that, Falcone exhaled the last puff of smoke, and he closed his eyes as well.

His fingers were well maintained, there were almost no wrinkles, the cigar between his fingers had burned out, and the fire was gradually extinguished, as if to draw an end to all the waves of that boiling era and all the waves of that turbulent era.