Half an hour later, while the Gotham City police were evacuating the surrounding crowd and routinely inspecting the explosion site, Mason was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window in his office on the top floor of Wayne Casino, looking out at the plausible Gotham in front of him.

Behind him, Mr. Oswald Chesterfield Copote, the butler of Thomas Wayne, was pouring coffee for his guests.

That's right.

In this outrageous world, not only did the old lady replace his son as Batman, but even the fate of His Excellency the Penguin Man was reversed one hundred and eighty degrees.

He has served the Wayne family faithfully since he was young, and even after experiencing the defeat of the family, he did not abandon the main family and left, not only the old lady's most trusted butler, but also his business assistant.

It's basically the same as the relationship between Bruce and Afu.

However, this cunning butler, with a big belly, a tuxedo, and classic monocles, is obviously not comparable in appearance and temperament to a former ace agent and an old English gentleman like Alfred.

In particular, his overly flexible eyes always give people a sense of cunning.

Whenever the old lady went out to "do chivalrous deeds" and kill a few people to heal his "old psychological wounds", it was the penguin butler who helped him manage the largest casino on the East Coast.

As a result, the penguin steward has also become a well-known underworld "intermediary" in the city.

It seems that even if the world changes and the identity changes, a certain trait belonging to the penguin people will not change.

Now that he has the surname Copote, he is probably born to embrace the darkness.

It wasn't until he entered the bustling casino that Mason realized that the location of the Wayne Casino, run by Batman, was exactly where the iceberg bar of another world was located.

Even the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of him look at the city's orientation exactly like the big office that Mason remembers, which nominally belonged to the Kite Man and was actually reserved for him.

It really makes people feel the impermanence of the world and the wonderful feeling of intertwined fate.

"Guest, your coffee is ready."

While Mason was silently watching the scenery of Gotham, the old lady's most trusted butler was also looking at the "guest" who was brought back by the old man with his own eyes.

He put the steaming coffee behind Mason in as gentle a tone as he could, and stood there like a good butler, seemingly serving Mason at all times, but in fact helping the old lady keep an eye on the guy.

Although the young man seemed gentle and had an affable smile, Steward Oswald could keenly smell something about this guy.

It was exactly the same smell as the old master, which made people dread and didn't like it.

There must have been a lot of blood on the young man's hands.

And I don't know if it's an illusion, every time I meet Mason's eyes, Oswald Butler can always feel his neck cold.

It was as if an invisible voice was reminding him to stay away from the young man in front of him.

"Thank you, butler."

Mason turned back to the worldly Oswald and smiled, and he put down the penguin umbrella in his hand, and the shape of the thing immediately attracted the attention of the penguin butler.

Although he was not good at fighting in this world and did not have the need to fight, so he did not design his own penguin umbrella, but after experiencing the downfall of the Wayne family when he was young, he also found a job as a mechanic for a while to support his family, so he also has a certain interest and understanding of engineering.

And the moment he saw this penguin umbrella, the penguin butler felt a wonderful emotion.

It's like.

This strange weapon was born to be "destined" with him.

This straight look was quickly noticed by Mason, and the young man shrugged his shoulders, opened his bag, took out a prototype version of the penguin umbrella he had used as a memorial, handed it to the penguin butler, and said:

"Take it, just take it as a gift or a tip, or an apology, whatever you want."

"Huh?"

As a qualified housekeeper, this kind of gift is certainly not acceptable.

But Mason's words made Oswald look up in surprise, and he finally couldn't help but ask:

"Have we seen each other before? Guest, why do I feel so familiar with me? ”

"That's all too familiar, Mr. Oswald."

Mason sat on the couch and drank bitter coffee, and said softly:

"In another world, our relationship is extraordinary. It was a twisted and dark 'friendship' that ended with a bullet and a burning fire.

I killed a penguin with my own hands.

But to be honest, it's a good feeling to see you again, and I should give you a word of advice, Your Excellency, not to withhold the salaries and insurance compensation of your subordinates, and not to drag innocent children into the gangster business.

By the way, please stay away from me, the 'penguin betrayer'. Well, the sleeping pills in this coffee taste good, it's my favorite flavor, but it's slightly bitter in the mouth, so it may expire in another week or so.

You'd better check your spare pill box. ”

"What you're saying is beyond my imagination, but it does make me feel uncomfortable."

Steward Oswald touched his hairy fingers.

He didn't feel like Mason was joking, and thankfully the unpleasant awkward conversation didn't last long, and the office door was pushed open a few minutes later.

The old lady, dressed in a neat suit and dressed like the godfather of the underworld, walked into his office with a blank face, followed by Damian Wayne, who was obviously doubting his life.

When the little madman walked into the room, he immediately saw Mason smiling at him with coffee, and then he gritted his teeth and rushed over and snatched the coffee from Mason's hand and smashed it on the ground.

In the debris on the floor, he grabbed Mason by the collar and scolded:

"This is the secret operation you're going to do with me? You bastard must have known his identity for a long time, and I was used by you as a tool for 'anti-bat tactics'.

I should have shot you, Mason! ”

"But we've had a great time working together, Damian."

Mason did not resist, and he said to the angry rice:

"Remember that little discussion we had earlier? I said I'm going to find you a parent who can control you, and you say that person can't exist.

But it turns out I always do what I say.

Do you still like this 'grandpa' in front of you? Our old lady is much more handsome than your god-like old immortal grandfather, right? ”

"Shut up!"

Annoyed, Damian pushed Mason back onto the couch and sat there with his arms folded and puffing out.

He's still a little confused.

Especially when Thomas Wayne had just told him who he was, the impact of the absurdity and reality made this little madman's brain mess up.

In terms of blood, he is the son of Bruce Wayne.

And the gloomy man in front of him, who can make people ooze cold air from his teeth even when he stands in the light, is Bruce Wayne's father, although they are not in the same world, it is almost certain that the DNA between the three of them is probably the same.

But from an ethical point of view, it's a different story.

After all, Bruce Wayne of this world died when he was eight years old, and the bullet in the night of Crime Alley took a more innocent life but also left a broken and pathetic soul.

I shouldn't call the indifferent old man in front of me grandpa.

"You can see Crime Alley from here."

Mason ignored Damian, sulking and frowning to sort out the weird family relationships in his mind.

He picked up his handkerchief and wiped the spilled coffee from his body, and then looked at Thomas Wayne, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window without saying a word, with his back to them.

He said to the ruthless cold-blooded old lady:

"Did you choose to open your business in this place to miss your young child?"

"There's an element of that."

The old lady who has obviously retaken care of his appearance and cleaned up all the stubble to make himself look like an old hard-core handsome guy has a straight waist.

In the face of Mason's inquiry, he said in a low tone:

"But it's more because of the good location of this place, and the connections with the three religions and nine streams, and the casinos built here are naturally prosperous. I'm a businessman, Mason.

Naturally, I have to think about these issues from the perspective of interests. ”

"Can you tell me your story?"

Mason asks:

"I don't need to talk about the Crime Alley section, I know that. I just wanted to know a little bit more about my next 'partner'. ”

"Partner?"

The old lady sneered and said:

"You're an outsider, Mason! It is precisely because of your attention and secret tricks that this world is no longer safe, and it is for Damian's sake that I did not kill you.

The last option I can give you is to take your people with you and leave before my collaborators notice! ”

"You are clearly protecting the world, albeit by killing people like us."

Mason Says:

"But I can tell you that before I came, my boss had made it clear that your world would be destroyed in a week, and that was the result of the judgment of a machine that could predict fate.

You're just doing useless work. ”

"So what?"

The old lady turned and stared at Mason, whose gaze was as cold as ice.

He said:

"Do nothing when destruction is coming? Even if killing you doesn't stop the apocalypse, it will at least make me feel better, and it's a virtue not to waste an expiring bullet before the world is destroyed. ”

"I just wanted to record your story."

Mason changed his perspective and persuaded:

"If Bruce asks when I get back over there, I can't make it up, right? Thomas, don't you want your son to know more about you? ”

"My son is dead!"

The old lady's tone was even colder.

He said categorically:

"When he was eight years old, he died under the killer pistol sent by my last 'partner', and in that crime alley, I lost everything.

Do you want to know what I do with Falcone who betrayed me and caused my son to die?

No.

You don't want to know.

There's not much to tell about my story.

I'm sure I'm definitely not the kind of father Bruce Wayne wants in your world, and if I were there, I would only be his enemy. ”

"Isn't that more fun?"

Mason stood up, took out a recorder for recording, and urged:

"Well, old lady, the men of your Wayne family have always been duplicitous, and you and I both know that you want to leave some information for your son in the other world.

So go ahead, hurry up. ”

At Mason's urging, and under the expectant gaze of Damian, the old lady, who was as cold as iron, was silent for several minutes, and then, after the penguin butler brought him a glass of wine with ice, he looked at the tape recorder and whispered:

"I used to control all the gangs in the city, I was one of their leaders, and the union of the Wayne and Kane families made this city my domain.

I am also a doctor.

On the surface, my wife is my head nurse, and in the eyes of outsiders, we are celebrities in the city.

Privately, however, I punish disloyal subordinates and torture my enemies in my hospital, and Martha is my gangster accountant who occasionally helps me with those pleasurable 'punishments'.

Those indulgent and dark days lasted until Bruce's birth."

The old lady took a sip of wine, stretched out his hand to cover his forehead, and said in a dumb voice:

"My wife and I wanted to quit that life, we wanted our children to live in the sun, but this decision angered my peers.

On Bruce's eighth birthday, our family was stopped by a gunman as we walked past Crime Alley after dinner.

I could have easily pinched him to death, however.

I missed.

Martha and I are safe and sound.

But our child fell in a pool of blood, and Martha went crazy ever since. My heart was filled with rage, and I was driven to start an indiscriminate slaughter of all the criminals in the city.

Exactly thirty years!

I've lived a full thirty years of that kind of people, and I don't know what the rest of the city thinks of me, and I don't care.

I'm not killing for them. ”

The old lady drank the wine in her hand in one gulp.

He slapped the glass on the table, looked at Mason and Damian, and said:

"The world, as you can see, is chaotic but not always. Some of my powerful friends have told me that the world was peaceful until you paid attention.

But from a certain point in time, it went to collapse.

The marriage ceremony between the Atlanteans and the Amazons for peace was the beginning of the Honkai, and everything began to slip into ruin after Diana went mad and killed Mela to cause the two tribes to go to war.

The calm sea is getting more cruel every day.

Countless islands have been submerged, the Amazons have fought back even more wildly, and several countries have been slaughtered on the European side, preparing for a great conquest in the name of the gods.

It's more like a pre-apocalyptic.

The world will be destroyed, it will be on the verge of destruction before you intervene, and I don't care about any of that!

At least until Damian came along."

Thomas Wayne's gaze fell on the little madman on the couch, and he pursed his mouth, and that serious expression made Damian subconsciously sit up straight.

It's like how he behaved in the face of his stern grandfather.

Although he said that this old man was not powerful, it was obvious that when facing the old lady in front of him, who had forged a great reputation from darkness and killing, the little madman behaved much more formally than when he faced his father, who seemed to him to be "weak".

Ruthless enough, cruel enough, wise enough and determined enough, without any superfluous benevolence, with the same tactical mind as Batman but more intimidating than Batman.

This is the most perfect image of Batman in the mind of the little madman Damian.

In the face of such a parent, he is obviously full of respect after receiving wolf education since he was a child.

"After dark, you're going to meet someone with me."

The old lady said to Damian in an irrefutable tone:

"Now go and rest! If you're hungry, go to Oswald and he'll take care of all your life and expenses. I will not allow you to leave my sight during your time in this world.

Not for a second!

Got it? ”

"Why should I"

Damian, the thorn, subconsciously jumped up to refute, but the old lady's reaction was quite direct, opening the drawer and taking out a gun and slamming it on the table.

He stared at Damian, and said without turning around:

"You must obey!

It's not just because of the ethical relationship between you and me, but unless you're going to challenge me again and defeat me without anyone else interfering, I'll let you go free.

But Damien, you know very well that you can't do that right now.

There is an empty shelf but there is weakness inside! Looking firm, he is actually dazed.

You can't be who you want to be.

However, the men of the Wayne family never bring shame on themselves and never give up their ambitions!

Remember? ”

(End of chapter)