February 23, 1987, Chicago, night.

In the Grand Chicago Theater, Miss Tina, who had ended the gorgeous and lively dance party, gently stroked her fur shawl, and she held the driver's hand in a luxurious car. When she returned to her luxurious apartment, a handsome man with blue eyes hugged the lady's waist. Tina said, "Our dance party has just begun, right? Mr. Bruce?"

The moonlight outside the window shone in, and the beautiful blue eyes were shrouded in the shadow of the eyebrows. The handsome side face fascinated Tina, and the man turned around, it was Bruce Wayne.

On an ordinary afternoon on February 20, 1987, Schiller woke up in the bed at Falcone Manor. He did not forget that he was resting in the guest room of the Godfather Manor before traveling to Marvel.

The mornings in Gotham are never clear, but the early morning always brings special inspiration to Schiller. When he enjoys breakfast with Falcone and his son, the professor got some inspiration again and quickly improved his mind.

"What do you think of Gotham's future?" Schiller asked Falcone.

Falcone shook his head and said, "If you asked me this question 40 years ago, I will definitely tell you that this city is out of salvation, but now I want to say that this city does not need anyone to save it. He is like this and will continue like this..."

"Do you think Gotham needs a new order?"

"A lot of people have asked me this question, but I can only say that any effort to make this city better will eventually disappear, no matter how passionate it starts, it will eventually become nothing."

"why is that?"

"You asked the key, but I don't know the answer."

The godfather lit a cigar and the smoke slowly drifted away. He said: "In the past 40 years, I have seen a firm revolutionary, nor have I seen a savior with a moral realm like a saint. There are so many people in this world, one or two good people or heroes, who are determined to save this city."

"They came to Gotham with this idea, and you have to admit that even though you know they won't succeed, you are still deeply shocked by that determination."

"Maybe you will find it ridiculous, but I have indeed been changed by these people. Many people may think, if this is the case, how could I become the godfather of Gotham? How could I become the biggest gangster in this gang city?"

"But it is because I have seen these things and experienced those days in person that I know that good people can't save Gotham, and so do heroes."

"So, where have these people gone now?"

"Most of them are dead, and some people who are lucky enough to escape from here. Those who do not belong to Gotham will eventually leave Gotham. If anyone stays, he must be the one who originally belonged to Gotham."

"Is there someone like this? Where is he?"

The godfather seemed to be trapped in memories. After a while, he drew a cross on his chest and said, "I swear to the Lord that I will keep this secret for him."

He didn't give Schiller a clear answer, but Schiller already knew who he was referring to.

The next day, Bruce was called to the office by Schiller, and Schiller almost never asked him to come over, so Bruce was curious about what was wrong with Schiller.

They sat down on both sides of their desks, as they had first met, Schiller asked him:

"Have you ever thought about saving this city completely for a second?"

"Of course I..."

"I mean, after you have realized very clearly what the essence of this city is."

Bruce opened his mouth, Schiller took off his glasses, and he looked at Bruce and said, "I think you should have seen the essence of this city that does not need to be saved, nor can it be saved at all."

"So, are you trying to persuade me not to do this again? Don't be Batman again?"

"Of course not, I don't care whether you are Batman or not, I just want to know if you really want to save Gotham?"

“Is there any difference between the two?”

"Are you sure you were Batman to save Gotham?"

Bruce was silent.

"I'll change the question. If there is a possibility of bringing a new order to Gotham now, would you be willing to put in some effort?"

"Although I have such a guess now, I still can't be sure what the essence of this city is? Why did it become like this? Can it really not be saved?"

"Falcone once told me that many people have worked hard to save the city, but none of them have succeeded. Most of them are buried here, but some people stayed and integrated into it, becoming part of Gotham."

"who is he?"

"I think you can meet him and come back to give me the answer."

Bruce shook his head, and he felt Schiller was a little confused.

But he was actually very interested in Gotham's past stories. There are too many fans of this city that he can explore.

At first his purpose was very simple. He wanted to avenge all criminals, but when he learned part of Gotham, he felt that he should save the city, but when he learned more Gotham, he felt that the city did not need to be saved.

And now, he studied Gotham again and found that the city seemed to be unable to be saved.

Just as Schiller said, Gotham is like a book that can never be finished. There are endless puzzles here, and every time you read it, you will have new insights.

When Bruce came to Gotham Cathedral, the priest warmly received him. The old priest seemed to be over 70 years old. To be honest, there are few ordinary people in Gotham who can live to such an old age.

In Gotham, no one will teach children to help the elderly cross the road, because there is neither teaching children nor the elderly.

In front of the pulpit, the priest smiled and pulled Bruce's arm and said, "I have heard of Mr. Wayne's name for a long time. Of course, I forgive me for not having anything better to receive you. After all, this church is too old, as old as me."

"Look, these tables and chairs are a little bit disintegrating. I wonder if there will be any kind and kind person who can change the pulpit for the main purpose that does not require bricks to mount the table base..."

Bruce was so familiar with this kind of words that he drew a cross on his chest and said, "I will not give favors to me for the Lord. The Wayne Construction Team will carry out a thorough renovation of the church, so that His Kingdom of God will be clean and new, and that everything will be given to the Lord..."

The old priest seemed very satisfied with this. When Bruce talked to him about the past, he did not mean to hide it, but instead spoke out his experience bluntly.

"I came from an ordinary family in England. I served in the church when I was young. In order to make more people listen to the Lord's gospel, I came here."

"Originally, I just settled in a small town on the East Coast, but I heard that Gotham is not bad, so I came here."

"You may find it a bit incredible, but in fact, Gotham was really good at that time. Because of the dock, it was quite prosperous, with many people and living conditions. By the way, the gangsters were in the early stages at that time, and there were not many people in total."

"At that time, there were still some ordinary people here with dreams. They wanted to establish order here and grow up with this city. Of course, I thought so at that time."

Then, the priest's voice began to become deeper and deeper, echoing in the empty church. The colorful light from the stained glass at the top of the church window was like a tunnel that traveled through time and space. The priest's voice seemed to follow these tunnels and returned to that era.

"At that time, there were many such people. They were ambitious and thought this was the Gold Coast and New Kingsoft. Although it was a bit chaotic at that time, everyone felt that it was just an ordinary pain relief in the urban development stage."

"A young missionary, with a Bible in his arms, stepped onto this land with the fleet. This story that has traveled thousands of miles is actually not as magnificent as others imagine, but there are still many people here who are interested in me."

"Of course, I am here to spread my faith, help everyone as much as possible, and adjust some gangsters' overly fierce conflicts and disputes, and almost everyone is willing to sell me aside."

When Bruce heard this, he looked at the priest with some admiration. This old man, who was in the same era as Falcone, seemed to have a place in the music industry.

In this city ruled by gangsters, you can eat randomly, but you can't talk randomly.

No one dares to make up such a story boldly, claiming that all gangs will sell him for face. As Bruce knows, the only one who truly has this ability is Falcone. If anyone else dares to brag about this, his body will be thrown into the sea the next day.

But the old priest seemed to be saying something insignificant, and Bruce heard the modesty in his tone. He thought, perhaps this old man of his time as Falcone had the same reputation as His Godfather.

But now they are very different. Falcone has become the godfather admired by everyone in Gotham, but the old priest guards a dilapidated church, and there may not be a believer praying for several days.

Bruce has always been curious about that era that was a bit dim like a faded photo, just as people always imagined the glory of their parents.

The story about the dock that Falcone once told him showed the rise of gangs in that turbulent era.

But now, in this empty cathedral, what the old priest unveiled for him seemed to be another way the city looked like in that era.

"When I came to Gotham, the war was far from over. Here, isolationism prevailed, but more civilians at the bottom were afraid of war. They didn't understand why it suddenly turned into a pot of porridge at the far end of the earth."

"I began to spread teachings here, and I believed that faith could calm my heart. At the beginning I did a pretty good job. You know, there were many British people who had not evacuated here in that era. They would invite me to their estates and listen to my preaching. I spent almost every afternoon like this."

"At first, some small gangs were just wandering around the docks, and there were few who could even reach the internal streets. At that time, I knew Falcone, but at that time there were no Falcone and the Twelve families. Perhaps the whole Gotham could not find twelve decent gangs."

"At that time, it was basically a colonial economy. Because of an accident, I started to deal with gangsters. They fell in love with the channels from rich people in Britain. They hoped that I could be a middleman and strengthen their own power for them."

"I don't want to be involved in these vortexes, but I have no choice. If I have to do so, I will choose the most promising one, Falcone."

"Later, many people began to discover that Gotham was not as good as they thought. The rich people from Britain began to gradually withdraw from this place and gather in other places with more prosperous and potential."

"The main heritage they left to the city is the manor area and the cathedral. Under my lobbying, they collectively invested in the establishment of this place, and I became the only priest in this church."

"What happened after that? What happened after that?"

"When the upper class that maintained a stable order suddenly left, the person who filled these upper structures became the one with the most bullets in the gun. Falcone and his twelve families were such people. They had a fight for a while and then took over here."

"I used to be a good partner with Falcone because I know that he is different from the other gangsters, and he wants to create a new order here, even though it is a violent order, but it is better than no order."

"I did my best to help him, and I thought the gangsters were just a brief replacement for the upper blocks that were taken away, and one day Gotham would be back on track."

"But I didn't expect that all this would be out of control. After Falcone and his gang family ruled the city, it began to become a real city of crime. The spread of twelve gangs were 120 gangs and 1,200 gangs. Finally, it became a city where everyone was gangsters and criminals."

"I can't do anything about evil here. I know that it may be the same as Falcone. Many people think he is the culprit of Gotham's deterioration, but I know very well that this is not the truth."

Finally, the priest looked up and looked around the church. He said, "There were not many buildings left in that era. I thank them for leaving me such a place so that I could have a place to stay."

"Then why don't you leave? Even if you can't go back to your hometown, you can at least go to the church in the metropolis. There are still a lot of clergy and you're living well."

The priest said, "You don't understand. Not only did I witness how sin infected the city little by little, but I've been deeply involved in it."

He drew a cross on his chest, prayed a few times, and said, "The biggest truth I understand in this process is that this city will only accept people who should belong here, and the heroes who really want to save this place will eventually leave because they do not belong here."

“So why is all this?”

"I don't know, but I always believe that my choice back then was right. Falcone, like me, was the guardians of the city, not the destroyers."

"In your opinion, the Godfather may be a successful man. He ruled the underground of Gotham for 40 years, but I know that Falcone and I know that we are all just losers and can only weave an insecure order in the abyss of sin to protect ourselves."

The priest shook his head and said, "But unfortunately, I am just an ordinary person, I have lived a little longer than others. What I know is not even as good as Falcone. Or maybe Falcone doesn't know the real answer."

As the sun gradually sets, the shadows of the tables and chairs in the church are dragged longer and longer, and the light spreading from the stained glass begins to flow to Bruce.

Finally, the old priest said, "I can only guard a piece of His kingdom here, and when I die, this pure land will disappear, just like countless hopes that have dissipated in Gotham."

"The only group of people back then was Falcone and I. We were both old. Perhaps when we all went to see our Lord, the only order left in this city would no longer exist."

"Do you think there is a possibility of establishing a new order?"
To be continued...