Black Pyramid

Bruce never dreamed that after returning to Schiller and giving him a positive answer, he would hear such an amazing plan from Schiller.

This professor, who described himself as an ordinary and good person, told him personally, "It's not Gotham that's wrong, it's the world."

And for this purpose, Schiller came up with a plan, a plan that even made Bruce somewhat consider giving up, although the professor said it was just a flash of inspiration he had one morning.

In this plan, Schiller elaborated on how he intended to bring a new order to Gotham. If Bruce had to summarize this plan, he could only say that the name Schiller Rodriguez would likely be recorded in history, but not for any good reputation. Rather, his professor would likely be hailed as the "Father of Modern Crime."

In this plan, Gotham is described by Schiller as a "perfect" city with all the right conditions, except that this "perfect" refers to the black market.

The first step of this plan is to connect the three major ports on the American East Coast: Gotham Port, Chicago Port, and Miami Port. Coincidentally, all three cities are known for their gangsters.

When gangsters meet, tears well up in their eyes. And coincidentally, Gotham has a unique advantage in this regard; even if the gangs of Chicago and Miami joined forces, they couldn't defeat the Gotham gangs.

By linking these three cities together, with Gotham as the leading city, they controlled almost half of the port trade on the American East Coast.

None of these three cities alone could absorb the entire black market industry in the United States, but if the three port cities were combined, it would be far more than just 1+1+1=3.

The black market supply chain that a single port city cannot complete will be further developed and perfected by other downstream cities. With the three ports echoing each other and following the same hierarchical structure as Mafia families Gotham Twelve, with each level subdivided, they will be able to handle more than 70% of the black market supply chain in the United States.

Most cities on the West Coast of the United States are still considered lawful cities, such as Seaside City, where Green Lantern Hal is located, as well as Los Angeles and Seattle. Although the overall crime rate is not low, it is actually much better than that of the East Coast.

Look at these cities on the East Coast. Gotham, needless to say, is the largest crime center in the universe. Miami is known for its tornadoes and gangs. Chicago is called a crime Heaven, Chicago Typewriter are famous throughout the United States.

The national average crime index is 30-40, but the combined crime index of Gotham, Chicago, and Miami may exceed 300, making them a formidable force.

What Schiller didn't mention in the plan he showed Bruce was that, as a time traveler, he knew that about seven months later, in October 1987, there would be a Black Monday, a day when the country would experience a severe stock market crash, with stocks hitting their daily limit, businesses going bankrupt, large numbers of unemployed people taking to the streets, and the crime rate nearly doubling.

The gangs received a surge of fresh blood, with many unemployed financial professionals leaving the industry to start their own businesses. Many previously insignificant street thugs began to transform into professional gangs, and large gangs with a new batch of professionals took a significant step towards becoming corporations and joint-stock companies.

Immediately following this, the Cold War will end, a large amount of military equipment will be withdrawn, and the negative consequences of excessive investment during the competition will gradually become apparent. Many people will be laid off. Most of these people have undergone professional military training, but they have no skills to make a living. After arming their minds, gangsters can also improve their physical strength.

Then, the massive outflow of hot money caused by the 1987 stock market crash led to the 1994 Mexican economic crisis. Yes, Mexico's specialty is also...

It is foreseeable that if this plan is followed, the next few years will be the most prosperous years for Gotham.

Of course, Bruce didn't have clairvoyance; all he knew was that one of them—himself or the person who devised the plan—was definitely not normal.

When you're trying to bring a new order to a crime-ridden city, what do you do?

Most people might think about how to suppress gangs, or use violence to eradicate the root of crime from its source.

But it will definitely not be "Since I can't get better, then we'll all rot together."

However, if this plan were to succeed, Bruce's brilliant mind had calculated it very clearly: once Gotham's gangster model was applied to the entire East Coast, Gotham would become the top of this Black Pyramid, just like the Falcone family's current status in Gotham.

Becoming the top of the pyramid of the largest criminal industry chain in the United States means that Gotham is very likely to become the most developed city in the country. Everyone in the city will be passively becoming the head of the phoenix, and even the last feather of the head will be more splendid than the other feathers.

Of course, Gotham will not change its nature as a crime capital because of this; after all, the top of the Black Pyramid is also black.

But what sets Gotham apart from other cities is that, whether it's the head of a phoenix or the tail of a chicken, it's already rotten to the core. Gotham has no bottom line left to fall, so since it's going to be rotten anyway, why not make it a little more prosperous and thriving?

Bruce had many opinions to express about the plan, but he kept them to himself.

Because he had already given Schiller a positive answer.

He originally thought that this was just a question Schiller asked on a whim, like the countless questions the professor had asked him before, and that he would just need to think about it for a while, then give him an answer, and the matter would be over.

Empiricism ruined him. After Bruce gave Schiller this answer, the professor quickly came up with such a meticulous, absurd, yet potentially very effective solution.

Bruce suddenly felt like he had been tethered to a pirate ship.

However, he had already promised Schiller, and he always felt a sense of pride in front of Schiller, so he agreed to participate in the preliminary arrangements.

The first step in the preliminary planning was to replace Gotham with a new mayor. The previous mayor died in a traffic accident, and Gotham had been without a new mayor for some time.

Generally speaking, the mayor of Gotham cannot be appointed because no one is willing to risk their life here. So most of the time, the Wayne Enterprises pays people to come. Among so many politicians, there are always a few who are willing to risk their lives for money.

But this time, Gotham has set its sights on the former mayor of Chicago. Just like Gotham, one of Chicago's two previous mayors died in Car Accidents, and the other committed suicide after being shot twice in the back.

The former mayor is still alive because he is the head of the Evangelical Gang, Chicago's second-largest gang.

Schiller believed that such a resume would be suitable for the mayor of Gotham City, at least he had managed Chicago's traffic quite well, since most drivers would give way to the Chicago Typewriter.

So this leads to the scene at the beginning of the story where Bruce appears in Chicago and successfully woos the younger sister of the leader of the Evangelical Gang.

Of course, this wasn't the initial plan; Batman certainly wouldn't have come up with a plan to get close to his target by seducing women.

However, the problem is that if Bruce wants to accomplish this, he can't use the identity of Batman. After all, Batman isn't that famous right now; he's only somewhat well-known in Gotham and doesn't have any influence in Chicago. So, he naturally uses the identity of Bruce, the world's richest man.

When Playboy Bruce arrives in a city, he naturally has to spend a few days eating, drinking, and having fun first; otherwise, he would seem a bit too dedicated to his profession.

Upon hearing that the world's richest man was coming, Bruce was invited to every ball imaginable. He attended several balls over two days, which included almost all of Chicago's socialites, including Roy Brown's younger sister, Thena Brown.

She was very beautiful and a great dancer. The two were attracted to each other, and naturally, they quickly became a couple and their relationship blossomed.

Bruce put his arm around Thena's shoulder and said, "... That's how it is. I really can't find anyone suitable. Politicians don't last long in Gotham. I can't keep spending so much money just to buy a few months of peace, can I?"

Thena smoothed her hair and lay down on Bruce's back, saying, "I'm starting to wonder if you came here just in time. My brother's been in pretty much trouble lately, and he's looking for somewhere to hide."

"What's wrong with him? What trouble could he be in that even the leader of the Evangelical Gang would avoid him like the plague?"

"Just a few days ago, a seven or eight-year-old boy died in a gang shootout. He was white and was shot on his way home from school. This incident has had a huge impact. If you've read the newspapers, you should know that there have been condemnations from many places."

"The Evangelical Gang wasn't involved in this. After all, we're a branch of the Mafia, and we don't advocate shooting each other all the time. But unfortunately, this happened on Evangelical Gang territory, and we don't know which fool fired the bullet so far..."

"My brother isn't afraid of the local gangs, but the joint investigation team is a real problem. They're made up of legislators from several states, each with their own backing. It's not something that can be solved by just shooting them a few times..."

"So your brother wants to hide away and avoid the limelight?"

"Of course, if you're willing to spend some money to help my brother sort out this problem, the Brown family will thank you," Thena said.

Bruce didn't care about the ulterior motives in her words. He knew from the beginning that Thena was after him. After all, Bruce's own motives weren't pure either. This was just an act.

"You should think this through carefully. Being the mayor of Gotham is not an easy job."

Thena raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "Don't you know? The godfather of the most famous Falcone family Gotham was actually a branch that split off from the Chicago Mafia. We are actually from the same lineage. My father has always been in contact with this godfather. After he passed away, my brother even made a special trip to Gotham. Falcone."

"Of course, I know that my brother can't gain a foothold on just this favor, but if you stand on his side, things will be much easier."

Bruce didn't say anything, but he felt that the most important thing the future mayor might rely on was that professor's crazy plan.

The meeting with Roy took place on a Gotham morning. He was a typical Chicago mob boss, wearing a trench coat, a felt hat, and carrying a violin case containing the most famous Chicago Typewriter.

Schiller was very pleased with the new mayor, because in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, he fully understood Schiller's intention to foster friendly cooperation and mutual development between the Gotham and Chicago mob gangs.

He also strongly agreed that there was great potential in this area.

Roy was a ruthless man; during the era when Chicago public housing gangs were rampant, he managed to hold onto the territory of traditional gangs by relying on the legacy left by the Mafia.

While Chicago's gangs may not be as terrifying as Gotham's, they are actually more complex because they involve conflicts between traditional and modern gangs, as well as struggles between people of different races. Anyone who can survive such a complex situation is certainly not a fool.

As a Chicago mob boss, he certainly wouldn't dare to collude with Gotham's mob, as that would be tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house. But if he could Gotham mob and then collude with the Chicago mob, he would become the alpha wolf breaks into the house.

Moreover, he had a legitimate claim to the Mafia, Falcone family was also a branch of the Mafia, and the Old Godfather Falcone was a true Romans with Italy blood flowing through his veins.

What does it mean that the Mafia is in Gotham? This is a case of getting back to the source and tracing back to the origins.

Because Roy knew so much about the mob, he knew that the plan had a very high chance of success.

In this era, the idea of uniting to make the pie bigger is still relatively rare. Everyone is acting independently, but as long as the smart people among them can see the huge benefits that can be gained by doing so, they will naturally unite together.

So Roy became a Gotham without any burden, fast-forwarding straight to that wretched place, Chicago, and decided it was better not to stay there.

An outsider from Chicago who comes to Gotham and tries to meddle will naturally be ostracized by the gangsters, but if that person is Falcone's godson, it's a different story.

Some speculate that perhaps the godfather felt that his own son Evans, was not up to the task, which is why Roy came to Gotham. Although Roy is indeed a bit older than Evans, he is not much older and is still very young, making him a good candidate to succeed him.

The first step of the plan yielded remarkable results, with the collaboration between Gotham's largest Mafia families and Chicago's second-largest Mafia families proving highly effective.

They subdivided the cargo sources at the docks and redistributed the landing locations of cargo ships based on the different types of smuggled goods and the distance of logistics transportation. All the docks controlled by Gotham and the docks controlled by the Evangelical Gang in Chicago joined forces and quickly sorted out the somewhat chaotic smuggling routes that were operating independently.

Of course, they didn't forget to attract investment from outside. In smuggling, everyone basically has some connections. At this point, they only need to pay a small price to enjoy preferential policies and the right to berth and transport goods at the important docks of two cities at the same time. They can even open up a new logistics channel between them to speed up the circulation of smuggled goods throughout the East Coast.

This measure has been very effective, as evidenced by the continuously rising economic figures in Falcone's hands.

Originally, the Old Godfather was already in his twilight years, and his greatest wish was to quickly and smoothly hand over the Falcone family, so that his life's work would not be wasted.

But now, Schiller suddenly served up a large cake, claiming it was just an appetizer, and Falcone's long-dormant appetite was suddenly revived.

Falcone Gotham for far too long, but the Godfather's appetite was never small. When he saw Schiller's somewhat insane plans, Falcone suddenly felt that it wouldn't be impossible for him to rule Gotham for another 40 years.

Falcone thought that if the Black Pyramid depicted in this plan could actually be realized, no, even if only half of it were realized, then perhaps the entire world's black industry would undergo a major reshuffle.

The cigar in the hand of this once-powerful godfather went out, but what rose again was the immense ambition he had when he first set foot on this land.

Standing before the manor's floor-to-ceiling windows, he heard the Gotham Cathedral bells ringing again, just as he had decades ago when he stepped ashore on the waves of the coastline, rising and falling in the tide of the city's sins.

In countless dreams where he glimpsed the Truth, Falcone recalled the dark clouds that blocked most of the raindrops during every Gotham rainstorm—those were the first half of the Godfather's life.

He thought, dark clouds are still clouds, just as black pyramids are still pyramids.

He hoped he would live to see that day, to see a pyramid rise from the ground of this land he both loathed and deeply loved, facing the agonizing rain.

In his office, Schiller stood by the window, listening to the dull tolling of bells echoing over the city, drifting further and further away through the veil of clouds.

Now, these thinning clouds are about to dissipate, and Gotham will face all this malice head-on.

He thought that here, only evil can deal with evil, and only deeper darkness can resist darkness.

A 10,000-word story is being delivered today! Please vote!