Aftermath

Gordon stood with his hands on his hips in the doorway of the interrogation room. He said, "You mean, someone reported to you that they saw two monsters, tens of meters tall, chasing each other in the Living Hell district???"

Then, he put his hand on the new officer's shoulder and said, "Now all you need to ask the person who reported the incident is one question—how much did he actually take?"

The new officer looked troubled. He said, "But several people are saying the same thing..."

"That's group drug use."

After the new officer left, Gordon leaned against the doorframe, thinking to himself that each new recruit was worse than the last.

Two monsters over ten meters tall fighting in the Slums? This is Gotham, not Hollywood. Besides, even if such a thing happened, if the local gangs saw it, they would definitely Rocket Launcher at it.

Given the sheer number of gangs in Gotham, if this were true, Gordon would probably be busy collecting the bodies of those two monsters right now.

So, apart from prompting the police to conduct another search of drug-using venues in the East District, this incident did not have a significant impact.

But Bruce and Venom's troubles are far from over.

First, Bruce is a skeptic; second, he is a human racist.

Over the next few days, Venom was subjected to inhumane interrogation. Bruce compiled his doubts about Venom into a table, the table of contents of which was as thick as a fist.

Bruce successfully made Venom start to miss Stark. He now realized a very serious problem: its host was absolutely, extremely, 100% a psychopath.

There is absolutely no other possibility.

Venom is now unilaterally retracting his initial question about whether Stark was human. Compared to Bruce, Stark is a very standard human model.

Finally, one day, Venom couldn't stand Batman's madness any longer. He said to Bruce, "For the sake of the help I gave you before, let's part ways amicably. Go get a high-powered sound generator, and then we'll break up and never see each other again!"

Bruce may be the first person to get Symbiote to voluntarily detach from its host.

But Bruce rejected the Symbiote's approval without hesitation, saying, "No, you are the first alien life form I've encountered. I've only completed 2% of the first of my 897 research projects on alien life. There are still 98% of the remaining 896 projects. You must cooperate with me to complete all the research, and then I'll consider whether to let you leave..."

Venom is truly in despair.

Normally, Symbiote can detach itself from its host, but only if it can immediately find another host after detaching itself. Otherwise, once it escapes from Bruce's body, Bruce can immediately catch this lump of mud.

He had considered using the opportunity when Bruce was interacting with others to possess them, but ever since Bruce's dark outburst, not only could Venom read Bruce's emotions, but Bruce could also read some of Venom's emotions.

Once Venom has the thought of escaping, Bruce will start frantically increasing his brain's processing power, keeping Venom in a constant state of turmoil, thus preventing him from concentrating on escaping.

Venom suddenly realized he had been tricked.

Especially when he saw Schiller's gloating smile, he realized that he had been transferred from a not-so-sturdy jar to an incredibly sturdy and extremely torturous prison cell.

Even more tragically, Bruce took pity on Venom and let him go out for some fresh air that day. Venom was really suffocating and desperately wanted to find someone of his kind to confide in, so he went to Schiller.

Then Schiller told him a fact that filled him with utter despair, "What? Bruce told you he had 897 plans? And you believed him?"

"Dream on! Multiply this number by 10, and that might be the real number!"

"If you include the backup plan, it might have to be multiplied by 100."

Venom discovers that he has been inexplicably sentenced to life imprisonment.

In fact, given Bruce's personality, he wouldn't allow a creature with its own independent consciousness to exist inside him, especially one that could spy on his thoughts. But the problem is that Symbiote are just too amazing. Stark can't resist his curiosity about them, and neither can Bruce.

After experiencing that dark side outburst, Bruce was quite confident in controlling the alien life form, so he planned to study it for a while before returning it to the professor.

Bruce really wanted to ask Schiller about some things, but he hadn't succeeded yet, because every time he brought it up with Schiller would just casually say, "Nattaru."

Then Bruce will almost lose control of the raging Venom within him, and what was originally a confrontation between Bruce and Schiller will turn into a fierce fight between Bruce and Venom.

As for the Catwoman theft, Schiller didn't intend to get the Diamond Bottle back; he was just curious about how the Catwoman had managed to break into his manor.

He installed specially designed locks from Stark Laboratories on all the doors of the manor. This technology was not a product of this era and no thief should be able to pick them.

When Batman grabbed Catwoman by the neck and led her to the scene to identify the entrance, Schiller and Batman were both stunned when faced with Catwoman's so-called infiltration point, which was the sewage duct.

That place doesn't look like a place where a person could go.

That's why Schiller didn't care at all even though he knew there was such an exit. This place was so big that even a Wildcat would have a hard time getting in, let alone a mouse.

This Catwoman must know some kind of contortionist technique, right?

If you have that kind of talent, why not do something else instead of becoming a thief?

Batman was also in a real bind. When Catwoman Batman, Catwoman basically told him the truth. When he learned that she had also offended the Falcone family, Batman was in a real headache.

He had to step in as Bruce to pay compensation, and then said that in view of the high amount of compensation, the Godfather would let Catwoman off the hook. Falcone didn't care much; he had seen plenty of audacious thieves. Since she was Batman's lover, he might as well let her go.

But this can't go on forever. With Gotham's reforms, petty thieves who don't do honest work are finding it increasingly difficult to survive.

"What do you think I should get Selene to do? Last time I suggested she become a teacher, she absolutely refused, saying her workplace was too far from her apartment and she couldn't take care of Maggie..."

Schiller, sitting across the table, said, "Have you considered that she has a considerable advantage?"

"What?"

"She is charming."

Seeing Bruce's somewhat confused expression, Schiller said, "This might not be an advantage in Gotham, and could even cause her some trouble, but it would be different elsewhere."

"For example?"

"For example, Hollywood."

Schiller took a sip of water and said, "Since you've managed to make the famous Batman so infatuated, haven't you ever considered having her become a Hollywood actress or something?"

Bruce paused for a moment; he hadn't actually thought of that approach before.

Moreover, Schiller was serious. Catwoman is beautiful, but that's not the point. Her acrobatic skills are just icing on the cake. She only has one characteristic that makes her the strongest in DC: charisma.

Catwoman can leave Batman fans completely bewildered—note, Batman, not Bruce.

In some comics, even Dark Knight so obsessed with hatred can be moved by Catwoman, marry her, have children, and live a normal life. What level of charisma does that require?

Bruce, Venom, and Schiller, working together from the inside and outside, struggled to deal with the dark forces from Batman's shadowy side, but Catwoman easily resolved the entire conflict single-handedly.

In some comics, Batman lets go of his hatred, obsessions, and all the unpleasant memories of the past for her, and turns back to the right path.

With such a powerful, almost magical allure, why not rush to Hollywood and become a rising star?

"... And you have to consider that Gotham's industries will eventually need to transform. If we need to develop into the entertainment and tourism industries, a city brand is essential," Schiller said.

Bruce also thought he made a lot of sense. Being a movie star was not only a legitimate profession, but also very lucrative, a win-win situation that would benefit Gotham City's development. Why not?

Moreover, Catwoman herself has the potential to be a career woman. Although theft is not a respectable job, at least she works hard to support herself. Otherwise, with her looks, she could easily become the mistress of any gang leader and live a comfortable life instead of still living in that dilapidated apartment on the edge of the East District.

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