Gotham Avengers (Part 3)

Soon, a temporary Avengers consisting of Evans, Cobblepot, and Batman began their investigation, infiltrating every corner of Gotham.

Batman's approach is correct; when investigating such matters, a comprehensive approach is more important than meticulous detail.

Especially when dealing with a mysterious organization like the Court of Owls, investigations from the top are not very effective, but investigations from the bottom can yield some additional information. The earliest breakthrough came from Cobblepot, or more precisely, from the team Cobblepot organized in the vocational school in the Living Hell.

There's no need to elaborate on the backgrounds of the vocational school students; without a doubt, the vast majority of them were born and raised Slums, and will spend the rest of their lives there.

They knew Gotham City life inside and out, and the reason they obeyed Cobblepot's orders was because everything that happened there was closely related to them.

In a vocational school classroom, the chubby boy, Tire, crossed his arms and said, "... Do you think we wanted to live like that before? The whole hallway stank like a garbage dump, my nose almost went numb, you know? In my bathroom at home, I couldn't even turn around!"

"Isn't it because you're too fat?" Rocket Launcher, the girl with the full-sleeve tattoo, said, pursing her lips. "But seriously, this place used to be too dangerous for us kids. When I was eight, I was shot in the right arm and it left a really ugly scar. I had to cover it up with tattoos..."

Red Truck lit a cigarette and said while smoking, "Things have been getting better lately. I've been doing towing business with that guy named Doyle and I've made quite a bit of money. My dad even thought I'd finally figured things out and learned how to rob people."

After saying that, they all burst into laughter.

Rocket Launcher then turned to Cobblepot and said, "Are you serious? Our chaotic lives before were because the rainwater was poisonous? That sounds absurd."

"Actually, it's a bit strange." Little Fatty Tire said with a frown, "As you all know, my grandfather was the longest-living old man in the Living Hell. He only died two years ago."

"He had told me before that Gotham City underwent a major renovation, and the other streets in the East District were now connected to running water. Although there were still various problems, no place was like Living Hell, where wells had been in use for over a hundred years."

"Come on, what era are we living in? Do you guys think it's weird to still have to fetch water from buckets?" Tire asked, spreading his hands.

The Red Truck chimed in, "Actually, the strangest thing is the location of those wells. My dad has bad legs, so I'm the one who always goes to fetch water. It's been like this since I was a child."

"I noticed before that there are five wells in the North District and only one in the South Side, even though there are more people living in the South Side. They have to come all the way to the North District to fetch water every time. Didn't they consider this problem when they built this place?"

Perhaps because these students are young, they have a stronger ability to accept and understand new things. When Cobblepot said that there might be a problem with the rain in Gotham, they did not think it was nonsense like adults. Instead, they recalled something amiss from some details.

With one leg on the stool, Rocket Launcher complained, "Anyway, now that we have running water, we don't need to drink well water anymore."

"But don't forget," Cobblepot said somberly, "Tap water doesn't just appear out of thin air. If this rain continues, Gotham's groundwater will be contaminated, and then nobody will be able to escape."

"So what should we do? I don't want to go back to those old days."

The Red Truck and the Rocket Launcher a glance. The Red Truck tugged at his hair and said, "Okay, we're all bad boys, like they say, born bad seeds, but we have to admit that things are definitely better now than before. If only it could stay this way forever."

"We can't just sit here and wait to die," Cobblepot said, looking at the group. "That's not the Gotham style. We have to take the initiative, and the first step is to investigate."

Everyone looked at him. Tire said, "Before, all the professors said you were the best student in our class, and probably the smartest too. What do you think we should do?"

Cobblepot pulled out a business plan, and the others' eyes fell on the table.

It has been proven that when it comes to people's vital interests, everyone is highly motivated to take action.

The people of the Living Hell were the first to accept reform and the first to experience the benefits of reform.

If they had continued living in that chaotic environment, they would certainly not have thought about change. But now that they have tasted the benefits of reform, they certainly will not allow themselves to return to that chaotic and dangerous state of life.

Don't underestimate these three seemingly insignificant children: Red Truck, Tire, and Rocket Launcher. Their parents and guardians are doing vital work in this Living Hell.

The most obvious example is the Red Truck. He's so young, yet he can drive a car, ride a motorcycle, and knows the delivery routes well. That's because his parents do that kind of work.

His father and two uncles used to drive garbage trucks, and his mother was a street sweeper on the next street, so she knew the area very well.

As you can tell from her name, Rocket Launcher's father was an arms dealer. She didn't live in this Living Hell because she was poor; it was just because it was convenient for her to do business here.

As for the tire company, although their business wasn't large, it was crucial. His mother ran a small gas station, which was a place where information was exchanged most quickly. Most drivers who came and went would chat and boast while refueling.

When these three people went back to relay the message, their education level was very limited, and they couldn't express themselves clearly. Their parents also had limited understanding, and the whole story was distorted beyond recognition.

Soon, a rumor began to spread in Living Hell —someone was continuously poisoning Gotham's water supply with a toxin that would drive people insane, and if Living Hell to go back to what it was before, the poisoner had to be found.

This greatly boosted the enthusiasm of the Gotham City.

As everyone knows, Gotham have bad tempers. If you shoot them, they'll fight back with their lives. They'll be furious if they hear that they've been poisoned.

Moreover, the whole story became increasingly mysterious, spreading faster and wider, leading many people to believe it to be true.

When it comes to matters concerning their own safety, they will pay some attention, so at the slightest sign of trouble, they will start relaying the information layer by layer until it reaches Cobblepot's ears.

In this way, Cobblepot's intelligence sources became very broad, and he quickly filtered out useful information from a lot of true and false intelligence.

Firstly, there were disputes when the Living Hell Well was built. There was only one well in the South Side, but the residents of the South Side could not sit idly by and watch their interests be harmed, so of course they would resist.

In the end, however, the matter was left unresolved. The information Cobblepot obtained was that there had been a brief epidemic outbreak in the Living Hell, which killed many people. Cobblepot compiled a list of the deaths of their elders or relatives provided by the residents and found that most of the dead were from the South Side, and they were the most vehemently opposed.

This confirms that someone is indeed controlling the water supply in the Living Hell area.

Next, Cobblepot obtained an old map of the Living Hell region from an old drug dealer who had traveled all over Living Hell in his youth to smuggle contraband and drew the map.

There's a reason why there are so many wells in the North District, as can be seen from this map.

The buildings in the North District are more scattered and have more open spaces, while the South Side, due to its dense population and densely packed buildings, has almost no open spaces.

This further corroborates their suspicions that the Court of Owls may have used this method to contaminate the drinking water of the Living Hell residents. The combination of rain and contaminated drinking water turned this place into the craziest and most chaotic place in the East End.

Having obtained sufficient evidence, Cobblepot began investigating another question: Why was the Living Hell so important to the Court of Owls? Was it worth the effort they put into setting it up?

Cobblepot certainly couldn't have guessed this, but at this moment, the trio's alliance came in handy, and Batman's thinking became more logical.

During a small meeting among the three, Batman speculated. "First, the strategic location of Living Hell is not important. Although it is the most densely populated area in the East District, it is not a transportation hub and its location is relatively remote, far less strategic than Elizabeth Street."

"Secondly, the Living Hell is Slums within Slums. Even if all the people here disappeared, it wouldn't have much impact on Gotham's economic ecosystem. If we're talking about economics, we might as well target Green Street."

"If I had to pinpoint a defining characteristic of this Living Hell, I'd say it's the sheer number of people," Batman concluded. "Nowhere else in Gotham has this kind of population density."

"This is very likely their testing ground," Cobblepot said, staring at the map. "There are a lot of people here, and most of them can't escape even in the harsh living conditions. And because of the poor sanitation, people won't find it strange if some epidemics break out."

"More importantly, the ecosystem here is closed." Evans drew a circle with his finger in the area of Living Hell and said, "There is a well-established commercial system here, and people can solve their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter and transportation, so the range of population movement is very small."

"It is certain that the Court of Owls has some arrangements in the Living Hell."

Then Batman said, "The One problem is, if there's a setup, there must be surveillance. How are they monitoring Living Hell?"

The three of them paused for a moment, then looked at each other and said at the same time, "A well!"

"Everyone needs to drink water, and everyone needs to fetch water. Even if some people are unable to come out to fetch water, their family members will inevitably do it for them. When fetching water, they have to throw the bucket down, so they will inevitably look at the well..."

Batman's deep voice sent chills down the spines of the other two. "Right now, there's someone at the bottom of the well, watching you..."

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