Gotham Family Playtime (Part 2)

Soon, the circus performance began. The first few acts were animal training shows, but neither Bruce nor Selene were interested in them. While the performers were on stage, the two chatted in the audience.

"You said you used to be a street vendor, so why didn't you continue doing that and instead went to steal?"

Selene rolled her eyes and said, "My Young Master, you don't actually think being a street vendor is better than stealing, do you?"

Bruce turned to look at Selene. He had originally intended to say that at least being a street vendor wasn't illegal, but after spending so much time with Selene, he knew that life at the bottom of Gotham's society was probably not what he imagined.

Having spent so much time with Selene, he came to realize a reality: in the dark city of Gotham, some people struggle just to survive, so talking to them about obeying the law is nothing short of a joke.

"Actually, those vendors, cigarette boys, and flower girls are the ones who suffer the most." Selene sighed, her tone tinged with sympathy. "When I told you about my experience before, you might have thought that Mama Luck, who taught me how to steal, was a bad person. She taught me skills, made me steal, and even hit me. But in fact, I don't hate her. I still talk to her on the phone now..."

Bruce looked puzzled and asked, "You still have contact with that thief?"

"We didn't talk about business, just asked her how she was doing and other polite things. Although I was a little angry that she tried to take the diamond necklace I stole, I still called her after I calmed down..."

Seeing Bruce's slightly shocked expression, Selene suddenly laughed and said, "You are the Young Master Wayne, and people fawn over you wherever you go. Everyone will grovel and flatter you in order to get money from you. But I am different. The most praise I have ever received in my life was when I was learning from Mama Luck."

"She always said I was the most talented kid she'd ever seen, that I learned everything so quickly. You know, she used to work as a hostess in bars in the East End when she was young, and she could flatter people to the skies. When she was in a good mood, she'd even sing me songs and have me dance in one of her old dresses..."

Selene put her hands on her knees, took a deep breath, and said, "I know you think I'm useless, but she's really good to me."

"You might think that it's heinous for her to hire all sorts of kids to steal things for her, but actually, the Mama Luck has been quite kind to these kids."

"She has a sharp eye; the kids she picks are all very talented and can make her a lot of money. Therefore, she's quite generous and will occasionally give us a little pocket money..."

"But that old scoundrel next door is different. He has a bunch of peddlers and opium addicts working for him. All the children's daily earnings have to be handed over to him, and they have to be searched every day. They are not allowed to hide a single penny. If they don't meet the targets he sets, they will get a beating."

"He only fed the children leftovers, and when he was in a bad mood, he would let them go hungry. I once saw a child who tried to run away, and he cut off both of his feet, and the child bled to death."

Selene shrugged and said to Bruce, "Actually, I'm not hungry at all, and I don't really like pancakes with cheese, but when I come across these vendors, I'll buy something if I have a little money in my pocket, so that maybe they can have a decent meal tonight."

"You know what?" Bruce looked into Selene's eyes and said, "Every time you tell me a story like this, it instantly makes my heart feel heavy."

Selene smiled, reached out and touched Bruce's cheek, and said, "That's the problem. It's a sad story for you, but for us, it's just an ordinary day."

Selene took another deep breath and said, "Actually, you've taught me a lot, like what you talked about last time about patterns and such..."

"I thought back, and I seem to recall Mama Luck saying that a portion of the money she received had to be handed over, and the person she handed it over to also had to hand it over. It was a chain of transfers, and in the end, it all ended up in one person's hands..."

Bruce squinted and asked, "Who is that?"

Selene shook her head and said, "I don't even know Mama Luck's boss, how would I know who the final person will be?"

"There's someone controlling the children of Gotham, isn't there?"

Selene nodded and said, "Actually, the children in Gotham are very easy to control. Most of them are orphans. Their parents are either dead or abandoned by their parents. As long as you give them a bite to eat, you can control them at will."

"And..." Bruce continued, "Almost no one would bother these kids, not even the high-end nightclubs, they'd let those smoking prostitutes sell cigarettes..."

Clearly, he was recalling the occasions he had first entered, which he hadn't paid much attention to in the past because he was used to them. But now, looking back, he remembered that at dances, dinners, and banquets, there were always some children waiting on the edge of the venue, waiting for some rich people to buy cigarettes from them.

"That's how it is. If these kids mess something up or make a mistake, all they have to do is put on a pitiful look, apologize, and beg for forgiveness a few times, and people who care about their reputation won't make things difficult for them."

Bruce never expected that his casual conversation with Selene would lead to such an unexpected discovery: there was someone in Gotham who controlled these ubiquitous children through a network of hierarchical structures.

"That's not all," Selene continued. "These kids also form cliques, it's been like that since I was a kid, and the competition among peers is especially fierce."

"As you know, some areas have good business, while others don't. Everyone wants to take over the good areas. Besides the adults fighting over territory, the kids also form gangs. We call these gangs 'Junior Gangs'."

"So, which gang were you involved with back then?"

Selene shook her head and said, "I don't get involved in any gangs. Those are things on the ground. I'm a thief."

"I don't need to take over any territory to steal things, or rather, I can go to whose territory I want without having to tell them, since they can't catch me anyway."

"Everyone in the East District has heard of me, and still does. They all know that when the Black Cat on the roof appears, don't even think about aiming with your gun, because you can't hit her at all; that's just a waste of bullets."

"Of the Four Great Thieves in the East District, only I have the ability to travel freely throughout Gotham. The others don't even dare to enter the commercial district because if they are caught by those prominent gang leaders, they are finished. But I am not afraid because I know they can't catch me."

Bruce gets a strange feeling whenever he hears Selene talk about her career. Selene is a typical example of someone who rose to fame through her own abilities. As the saying goes, if her skills were even slightly lacking, she wouldn't have gotten to where she is today.

This kind of life experience of turning one's life around through one's own efforts should be very inspiring and make people proud, but unfortunately, her profession is a thief, and the harder she works, the more unpredictable her life becomes.

The two kept talking about the kids in Gotham. Combining Selene's low-level intelligence with Bruce's high-level intelligence, they deduced together who was in control of the network.

During the performance, Aisha's attention was drawn to the various performances on stage, and she became unusually quiet.

Suddenly, the stage lights brightened, and the host announced in a high-pitched voice, "Ladies and gentlemen! Next, we will present you with the most spectacular performance—the aerial acrobatics show!!!"

A male and a female performer stepped onto the stage, and as they climbed the ladder, the host enthusiastically introduced them, "I think some of you may have heard of the Grayson Family, once famous on the East Coast, who were hailed as the greatest aerial acrobatic family in America..."

"Some may have heard that a member of the Grayson Family in the previous generation fell from a great height and was smashed to pieces due to a mistake during a trapeze performance..."

The host whistled and said, "But if you ask me, that's precisely the thrill of this kind of performance. If there weren't the danger of falling, who would want to watch this thing? Don't you agree?"

The host's witty remarks were meant to liven up the atmosphere, but the tall man named Grayson, who had just stepped onto the platform, clenched his fists.

Just as he was about to begin his performance, he shouted to the audience, "The Grayson family is the greatest aerial acrobatic family, we..."

At that moment, he saw the circus boss making a threatening gesture at him from below the stage. He glanced at his wife beside him and finally shut his mouth.

The circus boss cursed loudly from below, "What is this idiot saying?! Wayne is down there! I knew he'd ruin my plans, that son of a bitch!"

At this point, the Grayson had already begun their performance. The so-called trapeze artists are actually people who swing around in the air while holding onto a horizontal bar, performing various twists and somersaults.

It must be said that the Grayson are indeed very skilled. The couple worked together seamlessly, and their movements, whether identical or symmetrical, were pleasing to the eye, drawing cheers from the audience.

Aisha was very happy watching it. After all, even if Selene was highly skilled, the manor had limited facilities, and Bruce would not allow Selene to swing around so high up. But the performance satisfied Aisha's love of watching people move around.

She let out a sharp scream and waved her hands frantically at the stage. Bruce held her, afraid she would fall onto the seat in front of him. Selene patted Bruce's arm and said, "Give her some water. I can hear her voice is hoarse from screaming."

Bruce took out a water bottle, about to give Aisha a drink, when the two aerial acrobats on stage were performing during a break in the show. The couple landed on a high platform, and Mrs. Grayson happened to see Aisha waving at him.

The lady looked a little tired, but she still returned a smile and waved to Aisha. Clearly, Mrs. Grayson liked this slightly overly excited little audience member.

Seeing that she had been noticed, Aisha became even more excited. She lunged forward, trying to break free from Bruce's embrace.

Just then, Bruce was unscrewing the water bottle when Aisha's leap forward hit his arm, spilling water all over him.

Bruce gave a helpless look, handed Aisha to Selene, and said, "I'm going to the bathroom to take care of my clothes."

Just as Bruce left his seat and headed to the restroom, the circus boss witnessed everything.

Grayson first talked back to him and even punched him. Then, before the performance, he said some crazy things. Grayson's wife even deliberately tried to get the attention of the Wayne Family's little princess, causing Wayne to spill water on himself. If he was unhappy about this, his sponsorship would be completely lost...

The circus boss's face grew increasingly grim; clearly, his anger had reached its peak, and the Grayson's behavior was driving him crazy.