Gotham Shopping

Lu Bian: [@Kakashi Hatake, is it ready? Let me see~!]

Kakashi Hatake: [Burnt.]

Kakashi Hatake: [Jianshouqing Mushroom, fried.JPG]

Lu Bian: [I fried a plate. Want to trade?]

[Kakashi Hatake and Lu Bian exchanged items]

Kakashi Hatake: [Tastes good. Goes great with white rice.]

Lu Bian: [Nice plate. I'll keep it.]

Kakashi Hatake: [...]

Edward Newgate: [Little bro, want some rum from my ship?]

Lu Bian: [Big bro, absolutely! I've wanted to try that liquor you've been saving for ages.]

[Lu Bian and Edward Newgate exchanged items]

In Lu Bian's courtyard, a liquor jar taller than he was appeared. What Lu Bian had traded to Whitebeard was the liquor from his own gourd; the tiny cupful that appeared in Whitebeard's hand looked rather comical.

Lu Bian: [This jar's big enough for me to swim in.]

Edward Newgate: [Your liquor tastes great. There's just too little of it.]

Bruce Wayne: [Anyone want to try some pasta I made?]

Lu Bian: [Me!!!]

[Lu Bian and Bruce Wayne exchanged items]

Old Mr. Bruce got an empty plate—it was Kakashi's plate—while Lu Bian got Old Bruce's pasta with tomato meat sauce.

Lu Bian: [I'm so touched. I declare that the Item Exchange Function is the best feature in the group, second only to the Life Swap function.]

Lu Bian: [I've suddenly got the motivation to make money again.]

Lu Bian: [@Bruce Wayne, Mr. Wayne, could I trouble you to buy me some modern goods? I'd like a wok and some other kitchen supplies.]

Bruce Wayne: [Sure.]

Bruce Wayne: [I know you don't have much money right now. I can buy the things you need first and trade them to you.]

Lu Bian: [You're so kind, sir.]

Bruce Wayne: [Write me a list of what you need.]

Lu Bian: [Sir, here's what I need: ...]

Bruce copied Lu Bian's list onto a sticky note. At a glance, it was all everyday necessities and kitchen supplies.

The everyday items were no different from what he usually bought at the supermarket. As for the kitchen supplies, he'd have to check the specialty stores in Chinatown.

Old Mr. Bruce grabbed his car keys and headed out. To get from the outskirts of Gotham City to downtown, he'd have to drive.

When he was young, he'd favored high-performance luxury sports cars. In his old age, he preferred sturdy, reliable pickup trucks.

A little over ten minutes later, Old Mr. Bruce arrived downtown. He parked in the supermarket's underground lot, took a shopping cart, and went inside.

With the shopping list in hand, Old Mr. Bruce moved through the store like he was carrying out a mission, quickly tossing everything he needed into his cart before heading to the self-checkout.

"Darling, let's pay in six installments..."

"Let's do twelve. That'll ease the pressure a little."

Old Bruce quietly listened to the couple in front of him discuss paying in installments.

He glanced at the groceries in their shopping bags.

Old Bruce was confused.

Had he been cut off from society for too long? Did Gotham citizens need to pay in installments for groceries now?

Once the couple in front of Old Bruce settled on twelve installments, it was his turn.

Bruce placed the items on the self-checkout one by one and scanned them. The bill kept climbing until it reached an amount that took Old Bruce by surprise.

"Have I really been cut off from society?"

Old Bruce figured that since he'd made the effort to go out, he might as well buy some necessities for himself, too. Back when he was young, the outrageous amount on the bill would have bought three or four times as many everyday items.

"Must be inflation," Old Bruce muttered.

After that, Old Bruce went to a specialty store in Gotham's Chinatown and bought the wok, spatula, and other kitchen supplies Lu Bian needed. While he was there, he also took care of dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Old Bruce didn't get back to Wayne Manor until after seven that evening.

Alone in the house, Old Bruce turned on the TV for some background noise, then told Lu Bian that he'd bought everything.

Bruce Wayne: [Ready to trade?]

Lu Bian: [I'm ready~! I'm ready~!]

[Bruce Wayne and Lu Bian exchanged items]

A pile of "junk" appeared in front of Mr. Wayne.

It was worth a little to Lu Bian, but not much to Mr. Wayne.

Lu Bian: [Sir, I'll earn enough money soon.]

Bruce Wayne: [You can pay me with works of art, too. Can't you sculpt?]

Lu Bian: [Okay, got it.]

Lu Bian made up his mind: he'd sculpt a statue of Batman for Mr. Wayne.

Batman wasn't a god or a Buddha, so Lu Bian could sculpt him without a second thought.

A few days later...

Lu Bian: [@Bruce Wayne, sir, come take a look. Is there anything you'd like me to adjust?]

Lu Bian: [Batman statue.JPG]

Bruce Wayne: [No. Thank you. I love it.]

Old Bruce walked to his study and entered the secret passage to the Batcave. He was going to put the Batman statue Lu Bian had sculpted for him in the Batcave.

Lu Bian: [Ready?]

Bruce Wayne: [Ready. Let's trade.]

The Batman sculpture beside Lu Bian disappeared, replaced by a Batarang.

On Old Bruce's side, the lifelike Batman statue now stood in the Batcave.

There was also a bronze statue of Batman in City Garden, a place Gotham citizens visited when they wanted to remember him. It wasn't as handsome as Lu Bian's stone statue.

The next day, Old Bruce went to the Batman statue in Gotham City.

There were many tents in City Garden.

People weren't camping there. The tents were home to the homeless.

"Hey, are you here to see this guy, too?"

A filthy-looking homeless man called out to Old Bruce from a bench not far from the Batman statue.

"Yes." Old Bruce walked over to him.

"Oh, Batman, Batman~!"

"Gotham has no crime, but a greater evil hangs over the whole country," the homeless man hummed.

"What evil are you talking about?" Old Bruce furrowed his brow.

"The dream of this country."

"The dream the upper class spins for everyone, keeping them all immersed in it until they've lost everything."

"Gotham's the only place that's still halfway decent."

"Wayne Enterprises is the last shred of conscience in this country."

"..." Old Bruce said nothing.

He understood what the homeless man meant.

"You think you understand?" The homeless man looked at Old Bruce and laughed.

"You don't understand a thing."

"How did you end up homeless?" Old Bruce asked.

"A few years ago, my house caught fire..."