Gotham's Personal Shopper

Lu Bian: [@Kakashi Hatake, is it stir-fried yet? Let me see~!]

Kakashi Hatake: [It's burnt.]

Kakashi Hatake: [Stir-fried Jianshouqing Mushroom.JPG]

Lu Bian: [I stir-fried a plate, want to swap?]

[Kakashi Hatake and Lu Bian have swapped items]

Kakashi Hatake: [The taste is not bad, it goes well with white rice.]

Lu Bian: [The plate is nice, I'll keep it.]

Kakashi Hatake: [...]

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

Lu Bian: [Big brother, yes please, I've been wanting to taste your prized liquor for a long time.]

[Lu Bian and Edward Newgate have swapped items]

In Lu Bian's courtyard, a wine jar taller than a person appeared. What Lu Bian used to swap with Whitebeard was the liquor from his own gourd; the miniature cup of wine looked rather comical in Whitebeard's hand.

Lu Bian: [This jar of yours is big enough for me to swim in.]

Edward Newgate: [Your liquor tastes excellent, it's just too little.]

Bruce Wayne: [Does anyone want to taste the pasta I made?]

Lu Bian: [Me!!!]

[Lu Bian and Bruce Wayne have swapped items]

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

Lu Bian: [So touched. I declare that the item swap function is the best feature in the group, second only to the Life Swap function.]

Lu Bian: [I suddenly have the motivation to earn money again.]

Lu Bian: [@Bruce Wayne, Mr. Bruce, could I trouble you to help me buy some modern supplies? I want to buy some kitchenware like a wok.]

Bruce Wayne: [I can.]

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

Lu Bian: [Sir, you are so kind.]

Bruce Wayne: [Write the item list for me.]

Lu Bian: [Sir, these are the things I need:...]

Bruce transcribed Lu Bian's item list onto a sticky note; at a glance, they were all daily necessities and kitchen supplies.

The daily necessities were no different from what he usually bought at the supermarket, but for the kitchen supplies, Mr. Bruce would need to check out the specialty supermarket in Chinatown.

Mr. Bruce picked up his car keys and headed out, driving from the suburbs of Gotham City into the city center.

When he was young, he favored high-performance luxury sports cars, but now that he was older, he preferred a sturdy and durable pickup truck.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Bruce arrived in downtown Gotham. He parked his car in the supermarket's underground parking lot and pushed a shopping cart into the store.

With the shopping list in hand, Mr. Bruce moved as if he were on a mission, quickly placing the items he needed into the cart before heading to self-checkout.

"Honey, let's do six installments..."

"Twelve installments, that way the pressure will be a little less on us."

Old Bruce listened quietly as the couple in front of him discussed installment payments.

He glanced into their shopping bag; it was all just food.

Old Bruce grew puzzled.

Had he been out of touch with society for too long? Did Gotham citizens now need to pay in installments just to buy groceries?

After the couple in front of Old Bruce finished discussing their twelve installments, it was Old Bruce's turn.

Bruce placed the items from his cart onto the self-checkout counter one by one to scan them. The bill total kept climbing, eventually exceeding Old Bruce's expectations.

"Have I really become that out of touch with society?"

Old Bruce thought that since he was already out, he might as well buy some daily necessities for himself. The exorbitant total would have bought three or four times as much in his younger days.

"It must be inflation," Old Bruce muttered.

Afterward, Old Bruce went to the specialty supermarket in Gotham's Chinatown, where he bought the wok, spatula, and other kitchen supplies Lu Bian needed, taking the opportunity to grab dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

It was past seven in the evening when Old Bruce returned to Wayne Manor.

The lonely Old Bruce turned on the television to fill the silence, then notified Lu Bian that he had bought everything.

Bruce Wayne: [Are you ready to swap?]

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

[Bruce Wayne and Lu Bian have swapped items]

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

It had some value to Lu Bian, but it was worthless to Master Bruce.

Lu Bian: [Master, I will earn enough money soon.]

Bruce Wayne: [You can use artwork as a substitute instead. Aren't you skilled at sculpting?]

Lu Bian: [Understood, I see.]

Lu Bian made up his mind; he was going to sculpt a Batman statue for Master Bruce.

Batman was not a god or a Buddha, so Lu Bian could sculpt him with peace of mind.

A few days later...

Lu Bian: [@Bruce Wayne, Master, come take a look. Is there anything that needs adjusting?]

Lu Bian: [Batman_Statue.JPG]

Bruce Wayne: [No. Thank you, I like it very much.]

Old Bruce walked into his study and entered the secret entrance to the Batcave; he intended to place the Batman stone statue Lu Bian had carved for him inside the Batcave.

Lu Bian: [Are you ready?]

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

The Batman sculpture at Lu Bian's side vanished, replaced by a Batarang.

On Old Bruce's end, the lifelike Batman statue now stood within the Batcave.

There was also a bronze statue of Batman in the City Garden of Gotham City, a place where Gotham citizens would go when they missed Batman. That bronze Batman statue did not look as good as the stone one Lu Bian had made.

The next day, Old Bruce arrived before the Batman bronze statue in Gotham City.

In the City Garden, there were many tents.

It wasn't that people were camping there; rather, some homeless individuals were living there.

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

A dirty-looking homeless man sitting on a bench not far from the Batman bronze statue shouted at Old Bruce.

"Yes." Old Bruce walked toward the homeless man.

"Oh, Batman, Batman~!"

"Gotham has no sin, but a greater sin is looming over the entire country," the homeless man hummed.

"What sin are you talking about?" Old Bruce frowned.

"The dream of this country."

"The dream woven by the elites, letting everyone immerse themselves in it until they have lost everything."

"Only Gotham can still be considered a decent place."

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

"..." Old Bruce remained silent.

He understood what the homeless man was talking about.

"You think you understand, don't you?" The homeless man looked at Old Bruce and laughed.

"In reality, you don't understand anything at all."

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

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