"Kids, look, who's here~!"
"It's Batman!!"
Old Bruce openly dressed up as Batman and filmed short videos in downtown Gotham City.
After Wayne Enterprises' video platform, Chat Group, went online, filming short videos became all the rage. Whether old or young, men or women—or even Walmart shopping bags—people could be seen filming short videos everywhere.
Any short video could spread across the entire world and gain tremendous influence.
At first, Old Bruce hadn't foreseen this. But Lu Bian, the transmigrator, had experienced the short-video boom long before he crossed over. He shared plenty of advanced insights with Old Bruce and gave him some guidance.
Bruce Wayne: [What should we do if underage kids get addicted to watching videos?]
Lu Bian: [Launch a mode for minors.]
Children were the future. That was beyond question. They needed strict discipline and a firm hand.
To educate the children better, Old Bruce once again put on the Batman suit. He bought a small film and television company in Hollywood so they could make educational short videos together. These videos were posted on Chat Group for the kids to watch.
"Kids, I'm Batman!!"
"What should we do when we're in danger?"
"Run!"
"That's right! Run!"
"Stay away from danger!!"
"That can never be wrong."
"Kids, can you see what I'm holding? That's right, it's herbs!"
"For the sake of your health, never try them. They'll destroy your mind and ravage your body..."
Each of Old Bruce's Batman educational videos was less than a minute long. In that minute, they seized the audience's attention and drove the information deep into their minds. Chat Group's automatic replay created a hypnotic loop, hammering home the educational content Old Bruce wanted to teach.
Old Bruce felt like he'd created something terrifying. Fortunately, he had absolute control over Chat Group, so no ill-intentioned people could use it to do bad things.
Old Bruce got busy.
For this world, a short-video platform like Chat Group was something entirely new. The problems it might cause and the impact it might have were unknown, so he had to stay vigilant at all times and properly handle any problems that were about to emerge or had already appeared.
Old Bruce absolutely wouldn't allow videos depicting illegal or criminal activity.
Old Bruce liked watching videos about everyday life, and Chat Group catered to his tastes, pushing all the content he cared about right in front of him.
"What's a lunch loan?" Old Bruce didn't understand.
"What? A loan service for students who can't afford the lunches provided by their schools?"
"How can something like this even exist!!"
"High school students get out at three every afternoon so they can go work part-time..."
"...God, things shouldn't be like this."
Old Bruce decided he would do more to help people struggling to get by.
Wayne Enterprises was involved in an extraordinarily wide range of fields: banking, insurance, aerospace, biochemistry, materials and environmental engineering, medicine, construction, weapons manufacturing, and more. Now it had entered the internet sector as well, and Old Bruce planned to consolidate the company's resources.
"Bruce, you're going too far again!"
"There's no benefit to setting up these low-interest student loans. And health insurance that covers every expense is a steaming pile of shit! You want to be some great philanthropist, but Wayne Enterprises has millions of employees waiting to put food on the table!!"
"And what about all this!"
"You're picking a fight with the entire country!!"
"I'm Bruce Wayne. I make the decisions."
"Fine! You're Wayne. You make the decisions."
"Don't regret it when the company goes bankrupt."
Bruce Wayne's latest move began with a substantial improvement to the benefits of Wayne Enterprises' millions of employees. He first raised their enthusiasm for work, then got started on his "great philanthropist" projects.
Every day, Bruce Wayne poured out his troubles to his friends in the Chat Group. Since Alfred had passed away, the group members were the only people he could trust enough to speak his mind to.
Shi Tianwu: [Mr. Bruce, you should get more rest.]
Bruce Wayne: [Thank you for your concern. I have my own special way of resting. I only need four hours of sleep each day to feel completely refreshed.]
Bruce Wayne: [I've realized that all my efforts are just a drop in the ocean for the people of my country.]
Edward Newgate: [After saving a city, are you going to save an entire country next?]
Lu Bian: [Why not go lead the people of your country?]
Bruce Wayne: [But I'm already seventy-one.]
Lu Bian: [So what if you're seventy-one? This is the perfect time to charge ahead!]
Lu Bian: [Master Bruce, I support you running in the election. You could be president, too.]
Bruce Wayne: [I've never even considered that.]
Lu Bian: [Master Bruce, you're meant for great things! Go do great things!]
Shi Tianwu: [That's true. Only by becoming president of your country will you have enough power and authority to change the people's situation, Mr. Bruce.]
Bruce Wayne: [Let me think about it.]
Lu Bian: [Master, you were born to do great things.]
Bruce Wayne: [The election is two years away, and there are many necessary procedures I'd have to go through to become a candidate. I'll need to study it carefully.]
Lu Bian: [That's more like it.]
Master Bruce went offline. After Lu Bian's enthusiastic encouragement, he really had begun to consider the possibility.
After thinking it over for three days, Bruce realized this might be the best choice after all.
Lu Bian smiled.
What if Bruce Wayne became president of the country...
How exciting!
Lu Bian lifted his wine gourd and took a long swig.
The liquor went to his head, and Lu Bian began practicing Drunken Fist in the bamboo grove beside his home.
Shi Tianwu had told Lu Bian that it was time for him to start searching for his own path. If he couldn't make clear the road ahead, his future cultivation would be extremely difficult.
The twenty-fifth heaven was a bottleneck. After that, every time he advanced another twenty-five heavens, he would encounter another bottleneck.
Lu Bian chopped a bamboo stalk in two with his palm, then gripped it and swung it around.
Shi Tianwu had also told Lu Bian:
If he couldn't figure out his path for the time being, but could create a martial art of his own, he might still have a chance to break through the twenty-fifth-heaven bottleneck.
"I'll strike, strike, strike, strike!"
"Take a look at my Dog Beating Technique!!"
Lu Bian wanted to create a staff technique. He'd already come up with the name: Dog Beating Technique.
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