"I'm afraid your application to switch universes won't be approved tonight."
The white-haired old man set the empty glass back on the tray, his tone perfectly even.
Chen Mo looked at him through his fingers.
The old man bowed slightly.
"Alfred Pennyworth."
Chen Mo slowly lowered his hands.
"All right, Mr. Pennyworth."
He glanced at Bruce, then back at the old man.
"Could you not pick the most embarrassing moment possible to introduce yourself?"
Alfred said, "I believe this is precisely the right moment. Any later, and you might continue addressing me as 'the butler.'"
Chen Mo nodded.
"Fair point. In the Batcave, 'the butler' sounds like some kind of high-level clearance. Feels like an AI called the Butler is about to jump right in my face."
Bruce put his cowl on the table.
Chen Mo still couldn't stop his gaze from drifting over.
Knowing was one thing.
Seeing it in person was another.
Now that the connection had really clicked in his head, everything looked a little wrong to Chen Mo.
The playboy in the newspapers drove the Batmobile through Gotham's alleys at night, ramming criminals.
The man who had held his dog at a charity gala had prepared a suit to keep an underage vigilante from getting lost in an underground cave.
This city really knew how to arrange people's lives.
It was like watching Musk charge out of the atmosphere in the Iron Man Armor and smash a small meteorite from Mars to save Earth.
It was just so fucking surreal!
Chen Mo drew a breath.
"So, my comic drafts."
Bruce said, "In the filing cabinet."
Chen Mo's vision went black.
"You finished reading them? Couldn't you just destroy them? You don't have to value my hard work that much."
Bruce fell silent.
Holding the tray, Alfred