Thomas was utterly bewildered. If Bruce had bought a Lamborghini sports car, he could have grudgingly understood it. Which young man doesn't like luxury cars and yachts? But why on earth would he buy a Lamborghini tractor? To flaunt it to the scarecrows in the fields?
Thomas couldn't resist looking down at the ledger, which only increased his confusion.
The consumption record above the Lamborghini tractor was a children's slide. That seed perfectly normal. After all, there were four kids in Wayne Manor.
Children of this age can be annoying and restless. They have boundless energy and always need so entertainnt to vent it. It also helps to promote parent-child bonding.
However, the record above the children's slide was an oversized bone-shaped chewing rod. Above that, a children's slide, and above that, another children's slide. Another five or six successive records were all children's slides.
From the description of the items in the ledger, it seed strange that they had bought seven or eight of the sa model of children's slide. Even with Wayne Manor's expansive gardens, they wouldn't need seven or eight identical children's slides, right?
The consumption records before these didn't seem any less peculiar, all repeated purchases of non-consumable items. Either stair handrails, sofa cushions, or the flooring repaired sixteen tis in one month.
Thomas stared at the bill, considering the possibility of Bruce faking the expenses on his account.
But in reality, there was no point. Why would Bruce fake entries in his own ledger? Any fake expenses would still co out of his own pocket.
With rising frustration, Thomas decided to montarily let it go. After all, apart from the Lamborghini tractor, there hadn't been any significant expenses on Bruce's personal account over the past couple of years. Even extravagant luxuries like sports cars were purchased four years ago.
Thomas then shifted his attention back to the public accounts of Wayne Enterprises, where the entries drew his interest.
The expenditure on construction materials suggested that Bruce had ambitions in real estate. However, the designated purpose for these expenditures was not for property developnt projects, but for other investnts. Judging by the revenue items, none of these investnts had yet yielded any returns.
That effectively ruled out Bruce's involvent in any comrcial real estate developnt. So, what were all these materials being used for?
Continuing his scrutiny, Thomas discovered an extensive list of road and bridge construction materials, with intrinsic high standards and large quantities, obviously not ant for small community roadways.
There were also purchases for electrical and water pipe construction, streetlights and solar energy devices, decorative plants for road beautification, and so on.
This indicated that Bruce wasn't building housing estates. Instead, he was tearing down and rebuilding the entire infrastructure of a region.
Thomas rubbed his chin, ntally noting these quantities, and began estimating the area that such astronomical construction costs could cover.
Soon, he reached an alarming conclusion. With such an exorbitant expense, the entire infrastructure, residential and comrcial buildings of an area of at least 30 square kiloters in a densely populated city, could be constructed from scratch.
The second this realization hit him, Thomas sprang up from the bed. But as he did, a wave of darkness washed over him.
An oppressive weight seed to be crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe. His blood rushed to his head, making him feel dizzy.
Moray, who stood by his side, quickly helped him lie back down. Thomas panted for a couple of minutes before his breath began to even out again.
Over this period, it wasn't that Thomas hadn't rested. He simply hadn't had the chance to. And this period of over-exertion traced back to when the Flash had set off for his cosmos.
From the mont he discovered the possible resurrection of Bruce, Thomas worked tirelessly for days and nights on end. His soul was invigorated, driven by a reckless valour and fervour.
Just when he reached the height of his excitent, he was hit with a sobering reality. Even if Bruce were resurrected, he would beco Batman. The realization poured cold water on his excited spirits.
He should have used this mont of defeat as a call for rest. But then another shock hit him — Joker Martha was dead. It was a huge blow, both physically and emotionally.
Upon arriving in this world, Thomas was kept occupied by a constant flow of events. First, he was manipulated by Shiller to oppose Bruce. Then, he found out about his son's possible congenital ntal illness. After that, he discovered the precarious state of the entire Wayne estate.
Any one of these shocks could have been fatal to a normal person. However, Thomas was not a normal person. Thomas was Batman.
But the heart of the matter was that Thomas wasn't a young man anymore.
He was not the Batman in his pri. He was an old man, battered by fate's grueling trials.
Thomas's habits weren't the best — he indulged in smoking and drinking, even struggled with alcoholism for a while, stayed up late, and inverted his sleep-wake cycle. His life was visibly shortening at an alarming rate.
Lying in the hospital bed, Thomas felt a wave of helplessness sweeping over him for the first ti.
But after experiencing countless pains, on the brink of giving up, and after arriving in this new world, he felt a new force propelling him to bear the pain and get back on his feet.
Perhaps the root cause was a lingering sense of unease.
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