Bruce had returned.
He had just finished being busy, tead up with Night Owl in Battleworld for two sessions, and t one of Night Owl's teammates, earning a considerable amount of Points and obtaining so items that might be useful for later.
The first thing he did upon returning to his own cosmos was to go to Washington to deal with a ss that hadn't been completely resolved previously.
His work before leaving was to help Amanda establish the Federation Shield, assist Wayne Enterprises in industry transformation to cope with the sudden economic crisis, incidentally add fuel to the fire in xico, and secretly support the thriving Black movent.
Under the global economic downturn, not only did the situation in xico not simr down, but it had also beco increasingly heated. However, it was not a good sign, as the original xican national independence revolution almost turned into a proxy war for major countries to transfer dostic conflicts.
After Oliver's departure, the Revolutionary Army team lost its backbone, its firm ideology, and lacked a strong leader, causing the revolutionary forces to fall apart instantly.
It's not that they were all moles planted by the Central Intelligence Agency; it's just that revolution inherently tends to lead to contradictions in thoughts and opinions. So wanted it one way, others another, and while so might have been right yet faced difficulties, others who were wrong found themselves sailing smoothly, inevitably causing a great ss.
While Oliver was present, due to his status as the initiator of the revolution and his strong credibility and steadfastness—to never compromise with external forces—he had many supporters who could suppress these contradictions.
But after he was ousted, the accumulating contradictions exploded, with a faction still loyal to Oliver regarding those against him as saboteurs of the revolution, and these supporters took up arms, with the targeted group retaliating in kind.
So wanted to prioritize the bigger picture and attempted to diate, but lacked enough credibility to be effective, only causing further trouble. Others, driven by self-interest, took the opportunity to stir the waters and siphon off considerable resources.
And just as the economic crisis erupted, many countries could no longer suppress internal conflicts and had to redirect them externally. They managed to get many to pose as xicans, carry out bombings dostically, and then claim these were acts of the Revolutionary Army, thus justifying their intervention in xican internal conflicts and successfully diverting the attention of the populace.
Originally, Arica would never sit idly by while soone ssed around in its backyard. However, it was so preoccupied with its own problems during this economic crisis—especially with the Soviet Union and the European Union looming threateningly—that it feared they might act desperately and thus dared not make any rash moves.
This led to an increasingly complex situation within xico, the previous gains of the revolution almost obliterated, and even many seized the revolutionary achievents to establish themselves as warlords, ultimately resorting to exploiting ordinary people all over again.
This nearly ruined the good reputation Oliver had built for the Revolutionary Army. Now many xicans felt lost, perceiving the Revolutionary Army as corrupted, unsure who was good or what direction the country should take.
However, among Oliver's staunch followers, there seed to be a young man with substantial prestige, an heir to Oliver's legacy. But due to his youth and lack of mature handling of matters, he suffered several setbacks, almost losing all his capital.
Fortunately, he had recently beco wiser, knowing to lie low temporarily, securing the large territory they had conquered, fortifying their defenses, and stockpiling supplies, quietly waiting for the right opportunity.
The international situation was hardly optimistic, mainly because Arica was not in a position to be happy, due to a series of foolish actions it had previously taken that led to the establishnt of the European Union.
The EU and the European Union mainly differ in that the EU is essentially an economic cooperation organization that only deals with economic matters, such as tariffs and goods imports.
However, the European Union is different. It ans that the majority of European countries voluntarily relinquish so of their sovereignty in a union integrating economics, politics, and diplomacy, even deepening political cooperation, with the presidents of these countries acting as mbers of the European Union Parliant, with the majority of political affairs being decided in the European Union Parliant.
It sounds familiar, essentially akin to a capitalist version of the Soviet Union, and the relationships within so countries of the European Union are even closer than many of the states in Arica.
This signifies that Europe has completely united as one, sharing a common fate henceforth.
Previously, Arica expended much effort, for instance, instigating discord between England and France and then disturbing Germany and Austria, all to divide them and have them focus on each other.
But once they unite, the Bald Eagle would truly suffer.
Many people lack an idea of the positions of Europe and Arica because Chinese maps place them on opposite ends, but looking at a globe reveals their proximity, each being a crucial strategic chokepoint, economic support, political aid, and cultural ally for the other.
Another start-up of the sa kind would no longer be as easy to manipulate as before, and Arica genuinely cannot do without Europe. Now, it seems like a return to the original position, effectively countering the established order of heaven.
Beyond this, other major nations were also rapidly powering up, continuously beating the fallen giant. Arica could still sustain itself temporarily with the substantial foundation it built up during World War II, but how long this can continue is questionable.
Especially during the Great Depression, the confrontation between the Blue and Red States beca more severe, with the Black movent in the Blue States causing a huge commotion, and the anti-Black movent in the Red States also being aggressively promoted, with escalating conflicts and violent incidents giving rise to a feeling that the two sides were about to part ways definitively.
As for Wayne Enterprises, Bruce was so anxious to return because the situation at Wayne Enterprises was also bad. Wayne Enterprises and Luther Group were known as Arica's arterial and venous blood vessels, and with Arica in a dire state, they were naturally not faring any better.
Moreover, the two parties were in strong competition. Recently, Luther had sohow obtained a large batch of food, strengthening his control over tropolis, and Clark, that fool, was even helping him, causing Wayne Enterprises' industries on the East Coast to be increasingly squeezed.
Bruce's primary reason for returning this ti was actually for Wayne Enterprises. No matter how glorious the universe, his own holand mattered more. Regardless of his personal relationship with Lex, business was business, and if he did not return soon, the other party would surely devour Wayne Enterprises whole.
As soon as matters in Washington had concluded, Bruce rushed back, not even stopping at Wayne Manor, heading straight for the Wayne Enterprises Building.
As soon as he walked in, his sharp observational skills, honed as Batman, helped him notice that the security guard had been changed; originally, there had been one guard in each of the kiosks on either side, but now there was only one kiosk left.
However, Tim had also told him that due to poor business operations on the East Coast, there had been personnel changes within the group. Although it might not have been very wise to cut down on security staff, it sowhat made sense as a cost-cutting asure since Gotham's safety situation had significantly improved, and having two guards was a waste.
Bruce briefly sized up this security guard and felt that Tim's judgnt was still quite sound. The guy was tall and physically imposing, with a fierce look on his face and sufficient deterrent power for just watching the gate.
"Hello, sir!" the security guard greeted him.
"Hello... uh, are you from out of town?" Bruce asked, noticing the man had a bit of an accent.
"Yes, sir!"
"...You have a strong presence; keep it up!"
Bruce continued walking inside, still thinking about the security guard. Distracted, he bumped into a lady carrying docunts.
"Sukar!... Uh, crap!"
A big question mark appeared over Bruce's head, but the lady quickly picked up her docunts and ran off, leaving Bruce staring blankly at her retreating figure.
Turning a corner to the elevator, two more people got on when it reached the second floor. Before the elevator doors opened, Bruce faintly heard them talking, but they weren't speaking English. Surprisingly, as soon as they entered the elevator, the two instinctively fell silent and started making eye signals.
Bruce pressed the top floor button on the elevator, which had a fingerprint recognition feature that only allowed key personnel to access the top floor. However, Bruce persistently pressed the button to no effect.
He had no choice but to call Tim, who seed quite busy; the murmur of voices Bruce heard on the other end seed not to be in English either.
After fiddling around for a while, the elevator finally ascended, and as Bruce stepped out, a beautiful red-haired woman smiled at him.
Bruce did not recognize this woman. Considering her age, she was unlikely to be Tim's girlfriend, but who could she be, given that no one else but a few insiders and shareholders could access this floor?
Moreover, everything about this woman, from her gestures to her smile, reminded Bruce of a female agent nad Natasha.
Finally arriving at Tim's office, Bruce saw Tim sitting behind his desk with a cat in his lap—a Siberian Forest Cat.
Seeing Bruce, Tim placed the cat on the table. Bruce walked up and said, "What's going on? Why are there so many Soviets around here?"
"To be precise, they're not Soviets; they're KGB," Tim answered calmly.
"What??!!"
"I've told you before; the East Coast operations are performing poorly, and the group's finances are severely strapped. We can no longer afford to spend that much on human resources, and only the KGB are willing to work for us for free."
An icon of loading appeared over Bruce's head, considering his thought speed approached the speed of light as Batman, this was quite the odd scene.
Fortunately, Bruce was not an old-fashioned stickler without adaptability. In desperate tis, a clever wife cannot cook a al without rice, Tim was driven by a dire financial problem, and hiring so free agents to work wasn't beyond understanding, Bruce thought to himself.
"No worries, I'm back now," Bruce said, "The financial issues will be resolved soon, and then you can let them all go."
"Let them all go?"
"Yes."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Why not?"
"Because then the ones getting fired would be us."
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