Because if it's the sa regardless of whom you choose, why should I bother lying to curry favor with you?
Suddenly, soone stepped forward and said, "Just standing with you is surprising enough, and that's why the pale knight was initially able to garner so many supporters."
Everyone is done with pretenses, but you still perform, and even if your performance isn't the greatest, I'm still willing to choose you. After all, it's all the sa who is chosen, so I might as well choose a discerning candidate, at least it'll provide so peace of mind.
But unexpectedly, not only did this guy keep up the act, but as he continued his performance, he even started to reap so benefits.
There was a plethora of items in the city hall, but of course, they couldn't possibly reach everyone. The promotion was rather rushed, and only those who kept a close watch on the new mayor's actions knew about it; these people were ardent supporters of the pale knight, and most of the goods ended up in their hands.
This group was already very loyal, and now that they had received goodies, they promoted even more vigorously. They even went so far as to verbally attack the wealthy individuals who ca to the auction looking for trouble, leaving them utterly humiliated.
Actually, those willing to support the pale knight were inherently unresigned poor people, who disbelieved in notions such as the effort theory or Chosen One Theory. They did not accept that poor people deserved to be poor, or that the rich could lord over everything; otherwise, they wouldn't support the slogans of the pale knight.
This group had a rebellious spirit and could be seen as the backbones among Gotham's underclass. Furthermore, they were 'barefoot,' with nothing to lose and no fear of death, so they were fearless in their verbal confrontations against the rich, who instead beca timid.
After all, each of these rich individuals had significant family and business concerns; they hadn't yet enjoyed life to the fullest. Should any real conflict arise with this rough crowd and they end up killed, it would be a huge loss.
So even if they were spat on in the face, they didn't dare retaliate and sheepishly ran away.
In such circumstances, one would normally call the police to handle it, but Chief Gordon was the toughest of them all.
If the hooligans actually started a fight, they might be sowhat justified and get their opponents thrown in jail, but since it was only verbal and not personal attacks, but rather a type of ideological awakening expressed, Gordon couldn't be partial.
Thus, Batman witnessed his neighbors being cornered at the door, ardently criticized by a crowd. The few who ca to the auction looking for faults were sprayed in the face and barely managed to escape with the help of security.
Half an hour after the fiasco ended, Lucius Fox called.
"Sir, you'll need to make a decision quickly. Just now, at least a dozen people have gone to the Gotham Police Departnt."
"What are they doing there? Reporting a cri?"
"No, they've started bidding." Fox's tone was somber. "To my knowledge, the offers are very high. If we act now, we might barely win the bid, but if we wait until our old rivals make a move..."
Batman slowly clenched his fist, feeling suffocated as though a net was tightening around him.
Everything was traceable with tight connections.
The sudden halt at city hall, the clearance of all goods, the hosting of an auction, just as the GTO was thrown into the picture, the wealthy being humiliated at the auction.
This couldn't possibly be a coincidence; soone was using the auction to provoke the wealthy, making them more eager to hire private militias and consequently invest more in GTO.
Initially, Lucius Fox could have squeezed so money from other projects, perhaps enough to secure both the pollution control policy and GTO. But with the increased bidding prices, that dream was shattered.
For Batman, it seed like things were spiraling out of control, yet he also felt that they were getting back on track in another way.
Things not being under his control put more pressure on Batman than outright failure.
And it was not just that things were out of his control, but they were in soone else's, making it impossible for him to predict victory or defeat, which was enough to make Batman feel on the verge of collapse.
A sense of urgency ignited within him like fire, spreading from the engine to every gear, like a war machine that had been sealed away for years was being infused with fresh, abundant new energy, causing his cold body to surge once again.
Batman took a deep breath.
"Get ready, Lucius Fox, I'm going to see Jas."
"What?" Lucius Fox was clearly surprised, he said, "Are you planning to take down GTO? Are you serious?"
"I've never been more serious," said Batman, quickly heading outside and adding, "Just being ready with the money won't cut it. We need to cause so trouble for our old adversaries, prevent them from taking any action."
"Right now, we don't have enough control over the end of the industrial chain; this might take so ti." Lucius Fox hastened his tone as well, but he remained rational, saying, "A long period of silence has made people forget who we are, but given so ti, they'll rember."
"We don't have ti," Batman said as he went down the revolving staircase to the lower floor, and at that mont, he heard noise coming from the reception area behind the living room.
"...That's the situation. They want to pin the pollution of the natural forests on you, so not only can they resolve old cases, but also create a huge problem for you, forcing you to bow down."
"I've investigated already. The factory that polluted the natural forests belongs to 'Chalabang Chemical Products Production Co., Ltd.' If we don't take action soon, they're going to move..."
Batman slightly lowered his eyelids, paused for a mont, then quickly walked towards the door of Wayne Manor.
After Batman left, the pale knight turned to Shiller and asked, "Will he really help us?"
"Don't count on his kindness, but give him no other choice." Shiller walked to the window, watching Batman's retreating figure and said, "That chemical factory belongs to his old adversary, and Batman is now desperately looking for a way to trouble them; he won't miss this opportunity."
Then he picked up a briefcase he had brought earlier, took out a bottle from it, and threw it to the pale knight, saying, "Your dicine, this is the last bottle. Hopefully, our plan works out so you can stay alive."
The pale knight opened the lid of the bottle, poured a big handful of pills into his mouth, and then said, "Compared to your astounding plans, whether I live seems not so important."
"Thanks for the complint, but it's still not astounding enough."
Shiller turned around, but the pale knight's vision began to blur, and in panic, he clutched his throat, struggling as he fell to the ground.
"What did you give ...?"
In the second before his consciousness faded, he heard Shiller say.
"It's not counting on the pale knight's kindness, but forcing the Joker to have no other choice."
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