Soon, the circus performances began. The first few shows were all animal training shows. Neither Bruce nor Selina had any interest in such shows. While they were performing on the stage, the two of them were chatting off the stage.
.
"You said you had been a hawker before, so why didn't you continue to do so instead of stealing?"
Selena rolled her eyes and said, "My eldest young master, don't you think that being a hawker is better than stealing?"
Bruce turned to look at Selina. He originally wanted to say that at least being a hawker was not illegal, but after having been in contact with Selina for so long, he also knew that the life at the bottom of Gotham might not be what he thought.
After spending so long with Selina, he recognized the reality. In the dark city of Gotham, some people had already exhausted all their energy just to stay alive. It would be useless to talk to them about obeying the law at this time.
Different from a joke.
"Actually, those vendors, cigarette boys and flower girls are the worst offenders." Selena sighed, with a little sympathy in her tone. She said, "When I told you about my experience before, you might think
I feel that Lucky’s mother, who taught me stealing skills, is a bad person. She taught me the skills, let me steal, and even beat me. But in fact, I don’t hate her, and I still talk to her on the phone..."
Bruce showed a puzzled expression and asked, "Are you still in contact with that thief?"
"We didn't talk about business matters, we just asked her if she was in good health, just some polite words. Although I was a little angry before when she wanted to take away the diamond necklace I stole, but later, my
After my anger subsided, I still called her..."
Seeing Bruce's slightly shocked expression, Selina suddenly smiled and said, "You are Master Wayne. People support you wherever you go. In order to get you to give money, everyone will grovel to please you."
, but I’m different. The most praise I’ve received in my life was when I was studying with my lucky mother.”
"She always said that I was the most talented child she had ever seen. I learned everything very quickly. You know, when she was young, she worked as a waitress in a bar in the East End. She could praise people to the sky with her mouth.
When she was in a good mood, she would even sing a song and ask me to wear the dress she wore when she was young and dance..."
Selena put her hands on her knees, took a deep breath, and said, "I know you think I'm worthless, but she's really nice to me."
"You might think it's a heinous crime for her to find all kinds of kids to help her steal things, but in fact, Lucky Mom has already made good plans for these kids."
"She has a very sharp eye, and the children she picks out are all very talented and can make a lot of money for her. Therefore, her hands are relatively loose, and she occasionally misses two pocket coins for us..."
"But the old villain next door is different. He has hawkers and cigarette boys under him. All of these children's daily income must be handed over to him, and they must be searched every day. They are absolutely not allowed to hide a penny.
If he fails to achieve his goals, he will be beaten severely."
"He only fed the children leftovers and starved them when he was in a bad mood. I once saw a child who wanted to run away, but he cut off both of his feet and bled to death."
Selena shrugged and said to Bruce: "Actually, I'm not hungry at all, and I don't really like pancakes with cheese, but when I meet this kind of vendor, as long as I have some money in my pocket, I will buy something, so maybe I can
Let them have a full meal tonight."
"You know what?" Bruce looked into Selina's eyes and said, "Every time you tell me this kind of story, it makes my heart instantly heavy."
Selena showed a smile, she reached out and touched Bruce's cheek and said: "This is exactly the problem. This is a sad story for you, but for us, it is an ordinary day.
"
Selena took another deep breath and said, "Actually, you also taught me a lot of things, such as the context you talked about last time..."
"I thought about it, and I think I heard Lucky Mom say that part of the money she received must be handed over, and the person she handed it over to also had to hand it over. Anyway, they handed it over layer by layer, and finally handed it over to one person...
…”
Bruce narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who is that?"
Selena shook her head and said: "I don't even know Lucky Mom's boss, how do I know who the final person is?"
"There's someone controlling the kids of Gotham, right?"
Selina nodded and said: "Actually, the children in Gotham are very easy to control. Most of these children are orphans. Their parents are either dead or abandoned by their parents. As long as you give them a bite of food, they can
Drive them as you please."
"And..." Bruce received: "Almost no one will make trouble for these children. Even those high-end nightclubs will let the cigarette boys sell cigarettes..."
Obviously, he recalled the occasions he had attended for the first time. In the past, he didn't pay attention because he was used to it, but now he thought about it. Whether it was a dance, a dinner party or a banquet, there were some children waiting at the edge of the venue, waiting for someone.
Some rich people go to them to buy cigarettes.
"That's it. If these children mess up something or make some mistakes, they just need to look pitiful and apologize and beg for mercy a few times, and no one who wants to save face will make things difficult for them."
Bruce did not expect that chatting with Selina would give him an unexpected discovery. There has always been a person in Gotham who uses a downward network to control these children everywhere.
"That's not all." Selena continued: "These children also form cliques among themselves. This has been the case since my time, and the competition among peers is particularly fierce."
"You also know that some areas have good business and some areas do not. Everyone wants to grab the area where business is good. In addition to the adults above them who are angry and grabbing territory, the children below are also forming gangs.
, we all call these gangs 'teenage gangs'."
"Then what gang were you involved in at that time?"
Selena shook her head and said: "I'm not involved in any gang. It's all on the ground, and I'm a snitch."
"I don't need to occupy any territory in order to steal things. In other words, I don't need to say hello to whose territory I want to go to. They can't catch me anyway."
"Everyone in the East End has heard of my name, and even now, they all know that when the black cat on the roof comes out, don't even think about aiming your gun, because you can't hit her at all, and it's just a waste of bullets."
"Among the four major snitches in the East District, I am the only one who has the ability to travel throughout Gotham, while the other few dare not even enter the commercial street, because once they are caught by those respectable gang leaders, they will be finished, but I am not afraid
, because I know that they can’t catch me.”
Whenever he hears Selena talk about her career, Bruce has a strange feeling. Selena can be said to be a typical example of getting out of the industry based on her strength. As the saying goes, if her business ability is even worse, she will not be able to leave.
To this point today.
This kind of life experience of turning over and living a good life through one's own efforts should be very inspiring and make people feel proud, but her profession is that of a thief. The harder she works, the more difficult her life will be.
The two have been chatting about these children in Gotham. Selina's low-level information and Bruce's top-level information are combined, and the two of them work together to deduce who the person who controls the network is.
During this period, Aisha's attention had been attracted by the various performances on the stage, and she became silent for a rare moment.
Suddenly, the lights on the stage brightened, and the host said in a high-pitched voice: "Ladies! Gentlemen! Next, we will present the most exciting trapeze performance to you!!!"
Two actors, a man and a woman, stepped onto the stage. As they climbed up the ladder, the host continued to introduce: "I think some people may have heard of the Grayson family, which was once famous on the East Coast. They were once known as
America’s greatest trapeze family…”
"Some people may have heard that members of the previous generation of the Grayson family fell from a high altitude due to a mistake in their trapeze performance and were shattered to pieces..."
The host whistled and said: "But let me tell you, this is the excitement of this kind of performance. If there is no danger of falling, who would be willing to watch this thing? Are you right?"
The host's witty remarks were originally intended to heat up the atmosphere, but the tall man named Grayson who had just stepped onto the stage clenched his fists.
Just when he was about to start performing, he shouted to the audience: "Grayson is the greatest aerialist family, we..."
At this time, he saw the owner of the circus below the stage making a threatening gesture towards him. He turned his head and glanced at his wife next to him, and finally closed his mouth.
The owner of the circus cursed loudly from below: "What is this idiot talking about?! It's Wayne down there! I said he will ruin my good deeds, this son of a bitch!"
At this time, the Graysons had already started their performance. The so-called trapeze was actually swinging around in the air while holding a horizontal bar, making various turns and tumbling movements.
I have to say that the Graysons are indeed very capable. They work well together, whether they are identical or symmetrical movements, they are all pleasing to the eye, and the audience bursts into applause.
Elsa was very happy to watch it. After all, even if Selina was superb, the conditions of the manor were limited, and Bruce would not agree to Selina swinging from such a high place. But the current performance satisfied Elsa's liking.
Human activity hobbies.
She let out a sharp scream and kept waving her hands towards the stage. Bruce held her to prevent her from falling onto the front seat. Selena patted Bruce's arm and said, "Give her some water. I
Her voice was hoarse when she screamed."
Bruce took out the water bottle and was about to give Elsa a drink when the two trapeze artists on the stage happened to move during the break in the performance. The couple landed on the high platform, and Mrs. Grayson happened to see Elsa waving to him.
The lady looked a little haggard, but she still smiled back and waved specifically to Elsa. Obviously, this little overly excited little audience member was very popular with Mrs. Grayson.
Seeing that she had been noticed, Elsa became even more excited. She rushed forward, trying to escape from Bruce's arms.
But at this time, Bruce was unscrewing the water bottle, and Elsa's forward movement hit him on the arm, causing the water in the water bottle to spill all over him.
Bruce showed a helpless expression, handed Aisha to Selina and said, "I'm going to the bathroom to take care of my clothes."
Just when Bruce left his seat and walked to the bathroom, all this was seen by the owner of the circus.
That Grayson first contradicted him and even punched him. Then he said some crazy things before the performance. That Grayson's wife even deliberately attracted the attention of the little princess of the Wayne family, causing Wayne to spill water on him.
, if he is dissatisfied because of this, all his sponsorship will be wasted...
The circus owner's face became more and more gloomy. It was obvious that his anger had reached the extreme. The Grayson couple's behavior made him almost crazy.