In the office of Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, Gordon put his hands on his hips and watched Schiller playing with his umbrella.
Schiller removed all the umbrella cover, leaving only the ribs. He lowered his head to remove the handle, and then pulled one of the ribs hard.
The umbrella rib broke with a "click", and the middle part flew out with a "swish". Gordon screamed in pain and covered the left half of his face. Schiller straightened up and looked at him helplessly.
He said: "I told you a long time ago, don't watch me repair things. I don't have any educational background in mechanics or engineering, so accidental injuries are inevitable."
Gordon stood up with his face covered, took the part to him from between his fingers, and said, "I've told you before, you definitely can't repair this thing. It looks very common, but it's actually very complicated."
"Don't you have anything else to do?" Schiller lowered his head and continued to fiddle with the umbrella stand. Then he looked up out the window and said to Gordon, "Are you police officers so idle?"
"I'm solving the problem from the root." Gordon crossed his arms and looked at Schiller and said, "I discovered a pattern. As long as I keep an eye on you, there won't be any trouble coming to us again."
Before Schiller could refute, Gordon continued to ask: "So, the secret society you invited me to last time was established to fight against the mysterious organization that Copot said poisoned Gotham's rainwater?"
"That's not an invitation. When you know this fact, you have already joined, and you have to join, because even if you don't fight them, they will definitely come to you."
Gordon's brows furrowed tightly as he said, "Do those supernatural forces really exist? For example... what kind of magic, witchcraft or something like that?"
"Do you believe in God?"
"Of course I..."
"God exists, so why can't magic and witchcraft exist?"
Gordon opened his mouth. He felt that what Schiller said made sense, but he was not a very devout believer and could only be regarded as a pan-believer, so he had no idea about those mysterious things.
Schiller twisted the handle of the umbrella, and it fell off. Gordon heard him curse, then pick up the handle and throw it away.
Gordon really couldn't stand his layman's way of repairing it. He walked over, picked up the handle, and said: "Let's do this. As long as you introduce the organization to me in detail, I will find you someone who can do it."
How about the guy who fixes this thing comes over?"
"Don't be ridiculous. The only umbrella maker in Gotham is dead. People from other cities, even if they know how to do this job, don't dare to come to Gotham. I can't repair an umbrella and have to go to the metropolis, right?"
"Actually, even if you run to the metropolis, it may be faster than repairing it yourself." Gordon and Schiller lowered their heads at the same time, and their eyes fell on the umbrella that had been dismantled into pieces.
Schiller had to admit that Gordon was right. He had no talent in this area and was just messing around. He should have understood from the beginning of Stark's laboratory that he could only twist light bulbs.
.
"Where are you going to find someone who can repair an umbrella?"
"I can't find anyone who can repair umbrellas, but I do know someone who can modify traffic lights."
Gordon picked up the phone and dialed a number, and said to Schiller: "Remember the kid who tampered with the traffic light lines on Traffic Civilization Day last time?"
"Oh, then I have some impression. He allowed only the right intersection among the four intersections to pass unobstructed, and then a fire broke out there..."
Gordon picked up the phone and said to the other end: "Hello? Go to the East District and bring that little naughty guy over. I have something to do with him."
Not long after he hung up the phone, a young police officer came in carrying a little boy of thirteen or fourteen years old. The little boy was grabbed by the collar behind him and was cursing. But as soon as he saw Gordon, he
Suddenly, it wilted like an eggplant beaten by frost.
Gordon patted him on the back and asked him to come over, and then said: "This is Xiao Shuantou, a genius boy who can be an electrician, can do wiring, and even invented some mechanical devices by himself."
"What's your name?" Schiller asked him.
"I don't have a name, people call me Little Slippery."
Although Gordon already has a good image and civilized behavior among the police in Gotham, his long-term front-line work has also given him a tough temperament. In comparison, Schiller, a gentle university professor, sold out
The appearance was much better. The little slick man quickly ran behind Schiller and made a face at Gordon.
Gordon reluctantly introduced: "This little guy was the culprit who tampered with the traffic light lines on the central turntable. At that time, he was hired by a gang boss on Madrid Street. In order to make the gangster's truck go faster, he walked in the middle of the night.
I pried open the casing of the traffic light and changed the wiring inside..."
"He is not a native of Gotham, but comes from the countryside of Blüdhaven. His parents are dead, and his uncle is an electrician. He brought him to Gotham to work and make money. However, his uncle was not in good health and came to Gotham.
He died of illness within a few months, and he was the only one left."
"This kid is very smart." Gordon admired the little slick look in his eyes.
"He actually survived alone in Gotham, and he lived very well. With the skills he learned as an electrician from his uncle, several gang bosses treated him like a guest. If I hadn't had some dignity,
I can’t invite him yet.”
Schiller looked back at Little Slippery. He was a white boy with messy red curly hair and a pair of glasses.
He does not look like a child from the Gotham slums. Although he looks young, his body is not thin at all. He is even much stronger than Copot. His face is rosy and his eyes are very smart. He is not as numb as other children.
mood.
There are not many children wearing glasses in Gotham, because here they neither study nor go to school, so their eyes will not be tired, and there are not many parents who are short-sighted and will not inherit it, so the image of the little slicker appears.
Out of place.
Schiller picked up the broken umbrella and handed it to the little slicker and said, "If you fix it for me, I will give you a super cool tool box."
The little slipper took the umbrella, looked it up and down, and said with some surprise: "How come this umbrella is so damaged? You won't be carrying it on the battlefield, right?" Gu Zhuo
Gordon gloated and said: "The last time I saw this umbrella, it wasn't so broken, but someone didn't know how to repair it and insisted on repairing it..."
Schiller rolled his eyes, pulled the chair over and sat down, and said: "It's all the fault of Fish and Copperpot. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have to..."
"Wait a minute!" Little Slippery suddenly exclaimed, "This umbrella is amazing, isn't it? Why are every part different?"
Schiller stood up and said, "Wait a moment and I'll get you the toolbox."
He walked to the door, called the nurse, and said a few words. After a while, the nurse came in carrying a toolbox.
As soon as he opened it, there were three or four floors of tool display stands. The little slicker exclaimed: "It's so cool! I've always wanted to have a tool box like this, but unfortunately, my uncle's tool box is too small..."
"If you can repair this umbrella, then this tool box is yours."
"Look at mine." As he said that, the little slipper picked up the umbrella and took it apart in three or two strokes. He worked there for a long time. Schiller and Gordon were watching him, but they
Both of them couldn't understand anything.
After a while, the little slipper stopped at the edge of the table. He touched his chin and said with some embarrassment: "This is a bit troublesome."
"This thing should be made by hand, right? It means casting parts, grinding parts, and then assembling them together, right?"
"Indeed, this is a tailor-made handmade umbrella."
"Then why don't you go find..."
Seeing Schiller's face turning dark again, Gordon stepped forward, covered the little slipper's mouth, and said, "Don't ask about this, just fix it for him as soon as possible."
"But this umbrella is very strange. I'm afraid only the person who made it can repair it." The little slicker shrugged. He pointed to a small pile of parts and said to Schiller: "Look, look here, the number of parts here."
There should be 6, but now there are only 5."
Then he took another incomplete part from the side and said, "This is the missing one. This screw seems to have been burned by fire, and the threads are all destroyed."
"It caused an umbrella rib to be completely unable to hold up, but if you want to repair it, you must find an identical screw."
"Originally, I could have replaced the nuts together, but I don't know what happened to this material, and the welding pen is completely useless..."
The little slicker said to Schiller: "I really want that toolbox, and I tried my best, but the materials used by this manufacturer are too special, and they are completely different from the factory's assembly line products, and I can't handle it either."
Schiller and Gordon looked at each other, obviously thinking of something else. Schiller asked the little slipper: "Are you sure that only the umbrella maker who made this umbrella can repair it?"
"Probably yes. I don't want to brag, but I was able to drive a nut in with a screw before I could walk."
He picked up a screw, showed it to Schiller, and said: "Look at the threads on this, you can see a little handwork, but more importantly, his design of the threads is very special. It is impossible to use standard screws."
Can’t screw it on.”
"What about recasting one?"
"You can try." Little Slippery shook his head and said, "But I don't think there is much hope. This kind of fit is very strange. If the materials are inconsistent, it may not fit properly."
In the end, Schiller gave the toolbox to the little slicker, and then said to him: "If you want, you can go to the vocational school in living hell and study. There is a mechanical engineering professor from Gotham University taking classes there.
With your talent, he will definitely be very surprised."
After the little slipper left, Schiller picked up the phone and dialed a number, and then said: "Yes, it's me. Are you free to come over now? What? Are you about to come over? Okay..."
About 20 minutes later, Batman appeared in the office. Gordon, Schiller and Batman gathered around the table and looked at the umbrella.
"So, you are saying that only they themselves can repair this umbrella that the Owl Court ordered the umbrella maker Wei Jin to make?"
Batman picked up one of the parts, squinted his eyes and looked at it, saying nothing.
"Okay." Schiller threw the handle in his hand on the table, then looked at Batman and asked: "You stayed in Cobot and Evans' ward for a long time last night. What did you talk about?"
Batman was playing with the parts of the umbrella and said, "The three of us plan to join forces."
Gordon also looked at him and asked: "Join forces? What to do? Deal with the Court of Owls?"
"Yes, we are all interested in that mysterious organization, so we plan to investigate it from different angles."
"You said you were coming over today? What's the matter?"
"Originally I just came to discuss a question, but now I have an answer." As he said, Batman took out another part, which was almost exactly the same as the damaged one. He said: "I found this last night. It was in another part."