Gotham.
The gloomy streets were still shrouded in sparse rain.
Eric held an umbrella and walked forward along the street.
The floor tiles reflected the dim light, and rainwater flowed and gathered.
Stepping on it, the splashed rainwater landed on his shoes, then instantly disappeared.
Eric took two steps forward and found several children sitting on the steps of a dilapidated shop not far ahead.
They seemed to be homeless children, their clothes ragged, covered with a plastic sheet, huddled together to shelter from the rain.
However, it seemed the rain protection was not very effective, as large areas of their bodies were already wet.
Although their situation was not good, the children began discussing the urban legend circulating in the streets and alleys recently—Batman.
The first brown-haired teenager spoke first, "You know, yesterday, I was at the pier. It was just me at that time, and the sky was just like now. Then a thug attacked me, and he raised a knife at me. Guys, I was ready to be killed by him, and that's when Batman appeared!"
The brown-haired teenager's tone was a bit excited, "Suddenly, he just appeared! Even though I had never seen him before, I immediately had the thought, 'I know him so well.' He was like a shadow, emerging from the ground. Batman was like a moving shadow; every time a bad guy's hand touched him, his shadow would melt and then emerge from another place."
"Although that bad guy eventually threw a bomb that almost deafened me and disappeared. →"
The red-haired little girl raised an objection, "He's not a moving shadow at all; I have a better story."
"Also yesterday, I was almost caught by a police officer on Rogers Street, when a bad guy carrying a box and a jetpack on his back descended from the sky. He looked very flustered and grabbed a passerby."
"Then Batman appeared; he was like a real bat, with a pair of large wings. He and the jetpack guy exchanged many punches in the air, a lot of blood was shed, and finally, Batman knocked down that flying bad guy."
The red-haired girl said the final outcome, "But in the end, the guy with the jetpack still escaped. He used his pistol but didn't hit Batman, and Batman beat him into the river where he disappeared, and Batman also flew away."
The third, smaller boy disagreed with his two companions' comments about Batman, "I certainly don't think Batman is a big flying bat. You two must be bragging."
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw him first."
The shorter boy said, "Yesterday I was at the observation deck on the rooftop of Wayne Tower when suddenly a guy blew open a door and jumped out. He said 'robbery,' and I was terrified. There were many other people on the observation deck, and everyone was scared. The robber put a box on the ground and told everyone to throw their money into it."
"Later, a helicopter appeared, and a robot jumped out of it. You'd never guess, Batman is actually a robot!"
"Put down the gun!"
The boy imitated Batman's husky voice, "He spoke like that, like a robot. That bad guy shot at Batman, but Batman's robot defense was not afraid of bullets at all. Then, from Batman's arm, like a robot, a ball of flame shot out and melted that bad guy's gun."
"Batman is not a shadow, nor a big bat; he is a robot!"
The boy came to his own conclusion.
As the three teenagers were hotly debating their image of Batman, Eric walked over.
He naturally heard everything they were discussing.
Since he wasn't particularly interested in Batman, his heart was completely calm.
"Hey, sir!"
Seeing Eric approach, the first brown-haired teenager stood up and walked closer to Eric.
"Sir, do you need a Gotham City map?"
The teenager pulled out a dry, body-temperature map from his Pregnant, "One only costs 50 cents, and it can help you quickly find any place."
Eric stopped and looked at the teenager, who was looking at him eagerly, "Why do you assume I'm from out of town?"
"Because you're not wearing a mask, sir."
The teenager explained to Eric, "This place is near a chemical factory, and the air after it rains smells very bad, so locals always wear masks when they go out."
Eric nodded, took a dollar from his pocket, and handed it to the boy, "I won't buy your map, just tell me how to get to Iceberg Restaurant."
"It's just two streets away. You just need to walk straight down this street, then turn left."
The teenager pointed out the way to Eric, "And sir, I also have 'Gotham Travel Precautions' that I summarized with my friends, which I can give you for free."
"Oh?"
Eric became interested, "Tell me."
The brown-haired teenager cleared his throat, "If you don't have much money, it's best not to go out at night; don't curse Bruce Wayne online; don't go to Arkham Asylum."
The red-haired, blue-eyed girl added to Eric, "And don't eat at Iceberg Restaurant."
"Cough, cough."
The brown-haired teenager quickly stopped the girl, "Holly, this gentleman is going to Iceberg Restaurant."
After speaking, he quickly apologized to Eric, "Sorry, sir, Holly didn't know your identity."
The brown-haired teenager was a bit uneasy. He thought Eric was connected to Penguin's Iceberg Restaurant, so he was afraid of offending Eric.
"She has a point."
Eric nodded, "I heard that's not a good place to eat, but…"
After a moment's pause, he turned and left, "You should also add the most important point—in case of an emergency, call GCPD (Gotham City Police Department)."
He had just reached the exit of the alley when he was blocked by several ill-intentioned individuals.
Several burly men wearing baseball caps, with malice in their eyes, blocked Eric's path.
"Hey, buddy, you need to know whose territory you've stepped into, and you need to know the rules. Now hand over your money and leave, and maybe you can still make it to your dinner on time."
"Honestly,"
Eric shrugged, "I really don't know the rules here. Maybe you can tell me, then I definitely won't miss dinner."
"F*ck!"
The gang members took Eric's words as a provocation, and the leader swung the dagger in his hand and stabbed at Eric.
But Eric easily grabbed the dagger and then grabbed the opponent's throat with his other hand.
"Hmph!"
The burly man, whose neck was squeezed, let out a painful sound.
His body remained motionless. Eric moved his arm, and the opponent was easily thrown against the wall by him.
With a thud, his back hit the wall, and he immediately passed out.
The teenagers selling city maps in the alley were completely stunned by the scene before them!
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