Although it sounded tragic, Jude's actual situation wasn't that bad. All his important items existed in the system inventory.
Not just the small pumpkin lantern—props like the Horn of Plenty, notebooks, phone, all of it. Anything purchased from the system mall could be stored there.
His losses were concentrated primarily in the mental/spiritual realm. First, he'd lost the good sleep he'd planned to enjoy until waking naturally. Second, even in Gotham, there weren't many opportunities to see a naked man running around the street with newspaper covering his groin.
"Fuck this. I can't stand it."
More residents poured from surrounding buildings. Jude, wrapped in newspaper, walked over to the gangster who'd just attacked him and stripped off the man's coat. "You've still got underwear. Lend me your coat."
"Fuck you—mmph, mmph—"
"This isn't gagging. This is helping you improve your moral character. When you meet Satan, you'll know how good I was to you."
Jude said this while quickly donning the man's jacket and jeans. The gangster struggled desperately, clearly disliking these actions.
Understandable. After all, the pink woolen long johns and chibi-Superman thermal shirt he wore underneath were now completely exposed. Hard to imagine what expressions his accomplices would have facing him tomorrow.
At that moment, Batman flew from the building carrying the last person in one hand.
"Your clothes from home—give him his clothes back."
Jude accepted the garments from Batman's hand, mouth twitching. "Thanks."
A voice rang out from the crowd: "Hey, Bat Freak! Did you see my bank card in there?"
"Yeah, and my driver's license. That's pretty important."
"You had time to get this guy his clothes, but no time to look for my phone?"
"I still have cash at home! Please, Batman, help me!"
Jude looked up at the residential building, now almost completely consumed by flames. Listened to the noise around him. Suddenly, he felt something strange—a feeling he hadn't experienced since arriving in Gotham.
Not when Drake had robbed him. Not riding Old Jack's bullet-riddled bus. Not even meeting Clinton, working at the Red Dragon, facing the killer who'd become the Holiday Killer, confronting Harvey Dent's descent, or encountering Batman himself.
Back then, he'd still felt he could understand them somewhat. Drake. Old Jack. Clinton. Harvey. Even Batman. Except for that Holiday Killer, he'd understood the rest more or less. Most of Gotham's crazy citizens had their own logic. They weren't born criminals.
Only tonight, after hearing the crowd's roar, did Jude feel genuine dizziness.
He couldn't tell whether the various looks cast by the crowd were threats, greed, or pleading. Maybe all three. Maybe none.
Maybe just pure malice. Malice directed at the unknown.
In this moment, he felt completely out of tune with this world. For the first time in his life, he truly understood stupid malice.
When people deny something, they unconsciously affirm its opposite. For Jude right now, Batman suddenly became someone worth supporting—at least in this moment, he completely couldn't understand the crowd's stupidity and malice.
"That's enough." He heard a voice say. "You barking idiots are treating Batman like your personal babysitter. If it were me, I'd remember your names and faces and let you burn next time."
He saw the crowd's astonished looks. Saw familiar neighbors glaring at him. Saw several gangsters approaching, cursing.
Oh. Those had been his own words.
Only in this moment did he feel his soul return to his body. As if he'd become himself again.
Discard civility. Be yourself.
"What are you looking at?" he demanded. "I called the ambulance. Are you paying for it? And I'm not living here anymore—come find me if you dare!"
"The gang started the fire during their shootout. The Gotham Fire Department delayed arriving. But Batman saved everyone, and you want him to rush into flames for your wallets? Why didn't you chase the gangsters into the fire yourselves? Were you afraid? Was it because you knew they'd kill you?"
He regretted not taking more of Falcone's bounty. Shouldn't have acted so righteously, leaving most of it to Harvey Dent. Now it was difficult to move to Burnley or Otisburg to hide from enemies.
Wonder if it's too late to go back and dig it up.
"I don't have time to protect both your property and your lives simultaneously." Batman interrupted Jude's tirade, answering the crowd's demands expressionlessly. His voice remained low and cold, devoid of emotion. "You can report lost driver's licenses, bank cards, passbooks. As for cash—I can't help with that."
"The Wayne Foundation compensates for housing damage. I suggest you think about where you're spending tomorrow night. No point pinning hopes on me. With a fire this size, not much will survive."
Fire truck sirens echoed from the street. Finally arriving at the scene. Though nothing remained for them to rescue from the blaze, they could at least prevent spreading.
Can't just do nothing, right? At least they're getting paid—Wayne's money.
Basically nobody in the East End could afford fire insurance. A considerable portion of Gotham's civilian insurance had been established by the well-known Wayne family heir—Gotham playboy Bruce Wayne. People weren't sure if this was the Wayne Group's image operation or a rich fool's kindness, but he'd definitely become one of Gotham's public safety's important funders.
The fire truck stopped below the residential building. Batman ignored the noisy, angry crowd. Grabbed Jude. And disappeared into the night illuminated by flames.
"You had cash in your room. About thirty-five thousand dollars."
Batman brought Jude to a rooftop. His voice remained flat, but Jude immediately became alert.
The atmosphere's wrong. This guy wants to interrogate me again!
"Your friend left Gotham and took some money with him. Deposited thirty thousand into his account. You used wages and tips to buy furniture, groceries, and a car. So you should only have about twenty-five thousand remaining."
"Wait—you even checked Drake's account?"
"I monitored Harvey's phone calls. They were normal. But there were two instances with no signal. Each lasting three minutes."
"You're different. The tracking devices on you have been in a signal-free state for extended periods."
"Da fuck!!!"