American comic book: My Father is Superman, am I just an NPC?

Chapter 230 Batman: Feed me peanuts!

Bruce Wayne opened his mouth.

Looking at the frozen darkness on the screen.

And then I heard Green Arrow's furious roar of "Refund!" in my ear.

For the first time in his life, he felt an intense urge to drag out some little rascal from the Kent family and run him over a hundred times with the Batmobile.

"What the hell... what's going on?!"

His expression eventually froze into a complex product of shame, anger, bewilderment, injustice, and philosophical reflection on "what's wrong with this world?"

Earth.

Such an awesome existence is not allowed?!
This method of framing someone is so dirty, so dirty that even Batman, the dirtiest character in the DC universe, finds it unbearable, and he still has a hard time clearing his name of the filth.

after all.

The person who knows Batman best is Superman. The way Superman's son creates a fake Batman, his choice of words and actions, does indeed look very much like Batman today.

"..."

Bruce Wayne stared at the screen as Batman gradually faded back into the shadows. That little bastard Ian had money now and had stopped using those cheap suits.

The fake Batman's suit looks exactly like his usual one—it might have been stolen from his house, or it might have been taken from Damian.

The two possibilities are evenly matched, but the real Batman, Bruce Wayne, doesn't care about that; his mind is completely occupied by the galloping alpacas.

The fake Batman's every word, action, and pose made Batman's composure crumble. He had no doubt that he would likely come in second place in the Batman impersonation competition.

"No, how come his image is the Batman that everyone has in mind?!" Bruce Wayne broke down, but that wasn't the most upsetting thing for him.

What bothered him most was that if Green Arrow Oliver Queen thought he had set up a scheme to harvest global capital, then other big capitalists who knew Bruce Wayne was Batman would probably think the same way—Bruce never thought all capitalists were stupid idiots.

In fact.

Batman is middle-aged.

With so many years of activity, the things he did in Gotham as Batman can be roughly identified by anyone with sufficient information, logical thinking ability, and willingness to analyze them. Pointing the Batman identity to Bruce Wayne has a very strong logical chain.

Batman possesses extremely advanced equipment and vehicles, a city-wide surveillance network, and multiple secret bases, all of which require astronomical sums of money and cutting-edge technological research and development capabilities.

In Gotham City.

There are very few individuals or organizations that can afford all of this.

Bruce Wayne, as Gotham's richest man and owner of the vast technology and industrial empire Wayne Enterprises, is the candidate who best fits the criteria of "motivated and capable".

Batman is primarily active at night.

Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, is a playboy by day, frequently absent from board meetings, staying out late, or claiming to be "handling personal matters." These "gap periods" in his schedule highly overlap with Batman's active time.

Batman is a world-class fighter, detective, and strategist. Bruce Wayne traveled the world, studying under numerous martial arts masters and detective experts, both sharing similar motivations. The murder of his parents in Crime Alley directly led him to vow revenge against criminals.

Batman's entire existence is a declaration of war against Gotham's evil, and his core driving force perfectly aligns with Bruce Wayne's childhood trauma. Based on these points, a discerning observer, such as the Riddler or Hugo Strange, has every reason to focus their investigation on Bruce Wayne.

All over the earth.

There are more than two people who know Bruce Wayne, and each one of them is a very difficult and intelligent person to deal with, especially if this group is involved in the betting, just like Green Arrow.

"........."

Bruce Wayne didn't dare to think too much about it. He was indeed the Daredevil of Gotham, but that identity didn't stop large beads of sweat from forming on his forehead.

A bad feeling had already crept into my heart.

And the voice of Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, was still roaring in his headphones.

"Give me my money back! Damn it! Give me my money back!"

obviously.

This wealthy hero also participated in some "gambling for fun" activities.

They also witnessed the "earth-shattering" backstab scene and unhesitatingly pinned the blame on Batman, Bruce Wayne.

Although Green Arrow Oliver Queen is not a member of the Justice League, he is a veteran pay-to-win hero and has a relationship with the Justice League that is neither distant nor close.

He was particularly annoyed by Batman, who was also a billionaire and had projects competing with him in many fields, so when he discovered that Bruce Wayne was going to gamble with the big capitalists, he also chose to join in.

God knows how many resources Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, used, and how many analysts did the calculations, not for profit, but simply to annoy Bruce Wayne and prevent him from getting what he wanted.

He calculated a lot of things.

The only thing that was unexpected was that damned Ian Kent would collude with a dirty capitalist like Batman to stage such an outrageous scandal for the world.

No.

Superman's child.

How could someone be so morally bankrupt!

Even more so than stock market insider trading, Green Arrow Oliver Queen could be willing to forgo making money, but he couldn't just stand by and watch his invested funds be swindled away in this way!

“Um… Oliver, calm down and let me explain.” Bruce Wayne took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice as calm as ever.

His mood wasn't much better than Green Arrow's.

"explain?"

On the other end of the communication line came Green Arrow's almost infuriatingly sarcastic snort.

"I'd rather hear your excuses! It was broadcast live worldwide! Billions of eyes saw it! You've organized a fraud ring!" In Green Arrow's mind, no ordinary kid would do something like this.

There must be someone from Gotham guiding them behind the scenes.

"This isn't an excuse. This really has nothing to do with me. I just want to clarify a fact..." Bruce sighed helplessly, his voice carrying a rare, genuine weariness. He was about to explain in detail how wronged he was, how the Kent child had been learning how to evolve from a slave owner into a human entrepreneur since birth.

however.

"Ah,"

Green Arrow interrupted Bruce Wayne with a sarcastic laugh.

"It's the same old story, isn't it? 'Nothing has anything to do with me,' 'Everything has a reason,' 'It's all part of my plan'... Bruce, you keep using the same old story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf.' Do you think I'll fall for your trap again?"

Oliver's voice carried a resolute tone, as if to say, "I see right through you."

They didn't even wait for Bruce Wayne to give any response.

“You just wait! This isn’t over! In court…” Oliver paused slightly here, then changed his tone to something even more menacing.

"Going to court is too lenient for you! See you at the Superhero Popularity Center! You'll regret this!" After saying that, he didn't give Bruce a chance to speak again.

The communication was then abruptly cut off unilaterally.

All that's left is a busy tone.

Bruce: "..."

Green Arrow's first part, "See you in court," didn't scare him; Wayne Enterprises' legal department wasn't to be trifled with. But the second part, "Superhero Popularity Center"... while it sounded childish, Batman knew very well what kind of "cesspool" it was.

While most people on Earth love the Superhero Popularity Center, which is full of fun about superheroes, Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, is an exception.

the reason is simple.

Because he's the one in the superhero popularity center who's repeatedly the subject of people's amusement. In his mind, the superhero popularity center is comparable to the "Little Red Book" app's Jimei section in the eyes of normal people.

The thought of Green Arrow, a truly capable guy, joining his ranks of "little haters" was too much for Bruce to bear; just imagining it gave him a headache.

"No! We can't let him log into that damn website!" Even with his bat-like backup plan, it's too late to remotely disconnect Star City's network now.

To know.

Oliver's control over that city was also considerable.

Oliver discovered many of Batman's hidden methods. Because of this, without using the final plan against Green Arrow and without being able to directly use his money to destroy Star City's network service or some of the area's power facilities, Batman had no choice but to immediately take out his phone and call for help.

He dialed directly to Alfred, who was in another bat cave.

"Afu."

Bruce speaks extremely fast.

"Immediately activate the emergency plan 'Operation Wire Cut'! Target: Quinn Manor main residence and all known external network interfaces of Oliver Quinn's safe houses!"

"Use micro-drones to physically cut his internet cable!" This is what it means to go back to basics. Alfred on the other end of the communication seemed to be stunned for a moment, but his good professionalism prevented him from asking any more questions. The most mature Batman is indeed good at solving problems in the simplest way.

Alfred was used to this. After all, when he was fighting a business war with Chinese businessmen, he had been asked by Batman to kill someone's money tree in the middle of the night.

It's all about information gathering and psychological warfare. And it's very effective.

Sometimes, even the all-powerful Batman wouldn't hesitate to spit on others if a seemingly simple problem-solving approach led to the expected and envisioned result.

"Hey!"

After hanging up the call with Alfred, Bruce calmed his somewhat erratic breathing and heartbeat. He was truly frustrated. This feeling of being framed and unable to defend himself made him realize that his actual credibility and reputation were not as good as he had originally anticipated—that he would be universally despised.

To be honest, if this financial operation was indeed orchestrated by him and successfully reaped global capital, then Bruce Wayne, bearing the blame for "eliminating an uncontrolled and powerful entity," would grit his teeth and do it for a greater good... no, to put it another way, a greater scheme.

Perhaps he will accept it.

But he didn't!

He irritably turned his gaze to the floating light screens in front of him, which displayed the special betting interface he had set up in his private network for this incident.

Although the above-mentioned fund flow and final settlement figures do not appear to be abnormal, the invested funds and profits are all lying safely in various anonymous accounts.

But this did not make Bruce Wayne feel relieved.

He knows that little bastard Ian Kent all too well! That guy went to great lengths to pull off this whole show, opened up global betting, and then forced an ending with an alternative "Batman wins" scenario.

This makes no sense at all! That kid couldn't possibly be so "kind" as to turn down such a tempting offer! It looks like he's about to abscond with all the capital invested in the gambling market!

"This guy must have already done something."

Batman's intuition was screaming warnings, and he immediately sprang into action, his fingers flying across the virtual keyboard like a master pianist playing a melody. He orchestrated countless data streams, silently infiltrating the central systems of major banks worldwide, directly examining the flow of funds at the most basic level.

The result... was somewhat unexpected.

The funds invested by the wealthy individuals who participated in his private gambling, as well as the huge sums he himself invested, are now safely stored in their respective accounts.

Not a single penny was missing.

It was as if the earth-shattering gamble had never happened. Of course, the more "normal" it seemed, the deeper Bruce Wayne's brow furrowed.

This is so abnormal!

Would Ian kindly return the gentry's money in full?
would not!
This guy preys on the rich the most! Suddenly, an extremely absurd yet perfectly Ian-like thought flashed through Bruce's mind like lightning!

He abruptly switched his surveillance focus, no longer paying attention to the numbers in the bank, but instead directly accessing the real-time surveillance footage of Wayne Manor's most secret private vault.

as predicted.

Bruce found the truth.

The screen flashed, displaying a 360-degree surveillance video of the vault's interior. Piles of gold bars gleamed alluringly behind the bulletproof glass.

Everything seemed to be in good order.

But Bruce's eyes were like the most sophisticated scanner, and he instantly noticed something was wrong!

In the southeast corner of the vault, the standard gold bars bearing the Wayne family crest, which should have been stacked like a small pyramid, had completely vanished without a trace.

This is a huge change.

It couldn't escape Batman's eyes! He immediately retrieved the asset inventory for verification—sure enough, a full third of his gold reserves were missing from his private vault! After a quick mental calculation, the value of this missing gold was exactly equal to the amount of money he had invested in that private gambling game!

"They really didn't take a single extra penny..."

Batman's lips twitched.

The bulging veins on his forehead revealed his inner frustration.

That boy, that boy is too good at "finance"! He didn't touch the US dollars that were just numbers in the banking system at all. Instead, he used a more straightforward way of solving the problem than Batman had just cut the network cable—he took matters into his own hands and went directly to the bank to take away the equivalent value of physical gold!

This is the real hard currency!

In this way, the funds on the books remained unchanged, and no one could detect any problems. However, the actual losses fell squarely on the shoulders of every participant!

Losing gold is far more painful than losing dollars!

After all, the US dollar can no longer be called the dollar.

"I'm sure I'm not the only one who's suffering... right?"

Bruce gritted his teeth, his veins bulging.

He switched to the private vaults of other big capitalists.

Yes, he secretly installed surveillance cameras in many homes. These areas, which he originally intended as reserve funds, contained gold that he believed could be used in emergencies.

Therefore.

He was able to realize immediately that most capitalists had lost a lot of gold, and the value of the lost gold was roughly equivalent to the amount of money they had invested in gambling!
Bruce could indeed calculate how much gold other billionaires had lost, after all, he knew better than those billionaires themselves how much hard currency they had hidden in their homes.

"and this."

"This person was also robbed."

"Spanning so many places, wow... he didn't actually create a new Justice League, did he?" To be honest, Bruce really wanted to tag Green Arrow right now.

Let Green Arrow see who the real dog is.

Bruce couldn't find any fault with him; the other person only took the gambling money and didn't show the slightest bit of excessive greed. It would be difficult to convict Ian based on his "values".

"I don't believe it anymore!"

Finally, Bruce focused the camera on the surveillance footage of the private vault of Prince Salamander, an oil sheikh in the Middle East known for his gold collection, a vault that resembled a small museum.

Here, he finally saw the culprit! A girl dressed in a casual hoodie and jeans, wearing an oversized headset, and seemingly chewing gum, was humming an off-key tune as she strolled leisurely among the mountains of gold bars, as if taking a walk in her own backyard.

"Ikami! Activate!"

She held a device that looked like a tablet computer but shimmered with a magical glow. She scanned the gold bars, then looked down at a crumpled notebook in her hand that resembled a "betting list." After confirming it was correct, she shone the tablet again, and a faint spatial ripple flashed.

The corresponding gold bars disappeared instantly.

“Madison Montgomery, Ian’s henchman, lackey.” What made Bruce’s eye twitch was that there was a precision electronic scale next to Madison.

She was actually weighing the gold bars! It seemed she was making sure the weight she took was exactly the right amount... Even rounding didn't work, clearly someone had specifically told her not to give her any leverage.

Otherwise, Xiao Heizi will jump out.

This criminal gang is quite principled; every muscle in Batman's face twitches as he watches—if Ian weren't here, he could definitely be blamed for Batman having too much medication on his face.

I just stared at the screen.

Bruce Wayne remained silent as Madison swiped away the gambling money that should have been taken. Then, before leaving, the girl even placed an A4 sheet of paper on the ground, leaving Bruce completely dumbfounded.

"Gambling is extremely harmful; it can bankrupt you in an instant—Gotham Anonymous Gambling Addiction Treatment Association's statement."

The momentary pleasure at the top leads to a lifetime of hardship later!

Going all in and becoming a third-generation rich kid? Losing everything in an instant!

Laughing and joking at the gambling table, sleeping under a bridge tomorrow!
Winning is like having the bait that smells good; losing is like having an iron hook pierce your gut!

Win a watch today, lose an apartment tomorrow!
All in, all in! The orthopedics department at the hospital will praise you!

If you want to live a long life, stay away from dice cup players!
……

"Wait, what's with this 'advising people to quit gambling' nonsense? And he even wants people to praise him for being so nice?" At this moment, Batman's mind was filled with nothing but lingering questions.

He couldn't understand why Ian's actions were so absurd.

Batman wanted to find the person in question, confront, and challenge him, but after searching the entire planet, he couldn't find Ian after his "curtain call" in that epic performance.

"Not back?"

Batman was right.

Ian remained in his own dark dimension, but he wasn't afraid of Batman coming after him for royalties and extorting him, a fifteen-year-old boy.

It remains in the dimension.

The main reason is that Ian holds grudges, and he can't sleep if he doesn't get revenge on the same day.

“A true creditor is like me, sealing the debtor inside my body, so the debtor can’t escape even if they want to.” Ian was looking inward at his own body.

You should know that there are two people he needs to seriously consider keeping in check inside his prostate.

Golden Superman.

And there's Ultraman Tiga.

(End of this chapter)