I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Over this period of time, Depp and Gordon have become friends.

Depp had a very good impression of this upright official and future commissioner of the Gotham Police Department.

Gordon said with a melancholy look, "You know, I've been having a lot of bad luck lately, so I thought I'd come here to see if you have any little gadgets that can change my luck."

"Who knew I'd see you being robbed as soon as I arrived? Maybe my bad luck infected you."

Depp poured Gordon a cup of coffee and said, "Don't blame yourself too much. Gotham is always like this. You're lucky to be alive."

“You’re right, this godforsaken place is no place for a human to live, but there’s nothing I can do. I still have Barbara and the soon-to-be-born little James to take care of.”

Depp said helplessly, "So, marriage really is a man's grave?"

"Oh, by the way, you're here to buy a luck charm."

Depp rummaged through the cabinet at the front desk and tossed a metal amulet with an unknown spell on it to Gordon.

"Take this, it might bring you some luck."

Gordon held the amulet in his hand and examined it carefully. He asked, "What kind of amulet is this? Is there any special meaning behind it?"

Depp said, "It's just a mass-produced factory product, but I've personally blessed it, so I'll charge you the cost price of one dollar."

"Hopefully it will work." Gordon placed the dollar on the table and took a sip of his coffee.

The coffee is rich and aromatic, smooth and silky, and after a careful sip, a subtle sweetness emerges from the back of the tongue. The aftertaste of the previous sip blends with the bitterness of the new one, making Gordon unable to resist closing his eyes to savor it.

This is the finest coffee, infinitely better than the cheap instant coffee I make at home!

Gordon never expected to find such delicious coffee in Gotham's slums, Nexus. Depp always manages to surprise people.

Unlike Gordon, Depp didn't like this stuff and couldn't taste anything special, so he opened his thermos and took a sip of hot water.

At the same time, the shop door opened and another customer walked in.

“Hello, boss,” Bruce Wayne said.

“Hello, Mr. Bruce, is there anything I can help you with?” Depp added, “Once sold, we do not offer refunds.”

Bruce smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to return that porcelain vase. I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd drop by to see an old friend."

Bullshit! "Old friend," my foot! You weren't saying that a few nights ago...

Depp casually took out another amulet and handed it to Bruce: "As a VIP customer of our store, I'm giving you a free amulet to bring you good luck."

Bruce took the amulet, looked at James Gordon beside him, and asked knowingly, "And who is this?"

“This is James Gordon, the deputy captain of the Gotham Police Department,” Depp introduced. “This is Bruce Wayne, the heir to the Wayne Enterprises.”

Upon hearing this, Gordon stood up and shook hands with Bruce: "Hello, Mr. Bruce."

Gordon had heard of this famous Gotham's number one playboy through various gossip news, but even knowing the other party's identity, he remained neither humble nor arrogant.

Gordon is an overly honest guy with his own pride.

"So you're Detective Gordon." Bruce shook hands and said, "I've heard so much about you. I've long heard that you're the only conscience of the Gotham Police Department. I never expected to meet you today."

Gordon gave a wry smile and said, "What do you mean by the only conscience of the Gotham Police Department? He's just a pathetic wretch who's been ostracized."

"Let's not talk about those unpleasant things," Depp tried to change the subject. "Did you guys see the news about Falcone's assassination?"

"You mean Batman?" Bruce asked, a hint of pride in his eyes.

"That's right, it's that vigilante Batman. It's said that Gotham's crime rate has dropped recently because of his presence."

Upon hearing this, Gordon slammed his fist on the front desk and said dejectedly, "Don't even mention it. Last night, Director Luo gave me a new mission: to catch Batman by any means necessary."

Depp said sympathetically, "That guy is elusive and not easy to catch. Besides, he hasn't done anything wrong."

Batman is actually right next to you, and he already knows you want to capture him...

"So, Detective Gordon, what's your opinion of Batman?" Bruce asked.

Gordon thought for a moment, then sighed and said, "To be honest, I don't want to arrest him. Gotham is rotten to the core right now, especially those bastards in the police department. Although this shouldn't be something a police officer would say, sometimes I really feel that Batman's existence could make Gotham a better place."

Bruce smiled almost imperceptibly upon hearing this: "And you, Manager Depp, do you think this city needs Batman?"

As expected of a young Bruce, still in the stage of needing to find a sense of belonging.

“This city certainly needs Batman, but…” Depp changed the subject, “it needs you even more, Master Bruce.”

"Do you need me more?" Bruce asked, puzzled.

Depp nodded, handed Bruce a steaming cup of coffee, and said, "Batman might be able to lower the crime rate in this city, but to make this city better, we need much more, such as infrastructure development, increasing jobs and people's income, and various charitable causes, to improve people's lives."

"This requires enormous financial and material resources, and you, Bruce Wayne, the richest man in Gotham City, only you can do all of this."

"But the question is, are you willing?"

Chapter 22 It (Part 1)

The clouds in the sky were thicker than ever before, and even the scattered rays of sunlight could not penetrate them, as if something big was about to happen in Gotham today.

In a dilapidated slum apartment on the island of Naihe, Joseph turned around, closed the door, and said to the people in the hallway, "I...I told you, I'm quitting. I'm not doing this anymore."

In front of him were three men wearing red hoods.

Upon hearing this, the leader took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "Are you kidding me, Joseph? You're making a fool of us Red Hoods?"

"I didn't, I...I just..."

Joseph didn't dare reveal that he already had 50,000 dollars and no longer needed to cooperate with them, otherwise these guys would definitely steal his money.

He was an engineer at a chemical plant, and before meeting Depp, he was so poor that he was targeted by the Red Hood gang.

These people asked him to open the gates of the chemical plant at night and lead the way so they could steal the most valuable raw materials, promising Joseph a reward of five thousand dollars after the deed was done.

But when Joseph decided to sell his wedding ring, he had already told these guys that he didn't want to work with them on illegal activities.

But these guys still found him today.

"Enough talk, Joseph. We'll proceed as planned tonight. Don't tell me you're not coming." The leader, Red Hood, stepped past Joseph and looked at the closed door. "You don't want anything to happen to your wife and the baby in her belly, do you?"

Upon hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Joseph's eyes: "Stay away from them, you bastard!"

Upon hearing this, Red Hood punched Joseph in the stomach and said, "Haha, that's the spirit! Joseph, see you tonight."

Seeing Joseph curled up on the floor in agony, the Red Hoods chuckled and left the apartment. They knew that Joseph, that softie, cared most about his wife, so he would definitely come that night.

Ten minutes later, Joseph stood up again, clutching his stomach. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, opened the door, and went home.

"What's wrong, darling? Who are they?"

Joseph's wife asked with concern. She could keenly sense that those guys were coming on strong and knocking on the door very forcefully; they were definitely not good people.

Joseph sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking his wife's hair, and said, "They're just friends. They want to know if my factory is hiring."

The woman enjoyed Joseph's caresses and said with narrowed eyes, "Those guys don't seem very easy to get along with. I think you should consider recommending them to your boss."

Joseph nodded and said, "I will. They do have a bad temper."

With a beep, the electric kettle on the table boiled.

The overflowing hot water gurgled and splashed onto the table.

Joseph picked up the old electric kettle, poured half a cup of hot water into the cup, blew on it to cool it down, and then took out the medicine his wife needed from the drawer.

"Honey, it's time for you to take your medicine."

"OK, dear."

After several days of treatment, my wife recovered quickly, her complexion improved significantly, and she is now able to walk again.

But Joseph still took on all the work himself, not wanting his wife to suffer.

After feeding his wife her medicine, he opened the bottom drawer of the bedside table.

Several metal tubes containing an unknown gas lay quietly in the drawer. Joseph picked one up, hesitated for a moment, and then put it back.

"Honey, what is that?" his wife asked, having never seen it before.

Joseph said, "That was just a factory test sample, nothing special."

He lied; this wasn't a factory experimental sample, it was his own...

The woman gently stroked Joseph's messy hair and said tenderly, "Darling, you should smile more and stop looking so gloomy."

At night, Joseph went out with a black umbrella.

When he arrived at a bungalow about 300 meters from the chemical plant where he worked, he took out a crumpled red hood from his coat pocket and put it on his head.

From the shadows behind him, a heavy, powerful hand slammed down on Joseph's shoulder: "I knew you'd come, Joseph."

Joseph turned to look at the burly red-hooded leader and said, "It's a deal, I'll only do this one job with you!"

"Absolutely no problem!"

The Red Hood leader readily agreed. After all, robbers didn't need to be honest; they could just threaten Joseph with his wife and children when they wanted to pull off their next heist.

He handed the phone to Joseph, showing a photo of a man in a red hood and a Gotham City Police Department cop sitting together in his house.

“We’ll keep a close eye on your wife, and we have connections in the police station, so just lead the way and don’t get any funny ideas.”

Upon hearing this, Joseph reached into his coat and gripped a metal tube, but after much hesitation, he decided against using it.

They stealthily sneaked into the chemical plant via a side path and began their operation for the night.

But little did they know, Bruce Wayne had already seen through all of this.

The infamous Red Hood gang has always been a key target of Bruce's surveillance.

And today, these guys actually took action!

------

Inside Depp's antique shop, Depp practices generating electricity while chatting with Tony and others.

He can now charge his phone and computer.

Goodnight, Aurora. Early to bed and early to rise is good for your skin.

Goodnight, Johnny Depp.

Goodnight, I'm going to assassinate an idiot tomorrow.

Goodnight, Natasha.