I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Chapter 105 Bruce's Growth and Change

Amidst the astonished expressions of the crowd, the young police officer repeated, "Mayor Hamilton was shot and killed at tonight's festival party!"

Gordon grabbed the officer by the collar and asked, "Are you kidding me? Doesn't Hamilton have a dozen bodyguards with him?"

The police officer, whose collar had been grabbed, said in a panic, "The killer... the killer hid the gun in the bouquet of roses presented to the mayor. There was a wire attached to the trigger, which went under the bouquet and was tied to the left foot of the girl who presented the flowers."

The girl offering flowers?

Gordon immediately understood what this meant, and he cursed, "That old lecher Hamilton really did die because of this!"

Then he turned to Block and said, “Let’s go, another fucking big case, probably the one that killed the Vitty family’s advance team.”

Carla only came to her senses after watching Gordon and Brock leave the police station with several capable officers and head to the festival party.

"What were they saying just now?" Carla recalled, a look of shock slowly spreading across her face. "The mayor... the mayor of Gotham City was shot dead in the street! And the killer is the same person who killed his own advance team? And, judging from the tone of his voice, the killer wasn't part of a group, but just one person?"

"Damn it, Brother Cameron was right, what kind of hellish place is Gotham!"

Carla hesitated, pacing back and forth in the police station. After much deliberation, he left the station and made a phone call to the other key figures in the family.

“Something’s not right in Gotham. The guy who killed our advance team was a lone, formidable individual, and he just shot the mayor of Gotham!”

A mocking voice came from the other end of the phone; the voice was hoarse and aged.

"Carla, when did you become such a coward?"

"The family has made many preparations to take over Gotham. Do you want all the efforts to go to waste?"

"Stop being naive, Carla. Don't let your brother's nonsense scare you out of your courage."

"I hope the next call will be from you telling us the plan for when to launch the final offensive."

After hanging up the phone, Calaveti gritted his teeth, a ruthless and crazed look appearing in his eyes.

"In that case, let's turn Gotham upside down!"

That night, Gordon, who had been busy all day, did not go home to be with his wife and daughter.

Instead, they went to the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department, turned on the giant Bat-Lamp, and the enormous halo illuminated the perpetual dark clouds over Gotham.

At the center of the halo was a black bat that struck fear into the hearts of all Gotham's criminals.

As a gust of wind swept by, Gordon looked at Batman beside him and said, "Things are getting worse lately."

Gordon sounded exhausted. Whether it was the Joker's return, the mayor's murder, or the Viti family's interference, everything had left him overwhelmed and exhausted.

Gotham's police force alone is simply not enough to stabilize the current situation.

With so many problems arising right after taking office, Gordon even wondered if he was the most unlucky person in the world.

Batman patted Gordon on the back with concern, something he would never have done before.

It has to be said that Depp's presence changed Bruce a lot.

“Relax,” Batman said. “Things will always be resolved. After all, we are the Justice League.”

Speaking of the Justice League, Gordon looked up and asked, "Didn't Iron Fist and Catwoman come again?"

Batman said helplessly, "Yes, they've been less involved in operations lately, especially since the Joker's return."

After saying that, the two of them sighed together.

Leaving aside Iron Fist and Catwoman, Wellen rarely participates in operations because he needs to handle company affairs.

As for Harvey, although he has been fulfilling his duties, he rarely appears in public now because of his wife.

As for Robin, because he was too young, Batman only let him appear as his assistant and did not officially let him join the Justice League.

“Sometimes I feel that our league is too loose,” Gordon sighed again.

Unlike Gordon, Batman was not pessimistic. He said, "Don't worry, our alliance was not formed to bind each other."

"Although Iron Fist doesn't really like to participate in operations, he has been helping everyone develop new equipment at the research base."

"And then there's Depp. Although he says he won't participate in our alliance, he's actually been helping us gather intelligence, and he even got his subordinate, Wayne, to join us."

"So Gordon, you have to be more optimistic. We're not alone."

Gordon lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said, "You're right. Perhaps it's because there's been too much going on lately that I'm a little overwhelmed."

"So, is our primary target the Joker or the Vitty family?"

Gordon asked.

Batman said without hesitation, "Our targets are the Joker and the Vitty family. They must pay for their actions. Gotham will not tolerate their continued misbehavior!"

In a luxurious private room at the Iceberg Club, Oswald was taking a bubble bath.

Like a child, he placed four little yellow ducks in the bathtub and watched them float in the water, his joy evident in Oswald's eyes.

He wasn't happy about the little yellow duck, but because of some breaking news... Mayor Hamilton is dead.

I thought I would have to wait until this guy stepped down in six months before I could run for mayor, but I didn't expect him to be so sensible and get shot beforehand.

Furthermore, I have already received Mr. Depp's permission to begin preparations for the upcoming mayoral campaign.

Oswald clapped and applauded excitedly.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

"Mayor Hamilton is such a good man!"

"Mayor Corbert...that's fantastic!"

Although, according to Mr. Depp, there was a group of people from Chicago, the Viti family, who wanted to take over his territory.

However, Oswald didn't take it to heart. His company, which he was working with Mr. Depp on, manufactured more than just civilian multi-functional umbrellas.

Oswald, one of the technical advisors, knew that the real business of the company called Depp Industries was to develop and manufacture those unexpected and deadly weapons!

In Selena's villa, Depp is tutoring Dick on new knowledge in front of a small blackboard.

Since the school curriculum was too easy for Dick, Depp felt he could use his spare time to teach the boy something new.

For example, martial arts, stealth techniques, or how to make a miniature bomb or incendiary bomb within ten minutes using random materials at hand.

Dick was tutored by two other students: Wellen, dressed in a suit, and Grandi, who was rather silly.

Compared to Dick's speed of absorbing knowledge, Wellen, despite his excellent business acumen, was clearly not good at science and engineering, and stealth was even more difficult for someone of his enormous size.

As for Grandi... let's not even mention him.

Selena, dressed in a long dress, brought drinks and snacks for Depp and the three good boys from the tutoring class.

She put the things on the table, then said to Depp, "Elbow, come inside with me."

"Alright children, class time is over. Now it's study time."

After saying that, Depp picked up Selena and carried her back to the bedroom.

"So, what did those two go about?" Dick asked, picking up a glass of milk.

Wellen grinned mischievously and said, "What else can we do? Just what adults like to do the most."

Grandy scratched his head, picked up a whole pizza, and said, "Grandy is an adult, and the thing adults like to do most is eat!"

Chapter 106 I Want to Save Him

After a long time, the night had deepened.

Selena stroked Depp's chest and said worriedly, "Honey, you've been looking troubled lately. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Depp thought for a moment and said, "Do you remember the ring in the safe when we first met?"

“The ring…” Selena fell into recollection and slowly said, “You mean that ring made of ordinary materials but with perfect craftsmanship?”

“That’s him, his master is back,” Depp said. “That guy you call the Laughing Man, but I prefer to call him the Joker.”

"The Joker... so is he here to retrieve that ring?" Selena said nonchalantly, "Then just give the ring back to him."

Depp shook his head and hugged Selena tightly: "No, nobody knows what he's up to. In a sense, he's unpredictable, even invincible."

If Joseph Joseph were truly like the Joker in the comics, Depp felt he wouldn't be able to handle him.

Selena pulled Depp's head into her arms, comforting her anxious lover, and said softly:

"Then...shall we leave here for now?"

Depp shook his head: "No, I want to save him."

Although it sounds a bit saintly, Depp still wants to give it a try.

The hopeful look on Joseph's face from back then lingered in his mind.

So he wanted to try to help this poor, crazy guy.

And he wasn't speaking without reason; because of the discovery of the Dionysian factor, Depp already had a plan.

A plan that is not yet fully developed.

Selena ruffled Depp's hair, continuing to comfort him with her gentle touch, and whispered, "Whatever your choice, I will support you unconditionally."

Depp hummed in agreement and fell into a deep sleep in Selena's soft embrace.

The following morning, Depp arrived at Wayne Estate early.

He felt that the Joker's primary target was likely Batman.

After all, the only person in Gotham who could truly interest the Joker was Batman.

Upon arriving at Wayne Manor, Depp skillfully parked the pickup truck, which was several years older than him, in front of Wayne Castle.

Alfred came out to greet him, saying warmly, "Mr. Depp, you've arrived!"

After Depp cooked for him that time, Alfred's attitude towards Depp improved significantly, and he even started calling him "Master Depp."

"Good morning, Alfred," Depp greeted as he walked up the stairs. "Is Bruce upstairs?"

Alfred nodded and said, "Young Master Bruce is having breakfast upstairs. By the way... would you like some?"

Upon hearing this, Depp immediately gave a peace sign and replied, "No, I want two!"

“No problem at all. Please go upstairs and chat with Young Master Bruce for a while. I’ll be done in no time,” Alfred said. “If you have time, you can also teach me a few Chinese dishes.”

"Later, I'll teach you another impressive dish."