American comic book: After mastering resurrection, I became incredibly popular.

“Um, please don’t get so worked up. Although he has no children, he treats young master Dick as his own, and young master Dick is capable of shouldering the family’s responsibilities.” Alfred stood up awkwardly. “Mr. Joshua, let me take you to the hotel to rest. Once the DNA results are in, if you really are Joshua Wayne, we will begin the next steps.”

Joshua nodded, then looked at Wang Baixi, "Wang, you come too."

"Me too?"

“Of course you have to go.” Joshua rallied his spirits. “You saved my life, I owe you one. You’ll stay by my side until the Wayne family matter is resolved.”

Alfred did not object, but simply gestured for him to proceed.

……

Joshua walked out of the main entrance of Wayne Tower and stood on the steps looking at the Gotham skyline. Under the gray sky, the towering skyscrapers reflected a complex, cold light in the twilight of this steel jungle, and the traffic on the streets flowed silently between the buildings like luminous rivers.

“One hundred and sixty-six years have passed, and I don’t recognize this world at all,” Joshua exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Alfred's car had already stopped in front of the building. It was a black Maybach, about the length of a small van. When the driver opened the door, Joshua stood frozen in front of it for several seconds before turning to look at Wang Baixi.

"This thing doesn't need horses?"

“No need, sir.” Wang Baixi tried hard to keep his expression straight. “It can run on its own. We’ve already seen several on our way here, haven’t we? The first automobile was invented twenty-six years after your death by the German Karl Benz.”

“I thought Steve was invincible, but I never imagined there was someone even smarter than him,” Joshua said excitedly, then bent down and climbed into the car.

As Wang Baixi sat down, his phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen; it showed several news notifications.

[With deepest condolences! Bruce Wayne, former CEO of Wayne Enterprises and renowned philanthropist, passed away peacefully seven days ago at his suburban private residence. He was buried the day before yesterday. His age is unknown. It is understood that Mr. Wayne's health had been deteriorating in recent years, and he had long struggled with a rare wasting disease…]

Wayne Enterprises' stock price plummeted 12% today, marking its biggest single-day drop in a decade...

[Gotham City Police Department is mired in a crisis of confidence: Mayor Amanda publicly accused Police Commissioner James Gordon of having too close a relationship with vigilante "Batman" and failing to promptly apprehend high-risk criminal Bane. Commentators say the Gotham City Police Department is experiencing "an unprecedentedly painful moment."]

[Breaking News: An anonymous woman claims to be pregnant with Bruce Wayne's child! If true, this would be the last bloodline of the Wayne family! Clark Kent, a renowned reporter for the Daily Planet, is continuing to follow this story…]

What are all these things?!

He chose to put his phone away, lean back in his seat, and close his eyes for a while.

After driving for about twenty minutes, the car stopped in front of a hotel located on the Upper East Side of Gotham.

That's right, the hotel is also called Wayne Hotel. From the lobby's decor to the uniforms of the front desk staff, every detail reminds guests who the hotel's owner is.

Alfred arranged for Joshua to stay in the presidential suite on the top floor, and for Wang Baixi, in a suite next door on the same floor. The combined cost of their accommodations for one day was roughly equivalent to three months' salary for Wang Baixi as a gravedigger.

Well, it seems this old butler isn't worried at all that they're two mentally unstable con artists.

The first thing Joshua did after entering the room was to take off his tattered coat and then go into the bathroom.

He stayed in the bathroom for almost an hour before coming out. When he did, he looked like a completely different person. His hair was neatly combed, his beard was trimmed, and he was wearing a bathrobe provided by the hotel.

“I need a new outfit!” Joshua announced to Alfred with excitement. “I haven’t worn a new outfit in over a hundred years.”

“Preparations are underway, sir.” Alfred handed him a cup of black tea. “The tailor will be here in forty minutes.”

Joshua took the teacup, took a sip, and remarked, "This tea tastes different from what I had in my time."

"Tea cultivation and processing techniques have also improved a lot, sir."

Just then, Alfred's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, walked to the window, and answered the call. The call was very short, lasting only a few dozen seconds.

He turned around.

“Mr. Joshua, the test results are in. You are indeed a member of the Wayne family.”

“Oh, tell me something I don’t know!” Joshua laughed heartily.

Wang Baixi was sitting on the sofa next door when he suddenly had an idea. "Um... I have a question. Normally, a DNA test takes at least a day to get the results, right?"

Did Wayne Enterprises acquire some Zentradi technology? They got DNA testing done so quickly; are they playing a trick on them? (In some comic book versions, Thomas Wayne did indeed acquire Kryptonian technology.)

Alfred glanced at him. "In fact, we didn't do any DNA testing in the strict sense."

"Huh? What does this mean?" The question in Wang Baixi's mind grew bigger and bigger.

“You can understand it this way… Before his death, Mr. Bruce led several research projects in the lab, one of which resulted in a targeted virus. This virus is only active in the genetic sequence of Wayne family members and is completely harmless to others.”

"You've cultivated a virus in the lab that targets your own family?" Joshua asked in surprise.

“It’s not targeting, it’s identifying,” Alfred corrected.

"In short, this virus is only effective against me and the Wayne family?"

"That's one way to understand it, sir."

Joshua remained silent for a long time, his expression shifting from anger to an appreciative smile.

“Interesting, a descendant of Solomon…” he sighed. “I probably will never forget you.”

Chapter Six: The Secret Talks in the Bat Cave

“You know, the legacy of a wealthy man is always a complicated issue, but even more complicated is the legacy of a hero. When a person has two identities at the same time, even Jesus Christ is helpless.”

Inside the bat cave, cool blue fluorescence casts layers of light and shadow on the rock walls, while a huge computer screen scrolls with densely packed gene sequence comparison data.

Tim Drake leaned back in his chair, staring at the large red letters that read "99.97% match," and said wearily to the blond man behind him.

More than Tim's words, the blond man was concerned about the Batman suit displayed not far away—what a great soul that was! He had hoped to fight alongside Batman, but unfortunately, the despicable Bane shattered it all.

"Jean-Paul Valéry? Are you listening?"

“I’m listening, Tim.”

This finally brought Paul Wally back to his senses; lately he had been absent-minded, aloof, and irritable.

"Do you believe Alfred's claim? An Easterner resurrecting Joshua Wayne? That's unbelievable. What would he do that for?"

"Perhaps it's for the reward?"

"I hope so," Tim said with a wry smile.

Looking back on the days he fought evil alongside Batman, the most terrifying evils were the chaotic ones like the Joker and Two-Face, who weren't after money. If that mysterious Eastern sorcerer was only after gold and silver, that would be even better!

"Do you think he can bring Bruce back to life?" Tim sighed. "We need Bruce."

“Yes, we need him,” Paul said seriously. “But even if he’s gone, his will needs to be carried on!”

"That's right!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Dick Grayson's approving voice suddenly rang out behind them. He was coming down the stairs, having changed into more comfortable casual clothes that fit his tall stature perfectly.

“Rang is right. In any case, we have to pull ourselves together and not lose heart anymore.” Dick managed a rare smile, while Paul felt inexplicably disappointed.

Looking at this tall and handsome young man, he thought: perhaps only he can inherit Batman's mantle, only he can wear that suit and cloak.

I am a complete outsider!

Dick, oblivious to Paul's emotional turmoil, addressed the two men before him: "Whether Bruce is resurrected or not, whether that Mr. Joshua is real or not."

“You’re right, Dick,” Tim agreed. “So what do we do now? What does Alfred think?”

“Hmm…he plans to bring him to Wayne Manor later, along with that Easterner.” Dick glanced around again.

It's likely that the Batcave's furnishings are different now than they were over a hundred years ago. The giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, the large coin, and the clown playing cards must have amazed Joshua Wayne.

"And Alfred is considering whether or not to let Joshua know about the Batcave."

“Dick,” Paul suddenly snapped out of his reverie, his expression hardening, “though I may be an outsider, I want to say something: we should let Joshua know that his descendant is a hero who fights crime, but we must make sure he doesn’t let it slip.”

“Let me tell you, you’re not an outsider, you’re one of us.” Dick walked over to Jean Paul and patted him on the shoulder. “What you said makes a lot of sense. It’s just that I only had a brief conversation with the Wayne family’s patriarch, so I can’t judge what kind of person he was based on just one meeting. But Bruce told me that Joshua was one of the noblest and most composed people in the Wayne family throughout the 19th century.”

“And what about that mage?” Tim interjected. “What kind of person was he?”

This determined how they should deal with him.

"That sorcerer? To be honest, I don't have a strong impression of him. According to mysterious Eastern legends, he should be a profound, unfathomable, calm, gentle, and ethereal master..."

……

"Damn America! Damn Wayne Hotel!"

"There's a dead rat in the presidential suite? That's outrageous!?" Wang Baixi came out of the bathroom, holding the stiff, gray little thing by its tail, his face full of disgust, which was really not very dignified.

Joshua muttered to himself, "If I were here, I certainly wouldn't let this happen."

This ancestor, who had just arrived from the 19th century, sat on the sofa in a bathrobe, staring intently at the television screen. The news channel was broadcasting a heated debate between the two parties over a healthcare bill, then the scene shifted to several protests and demonstrations in different cities.

“Yes, I believe you too, Joshua. It’s time to teach them a lesson from the 19th century,” Wang Baixi said with a smile.

But Joshua completely ignored him and instead said to himself, "I will absolutely not let this kind of madman appear in Gotham!!"

"What on earth is going on?" Joshua's voice rose considerably as he pointed at the politicians arguing heatedly on the screen. "Why is that self-proclaimed Republican discussing with others whether the president is God?! I've always believed that the Republican Party fought to abolish slavery! But how did these people become like this? Did we really win the Civil War?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, pacing back and forth on the thick carpet.

"Also, why are people in the news saying that this country is declining? When I died, factory chimneys were covering the East Coast and railroads were being built all the way to the Pacific coast. How could it be declining now?"

"What is this 'kill line'?!"

"American news reports this kind of thing?" Wang Baixi stroked his chin. "Anyway, please calm down, sir."

How can you expect me to calm down?

"Um...you have too many questions. It's difficult for me to answer them all with my limited spoken language skills." Wang Baixi looked at the bewildered old man, hid the dead rat behind his back, and said in a weathered tone like someone who had been through it all.

Joshua didn't know where to begin, and in the end, he could only sit back on the sofa in frustration.

Wang Baixi didn't intend to continue discussing macro-level topics with him. Instead, he placed the dead rat on the coffee table, placed his hands over the rat's corpse, and silently recited the name of his skill.

[Death Message]

A faint buzzing sound echoed deep within my mind, like connecting to a radio station with a terrible signal.

"Squeak...hot...water...squeak...such a big sole..."

The dead rat's remaining consciousness was fragmented, consisting entirely of illogical dying words.

[Experience points +2]

Current experience points: 2/400

Although it was a pitifully small amount, every little bit helps. Wang Baixi opened his eyes with satisfaction and casually tossed the mouse into the trash can.

"Hmm, I still don't know how to increase spell power."