Laughing American comics, I am becoming more and more like a clown

"What do you think, Ah Fu?"

The Silent Bat spoke, his question coming out of nowhere, without any specific opinion or specifics, but Alfred understood what he meant. He lowered his head, revealing the reserve of an English gentleman:

"I am Wayne's eternal servant, sir."

When Jack ascended to Wayne Manor via the Batcave elevator, he saw neither Hush-Bat nor Alfred.

He threw the rag in his hand into the sink, crossed his arms and sighed, "I knew it."

……

……

Lucien dreamed of a clown, a clown with four faces in one - 22, the old clown, the future Lucien, and Jack, whom he had never met.

He couldn't see their faces clearly, and wasn't sure who was speaking, but of course, it didn't matter.

The sound is melodious, like the sound of a bard's flute:

"Do you think you're saving the world? Enduring misunderstandings and suffering, paying with blood and tears like the heroes in the legends?"

"Do you think you're saving people? The world is powerless, but you hold up the collapsing sky, enduring countless hardships to be carved into a sculpture?"

"No, dear, we are not that kind of people. We can't become that kind of people. Just wait, you will be misunderstood, you will fall into depravity, and you will have a terrible ending."

"You will succeed eventually."

"You will fail."

It was like the sound of a bell ringing in his head, but when Lucien regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he realized that it was actually an illusion.

The alarm clock was ringing, and the crisp knocking sound turned into a huge bell in my dream.

Lucian turned his head and saw the wind still leaking out of the glass window. He thought that it must be the tacit cooperation with Jack yesterday that reminded him of the Joker.

After all, what he said before was right: your heart is so desolate that only the clown is left.

No?

Let me make it clear in advance that Lucien no longer trusts psychologists.

So he went to church.

In the Belilai district, the Silent Bat stands below the church all year round.

Unfortunately, it is not Sunday and the church is closed.

“…” Lucien stopped, feeling the weight of the rain falling on the umbrella, speechless for a moment.

What should we do now?

Looking around, I could only think of finding a bookstore or cafe to sit in and come back on Sunday.

But Lucian was not religious, had nothing to confess to God, and was not interested in listening to the so-called teachings of the Lord... He had no interest in "guilt theory" or "indulgences."

My heart is empty and I don’t know what to fill it with.

……

Find a job.

This thought suddenly popped up from the bottom of my heart.

Following closely are "journalist", "writer", "lecturer", "debater", "lawyer"... a series of professions pop up in my mind.

That's how it should be.

Lucian thought, just like Batman's real identity is a playboy, Superman's real identity is an honest reporter, the Flash is a policeman, Green Lantern is a pilot, and Wonder Woman works in a library...superheroes always have to give themselves a normal identity.

To communicate with human society and keep yourself connected.

----

Lucien chose to work in a chemical plant...ACE Chemical Plant...It can't be said to be a job, because chemical plants are very strict in recruiting people, and at least a junior high school degree or above is required.

But Lucian had no academic qualifications, and he used a fake ID. Damn the God of Time, he only traveled through time and didn't care about what happened after the time travel.

But because he was an illegal immigrant, Lucien could only work as a temporary slave, working from 5 am to 9 pm, doing tiring work, being ordered around but earning very little money.

The advantage is that you can fall asleep as soon as you touch the pillow, and you don’t have time to think about Batman or the Joker.

……

Time flies by like sand between fingers.

Since that meeting, it has become difficult for Lucian to catch the Silent Bat in Gotham, and the place where it spawns has been abandoned.

Lucien did not make any further attempts to search for it, nor did he publish any specious and eye-catching "Batman legends".

Just work honestly at ACE.

"Emerson, the boss is looking for you." Lucian was about to take off his work clothes when he heard someone calling him.

The boss does not refer to the leader of the gang, but the team leader, who is Lucien’s superior... a bald white man who is not very easy to talk to.

Lucien responded without changing back into his clothes and walked outside, where he saw him waiting as expected.

Lucian already had an idea: it was probably another difficult task that had fallen on him, and he had assigned it to him...

"Boss, what's the matter?" He asked shyly and awkwardly, but didn't show it on his face.

"Emerson, you've been working here for a few days... I can see that you're an honest and hardworking kid. Now I have an opportunity to make you a regular employee..."

"But..." Lucien was just about to mention that he was an illegal immigrant.

The supervisor, obviously understanding what he was about to say, interrupted, "He's an honest kid, but this isn't a big factory. Just getting to know him well is enough... We're short on night shift staff right now, so it shouldn't be a difficult job. Just keep an eye on the chemical furnaces and make sure they don't show up. It'll be much easier than it is now... Anyway, do you want to do it?"

Time's up, triggering the NPC plot. Lucian sighed silently in his heart, but nodded heavily on the surface: "Don't worry, boss, I will definitely do it well."

Then he said a bunch of nice things: "I know you are taking care of me. You let me do more work to gain experience so that I can suffer less losses and be less bullied. Now you are taking the initiative to help me get a permanent position. You are so good to me. I will definitely repay you when I become successful in the future..."

They fed each other with bread and were both satisfied.

A worker who was changing in the cloakroom sighed, "Another death! This is too weird! Who would dare to go there..."

……

When Lucian stood alone on the high ground and looked down at the dark stairs and chemical pool, he still felt something interesting.

It turns out that wearing the clown skin can really increase the chemical plant's professional title growth rate by 80%.

Temporary workers without any identity like Lucian are not uncommon in this chemical plant. Only a few who have worked there for more than five years and have good connections can finally be converted to regular employees.

Lucien had only been there for less than two weeks. He hadn't brought any gifts, nor had he worked hard. He had only promised to work hard every day like a slave... and then he got this opportunity for no reason.

Lucien's flattery of the steward was sincere - even though this permanent position had its pitfalls, the working environment was dangerous, and there was no provision for insurance and basic employee benefits.

...But this is not what he wants.

Below is a chemical pool with strange bubbles coming out. The sky is clear, a rare moment during the rainy season, and you can see the silence of the moon.

Everything was quiet, Lucien closed his eyes and counted silently.

"three."

"two."

"one."

There was the sound of soles of shoes stepping on the stairs, and Lucian leaned his head out to look down.

It's Jack Napier.

……

Lucian's silence wasn't caused by him or the Silent Bat... but by Jack, who was watching the Silent Bat gradually change.

Jack's hair was dark, seemingly black, or brown, but definitely not green. He felt Lucian's gaze, looked up, squinted slightly, and the U-shaped needle at the corner of his mouth reflected the luster.

Lucien ran the tip of his tongue lightly across his back teeth and smiled back.

"Boom—boom—boom—"

The footsteps were not loud, but clear enough, and the rhythm was oppressive - it seemed that this clown had learned Batman's skills.

……

Jack walked up to the platform and looked silently at Lucian who turned around, waiting for his explanation or opening remarks.

Lucien looked at Jack... He was a little short, less than two meters, with a well-proportioned body, not thin, with thick black hair, and even the pupils of his eyes were not a permanent point.

The unfinished clown is like a cicada larva crawling out of the soil and about to fly.

Lucien smiled at him. "The moon is so beautiful tonight."

Jack:?

……

"The moon is so beautiful tonight" is a subtle expression of love in the Japanese context.

……

Jack turned his head to look at the moon, which was indeed round and bright, and then looked at Lucian, who was clearly hinting at something: "..."

Lucian was satisfied with his attitude. After admiring him enough, he pointed to his feet and said, "You did it? You killed all those people just to let me, who was being bullied in the workplace, take over?"

Jack nodded. He was silent for a moment. The clown, who wasn't yet a clown, wasn't nearly as thick-skinned as that. Perhaps he was still struggling with whether Lucien was gay, but he still spoke:

“Why do you want to do this kind of work here?”

"You discriminate against workers?" Lucian patted his orange work clothes. "This world was created by workers and farmers."

Jack frowned: "You know that's not what I meant..."

To prevent Lucian from changing the subject again, he pointed out: "Why didn't you continue to do those things to Batman? Or tell the city that there are still bats?"

"Do those things? Go to bed? Oh, that's because I don't like uniform play and bandage play, but he insisted on playing, so there was a bit of a conflict." Lucian looked at Jack, whose brows were frowning even deeper, shrugged, and said in a long tone: "Okay - right -"

"Because I'm waiting for you." His eyes locked onto another pair of pupils, and his expression became serious and formal: "Because I'm unable to do it, you have to help me."

"If you mean career advancement?" Jack said, "Then I've helped you. What are you going to do next? Exploit the chemical plant to cause a radiation leak? Chemically contaminate the water? Toxic gas spreads? Or perhaps you'll use the chemical plant as a springboard to gradually accumulate wealth, eventually becoming Gotham's biggest capitalist and hiring Batman?"

What a good idea! Lucian praised it in his heart, but then felt regretful: "It's a pity, this is not the help I need. To be more precise, it's not you helping me, but me helping you."

"The subject is not me."

"Oh?" Lucien didn't say anything, just uttered a syllable, then took a step back and stood by the fence... which was a little rusty, and waved, motioning Jack to come over.