Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

The car stopped in front of the city government building, a rare sight to see Shiller dressed in a suit. He adjusted his cuffs before stepping out of the car, followed closely by Bruce.

Upon stepping into the sunlight, Shiller realized that his complexion was indeed paler than usual, but standing in the sunlight did not reveal any discomfort; the ultraviolet rays in Gotham were just too weak.

They quickly walked into the reception hall and took the private elevator. Shiller surveyed the decor.

The era of this cosmos was the year 2007, modern decoration styles were not popular. The city hall adopted the most classic American luxury decor style, the materials were exquisite, and the cost must have been quite expensive.

Calculations began to formulate in Shiller's mind.

While in the elevator, Shiller turned to Bruce and asked, "Who was the previous mayor? Where is he now?"

Bruce was startled, lowered his voice and said, "I don't know, I haven't inquired. He disappeared after leaving office."

"Can you guarantee you'll fully cooperate with me for the coming period?"

Bruce nodded and said, "Of course, the reason I brought you here is to be the backbone. Everyone will cooperate with you."

"Then look into him." Shiller straightened his tie, then said, "Find out who he is, his past, and where he is now."

A flash crossed Bruce's mind, but he failed to seize the key point and could only agree for the moment.

The elevator stopped, and Shiller walked out first, Bruce noticing more differences between greed and arrogance; greed is someone who values efficiency, in the face of efficiency, he hardly considers the atmosphere.

Without a receptionist, Shiller walked straight up to the mayor's office door, knocked, and when an invitation to enter came from inside, Shiller was the first to push the door open.

His face, previously expressionless, immediately took on an enthusiastic smile. He stepped forward and shook hands with the pale knight emerging from behind his desk, saying, "I've long admired you, Mayor Nepier."

"You are too kind, Professor, please take a seat over here."

The three sat down in the adjacent meeting area. Shiller surveyed the decor of the mayor's office, everything was new, and the style was much more minimalist than outside, signaling to him that the pale knight must have redecorated the office after taking office.

Whose construction team did he use?

With renewed contemplation in his heart, Shiller began, "We're short on time and heavy on tasks, so I'll spare you the pleasantries. What resources do you have at your disposal now? How much money is left on the books?"

The pale knight seemed embarrassed by this question, but he still said, "The strongest force I have is the GTO."

"The team with Robin?"

The pale knight furrowed his brows sharply, asserting, "It doesn't matter who is with them, they all work for the good of this city."

"Then it's a team of Gotham's, not yours."

Caught off-guard, the pale knight struggled to respond while Shiller appeared to resign hope, turning to Bruce who said, "The criminals from Arkham listen to me, but they can't show themselves in public."

"What about the police?"

"With James Gordon around, we can't do much." Bruce glanced at the pale knight, implying he shouldn't speak, but the pale knight was not deterred.

"We can't bribe the police like they do. On one hand, we don't have the money; on the other, the police we could buy with money wouldn't be good people—they won't give their lives for us." The pale knight tried not to seem too old-fashioned, skipping grand talks about justice and only specified the current problems.

"Indeed." Shiller nodded in agreement.

The pale knight's eyes widened slightly, thinking Shiller would object, for upon arrival, Shiller had inquired whether they commanded any forces—their response was likely not what he wanted to hear.

"What's the relationship between the Gotham Police Department and the SWAT team?"

"The SWAT team follows James' orders." The pale knight said, "I believe he can lead them well."

"Correct, I believe so too," said Shiller.

The pale knight felt something was amiss.

He recalled Greed's approach in the previous game and finally spoke, "I know you think we need some people working for us, but the problem is we can't afford to maintain our own forces. I don't wish to coerce anyone with justice or ideals."

Shiller agreed smoothly.

This confused the pale knight even further.

He had previously discussed this with Bruce—who had been diplomatic, yet the pale knight understood his implication.

Those who are intent on great achievements must not get tripped up on minor matters; not to ignore details if one wants to accomplish great things, but to be unscrupulous when necessary.

A clean official has to be craftier than a corrupt one. Justice and a sense of morality are like invisible shackles one puts on oneself; with those shackles, one cannot out-dance those shameless people in their striptease.

The pale knight knew this all too well—he couldn't stomach doing those despicable acts, thinking he could navigate the grey areas without harming others. The current problem was they lacked even the capital to enter the grey areas.

Cultivating one's own power costs money, unspoken agreements require money, and media influence, news reports all need money. They simply lacked any spare funds.

"How much money is left on the books?" Shiller asked again.

"We have only about a million dollars left now."

"How much of the taxes is allocated for security purposes?"

"Basic security maintenance costs are about 120 million US Dollars quarterly. If we include all the miscellaneous items, it comes to about two hundred million."