Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

"You can't look at everything through the lens of money!" Nightwing blurted out: "You need to pay more attention to those who don't have money, their lives are miserable, and it's all thanks to those rich people you mentioned."

"Of course, this is a glaringly obvious principle. If some are unimaginably poor, it means others are obscenely rich. You could spend an entire day in the slums, watch them until you bore a hole through them, but would that solve the problem?"

"Let's not beat around the bush, Mister," Gordon interrupted Shiller, saying, "Tell us your thoughts, and if they make sense, I will cooperate with you as much as possible."

"It seems you have come to terms with reality, Commissioner," Shiller remarked.

Gordon sighed, staring at the surface of the water in his glass, lost in thought. After a considerable pause, he said, "Yes, maybe a few years ago, maybe decades ago, I realized that while principles are all well and good, they are worthless if they can't be implemented."

"I admire your clarity, sir, but I still need to ask this gentleman here: can your morally untarnished principles pay your colleagues' salaries?"

Nightwing's brow furrowed deeply, his lips tightly pursed, the corners turning down as if tugged by something, this awkward demeanor made his answer evident.

"Of course not." Shiller answered for him, and then he said, "You despise those fat rats, but your anger and hatred won't make them pay up, and even your murderous intent is a joke to them."

"Under the social system they've established, their malice can spread unchecked, while yours would be subject to legal judgment—it's utterly unfair. Why knowingly step into a trap when you can't overturn the system?"

"What would you do then?"

"They will never use their money to improve the lives of the poor, but if it's in our hands, that's a different story," Shiller said as he dipped his finger in water and drew on the table's surface, before adding: "There's little money to be made from the poor, we have to figure out how to make money from them."

"They won't open their wallets for us," Gordon stated.

"Then you're just not earning it the right way," Shiller lightly tapped the table with his finger and said: "If you just clutch GTO tightly in your hands, it's nothing but a costly and ineffective rib. Only by playing it right can it become a good card."

"But the achievements of the squadron are there for all to see," Nightwing spoke again. "GTO has significantly improved the public security situation in Gotham."

"I'm not denying that, but why isn't it continuing to improve?"

Nightwing was at a loss for words. What else could it be but a lack of money?

"Perhaps you should think more deeply about why those who invest in crime would allow such an organization to improve security in Gotham," Shiller said with a smile: "Of course, because they know it simply can't last."

"The tremendous impact this squad has had on security comes from their exceptional equipment and scientific training methods, both of which are costly."

"The city government doesn't have that kind of money, and Batman might not be willing to pay up. Without money, these people are no different from regular police; why should they give you a second glance?"

Nightwing clenched his fists, the word 'frustration' almost visibly written across his face. He seemed about to argue but was held back by Gordon, who shook his head and said, "Yes, you're right, sir. What exactly do you mean by playing our cards right?"

"Some hope GTO perishes in poverty and silence, because the cruelest thing in the world is to give you hope and then plunge you into despair."

"The lower classes see the hope of improved security through this counter-terror squad, wishing for days like these to continue. But as I said, without money, it just can't keep going."

"The day GTO vanishes, they win again. They can legitimately tell those they oppress that even if there's a once-in-a-century leader who carves a new path for you, you can't preserve it. Poverty is your destiny; there's nothing to do but accept it."

"They've played this trick countless times. The achievements of all the heroes who stood up were dismantled in this way, only bringing more despair to the masses."

"Every era has angry people who resist, but ultimately they fail to change anything, because their hatred is both a sharp blade and a snare tripping them up."

"Hatred blinds them, making them fight to the death against what they deem enemies, regardless of the occasion, which is moving but futile."

"A true revolutionary must always be angry but also always be clear-headed. The revolutionary nature of a person often lies not in striking the enemy with perpetual wrath but in the ability to reconcile and unite everyone for final victory, including the enemy."

"This is the difference between knowing that principles are correct and putting those principles into practice. It's also the difference between 'struggle for the sake of peace' and 'struggle is peace, and peace is struggle.'"

Nightwing looked perplexed as if some knowledge had just grazed the surface of his cerebral cortex.

Gordon was reflective, setting aside the part he didn't understand; he sensed something that was once hanging in the air slowly descending.

Next door, in the rest area behind the door, Bruce clenched his fists. He recalled Oliver, always so intense and angry, never relaxed, like a beast ready to bite off someone's neck at any moment.

If he was right, why did he fall out of favor? If he was wrong, what future lies for Mexico?

"Alright, let's talk details," Shiller said. "If you remain inactive and maintain the status quo, it's only a matter of time before GTO grinds to a halt. I presume you'll concede this point, won't you?"

Nightwing snapped back to reality, instinctively wanting to object, to say he wouldn't let the squad disband, but he thought again. What concrete measures could he offer if asked by the man before him?

He knew that what Shiller had said earlier was true; the squad had distinguished itself from ordinary police and achieved such good results because the $3 billion US Dollars in natural disaster funds initially used to bail out Batman were allocated to establish this team.

This allowed GTO to possess extremely sophisticated equipment and comprehensive training unavailable to regular police. Of course, very high salaries also made them more willing to risk their lives, acting with greater ferocity in the line of duty.

But if all this were gone, how much fighting power could they exert?

Nightwing knew very well that without these, no one would be willing to go to battle anymore, and even he himself would not want these people to go into battle, because without professional equipment, it would simply be sending them to their deaths. If he insisted on having them continue, it would be akin to slaughtering innocent people.

"This is what I meant by saying that keeping a card in hand until the end of the game serves no purpose. What we should do is find the right moment to play it, to let it yield its proper value."

Gordon seemed to understand something, staring intently at Shiller and saying, "You want someone to foot the bill?"

"Whoever needs this team should be the one to pay." Shiller also looked back fearlessly.

Gordon felt his throat dry and his Adam's apple move up and down. His fingers fiddled with the buttons on his trench coat, and the anxious air he exuded was even hotter than the ultraviolet rays of the entire Gotham.

"You want those rich people to cough up the money? Why would they be willing?" Gordon said bitterly, "They'd rather have crime run even more rampant, as you said, crime is their investment."

"Do you know what the essence of investment is?"

Gordon shook his head.

"It's a zero-sum game." Shiller said, "The value of the material in the world doesn't increase out of thin air, and neither do the ups and downs; if a cup gets more water, it means another cup has less."

"At first, they poured the water from the poor's cup into their own, but the water in the poor's cup is also limited, and now only the bottom remains."

"And is the water in the rich people's cup calm and undisturbed? Do they do all these things for their collective interests?"

Shiller's expression gradually grew colder as he said to Gordon, "That's why I say GTO is a good card, even the trump card you can currently play."

"Its presence is like throwing a bomb into the water. Whoever doesn't want to be blown out into the poor's cup must figure out a way to deal with the bomb."

Unconsciously, Gordon looked at the glass on the table, where the faces of people seemed suddenly to appear. They always carried that hypocritical smile, high and mighty, and full of disdain, always making it seem effortless.

Gordon knew that if he were to throw a stone into the glass now, it would cause a splash and much of the water would be spilled out, struggling and sliding on the table surface.

It could not return to the glass because it no longer has the space to contain them. The remaining water in the glass wouldn't welcome them either, it would be even more cruel and malicious to make them disappear forever.

Gordon closed his eyes and sighed in his heart as if having made an important decision. After a long while, he raised his eyes to Shiller and said, "You think they'll believe me..."

"No, it's not you who should compromise," Shiller suddenly laughed again, sending a chill down Gordon's spine.

"It's like in the midst of a terrifying disaster, you are prepared to sacrifice yourself, but suddenly people roll out a huge birthday cake and tell you it's all a joke."

"Next, you need to contact the upper class you know, tell them that in order to maintain GTO's operation, the city government needs a new public safety fund, roughly about 200 million US dollars."

"One hundred million of that would be invested in GTO for their daily operational expenses. Another hundred million would need to be channeled into the mayor's personal fund through donations."

"In exchange, the mayor allows the donors to use GTO to protect their properties or ensure their personal safety. Additionally, they may engage it for commercial hires, with each venture costing no less than 5 million US dollars."

"During the sponsorship, the donors may not interfere with the GTO's management, but can provide office spaces, weaponry, vehicles, and other public safety equipment, and also set patrol routes according to the need to protect their assets."

"Also, you can imply that some people in the squad are short of money and are willing to take private employment, but the mayor will take a 30% cut of the fee. As for what kind of work, as long as it is not illegal, anything goes."

Gordon's expression was complex, while Nightwing's eyes widened as he said, "You're selling GTO?"

"No, I disagree!" Nightwing stood up and said, "If they get their hands on this squad, they will definitely not use it for maintaining public order."

"Yes, they won't, so what do you think they're going to use this squad for?"

"Of course, to bully the poor!"

"What's the use of bullying the poor? How much money can that make?"

"They... they might use force to suppress the protesting public..."

"Without this squad, will they stop suppressing with violence?"

Shiller sighed and said, "Looking at the current situation in Gotham, the oppression and exploitation of Gotham's poor have reached their limits. All social systems can already smoothly and perfectly extract everything from the poor; there's no need for more force."

"But if at this moment, they obtain such a powerful force outside the system, they have no reason to waste it on the already squeezed dry poor."

Shiller's tone sank again, the tremor behind each syllable revealing the devil's mask.

"A farmer with a shotgun wouldn't use it to shoot vegetables in the field; they would be more willing—to aim at their neighbors."