mtl008 Chapter 3283 Bloody New City (32)
Chapter 3283 Bloody New City (32)
Chapter 3283 Bloody New City (Thirty-Two)
You want me to pay to get Balk out?" Batman narrowed his eyes and looked at Schiller across from him and said, "Why do you think I would do that?"
Schiller shook his head and said, "You have no reason to rescue Balk, but you have reason to save GTO, which is about to be disbanded by the state legislature."
"You should know that I have always been against the establishment of GTO, right?"
"Yes, because it was the Pale Knight's idea. And he was the one who framed you and put you in jail, and the Joker in him is out of control."
"Neither of those are issues now," Batman said. "I don't support the GTO because it's not a sustainable way to run a business. If it goes wrong, it will be a disaster."
"Very farsighted, sir. But are you going to sit back and watch it disband?"
"why not?"
"Yes, you can do that." Schiller nodded again.
Batman found it difficult to talk to Schiller.
Schiller was not a polemical person. He was not one of those people who, when trying to convince others, instinctively refute all their opinions.
But he went to the other extreme, that is, affirmative personality. When he wanted to convince others, he affirmed their views. This made it impossible for you to find a point to refute him.
Everyone says you are right, how can you refute it?
What’s even more frightening is that in a negotiation, resistance is expressed in order to negotiate terms, not to really refuse. But Schiller’s attitude is as if he treats every price increase as a real refusal.
How can we talk about this?
If it were someone else, this negotiation wouldn't be necessary. But Batman has discovered that Schiller's mode of action is probably like this:
He will come to you to talk first, but he doesn't really want to talk. The negotiation model he recognizes is that he makes an offer and you agree directly, completely omitting the "talking" process and leaving no room for bargaining.
If you do not agree to his first offer, he will regard you as not wanting to negotiate with him. Then he will naturally start using means other than negotiation to achieve his goals.
It's usually not a pleasant means.
When Schiller comes to talk to someone, it's more like he's saying, "I've got a big, surprising plan for you, and now I just have to wait for the negotiations to break down so I can put it into practice."
The internal logic of this behavior is actually to shift all the responsibility to others.
"I came to you out of respect for martial virtues, following the principle of courtesy before force. I am a very good person. You rejected me, which shows that you don't know what is good for you. You can't blame me for anything that happens after that."
This kind of logic gives Batman a headache.
If he agreed to the price as soon as Schiller made an offer, the other party would definitely ask for more and more, and finally ask for a huge amount.
But if he wants to bargain, he has to be willing to refuse but at the "willing to refuse" stage, the other party will simply give up the conversation and turn around to give you a big surprise.
It's not right to refuse, and it's not right not to refuse. Since the Joker became the White Knight, Batman hasn't felt such a dilemma for a long time.
Since none of the choices were right, Batman had no choice but to give up. He asked directly: "What are you going to do if I don't agree?"
He didn't think Schiller would say it, because everyone knew that if Batman knew your plan, it would be difficult to complete it. Batman was ready to listen to some perfunctory words.
As a result, Schiller actually introduced his plan to him seriously.
"If you really don't intend to help, I will have no choice but to let the situation continue to develop. In this way, GTO will definitely be forced to the brink of disbanding."
"If the team is still in a predicament of having no money to keep running, the team members may complain, but they will still accept the reality. The same is true for the citizens of Gotham City."
"But now, the GTO has received a large sum of money. Not only that, the Charabon family is no longer a threat. They have both freedom and money, which is a great situation."
“No one will let it go if the team suddenly announces that it will be disbanded at this time. The team members and the citizens who have been helped by the team will feel very confused and angry.”
"This kind of emotion desperately needs an outlet. The state legislature is a good choice, but it's a bit far away and they can't vent their anger. Batman is different."
"Soon many people will know that you have always disapproved of the establishment of the GTO and have always been opposed to it. The evidence of your crimes that led to your imprisonment is still widely circulated among the people and has not been fully clarified."
"I believe you still remember the evidence that said you were a lackey of the upper class. The reporters will not miss the opportunity to link these two things together and stir up another wave of hype. By then, the reputation you have just accumulated will fall to the bottom again."
"You think I care?" Batman said. "If I wanted fame, I wouldn't be a masked hero."
"Oh? Really? Your dear adopted son Nightwing also misunderstands you so much, and you don't care?"
Batman's expression darkened instantly.
"He won't believe those groundless rumors." Batman said, "He has known my true identity from the beginning to the end, and knows the truth about the Gotham Natural Disaster Fund."
"Then why didn't he stay with you, but joined GTO?"
Batman was silent.
"You always wonder why he chose the Joker. But he didn't choose the Joker, he just didn't want to choose you." Schiller looked at Batman opposite and said, "He thinks you can't protect him, he just wants to protect himself."
Batman's fists clenched instantly. Because he knew why Dick felt he couldn't protect him. Jason Todd, the boy had never even come to his dreams once. He must resent him very much. And Dick was just afraid of repeating the same mistake.
"Nightwing will know that you had a chance to save GTO, but you didn't do it. He may not understand your considerations. He will think that your prejudice against the Joker is even greater than your concern for Gotham's law and order."
"It would make you appear very selfish in his eyes. He might even think that you became this masked vigilante just to vent your excessive desire for violence on super criminals like the Joker, rather than really wanting to save the city."
"You won't explain because you are disappointed that he doesn't understand and trust you enough. He won't listen to your explanation because he feels regret for his past help in the evil."
"There will be an irreparable rift between the father and son. Even if GTO is not disbanded in the end, there is no going back."
Schiller held a coffee cup, looked at Batman's eyes, which were as black as the bottom of a pot, and said with a smile: "Do you like this story?"
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re mean?”
"There aren't many people who are willing to praise me so sincerely. I'd be honored if you were one of them."
Batman was silent, but it was more like he was speechless. He had never been able to deal with shameless people.
No, he actually has a killer trick up his sleeve.
"Do you think you can get out of here safely and carry out your evil plan?" Batman asked.
"Oh, yes. You have this trick." Schiller smiled again and said, "Have you noticed that I am very efficient? I can travel to various corners of Gotham several times a day. Is it because the traffic conditions in this city are so good?"
Batman got his hint. The moment he reached out to grab Schiller's shoulder, he saw thick fog blowing in his face. The next second, Schiller, who was supposed to be right in front of him, appeared behind him.
"Sorry, super criminal, ready to commit crimes at any time." Schiller appeared behind Batman with a smiling voice.
"This is the worst possible outcome," Batman thought. "Time to call Superman."
"You want to call your friend over? That's great. I need to tell him about the benefits that GTO has brought to the people of Gotham, and the best use of the money you have prepared."
Batman instantly hit the hang-up button on his communicator, then thought to himself, "Sorry, Clark, just pretend I hit it by mistake."
Alfred's death has led to Batman's silence, which has a much greater impact than expected. He hasn't made any plans recently, and even feels a headache when he starts thinking about it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to call Superman when facing a superpowered criminal.
But now even Superman can't be called. Based on Batman's understanding of Clark, this small town youth may also wonder why he has money but doesn't save an organization that has a positive impact on Gotham's law and order.
If Superman were to be led astray by Schiller, he would probably lose the support of his friends and allies before he loses the support of his adopted son. To be an island would mean total failure.
"Maybe you can try to get Bruce's support." Schiller gave his advice and said, "Although he is not Batman, he still has the same wisdom as you. Maybe he can come up with something."
Batman hesitated.
"How much do you need?" Batman asked.
Schiller was also a little surprised. He said, "Would you rather just agree to it than go and try it with Bruce?"
"You're right, he's not Batman." Batman said, "I know better than you what Bruce Wayne would be if he wasn't Batman. I'd rather work with the Joker."
"Aren't you a little too extreme? He hasn't offended you, has he?" Schiller walked back to his chair and sat down, then said, "There's nothing special about him except that he's useless."
"It's really useless compared to you." Batman regretted it after he said this.
"Since you're so sensible, I can give you a discount." Schiller put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and looked at Batman and said, "You pay half, and the other half will be used to control the pollution of natural forests."
Before Batman could say anything, Schiller continued, "I know you want to improve the environmental pollution in Area X15 because you were involved in what happened back then and you feel responsible for it."
"But in fact, there is no pollution there. It's just a trap set up by Bruce to cheat the real estate developers. But since you have the money to clean it up, the pollution near the natural forest is the same. You can change the details of the plan and it will work."
Batman frowned. He really didn't investigate the matter of Area X15. He was exhausted during that time and really didn't have the energy to investigate carefully.
Then Batman suddenly realized that he was like a pendulum, constantly swinging between the two goals of taking down GTO and governing the X15 area. If one side didn't work, he would swing to the other side.
But this swing did not occur naturally, but someone was constantly pushing him to give up this side and go to that side, and then give up that side and go to this side at the right time.
This vacillation resulted in him not being involved in either side, but always being very busy.
Others hang carrots in front of donkeys to urge them to move forward, but Schiller hangs carrots on the donkey's buttocks to make it spin in place.
When this metaphor appeared in Batman's mind, he felt terrible.
Because he suddenly realized that all the people who had contact with Schiller were like this. They were busy and did a lot of work that they thought was very effective, but in fact, they did not achieve the goal they wanted to achieve, but what Schiller wanted to achieve.
Batman was about to feel like this was his worst day.
But the fact is that there is no such thing as the most unlucky, only more unlucky.
Two seconds after Batman realized this fact, a red and blue figure appeared outside the floor-to-ceiling window of Wayne Manor's reception room.
Batman now just wanted to sneer - the strongest donkey is here.