hotmtlnovel Chapter 97 An Unpredictable Stage of Fate
Chapter 97 An Unpredictable Stage of Fate
Chapter 97 An Unpredictable Stage of Fate
The commotion was drowned out by the cheers outside. Dick didn't know how long he could hold out; he just wanted to grab the bottle.
He was clever, but his worries about his parents overshadowed his reason. He was so focused on stealing the bottle that he didn't notice the other gangsters appearing behind him.
"Got you!"
The tall, thin man grabbed Dick and slammed him to the ground, his eyes still fixed on the bottle in another gangster's hand.
It's within reach.
He made a mental deduction and reached straight for the bottle. The other man, coughing from the smoke, didn't notice his movement. Only after the bottle flew out of his hand did the tall, thin man's accomplice realize what was happening.
"Click."
The glass bottle shattered on the ground, and the acid stains the ground dark.
At the same time, Dick also fell to the ground, his hands pinned behind his back by the tall, thin man.
The accomplice, who had lost the bottle, seemed flustered. "What do we do now?"
"Then just cut the rope," the tall, thin man said dismissively. "Just cut it in half, and the rest will break eventually as you grind it. It's not as effective as acid, but it'll do."
Dick, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately struggled upon hearing this, shouting, "No! You can't do this!"
Even with his hands bound, he struggled to twist his body and kick his legs upwards, trying to hurt them.
Caught off guard, the tall, thin man was actually kicked twice.
"You brat!" The other man angrily slammed his head to the ground. "I'll kill you in a minute. After your parents die, I'll mail your head to the circus!"
Dick ate two mouthfuls of sand and couldn't help but let out a few muffled groans.
Damn it, how could he think that destroying the bottle would solve everything? What to do, what to do, what to do—
Even at this point, Dick was still thinking about how to stop the other party. After briefly regretting his naivety, he quickly turned his head.
The noise during circus performances is so loud that the background noise and cheers mix together, making it difficult for people at the front to hear the commotion backstage.
But if it's a gunshot—
Before he could explore this line of thought further, the force behind him suddenly loosened. With the sound of two heavy objects falling to the ground, he realized he had regained his freedom.
Someone helped him.
Dick quickly realized what was happening and tried to get up from the ground, but the two gangsters he had seen earlier were already lying on the ground.
A tall, thin young man extended his hand to him. "Are you alright?"
"Thanks, I'm fine."
Dick used the momentum to stand up. As soon as he was standing, he wiped his face with his hand. He had swallowed a mouthful of sand, and since he was wearing a performance costume, he could only grab a piece of cloth from the side to wipe his face.
His words were filled with the relief of surviving a disaster, "Luckily I met you, otherwise I don't know what I would have done next."
"I'm Richard Grayson, you can also call me Dick." He wanted to thank Zheng En, but he stopped mid-sentence. "By the way, how did you get backstage?"
The backstage area of the circus is always off-limits to outsiders. The gangsters who sneaked in from the corner were trying to cause trouble. What is this person doing here?
Dick didn't suspect Zheng En of having ulterior motives, after all, he had just been saved, he was just genuinely puzzled.
Jung Eun, stumped by the question:
—
He was really bad at making up excuses, but luckily Dick was a quick-thinking kid, and he quickly found an excuse for Jung Eun, "Oh, I see!"
Seeing Zheng En's silence, he assumed she was embarrassed.
"You want to come backstage for an autograph?" Dick thought he'd guessed right. "But I'm the only one backstage right now. Whose autograph do you want? The animal trainer Rex, the magician Holmes, or perhaps the most famous trapeze artists, the Graysons?"
"I can help you get anyone's autograph, but I need to deal with these two first."
The child was quite quick-witted, but he remembered the most important thing at hand. However, looking at the two people lying unconscious on the ground, Dick was at a loss.
Jung Eun-jung was thinking the same thing. "We can talk about the autographs later. Let's talk about them first." He gestured with his eyes to the two men lying on the ground. "How did you get involved with the gang?"
"I don't know either," Dick said, puzzled. But the circus owner, pulling up his pants and rushing out of the bathroom in a panic, knew, "They just want protection money!"
When he first entered the toilet, he thought it was because he was too nervous or had an upset stomach, but after a short while, he heard faint sounds coming from outside.
The restrooms are not far from the backstage area, so they aren't as affected by the sound system.
As he strained until sweat beaded on his forehead, he could occasionally hear a few human voices. The circus owner kept reassuring himself that it was just a hallucination; after all, a person is most vulnerable when defecating, and neither his stomach nor his courage would allow him to leave the toilet to show off.
After much persuasion and relieving himself of his urgent needs, he pressed himself against the wall for a while to listen to the sounds. Only after realizing that the matter was resolved did he dare to come out and angrily denounce the actions of these gangsters.
He explained the situation to the other two while he and Dick tied up the two unconscious gangsters.
"I must call the police and put them all in jail!"
The circus owner was indignant. Zheng En understood his thoughts, but it was necessary for him to know, "Those two might be arrested and spend a few days in jail, but their gang members are still out there. Seriously, you'd better get out of Gotham as soon as possible."
"But why? They're the ones who did the bad things!" Dick, who hadn't had much exposure to this dark side, was stunned.
He looked at Zheng En with a puzzled expression. "Is there really no other way?" He had also toured Gotham with the circus and knew that it was one of the few cities where the circus could make a fortune.
But according to Zheng En, they shouldn't even think about coming here again.
"If I had to say, the Gotham gangs don't last long; they change very quickly." Zheng En didn't know what they were like before, but he knew all too well what they would be like in the future. "Perhaps when you come back in a few years, their gangs will have disappeared."
In the comics, this gang isn't a major character. As a gang, it's easy for them to mess with people. Taking them out takes time, and during that time, they have enough time to do something to the circus members.
It is said that you can only be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. Killing someone is much easier than protecting someone.
In Zheng En's opinion, the best course of action is to flee.
Dick and the circus owner, who were hearing the gangster lifespan theory for the first time, both fell silent, their expressions showing great shock.
"Ah, in that case—"
The circus owner was reluctant to part with the money he had earned in Gotham, his expression conflicted. But he glanced at Dick, who had almost died, and then at the two gangsters who were tied up. "I can always try again in a few years."
Although he loves money, he hasn't earned enough in Gotham to risk his life for it.
Dick's example is right before our eyes. What if he himself is the one whose life is threatened next time?
The circus owner shuddered and was even hesitant to call the police.
After resolving the matter, Zheng En quickly returned to the audience. The two children were thoroughly enjoying the circus performance, while Bruce noticed that Zheng En might have been up to something, but he only glanced at him discreetly.
Faced with Bruce, who knew nothing about the matter, Jung Eun felt somewhat melancholy.
Although he had done a good deed, this meant that the identity of Robin might no longer exist.
"Don't worry about it." Batman's tone was indifferent. "I'd rather Dick be with his parents than become Robin."
Zheng En knew Batman's nature well; no matter which Batman it was, he would say the same thing.
He remembered the introduction he saw in a certain edition of a magazine.
"I swore to my parents that I would rid this city of the evil that took their lives."
Bruce wanted to become Batman so that no child would ever lose their parents again, and no innocent person would ever have their life taken away.
Jung Eun understood his thoughts; he couldn't help but think about the future developments.
The original Robin Dick will travel the world with the Harry Circus, and will most likely inherit the Grayson family tradition and become the new aerial acrobat.
Under his guidance, the second Robin Jason studied diligently and excelled in his studies. He became very interested in books on philosophy and theology, and no longer admired the first Robin. It seems that he is developing in the direction of Flashpoint, and may become a priest or a scholar.
Tim, the third Robin, is the most likely to continue the story from the comics, following Batman in his films. However, without the presence of the first two Robins, there will be fewer photos in the album.
He volunteered to be Robin because he was worried about Batman's mental state. Batman had developed a strong self-destructive mentality because of Jason's death, and he felt that he had to take the role, so he pushed open the door of Wayne Manor.
Without the above prerequisites, Tim would most likely continue to secretly photograph Batman while maintaining a safe distance after inheriting the Drake family fortune.
Stephanie, the fourth Robin, became Robin largely because of Tim. Aside from Tim, she was more often seen as a troublemaker in Gotham.
Thinking about it this way, the last Robin left might be the youngest, Damian. In this situation, as the only Robin related to Batman by blood, their bond would inevitably be deeper than the others.
However, Robin is actually Dick's nickname. When Batman is around, there will be an assistant who is more likely to be called Batboy than Robin.
After the performance, Dick, who was waiting at the exit, greeted Zheng En as soon as he saw her.
"Because I didn't know who you liked, I had everyone sign their names." He pulled out a small stack of cards covered with names.
Jung Eun reached out and took it. "Okay, thank you for your help."
He had specifically instructed Dick and the circus owner not to make a fuss, so when Dick came to see Jung Eun, he only mentioned the autograph.
Casey's expression suddenly dawned on her. "So that's what you were doing when you went out earlier." Jason was more interested in Dick than in signing autographs. "You were the third to last to perform, right? That's amazing. I can't believe the human body can do that."
"Oh, not at all. Compared to my parents, I'm still far behind."
Dick was embarrassed by the praise, and the three children swapped names. When Grayson's last name was mentioned, Jason and Casey understood why he had said that.
"Indeed, the mid-air substitution was the most exciting part of the whole game; I was on tenterhooks watching it."
Jason nodded, glanced at the small stack of cards in Zheng En's hand, and suddenly asked, "Are there any autographs on these?"
Dick was stunned. "Me?"
He scratched his cheek with his finger, somewhat embarrassed. "But I'm not that famous yet—"
"Once you become a celebrity, it will be much harder to get an autograph!" Casey said succinctly. "You have to do this early. When you have few fans, actors cherish them, and getting an autograph isn't difficult. But once you become famous, actors act like divas, and there are tons of people scrambling for autographs. You won't be able to get one then."
She enthusiastically went to ask other staff members for paper and pens, saying, "Come on, take this opportunity to write a few for us."
"Oh, okay."
Dick was completely bewildered by Jason and Casey's persuasive words, and only reluctantly left when someone called him. Before leaving, he even exchanged phone numbers with Jung Eun.
He didn't have his own cell phone, so he gave Zheng En his parents' phone numbers.
Dick trotted into the backstage area, and Zheng En led the two kids and Bruce out as well. He had no reason to stay and listen to the kids chat, but because he seemed so self-righteous, the children didn't think anything of it.
Dick glanced at Bruce curiously several times, but with Jason and Casey around, he was too busy talking to his new friends.
As for Bruce, the children were having a lively conversation, and he shouldn't get involved.
Zheng En wasn't sure if this was just her preconceived notion, but she always felt that Bruce just looked at the three kids chattering away and a fatherly smile appeared on his face.
It must be a special fate that brought us together as a family.
Wait, wait, stop singing, we need to get down to business.
After entrusting the two children to Bruce, Jung Eun had other things to do.
[Mission: The Flying Grayson Family]
A free bird soars in the sky —
[Mission Objective: Change the fate of the Graysons' deaths]
[Task Status: Incomplete]
The point of death in the comics has passed, but the Graysons have not yet crossed the threshold of death.
For a moment, Zheng En questioned the system's judgment, since everyone dies eventually, but the system quickly took on the role of customer service and rejected the speculation.
That means they will likely face another misfortune in the near future.
Jung Eun wasn't sure if this was related to the Owl Court, but when she used the lens to observe the backstage area, she did find the amber-gold tooth in Dick's mouth.
Blue Fire BB