Rex glanced at Alfred, thinking, ‘This guy can fight much better than I can.’
Alfred was no ordinary butler.
He was a former MI5 agent who had weathered many storms with Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne, in his youth.
Although he was older now and had transitioned into a full-time butler, he was still not someone Rex, with his [Boxing Lv.5], could handle.
However, to Rex’s surprise, Alfred only looked slightly depressed and nodded at him in agreement.
Since that was the case, Rex naturally would not decline.
While grooming the Penguin, he also gained the opportunity to groom the future Batman.
Who could refuse such an offer?
Thus, Rex temporarily moved into Wayne Manor to teach Bruce the fundamentals of boxing.
Though he was supposed to be the teacher, he was actually more of a sparring partner and a student himself.
The real teacher was still Alfred.
Rex’s boxing skills came from the original host, and the original host’s techniques were basically entirely unorthodox.
In an underground boxing ring, who would use orthodox boxing?
But Rex’s most important role was providing companionship.
There were only Bruce and Alfred in Wayne Manor now.
The larger the manor, the emptier and lonelier it felt.
Bruce suffered from the psychological trauma of his parents’ murder, and Alfred, having no experience raising children, was completely overwhelmed by Bruce’s erratic behavior.
Now that Rex had moved in, it could be said that he brought a lot of life to the household.
Above all, Rex had a way with words.
With more companionship, Bruce smiled noticeably more often, which made Alfred feel even closer to Rex.
The current Wayne Manor could easily inspire a sitcom called The Happy Life of Three Men.
A couple of days later, another guest arrived at Wayne Manor: Jim Gordon.
Gordon’s purpose for the visit was to explain to Bruce that Mario Pepper, the man killed and framed as the Wayne murderer, was actually innocent.
They had killed the wrong person.
Gordon sought Bruce’s forgiveness and handed him his police badge.
He promised to do everything in his power to cleanse the police department, leaving it up to Bruce to decide whether Gordon should continue investigating his parents’ murder.
“Sounds like a very good excuse to avoid offending anyone on either side.”
Alfred let out his customary sarcastic remark from the side.
From the very beginning, Alfred did not think highly of Gordon, believing he couldn’t read the situation.
Now, he found Gordon to be utterly reckless.
Bruce, however, was not as worldly-wise as Alfred.
Although disappointed that the real culprit behind his parents’ death was still at large, Bruce still chose to believe in Gordon.
Nevertheless, Bruce was inevitably somewhat heartbroken.
Fortunately, Rex had anticipated this and stepped forward to comfort him, preventing Bruce’s psychological state from deteriorating further.
From that day on, however, Bruce began to pay attention to all kinds of news and files in Gotham, including his parents’ death and the subsequent economic impact.
According to him, he wanted to understand the operational mechanisms of this city.
It was hard to imagine such words coming from a twelve-year-old boy.
Rex also gained a lot.
What Alfred taught Bruce were just the basics, but he taught Rex not only boxing but also comprehensive combat techniques, holding absolutely nothing back.
One thing made Rex find it very strange: he absorbed the knowledge Alfred taught him extremely fast.
The most significant result was that the [Boxing Lv.5] on his personal status panel had now become [Combat Lv.3].
Compared to boxing, combat encompassed a broader range of styles and had stronger applicability.
This was why, even though Rex had clearly grown stronger, his skill level had seemingly decreased.
‘Could it be that I am a martial arts prodigy?’
But Rex wasn’t the fastest learner.
Seeing Alfred giving Rex special tutoring, Bruce also clamored to learn.
Within a few days, he had achieved initial results.
While Rex continuously improved himself at Wayne Manor, the turmoil in Gotham continued to spread.
Gordon, who had returned to the police department, remained proactive in solving cases.
Cracking a major child trafficking case involving street urchins gradually earned him a reputation.
But he also found himself in trouble.
The Montoya duo from the Major Crimes Unit discovered that the Penguin had gone missing.
They connected this to the fact that the Penguin was the informant who exposed the collusion between the mob and the police department.
The two easily linked the Penguin’s disappearance to Gordon, suspecting that Gordon had murdered him to silence him.
It wasn’t their fault for thinking this way.
Aside from Rex, Falcone, the Penguin, and Gordon himself, everyone else, including Gordon’s partner Bullock, believed it to be true.
Facing the investigating Montoya duo, Gordon suffered in silence.
Falcone had told him the Penguin was already dead, but the public story was that Gordon killed him as a show of loyalty to save his own life.
On one hand, there was Falcone’s threat; on the other, the Major Crimes Unit’s investigation.
Gordon had to use the Balloonman case as a cover to hide himself.
After all, Montoya had no proof.
Furthermore, he was currently overwhelmed by a troublesome kid.
To avoid going to juvenile detention, Catwoman Selina tricked Gordon into believing she had seen the suspect who murdered the Waynes.
However, during Gordon’s questioning, Selina escaped.
What made Gordon feel helpless was that Catwoman had spoken with such conviction that she might actually know something.
Meanwhile, the majestic Falcone also encountered a minor setback.
Having learned from Rex that Fish and Nikolai had betrayed him, he remained very composed and chose to hold his ground without taking immediate action.
Of course, necessary warnings were required.
Falcone went to Fish’s restaurant and ruthlessly beat up her waiter toy boy.
But Fish was also ruthless.
A few days later, Falcone’s female companion ran off with someone else.
Furious, Falcone personally visited Fish’s territory to warn them not to play petty tricks.
However, another protagonist of the story, the Penguin, was like a fish in water.
After a period of rest and recovery, the Penguin followed Rex’s instructions.
He changed his name and returned to Gotham to interview for a dishwasher position at a restaurant named Bamonte’s.
This Italian restaurant was actually a gathering spot for the Maroni family.
Sal Maroni often came here to discuss business.
It also served as an important transit station for the Maroni family’s financial transactions.
But the Penguin was rejected right at the beginning of the interview.
When he asked for the reason, the restaurant manager told him they were fully staffed.
Under the Penguin’s persistent questioning, the manager impatiently said, “You have to stand all day in a restaurant, and you don’t even have the right shoes.”
The Penguin looked down at his own shoes, then turned to observe the dishwasher’s leather shoes, and nodded in understanding.
That night, on his way home from work, the dishwasher bumped into the Penguin.
“Do you work at the Italian restaurant up ahead?” the Penguin asked.
“Yes.”
Seeing the eccentric demeanor of the man in front of him, the dishwasher didn’t really want to engage.
“What size shoes do you wear?”
The Penguin’s questions were getting weirder and weirder, leaving the dishwasher confused.
“Size 42.”
The Penguin couldn’t help but smile.
“What a coincidence, so do I.”
…
The next day, the Penguin became the dishwasher at Bamonte’s restaurant.