“I am Rex.”
It was actually the Wayne family.
Rex was astonished; by a stroke of luck, he had inadvertently become Batman’s savior.
He looked around.
According to the plot, there should be one more person at the scene.
Sure enough, he quickly spotted the young Catwoman, Selina, on a fire escape.
Their eyes met for a brief moment before Selina, acting like a startled kitten, scrambled up the stairs and ran away.
Realizing this was a young Batman, Rex immediately understood that his intervention had been somewhat unnecessary.
In Gotham, the murder of the Waynes was ordered by the notorious villain organization, the Court of Owls.
Because the Court of Owls intended to use Bruce to control Wayne Enterprises, he was never on their hit list to begin with.
“Bruce, may I call you that?”
“Yes.”
Rex stood up but felt a sudden tug.
Looking down, he saw that Bruce had tightly gripped the hem of his jacket at some point and was currently looking at him in a panic.
Rex knew the mugger never intended to kill the boy, but Bruce didn’t know that.
In Bruce’s mind, Rex was undeniably his savior.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m not leaving.” Rex pointed to a nearby set of steps.
“Let’s go sit over there.”
Seeing no objection from Bruce, Rex led him to sit on the steps, directly facing the bodies of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
Rex felt this was a bit inappropriate and wanted to face another direction, but Bruce clung to him without moving, so he eventually gave up.
Only after Bruce’s emotions stabilized did Rex speak again.
“Bruce, how old are you?”
“Twelve.”
For a twelve-year-old child, Bruce’s psychological endurance was remarkable.
However, seeing him staring intently at his parents’ remains, Rex still decided to find some words of comfort.
“It’s a really tough night, isn’t it?” Rex looked up at the hazy sky.
The night sky of Gotham was gloomy and devoid of light.
He sighed.
“When I experienced a scene like this, I was even younger than you.”
Bruce’s attention was drawn to him, and he looked up.
Rex continued, “When I was five or six, I can’t remember exactly, it was also on a dark night like this.
We didn’t encounter a robbery, but a mob shootout.”
“I don’t know where the bullets came from; I only know my parents fell shortly after.” Rex was recounting the original host’s experience.
He looked directly into Bruce’s eyes.
“There was no specific murderer, or rather, all of Gotham was the murderer.” Rex smiled faintly.
“But that is Gotham.”
Hearing that Rex shared a similar tragic fate, Bruce felt much closer to him.
Rex patted Bruce’s shoulder and pointed to the sky.
“Gotham’s sky is very dark, so dark you can’t even see a single star, but we cannot give up our pursuit of the light.”
He said earnestly to Bruce, “Be strong, Bruce, and live on well.
At the very least, we can be the stars that illuminate ourselves.”
“Yeah!”
Bruce nodded vigorously.
Although he was still grieving, Rex’s words made him feel much better.
“Stars…”
Bruce muttered to himself, then asked Rex, “If a star is bright enough, it can illuminate others too, right?”
“If someone could curb criminal behavior, then our tragedy wouldn’t happen to others.”
“Uh, right.” Rex didn’t expect Bruce to have such an awakening this early on.
He could only attribute it to the fact that he was destined to be Batman.
“But that is a difficult path.” Rex balled his hands into fists and tapped them together.
“That’s not something a boxer like me should be considering.”
“A hunted boxer,” Rex added.
Rex had no desire to be a superhero.
He just wanted to live comfortably.
In fact, to achieve that, he didn’t mind being a little selfish when it came to choosing between himself and others.
“Hunted?”
“Well, the mob.
They don’t listen to reason,” Rex shrugged.
“Is it about money?
I can help you, Rex,” Bruce offered immediately.
“Not right now,” Rex replied with a smile.
“I’ll try to solve it myself first.
If I really run out of options, I’ll come to you.”
Bruce’s parents had just been murdered.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to make demands of him now; it was better to leave a good impression first.
“Then if you ever need anything, come find me at Wayne Manor anytime.”
Bruce’s expression was incredibly serious.
“No problem.”
Rex stood up.
Someone had already called the police, and he figured the detectives would arrive soon.
The Gotham Police Department wasn’t clean; if anyone spotted him here, they would definitely tip off his pursuers.
Seeing him about to leave, Bruce grew slightly anxious.
“If I need to find you, how do I contact you?
What’s your phone number?”
Rex then remembered the cell phone he had thrown.
He walked over to pick it up and checked it.
The screen was cracked, but fortunately, it still worked.
“Do me a favor, Bruce.”
After exchanging numbers, Rex gave a final piece of advice, “It’s best not to reveal my identity, unless it’s someone you completely trust.”
“Okay.”
The reason he said this was because Rex knew the detective assigned to investigate the Wayne murders would be the famous Conscience of Gotham and Gotham’s King of Solo Fights, Jim Gordon.
At this point in time, Gordon had just joined the police force.
He was still a hotheaded rookie overflowing with a sense of justice.
However, unlike with Bruce, Rex didn’t particularly want to befriend Gordon.
Gordon’s friends generally didn’t meet very good ends.
But establishing a connection with Gordon through Bruce was acceptable, as it would make things more convenient in the future.
Rex didn’t go far.
He hid in a corner that was both concealed and offered a clear view of Bruce’s movements, planning his next steps.
The death of the Waynes would have a massive impact.
Their murder wasn’t just the origin of Batman; it was the beginning of Gotham’s descent into chaos.
The Waynes and mob boss Carmine Falcone were like the two legs of Gotham, maintaining the city’s balance from the light and the shadows respectively.
In the plot, after the Waynes died, Falcone was left struggling to support the structure alone, and the underlings within his syndicate began to harbor their own ambitions.
If the heads of Wayne Enterprises, the undisputed masters of Gotham, could die, what about Falcone?
For instance, Falcone’s subordinate, Fish Mooney, and his rival, Maroni, both started plotting to kill Falcone and take his place.
Ultimately, however, the one who became the overlord of Gotham’s underworld was Fish Mooney’s current umbrella boy, Oswald Cobblepot.
Also known as the famous villain, the Penguin.
Thinking of the Penguin, Rex suddenly had an idea.
He knew absolutely nothing about how a mob operated.
Without an insider’s help, he wouldn’t be able to reap the rewards.
And wasn’t the Penguin the perfect choice?
After all, among all the villains in Gotham, some were busy creating chaos, while others were busy acting like psychopaths.
Some villains were even busy trying to save Gotham by entirely destroying it.
That was very Gotham.
Only the Penguin was focused on building his career from beginning to end.
Moreover, the Penguin was currently just a minor character.
Best of all, he had a weakness, which made him controllable.
Rather than waiting for Maroni and Fish Mooney to fall from power and letting scavengers like the Penguin eat up the territory, it would be better to use him to complete the task.
“We will bring the killer to justice, sir.”
Having set his target, Rex shifted his attention back to Bruce.
At that moment, Bruce had thrown himself into the embrace of a middle-aged man.
Upon seeing someone close to him, the grief in his heart poured out once again.
That person was the loyal butler, Alfred.
And the reassuring words had been spoken by Gordon.
Alfred was noncommittal, asking instead:
“New here, aren’t you?”
“You could say that,” Gordon replied, looking confused by the question.
“Good luck, mate.”
Alfred took a deep look at this detective who seemed entirely out of place in Gotham.
After offering a word of encouragement, he turned and led Bruce away.
“Keep your head up.
Look straight ahead, and don’t let them see you cry.”
Alfred reminded him gently.
With the Waynes gone, he was now Bruce’s guardian.
To his surprise, Bruce quickly adjusted his demeanor, forcing his tears back.
‘Master Bruce seems to have grown up quite a bit,’ he thought to himself.
“Alfred.”
“Master Bruce.”
Bruce spoke suddenly, and Alfred quickly responded.
“Buy me a new cell phone.”
“Yes…
Master Bruce.”
Alfred was completely baffled, while Rex, hidden in the shadows of the corner, smiled faintly.