boyutpedia Chapter 96 Flying Grayson
Chapter 96 Flying Grayson
Chapter 96 Flying Grayson
With a decent start, the boarding school gradually got on track. Although various trivial problems arose, at least the homeless children with nowhere else to go had another place to go.
In reality, even with the publicity efforts, not many homeless children are willing to come to the school to try their luck.
The students inside were mainly teenagers who had been taken in by Mrs. Gunn. A very small number of them were people Jung En had built up by distributing relief food. They trusted him and were therefore willing to take the plunge.
Jason and others are the best examples of this.
In Gotham, there are actually very few truly free homeless children. Most of them are controlled by middlemen or gangs, and although they may experience abuse and exploitation to varying degrees, at least they have food to eat.
A homeless child who lives solely by begging won't survive long in Gotham.
As for the few homeless children like Jason who are able to maintain their personal freedom, they often have their own survival skills.
Extortion, theft, and robbery—regardless of whether the methods are honorable or not, and whether they go hungry or not—they do manage to survive.
Gotham's homeless children basically fall into these two categories, and neither of them will casually try to go to new environments.
The former have witnessed too much malice in society, and can convince themselves to continue to endure as long as there is a little bit of sweetness, because they are afraid of the consequences of making changes. If they are found by the middleman or gangsters, they will be beaten even more severely, and losing their lives is a common occurrence.
The latter feared they had stumbled upon a trap, that behind the glamorous facade lay a bottomless abyss. They were also homeless children, and had dealt with controlled homeless children, knowing how terrible life could be under control, and also having some understanding of the wickedness of human nature.
Mrs. Gunn's case is a good example. Before seeing any real results, no one dares to gamble on whether Jung Eun will become the second Mrs. Gunn, or whether she will do something even worse than Mrs. Gunn.
Zheng En understood all of this, and he wasn't in a hurry to gain their trust. Once the older teenagers in the school integrated into society, the homeless children, seeing hope, would naturally join in.
He was more concerned with other things.
"Harry's Circus's spectacular tour! The highly anticipated aerial acrobatics duo, the Graysons, give a stunning performance!"
A newspaper was spread out on his desk, and the right column featured a picture of a man and a woman relaying a baton in mid-air.
Zheng En pressed his temples. If he remembered correctly, the couple had a child, the future first Robin, Richard Grayson, or more commonly known as Dick Grayson, who would become Nightwing, the one who would stand guard over Broodhaven after leaving Batman's side.
Although it only takes about ten minutes to drive from Brude Haven to Gotham, and he often goes home anyway.
Unlike Jason, who was orphaned and had no relatives, Dick had a fairly happy and fulfilling family before being adopted by Bruce.
He grew up in a circus, and the Grayson family has a long tradition of trapeze artistry. It was because of this background that he was able to quickly become Batman's sidekick and the well-known Robin.
[Mission: The Flying Grayson Family]
Free birds soar in the sky, while wingless humans yearn for it, willing to pay the price of being shattered to pieces for a brief moment of freedom.
People enjoy thrilling performances, such as those in the Colosseum in ancient Rome or sightseeing vehicles on the African savanna.
The Grayson family's performances have always been known for their lack of protective gear; they are highly skilled and extremely confident.
However, whether a performance can proceed smoothly is sometimes beyond the control of the artists.
[Mission Objective: Change the fate of the Graysons' deaths]
[Mission Reward: 20 US dollars in simulation points]
A charming, shapely buttocks (a reward determined by comprehensively judging based on anecdotes about those involved in the mission and excluding overlapping options with skills already acquired by the player).
Batman Skill Fragments: Minor Mastery of Reconnaissance and Counter-Reconnaissance; Major Mastery of Reconnaissance and Counter-Reconnaissance (You can keenly detect the gazes of others, and your extremely high perception allows you to identify anything unusual in your surroundings)
No, why?
Zheng En glanced at the contents of the panel and felt utterly powerless. He could understand everything else, but this "charming buttocks" was completely out of place with the other rewards!
Although it's not impossible to understand after reading the annotations, after all, even in the cult cartoon style of TTG, the artist would emphasize the two buttocks when drawing Dick. And since he learned the skill from Batman, and Zheng En has Batman's skill fragments, he naturally doesn't need to use his.
But what does he want that perky butt for?
Jung Eun fell into deep thought.
Forget it, forget it.
Considering Nightwing's popularity among female characters, it's probably not such a bad thing.
Zheng En quickly convinced herself that she might as well take the opportunity; what if it really brought her good luck in finding a romantic partner?
Harry's Circus tour is scheduled for this Sunday, and Jung Eun has booked tickets online.
Although the world's timeline has reached the 21st century, with all sorts of entertainment activities emerging, circus tickets are selling extremely well thanks to the lack of protective measures.
Zheng En bought three tickets, along with Jason and Casey's tickets.
The task, "The Flying Grayson Family," wasn't difficult; all it took was preventing someone from maliciously damaging the ropes before the performance. While doing the task, Jung Eun also took a moment to relax.
These two children have been a great help to him lately, especially in dealing with matters between homeless children. He also asked Wellen if he wanted to come, but Wellen declined without hesitation.
Knowing that he had his own concerns, Zheng En did not insist.
When he led Jason and Casey into the venue, it was still early, and most of the seats were empty. Zheng En glanced around and quickly spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
"Hey Bruce."
Jung Eun sat down next to him with her two children. The two children greeted him obediently. Bruce, who had been thinking about something, looked up and saw them. His expression softened. "What a coincidence. I didn't expect to run into you here."
He hadn't originally planned to come to the circus performance; it was Alfred who bought the tickets, hoping Bruce could go out for a walk and relax.
Bruce felt bad about refusing his kindness.
He had indeed been living a tense life lately. Although the Scarecrow had been arrested, the Romans were restless. The conflict between the Falcone and Maroni families was ongoing, and the rise of gangs was disrupting the existing order.
Gotham City is experiencing a surge in crimes, with mystery after mystery emerging at crime scenes, and some even claiming to have been attacked by plants, with bodies being used as fertilizer.
He was constantly on the go in various cases, and Alfred would often stay with him until dawn, his worried gaze lingering for a long time.
Not wanting to cause the other person too much worry, Bruce accepted the circus tickets when Alfred suggested he go out for a walk again.
Although this did not mean he could truly relax, even while waiting for the circus to begin, his mind was still on the Bat Cave.
The Riddler was arrested by the Gotham Police Department, but plant samples he obtained at another crime scene have not yet been analyzed.
The suspect claimed that his accomplice fell off the cliff after being attacked by plants, and if he wasn't hallucinating, then the plants must be something serious.
Bruce was lost in thought about the case he had encountered until someone called his name, which brought him back to his senses briefly.
It was Jung Eun and the two children beside him.
After the Halloween incident, Bruce had a lot of questions for Jung Eun, such as the background of that friend of hers.
Where did he get so many different kinds of props? And was the bat also a kind of prop? But he never found a suitable opportunity.
If Bruce pressed him, Zheng En would only play dumb. Bruce couldn't get information directly from him, so he had to proceed slowly.
Both of them were there to watch the circus performance under a pretense, along with two children. They mostly talked about school.
They arrived early; the circus hadn't started yet, and in the middle of the arena, only the animal trainers were warming up the animals.
Backstage, the circus owner was encouraging the acrobats, saying, "Although the circus's heyday is over, there will always be people interested in circus performances. What we need to do is keep giving the audience something new."
"If everyone likes excitement, we'll perform even more exciting acts; if everyone likes danger, we'll rehearse even more dangerous stunts. Of course, safety is the top priority, and anyone who feels unwell should speak up immediately. Especially you two, Grayson and his wife, you're our star acrobats."
Thinking about what happened yesterday, the circus owner couldn't help but give everyone in the troupe special instructions.
This isn't their first time performing in Gotham; the circus tours the country and performs in the same place every few years.
Gotham is a big city, and its people are particularly fond of thrills, showing an amazing enthusiasm for unprotected high-altitude acrobatic performances.
The circus made a fortune on their last tour, which may be why the local gangsters approached him when he returned to Gotham.
"No, no, you've misunderstood Harry. This money is for your protection."
The tall, thin man, who had been rejected, said with a cigarette dangling from his lips, "You should have heard that Gotham is a city teeming with gangs. Every piece of land here is owned, and this circus venue you're using right now is our gang's territory."
"It's because our gang protects this territory that you're protected from other gangs' attacks, robberies, extortions, murders, poisonings—without our protection, you would have been wiped out shortly after you arrived, understand?"
The circus owner's face was grim. "You're just threatening me with all that nice talk. Get out of here, you're not welcome." He didn't dare say anything harsh. "If you don't leave, I'll call the police."
"Okay, I hope you won't regret what happened today."
The tall, thin man left with his companions without lingering. The circus owner breathed a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy, fearing that something unexpected might have happened.
He didn't dare tell anyone in the circus about it, fearing it would affect their performance.
The condition of acrobats is very important, especially since they rely on the lack of protective measures as a selling point. If they fall or get hurt, they might be lucky enough to recover for a while, but if they are unlucky, they might never be able to make a living from it again.
The others, unaware of his worries, assured him confidently, "Don't worry, Harry, we're doing great."
"The thought of the money I earned when I performed here last time fills me with motivation."
Seeing their high spirits, the circus owner didn't say anything more, but silently checked the props several more times after they went on stage.
There shouldn't be any problems, right?
He prayed silently, and perhaps because he was too nervous, his stomach suddenly started to hurt. He hurriedly ran towards the toilet, and before leaving, he didn't forget to tell Dick, who was preparing behind the counter, "Keep a close eye on things here, and don't let any unauthorized people in."
"Understood, boss."
Dick wanted to go outside for some fresh air, but since the boss said so, he obediently stayed here.
He was a perceptive child. He had noticed the circus owner repeatedly checking the props earlier. Although he didn't know why the other party was so anxious, Dick didn't find his behavior strange.
On the contrary, he instinctively sensed something ominous from the circus owner's behavior.
Dick didn't understand what this meant; it was just a subconscious premonition that made him want to leave the environment, go out for some fresh air, and change his mood.
But the circus owner's instructions kept him there, and that's how he stumbled upon the gangsters who had sneaked into the backstage area from a corner.
"These circus people are so ungrateful; they made us come all this way for nothing."
"Hurry up, otherwise the trapeze act will be over soon, and what's the point of us coming here? Remember to use acid, that way they'll fall during the performance."
"But I don't understand, why not just cut it?" His accomplice did as he was told, but he was puzzled.
The tall, thin man chuckled maliciously. "Cutting the rope will only kill one of them. It takes acid to make the rope break when the two are passing the rope."
Dick, who was hiding behind the box, couldn't hold back any longer when he heard this. "Stop it!" He knew the performance schedule and that it wouldn't be long before his parents were going on stage to perform.
Even though Dick knew he should wait until these people left before tying the rope up, he couldn't gamble on what might happen during that short time when his parents started their trapeze performance.
He threw backstage props over, including one used to create smoke during performances. The gangsters, unaware of its purpose, coughed from the smoke.
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.
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