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Chapter 280: Gotham Play House (2)

Soon, the circus performance began. The first few acts were animal training performances. Neither Bruce nor Selina were interested in such shows, so they chatted below the stage.

"You said you used to be a peddler. Why didn't you continue with that instead of turning to stealing?" Selina rolled her eyes and said, "My dear sir, do you really think being a peddler is better than stealing?"

Bruce turned to look at Selina. He had wanted to say that at least being a peddler wasn't illegal, but after spending so much time with Selina, he knew that life in the darkest corners of Gotham might not be as he had imagined.

Having spent so much time with Selina, he realized a harsh reality: in Gotham, this dark city, some people struggled just to survive. Talking to them about following rules and laws would be nothing but a joke.

"In fact, the peddlers, cigarette kids, and flower girls have it the worst," Selina sighed, her tone tinged with sympathy. She continued, "When I told you about my experiences, you might have thought my lucky mom, who taught me the skills of theft, was a bad person. She taught me the tricks, made me steal, and even hit me before. But the truth is, I don't hate her. I still call her sometimes..."

Bruce looked at Selina, slightly shocked, and asked, "You still have contact with that thief leader?"

"We don't talk about business matters. It's just asking about her well-being and such, just polite conversation. Although I was angry when she tried to take the diamond necklace I stole, but after I calmed down, I still called her..."

Seeing Bruce's puzzled expression, Selina suddenly smiled and said, "You're Wayne, young master Wayne. People are always fawning over you wherever you go. Everyone can grovel to please you just to get money. But I'm different. The most praise I've received in my life was when I learned skills from my lucky mom."

"She always said I was the most talented child she had ever seen, quick to learn anything. You know, she used to be a hostess at a bar in the East District when she was young. She could praise someone to the skies with just a few words, and when she was in a good mood, she would even sing and make me wear the dresses she wore when she was young and dance..."

Selina rested her hands on her knees, took a deep breath, and said, "I know you think I'm useless, but she was really good to me."

"You may think it's terrible that she made various children help her steal, but in reality, lucky mom was actually kind to those children."

"She had a keen eye and chose children with great talent who could earn her a lot of money. That's why she was more lenient with us. Occasionally, she would even slip us some pocket money..."

"But the old villain next door is different. He only deals with peddlers and cigarette kids. Those children have to hand over all their daily earnings to him, and he searches them every day. Not a single penny is allowed to be hidden. If they can't meet his goals, they get beaten up."

"He only gives those kids leftover food. When he's in a bad mood, he lets them go hungry. I've even seen a child who wanted to escape, but he had both his feet chopped off and bled to death."

Selina shrugged and said to Bruce, "Actually, I'm not hungry at all, and I don't really like eating pancakes with cheese. But when I encounter peddlers like this, as long as I have some money in my pocket, I

buy something. It might help them have a decent meal tonight."

"Do you know?" Bruce looked into Selina's eyes and said, "Every time you tell me these stories, it instantly weighs down my mood."

Selina smiled and reached out to touch Bruce's cheek. She said, "That's the problem. It's a sad story for you, but for us, it's just an ordinary everyday occurrence."

Selina took a deep breath and continued, "Actually, you've taught me a lot of things, like what you talked about last time, about the connections and such."

"I recalled that Lucky Mom mentioned once that she had to hand over a portion of the money she obtained, and the person she handed it to had to hand it over as well. It's a chain of handovers, ultimately ending up in someone else's hands..."

Bruce squinted his eyes and asked, "Who is that person?"

Selina shook her head and replied, "I don't even know Lucky Mom's boss. How would I know who the final person is?"

"Someone is controlling the children of Gotham, right?"

Selina nodded and said, "Actually, it's easy to control the children of Gotham. Most of these children are orphans, either their parents died or abandoned them. Just give them a meal, and they can be easily manipulated."

"And..." Bruce interrupted, "Hardly anyone bothers these kids. Even the high-class nightclubs let those cigarette-selling kids in..."

Clearly, he recalled the occasions he had been to in the past, events he hadn't paid much attention to because they had become routine. But now, looking back, whether it was a ball, a dinner, or a party, there were always some kids waiting on the sidelines, waiting for certain wealthy people to buy cigarettes from them.

"That's right. If these kids mess up something or make a mistake, all they have to do is put on a pitiful face, apologize, and beg a few times. People who care about their image won't give them a hard time."

Bruce hadn't expected that chatting with Selina would lead to an unexpected revelation. There had always been a network in Gotham that used layers of control to manipulate these ubiquitous children.

"But that's not all," Selina continued, "These children also form groups and alliances among themselves. It was like that even back when I was one of them. The competition among peers was particularly intense."

"You know, some areas have good business while others don't. Everyone wants to claim the prosperous territories. Aside from the overhead figures having shootouts to claim territory, the kids below also form gangs and alliances. We call these gangs 'Youth Gangs.'"

"What gang were you a part of back then?"

Selina shook her head and said, "I wasn't a part of any gang. Those were all street-level affairs, and I was a cat burglar."

"I don't need to occupy any territory to steal things. Or rather, I can go wherever I want without notifying anyone, and they can't catch me anyway."

"The East District has heard of my name. They still do. They know that when the black cat appears on the rooftops, don't even bother aiming a gun because you won't hit her. It's just a waste of bullets."

"Among the four top thieves in the East District, I'm the only one with the ability to move around all of Gotham. The others don't even dare to enter the commercial streets because if they're caught by those influential gang leaders, they're done for. But I'm not afraid because I know they can't catch me."

Whenever Bruce heard Selina talk about her career, he felt a strange sensation. Selina could be considered an outstanding figure who had made it through her own efforts. It should have been an inspiring life experience

, worthy of admiration. However, her profession was that of a thief. The harder she worked, the more dangerous her life became.

The two of them continued to discuss the children of Gotham, combining Selina's street-level intelligence with Bruce's top-level information, trying to deduce who was behind the network controlling these ubiquitous children.

Meanwhile, Aisha's attention had been captivated by the various performances on stage, and she had rarely been so quiet.

Suddenly, the lights on stage brightened, and the host's voice rang out enthusiastically, "Ladies and gentlemen! Next, we will present to you the most spectacular performance... the aerial acrobats!!!"

A male and a female performer stepped onto the stage, and as they climbed up the ladder, the host continued to energetically introduce, "I think some of you may have heard of the famous Grayson family from the East Coast, who were once hailed as America's greatest aerial acrobats..."

"Some of you might also have heard that the previous generation of the Grayson family met with a tragic accident during an aerial acrobatics performance, falling from a great height and suffering fatal injuries..."

The host whistled and said, "But let me tell you, that's the thrill of this kind of performance. If there's no danger of falling, who would be interested in watching this stuff, right?"

The host's witty remarks were meant to liven up the atmosphere, but the tall man named Grayson, who had just stepped onto the stage, clenched his fist.

Just as he was about to start his performance, he shouted to the audience below, "Grayson is the greatest aerial acrobat family, we..."

At that moment, he saw the circus owner below making a threatening gesture towards him. He turned his head and glanced at his wife, ultimately closing his mouth.

The circus owner cursed loudly from below, "What the hell is this idiot saying?! Down here is Wayne! I knew he would ruin everything for me, that son of a bitch!"

Meanwhile, the Grayson couple had already begun their performance. The so-called aerial acrobats were actually swinging on horizontal bars in the air, performing various spins and flips.

It must be said that the Grayson couple were indeed skilled. The two of them had perfect coordination, whether it was synchronized or symmetrical movements, which were pleasing to the eye, eliciting cheers from the audience.

Aisha watched with great joy. After all, even though Selina had impressive skills, the conditions in the Manor were limited, and Bruce would never agree to let Selina swing around at such a height. But now, the performance satisfied Aisha's love for watching people in action.

She let out a sharp scream and waved her hands incessantly towards the stage. Bruce held her tightly, afraid she would climb onto the front seat. Selina patted Bruce's arm and said, "Give her some water, I can hear her voice going hoarse."

Bruce took out a water bottle and was about to give it to Aisha when the aerial acrobats paused their movements, landing on the high platform. Among them, Mrs. Grayson happened to see Aisha waving at her.

The lady, who seemed a little weary, still smiled and waved back, clearly fond of this overly excited little audience member.

Seeing herself being noticed, Aisha became even more excited. She lunged forward directly, trying to break free from Bruce's embrace.

But at that moment, Bruce was unscrewing the water bottle, and Aisha's forward movement coincided with his arm, causing the water in the bottle to spill all over him.

Bruce wore a helpless expression and handed Aisha to Selina, saying, "I'll go to the restroom to clean up."

As Bruce left his seat and headed towards the restroom, the entire scene was observed by the circus owner.

Grayson not only defied him and even punched him, but he also spouted some crazy talk before the performance. And Grayson's wife deliberately sought the attention of the Wayne Family little princess, causing Wayne to get soaked by water. If he expressed his dissatisfaction, his sponsorship would be ruined...

The circus owner's face grew increasingly grim, clearly reaching the peak of his anger. The behavior of the Grayson couple was driving him crazy.

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