"I hate perfection. To be perfect is to be unable to improve any further."
-Kurotsuchi Mayuri (Bleach)
...
Bruce's eyes briefly flashed a tired expression after the board members left, but it vanished in an instant.
He sat in his chair and waited for a while.
Soon, Lucius Fox pushed open the door to the conference room and walked in.
"I noticed that the board members didn't look happy when they left. Did you have another argument with them?"
Lucius asked naturally as if he had seen this happen many times before.
"Not exactly. This time the plan went smoother than usual, and I didn't have to put in too much effort to convince them."
Bruce said it nonchalantly.
"Is it about the development plan in the northwest hills of Otisburg? I guess they agreed because they saw a huge business opportunity hidden in it."
As the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and a supporter of Batman, Lucius knew about all of the projects Bruce wanted to do.
"Well, otherwise, why would those old bloodsuckers agree so easily to this project?"
Bruce chuckled dismissively.
"They think they can profit from it, but I won't let them succeed."
"I think they might do something behind the scenes. You can't monitor that area all the time, considering how many responsibilities you have."
Lucius pointed it out.
"So, I've decided to entrust the entire development plan to you."
Bruce said it straightforwardly.
"I knew it,"
Lucius sighed in resignation.
"I bet you never counted how many messes you've dumped on me to deal with."
"That's because I believe in your abilities, Lucius. I know you can handle all the work."
Bruce replied with a faint smile.
"Just wait; I'll buy back all the shares they hold, and by then, we can relax and do a lot more things."
"To be honest, if there was a friend who could pay them a visit every night to have a good chat with them, maybe your goal would have been achieved a long time ago."
Hearing this, Bruce furrowed his brow and said, "Batman isn't a thief, Lucius. It's very easy to take equity through illegal means, but he won't do that, and he shouldn't."
"I know. It's just that sometimes I wonder, How long do you have to keep going like this to achieve your goals?"
Bruce's answer didn't surprise Lucius, and he sighed lightly and replied.
"I'll keep going until the day I can't keep going anymore."
Bruce said it firmly.
"Alright, enough of this talk. We have a friend waiting for us for our appointment tonight."
"Lucius, did you prepare everything I asked for yesterday?"
Bruce asked.
"Of course, you're welcome to check anytime."
Lucius nodded.
"Then let's get going."
Bruce said as he was ready to leave.
...
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!
At the Gotham City Stadium, several helicopters were hovering in the air, and their fast-spinning propellers made a huge noise that echoed through the sky.
The three of them were police helicopters from the GCPD, while the rest were private choppers from Gotham's major media companies.
Bruce had already set up a live broadcasting perimeter using a camera at the center of the stadium's lawn, which could broadcast the entire Phantom Thief's stealing from all angles.
In fact, there was no need for the media to come and broadcast it themselves.
But this is a big event, and if it's not reported in real-time on the front line, can they even call themselves journalists?
Since Wayne Enterprises was responsible for the close-up live broadcast on the ground, they decided to take a different approach by capturing the entire process from a bird's-eye perspective.
After all, the fog in the sky seemed to be an important part of the Phantom Thief's technique during the rehearsal, so it would be interesting to see what was happening from above.
One of the most famous media choppers belonged to the Gotham Gazette, the city's largest newspaper.
Vicki Vale, the best reporter in Gotham, and an old friend were there.
"Hello, everyone, I'm Vicki Vale, and I'm currently hovering above Gotham City's Stadium."
Inside the helicopter cabin, Vicki held a microphone and spoke to the camera.
"The city's residents are almost all in Gotham City Stadium, which shows how much they want to see the fight between Bruce Wayne and the Phantom Thief. From this, the Phantom Thief seems more than just a criminal in Gotham. He has become a strange cultural symbol with a big "star effect."
"We must admit that the Phantom Thief is an extremely charming supervillain. He's not as insane as Two-Face, not as cunning as the Penguin, not as paranoid as the Riddler, not as ferocious as Killer Croc, and not as complicated as the Joker. He's even different from any other criminal in the world."
"For him, stealing is more like an artistic means to perform his magic tricks than just a criminal act. I'm not trying to help clear Phantom Thief of his crimes; he is definitely a criminal. But you have to admit, this whole thing is so cool!"
"He is smart, polite, funny, and charming, and at the same time, he always looked like a gentleman. From his clothes to the way he acted, everything about him was romantic. Oh, and he's so handsome. I don't think anyone wouldn't like The Phantom Thief."
"Since the rehearsal three days ago, the Phantom Thief stole an object that is considered special to Batman, the Bat Signal; some people think that this might become the spark for the first confrontation between Batman and the Phantom Thief."
"Now, with only an hour and a half left before the Phantom Thief's next performance, let's watch and see whether this battle will be another miracle performed by the Phantom Thief or his final performance!"
As time passed, it was getting closer to the time when the Phantom Thief would make his appearance.
Inside Gotham City Stadium, everyone was on high alert because they didn't want to miss anything exciting.
At that moment, Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon stood outside the cameras, watching the Bat-Signal inside.
Surrounding them was a group of well-equipped GCPD officers, all of them keeping a close eye on the Bat-Signal.
These guards were the team that Jim had personally trained over the years, the most trustworthy group in the GCPD.
Jim had brought them here with the determination to arrest the Phantom Thief.
This venue was advantageous for the GCPD.
In previous encounters with Phantom Thief, there were a lot of civilians in the areas where the crimes happened, which made it hard for Jim to give the order to shoot.
But now, all the civilians were in the stands, and there was not a single person on the football field, so they didn't have to worry about collateral damage.
However, Jim had not changed his opinion of the Phantom Thief. He believed he was guilty but didn't deserve to die. He didn't want to kill the Phantom Thief if possible.
That's why these officers had tranquilizer darts instead of real bullets.
"It's almost time,"
Bruce said this while looking at his watch and focusing.
...
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