When Bruce gradually regained consciousness, it was already dark. He felt as if he had been dreaming, but when he woke up, he had entirely forgotten what he had dreamt about.
Bruce felt extremely hungry, but there was no readily available food to satisfy his hunger. He stood up, swayed twice, and then collapsed onto the ground.
Sitting in the wrong position for a long time had placed undue pressure on his pelvis, causing poor circulation in his back and legs. Simply put, his legs were numb.
When Bruce fell, his elbow hit the edge of the stairs. He cried out in pain and grimaced at his own arm.
"Damn, just my luck, right?"
He said, but suddenly, he paused. He realized there was no one else around; he didn't need to perform for anyone. So, he gritted his teeth and stood up again.
This time, he was hit with a wave of dizziness. The long period without eating had caused his blood sugar to drop, but luckily, his body was naturally strong, so he only felt faint for a moment before returning to normal.
Bruce slowly walked outside, found the car he had driven earlier, and got into the driver's seat. He let out a breath of relief, but just as he was about to start the car, he found that it wouldn't start.
After trying several times, Bruce had to get out and check the car engine. When he opened the hood, he was taken aback.
The entire engine was gone.
Bruce forcefully closed the hood. He looked around and didn't find any traces of a thief. This was common in Gotham. He could only say that the thief had at least had the decency to leave the shell of his car.
This sedan wasn't the Batmobile. It hadn't undergone complex modifications and didn't have a spare engine. Therefore, it couldn't be started at all now.
Bruce looked around and found a public telephone booth on a nearby street. After walking into it, he called Shiller and said, "Professor, could you please go to Wayne Manor and take Aisha to your manor?"
"Yes, Alfred is sick and can't take care of her for now. It might be a bit of trouble for you in the meantime. Thank you, Professor."
After hanging up, Bruce lowered his head and sighed. As he turned and walked out of the telephone booth, it was raining again.
This was the edge of the West District in Gotham, an affluent residential area where everyone had private cars, mostly with their own drivers, so almost no one took a taxi; hence there were rarely any cabs here.
Bruce now had two choices: go back to the public telephone booth and hail a cab, or walk back to the Manor.
Since Wayne Manor wasn't far from here, Bruce decided to walk back. After all, even if he returned to the manor, it would be empty, so why rush?
Or rather, he was somewhat resistant, hoping that the journey back home could be a bit longer, so he wouldn't have to face the empty halls of the manor.
Walking out of the alley and standing on the main street, Bruce looked around, determined his bearings, and headed down the street.
The night rain in Gotham was cold, but Bruce didn't mind. He walked slowly back along the street. Soon, a familiar building came into his sight.
It was the Gotham Grand Theater, the iconic building of the West District. The last time Bruce was here, he was as Batman, watching a play about the sentencing of the Court of Owls.
Now the Owls were gone, but so was Batman.
From where Bruce stood, he was behind the Gotham Grand Theater, not in front of the main entrance, thus there were not many cars or pedestrians. But from this angle, the Grand Theater was brightly lit, and the light coming through the windows illuminated half of the street.
This was actually rare because this theater was too old and no respectable theater group had been willing to perform here in years.
Looking up at the light pouring through the windows, Bruce thought of what Alfred had mentioned earlier, the news that the Angelica Theatre Troupe would be performing here. He had heard of this troupe; they were quite famous on the East Coast.
Bruce remembered that when he was in Metropolis, he had seen detailed actor information at the door of a theater. The current protagonist of this troupe was Alex Smith, a very handsome young actor.
He often played lead roles in Shakespeare's plays, particularly the dashing young characters. The young women of the East Coast liked to call him the "Dream of Metropolis."
In contrast, the troupe's heroine, known as the Pearl of the East Coast, was Vicky Sandra.
There were rumors that they were a couple, but they denied this. As they often played lovers on stage, many gossip magazines seized on this, often following them around and taking all sorts of photos in hopes of uncovering their deeper relationship.
As these details played out in Bruce's mind, he realized this had become an instinct for him. He would note down every bit of information he heard or saw, and when he saw something related, he would immediately review it from beginning to end to ensure he wouldn't miss any important information.