"Gotham's Comprehensive Traffic Improvement Plan?" Holding the document in his hands, Roy looked at Shiller in front of him and said, "Professor, didn't you mention improving the study environment? How did it turn into traffic improvement?"
"You can take a look at this plan first, then you'll understand why." Shiller sat across from Roy's desk, watching the morning light shine in through the blinds, leaving streak after streak marks on the desk.
Roy sat down, looking at the complicated plan. He didn't understand many of the professional terms, but he could at least understand one number.
"172 overpasses, 36 underground tunnels, and this... what's this... aerial whatnow? What is this?" Roy looked bewildered, he looked towards Shiller and said, "Nevermind the things I can't understand, but 172 overpasses, isn't there an extra digit here?"
Shiller shook his head and said: "This is a result obtained after very precise estimation. As for how it was computed exactly, I don't know, you would have to ask the professional staff team at Wayne Enterprises about it."
"And this is only the first phase of the project." Shiller looked at Roy and said, "A conservative estimate is that the entire Gotham, including the surrounding areas, requires more than 600 overpasses to meet daily traffic demand."
Roy's jaw almost dropped, he said: "Wait a minute, Professor, I know you can't tolerate traffic jams, but with so many overpasses, won't they clog up all the roads? Where would all this space come from?"
Shiller shook his head and said: "This is just the ordinary overpasses. The aerial passages and elevated bridges that you just saw aren't included. If they were, the conservative estimate would be over 1000."
Shiller took the blueprint and said: "Look here, this is called the Gotham Inner Ring. This is the middle ring, and here is the outer ring..."
"Moreover, you don't need to worry about the land area. These bridges all come with matching buildings. All overpasses will be divided into a total of 23 levels above and below ground, complementing the building structures of a three-dimensional city..."
"In this transformation plan, the highest overpass will be at the same height as the top floor of the Wayne building. As for technical issues, you don't need to worry about them. We have very professional technicians who can solve any problems with quality and maintenance costs."
Roy's facial features all wrinkled together as he flipped a page back in the plan and said, "What's this? The East District architectural transformation plan? Wasn't the vicinity of the Living Hell just finished remodeling recently?"
Roy was pointing at the extended architectural transformation plan of the Living Hell, which was to carry out partial transformations for an area around the Living Hell approximately three times its size.
These transformations were not so in-depth, the main structure of the building remains untouched, focusing only on improving sanitary conditions and modifying the water and electricity lines. So far, more than half of it has been completed. This is also why Cobblepot previously ordered a reorganization of the order around the Living Hell.
Originally, their plan was to extend outward little by little in this way and then do it all over again. It was estimated that within ten years, the entire East District would be remodeled.
But now, the approach described in this new plan is the same method used for the transformation of the Living Hell, meaning that they wanted to remodel it all at once, turning the entire East District into a complete three-dimensional city—an enormous beehive of Gotham with endless possibilities for expanding upwards or downwards. This would resolve all issues related to population and lack of resources.
"Can this really be done?" Roy questioned: "Okay, Professor, if you say that the technician is very professional, then I have nothing to say, but such a major project, wouldn't the mob...?"
Shiller laughed and said: "The mob will agree. No one is more impatient than them. It's best if they had one overpass for each vehicle, so they would never have traffic jams, and their businesses would never be delayed."
Roy carefully looked at the plan and found that although the things listed in the plan were exaggerated, they did not threaten the root interests of the mob at all. On the contrary, they were highly beneficial to them.
As for how the things in the plan came about, it stemmed from the second meeting between Bruce, Alberto, and Shiller the day before.
The temperature was even lower early the next morning, but Evans had come to school early and even made up for the missing case analyses from before, which was a stark contrast to Bruce, who was loafing about. But Shiller decided to be a little more lenient towards Bruce because now was the time for him to take the pain of spending money.
When the three of them gathered again, Alberto spoke first: "Even if we agree on all these issues, there is still one problem left. If we can't use violence to dismantle the existing rules, then once the transformation begins, what if the mob opposes it?"
"If we hurt them, they will definitely resist, even more so than any other organization, because they grew up in such an environment."
Bruce also frowned slightly. If the mob's reaction was too strong, there was a likely chance of citywide arson or war. He understood that the current situation was akin to performing surgery on a septuagenarian. If we don't operate, they may die a slow death, but if we do, they could die immediately.
Shiller then said: "Could there be a possibility that before we strike them, we first administer an anesthetic, or simply knock them out, so that you can do whatever you want."
Bruce and Alberto both paused. They looked at each other and then at Shiller. Bruce said, "You better not tell me the anesthesia you had in mind is physical anesthesia."
"Sorry, Professor, but I just want to say, um... if you're planning on knocking them out one by one with your umbrella, that's a bit unrealistic," Alberto said somewhat awkwardly.
"Who said I'm going to administer physical anesthesia? Who said I plan to knock them out one by one with my umbrella?" Shiller said somewhat helplessly: "I think your understanding of me is a bit skewed..."
Bruce and Alberto exchanged glances again. Alberto swallowed nervously and said, "Professor. Anesthesia achieved through chemistry isn't the best approach either. We can't just poison all of Gotham's mob…"
"Okay, okay, I know. Bruce might be able to make a sedative that they'd all willingly drink, but that's just a band-aid fix. Professor, I think perhaps you could calm down a bit, let's further discuss this…"
Before Shiller could respond, Bruce added, "I oppose sneak attacks and poisoning even more. Even if you just asked me about my technical abilities, I would never use them for such despicable actions."
Shiller tried to speak again, but Bruce cut him off, saying:
"I know, you might argue that we need to think about the bigger picture, but have you considered that this is exceedingly unfair?"
Shiller didn't know what kind of impression he had left on Bruce and Alberto. He wondered why they seemed to think that no matter what he proposed, it must involve some sneaky, underhanded method.
Shiller gave the ground a sharp knock with his umbrella tip and said: "Enough! Everyone, stop talking! When did I ever say I wanted to physically anesthetize them? If a simple cosh was the answer, would I even need to bring you two into this?"
"So, if it did work, you'd actually go and hit them all over the head?!"
Taking a deep breath, Shiller said, "If you continue to talk to me like this, Bruce Wayne, you'll never graduate!"
Bruce looked sideways at Alberto, giving him a look that clearly said, "See, he's being unreasonable again."
Shaking his head, Shiller said, "Now, let's get back to the main topic. As you both noted before, Gotham's mob lacks education. They invest most of their energy into competition, they lack logical thinking, are short-sighted, and lack foresight. We can take advantage of this."
Gently stroking his umbrella handle, Shiller continued, "Imagine something that, in the short term, could bring them great benefits. But in the long run, it would actually increase our control of them, and even profoundly impact their future lives. Do you think they'd see this coming?"
"Well, that depends on what it is," Alberto replied. "While they might be blinded by the mob's rules, acting impulsively, and thinking only about competing or seizing profits, they're not stupid. No one would fall into an obvious trap."
"No, no, no, this isn't a trap. We won't touch their current wealth, but we'll give them huge benefits, just like the prior developments in the logistics industry. Everyone benefits and the economy accelerates..."
Shiller then turned to Alberto: "After the two-day flood, the mob must have had plenty to complain about, right?"
Alberto nodded in agreement, "Yes, the floodwaters took two to three days to recede, and that disrupted a lot of their business. Some gangs were in such a hurry to deliver goods that not only did their trucks break down, but their goods were also ruined by water damage."
"After Gotham's sewer system was frozen, we had to resort to the old sewage system. Along with some newer drainage facilities, the efficiency is very low. If it weren't for the sea, I'm afraid a flood would've already hit by now." Bruce added.
"Well, in that case, shall we solve these problems for them? Isn't it just about inadequate transportation and vulnerability to natural disasters?"
"Bruce. Come up with a plan on how the underground sewers should be designed to avoid natural disasters, how many flyovers are needed to prevent traffic jams, and what kind of transportation method the city needs for the highest efficiency…" Shiller looked at Bruce, speaking in a relaxed tone: "You can skip the second round of the internship. Get me the plan tomorrow."
Bruce touched his forehead and said, "Professor, do you know what you're asking me to do? You want me to calculate an entire city's optimal transportation routes...by tomorrow morning?"
"Is there a problem?" Shiller surveyed him from head to toe.
Looking at Bruce's expression, Shiller paused, then looked up at the ceiling and said, "Of course, manpower has its limits. If you really can't do it, you can hand it in the day before you graduate…"
"Remember, your butler studied mathematics. He should be able to help you." Shiller added.
With a face as black as the bottom of a pot, Bruce stood up and walked out. He found that Shiller seemed to know only two words in the dictionary: 'graduate' and 'butler'.
As soon as he exited the room, he heard Shiller say inside:
"Alberto, make sure to remind Evans that we have many outstanding graduation candidates this year. Perhaps we should increase the quota..."
Bruce quickened his pace.