After nearly two years of effort by the Wayne Engineering Group, a small part of the renovation in Gotham's East District has been completed. But the focus of the renovation has primarily been on residential buildings; commercial streets controlled by mob families have not yet begun construction.
Intricate relationships intertwine in nightclubs, casinos, shopping centers, and even bustling markets. These tangled webs of interest need time to untangle. In addition to older buildings that lack structural stability as they've remained untouched since they were built in Gotham, recently built commercial buildings have become iconic landmarks on the Gotham skyline. They are not suitable to be completely torn down and rebuilt like the dilapidated houses.
Though Gotham is chaotic, it is not poor. The East District is a concentrated manifestation of this contrast. There are high-density, low-income residential areas filled with struggling people, mirroring the previous Living Hell, as well as well-lit skyscrapers lining the shore by night that form Gold Beach.
Gold Beach is seaside, located south of the East Dock, consisting of approximately twenty miles of beach, the necessary road leading to the beach at Gold Cup Square, and about four streets arranged in a grid. It is the most prosperous commercial center in the East District.
Includes ventures by the Falcone family's Gold Cup Group like the Gold Cup Bar, Gold Cup Night Club, and Golden Liquor Casino; the Guli Li Commercial Street controlled by the Spencer family; Chinatown occupied by the Chinese mob; and the Gold Beach Market located in the center of the grid, owned by the Lawrence Family.
Gold Beach Market is the largest underground market in the world, also the only semi-open black market. Goods available for purchase here include, but not limited to, contraband from all over the world, smuggled goods, banned weapons, illicit drugs, violating images of human rights, and human organs.
Of course, as Gotham Gang had gradually transitioned into traditional cold chain logistics, the Gold Beach Market is not as flourishing as before. But it's still the place with the most concentrated exchanges among the lowest class in Gotham.
Drive south along Yoseld Street, cross over the right ramp at the Guli Li commercial street, and you can find the entrance of the Gold Beach Market hidden in a dark alley flanked by buildings owned by the Lawrence family.
Once you push open the worn-out iron gate, the scene inside is a stark contrast. The neon signs of various bars are dazzling, while towering, well-lit buildings scatter the skyline. Look down, and you'll see thieves dressed in jackets and caps, with backpacks slung over their fronts, putting shabby cardboard boxes at their feet, showcasing the names of some items while biker gangs huddled in groups, selecting stolen goods.
At the end of the street, there's a bar called "Silver Spike." After opening the door and squeezing through a somewhat narrow corridor, the bright light of the bulbs creates shimmering patterns on black leather surfaces.
When a shapely figure entered the bar, all eyes turned to her, then simultaneously looked away within a second.
"Catwoman, my dear, you haven't been here in a while. Where've you been making your fortune? You wouldn't have forgotten us old pals, right?"
A strangely gaunt man was sitting at the stripper's bar drinking, and Catwoman walked over and sat down and said, "Collapse Head, you're still here? I thought you'd already gone to the Gold Cup Bar."
"I didn't have a choice. The boss there is too powerful, I couldn't take him on. This place is much better." The man known as Collapse Head chuckled a few times, and when he turned to show the other side of his face, it was clear why they called him "Collapse Head."
A large chunk of his whole right side face from the corner of the forehead to the right eye was gone, turning into a cavity. The scars on it indicated that this disfigurement wasn't congenital but caused by a later injury. It looked very strange and terrifying.
But everyone knew that in Gotham, if you saw someone with an apparent severe injury on their exposed body part, you must be on high alert.
Even when Batman blended in with the bottom layer of the East District, he would be anxious about catching a cold and losing his ability to work. For ordinary people, even minor injuries that affect their work efficiency could potentially trap them in a vicious cycle. The end result was seeking some enjoyment in their remaining lifespan from the basement doctors.
Any person who could survive, or even thrive, in Gotham after a severe injury is among the toughest in the city, given that they don't have access to Wayne Enterprises' medical resources. After all, just dealing with the dark-influenced rain in Gotham is a challenge in itself.
If these people were fortunate enough to survive, their ugly scars would become their armor, or even weapons. At least in Gotham, the initial reaction of anyone who saw someone like Collapse Head was to take a detour. They always feared the possibility of congenital disabilities leading to mental distortion more than post-injury wounds, as this kind of villain could make the Batman's regular comics edition. No one would risk provoking them.
Fortunately, Collapse Head wasn't a madman. He and Catwoman didn't chat for too long before starting to complain: "The situation is getting worse recently. As the renovation project goes forward, Wayne Enterprises has been placing more and more security equipment here."
"Thieves here have never seen such high-tech stuff. Little Phyd bumped into it without a clue last time. That robot thingy had already locked onto him while he thought he broke into it seamlessly. They were more accurate than the most precise gunners in the mob, and Little Phyd got shot dead on the spot," Collapse Head elaborated.