The old black man scanned Bruce and seemed to finally dismiss his last doubts, turning his full attention to haggling with Bruce.
The two haggled for a while until the old man finally said, "You're a clever lad. I don't want to see you getting beaten up. Pay seven dollars, and you should be able to make ends meet."
Bruce hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, but if I get beaten up when I return, I'll come running back to you."
The old man chuckled and said, "Then I'll chase them away with a stick, and you can stay to work for me. I've got plenty of good things here."
"We'll see," said Bruce, waving his hand dismissively. He took the money the old man had handed him and left. Still, it wasn't until he was well away from the district that he let out a sigh of relief.
Spending money was also a problem. Bruce had to impersonate different members of the mob and Children's Gang, purchasing a variety of small items to convert his money into smaller denominations as much as possible, and hiding it all over his body.
His luck could not be considered good. He was caught by the Children's Gang twice. One of those times, there were six or seven of them, all armed. It was clear they were already desperate. No longer could he pretend to be some errand boy for the mob; he could only let them search him.
If Bruce wanted to hide his money, he could do it very well. However, if they couldn't find a cent, the gang members might realize that he was an orphan with no one to rely on. But if they found a bit of spare change, they'd know he either had parents or was in a gang. They would take the money and leave, not beating him to avoid trouble.
In this way, Bruce lost a dozen or so cents, but with his constant move to different areas, nobody could see through him at first glance.
Bruce chose to establish his base near the border of several kids' gangs, close to the black market. But if he settled in one location, he needed a genuine identity. Otherwise, if he was familiar with everyone around, using any gang's identity as an excuse would likely be exposed.
But Bruce had long understood how a particular type of scammer made their fortune. Simply put, they first pretend to be rich and scam the wealthy, then become genuinely rich.
Under the guise of running errands, Bruce quickly made friends with a leader of the Children's Gang. At this point, Bruce was faring much better and was in better shape than other children.
The gang leader knew that having more robust children was never a bad thing. Thus, he tried to recruit Bruce, who politely declined twice before gladly joining.
With a real gang, things were much easier. The gang leader was already around fourteen or fifteen. Due to his strength, he had attracted the mob's attention. Soon he would no longer be the leader. During this power vacuum, Bruce stepped in. Despite his young age, he was a capable adult. It did not take long for him to woo the other kids in the gang and naturally became their leader.
With a steady, well-staffed gang, there was even more room to operate. Every day, Bruce commanded the troops at headquarters, seizing all opportunities to scrounge and assigning each member to their best-suited positions, utilizing each child's talents. In a week's time, he had the Children's Gang running like a well-oiled machine.
Meanwhile, at the dining hall of a gorgeous manor, two girls sat heads down, eating heartily. The boy at the head of the table on the right softly wiped his mouth with a napkin and put down the fork in his other hand.
The older girl finished the last spoonful of hot soup and gave a satisfied sigh. She leaned back in her chair, looking at the boy across from her and said, "Dr. Schiller, you... "
"Call me Schiller, Miss Helen."
"Alright, Schiller. I understand your plans regarding the Kingdom of Dreams, but I have one question..."
Helen looked around at the opulent dining room within the grand manor and asked, "You said everyone starts as a child in a slum, how did you come to have all this?"
"I helped up the scams actioned by the scammers. If everything is going as expected, they should be at a ball right now, scamming people."
"I don't quite understand..."
"First pretend to be rich and scam the wealthy, then become genuinely rich. Originally they were just a married couple running scams in the slums, now they're philanthropic businessmen from Maryland State with a biological son, and who have adopted two little girls from Gotham slums. They are now seeking investment opportunities in Gotham."
"What about the start-up funds? Renting a huge mansion like this must cost a fortune, not to mention buying the clothes and jewelry of the rich..."
"The mob," Schiller uttered one word.
"Huh?" Helen was still somewhat confused.
Seeing the neatly arranged utensils in front of Helen, Schiller sighed, proceeding to explain patiently, "My partners are not only this couple. I persuaded a mob; this is a business they invested in, so naturally, the money came from them."
"So, the mob wanted to con people," Helen stated, suddenly understanding. However, she soon asked, "How did you convince them? You're not a psychology professor right now, just an orphan from Gotham. Why would they listen to a child?"
"Of course, because they are in trouble, and I happen to show up, speaking words of wisdom. If they don't listen to me, they're finished. They have to use a dead horse as a living horse doctor."
"Was it a broken capital chain?" Helen could only guess this much. However, this was also the most logical answer. Otherwise, why resort to fraud? It must be to alleviate financial tension.
But Schiller shook his head and said, "They can no longer be a mob."
Seeing the still somewhat confused expression on Helen's face, Schiller explained, "Their Boss offended someone. They can't survive in the mob world, but if they were absorbed by another group as a mob, they wouldn't have anything left over. The other members could become lackeys for other mobs, but the original bosses would certainly be wiped out."
"So what?"
"So this isn't a scam. I'm helping them go legit." Schiller folded the napkin into a tidy triangle, "Taking advantage of the time before they're completely absorbed, they liquidate all their assets, organize a scam, break into high society, attract investment, start doing real business, and naturally, they become clean."
Helen paused for a moment. She was smart, so she quickly grasped the crux of Schiller's thoughts. She asked tentatively, "So you also went legit?"
Schiller gently nodded and said, "They have no understanding of high society etiquettes, nor have they ever done any regular business, so they can only rely on me. For at least some time, I will receive the compensation I'm due."
"There's more to it, right?" Helen asked, frowning.
"You're very clever, Helen," Schiller praised genuinely. His expression then darkened as he said, "And it seems one of my less than clever students is about to deal another blow to my reputation in the education sector."
"I mean, you're not thinking of dealing another blow to your psychologist professor's reputation in the education sector, are you?"
A boy with green hair stood leaning against the doorframe, staring at Bruce who was dealing with the Children's Gang affairs.
Bruce looked up, completely baffled, wondering what on earth Jack was getting at.