Batman's thoughts darted like lightning.
"Their power to turn a blind eye to certain trades was taken away," hinted at a wealth of information.
Batman, of course, was acutely aware of how the country worked. In America, the guiding principle of all law enforcement agencies was to maintain order, not to uphold justice.
This essentially meant that American law enforcement was primarily concerned with preserving the interests of national beneficiaries since social order was their most vital interest.
The beneficiaries they protected naturally granted them this power, but it wasn't to be used against them. This is why the FBI had an absolute whitelist of individuals exempt from potential arrest - crossing that line was not permissible.
However, where there's a line, there's bound to be room for fluctuation. And given this fluctuation, there would inevitably be those seeking to gain more power.
A way of obtaining such power wasn't to arrest someone, but to consciously decide not to arrest someone, turning a blind eye to deeds teetering on the precipice of legality.
To do so, however, required them having the ability to apprehend the other party but deliberately deciding against it.
It's like a senior colleague knowing fully well and having evidence of your slacking at work but deciding to do nothing. You naturally feel indebted to them.
On the other hand, if the person conscious of your slacking is a newbie or someone not held in high regard, their inaction would be taken for granted.
So, the most crucial factor in ensuring their access to this fluctuation in power was their reputation for having the ability to arrest anyone.
The American people's acceptance of the FBI's tendency to brashly intrude everywhere and arrest anyone was often taken for granted. Sometimes the FBI deliberately behaved this way to stress their absolute authority and establish this reputation.
Only then did Batman realize that the far-reaching impact of this disaster in Gotham was much more significant than he had initially thought.
The FBI took note for the first time, but ultimately accomplished nothing. They came, and then they left, tail between their legs.
The fact that the FBI had consistently avoided addressing Gotham's issues raised many suspicions. However, as long as the issue remained unacknowledged, it could be dismissed as not serious or as beneath their care.
However, the problem with this approach is that they either had to completely ignore it, pretending it didn't exist, or get involved and make a difference. Otherwise, their credibility would be destroyed.
The FBI had now completely blown its cover.
Amanda made a wrong decision. When Peter provided her with leads, she chose to send people. They knew they were trying to catch the military by the tail, but others didn't know about it.
All they saw was the FBI sending planes over, carrying out some investigations then leaving without saying a word, without sending a swarm of agents to raid Gotham and arrest everyone involved, as they used to do.
This was signaling weakness, something Gotham couldn't afford.
This felt like mockery towards those who handed over benefits to the FBI for protection. You came after us, threatening and demanding. You said as long as we gave sufficient benefits, you could turn a blind eye.
However, now there's a place within our border where nothing needs to be paid, and you can't do anything about it? So the smart ones went there, and we were left to play the fool?
The Penguin Man's propaganda was exceptionally successful. He had solid evidence that the FBI agents and the helicopter Batman stopped appeared in the Batcave, was a fatal bullet that took down the giant.
What would the shareholders of Wayne Enterprises do? Batman wondered. Under such circumstances, how would they respond?
Profit-seeking is innate to businessmen, and many of them were more than just businessmen.
If many people realized that Gotham was an anomalous state within the US, not only a haven for low-level criminals but also a paradise for their backhanded deals, power swaps, and government trade, what would they do?
Yes, they would come, but they are afraid of death, and a promise that there would be order here was needed for them to dare to come.
And what would they bring when they came?
This was a question that Batman didn't even need to ponder. There always had to be an FBI in the world, so why couldn't the homegrown Wayne Enterprises be it?
The temptation to establish rules was too great.
If Gotham became the main ground of grey area transactions throughout the US, especially those involving power trading, even just getting a piece of the action would make one rich.
Even if those half-dead shareholders were dead and buried, they would push open the coffin lid and shout, "Good job, Bruce Wayne!"
Batman wanted to say that he wasn't the one who did it.
But he was not good at talking, even worse at explaining, and he knew that since Amanda had already put it in that way, any explanation was useless now.
Looking at the continually silent Bruce Wayne, Amanda, somewhat falling apart, said: "Don't tell me you're not willing to pay any price?"
Batman remained silent, partly because he didn't know what to say. He was still pondering how things had come to this point.
Amanda took a few steps back while nodding, spread her arms and said: "You know what would happen to me if I don't get anything from you, right?"
Batman finally spoke, "You can go to Gotham."
Amanda stiffened.
She stared incredulously at the man before her, having never examined his face so closely before.
Bruce Wayne was handsome, but now he looked terrifying.
In fact, in the hearts of Amanda and everyone else who learned of this news and planned to be engaged in it, there was no one else besides Bruce Wayne who could orchestrate such a spectacular coup.
But weren't there signs? Wayne's success in business was well known around the world, and his genius was widely recognized. So, it wasn't unthinkable that he might aspire to more than being just a scientist and businessman, that he might want to exert tighter control over the nation and the world.
If this was a game that super genius Bruce Wayne had been carefully planning for twenty years, then what else could they do but play along and enjoy it?
Amanda's arms dropped to her sides. She said, "It's not that simple, Bruce, you know it's not that simple."
"I can let you walk out of here alive."
It sounded tempting, Amanda thought. So fucking tempting that it was impossible to refuse. From the moment she was tempted, Batman had calculated everything.
As the first lamb to walk into the trap, she was now stranded because she had violated the Federal Bureau of Investigation's usual style of ignoring Gotham. Her own greed had created the current situation.
Power could drive people mad, and losing power could drive them even madder. Amanda had no doubt her bosses would take her life, so staying alive became a very tempting option.
"Don't treat me like a beggar, Bruce," Amanda stepped forward and got very close to Bruce Wayne. She looked into his eyes and said, "Tell me my place, at least my mistake was the last piece of your plan's puzzle. You have no right to leave me in the air."
Batman, who had gradually understood everything, understood what was the most tempting to Amanda, apart from being alive, she just wanted to catch super criminals.
Upon hearing Wayne's words, Amanda suddenly widened her eyes, she felt like she was meeting Bruce Wayne for the first time, or rather, she was realizing for the first time that Wayne owned the world and that this was the way it should be.
A genuine helmsman, who could easily decide the fate and destiny of all things, from the direction in which the lighthouse shines to the origin and final destination of each individual.
Maybe he was always like this, but hid these ambitions beneath insane behavior, until everything was decided.
Amanda took a deep breath, tossed her head to one side, with her weak attitude she accepted the arrangement. She turned around, leaving her fingertips on the table and said, "This is just a beginning, Bruce, the military is the one that takes the biggest piece of the cake. If you can't resist their pressure, all is in vain."
Batman remained silent. Amanda finally couldn't resist looking at Bruce Wayne's face again, but the expression remained inscrutable, gloomy and unclear.
Amanda thought with a sense of despair, all his frivolity is just a front, everyone has been fooled.
Of course, Batman knew that he shouldn't reveal Batman's posture in Bruce Wayne's identity, but Bruce Wayne had nothing to say under these circumstances. This was obviously not a situation where he could fob them off by telling a spicy joke.
There was no point and no time to play dumb or adjust his image to find a way that could solve the problem without damaging his image. He could only adopt the most conservative strategy, being cold and saying nothing.
Batman believed this was not a problem, but he clearly underestimated human imagination.
"Okay, megalomaniac," Amanda sighed, "If you have a way, I won't take it upon myself."
"But let me emphasize to you again, some people's business happens under the protection of the military, and the military does not have the same visible domestic enforcement power as us, so they take it much more seriously, and their methods are definitely more aggressive and harsh."
"Think about whether you have any weaknesses, Mr. Wayne. I hope my first time to Gotham won't be to attend a funeral."
This time, Batman thought of this problem only ten seconds ahead of Amanda.
This incident certainly touched many people's cake. Although Batman did not know how he did it for the time being, there was no doubt that not everyone was a toothless tiger.
Batman had Amanda find him a safe room, where he called Gordon. As soon as he switched on the phone, he heard noises, wind roars, gunfire, all sorts of sounds.
"What's happening? Gordon? ... Gordon?"
"Sorry! Batman! I'm not available right now!" Gordon was almost yelling.
Batman's heart contracted.
"Tell me what's happening now! Gordon!"
"I can't explain it to you!" Batman heard Gordon take a deep breath, and then heard the furious roaring of the usually mild-mannered police chief on the other end of the phone.
"Right now! Your deputies! They're stealing your cloak in Gotham City!!!!!"