"Who are you? Why are you here?" Officer Gordon was obviously very alert and puzzled, as the two people before her looked incredibly strange.
Batwoman and Batman exchanged glances again, Batwoman released her hold, but the policewoman did not try to attack them, realizing their strength was surprisingly great and they were not ordinary invaders. Without a gun, she couldn't act rashly.
"We are here to investigate Batman."
"Batman? Who's that? Are you talking about the Spider-kid who's been swinging around the streets lately?"
Without a doubt, the policewoman had acted as though there was no Batman in this world at all. Had they mistaken the world? Had she just mentioned Spiderman?
Batwoman was not clear about the situation in another world, but Batman from the Prime Universe knew about it. Could this be that other world?
But that couldn't be right, as the news had clearly stated that Wayne Enterprises had once existed.
"It seems this is a merged Dreamworld," said Batman from the Prime Universe. "The creator of the dream must have merged the memories of several different people to create this place."
"What exactly are you here for?" the policewoman asked.
"What are you here for?" Batwoman countered, simultaneously crossing her arms and looking at the policewoman. "I hardly think a public servant needs to be in the archives at this time."
The policewoman was clearly hit where it hurt, looking somewhat embarrassed, since it was obvious—if she were a cop, she could have come to the archives during working hours in the daytime. Why sneak around at night after work hours?
This implied that she was up to something shady, but that didn't negate the fact that the two were intruders.
"Listen, miss," Batman intervened, trying to smooth things over. "We mean no threat to you. We are only here to investigate something concerning Bruce Wayne."
The policewoman looked surprised, which led Batwoman to observe that it was very likely she was here for Bruce Wayne as well.
Batwoman glanced at Batman, who paused for a moment and then reached up to remove his mask.
Seeing the familiar face before her, the policewoman was completely stunned.
She took a step back in panic, but Batman, observing her move, immediately stepped forward and said, "You know him, right? What is your relationship with him? Did he send you here?"
In the face of the barrage of questions, the policewoman was clearly flustered. Batman could tell that this policewoman was nowhere near as seasoned as Gordon, likely Gordon's apprentice, so it was very possible she had seen Bruce Wayne.
"We come from another universe," Batman said without exposing the fact that this was a dream. "This universe is encountering some trouble now, and we are here to resolve it. If you could offer us some help, that would be great."
The policewoman swallowed hard and nodded, "Mmm-hmm." The wariness in her eyes had not fully dissipated but had clearly shaken.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything about Bruce Wayne and the current state of this city."
Taking a deep breath, the policewoman did not start talking but looked at them for a while, then turned back to continue searching the shelves of the archives and said, "I've never seen you before, and you've never seen me. If you want to know something, just find it yourself."
This was just what Batman wanted. It was often more efficient and accurate to get information from the archives than to rely on a layperson's account.
Searching archives was second nature to Batman. Working together with Batwoman, they soon pieced together what was happening in this universe.
"It seems things aren't looking good for Gordon," Batman remarked without trying to lower his voice, glancing at the policewoman beside him. "To only be able to watch evil occur, completely powerless to stop it or reverse the tragedy — it's a disaster for a good cop."
Batwoman saw Officer Gordon's eyes redden. She probably knew better than anyone just how bad Gordon's situation was.
Squatting down slowly, Officer Gordon seemed to be at her limit due to consecutive days of work and emotional turmoil. Batwoman walked over, patted her shoulder, and said, "If it wasn't for some accident, you wouldn't be here. Can you tell us what you came here to find?"
The policewoman crouched with her eyes closed for a while before speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, "... that case from years ago."
"Which one?" Batman asked.
"The James Gordon assault case," Officer Gordon said as if she suddenly realized something, speaking quickly. "At that time, Gordon, who was the police chief, was shot in an alley on his way home. He was helping the young Bruce Wayne take over the Wayne family's inheritance, so the public speculated that it was shareholders who wanted to divide and conquer Wayne Enterprises who had sent the hitman."
"Gordon was shot twice, one of which hit his spine, almost completely paralyzing him. He has been bedridden for over a decade, and almost everyone has forgotten about this excellent chief of police. Now, when the old case is mentioned, there is nothing left but sighs,"
Batman deeply furrowed his brow. As Bruce Wayne himself, he knew better than anyone what had really happened back then.
Firstly, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne were not oblivious to their own death. The situation at the time was very dangerous, and they had prepared for it in advance.
Therefore, when they died, the greedy shareholders couldn't cause much trouble. All of the inheritance and shares smoothly passed into Little Bruce's hands without anyone being able to touch them.
Secondly, Little Bruce didn't care about those insignificant clowns. His abilities far exceeded those of normal people, and he didn't take such level of business battles seriously.
Moreover, indeed many people helped him at that time. After all, he was a minor and navigating various legal procedures was quite difficult. Police officers, doctors, lawyers—it wasn't unreasonable for Batman to feel a bond with these professions. When he found himself most isolated and without help in his life, it was these people who had assisted him.
Suppose in this universe Bruce Wayne was not a super-genius, then he might indeed have needed outside help to secure his inheritance. Otherwise, it would be like a child holding gold in a crowded market—a loss would certainly have occurred.
"Where is Gordon now?" Batman asked, "If I'm not mistaken, he asked you to reinvestigate the old case, right? I think I can provide some help in this area, but I need to see him first."
The female officer shook her head and said, "No, this is a secret investigation. We can't let anyone know."
"Of course, I understand. Those hyenas who took a piece of meat from the honorable police chief wouldn't allow him to put them in jail. So, at least let me see Bruce. I think I can help him better utilize the resources he has to find the real culprit who hurt Gordon,"
The officer visibly started, instinctively responding, "Resources, what resources?"
"The Wayne Family's inheritance," Batman said. "Even if he couldn't keep the shares of Wayne Enterprises or lost almost all the tangible assets, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had quite a bit of savings. Private accounts alone held several million US dollars, not to mention various trusts, properties, and vehicles. Even if he didn't engage in preservation and investment activities, this is no small sum."
Ge Yin deeply furrowed her brow, shook her head, and looking at Batman she said, "No, right now Bruce is renting a place with Gordon, and he barely makes enough to support the two of them working three jobs."
"Ridiculous," Batwoman assessed. "What about the personal assets of Thomas and Martha? To take ten steps back, what about my mother's dowry? When she married from the Kane family, my grandparents gave her two buildings and a row of storefronts on a commercial street."
"My parents died simultaneously, and I'm the sole heir. I have no friends or relatives who have the right to claim inheritance. Where is the inheritance?"
"I... I don't know," Ge Yin shook her head. The female officer from a civilian background was obviously not familiar with these matters.
Batwoman looked up at Batman and immediately realized there was something wrong.
"Show us the files," Batwoman demanded. "The complete files of that case, right now."
With no choice, Ge Yin handed over the files she had recently dug out. The two quickly read through them and at the same moment looked up at each other, clearly seeing the doubt in each other's eyes.
"There are too many suspicious points," Batman stared at the files and said, "Putting aside the external environment, according to Gordon's description, he saw a blurry figure of the assassin and then was shot the first time and fell to the ground."
"If the killer wanted to fire a second shot, he would have to adjust the trajectory because the position of a standing person and that of a lying person are different. Gordon had the full ability to seize those brief two seconds to draw his gun and fire, but he just fell to the ground, did nothing, and let the other party fire the second shot."
"Could it be that..." Ge Yin wanted to say that perhaps Gordon was unable to draw his gun or react due to the pain of being shot, but she couldn't even convince herself. Gordon was a well-trained good police officer with a very strong will, who would never miss an opportunity to catch a criminal.
If there was even the slightest chance of shooting the criminal during the fall that could hinder their escape, Gordon would definitely do it, and he had the capability to do so.
"The location of the gunshot wound is also telling," Batman pointed at the images in the file. "A shot to the left abdomen doesn't affect the use of his right hand. Gordon didn't have the habit of keeping his gun on his back; in that instant he fell, drawing and firing his gun was entirely possible."
"Unless he didn't want to do that," Batwoman interjected.
"It was the second shot that paralyzed Gordon," Batman continued, looking at the file. "What reason did he have not to shoot the assailant?"
"I think we still need to see Bruce," Batwoman said. "At the very least, he was a direct witness at that time. We..."
"No," Ge Yin raised her voice to interrupt them. Both looked at her, and Ge Yin emphasized, "Gordon didn't allow me to tell anyone, absolutely no one, about this ongoing investigation, including Bruce Wayne."
"Is that what he told you?"
"Of course."
Batman and Batwoman simultaneously paused, because they clearly realized the same thing. They exchanged glances, each seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.