amaotonovel Chapter 3297 Bloody New City (46)
Chapter 3297 Bloody New City (46)
Chapter 3297 Bloodshed in New City (Forty-Six)
The morning in Metropolis was much warmer than that in Gotham. Although it was already autumn, the weather was not very cold. Clark felt very relaxed while flying in the morning breeze. In recent days, his mood had changed from nervousness and anxiety to joy. Cobblepot's presence had brought great improvement to his work as a reporter.
Everyone knows that a good reporter must have his own connections so that he can get first-hand news. Clark was not taken seriously when he was in the newspaper and was always assigned to report some gossip because he knew some big shots and was unwilling to flatter them.
But Penguin Cobblepot is different. Clark has a sense of responsibility for approaching him. It was because he was away on a business trip some time ago and didn't take good care of Batman that he was immersed in the grief of losing his loved ones and made an irrational decision. This is his own problem, so he should be responsible.
Superman had no intention of reasoning with this evil super criminal. He thought that if the other party wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble, he would definitely take him to prison and teach him a lesson.
But to his surprise, the Penguin Cobblepot was not as cruel and scary as he had heard.
Cobert does look a bit ferocious. He is fat and has a hooked nose. He also looks a bit sinister when he smiles and he limps. He really doesn't have a good appearance.
However, Clark was taught from childhood that one should never judge a person by appearance or listen to one side of the story, but should look at what the other person does. Clark did not take action against Cobert immediately, which meant that he was destined to be bewitched by Cobert.
The Penguin is a very charismatic person, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stand out among so many Gotham villains who come and go, and his appearance rate remains at a fairly high level.
He is a very traditional, even unoriginal villain, but he is still loved by many audiences. In addition to being a classic, it is also because his ability is really strong and can cause trouble for Batman from a higher level.
In most comics where the Penguin appears, he is not a low-level criminal, but has always been at the center of the vortex of power, like a mainstay, representing upper-class crime.
This means that he has strong social skills. No matter what his origin or background story is, he can climb up from the bottom of society. With such an ugly appearance, he can mix in the upper-class circle and do well, which is enough to show how good he is at dealing with people.
Not to mention Superman who has a relatively simple mind, even Batman, who has eighty thousand minds, sometimes has to maintain superficial peace with him and cannot touch him easily.
Cobblepot's social killer is also very simple. He knows very well that disguise will definitely be exposed, especially in front of superheroes with special powers such as Batman or Superman, deception is the most clumsy means.
So he did not conceal his greed and indifference, but simply highlighted the side of his character that was acceptable to them.
He knew very well that kind people were always tolerant, and as long as he had enough advantages, they would be able to tolerate his shortcomings.
For example, when dealing with Superman, Penguin never concealed his desire for power. He even asked Superman to help him eavesdrop on the news, and although Superman did not agree, Superman did not blame him.
Superman is kind, but not stupid. He is a mentally sound adult, not a three-year-old child. He knows very well that the purpose of becoming a politician is to fight for power. If you have no desire for power, why would you be a congressman?
It is very normal for the Penguin to want to fight for power in the political arena. Even if he wants to be president, Superman cannot blame him just because of his ambition.
Superman only cares about the means to achieve his ambitions. Even if you have great ambitions, as long as your means are legal and do not harm ordinary people, he will not strike hard all the time.
The Penguin grasped this point and quickly proved to Superman through his actions that the process of my ascension to power would not only not harm ordinary people, but would also bring certain benefits to the general public.
For example, the Penguin was very thoughtful about the real-name system for criminals. Although he supported the registration bill, he proposed in parliament that only the information of recidivists who refused to change their ways should be published. This conservative and neutral tendency won Superman's favor.
Of course, this only makes Superman stop nitpicking and see him in a new and fair light, which is far from enough for the Penguin.
Next, the Penguin began to win Superman's favor, but his method was no longer to do good deeds, but to help Superman do good deeds.
After becoming a congressman, he naturally had his own information channels, so it was not difficult for him to find out Clark's true identity.
Interestingly, Superman is not a masked hero. When he was a reporter, the glasses didn't cover anything, but few people could remember his face. Penguin thinks this might be a superpower of Superman.
The Penguin was able to discover his true identity because he had recently come into close contact with Superman. It seemed that the other party had not been using this superpower to conceal his identity, and he took advantage of it.
When he found out that the other party was a reporter, Penguin knew that his chance had come. As a politician, dealing with reporters is a basic skill, and manipulating public opinion and the media is commonplace.
The Penguin used his information advantage to provide Superman with several insider information, all of which were related to people's livelihood, such as forced demolition by large enterprises, occupation of public green spaces by municipal projects, private scandals of unscrupulous politicians, etc.
Yes, these are all bad news about his competitors, but they did do it and it did harm ordinary people. Even if Superman knows that Penguin is using him as a knife, he still has to take the job.
Moreover, he can use his identity as a reporter to expose these scandals, and he can also transform himself into a superhero and strike hard at the source. He can bring peace to the world with his pen and decide the fate of the world with his martial arts. Metropolis has no rivals.
The biggest impact of their collaboration was that it rekindled Clark's passion for being a reporter, rather than just seeing it as a cover for his identity as Superman.
He realized that people not only need a fair trial result, but also value the process of achieving this result.
Ordinary people may need to be rescued by others, but sometimes they only need a little help from others to save themselves, and they are even willing to do most of the self-rescue work by themselves.
To some extent, Superman is much more humble than the White Knight and Batman. He does not have a serious savior complex. Although he should help others as much as possible, he often has a mentality of "I don't have to be successful, but I must be part of the success."
Although in reality he is the savior who has the ability to save everything, this may be the meaning of "a true master always has the heart of an apprentice."
After rediscovering the joy of his job as a reporter, Clark began to be dissatisfied with just reporting some dark news provided to him by the Penguin. Instead, he began to take the initiative and find ways to expose the scandal.
Then he realized that he could do much more than an ordinary reporter. He didn't need to rest, he could work all night in the sun. He was not afraid of assassination, whether by pistol or car bombing.
In politics, the Penguin will be his umbrella and remind him when someone wants to frame him. In economics, although he has a bad relationship with Lex Luthor, he has a good relationship with the Wayne Group, the old rival of Luthor Group, and Fox will help him solve economic disputes.
In just one month, the name Clark Kent became famous.
People are calling him a rising star in East Coast journalism and saying he could be a candidate for a Pulitzer Prize within five years.
Clark actually had this plan as well. He thought that the last time Batman was framed and imprisoned was because no one spoke up for him.
If I become a well-known reporter, when Batman gets into trouble again, I will stand up to help him clarify the situation. There will definitely be a lot of people who will believe me, and the trouble can be solved more easily.
Clark has been busy with his work as a journalist these days, and no longer resists the networking and socializing work that he used to hate. Isn't it just drinking? Earthlings should step back a little, and let you see how fast the alcohol is digested by the power of nuclear fusion.
That night, the mayor's chief assistant, Ms. Pope, invited the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet to drink, and brought along Clark, who was in the limelight recently. The mayor's assistant was obviously very interested in Clark, and the two had a good chat.
Clark asked him openly and secretly about the recent Luther Group's participation in the city government's bidding project. He had been following this clue for a long time and it seemed that he was about to reach the end.
As long as he can identify the list of people who have accepted bribes within the city government, he will be able to make another big news at the end of the year. Who knows, maybe within five years, he will have a chance to compete for the award next year.
After three rounds of drinks and five dishes, the mayor's assistant began to complain about his work situation. Clark saw the opportunity and winked at his editor-in-chief, wanting to sit next to the mayor's assistant and ask him carefully.
But just as he stood up, his phone rang suddenly. The sharp ring woke everyone up immediately.
Clark glanced at his phone and was not going to answer it, but when he found out the caller ID was "Bruce Wayne", he immediately put down his work and went to the bathroom to answer the call.
"Clark, I've recently investigated some things and may need you to come over and take a look. Is it convenient for you now?" Bruce's voice came from the other side.
"I'm free, coming right up. Are you home?"
"No, I'm at a base in the valley outside of Gotham City. I'll send you the address, and you can come over."
Clark said nothing and left with a random excuse. He flew to the valley according to the address, and in addition to meeting Bruce here, he also saw a very hideous monster.
"This is Miss Maria," Bruce introduced him, "the new Joker. I know you have a lot of questions, but you have to take a look at this first."
Bruce handed Clark a booklet. Clark looked at him with some confusion, but still opened the booklet. The contents inside made his eyes widen. He couldn't help but hold the booklet a little further away and said with some disdain: "What is this? A complete collection of torture in human history?"
Bruce shook his head and said, "I guarantee you won't find so many examples of torture in history. This is a recently published auction catalog on a small scale."
"Auction catalog? What's being auctioned?"
"These are traps and torture," Bruce said, looking at Clark, "This involves a gamble that could be very dark. Are you ready to learn the truth?"
Clark should have realized that the Bruce in front of him seemed a little different, but all his attention was focused on the so-called dark gambling. The recent successful case of using public opinion to uphold justice made him eager to know the truth.
"Of course," Clark replied, "I have faith in all the darkness. I believe I can illuminate it."
"Well, let's first listen to Miss Maria's personal experience."