Chapter 4: Lower Zone

　　In the vast reception hall of Crippleburg, Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake met for the first time Bronya Rand, Grand Guardian of Belloburg and the youngest Governor in the history of the United States.

　　These days, Bronya's youth, beauty and power have become the talk of the town among all Americans. Feminists support her, conspiracy theorists secretly speculate on her chances of coming to power, and her outstanding political skills prove her ability. Congress and the courts have recognized her as governor.

　　All this is because of Bronya Rand, the Great Guardian of Beloberg and the Supreme Commander of the Silver Mane Guard.

　　A governor who holds military power, a governor who has been isolated from the world for more than half a century and holds enormous power. Such a big shot can shake the entire American political arena with just a stomp of his feet. Such a person actually wants to meet with an ordinary wealthy businessman in Gotham.

　　On the way here, Bruce Wayne imagined many possibilities. He even made a plan for Bronya's age, in case Beloberg's ice and snow had the secret to eternal youth.

　　But after the usual greetings, this majestic and elegant lady made an unexpected request:

　　"As the Great Guardian of Belloberg, I invite you to visit the Lower District on my own behalf. The Upper District is Belloberg's calling card, representing that we are still vibrant after half a century of severe cold, but we must never abandon the people of the Lower District."

　　"Then why doesn't Beloberg open the lower area?" Bruce Wayne asked puzzledly.

　　Bronya sighed: "Most of the residents in the lower area make a living by mining. Poverty breeds suffering and sin. In addition, my mother, the former Great Guardian Cocolia, closed the upper and lower areas, which caused a gap between the residents of the two areas. Even if the Silver Mane Iron Guards have the help of the 'Earth Fire', it will be difficult to change people's hearts in a short period of time."

　　"Mr. Wayne, Jeppard told me that you have a kind and noble heart. Compared to those rich people who come to the upper district, I hope you can invest in the lower district. I assure you in the name of the Great Guardian that this is definitely the most cost-effective deal in the history of the Wayne Group."

　　The Great Guardian, who possesses the pride of a princess and the steadfastness of a soldier, pleaded with Bruce Wayne like this. Compared with her, it is not an exaggeration to call the mayors of other American cities good-for-nothings. How can the politicians who grew up in a greenhouse and rose to power through elite education compare with the flowers that are unyielding and even thrive in the cold wind?

　　As a member of the upper class, Bruce Wayne, who is accustomed to the collusion between officials and businessmen in American politics, readily agreed. If Belloberg's deeds could spread throughout the United States, perhaps it would bring some hope of change to the corrupt political arena.

　　"I understand what you mean, Great Guardian," Bruce Wayne nodded, "I also believe that Wayne Group will never lose money, but I still have a small question."

　　"Speaking."

　　"Why don't you wait until the situation in the upper and lower tier areas stabilizes before opening? With all due respect, this would probably be more beneficial to the residents of the lower tier areas."

　　"No," Bronya shook her head. "The changes in the blizzard are not as good as those of others. Lady Cocolia sacrificed herself to make the blizzard disappear. I will never let her down."

　　System: Why do you insist on sending Batman to the lower level area?

　　Player: In order to bring these two guys together with the clown, so that they don't wander around and ask around every day, wandering to places they shouldn't go, and finally falling into the void cracks, letting the world go with them.

　　Bruce Wayne might have believed Bronya's words so easily, but Batman didn't think so. His intuition told him that there must be other hidden secrets.

　　He made a veiled gesture to Tim Drake and installed a bug in a corner while no one else was paying attention.

　　Player: Can he hear everything with so many eavesdropping devices installed every day?

　　System: Don’t worry too much about character settings.

　　Bronya called Pera over: "This is the intelligence officer of the Silver Mane Guard, Pelageya Sergeyevna. She will lead you to visit the lower area next."

　　Tim looked back and saw a small girl in a Silvermane Guard uniform standing in front of them. She seemed to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, with large round-framed glasses on her face. Compared with other Beloberg residents who loved asymmetrical aesthetics, she was dressed particularly neatly.

　　"Hello everyone, just call me Pera." Pera said seriously.

　　Pera used her own age to give the two of them a little Beloberg shock, and Bruce even really began to consider the possibility that ice and snow could keep people young forever.

　　"Hello, Hill, Sergey, uh, Ms. Pella." Bruce awkwardly chose to address her as Pella.

　　"It's okay, Mr. Bruce. There are many different opinions about my full name among the Silver Mane Guards, including but not limited to 32."

　　Putting aside this minor unpleasantness, Pella is worthy of being an intelligence officer. She knows the history of various buildings in Beloberg like the back of her hand. Under her escort, Bruce and Tim successfully came to the lower area through the special passage.

　　Through the special passage they came from, Bruce could clearly see a huge, even grand axle supporting the ground of the upper area. Compared with the size of the upper area, the ground of the lower city was only larger, not smaller. People used mineral lamps made of earth marrow to illuminate the dark underground, and the entire underground space was at least several hundred meters high.

　　"There is such a huge hole underground! It's incredible, Miss Pera, it's like a gift from God." Bruce was really shocked. How could such a large machine and hole be created? No wonder Beloberg didn't temporarily open the lower area. Is this really something that physics can do?

　　"We all owe this to the first great guardian, Alisa Rand. It was she who established this city against all odds and preserved the flame of civilization for the people of Yalilo." Pella recounted the history of Beloberg over the past half century, omitting the technical aspects of the story.

　　Player: How could I possibly know about such a thing? Maybe it really is a gift from the Amber King. Why don’t you go ask the editorial department of miHoYo?

　　"Hey, Pera, you're here." A voice came from the side. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a purple butterfly-like woman appearing from the alley next to them with a long red scarf tied around her arm.

　　According to Sambo's intelligence, the red ribbon is the symbol of the members of the Earth Fire.

　　"Hello, Xi'er," Pera adjusted her glasses, "These two are Mr. Wayne of the Wayne Group and his adopted son Mr. Drake. They are our guests on this trip."

　　"Hmph, a wealthy gentleman from the upper class district, if it wasn't her request..." The woman named Seele looked the same age as the Great Guardian, equally young and beautiful, but compared to Bronya's elegance and majesty, she appeared dashing and handsome. The calluses on her hands and the muscles on her body hinted at her dangerousness.

　　"Xier is a cadre member of the Underground Fire Organization. She is our escort on this trip. During the period when the Silver Mane Iron Guards evacuated the lower area, it was the Underground Fire that supported the operation of the lower city area. With her here, no one dares to disturb us." Pella gave a brief introduction.

　　"Hello, Ms. Seele." Bruce Wayne greeted politely.

　　"Welcome to the lower class, wealthy sir. I hope you will not be scared away by the chaos and poverty here." Xier said coldly.

　　"Okay, Seele, say less and think about Lady Bronya." Pella tried to smooth things over.

　　It seemed that key information had been mentioned. The Earth and Fire cadre named Xier stopped talking and just stood guard beside them with a cold face, intimidating some peeping scoundrels.

　　Compared with the relatively prosperous and tidy upper area, the lower area appears much more dilapidated and dark. People here seem to be more accustomed to using iron products. There are few shops and restaurants, and there are basically no attractions worth seeing.

　　Pera brought them to Dr. Natasha's clinic. The doctor, whose long hair was tied up with a nurse cap and had a little bear pinned behind her, was not surprised by their arrival.

　　Bruce and Tim both noticed that the doctor also had a red bandage around his right arm.

　　"Hello, sir." Natasha, with rose-red eyes, greeted with a smile: "When the miners go down the mine, my clinic is half a care center. I hope you don't mind."

　　When Bruce arrived, he noticed that many children were hanging around the clinic. Their clothes were a little worn, but clean and tidy, and their faces were full of smiles. It was obvious that they had not suffered any abuse.

　　"Natasha, does the clinic need any medicine?" Xier asked.

　　"No, there is no urgent need for medicine right now," Natasha shook her head gently. "Mr. Wayne, I heard that you are a wealthy businessman. I wonder if you are willing to donate some books to these children? Hook and the others have been pestering me to tell them stories."

　　"Dear Madam, the Wayne Group has been setting up a charitable foundation to help children. When I return to the ground, I will definitely have someone contact you."

　　Mr. Wayne made his promise generously, which made Xier look at him with admiration. They only sat in Natasha's clinic for a short while before they had to leave because of the busy business.

　　"Is this the only clinic in the lower district?" Bruce asked curiously.

　　"Before the upper and lower areas were closed, people in the lower area went to the upper area for medical treatment. Later, the former great guardian closed the passage between the upper and lower areas, and Dr. Natasha volunteered to stay underground. All these years, thanks to her, we are able to..."

　　Xier stopped talking here, but everyone present understood what she had not finished saying.

　　In order to avoid making the scene seem so heavy, Tim quickly changed the subject: "By the way, we met a man who seemed to be wearing very little outside the city. He had dark blue hair and green eyes and called himself Sambo."

　　"Sambo?" Xier subconsciously frowned when she heard the name: "That guy is very smooth-talking, you guys weren't fooled by him, were you?"

　　"No, no." Tim quickly denied: "He was just wearing very little and we were just curious."

　　Xier's eyebrows relaxed: "It should be because of the snow and wind immunity potion."

　　"That's right," Pera also said, "This is exactly why the Great Guardian wants to take you underground. The formula of the snowstorm immunity potion comes from the underground fire. We hope to use this in exchange for the Wayne Group's support for the lower level area of ​​Beloberg."