Chapter 9 What We Depend On

　　Sambo? Bruce Wayne, who had a brief encounter with this information dealer as Batman, remained calm as he watched a dark blue-haired man with droopy eyes who was selling strange items walk over.

　　He was originally carrying a linen bag on his shoulder, which he casually put into the pile of miscellaneous items on the way over.

　　"Miss Xi'er, what do you want me to do? I'll do it if you have money..." After seeing the gleaming sickle, Sangbo immediately changed his words: "Hey, no money is fine."

　　Xi'er ignored Sambo's glib words. She raised her hand and said, "Mr. Wayne wants to see our Beloberg sign. This job is yours."

　　Sambo turned his green eyes and looked Bruce Wayne up and down at a speed that was almost imperceptible to him, hiding his interested look in a flattering smile: "Don't worry about me, old Sambo, doing things."

　　"Then I'll leave it to Uncle Sambo." Hook gave Sambo a big smile.

　　"Oh, my little Hook, just based on your words, Uncle Sambo will definitely do his best." Sambo covered his chest pretentiously, pretending to be Xishi holding her heart.

　　Bruce Wayne awkwardly took out candy from his pocket and tried to save some reputation: "I'm sorry, Hook, I scared you. You are such a brave and smart boy."

　　"Wow, candy..." Hook's eyes sparkled. He first looked at the high-end products outside with envy, then turned to look at Natasha: "Old witch... Sister Natasha, can Hook eat candy? Hook promises to control himself."

　　Natasha didn't care about Hook's offensive words. After all, it was hard for a doctor who gave injections to please children. She just smiled dotingly and gently touched Hook's head: "I believe in Hook, but Hook, remember to share good things."

　　"Great, thank you, weird bad guy uncle!" Hook happily plopped his short legs and hopped to take the candy box from Bruce Wayne's hand.

　　"Bad guy..." Bruce smiled bitterly. Although as Batman, he was determined to become the embodiment of fear in Gotham, this was the first time that Bruce Wayne was hated by children. The closest person to Hook he had come into contact with was Jason, whom he picked up from Crime Alley. He was smart, brave, and a little cunning. He was born in poverty but was loyal and unyielding. However, in the end...

　　Hook opened the box and divided up the beautifully wrapped candies inside: "This purple one is for Sister Xier, the green one is for Sister Natasha, and the blue one is for Uncle Sambo..."

　　She finished her round and turned around to see that strange old man was a little depressed. She hesitated a little and walked back to Bruce Wayne:

　　"This black one is for you, don't be sad." She looked at Bruce Wayne seriously, her bright yellow eyes were clear and clean, that was the look that only comes from someone who grew up in an environment of love.

　　Bruce Wayne looked at the small chocolate wrapped in black paper in his hand. The pain of losing his son was not as heart-wrenching as before, but it was still like an old wound, making its presence felt in every careless moment of his. A dense feeling of suffocation was stuck in his heart, and every time his thoughts were pulled back by other people's words, it was like a drowning person floating out of the sea.

　　"Thank you, Hook." His eyes were sad, as if he was looking through Hook at someone who would never come back.

　　Because of this little episode, the situation became stiff again. Natasha was very familiar with that look. Whether as a bystander or a party involved, she had seen this look. It was the look of a loved one who had passed away.

　　"Hook, go play with Julian and the others." Natasha called Hook back and brushed the dust off her body.

　　Hook didn't quite understand this atmosphere, but she still keenly noticed the change in the scene: "Okay, goodbye, Sister Natasha, Sister Xier, Uncle Sambo, and Uncle Bad Guy."

　　A member of the Underfire came over and took Hook away.

　　"Mr. Wayne, excuse me for asking, have you also lost a relative?" Natasha asked, her hair hanging down, hiding her somewhat lonely expression.

　　Bruce Wayne reorganized his thoughts: "If Beloberg had been more informed, he would have known that my adopted son died in an accident not long ago. I still cannot get over his loss. Sometimes I can't help but wonder, if I hadn't adopted him, would he have suffered this fate?"

　　"That's not necessary, Mr. Wayne," Natasha shook her head. "You are willing to go deep underground to find the truth for your child. I believe you will also be willing to suffer for him. We can't change the ending, but we can live well with their wishes."

　　"Natasha..." Seele looked at her with some concern, and at the same time felt frustrated by her own poor speaking skills. If Bronya was here, she would definitely be able to comfort Natasha.

　　"Okay, okay, why make the atmosphere so sad? We, Beloberg, have finally dealt with the ice and snow, and now we are going to make you cry again." Seeing that the situation was not good, Sambo had to jump out to smooth things over.

　　"You guy, what do you mean by crying your heart back? Can't you even be sad?" Xier subconsciously retorted, and finally made the atmosphere warmer.

　　The player who was in control of everything in the consciousness space poked the system: "Hey, you said Batman is looking for the third brother, he should have come out a long time ago, right?"

　　System: "It's true that I'm sad. I think it's possible to use this incident to get closer to you."

　　"Hook does remind Batman of Jason, but the fact that he is so capable of controlling his own emotions actually reveals so many emotions is a means in itself. Human emotions are just so complicated." The player sighed and could only curse the DC screenwriter a few more times to vent his anger.

　　As for the fact that Jason was actually alive and well in the fairy boat Luofu, the player did not mention a word about it, and even argued: Batman has so many sons, so what's wrong with sharing one with me? Besides, he's just working for a few years, it's not like he won't be returning home. It's much better than him just coming out of the Lazarus Pool and seeing that his father has found a new son.

　　"I give up, I give up. Mr. Wayne, let's not just stand here. Let me take you around." Sambo gave a French military salute.

　　"Mr. Wayne, I hope you can see the truth with your own eyes. The people of Beloberg can no longer bear any more unnecessary suffering. We must leave tomorrow for hope." Natasha, who had pulled her thoughts away from her missing adoptive brother Vah, no longer indulged herself in it. She gave another instruction and then left.

　　"Hmph, take a good look at everything we have, lone hero." Xier put on a safety helmet and went back to direct order at the construction site. This project was huge, but it was also the hope of the people of Beloberg.

　　"Okay, Mr. Sambo." Bruce Wayne finally got his wish and stepped into this construction site that had been hidden.

　　For a long time, Bruce had a question in his mind, that is, what kind of belief did the people of Yalilo uphold to persevere in the hopeless wind and snow for a full half century.

　　He stole the secret information of FBL and searched through old newspapers from the last century, trying to find the survivors who escaped from the incident, but in the end he found nothing. Beloberg seemed to be banned by God, and even the satellites in the sky could not spy on him.

　　Everyone thought that the Jalil people had long been extinct, and this disaster that shocked the world became the most heinous crime of the Nazis. Until the opening of Belloberg, the U.S. federal government still commemorated the destruction of Belloberg on time.

　　Fbl's archives explained that this storm was almost unaffected by any natural factors. It just existed stubbornly and froze to death all those who tried to enter.

　　It is too unscientific and too bizarre. Although the fault of this disaster has long been concluded by the international community, there are always religious fanatics who believe that this is a punishment from heaven brought upon the people of Yalilo themselves. They believe that the people of Beloberg have been corrupted by demons, so God is punishing this place in this way.

　　These remarks were still very popular a few years before Beloberg was frozen, and even became the mainstream view of society for a time. However, Beloberg was frozen for too long, and half a century made everything silent. They missed the rise and spread of the Internet and barely caught up with the afterglow of the new era.

　　Is Belloberg, who has reappeared in the public eye at this point in time, here to accelerate America's decline, or to bring about an opportunity for change? Are they relying on the devil or the angel to get through the long winter?

　　Batman cannot change Gotham, he can only try his best to support the city and prevent it from falling, but no matter how broad his shoulders are, he cannot change the entire United States.

　　So Batman walked into the construction site, and he was assigned a job that did not require much skill: observe the situation at each construction site and replenish materials at any time.

　　Sambo pushed a cart of kettles to Bruce Wayne: "If you want to know what we are doing, just take a look for yourself, my friend. Now you are the logistics of this construction site. Your only job is to pour water."

　　System: "What's the difference between this and a freshly graduated college student sitting on the bench in a company?"

　　Player: "He is not as useful as college students. College students at least have preferential policies and can help the company get government subsidies."

　　System: "Wake up, American college students only have endless student loans to pay off."

　　This was Bruce Wayne's first time participating in a construction site.

　　As the richest man in Gotham, he only needs to live a life of luxury and debauchery; as Batman, he needs to chase criminals, but American politicians are busy with their own petty intrigues, New York's subway is in deficit every year, and the infrastructure of the United States is in a mess.

　　How many years had it been since he had seen such a large-scale, government-organized project involving countless people? Bruce Wayne thought as he carried a kettle and poured water around.

　　"Hey, look up." Sambo patted his shoulder.