radicalducati Chapter 115 Brave New World
Chapter 115 Brave New World
Chapter 115 Brave New World
What exactly is the situation now?
Hallucination?
Before pondering the question, Bruce took a leisurely sip of the champagne in his hand.
The texture on the palate was so realistic that Bruce could even taste the origin of the liquor.
The Krug Champagne is most likely from the 1928 batch; the Wayne Estate's cellars once held quite a few.
So I should be at a banquet right now, and a very important one at that.
Although this wine is not expensive, costing less than $20,000 a bottle, Bruce has already drunk almost all of this year's vintage, so it's a case of every bottle consumed is one less available.
"Bruce! My good buddy~"
A familiar voice came from behind, and someone climbed up to Bruce's shoulder and shook him violently.
"Do we have any 'activities' after we finish drinking tonight?"
Bruce's years of training paid off, preventing him from spilling the thousands of dollars worth of wine he was holding during the surprise attack.
Turning his head to look at the newcomer, Bruce's brain raced. Within half a second, he suppressed his instinctive urge to attack and called out the newcomer's nickname:
"Long time no see, Tommy."
Thomas Elliott, from the Elliott family, which is on par with the Wayne family in Gotham City, was Bruce Wayne's childhood friend.
Compared to this identity, he also has an identity that is even more memorable to Batman—"Silence".
A violent criminal with his face wrapped in bandages, an extremely dangerous mastermind, Batman once suffered a great loss at the hands of this childhood friend.
"How long? Didn't we just have a wild time with those girls at the Cotport nightclub last night?!"
Bruce stared into Tommy's eyes for a long time, and even Tommy's lighthearted words did not bring him back to his senses.
"How much did you drink today, Bruce!?"
Tommy, seeing Bruce's stunned expression, assumed his friend was simply too drunk to hold his liquor.
"Do we have any 'activities' planned for tonight? If not, I can arrange something..."
"
Tommy, this former childhood friend, is at least not yet the supervillain who almost succeeded in assassinating Batman Bruce Wayne and even taking his place.
After confirming that the other party was just an ordinary spoiled brat, Bruce politely declined the invitation and turned to leave.
"Not tonight."
"What's wrong? Did your mother scold you again?"
Tommy nonchalantly made a crying gesture:
"You're not a little boy anymore. You're a big guy who can take down several burly men single-handedly in a nightclub brawl. She can't eat you or what... :. Don't go, Bruce!"
Bruce ignored the other party's entanglement and quickly followed the trail that Alfred had taken, leaving the scene.
Along the way, he learned roughly the purpose of tonight's banquet from the greetings and whispers of the people around him.
That means there is no purpose.
It was simply that Bruce Wayne, that spendthrift, felt Wayne Manor was too deserted, so he impulsively came up with this whole thing.
Almost half of Gotham's political and business elites, as well as Bruce Wayne's cronies, gathered at Wayne Manor, keeping the old butler Alfred and his servants extremely busy.
It's just because Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's biggest playboy, is bored out of his mind.
Ah Fu didn't die, and Masha is normal too. The only one who seems abnormal is himself.
What exactly is going on?
Hallucination? Dream? Or something else entirely?
"Alfred!"
Bruce caught up with Alfred, who was greeting various distinguished guests.
"What is it now, Master Bruce?"
The old butler, Alfred, who had been busy all night, looked at Bruce with a rather unfriendly gaze:
"Do you want me to refill your wine again? I must remind you, you and your friends have almost emptied the Wayne Estate's cellars in the last few years."
After all, Bruce is over thirty years old, but he still lives like a playful child every day.
Any parent would feel disappointed and frustrated upon seeing this kid, whose father, Thomas, was already a top-tier doctor renowned in the field at his age!
Although the butler's furrowed brows and intimidating gaze didn't put much pressure on Batman, he knew he wasn't that spoiled version of Bruce Wayne.
Batman only remembered that he was fighting Martha the Joker just moments before he arrived here, and that he had punctured Martha's Helmet of Fate with a shard of the same material.
Next, Superman, who was lying on the ground, launched a sneak attack, trying to remove the Helmet of Destiny. During the standoff between Martha and Superman, the Helmet of Destiny seemed to shatter.
After a flash of white light, Bruce arrived at the dinner party at Wayne Manor.
Looking back now, the white light that made me feel like I had entered another world the moment I opened and closed my eyes was the explosion that occurred after my helmet shattered at the scene of the battle.
Where is Martha?
The key now is to find Martha. Whatever happened to me, it must be related to Martha.
"Madam is probably discussing the acquisition of Quinn Corporation and Lextech with the board of directors at Wayne Corporation."
The butler subtly pricked Bruce again:
"After all, Thomas still wants to focus on his medical career, while some people are reluctant to take on their responsibilities."
"Thank you, Afu."
Ignoring the barbed advice, Batman casually thanked him and, under the butler's strange gaze, turned and walked towards the secret entrance to the Batcave that he remembered.
He soon found a wall clock inside Wayne Manor, which was a wedding gift from Thomas and Martha.
Whether it's Batman from another world or the old Batman from this universe, they all chose this commemorative clock.
Logically speaking, the wall behind this heavy grandfather clock should conceal the entrance to the Wayne Manor Bat Cave.
However, this time it is clearly not the case.
Batman didn't even need to push the clock aside to check; he simply tapped the wall next to him to confirm that the back of the clock was a solid layer of concrete bricks, with no hollow interior.
It makes sense, considering that in Batman's current environment, Alfred is still alive and well, Thomas is still a doctor, and Martha manages the Wayne family's vast business empire.
Bruce Wayne himself was a spoiled rich kid who spent his days indulging in a life of debauchery with his group of cronies.
In this situation, who in Wayne Manor would want to become Batman?
If all of this is a dream, then this dream is far too beautiful.
It was so beautiful that even Batman, who had endured countless hellish sufferings, could not immerse himself in it.
What he needs to do now is find a way to wake up from this beautiful dream as soon as possible.
Following his childhood memories, Bruce made his way into the garage of the manor.
Bruce called Martha but got no answer, so he decided to go to her in person.
"Where are you going, darling?"
As Bruce jogged down the steps, a long, slender, white hand tugged at the corner of his sleeve:
"Why are you in such a hurry? Are you going out to fool around with Tommy again?"
The other person's arms, as white as jade, naturally wrapped around Bruce's elbow, and she pressed herself against his side.
This rendered Batman unable to move.
A fragrant breeze wafted by, and Batman felt a soft touch beside him, while also smelling a familiar perfume:
"Selena! What are you doing here?"
Selena Kyle, Catwoman.
Batman's lover, fiancée, and wife.
In this universe, she suffered the same deadly joke as Barbara Gordon, being shot in the spine by Martha the Joker, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
But now she stands perfectly fine in front of me.
"What's wrong, Bruce? Do I not like what I'm wearing today?"
Sensing Batman's gaze, Catwoman took two steps back, stretched her body, and spun around, the hem of her black lace dress swaying with her steps.
The perfect and elegant curves of the body outlined by the dress are fully revealed in this movement.
Selena adjusted the cat-ear-shaped headband that had loosened slightly from spinning, and tucked her dark hair behind her ears.
She stepped forward and gave Bruce a sudden, unexpected kiss:
"youngest!"
Looking at Catwoman's mysterious and exquisite face, and feeling this soft kiss, Batman didn't know whether to feel surprised or frightened.
Catwoman grabbed Batman's arm again and, without a word, dragged him back to the party at Wayne Manor:
"You can't wander off tonight. Your girlfriend came all this way looking for you, you can't just stand her up!"
Batman can't be forced to do things he doesn't want to do, not even by Darkseid of Apokolips, but Catwoman sometimes can.
Bruce was thus pushed and shoved back to the manor, and on the way, he couldn't help but wonder which completely different acquaintance he was about to meet:
"What 'BFF'?"
"Did you drink too much again today?"
Catwoman leaned closer, her nose almost touching Bruce's, and scrutinized his eyes intently.
"Isn't that something you always say, like BFF, Best Friend Forever, forever best buddy, or whatever?"
Bruce is now like he's been possessed by "another version of myself in the world," and the fact that he hasn't been exposed yet is purely due to his Batman instincts keeping him in the same position.
Fortunately, Catwoman didn't choose to argue with him about this; she simply dragged him towards the manor.
"It's that one, that one...yes, Joey, the super-serious war correspondent you met when you were traveling in Constantinople!"