Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

"Hehe."

Jessica was quite pleased with Bruce's words, but she also knew exactly what needed to be done now.

After giving Bruce a light kiss on the cheek, she turned away and began examining the Batcave that Molecule Man had relocated.

Molecule Man was truly meticulous—he had moved everything from the Batcave into this new world.

However, what they had once built as a Batcave now looked more like the center of a vast underground cavern.

It seemed like there were even other surrounding areas used for storing various items.

For instance, when she walked over to the Batmobile section, Jessica saw no fewer than five Batmobiles.

And all of them were completely different models.

Not to mention the other equipment.

Even the items they had only planned but never built had now materialized in this massively expanded Batcave.

Back when they first arrived here, Jessica and the others didn't have time to examine the Batcave thoroughly.

After all, there were more urgent matters at hand.

That's why Jessica could finally take a proper look around now.

Now she truly understood the phrase "trading a shotgun for a cannon."

Although Bruce's previous equipment had never been lacking, the sheer quantity here was overwhelming.

Even the Batwings and Bat-Shuttles had a considerable number of spares.

"Bruce, do you know how much gear we have now?" Jessica called out to Bruce, knowing full well that with his personality, he'd definitely run diagnostics on everything.

But what she really wanted now was to share this feeling with Bruce.

"How much?" Bruce paused his work, swiveling his chair to look at her.

"I'm not sure either. I only took a quick look around—just the Batmobiles alone seem to number over a dozen."

Jessica turned back to him and responded bluntly, though her smile clearly showed how happy she was.

After all, who wouldn't love having that much gear?

It meant that Bruce and his team were now fully equipped to form their own task force.

She just didn't know how Bruce felt about that idea.

Jessica was about to ask Bruce what he thought about it when Alfred appeared in front of them.

"Master Bruce, Miss Jessica." Alfred gave them both a polite nod.

"Alfred." Jessica had a real fondness for this slightly old-fashioned butler—she could feel how genuinely he cared about both of them.

It was as if he had already come to see them as his own children.

Alfred smiled and said to Jessica, "Miss Jessica, breakfast is ready."

Then he turned to Bruce, who was getting up, and added, "And Master Bruce, there are a few matters today that require your attention."

"The Wayne Enterprises board wants to discuss the company's future with you. Also, an invitation has arrived for a gala being hosted by Stark Industries."

Alfred's demeanor changed noticeably when addressing Bruce, almost like he was a different person.

"Alfred, that was quite a quick shift in tone," Bruce said as he looked at his butler's face.

"Was it?" Alfred replied nonchalantly and then motioned for Jessica to head upstairs.

Again, a complete contrast to how he acted with Bruce.

"You've changed," Bruce murmured to Alfred once Jessica had left.

"I just don't want someone slipping away again," Alfred replied while gesturing for Bruce to go upstairs and eat.

Bruce didn't have much to say to that. It was just another sign that Molecule Man had hit the nail on the head.

Bruce even began to wonder whether Molecule Man had gone to another universe and brought that universe's Alfred back with him.

Otherwise, how could he be exactly like the one all the bats in his head had ever known?

As Bruce's figure disappeared from the Batcave, Alfred smiled.

He was clearly not the same man he'd been moments earlier.

But then, it had been a long time since he'd seen Bruce return home with someone else.

There probably weren't many old butlers left who still had to worry about their master's love life.

Manhattan.

Here, you could almost effortlessly spot superheroes flying over your head.

It might be the ever-approachable Spider-Man, or it could be a supervillain you'd never seen before.

Most of the time, things around here were fairly calm.

But for Bruce, Manhattan was a complete mess.

Even though the superheroes had divided the city by districts, it still hadn't done much to improve the situation in Manhattan—or New York as a whole.

Take right now, for example.

A New York City police officer had just stopped Bruce's car and was knocking on his window with an apologetic look.

Before he even spoke, he caught sight of Bruce sitting inside—with Jessica beside him.

His face lit up with surprise, but he still delivered his message. "Hello, Mr. Wayne. Sorry, sir, there's been a robbery in this area. I'm afraid you'll need to take another route."

"Sounds serious," Bruce replied, curiously looking ahead. It was clear the scene was already being handled.

Probably by a superhero.

The only question was how well it was going.

The cop standing beside Bruce seemed a little excited as he asked, "Mr. Wayne, could I get a photo with you?"

The officer had already pulled out his phone, visibly thrilled.

Bruce glanced at him, and while he couldn't say the cop was neglecting his duties, in a city crawling with superheroes like New York, police officers often found themselves in awkward positions.

It wasn't easy for them.

"Of course," Bruce replied with a smile, starting to get out of the car—only to be stopped by the cop.

"No, no, sir, it's a bit dangerous out here. We can just take it like this. It's just that I…" The officer hesitated, glancing awkwardly at Jessica.

After all, if Bruce didn't get out of the car, the photo would inevitably include her.

Bruce turned to Jessica. "What do you think? Want to be in the shot?"

Jessica didn't even hesitate. She nodded.

"No problem," Bruce told the officer.

The cop beamed and quickly took a selfie-style photo with Bruce from outside the car.

"Thank you so much—both of you," the officer said, not wanting to take up any more of their time. After the quick photo, he stepped away from the car.

He watched the vehicle drive off with a grin and eagerly posted the picture to his Instagram.

Another officer came over and patted him on the shoulder. "Who'd you just meet?"

"Bruce Wayne—and probably his girlfriend," the cop said with a smile, showing his partner the photo.

"Tch, the eternal bachelor finally has a girlfriend? Hollywood starlets are going to be devastated," the partner said, clicking his tongue in disbelief.

"They don't deserve Mr. Wayne anyway." It was clear this cop idolized Bruce.

"Alright, back to work," the partner laughed and went to redirect traffic.

The officer who'd taken the photo didn't dawdle either. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and got back to work.

Naturally, he had no way of knowing what would happen next.

Because once that photo—with Bruce Wayne tagged—was posted, it was bound to shock a lot of people.

After all, the most eligible bachelor in all of New York—Bruce Wayne—had finally been seen with a woman by his side.

This was absolutely massive news.

Almost every media outlet was rushing toward Wayne Enterprises, eager to verify whether the story was true or not.

Everyone was heading this way.

Unfortunately, by the time they received the news and arrived at Wayne Tower, there was no sign of Bruce. Naturally, they had no way to determine whether the news was real or fake.

Although the photo circulating online said a lot, the problem was—it didn't capture what they really needed. Their only option was to try to buy the photo that had been posted on Instagram.

But the poster didn't respond to them at all.

However, judging from the previous posts, it was clear that the account belonged to a New York police officer.

They were probably on duty right now.

So it made sense that they didn't respond.

Inside Wayne Enterprises, the staff were just as shocked by the news.

Bruce's rumored relationship had already shot to the top of the trending topics. Even if they hadn't been paying attention before, it was now impossible to ignore.

Especially the person currently presiding over the shareholders' meeting—after receiving the news, they gave no reaction whatsoever.

"Wait here for me for a bit."

"Don't worry, I'll be just fine," Jessica said with a smile, quietly sitting on the sofa.

After settling Jessica in his office, Bruce headed straight to the conference room.

As he pushed the door open and appeared inside, everyone greeted him with smiles.

Among them, Lucius—who had a close relationship with Bruce—stood up.

"I saw the news. I'm really happy for you," Lucius said as he shook Bruce's hand.

"Things will only get better," Bruce replied, patting Lucius on the shoulder before walking to his seat and sitting down.

Lucius seemed puzzled by Bruce's words but quickly sat back down.

"Good morning, everyone," Bruce greeted the attendees.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne," one of the senior executives responded politely.

Of course, where there is politeness, there is also condescension.

Though it was veiled.

"Welcome back to Wayne Enterprises. It's a pleasure to see you," an older man said with a smile, clearly assuming the role of the company's master.

After all, Bruce had rarely made public appearances, even though he had always been the Chairman of the Board.

Bruce merely smiled and looked quietly at the old man who had spoken.

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly grew tense. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.

Clearly, the current situation showed that the real boss was back.

Naturally, this would threaten the interests of certain individuals.

The old man couldn't keep up with Bruce in a staring contest and eventually looked away.

At that moment, someone tried to speak up: "Mr. Wayne, we—"

"Wait," Bruce raised a hand, signaling the speaker to be silent.

Even then, Bruce's eyes never left the old man.

The speaker looked at Bruce, unsure of what to do.

The old man could only turn and look at Bruce as well.

Then Bruce spoke.

"This morning, I took a quick look into my company and found some interesting things," he said calmly, staring at the old man.

The old man responded, "Oh? What might those be?"

"There are some business issues within Wayne Enterprises."

The previously friendly executive nodded. "Understood."

"There's been some internal chaos—certain individuals or groups have been colluding with outsiders, engaging in corruption, bribery, extortion, and possibly even more serious misconduct," Bruce said, his eyes fixed on the old man the entire time.

The old man, seasoned as he was, simply smiled without any change in expression.

He even nodded slightly as Bruce spoke, as if fully agreeing with him.

Bruce didn't care about the man's demeanor. "From now on, I want this matter investigated thoroughly. Of course…"

Bruce slowly stood up, buttoning his suit jacket. "It would be best if no one tried anything sneaky. Next time, I'll formally address this issue at the shareholders' meeting and take legal action."

"Legal action?" The old man finally responded, "Mr. Wayne, that might be a bit much."

"Yes, it might be," Bruce replied smoothly, his eyes sweeping across the room. "But only for those people."

"And this is my company."

As he said this, his gaze fell squarely on the old man.

"That's all."

With that, Bruce turned and walked out.

He didn't care what those inside thought.

Of course, some of them weren't concerned at all.

Some even approved of Bruce's actions.

Lucius stood up. "I've got some matters to attend to. Goodbye, everyone."

Following his lead, another group of senior executives also left the room.

The old man watched them leave and simply smiled.

Then he too slowly exited the room.

As if nothing had happened.

At this moment, Bruce had returned to his office. Before he could say a word to Jessica, he saw a red-and-blue figure flash past the window.

It was Spider-Man.

(End of Chapter)

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