Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Shiller was standing on the top floor of the city hall, overlooking the city. The iron jungle made of steel-reinforced concrete was continuously tilting and collapsing toward a certain point. Everything was being sucked into an unknown vortex. And Shiller, the man who had engineered all this chaos, could only let out a satisfied sigh.

Although the process was somewhat complicated, Shiller came here to do just two things: first, to oust the weak reformists; second, to drastically intensify the conflict between the upper and lower classes of people.

In a series of moves against the city government, the pale knight was gradually excluded from the center of power.

Since the beginning when the city government shut down, the municipal system had been in a semi-paralyzed state, almost incapable of accomplishing anything.

Even though money came later, everyone was busy lining their pockets and very little funding and manpower were truly invested in the municipal work. Instead, because Shiller had wiped clean their bad debts, they were even more engrossed in making money, utterly neglecting their duties.

Gotham's municipal system was once sluggish, but after the Napier Act was passed, it did play some role: it improved the welfare of the lower community and the security and sanitation standards also got better.

After the paralysis of the municipal system, all departments stopped working. The community was no longer maintained, the road system was left to fate, no one cared about the sanitary conditions, and in the end, everything became a mess.

This simultaneously achieved the purpose of sidelining the pale knight and making the conflict between the rich and poor more intense.

And the series of actions against GTO left Batman running ragged, while also making this organization, which had brought about improvements in Gotham, begin to waver and decrease in work efficiency.

This also accomplished the goal of pushing Batman out and making life more difficult for the lower-class citizens.

And the final scandal of the death gamble closed everything up, using the pale knight and Batman's feelings for Harley and Jason to completely kick them out. Then, the scandal was exposed, using Gordon's failed arrest plan to stir up the elite society and make the conflict irreconcilable.

Up to this point, the plan was essentially complete.

In step by step decline, the people of Gotham's lower strata finally chose to abandon reliance on others, realizing what they truly needed to do. Thousands of words could be summed up in one sentence—In this world, there is no Savior, nor reliance on gods and emperors. We can only rely upon ourselves.

From Shiller's tactics, it seems he is more cruel than the upper class, making the lives of Gotham's lower classes, which had improved somewhat due to the Napier Act, plunge into the abyss once again.

Even the worst rich man in Gotham couldn't, in such a short span of time, cause the living standards of the entire city's lower strata to drop so much, completely destroying the order of the lower society. But Shiller did.

However, Shiller is not a villain. He didn't aim to torture ordinary people, so all of the above was just the first step of the plan.

If a man is on his knees, you must first help him stand up before he can learn to walk. But Shiller doesn't want him to walk slowly forward; he wants him to run.

But this man has been kneeling for too long. His legs lack strength, and his body is too weak. If he starts running now, the extreme energy expenditure will be the death of him.

So, the first thing to do when he stands up is to provide support for his legs, then replenish him with enough nutrients, and after moderate exercise, he can transform from a weak patient to a robust athlete.

To prevent him from kneeling again due to the weakness in his legs the moment he stands up, the first thing Shiller intends to do is to brace his kneecaps with steel plates.

There came a knock at the door from behind, Shiller turned around. Rose walked in with a stack of reports, handed them to Shiller, and then said, "A bill from Cobblepot. He says if there's anything else we need, we are welcome to visit again."

Shiller glanced at the bill. The items on the bill were various types of civilian firearms: rifles and pistols commonly found in gun shops, and enough ammunition, as well as some grenades with limited destructive power, but no heavy weaponry.

Shiller merely gave the bill a cursory glance before tossing it aside, then looked at Rose and said, "Go tell him this is not enough, have him check where that batch of arms involved in the smuggling case that brought Balk in went."

Rose frowned deeply and said, "You're eyeing that batch? The backing they have is not to be trifled with. Even Balk nearly got sent to jail by them. Though a New Jersey State senator isn't much of a big shot, Balk has been operating here for most of his life. He was powerless to fight back; can Cobblepot handle it?"

"Don't underestimate him, lady," Shiller turned to pick up a wine glass on the table, then said, "If I'm not mistaken, he should have already started investigating. He knows the current situation in Gotham, and he knows that if he can get hold of that batch, no matter how much, I am able to swallow it all. There won't be a better deal than this in the next ten years."

"Then I'll go deliver these items first," Rose said. "That boxer called Hick in the Lower city area has good connections, he would be willing to help us out."

"Don't deliver, sell them," Shiller said. "They can be sold cheaply, but we must not give them away for free. You decide how much funds need to be recovered."

After Rose left, Shiller began to look up news online with his cell phone. Although the television stations had closed for good, there was still some news on the internet.

The most attention-grabbing news recently was not only the riots that broke out in Gotham City but also the case where Harvey accused James Gordon of premeditated murder.

However, the direction of the case took most people by surprise. Public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of James Gordon's innocence, considering Harvey's accusation to be a despicable frame-up.

Seeing such news, Shiller knew that Gordon's strategy of advancing by retreating had succeeded.

Gordon's resignation as police commissioner wasn't due to a loss of heart or a lack of desire to continue. If he was so easily knocked down, he wouldn't be the last conscience of Gotham.

His actions were instead a countermove aimed at a miraculous turnaround.

Over the years, Gordon's diligent work had accrued considerable prestige. Both the legitimate and the underworld gave him their respect. From the upper society to the homeless in the lower levels, he had contacts everywhere, and he could resolve any issue. Truly, he could be called Gotham's Master of All Things.

His resignation threatened not just the common people. As the saying goes, even the most capable elite can't attend to everything personally. Most of them employ professional managers or train confidants to handle their affairs.

But these managers don't usually take care of things personally, often delegating through several layers of outsourcing.

Everyone knows that in Gotham, any issue related to public safety can be referred to Gordon. Conversely, without Gordon, there is no second person capable of resolving these issues.

Once Gordon stepped down, the managers were the first to panic. Pressured by their superiors and lacking support from below, they were left to handle all sorts of issues themselves. Barely a day had passed since Gordon's departure, and they were already in hot desperation.

Despite appearing as the lapdogs of the high society, these managers represented the largest group in the middle class. They couldn't even predict the immense collective power of their tier.

Every one of them cursed Harvey in their minds. Gordon was doing fine, yet you drove him away. Who am I supposed to get for all this work? Without Gordon coordinating the police, should I go knocking on doors myself?

After all, fervent ideologues are few and far between. Most people just want to earn more money by doing less. Now that Harvey has made our workload multiply, just wait and see if I don't mess with you.

To get Gordon back quickly, they used all sorts of tricks to shut Harvey up. These people might lack other skills, but they were endlessly creative in slinging mud. They dug up stuff like Harvey bullying classmates back in school, and they made such a fuss that even young children on the streets knew about it.

Because of the jury system, pre-trial public opinion is a crucial factor. The side facing the worse press endures significant pressure.

Regardless of whether the dirt has anything to do with the case, if it can prove you're such a bad person, it could also indirectly corroborate the likelihood of you framing someone. If the jury isn't on your side, even significant evidence may not lead to a favorable verdict.

So Gordon's move was essentially this: the best way to make the boss realize your importance is to take a day off. Once he finds he can't manage without you, he'll see just how indispensable you are.

Furthermore, Gordon's resignation meant that he couldn't be accused of dereliction of duty. Although he was still commissioner when he took action, since he really resigned afterward, one could say that he was already in the process of stepping down. It's a classic move.

Lastly, it would also fully evoke sympathy from the lower-class citizens. Especially since not long ago, Gordon had just improved the lives of the common people with the GTO. Even if he made the gravest mistake now, he would at least have a six-month grace period from criticism.

Moreover, his conduct at the time was immaculate. Harvey couldn't produce any particularly compelling evidence. Instead, dashcams from some vehicles on the Gotham Bridge caught footage of Gordon jumping off the bridge to save someone, which swayed public opinion even more in his favor.

And with Gordon's resignation, he was no longer bound by police duties. That meant he could do even more.

As far as Shiller knew, Gordon should currently be organizing civilians in the Lower city area to form Self-defense Teams. His prestige was high, his abilities strong, and, most importantly, his experience was abundant, making him supremely efficient.

The central communities in the Lower city area had been turned into impenetrable bastions under his instruction. The agents sent by the elite couldn't break through, leaving them grinding their teeth in frustration.

This, of course, was to Shiller's liking. Someone needed to first stabilize the panicked civilians, ensuring they didn't fall again just as they stood up. Shiller had everything ready for the subsequent support and nutrients needed, except for the initial confidence which they had to build on their own; help from others could only go so far.

Initially, Shiller wanted to use Fiona's father's prestige to support her rise to power, and to aid her from behind the scenes to become the new leader. But now that Gordon was willing to make a heroic retreat and sacrifice the pawn to save the king, this tough and seasoned commissioner was indeed the best choice.

Now, it all depended on Penguin's performance next.