S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to take over the city's defenses temporarily, but was met with unprecedented resistance. For some reason, Gotham City's rejection of outside forces has simply exceeded many people's expectations, and has even reached a level of madness.

When Coulson found Donnie, he was sitting in the room playing cards with Crane. The room is still a VIP room provided by the Wayne Group, Downey has been living with a cheeky face since he came to Gotham City, and the staff of the Wayne Group has no intention of expelling - the dignified Wayne Enterprise, can't you even afford a room?

"Mr. Donnie, long time no see." With his trademark smile, Coulson walked in with May. He looked at the luxurious room and said with a smile, "It seems that you have a good time in Gotham, and the chaos of the outside world is simply two worlds." ”

Klein showed the last card, it was the big and small kings and the two clowns, and Downey lost again. Now that his record is three wins and three defeats, he really has to be careful when playing cards with people with high IQs, and with Downey's growing memory, he actually played a five-five game with Klein.

"Don't tempt me, Coulson, you're no less cunning than Fury." Donnie threw away the cards in his hand and stretched.

May kept her eyes on Klein with a wary gaze, focusing on Klein's clothes, as there might be a deadly poison gas hiding somewhere. You must know that Crane's poison gas has even been put down by Batman.

"Donnie, we want to know what's going on in the city." Coulson was a little serious, "It's weird that we wanted to get involved here, but there was a lot of resistance. ”

"Isn't it strange that Gotham City has been like this for hundreds of years? If you are a businessman, a gangster, or a politician, you can come, but only certain forces can't intervene. The people of this city are sure to assimilate individual individuals, but they can't assimilate a behemoth like S.H.I.E.L.D. Donnie poured a cup of tea, then another for Coulson, ignoring May, who was sitting nearby.

Coulson took the teacup, smiled, and handed it to May.

"It seems that you know the city very well, but what about our protagonists, Batman and the Joker? Is there a way to find them directly? Coulson asked.

"No way, these two guys are elusive, and it must be exciting to fight each other. For now, Batman is losing in a mess. ”

Coulson and May exchanged thoughtful glances. Intelligence shows that Downey is secretly selling weapons to the poor people in the old city, and even doing something that is somewhat inconsistent with "installment payment", which shows that Downey is planning something they haven't thought of yet, and maybe that's the key.

"Well, Mr. Donny, I've got something to say, and I guess you prefer to be open and honest." Coulson sat up straight, his eyes indescribably sharp, and he asked word by word, "What is the reason why you stay in this city and refuse to leave?" ”

"Am I doing business for Stark Group? Can't you find out? I'm a shareholder of Stark Group! Donnie looked stunned, as if he was innocent, "I'm arranging for people to lay out the Old Town and kill the villains of Falken, and you can't find out?" ”

Mei felt angry, looking at the innocent and pure face of the other party, she really wanted to give him a fist, and the teacup in her hand slammed into the other party's face.

"The people you arranged have long been thrown into Arkham Prison by Batman, and now there have been sporadic civil resistance groups in the old city, and many places have become battlefields." Mei said angrily.

"You mean Anderson...... I chose that guy because he was a man who could do things, and although he might be a bit stupid, he was a man who could do things. Donnie blew on the teacup and sniffed the aroma of tea, "But I'm not just an Anderson ...... man."

Coulson had a smile on his lips, his eyes fixed on Donnie's eyes, and they looked at each other, both of them seeing each other's persistence.

"You're using the entire Old Town's poor people as bargaining chips...... Donnie, what the hell are you doing, I really don't understand, obviously you have a clear purpose, but it makes people feel foggy. "You can achieve your goals in the most direct way, and no one will fight you for a bunch of criminals." ”

Downey stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bustling metropolis, and didn't look back: "Coulson, do you know the difference between me and Batman Captain America?" ”

"I want to hear about it."

"When a diligent civilian is besieged by ten heavily armed gangsters, I will help him. But when this civilian is besieged by two unarmed gangsters, I will pretend not to see it and pass by, even if this civilian is finally killed, I will pretend not to see it. Donnie touched the glass with one hand, as if to touch the soul of the city with this hand.

Gotham City, the world-famous vice city, seems to radiate the light of the city under the gaze of Donnie.

Coulson and May were thoughtful, and Downey's meaning was already obvious. People can't wait forever for heroes to appear, they should save themselves.

"I don't even dare to save myself, and passively accept the oppression day after day, even if I rescue them from Falken today, there will be other gangs tomorrow, and there will be morally corrupt public officials without gangs. I just gave them a chance to choose, whether they were willing to seize it, whether they were willing to take the initiative to change their hometown with their hands, the choice was always in their own hands, and no one forced them to do it. ”

Downey continued: "It was the civilians themselves who made the decision, they took up arms to fight the gangs, I gave them access to weapons, and that's it. ”

"It's a cruel concept, but it's practical, and many people don't dare to say it so clearly." Coulson said.

"I prefer to call this philosophy 'pragmatism'. Heroes are limited, and superheroes are even rarer, but there are thousands of civilians in need of help. Instead of pinning your hopes on such ridiculous things as 'there will be heroes to save you, you just need to suffer in silence', it is better to raise your fist bravely to save yourself. The civilians of the Old City are accustomed to being oppressed, and they know better than anyone the essential difference between forbearance and cowardice. ”

As he spoke, Donnie took out a cigarette and lit one: "I can think with my toes that Batman must hate me to death now, and wish I could get out of Gotham in the next second." After all, as an outsider, I instigated the emaciated poor to use their lives to fight the fierce gangsters, and this process was bound to pay tragic casualties, and it may not succeed. This is considered a heinous act in the eyes of some, and I sent a large number of civilians to their deaths. I am afraid that more people are dying in a month now than in the past few years. ”

There was a long silence between the two sides, and Coulson was silently munching on Donnie's words. This is not only Donny's view of Gotham City, but also a summary of Donnie's style of doing things, and it is an important piece of information. The two sides chatted casually for a while, and Coulson, seeing that he couldn't ask anything, got up happily to leave.

Coulson and May took the elevator all the way out of the building. May made a covert gesture to her surroundings, and some of the lurking agents silently crept into the crowd and disappeared.

"Do you really believe what he says?" Mei asked suddenly.

"At least I believe in his ideas, and that's what makes Donnie so different from the public's image of selfless, fearless, on-call heroes." Coulson said.

May sneered, as a global institution, they naturally understand that every year there are many natural and man-made disasters born in the world, but how many people have received timely help from superheroes? On the contrary, there are more heroic and fearless citizen heroes, they don't have any superpowers, but they have a brave heart, and they draw their swords to help when they see injustice.

"But one thing is certain, what Downey is planning in the dark, at least definitely not as simple as stirring up the backwaters of the old city, he has a deeper layout, I still haven't figured it out. From now on, take Donnie's attention level up to the next level. ”

Coulson looked at the overcast sky, sniffing the air for the smell of the storm. Batman, Joker, and Downey all have their own calculations, but they just don't know who will be the winner when everything is revealed? Who is going to lose?

This disaster-ridden city still has to face some storms before it can see the precious sunshine.