Chapter 6230: Chicago Stories (Part 1)

As one of the earliest developed and modernized countries, America always gives a strong sense of contradiction. And this is particularly evident in the earliest developed East Coast cities. The cities of the East Coast have a unique style; here, all traces of mankind’s transition from the wild to civilization are obliterated, everything rises straight from the ground, majestic yet cold and harsh, like a photograph sliced open by a blade. The sharp transitions often make one sigh at how people managed to knock down the warm dwellings of straw and mud and build their nests into such a steel forest.

Chicago, a city that one cannot avoid mentioning when talking about the East Coast, is the third largest city in America and the notorious City of Crime. The temperament of this city is even colder than that of New York. The charms that still sway in Manhattan are frozen and destroyed by the cold winds blowing from Lake Michigan here.

The Wind City is an unremarkable, even somewhat overly plain nickname for Chicago. No city on the East Coast escapes the sweep of hurricanes, except for Chicago, where people, when mentioning this place, tend to talk about the weather. Because from its very inception, this city exuded coldness to its core.

Rather than saying Gotham is the night of New York, it’s more accurate to say Gotham is Chicago. These two cities are almost exactly alike, windy and rainy, affluent yet chaotic, with endless skyscrapers, high crime rates, constant streams of traffic, and people in a hurry, each brick and tile recounting the amount of effort humans have spent shaping a cage called a city.

Chicago’s most distinctive feature lies in its street scenes, where internationalist buildings intertwine with Gothic style architectures. Those square steel boxes mixed with ornate Gothic buildings are like a dagger stabbed into luxurious silk and gemstones.

In such a city, the only trace of humanity might be in the Hyde Park area to the south. Here, many parks, cafes, and lakeside greenways can be considered the oasis of East Coast cities in America.

The most prominent feature of Lake Michigan is its surface, calm as a gemstone cut. This beautiful great lake nurtured Chicago, as well as a renowned university—the University of Chicago.

This university, which has produced the most Nobel Prize winners globally, is a top-tier school even within America, consistently ranking among the top in various university rankings, and is notable for the Chicago School. One could say that anyone who studies here is elite.

However, the person entering the school gate today is still particularly praiseworthy. Bruce Wayne, someone who shouldn’t even be in this school, let alone this world.

Bruce stood at the University of Chicago gate, exclaiming that he indeed had come to the right place; how is this any different from Gotham?

He drove all the way from the north, seeing a city almost identical to Gotham. And upon seeing the University of Chicago, Bruce couldn’t help but recall his own university life because this university is also a rare Gothic architectural school, indistinguishable from Gotham University.

It rained on the way, and those already quaint stone buildings, soaked, looked even more grim and dark, the air becoming very humid. The wind blowing from Lake Michigan was bone-chillingly cold, and although it was still bright, the sunlight had no warmth. There were clearly no visible clouds in the sky, yet it wasn’t blue but a kind of yellowish-white.

Bruce sighed softly, put on the hood of his hoodie, and dragged his suitcase toward the campus. Before fully stepping inside the campus gate, someone bumped his shoulder. He turned his head to see a red-haired boy. The other smiled apologetically at him and then said, “You’re a freshman too, right? How come you didn’t go straight to the reception?”

“My driving skills aren’t great.” Bruce randomly found an excuse. In fact, he was thinking, perhaps he’s destined to be bookless; otherwise, why is it that wherever he goes, he ends up being a student, moving from one university to another.

“Where’s your dorm?” the new student asked again, “Shall we go together?”

“Alright.” Bruce said.

“I heard the dorm conditions here aren’t great, but it’s okay. Did you see the banner at the school gate? The Brotherhood recruitment is about to start. If we get selected, we can move into the Brotherhood dorm…”

The new student muttered, but Bruce had no interest, thinking only about one thing: when would Arkham Batman come after him.

Arkham Batman is the kind to spend 250 hours playing a crappy game and then take 500 hours to hunt down the creator of that game. For Bruce, dropping 1,200 Points in the new season of Battleworld isn’t entirely unacceptable, but he had spent Points entering a dungeon, and just as the story was getting started, Arkham Batman, his teammate, had already speedrun through it, leaving him feeling like he’d thrown money into the water.

Bruce knew he couldn’t stay in Battleworld; as long as Arkham Batman kept sniping at him tirelessly, he wouldn’t be able to achieve anything this new season. Fortunately, Brainiac sent him a new testing invitation, allowing him to switch platforms smoothly.

But unfortunately, that green bald guy wasn’t any good either; from the last simulation of Gotham he made, it’s evident that this guy has a massive obsession with reading and exams. So as soon as Bruce got into the game, he found himself receiving an acceptance letter from the University of Chicago.

Bruce had no objections to the University of Chicago; his main reason for not wanting to come was to avoid fighting Arkham Batman at the university. Yes, he had no doubt that Arkham Batman wouldn’t relent, and his pursuit was inevitable. With their current relationship, if not living in peace, they’d have to fight, and brawling at school wasn’t ideal.

But Brainiac assigned the task, insisting on Bruce checking in and staying here, leaving Bruce with no choice. So he took the money and personal items Brainiac gave him and traveled alone to Chicago.

This world didn’t have Wayne Enterprises, and Bruce wasn’t backed by a super-wealthy background. Judging from the brands of his personal clothing and items, he resembled more a small-town boy who did relatively well in studies, experiencing Superman’s life in a way.

But Bruce was certain that Superman never worried about money during his university days. When he visited Clark’s house, he knew that Clark didn’t even have student loans. The Kents paid his tuition directly and were quite generous with his living expenses. Clark didn’t even need to work; he just had to focus on studying.

And now, not only did Bruce have student loans in his account, but his startup money was only about one thousand dollars. Although that’s not a small amount in this era, the accommodation and living costs at the University of Chicago were obviously higher.

So Bruce caught the crucial piece of information from the words of the freshman who talked to him. He asked, “Brotherhood dormitory?”

“That’s right.” The freshman looked Bruce up and down, then said, “Where are you from? Ah, don’t get me wrong, I’m from New York Brooklyn, not from a wealthy family. My dad is a truck driver, he just gave me a ride here. The truck was just hard to drive in, so I walked the rest of the way.”

“Kansas State,” Bruce said, “My parents are farmers.”

The freshman showed a look of sudden understanding and said, “No wonder you don’t know. The Brotherhood at the University of Chicago is quite something. See those houses over there?” He pointed, “That’s the Brotherhood dormitory, much better than the school-provided dorms.”

Bruce looked in the direction he pointed and then said, “I’m only concerned about the price. Which one is cheaper?”

“The Brotherhood’s dorms are free,” the freshman said, “As long as you can join, you get a room, but whether it’s good or bad depends on your performance. Still, it saves quite a bit of money. If you want to go, don’t miss the recruitment.”

The freshman paused again, then continued, “Your universities over there should have Brotherhoods too, but if your parents are farmers, you probably haven’t seen them.”

“I really don’t know much about it,” Bruce admitted. According to what he knew, Gotham University had Brotherhoods during his dad’s time, but later they were disbanded due to accusations of terrorism. So, by the time he entered the school, there were no traces of Brotherhoods left, leaving him with no understanding of them.

“Well, if you’re willing to accompany me to the recruitment meeting, I’ll tell you more about it. What do you say?”

“Why are you pulling me along?”

“Don’t you know? You need to go through an initiation ceremony to join a Brotherhood. They say it’s quite difficult, the better the Brotherhood, the harder it is to get through. If we go together, we can look out for each other.”

Bruce nodded but didn’t believe his words at all. He was very aware of what his current advantages were: no money, no background, and it seemed like he hadn’t even been to a major city, but his face hadn’t changed, especially as the era moved forward, Batman’s appearance fit more with the aesthetic of this era.

In social activities, being friends with handsome men and beautiful women provides a great advantage. Even just being around them makes one a focal point. This is because handsome men and beautiful women have no shortage of friends, and being able to befriend them proves you have some skill, giving a good first impression.

“Then it’s settled!” the freshman said happily. “I’m Eric, and you?”

“Bruce,” Bruce replied, “Bruce Wayne.”

Bruce rarely had the opportunity to say his full name so candidly, which was a sort of benefit. During this time, he kept observing the environment of the University of Chicago, but since it felt so much like Gotham University, from the Gothic architecture to the river running through campus, even the streetlamp designs were similar, Bruce felt like he was home.

At a corner, he instinctively turned left, and Eric quickly called him, “Wait up! The freshman registration is this way, you’re about to walk out.”

Bruce then stepped forward, keeping pace, looking at the map in Eric’s hand. Eric introduced him, “The main area for the undergraduate department is this courtyard, and also these two over here. This is the Bell Tower, and they say it has the second-largest carillon in the world; it’s played every day. Further this way is the lake, supposedly with a good view…”

Bruce memorized the map quietly. The undergraduate department is the oldest department of the University of Chicago, and it’s the most distinctive one. The main activity area for students is a quadrangle, also called the courtyard area, where almost all teaching activities take place. Just remember the way here, and you won’t miss a class.

“Over here is the canteen,” Eric continued, “but I’ve heard from my brother that they usually don’t eat here. They go out to food trucks, and there are cafes nearby where you can buy sandwiches…”

Eric was speaking quite eloquently, obviously, he wasn’t just some regular guy from Brooklyn Area like he said. If his brother was also studying at the University of Chicago, it’s highly likely his parents were alumni of the university as well. This is very common in America; some schools have over fifty percent of their students as alumni’s children, with three generations attending the same school.

Even the Wayne Family is like this. Thomas, Bruce, and the Robins all studied at Gotham University. If the Robins have descendants, they too will attend Gotham University, making the whole family alumni of the same school.