Chapter 38 Harvey Dent
Regardless, the new principal's campus-wide alcohol ban was still being implemented in an orderly fashion.
No vehicles or shops selling alcoholic beverages were allowed near Gotham University. All parties and gatherings would be inspected, and dorms would be searched. However, they wouldn't confiscate high-power appliances; instead, they would find all the alcohol and severely punish the students.
Of course, these students had no means of resistance. Although Gotham University produced the great villain Scarecrow, most of the students were still obedient.
However, it was clear that this also encroached upon the interests of another group of people.
Everyone knew what kind of City Gotham was. The drunkards here didn't just start drinking after work.
Tens of thousands of drunkards in Gotham City supported countless bars and alcohol-selling stores, and the annual sales of tobacco and alcohol were a major source of tax revenue.
Of course, you could stop students from drinking, but if they didn't have an alcohol addiction, who would the alcohol merchants sell their alcohol to?
Students were truly easy to deceive. Any habit they picked up during this period could accompany them for life, and drinking was no exception.
If they started drinking at 20, they would spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars on alcohol throughout their lives. Every drunkard would spend more than half of his salary on various types of alcohol.
The profits from selling alcohol were siphoned off by monopolists. They used these profits to reinvest, then open larger factories, hiring those drunkards at lower wages, with the only cost being two bottles of cheap alcohol after work.
What a perfect industrial chain this was! All they needed to do was to sell some delicious beer at low prices near Gotham University, regardless of profit. Of course, starting with beer, then distilled spirits, then hard liquor.
For hundreds of years, Gotham City has operated this way. If you didn't let those people corrupt the students, wouldn't Gotham have become a civilized City with simple folk customs long ago?
Schiller knew this well, so he never intended to be a diligent and responsible good Professor here. This City didn't allow any clean seedlings to grow, because only villains and criminals could survive here.
Turn Gotham University into a Utopia? Don't be ridiculous. Those naive graduates wouldn't survive a year in Gotham City.
This was just one large vortex, containing countless smaller vortices, and no one could escape.
Ever since Schiller sent a withdrawal notice to Bruce, the principal rarely mentioned involving him in this matter. However, having touched the chain of interests, he was under great pressure and had to find another helper.
"Hello, My name is Harvey, Harvey Dent, a lawyer, specializing in criminal litigation and adjudication."
Schiller and Harvey shook hands. Before Schiller could speak, Harvey said, "I've heard of you. You did very well in Yao Chong City. That damned serial killer was brought to justice and is still in prison."
He spoke very quickly, much like a lawyer. His tone was steady, his voice firm, and then he continued, "But I must say, you haven't performed as well in implementing the Gotham University alcohol ban as you did in those big cases. I think saving the future of this City is as important as catching criminals, isn't it?"
Schiller had just released his hand. He pursed his lips and said, "Perhaps."
Harvey heard the reluctance in his tone. He frowned and said, "I've heard some stories about you from the South, but it seems you're not as fiercely opposed to evil as the rumors suggest."
"More than that, I want to know, who is spreading stories about me?"
Harvey was stunned for a moment. He said, "Didn't you say it yourself?"
He scrutinized Schiller. Schiller didn't look like a shrewd and brave Detective, nor an impartial judge. He looked very refined, very much in line with his professional demeanor.
Harvey was very smart. He said, "Are you saying someone is deliberately spreading stories about you? But why would they do that? To make a name for you? What's the benefit?"
Schiller invited Harvey to sit down, while he sat opposite him. He said, "Perhaps you only know the first half of the story. Later, I was ambushed in a case in Metropolis. Otherwise, why would I come to Gotham? That's not a good thing. Clearly, these people still don't want to let me go."
Harvey was stunned for a moment. He said, "Sorry, then you really shouldn't seek the limelight. But it's okay, I'm now the legal advisor for Gotham University. I fully support this alcohol ban. A little alcohol is fine, I drink too, of course, but heavy drinking during student years is unacceptable."
When Harvey spoke, he was always clear, logical, and his tone was very firm, giving people an unconscious sense of security. If Schiller hadn't known he would later become Two-Face, he would never have associated him with that coin-flipping madman.
Two-Face is a very complex villain. He is also the only villain Batman tried to save. Batman tried many times, but failed, and perhaps the frustration this brought him was far greater than being defeated by the Joker.
Because Harvey Dent, he really was a good man, the White Knight of Gotham City.
Batman was deeply affected by him. Maroni harming Harvey in court and driving him insane made Batman fully realize that without violent enforcement, without authority, law and judgment were nothing.
A despicable and dirty criminal harmed a just prosecutor in broad daylight, but he paid no price, and no one dared to judge him again.
Schiller placed his hands on the table. He looked into Harvey's eyes and said, "Mr. Harvey, I think you understand the situation here better than the new principal. You should know how many people's interests this will offend."
"I know, but I don't care," Harvey said.
Schiller sighed. He took off his glasses and began to wipe them with a cleaning cloth. As he wiped, he said, "Perhaps you are truly prepared to accept the cost of upholding justice?"
"You sound like you've felt it deeply."
"Of course, because I'm lucky to be alive."
"Then I believe I am too," Harvey said, but he was still very empathetic. He said, "I won't criticize those who give up on this path due to various dangers, because they have actually done their best. I don't know how far I can go on this path, but in this World, you don't have to reach the end to win."
Schiller did not answer further. He shook hands with Harvey again, and Harvey left. For the first time, Schiller did not try to interfere with the other party with words, or try to persuade him.
Schiller once heard a very sensible saying: Don't try to remind someone who has been walking in the dark that the other person is not blind.
So Schiller would not try to correct Harvey's thoughts, nor tell him that his actions were useless for Gotham. Everything Harvey did was right, every choice he made was just and correct, but unfortunately, this was Gotham.
The White Knight couldn't save Gotham, and the Dark Knight might not either.
Harvey was indeed a very charismatic person. Unlike Nightcrawler Matt, he didn't like to fight alone. He was good at utilizing all the resources he could access, getting along well with teachers and students, and even various staff members praised him endlessly. Mrs. Murphy praised him more than ten times a day and even wanted to introduce her younger daughter to him.
Even most students, although they disliked their hidden alcohol being confiscated, still admired Harvey, feeling that he was the type of successful and very kind elite.
Harvey had only been at Gotham University for a few days, but he had already gained the welcome of most people.
The new principal Sheldon became even more depressed. He was looking for someone to be a pawn, not to become a pawn himself. He just wanted a scapegoat to charge ahead, while he could gain both fame and fortune.
But just as Schiller was overly rigid, Harvey was simply too popular, so much so that he stole almost all of the principal's thunder.
Few people knew the new principal's name, but almost everyone knew about the new legal advisor, Harvey Dent, a highly educated, high-income, and enthusiastic elite lawyer.
And among those he befriended were the most difficult ones, Schiller and Bruce. Schiller was willing to talk to him about life ideals, because their educational backgrounds were similar, and they were once alumni of Columbia University, so they could reminisce about their campus days.
As for Bruce, he felt a special affinity with Harvey. They could talk about anything. Regarding justice, Harvey gave him many different perspectives, which greatly inspired Batman.
In the past, Schiller's kind of 'all-depends-on-your-comprehension' conversations had already made Batman accustomed to being stimulated first, then silently reflecting on his own.
But Harvey was different. Harvey would answer all of Bruce's questions as thoroughly as possible. When Bruce presented different views, he would not mockingly refute or disrupt the rhythm of his words. Instead, he would listen quietly, express his own views, and then carefully analyze the differences between his views and Bruce's. If they couldn't reach an agreement, they would each retain their views and discuss it again next time.
No one would dislike such a friend: wise, experienced, enthusiastic, compassionate, and knowledgeable. This was much better than being angered by Schiller and losing ten years of life.
Schiller was also very happy, because with Harvey, Bruce finally wouldn't bother him every day, and the psychology clinic finally quieted down.
Except for Gordon's visit a few days later, almost no one else appeared here.
Gordon came to give him an invitation, after all, he had been promoted, and several ranks at that. This was a great occasion worth celebrating.
Gordon didn't have many friends. His colleagues at the Police station were a bit envious, and it wasn't convenient for him to invite them, so he planned to invite Schiller and Bruce for a small gathering.
Bruce introduced Harvey to the Police, and the two hit it off immediately. In a sense, Harvey and Gordon were the best partners. They were very similar, except Harvey was more radical, and Gordon was more conservative.
As these two got along famously, Bruce was neglected. Schiller, holding a wine glass, silently watched Bruce standing outside the psychology clinic. He said, "Let me see, this homeless stray dog has finally remembered his old garbage heap. Should I feel honored?"
"Hey, don't say that," Bruce said, "Although Harvey is great, I still think Professor, your professional ability is stronger."
"Thank you for the compliment, but your credits this semester will definitely be deducted."
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