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Chapter 283: The First Encounter of the Youth Pi (2)

At the end of a back alley on East District's Scroll Tail Street, there was a sound of a cellar door being opened. A boy with black hair, wearing a red jacket, jumped out first, followed by a boy with brown hair wearing glasses.

The boy with glasses grabbed his companion's arm, seemingly trying to stop him from going out. He said, "Hey, Jason, don't do this. Batman has been hanging around here lately. If you go out tonight to steal something, he's bound to catch you!"

The boy called Jason turned around and said to him, "It was you who told me that we couldn't sell the big tire we pried off earlier. I have to go out, otherwise the younger kids in Scroll Tail will go hungry!"

The boy with brown hair continued to persuade him, but Jason impatiently shrugged off his hand and said, "Kid, I know you're talented. The bosses of those famous gangs on Elizabeth Street want to recruit you."

"But we're different. Our position on Scroll Tail Street is already bad. We have to expand southward to claim territory so that our members can earn money. But if we can't feed ourselves, how will we have the strength to fight?"

The kid pushed glasses a little and said, "That's exactly why I'm trying to stop you, Jason. You're the leader of Scroll Tail Gang. If Batman catches you, the rest of the members will have no way out."

Jason grabbed his hair in frustration, but the kid pulled him toward the cellar. Jason seemed lost and was pulled inside.

Inside the cellar was a small workshop with two old, rotten workbenches. Various tools were placed on them, and the only relatively new item was a toolbox placed on a slightly cleaner table.

What stood out was a very large and uniquely shaped tire on one of the workbenches, with a bat symbol in the center.

The kid pulled Jason to sit on a chair next to him and said, "If it weren't for you helping me last time, I would have had my throat slit by those street racers. You saved my life, so of course I'm willing to help you."

Jason looked young, but he was dressed maturely, and his demeanor and speech were just like those gang members. He spat and said, "The market has been really bad lately. The younger kids in our gang can't earn a single penny."

"To prevent them from getting beaten up, me and a few older kids have to support them. But this can't go on forever."

As he spoke, he turned his head toward the tire on the workbench, angrily pounding the wall and saying, "If only we could sell this thing. Is there really no way?"

The kid remained calm and said, "Don't worry, yesterday during vocational school, I called a few classmates to come and take a look. Maybe they have some ideas."

Just then, they heard rhythmic stomping sounds coming from the ceiling. Jason stopped Slidetop from getting up and said, "I'll go up and check. I hope it's not trouble."

Jason opened the cellar door slightly, and Slidetop also leaned over. They saw a slightly older chubby boy stomping his feet. Slidetop opened the cellar door and shouted to him, "Hey! Tire! Over here..."

"Oh, here! So you guys live in the basement. I was wondering why you asked me to stomp yesterday..."

The tire walked into the cellar, and at first glance, it saw the bat tire on the workbench. It walked up and widened its eyes, saying, "Cool."

"Wait, is that the bat symbol? Oh my God! Did you guys really pull off something big?!"

The tire

walked up and tapped the rubber of the bat tire. Just then, there were urgent stomping sounds from above. Slidetop went to open the door, and his voice came from the door, "Hey, why are you two here together? Rocket and Red Truck..."

As soon as the two entered, they saw the tire standing next to the bat tire. The tire waved at them and pointed at the bat tire, saying, "Look! The coolest tire I've ever seen. Only it deserves my name!"

Jason walked up to them and greeted, "Hello, I'm Jason, Jason Todd, the leader of Scroll Tail Gang. You can call me Jason."

The tire, Rocket, and Red Truck were much bigger than Jason and Slidetop, but they were also just over ten years old. The room was full of children, but their way of communicating was mature.

Red Truck was the first to approach. He was black, and he bumped fists with Jason like a member of a black gang, lifting his chin and saying, "I've heard about you. Last time, you gave that annoying yellow-eyed guy a good beating with a spiked baseball bat. I heard he fell into the hands of someone three years younger than him, and I could hardly believe it. But now, it seems you're truly a tough guy..."

Jason wiped his nose and said, "You can't survive here without any skills."

Slidetop interrupted their conversation and knocked on the table, saying, "I brought you all here to discuss this tire issue. As you can see, Jason and I planned to steal the famous Batmobile's tire..."

Slidetop and Jason exchanged a glance, while the other three looked curious. Rocket, the girl, said, "How did you manage that? My dad told me that Batman is not someone to mess with."

"In fact, it was much simpler than we imagined. The most difficult part was finding an opportunity when he left the Batmobile unattended."

"Then how did you guys pry it off?" the tire asked.

Jason looked at Sliphead, who shrugged and said, "It's not that difficult. If it weren't for Jason and me being too young, we could have taken off all four tires at once, leaving that rich guy with an empty shell..."

Imagining this comical scene, the children burst into laughter. Jason crossed his arms and said, "We successfully stole it back here, but the problem is we can't sell it because the damn mark is too obvious!"

The tire waved its hand and said, "What's the big deal? You guys are in this business, don't you know? Just paint over it."

However, the red truck walked up to the tire and touched it, saying, "I'm afraid that won't work. This thing has a pattern, it's uneven. Even if you paint over it, it will still be noticeable. Can't you grind it off?"

"I've tried, but my current tools won't work. The hardness of this metal is too high. Unless I can get a machine tool, it's impossible," Sliphead shook his head.

"How about dismantling it and selling only the rims?" Rocket suggested.

"Well, I can't actually dismantle it," Sliphead touched his temple, and the tire looked surprised, saying, "You can pry it off, but you can't dismantle it?"

"That's right, but it's a technical issue. The reasons are complicated. In short, we can't dismantle it to sell separately."

"That's a bit troublesome," the red truck rubbed his chin. "I know a few people who are into car modifications. They might like these tires, but you only have one now. You need at least two for someone to be interested. Otherwise, you can only hang it at the back of a car as decoration, and you won't be able to sell it at a high price."

"If you could melt it into bullets, maybe my dad would be interested," Rocket continued, "This metal looks very hard. It could be used to make a shield."

Sliphead sighed, "If I could melt it down, would I still need to find you guys?"

"My mom knows a lot of people, but this can't go through her."

The tire patted the rim on the bat tire and said, "I really like it and would love to buy it and take it home, but my mom is a widow, and I don't want to cause unnecessary trouble for her."

Seeing that all three of them said the same thing, Jason couldn't help but look disappointed. However, the red truck said, "Why can't you dismantle or grind off the markings on this tire? Is it purely because your skills are not good enough? Or is it a problem with the tools?"

"It seems you know a lot about this," Sliphead walked to the workbench and said, "Tools are the main problem. Look at what we have here. Only rusty wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers. The only thing slightly useful is this old jack, but it's about to break."

"If we had a foundry and a hydraulic press, things would be much easier."

"We can think of a solution from this perspective. You managed to steal Batman's tire, is it really difficult to get a hydraulic press?"

"Of course, it's very difficult," Sliphead affirmed. "Don't forget, Jason and I are younger than you guys. It was already hard enough for us to bring back one big tire. We can't even move those professional workbenches and large machines."

"That's easy. Just help us with our vocational school assignments, and we'll help you move them!"

Sliphead pushed his glasses and said help

lessly, "I'll say it again. Our teacher can tell if the handwriting is different."

"Then let us copy your answers!"

"Yes, copy the answers!" Rocket chimed in. The wild-looking girl wrinkled her nose and complained, "I don't want to do homework! But my dad insists that I do it. He says he can't afford to offend the teachers there. What nonsense!"

"That's the plan, but we need to plan further. I think there's someone who can help us..."

Little Scoundrel looked at the people next to him, and they all exchanged glances. Clearly, they were thinking of the same name.

"Copperpot!"

"Where is he now?" Rocket asked.

"Oh, I know. It seems like he's been frequenting between the East District and the mental hospital lately. He should pass by the street nearby. Let's wait for him there."

After saying that, they all pushed open the door of the cellar and ran out one by one. They rushed towards the street, jostling each other.

Just then, they heard a scream and saw a little girl with black hair and blue eyes standing at the entrance of the alley. The group stopped in their tracks, and Jason exclaimed, "How come there's a little girl here?"

Little Scoundrel squinted his eyes and said, "Judging by her clothes and appearance, she doesn't seem like a child from the East District. She looks more like one of those rich kids from the South District."

Rocket, however, ran over first, and the others followed. Rocket held the little girl's shoulder and said, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are your mom and dad?"

"Wow!"

The little girl screamed, and everyone noticed the sharp teeth in her mouth. They took a few steps back in fright. Jason said, "...Could it be that her parents abandoned her here?"

"Unlikely. Look at the necklace around her neck. It seems to be made of a gemstone. If they really wanted to abandon her, there would be no need to give her such a valuable necklace..."

Jason hesitantly approached the girl. Although she had sharp teeth and her eyes were a bit strange, she didn't seem to have any intention of biting. He patted her head, looked around, and said, "We need to get her out of here. If the gang members patrol and find her, she'll be in danger."

"Really? What if her parents come looking for her? You might get into trouble. Those rich folks are experts at turning the tables!"

Jason didn't argue. He simply took off the necklace from the girl's neck and put it in his pocket. He said, "If they come looking for me, I'll leave the child behind and let them take her away. This necklace can be my reward. I won't lose out anyway."

Saying that, he struggled to pick up the little girl. Rocket took the girl from him and said, "Let me do it. We'll go back to your base first, and then while we're looking for Copperpot, we'll see if there are any people nearby who might be her parents."

As they were walking back, almost reaching the underground base, a crisp whip sound echoed, and everyone dodged backward. A slender black figure appeared at the end of the street.

Jason, hiding behind a building, widened his eyes and said, "Black Cat! It's Black Cat! What's she doing here? Doesn't she only come out at night?"

"Who's Black Cat?" Little Scoundrel asked him.

"The leader of the four great thieves of the East District. She's a very formidable thief who has stolen from almost every jewelry store in Gotham."

"To the little ones, thank you for the praise, but I must say, put down the little girl you're holding."

Catwoman cracked her whip again, causing the group to retreat in fear.

"She's your daughter? No! Wait! I heard you're also from the East District. How could you have such a well-dressed daughter? You wouldn't..."

Jason waved his hand backward and said to Rocket, "Don't let her go. Black Cat might be a human trafficker!"

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