Anyway, Gwen's plan to recruit a group of "Talon Babies" to work for her fell through.
After all, in this era before the internet, the Wayne Group's influence was mainly limited to Gotham.
Once outside Gotham City, Gwen was like a kite with a broken string, losing her channels for gathering information.
She could only sigh with regret about the outside world.
Although she couldn't abduct a large group of children to train as future capable helpers, Gwen felt that having one was still good.
So, she simply began to tutor Fake Brucey.
To facilitate communication, Gwen decided to give the child a name.
Considering she couldn't let her have the Wayne surname, Gwen had an idea and decided to give her a Chinese name.
When Fake Brucey learned that her future name would be Tian Xiao Qian, her small face instantly turned ashen, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.
Looking at her stiff, forced smile, and hearing her say, "I like it, I love this name so much!" Gwen quickly came up with an English name instead.
Arcana Tennison, hearing this name, a flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes.
She thought for a moment, decided that an English name was better than a Chinese one after all, and ultimately abandoned the idea of retaliating against her future employer.
Gwen's education of Arcana proceeded in two steps.
During the day, Mr. Alfred, a former Agent of MI6, guided her in the skills required for a "bodyguard."
Gwen successfully convinced Alfred to participate in Arcana's training by claiming she wanted Xiao Qian, who was freeloading, to become her bodyguard.
Alfred was experienced, and under his strict guidance, Arcana's physical fitness, combat skills, and emergency response capabilities all significantly improved.
In the evening, Gwen would quietly come to the Underground Room to tutor Arcana in academics.
Compared to Gwen, Brucey, and even Zatanna, who often wrote words backward due to practicing Backwards Magic, Arcana's academic level was relatively ordinary.
However, she was very diligent and would repeatedly study even when encountering difficulties.
It was precisely because of this that Gwen's teaching progress could proceed smoothly without slowing down.
"Alright, that's enough for today," Gwen said to Arcana as she packed up the books.
Just as she was about to leave the Underground Room, Arcana suddenly reached out and tugged on her clothes.
Gwen paused slightly, turned around, her eyes full of confusion: "What's wrong, Xiao Qian?"
Arcana had long been accustomed to her boss not liking to call her by her proper name, so she silently pulled out a crumpled newspaper from a nearby table, pointed to a report, handed it to Gwen, and asked, "Is this what you've been telling me to look out for?"
Gwen took the newspaper, and the moment her gaze swept over the report, her normally calm eyes immediately lit up.
On the newspaper, a striking movie preview caught her eye.
"the mask of zorro" is coming soon!
Seeing this line of text, Gwen froze completely.
Immediately, her lips trembled slightly, and a difficult-to-hide excitement appeared on her usually placid face.
"Finally, it's finally here!" Gwen muttered softly, her voice filled with an indescribable excitement, "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? Now, my parents can finally die! Ah..."
Mid-sentence, Gwen suddenly stopped, a conflicted expression on her face, nodding one moment, shaking her head the next, "No... Yes... No... Forget it, I can't figure it out."
Arcana stood by, silently opening a bag of potato chips and crunching on them, looking at her boss with a bewildered expression.
In her impression, Gwen had always been calm and composed; this was the first time she had seen her lose control of her emotions like this.
Seeing Gwen's excitement, as if she wanted to jump up and down, Arcana initially wanted to stop her, but then thought about it again.
"Forget it, this is quite nice, quite cute..."
Wayne Tower, in a laboratory that brought together the world's top technology, various precision instruments were neatly arranged.
A young researcher in this lab was studying a string of bracelets.
His gaze was focused, and the tools in his hand carefully disassembled the bracelet; he didn't notice anyone approaching behind him.
Suddenly, a clear call broke the silence of the laboratory.
"Mr. Lucius?"
Hearing the voice from behind him, Lucius stopped what he was doing and turned to look, only to see an 8-year-old girl standing behind him.
The girl was beautiful, with red hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a small suit, and her eyes showed a composure and confidence beyond her age.
Lucius stared for a moment, instantly recognized her, and a kind smile appeared on his face: "It's a pleasure to see you, Miss Gwen. I didn't expect you to come here."
Gwen's lips curved upward, and she politely replied: "It's a pleasure to see you too, Mr. Lucius. As the Wayne Group's chief R&D expert, your contributions to the group are evident to all."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lucius quickly realized that Gwen had another purpose for coming, so he took the initiative to ask: "Miss Gwen, is there something you need me for?"
Upon hearing this, Gwen pondered for a moment, then leaned close to Lucius and whispered a few words in his ear.
Lucius's face showed a hint of surprise after listening: "Is that all?"
Gwen's face still held a gentle smile: "That's all."
Lucius pondered briefly, then nodded: "I understand."
"This matter must not be known by a second person."
"Okay."
...In the evening, Thomas Wayne returned home, physically and mentally exhausted after a busy day.
As soon as he stepped into the entrance hall, hurried footsteps came from the stairs, followed by his younger daughter, Brucey, who rushed down from upstairs like a joyful fawn, waving a newspaper in her hand.
"Daddy!" Brucey's clear voice echoed in the spacious living room; she held up the newspaper, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "I want to see this movie, will you take me, please?"
Thomas smiled as he took the newspaper, his gaze falling on a movie report—"the mask of zorro."
He frowned slightly, vaguely feeling that the name seemed familiar, but his tired mind couldn't recall it at the moment.
Looking at his daughter's expectant eyes, he nodded without hesitation: "Okay, Daddy will take you."
Just then, his elder daughter, Gwen, came down from upstairs, her steps steady, her expression calm.
Thomas looked up and asked: "Gwen, your sister wants to see 'the mask of zorro,' do you want to come along?"
Gwen gently shook her head, smiling as she refused: "I have some things to do that day, so I can't go, Father."
Brucey's smile instantly vanished, her small mouth pouted, her face filled with disappointment: "I wish my sister could come too."
Gwen walked to her sister's side, squatted down, and gently stroked her hair: "Brucey, Sister really has something important, I truly can't get away. Next time there's an opportunity, Sister will definitely go with you, okay?"
On the surface, Gwen was comforting her sister, but in reality, she was thinking that there wouldn't be a next time; after this, Brucey would probably have a psychological trauma about movie theaters... (Continued in title)