Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 609 Do you really have to communicate like this?

When tasks were assigned, Ma Zhaodi almost naturally chose the identity of an insider for himself.

“You know, Scarecrow is an old acquaintance of mine, and I’ve known Riddler for a long time too. That guy is incredibly annoying. We once teamed up in another Gotham City to fight Gotham’s only pure madness, the Joker. Falcone also wants to be my teammate. I used to work under Maroney and had many exchanges with him. He’s a very inspiring guy.”

“I believe I can create great chemistry in a criminal organization—sometimes decisions are hard to make, and after many days and nights of thinking, I’ve decided to bring my talents to Scarecrow’s team. I can’t wait to put on the pure prison-style uniform. As for you, and the Batman of this universe, and Commissioner Gordon—good luck tonight.”

Path dependence works like this: slowly recounting the glorious years, Ma Zhaodi thought of Falkner, the villains of the Laughing Mystery War, and the time when dealing with the Vought Corporation.

Those were truly some exhilarating battles, he thought to himself, reflecting on how hard-won his victories had been.

Although the process was somewhat shady, making it seem less like a major battle, let's just say whether they won or not.

"Regardless, this Gotham crisis is two Batmen plus a freakish wheelchair-bound man against a mere Scarecrow." Ma Zhaodi thought to himself with fervor, "The advantage is on my side!"

Becoming a wage thief again, the good times are back!

Just as he was reflecting on this, he noticed that Arkham Batman was looking at him expressionlessly.

"What is this guy mumbling about?"

Bruce from Arkham had mixed feelings. He had seen a lot of things in Gotham City over the years, but he couldn't understand a word the guy on the other end was saying.

What do you mean by saying you were working under Maroni and communicating with Falcone? What do you mean by saying you fought the Joker alongside the Riddler and the Scarecrow?

He turned his head and looked at his counterpart in another universe with a deep, disapproving gaze: "...You and he are teammates?"

"..." The Batman from the Old Ma Universe was silent for a moment, then could only admit, "Yes."

"Is everything he said true?"

".yes."

"He's a supervillain, right?"

"No, he's a superhero."

Arkham Batman remained silent.

"I need to reassess my other universe selves, and Gotham City in other universes." He thought to himself, "Even by my moral standards, cooperating with this kind of person is just too...morally depraved."

"How did someone like this become a superhero? Just how harsh is the environment in Gotham City in that universe that they had to make this person a superhero?"

"In short," he shook his head and replied, "Tonight will be short, but it will also be long. Scarecrow's plan is not a long-term criminal plan, but a short-term large-scale sabotage plan. There is no need for an undercover agent to infiltrate it. In just one night, there will be no promotions or advancements in Scarecrow's team. They will just use you as ordinary cannon fodder."

These words startled Ma Zhaodi, who asked, "Tonight?"

"Tonight, of course—and not even tonight." Arkham Batman retorted, "What else does he have besides the lethal chemical gas he uses to threaten and intimidate the entire Gotham City? A bunch of rabble under his command?"

This answer surprised Ma Zhaodi, because in his previous impression, Batman had always been an image of a fighter who fought with all his might.

In the Arkham universe, Batman would be badly injured even when facing heavily armed gangsters head-on; and in the War of the Laughing God universe, Batman would be even more powerless against the supervillain coalition. But the Batman of the Arkham universe is different from both of these Batmen. He has high standards, a tough style of doing things, less of the helpless compromises, and more of a decisive and domineering presence.

Ma Zhaodi then asked, "What if he has other supervillain teammates?"

"Fight together."

After coldly uttering those words, Arkham Batman handed a communicator to Commissioner Gordon, then pulled out two more communicators for Ma Zhaodi and his other self—these two were equipped with earpieces.

“Our timeline is different from yours,” he reminded him. “So our technology is also different—you probably don’t use communicators much, so I will always keep your communication on—if anything happens, you can just speak into the communicator, and my companions will hear about it.”

Ma Zhaodi thought to himself, "So what if he's eavesdropping? And he talks about it in such a refined and unconventional way. Everyone knows what kind of person Batman is, right?"
In the original sci-fi universe, Batman simply reached out and took the communicator without saying a word—but immediately handed it over a bugging device.

"It can only listen in, not make calls," he explained simply. "And it will always be active."

"Will the battery last all night?"

"can."

Batman from Arkham immediately put away the bugging device.

"Do you Batmen really have to do this?" Ma Zhaodi retorted expressionlessly. "This scene is really bizarre, don't you realize that?"

Gordon, standing nearby, couldn't help but nod, while the other two remained silent. In fact, Ma Zhaodi himself knew that this was an unusual display of "sincerity" from the two Batmen, who were not familiar with or trusted each other, in order to prioritize cooperation.

Of course, this way of showing sincerity is too early for normal people, but it's just right for Batman.

“There’s not much time to waste,” Arkham Batman said. “I’m heading to the radio station first.”

“Sure, but I asked Clinton for help on my way here,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “That big, bald guy looks fierce and is a great shot. He’s probably gathered a group of people now. If you run into them on your way to the radio station, remember not to go too far. Just tell them my name—they’re all on our side.”

"I will."

Batman from Arkham stepped into the night and vanished in an instant.

"Oh." Commissioner Gordon couldn't help but rub his eyes. "After all these years of working together, this is the first time I've ever seen Batman disappear like this."

"You turned on the Bat-Signal," Batman from the Martial Universe said directly. "There's a clue about the Scarecrow."

“Yes, we tracked an unidentified military vehicle that sped through Chinatown—” Gordon replied, “This is our only lead tonight, so we definitely can’t give up, but…”

"But the police officers all went to assist with the evacuation?" Ma Zhaodi asked.

“Gotham City had over 6.3 million residents yesterday,” Gordon sighed.

"Today, there are hardly 300,000 people left."

(End of this chapter)