There is no Batman in Gotham City comics.

Chapter 160, Section 57: Matchstick Horse's Heroic Deed

They were locked onto by the searchlight of a helicopter, and there was a strange man manipulating flames in front of them.

The vast difference in strength left Gordon with no hope, and Qin Wei had made arrangements for the current situation, a simple and brutal Plan B: surrender.

When the group was discussing tactics, Floyd expressed his incomprehension about the plan, asking if surrendering meant certain death.

Gordon and Brock agreed with Qin Wei's approach. Even corrupt cops need to maintain the image of the police. Although it was late at night, countless Gotham residents were watching this shootout behind the curtains.

If it were a one-on-one situation, the corrupt cops might have emptied their magazines without any scruples, but there were just too many people at the scene.

"Put your guns down!"

Gordon's orders quickly reached every corner of the battlefield.

Matchstick Ma Long had already slipped into the alley amidst the chaos, and the others gave up resisting once they saw that their goal had been achieved.

At this moment, a spectacular scene is unfolding in the city of Burrell: helicopters are circling overhead and roaring, while hundreds of gang members face the wall, allowing the police to put bracelets on them.

Large quantities of firearms were piled up in the snow and were loaded onto armored vehicles in batches.

"Watch out, don't drop my weapon pouch!"

Seeing his beloved package being carelessly thrown into the trunk, Floyd protested loudly.

The protest was met with a blow to the back of the leg from the butt of a rifle.

"Shut up, you filthy scum, you son of a bitch!" The officer launched into a string of filthy insults as he pressed his rifle against Floyd.

When wearing the gloves, he deliberately pressed the band tightly around Floyd's wrist, causing Floyd to gasp in pain.

"Does it hurt? There's something even more painful waiting for you when you're thrown into Blackgate Prison. There are plenty of black guys there who like fair-skinned, delicate girls like you! Just wait to be given special treatment."

The officer vented his frustrations from the entire night, and if he weren't afraid of being investigated by the New Jersey State Police, he would have loved to pick up a light machine gun and mow down these troublemakers.

But while he was cursing, Floyd suddenly laughed.

"You don't actually think you've already won, do you?"

"Shut up!"

The anger that had been barely suppressed surged up again, and the officer slammed the butt of his gun into Floyd's waist, shoulder, and vulnerable back of the head until the prisoner's face was covered in blood, before he reluctantly stopped.

"To tell you the truth, your leader, that so-called Judgment Knight, won't escape! He'll be captured soon, and his fate will be a thousand times worse than yours!"

Regardless of what happens to Matchstick Marlon, at least one thing the police officer said was right: he definitely couldn't escape.

Ten minutes earlier, he had slipped into the alley under Freud's cover and was immediately spotted by four or five Claws. However, he hadn't completely broken away from the crowd yet, so the Claws weren't in a hurry to make a move. Leaping and climbing between the high-rise buildings, the Claws resembled raptors circling in the night sky, looking down at their fleeing prey on the ground.

It dodged, it ran away, it was panting heavily, and finally it collapsed headfirst into the puddles in the alley.

Seeing that their prey had lost its ability to resist, the claws scattered. Two went to the alley entrance to keep watch, one went to destroy the surveillance cameras, and the remaining two slowly approached Matchstick Dragon in a defensive stance, one in front and one behind.

Unlike the arrogant old-fashioned William, the young Claws, though far inferior in ability to their predecessors, possess a deep respect for rapidly developing technology. They understand that while self-healing abilities might give them an advantage in close combat, they cannot withstand the bombardment of firearms.

"Safety!"

After confirming that Matchstick was not carrying any lethal weapons, several Claws surrounded him, grabbed Matchstick Malone by the neck, and slammed him against the wall.

After removing the hood, a claw-wielding figure extended a hidden blade and slashed Malone's face. Upon seeing the blood, the figure even cautiously opened the wound to examine it.

This is a common method in the industry for identifying human skin masks, but the Claws would never guess that the man in front of them was not wearing a human skin mask; he simply looked very much like Qin Wei.

During the six months he served as Qin Wei's stand-in, Huochai Malong stopped tanning, quit smoking, and even got a stylish haircut to resemble Qin Wei's.

Of course, if you look closely, there are obvious differences between the real person and the double. Gotham's mob bosses love using doubles.

So the claws scrutinized Malone's face for quite a while, comparing it carefully.

The irony is that the "Qin Wei" who has been active in public for the past six months has been impersonated by a body double, which means that the arrest warrant issued by the Owl Court actually features Matchstick Ma Long.

"Identity confirmed, Bruce Wayne is undoubtedly him!"

"Forehead!????????"

A series of question marks floated across Matchstick Marlon's head.

Before he bravely faced death, Qin Wei taught him more than one way to survive. Whether it was using persuasive language or using the cleverly designed bat suit to launch a counterattack, there were different ways to deal with each different scenario. Qin Wei even designed an escape route for him. As long as he ran out of this alley, there were gunmen prepared by Oswald lying in ambush on the other side of the street.

Unfortunately, Malone and Reus had been partying every night for the past six months, leaving Malone completely exhausted. He couldn't even run out of the alley, let alone take more than a few steps in his heavy bat armor.

But as the saying goes, every loss on one front is a gain on another. By a twist of fate, the Claws failed to recognize his identity and even seemed to have no intention of killing him.

Despite his seemingly unserious nature, Matchstick Marlon never lets anyone down when it matters, just like Reuss.

After a brief moment of thought, he decided not to reveal his identity as originally planned.

He intended to buy Qin Wei more time.

What man doesn't dream of being a hero? Having made up his mind, Malone was suddenly moved by his own thoughts. In that instant, he imagined himself as the old king in the opera "Beowulf," fighting against the dragon, standing on a cliff top and issuing a deafening battle declaration to the scorching dragon's breath coming his way.

"Yes! That's right!! I am the person you've been looking for! Come on!!!! Burn my will—"

A handkerchief soaked in ether was used to stop the old king's incessant chatter.

"What was he just saying? I think I heard something about passion and bonds."

"I don't know, maybe I've been reading too many comics."

One of the men opened his pocket, while another poured matchsticks into it. Both remained remarkably calm throughout. Compared to the gang members who were shouting for freedom, they were nothing more than lackeys and henchmen.

The tools of the court never dream.

III

After escaping the underground cave, Royce and his gang of underlings were already waiting for them. Qin Wei handed the kids over to them.

"Boss, you're badly injured. Let me take you to the hospital!"

Just glancing at Qin Wei's back, Royce was shocked by the charred and bloody wounds and clicked his tongue in surprise.

"It's not the right time yet. Malone can't hide this for long, and it's too dangerous for him to stay by my side."

Qin Wei sat on a park bench, panting, fiddling with his hair, which was curled up from the intense heat. The cold night wind soothed his burning wounds, offering temporary relief to his weary and aching body. "Leave what I asked you to bring, and get out of here, as far away as possible!"