American comics: Starting in Arkham, a system-based Batman

Chapter 110 The Laughing Clown Bat

No human being would turn a blind eye to the death of their fellow human beings.

Sadness, excitement, fear, or anger—different thoughts evoke different emotions. Zheng En came to protect, and even if the person who fell might have deserved to die, he would still feel angry about it, experiencing a kind of irritation similar to that of a wild beast whose territory had been invaded.

He had considered the possibility of casualties, but when a living person died in front of him, the displeasure immediately grew like wild grass blown by the wind.

With both hands pressing down hard on the blade, the dagger disintegrated inch by inch with a clear "crack".

"Pay the price."

Zheng En murmured softly, staring intently into Li Zhao's eyes, meeting her gaze without flinching.

The opponent could not see the crazy diamond that appeared in front of Zheng En, but the dagger that was broken by the enormous force and the attack that could not advance an inch were objective realities.

The moment she and Jung Eun separated, another attack followed.

The whooshing sound from behind made Zheng En instinctively dodge to the other side. When he turned around, he saw a clawed man of adult male size wielding a long knife, whose downward slash missed its mark.

In the monocle's field of vision, two red dots were right next to the star representing himself, while three other red dots were scattered less than ten meters away.

He hadn't attacked Claws earlier, for fear of alerting them. Several Claws were scattered throughout the villa, only gathering together when the banquet began.

Zheng En knew they identified themselves as Rob, so he secretly followed them. He only revealed himself when Claws made their killing move.

This was the most appropriate time in his opinion.

There are many ways to hide oneself. Although Crazy Diamond's range is only one to two meters, that is the distance between the clone and the main body. If a rifle bullet is fired from the finger, its actual attack range can reach sixty or seventy meters, which can easily knock the dagger away.

But once destroyed, the remaining claws will only appear and wreak havoc.

With multiple claws gathered nearby, he couldn't possibly protect everyone's lives under these circumstances. Rather than trying to take care of others, he decided to focus all the attacks on himself.

Jung Eun breathed a sigh of relief, dodging the attack of the claws. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the others scattering and fleeing the room.

Several gang members rushed in and escorted the people away, firing at Claw as they went.

Bullets and knives flew everywhere, and the scene was in complete chaos.

One two three four five —

Seeing all the hidden red dots appear before her eyes, Jung Eun breathed a sigh of relief.

He doesn't actually have much compassion for humanity; he just feels that if he were Batman, he would do the same.

As Jung Eun and Claw fought fiercely, Dick, who was watching this scene through the screen, couldn't help but feel nervous.

Many of the surveillance cameras in the villa rooms were destroyed in the fight, but the camera clipped to Jung Eun's collar was still working perfectly. The footage in the lens kept shaking and changing with the fighting, and watching it for a long time would make you want to vomit.

Dick had to look away.

Meanwhile, in Miller Harbor, the deal was still in the works. Batman was lurking in the shadows, while gangsters with guns patrolled the area.

Maroni, the leader, looked at his watch again. The hands moved forward past the scheduled time, but the sea remained calm and there was no sign of any ships.

The bearded gangster next to him seemed more agitated, glancing at his watch more often.

"Could something have gone wrong?" The mustache's voice was low, but Maroni still heard it.

"It's quite normal for ships to be early or delayed."

He knew that no matter what the situation, he couldn't show any signs of anxiety in front of his subordinates. Although he briefly considered killing the man, Maroni did nothing. "Let's wait patiently."

This ship of arms is crucial to their survival, and Maroni cannot allow any problems to arise at this critical juncture.

If the ship is late, we can wait; but if the people on board are in disarray, it's hard to salvage the situation.

Batman hid in the shipping container above and behind them, as silently as a cat.

Maroney's words were like a stabilizing force; regardless of whether they were true or false, they were the answers the gang members wanted.

Even if they are not high enough in rank to access information from the upper echelons, they can still sense the weakness of the gang in their daily activities. The success of the lower-level gang members is directly linked to the gang's prestige. When a gang is strong, they are more aggressive when they clash with other gangs; when a gang is weak, they have to learn to avoid conflict.

These days the Maroni family is not doing well. The gangs that used to be on good terms with them and tended to be neutral are gradually turning to Falcone, and their original business is suffering as a result.

Either the probability of defective products in the goods increases, or the transit time is delayed and lengthened.

These are all trivial matters, but they still make people feel uncomfortable.

The Maroni family members were all holding their breath, especially the middle and upper management.

The man with the mustache became somewhat impatient because he knew that today's shipment was of paramount importance.

About ten minutes later, a gang member came running over to report.

"We can see the outline of the cargo ship."

The group immediately set off and headed towards the dock. When the cargo ship arrived, a large crowd had already gathered on the shore. Apart from a few gangsters on patrol, everyone else was there.

After the Maroni family finished counting the goods, it was the other side's turn to count the cash.

They are a Chicago-area gang whose manufactured firearms and ammunition supply not only the entire United States but also to several countries, including Mexico and Haiti. Maroney had long-standing dealings with them, which is why he dared to place such a large order at once.

"Thank you for your generosity."

A Chicago gangster wearing a top hat reached out his hand to Maroney, the upper half of his face obscured by the shadow of the brim.

A handshake is an unnecessary step in a transaction, so Maroni didn't touch it.

"That won't be necessary—"

Before he could finish speaking, the overhead light was broken, several bulbs went out at once, and the entire warehouse was plunged into darkness.

"You shouldn't have done that."

A low, rough voice came from behind him. Maroni turned around and fired two shots, but only heard his subordinate's wail. He was hit in the abdomen by a powerful kick, which forced him to bend over.

Batman—

'

He gritted his teeth, and his men quickly surrounded him. Maroni looked around, searching for any trace of the other man, but found nothing.

In the extremely low visibility, he could only see the Chicago gangsters who had just been standing opposite him.

The other person still had the upper half of their face covered by a top hat, with a very pointed chin that was very white, almost as if it had been coated with lead.

He repeated Maroney's words, "Batman—"

But his tone was soft and sticky, like freshly laid asphalt under the sun.

Maronny became a little wary. "You know him?"

"Perhaps."

A wide smile spread across the lower half of the other person's face, bright red lips stretching all the way to their ears. "I think we should get to know each other. Isn't it ridiculous to call yourself an acquaintance just because you know someone unilaterally?"

"Haha," Maroni couldn't help but laugh. "That's really funny."

He didn't know why he was amused by those words, but when he came to his senses, his mouth was already grinning wider and wider, "Hahahahahahahahahahaha————"

Maroni burst into maniacal laughter, his gums showing as he laughed, his facial muscles twitching and shaking from exhaustion without stopping.

His men behind him also burst into laughter, similar expressions spreading across their faces. Their mouths stretched exaggeratedly to almost earlobes, revealing red gums, their eyebrows and eyes curved into sickle-like arcs, and their pupils bulged out.

A maniacal laugh echoed through the warehouse. The man laughed too, and as he clutched his stomach, his top hat fell off, revealing a head of green hair.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha————"

He wiped away the tears welling in his eyes. "Where in this world can you find a coin with only one side?"

A pale, smiling face suddenly appeared, so much so that the camera could clearly record the wrinkles that appeared on his face from the smile and the bloodshot eyes.

His mouth was stretched so wide that Dick could see the tonsils in his throat.

It was like a deep abyss.

The abyss echoed with the laughter of demons.

"Don't you think so, little bird, '6'"

"Bang!"

Dick was jolted backward, causing him and his swivel chair to fall to the ground. He was thrown hard and couldn't get up for a moment.

Alfred, who had just come downstairs, heard the noise, quickly put down the prepared black tea, and rushed over to help Dick up.

"Are you alright, Mr. Dick?"

The old butler's worried expression made Dick nod subconsciously, but he immediately shook his head after realizing what he had done. "I'm fine."

O

He dusted himself off, pulled up another chair, and sat down in front of the screen.

By this time, the cameras installed in the warehouse could no longer capture anything; they were filled with laughing lunatics, and Batman or that person could no longer be found.

Dick didn't want Alfred to know that he was so frightened by a madman; that would be too immature.

Skipping over the part about how frightened he was, he briefly described what he had just seen, "Do you know him, Alfred?"

Dick felt that the other person seemed to know them very well, especially after hearing the word "little bird".

Who was that "little bird" calling?

Is it someone he doesn't know? Or is he referring to himself?

The problem is that he has never appeared in the public eye, and even the Robin clothes he is wearing are the first time he has ever worn them outside his room.

Even if this madman anticipated Batman's appearance, he couldn't possibly recognize him.

It was at this moment that Dick realized he hadn't been at Wayne Manor long enough, so he had to ask the old butler who might know the answer.

"I might indeed know him," Alfred paused, "but—we've never seen him in person before."

The Joker's existence was no secret to Alfred; Batman had noticed the character as early as Halloween.

"He once kidnapped Chief Gordon's daughter, Barbara Jr., but returned her unharmed, leaving only a playing card on her."

"Next is the mayor."

When Batman was trying to profile the Joker, Alfred was right there. "The Joker, the smiley face, the bat on the playing cards—he left those three messages at the crime scene."

"But apart from that, we have no other leads about him."

"Calling for penny one—I need help."

Batman's strained voice suddenly echoed through the Batcave, and Alfred immediately picked up the pager to reply, "What happened? What do you need?"

On the screen, Batman appeared in a corner hidden by a shipping container. He stumbled and fell to the ground, his back directly against the container.

"I've been inhaled nitrous oxide—" His hand gripped his belt tightly, his fingers trembling as he pulled out a black, metallic-looking inhaler, which he pressed sharply against his mouth and nose, taking a short, sharp inhale.

The cool, detoxifying gas rushed into my nasal cavity, barely suppressing the laugh that made my throat itch.

This was the antidote he had prepared in advance.

Based on the antidote for scarecrows' fear of poison gas, and with some modifications, a universal antidote capable of inhibiting various neurotoxins was obtained.

Zheng En had reminded him that clowns liked to use laughing gas, so he had prepared an extra one specifically for laughing gas.

But no matter what kind, it wouldn't make much difference to him.

Batman inhaled a lot of nitrous oxide while in the warehouse. He used up the antidote for nitrous oxide, but he still couldn't control his urge to laugh, so he could only hide in a corner to rest for the time being.

"In the hidden compartment of the fourth drawer from the leftmost table, there is a row of inhalers."

Batman, panting, said, "Have the Batmobile bring it over. I can hold on a little longer." He had already notified Gordon, but it would probably take some time for the Gotham Police Department to arrive.

"How's the situation at the villa?"

"Not very good!"

Jung Eun shouted because both the Twisted Scream Mask and the monocle were items that needed to be worn on the face and conflicted with each other, so he had to settle for the relatively useful monocle.

The Twisted Screaming Mask is only suitable for use against easy-to-clear mobs and in one-on-one combat. It can likely stun the opponent for two or three seconds on first encounter, but it is not as useful against a large number of elite monsters with multiple claws.

After all, people may be afraid of ghosts, but they won't be afraid of ghosts that can fight back and have a physical form.

Intimidation is an emotion that gradually fades with understanding. In contrast, a monocle that can observe the location of claws from all angles at all times and has X-ray vision and enhanced audiovisual capabilities is much more powerful.

However, even with two fists, one can't fight four hands. Although Jung Eun has Crazy Diamond, which allows her to do the work of two people and gives her the advantage of not being able to see her stand-in, it's still too difficult for her to fight five people at once.

Crazy Diamond can heal people, but it can't repair its own body. The Claws are all living dead with self-healing abilities and no sense of pain. In a protracted battle, Jung Eun would not have the upper hand.

After one of the claws was transformed into the wall, the other claws were careful not to get close to him, and he didn't have a chance to do it again.

But now that the clown, who had been hiding for so long, had shown up at the port, he could no longer linger in the villa.

"Give me ten minutes! I'll take care of them right away!"

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