I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

William, who was being targeted by the claws, showed no panic. The moment he saw the claws, the obsequiousness in his eyes vanished, replaced by an undisguised aura of authority.

"There are too many people and surveillance cameras here. I think you can come back to the office with me and we can talk about it there."

William said to Claw, "Remember to avoid the surveillance cameras and follow us from blind spots."

After saying that, William walked towards his office without looking back.

He believed that Claws could perfectly evade surveillance, a fundamental quality of an assassin.

The claw nodded, and then followed William with extremely strange postures and movements.

Just as William had expected, Claw avoided all the cameras and followed him into his office from a blind spot.

In his office, he had already unplugged the power to the surveillance cameras.

“William Cobb, you’ve been gone all day.”

William stared at the claw, his eyes sharp, and said, "If you don't come back today, the Court of Owls will give your place to someone else."

Upon hearing this, the claw immediately replied, "But I'm back, aren't I?"

His voice was indeed identical to William Cobb's!

William sneered and said, "Just yourself? Where's your lovely great-grandson, Dick Grayson? You didn't seem to bring him. Don't tell me your mission failed. Can't even the strongest claws catch a child?"

Upon hearing this, William Cobb clenched his fist and said, "That night, someone was protecting him. I was no match for that guy... not at all."

"Even you're no match for him?" William was clearly surprised. He asked, "Could it be Batman? Dick Grayson is being fostered at Wayne Manor, could it be... Bruce Wayne is Batman?"

Upon hearing this, William Cobb was visibly startled and immediately explained, "No, not Batman! I've never seen that guy before, but his speed is like lightning, something no ordinary human could achieve. I couldn't even see how he made his move."

Upon hearing this, William sneered, "That's a really lame excuse. Aren't you a non-human warrior yourself?"

Seeing William Cobb remain silent, William continued, "In any case, you have to come back with me to stand trial. I think you'd better have encountered a truly formidable enemy, rather than have taken pity on your great-grandson."

As soon as William finished speaking, he immediately took out a strangely shaped pistol from the drawer of the desk in front of him.

After taking out his pistol, he immediately pulled the trigger at William Cobb in front of him.

What was fired from the pistol was not a bullet, but a familiar freezing ray.

Although the Claws possess extremely abnormal self-healing abilities and immortality, low temperatures are their greatest weakness.

Below zero degrees Celsius, their movements become extremely sluggish, and as the temperature continues to drop, they gradually fall into a state of hibernation.

William's freezing gun can instantly lower the body temperature of a Claw Warrior to below minus twenty degrees Celsius.

It can put the Claw Warrior into a dormant state within seconds.

This is also why he is not afraid of claws.

Looking at William Cobb, who was now in a dormant state, William took a rope from his desk, tied it up, and then gently pressed a button under the desk.

Click!

A hidden door had been opened in the wall behind the desk!

Then, William carried the bound William Cobb and went into the secret door.

Click!

The secret door closed again, and the empty newspaper office fell into silence, as if there had never been any secret passage or claws there.

"Why are you so heavy, you damn thing?"

William, carrying William Cobb on his back, cursed breathlessly.

Carrying a fully armed Claw Warrior on his back felt incredibly heavy, as if every step was draining his strength!

He walked up the steps in the secret passage step by step, reached into his inner robe, and took out a white round mask.

With the mask on, William exuded an indescribable eeriness.

The mask had two crooked, round eyes and a pointed nose, like an owl's beak.

Finally, William climbed the last step and entered the thirteenth floor, which never existed.

In Gotham, thirteen is considered an extremely unlucky number.

Therefore, many buildings and towers have deliberately removed the thirteenth floor.

After the twelfth floor, what is usually connected is the fourteenth floor.

No one expected that the thirteenth floor had not disappeared, but had been hidden away.

And all the hidden thirteenth levels are the owl's nests.

Hidden among low walls and attics, he is with me in my home, and he exists even when I lie in bed.

All members of the Court of Owls knew that the nursery rhyme was not an exaggeration, but the absolute truth.

Chapter 182 Overthrowing the Nest

William stepped out, leaving the cramped stairwell and officially entering the thirteenth floor.

His vision suddenly opened up, and a rather spacious living room appeared before him.

In the center of the living room stands a long dinner table.

Dozens of candles were evenly distributed around the long table, where a dozen or so people dressed in luxurious clothes were enjoying red wine and delicacies.

Beside them lay their own white owl masks.

Upon hearing William's voice, everyone immediately put on white masks and suddenly turned to look.

A dozen or so people wearing white owl masks suddenly turn and stare at you. Any normal person would feel uneasy seeing such a bizarre scene.

Even after witnessing such scenes many times, William still felt a chill run down his spine.

If it weren't for the hope of achieving great success in the future, he wouldn't want to stay by this group of people's side forever.

Because William knew all too well how wealthy, powerful, perverse, and evil this group of people were.

Of course, he wasn't much better off himself.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to join the Court of Owls and become one of the true rulers of the city.

After all, compared to eternal power and wealth, who would care how many mistakes they have made?

Even if he kills many people because of this, it's nothing more than crushing some ants.

He placed William Cobb, who was hibernating behind him, on the ground and said respectfully, "Gentlemen, I have found William Cobb."

"Oh?"

Seated at the head of the table, the elderly woman with a full head of white hair and dressed in an elegant gown said in a deep voice, "You've done well. Perhaps... you'll officially join us soon."

Upon hearing the voice coming from behind the old woman's mask, William was overjoyed, and his face immediately broke into a wide smile.

He stammered, so excited, "This...this is all I should do. To join the esteemed Court of Owls would be the greatest honor of my life!"

The old woman ignored William's fawning, gently brushed a stray strand of gray hair behind her ear, and said, "Is William alone? Where is Dick Grayson?"

Although the old woman was advanced in years, she possessed a natural air of authority, exuding an imposing presence without being angry, and revealing a hint of ruthlessness in every aspect.

Upon hearing the old woman's rebuke, William felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and the slight smugness he had felt from the praise vanished without a trace.

Even though William Cobb's mission failure was not his fault, William's legs still trembled slightly.

“Sir… Sir. William Cobb’s mission failed; he did not bring Dick Grayson back.”

"Hmm?" The old woman frowned slightly, clearly displeased. She continued, "Did he bring back any useful information?"

Upon hearing this, William couldn't help but curse inwardly:

Why the hell do you have to ask him? Why do you keep asking me?

Damn it, these damned claws weren't trained by me, why are they asking me everything?

Once I officially join the Owl Court, I'll drag you, you old geezer, off the dinner table sooner or later!

Then, he said again respectfully, "He didn't tell me anything of great value just now, but... he said he was defeated by someone who was so fast that he couldn't even catch him."

Too fast to be detected?

The old woman chuckled and said, "I never expected William to use such a clumsy lie to cover up his incompetence."

William dared not presume to know the old woman's thoughts and asked, "Madam, what should we do with William Cobb? Should we freeze him for later use?"

The old woman smiled slightly and said, "There's no need for that. Just throw him into the 'White Maze,' cut off the supply of amber gold, and let him fend for himself."

"Claws are nothing more than consumables that we can manufacture at will."

As she spoke, the old woman gently touched the hand of the young male servant behind her and said, "We can make as many of these things as we want. Especially for a liar like this, there's no need to be reluctant to throw them away."

Upon hearing this, William gained a new understanding of the old woman's ruthlessness and boldness, and he became even more afraid of the old woman before him.

“Yes, madam, I will throw William Cobb into the maze right away.”

The old woman nodded in satisfaction, reached out and touched the male servant's core external device, raised an eyebrow and said, "What? Defeated by someone so fast that even claws can't catch them? Does William really think we're idiots?"

As she spoke, she angrily grabbed the male servant's core output system and kneaded it wantonly.

The waiter was clearly used to this kind of torture, and there was not a trace of pain on his face.

Perhaps, on the contrary, this guy is actually enjoying it.

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, William exclaimed, "William... William Cobb is gone!"

Just now, William turned around, intending to give William Cobb another freeze shot.

But when they went back, they suddenly discovered that William Cobb had vanished without a trace!

"what?!"

"William was just lying behind you, wasn't he?"

The old woman also said in surprise that she had just seen William Cobb, who had fallen into hibernation due to being frozen, lying behind William.

Her right hand involuntarily clenched tightly, while the male servant behind her let out a strange cry, knelt on the ground, and covered himself.

The old woman suddenly remembered what William had just said.

William Cobb said... he encountered someone who was so fast that he couldn't react at all.

"Damn it! William, you idiot, the guy you brought back isn't William Cobb, it's the guy who killed William!"