I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

However, Bane didn't care, because even such a powerful and intelligent Riddler was nothing more than his tool.

After fully adapting to his new body, Edward put on his top hat, picked up his suitcase, and left the hotel where Bane and the others were staying.

Back home, Edward hid the GL11 venom under his floorboards.

Afterward, he took off the clothes he had borrowed from Bain and took a long, refreshing shower.

After taking a shower, Edward changed into his green pajamas and red nightcap, and snuggled into the thick comforter.

"No matter what, I need to get a good night's sleep before I go looking for trouble with Batman!"

While Edward drifted off to sleep, Bruce couldn't fall asleep at all.

Inside the bat cave, he stared at the monitor on the screen with a slightly ferocious expression.

The surveillance footage showed a man in a dark green suit, purple shirt and gloves, and a top hat matching his suit, swaggering down the corridor of the Depp Hotel.

Soon, the riddle-maker in the video entered Jenny's room.

Bruce was unable to find out what happened after that.

After all, you can't install surveillance cameras in hotel rooms.

About ten minutes later, the Riddler came out of the room and swaggered away from the Depp Hotel again.

"So, the Riddler killed Miss Jenny, didn't he?" Alfred asked, bringing over a cup of coffee.

Bruce took a sip of his coffee and said through gritted teeth, "That's right, and this guy even changed the hotel room number I sent to Jenny from 1888 to 1803 beforehand. When exactly did this guy find out I was going to meet up with Jenny?!"

This is what Bruce can't understand. He had asked Jenny out a week ago, but the Riddler had only escaped Arkham Asylum four days ago.

How did this guy know the location of his date with Jenny and manage to modify it without anyone noticing?

Upon hearing this, Alfred coughed lightly and said, "Actually... if the Riddler wanted to know that you had an appointment with Miss Jenny, it would be very simple."

"Ok?"

Bruce uttered a questioning sound.

Alfred sat down next to Bruce, took an elegant sip of coffee, and said, “Young Master Bruce, you’ve been too busy lately. If you had a chance to visit Gotham University, you’d find that almost everyone knows that Bruce from Wayne Enterprises has arranged to spend the night with Miss Jenny tonight.”

Upon hearing Alfrey's words, Bruce immediately realized something and said, "You mean... Jenny has been making a big fuss about me asking her out to her friends, and it's practically common knowledge at Gotham University?"

“That’s right, so in a sense, Miss Jenny… died because of her own vanity.”

Alfred said without any mercy.

But his words did not relieve Bruce of his self-blame: "Even so, Jenny did not do anything wrong and should not have died in that room."

Alfred sighed helplessly, "But sometimes, life is just so unpredictable. No one can predict whether they will live or die in the next second, not even you, young master."

Upon hearing this, Bruce immediately retorted, "No! Bruce Wayne may die before Gotham is completely saved, but Batman will never die!"

"But we have no idea who the riddle-maker is or where he went!"

Alfred once again ruthlessly pulled Bruce back to reality.

After all, Edward removed his mask in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras when he left the Depp Hotel, and then flagged down a zombie taxi.

Therefore, neither Bruce nor Alfred could find the Riddler's true identity from the surveillance footage.

“Yeah, I don’t even know who the Riddler is!” Bruce said, covering his face. “The only clue is the few words he left behind.”

“Words?” Alfrey asked.

"Poverty, death, old objects."

Bruce repeated the words he had seen on the wall, and began to think again.

Upon hearing this, Alfred did not immediately make his own judgment, but instead asked, "Then, young master, what is your answer?"

Bruce looked up, his fingers clattering on the keyboard, and the three words immediately appeared in the center of the screen.

“Poverty, I think, should represent Naihe Island.”

"Death, or perhaps it's someone who's already dead but is still active, like... Grandi."

"As for old items, the one I'm most familiar with is naturally Depp's antique shop."

"To be honest, when I put these three words together, the first thing that comes to mind is Depp's antique shop."

Alfred nodded in agreement: "That's right, after all, it seems to be the only place in all of Gotham that has all three elements."

“But Depp can’t be the Riddler,” Bruce said, conflicted. “He definitely can’t be!”

Alfred didn't refute, but said, "I also believe that Mr. Depp wouldn't be the Riddler; he's not that bored. However... this might be a clue; perhaps you can get some information about the Riddler from Mr. Depp."

"Ask Depp again?" Bruce said somewhat reluctantly, "But I really don't want to rely on Depp too much anymore, it will make me lose the perseverance to solve problems on my own!"

“But you have no other choice now, do you, Master Bruce?”

A wise glint appeared in Alfred's eyes; it seemed that Bruce wasn't the protagonist who would lead the subsequent plot today, but rather he was.

Finally, Bruce relented, "Okay, I'll call Depp right now and hopefully he can give me some direction on this."

The call connected, and Depp asked lazily on the other end, "Good evening... good morning Bruce, what problem do you need help with this time?"

Upon hearing this, Bruce remained silent for a moment, then sighed heavily and said, "The girl I was meeting this afternoon was killed by the Riddler. The words he left on the wall all pointed to Depp's Antique Shop, so I wanted to ask if you know anything about the Riddler?"

Upon hearing this, Depp first said in a serious tone, "Bruce, regarding the Riddler, I would say that the words he leaves behind usually foreshadow his next crime scene. If that's true, then he might be back at my shop causing trouble in the next few days."

"But don't worry, Grandy will protect the antique shop for me."

"As for your real question... I may not be very familiar with the Riddler's affairs."

Upon hearing this, Bruce felt helpless. Even Depp couldn't do anything about the Riddler?

Just as Bruce was in despair, Depp continued, "However, I can tell you straight up who the Riddler is."

what?

Bruce felt as if countless alpacas were galloping through his mind, stirring up gusts of sand.

I didn't have a single clue, and you figured out who the riddle teller was just from one phone call?

Damn it, let me tell you, if you weren't Depp, I, Bruce, wouldn't believe a word of it!

Who is the riddle solver?

Bruce asked eagerly.

On the other end of the phone, Depp said unhurriedly, "Edward Nigma, the archivist for the Gotham City Police Department."

"Edward Nigma!"

Bruce said incredulously, "I vaguely remember this guy, but Gordon told me a few months ago that their police department's archivist had gone missing. That archivist's name was Edward Nigma. But... he's been missing for two whole months!"

Depp smiled without saying anything, but said, "I think Edward will be back in the Gotham Police Department and start his job tomorrow."

"Really?" Bruce was still somewhat incredulous.

Upon hearing this, Depp immediately replied bluntly, "No, I was just guessing."

"Depp, you bastard!"

"Bruce, I advise you to go to Edward's house now and bring him back, lest he leave again and disappear without a trace."

Bruce immediately turned to Alfred and said, "Alfred, quickly find out where Edward Nigma lives, the Gotham City Police Department archivist. I think Batman has something to say to him!"

Alfred, who was carefully savoring his coffee, rolled his eyes at Bruce helplessly and said, "It's a good thing I made you extra strong coffee tonight, otherwise I really don't know if you could have made it through."

Alfred turned and went to his designated spot, where there was a screen and a computer, about the size of a regular monitor.

Alfred quickly located Edward Nigma's address.

He sent the address to Bruce and said, “Young master, I think you’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. Before that, you can even have a pan-fried T-bone steak that I made for you.”

Chapter 257: They caught them, but not completely.

Inside the villa, Selena was woken up by Depp and Bruce's phone calls and asked indistinctly, "Who are you talking to so late?"

Depp crawled back into bed, embracing Selena's soft, firm body, and said, "It's Bruce. He's run into some minor problems again."

"Hmm." Selena snuggled closer to Depp. "So it was Little Bat. I wonder what he would do without you."

Depp looked at Selena, who had fallen asleep again, and thought to himself, "Even without me, Bruce would probably still have to solve these problems on his own."

----

In a detached house in Gotham City, Edward was fast asleep, wrapped in his thick blanket.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed past the window without making a sound.

The newcomer must possess extremely advanced stealth skills.

Edward, of course, didn't notice the mysterious visitor either, and instead put his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it.

Like... an innocent child.

Bruce opened the window and climbed into Edward's bedroom.

Standing by the bed, he looked at the unguarded man, a hint of anger flickering in his eyes.

"Is the Riddler really this guy who looks like an idiot?"

Bruce was somewhat incredulous, but his years of experience fighting criminals had taught him that many seemingly harmless individuals could actually be the most ruthless serial killers!

Bruce, holding a batarang, gripped it like a dagger.

He then began searching through documents in Edward's house, trying to find clues that this guy was the Riddler.

Unfortunately, even though Bruce turned the house upside down, he still couldn't find any clues.

He couldn't even find a green suit like the one worn by the Riddler!

Bruce had no idea that Edward had already thrown the ripped suit into Bane's trash can before going home, and then wore Bane's clothes before returning home.

The sound of Bruce rummaging through drawers and cupboards in the house woke Edward, whose senses were heightened several times over.

He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up, asking with a blank look, "Batman! Why did you turn my house upside down?"

Upon hearing this, Bruce silently stood up, turned around and asked, "Stop pretending, Edward, I know you're the Riddler!"

Having found no evidence or clues, Bruce decided to use his well-practiced methods to trick Edward.

Edward, however, was completely unfazed, because he knew that Batman would never find any clue that he was the Riddler.