Miss Justice is not motivated

The idea was indeed good, but... she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Bai Aina didn't say anything and decided to listen to the rest of the story.

At this point, only bitterness remained on her face; she didn't know how to continue. Suppressing her turbulent emotions, she continued, "But the rewards he received were far too little... He was ridiculed by his colleagues, seen as an obstacle by the tycoons, and even mocked and insulted by the very citizens he wanted to help. Even so, this man... did not yield. He never stopped pursuing justice and strived to maintain his unpopularity, dedicating himself to serving others every single day."

Listening attentively, Bai Aina mentally prepared a speech, thinking about how to deliver a witty and considerate retort.

“Teacher, you mentioned a proposition in one of the books you gave me, right? It’s called the trolley problem. That man… had one of his few friends in the IRS who had committed a serious crime—embezzlement. He was aware of this fact. If it were just as the literal story suggests, he could have tolerated it and continued to hold onto his beliefs.”

"But how could the reality be so simple? Two years ago, a village was hit by a tsunami. A friend developed a reconstruction plan for the village and applied for a budget. The approved budget couldn't even cover one-tenth of the requested amount, and the village was already in dire straits..."

"Heh, I can probably guess what will happen next." Hearing this, Bai Aina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"The taxes collected from the entire Xiangmo Kingdom were arbitrarily distributed to a specific area by an official, which is unforgivable... He hesitated, but finally decided to uphold his sense of justice and denounce his friend. Then he carried on his friend's legacy and used his own money to help the village."

"It sounds wonderful that the man used all his wealth to help the village, but he never mentioned his own life when he donated, so the villagers always thought that the person who helped them was the man's friend. They only hated the man. Before long, the man was kicked out of the government office, and his relatives blamed him for spending the wealth that should have been allocated to them. In the end, they looted all the remaining wealth, spat on him, and left."

"The man's friend was brutally tortured, and his remains were completely disfigured. But the resentment... was accepted by the man. He believed that he was evil for killing his friend, so he killed himself and performed the act of kaishakunin... I was the kaishakunin."

At this point, the bitterness on Yitiao's face vanished, replaced by a sense of relief. She felt much lighter after speaking her mind. The girl looked at Bai Aina, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"Uh... don't look at me like that, it makes me feel guilty." Taking a step back involuntarily, Bai Aina put down her canned drink and cleared her throat before saying, "So, Ichijo... all this time, it's because of this man?"

There was no answer, nor any action, but the real answer was already crystal clear.

“Your father is too rigid in his actions. The beauty of life lies in having choices. Although sometimes there are no choices, more often there are,” Baina said bluntly and directly. “Then why didn’t your father tell his friend everything? Because he believed his friend was evil, and he wasn’t wrong to refuse to associate with evil, was he?”

Silence, still silence, but Baina was not overwhelmed by it; her words became increasingly vehement.

"Forgive my bluntness, but this is nothing but arrogant self-righteousness. He believes his actions are just, but doesn't his friend think his actions are just? Sure, his friend's actions may be inappropriate, but they are far from being unforgivable. Your father is too rigid in his thinking. There are clearly better ways to handle this, aren't there?"

"On a smaller scale, it could stop his friend's actions and then join him in funding the village's relief efforts. Your father is obsessed with procedural justice, which presupposes that the procedures themselves are sound. So... doesn't the government have problems? Therefore, on a larger scale, it's about overthrowing the entire government and rebuilding the world your father envisions. But... will he really do that? That would inevitably ignite a war, and wouldn't your father see himself as evil and then kill himself?"

Every word was piercing, every sentence like a knife; there was no room for softening in Bai Aina's words, forcing Yitiao to face an even more complex reality.

"Ichijo, the justice you inherited is not such an empty word. Humans have inherent flaws. The gap between rich and poor, class system, religious ideology, political differences and other ideological factors can all lead to the evils you cannot tolerate. To put it bluntly, humans are just troublesome. But if they didn't have so many troubles, they wouldn't be human."

"This is a bit of a digression, but one thing you need to understand is whether this last wish... is something you yourself are willing to fulfill and strive to achieve."

Prelude to Chapter Fifty-Six

As if by premonition, Gotham City entered a strange state of peace, leaving all its citizens feeling uneasy. After all, gang battles and villains used to roam the streets frequently; now, however, they felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

The television station also broadcast a striking news item: a Category 7 typhoon was about to sweep through Gotham City, as if to confirm that an event that would reshape the entire city would occur in the coming days.

Inside the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor, Bruce was diligently doing pull-ups. Each time his arms lifted his body, large drops of sweat fell from his body and pooled on the ground, forming a conspicuous puddle.

Dick, standing not far away, remained silent, his eyes revealing only admiration. Unlike him and Tim, Bruce, their adoptive father, had not relied on any advanced technology, but solely on physical training and modern medicine to perfectly restore his physical condition.

Looking at him like that, it's impossible to tell that Bruce was a man who had been hurt. Both Dick and Tim genuinely believed that their adoptive father had overcome insurmountable obstacles for ordinary people.

However, it must be said that due to the nanomechanics, both Dick and Tim have experienced a significant increase in physical strength.

This made young Tim wonder what the point of his past training was, and he also felt confused by his adoptive father's actions.

“Hehe, Master Tim, it’s not just simple physical training.” Alfred saw the doubt in Tim’s mind and explained with a smile. “This kind of rehabilitation is not just about honing physical strength, but also about tempering the spirit.”

After explaining, Alfred bowed slightly and took his leave. He still had to make breakfast for the new young master; although the boy was stubborn and didn't want to eat the old butler's cooking, he was still just a child.

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.” Dick said calmly. He also wished he could recover like Bruce, but... it seemed unlikely.

"When are we going to deal with that girl?" Tim asked, pointing to a prominent headline in the newspaper. It clearly stated that the Two-Face gang had been sentenced and were serving their sentences.

In reality, they were not imprisoned in Blackgate Prison, but were secretly taken in. In order to deal with the flesh buds on these people, the Justice League had to take them to the interstellar laboratory for examination and to find further solutions.

Fortunately, after being mentally modified by the granulation tissue, these people do not harbor any resentment. On the contrary, they are very willing to cooperate with the Justice League in order to contribute to the country and the world.

“It’s not the right time yet, at least not now,” Dick shook his head, looking at Bruce who was exercising. “We have to wait until he returns.”

"Phew!" After completing a full five hundred pull-ups, Bruce let out a long sigh. He could feel... his body getting better, stronger. Even though he was over forty, his physical abilities were no less than when he was younger.

This isn't just due to proper exercise and maintenance; aging is an inevitable part of human life, but it won't happen to Batman. He himself has pondered why this might occur, but he's never been able to find the answer.

Why exactly...? This time, Bruce lowered his body and began doing sit-ups with a single thumb, all the while deep in thought.

Looking back, Bruce Wayne's life is so extravagant it almost feels unreal. He amassed countless scientific technologies and developed cutting-edge power armor. With a seemingly childish improvisation, he teamed up with the Justice League to defeat Darkseid, the infamous tyrant of the entire universe. He led all the heroes to expose the Reach invasion and thwart the Apokolips's conspiracy…

Aside from suffering a loss at the hands of a certain Kryptonian, and still not finding an effective way to stop him, Batman's life is undoubtedly legendary. Even when adapted into comics or novels, it's still incredibly incredible.

How incredible! The person who accomplished such a feat was just an ordinary human being. This man didn't even receive any direct enhancement from any external factors; the starting point of his transformation was simply the brutal murder of his parents by thugs in an alley.

It was like a scene straight out of a novel or comic book… After doing push-ups with his thumbs, a slightly tired Bruce finally stood up. He went deep into the Batcave, a secret facility where he had stockpiled a large number of weapons and tools in case of emergencies. If this technology were to leak to the outside world, it could even trigger a technological revolution.

One day, written documents from another world were even stored here. Although they were just written documents, they were incredibly valuable to Batman, and in terms of secrecy, they were comparable to the 'Tower of Babel Project'.

For someone like Batman, who relies heavily on intelligence, these are the most precious and important starting points. He believes that in the future, there will still be otherworldly beings coming to this world.

And they may not necessarily have goodwill towards the world. In any case, a basic sense of vigilance is essential.

Walking past the towering and imposing exoskeletons, you see combat armor for frontal battles, and even camouflage armor for infiltration. It's no exaggeration to say that with these armors, one person could easily take on an entire nation.

But Batman didn't pay attention to the armor; he continued walking deeper into the room, finally stopping in front of the dark blue suit displayed in the counter.

The suit looked as if it were woven from metal wire, and it had a fluorescent bat emblem on the chest. Looking at the suit, Bruce gently placed his hand on the palm print recognition system on the counter.

Compared to other exoskeletons powered by advanced energy sources, this dark blue suit is more of a magical creation. The bat emblem on the chest is actually made from a fragment of the shield used by Zeus, one of the twelve Olympian gods. It not only possesses a powerful magical blessing effect but is also an extremely powerful power source.

Although it's just a palm-sized fragment, the energy it contains is comparable to that of a large nuclear power plant. After Batman's modifications, it can even be equipped with a large number of modern weapons and computer systems.

"Identification successful, ID-H2-65534, unlock successful."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Pride and Self-Centeredness

A line of cars with their lights on drove toward the Peninsula, which leads to Arkham Asylum. About twenty days ago, the Suicide Squad caused a riot in front of Arkham Asylum, which allowed some of the patients to escape the Peninsula and return to Gotham City.

Although inefficient and time-consuming, Gotham City police eventually recaptured all the mental patients and prepared to transfer them to Arkham Asylum all at once.

The Penguin, sitting in the transport vehicle, looked extremely grim. A large, newly emerged gang in Gotham City had seized most of his businesses. Although he had visible corporate revenue, losing the fruits of his life's work was something no one could easily be happy about.

This time, the other side also launched a surprise attack on the Penguin's base, openly dragged him out, and dumped him at the entrance of the Gotham Police Department, along with a large amount of criminal data, various bills, and a large number of smuggled firearms.

With things having come to this point, the Gotham Police Department couldn't possibly release the Penguin. After a cursory process, they followed the usual procedure and prepared to throw this short, seemingly mentally unstable man into Arkham Asylum.

That being said, if the Penguin could get out of Arkham Asylum, he could certainly make a quick comeback. Although most of his assets had been taken away, as long as he still had the funds and connections, he was very confident that he could command a large following in the Gotham underworld.

Of course, this is all based on the premise that the Penguin actually manages to get into Arkham Asylum and successfully leave...

Riding his modified motorcycle, Edward, dressed in a tight-fitting suit, watched the convoy slowly leaving Gotham Bridge and heading towards Arkham Asylum in the distance, and breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, he was only here on his own initiative. If there was a reason... he probably thought that a psychopath like Baiana would definitely not let these people go, and in that case, she might very well just come here and kill them all.

However, I seem to be too tense. Even a madwoman like Baina wouldn't directly attack a fully armed convoy.

Looking at the increasingly gloomy sky and remembering the typhoon warning on TV, Edward prepared to leave. Although his modified motorcycle had thick armor, he still had the common human fear of being blown away by the typhoon, so he decided to leave first.

Just as Edward turned the car towards the left side of the Gotham Bridge, his expression froze. In the turbulent riverbed, above the undulating currents, stood a figure wearing a black windbreaker and a white mask.

Beneath the figure's feet, shimmering, turquoise ripples spread out like radiating patterns, and with a single step, the figure was ten meters away. The mere hundred meters was traversed in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the Gotham Bridge, which was now almost within reach, Baina glanced at the convoy above, then lightly touched the water's surface with her foot.

"Rise!" With a soft shout, a water column as thick as a bucket shot into the sky. Standing atop the water column, Bai Aina was enveloped in a layer of fine orange lightning, repelling all the water droplets that tried to approach her.

For normal Ripple Qigong practitioners, they can only release and transmit Ripple through their limbs. Therefore, for the convenience of combat, they usually use biological tissues to enhance their combat techniques, such as insect intestines or plant oils.

But Baina is different. She is the ultimate perfect being. She only needs to modify her skin and use it as the best medium for transmitting ripples to release orange electric-like ripples from every part of her body.

As Baiana slowly descended from the water column, she simply stood there, yet exuded an indescribable aura. The difference in their social standing made everyone present, even Edward, unable to muster any resistance in the face of this seemingly ordinary girl. A deep-seated fear made them unable to move, with only their fingers trembling uncontrollably.

It was as if a god had descended to earth. No one present had ever seen such a being before. That small figure was terrifying, like a god or a demon!

It's not actually that mysterious. Bai Aina simply used the mental abilities developed through the sandalwood mask to stir up their fear and instill a strong suggestion of 'obedience' into their hearts, making them afraid to resist or stop.

Of course, achieving such an effect was unexpected even for Bai Aina herself, but now she is slowly walking towards the escort vehicle.

"Stop!!!" A voice filled with anger and righteousness rang out. Edward, who had taken off his motorcycle helmet, looked at Bai Aina not far away and straightened his back with great difficulty.

One, two, three... countless voices screamed in his mind, inside his body, urging Edward to leave and get away from that demon.

"What are you doing!" Without hesitation, Edward opened his palm, revealing the dark muzzle of a gun. He inserted a specially made compressed battery into the groove of his elbow and pointed the gun at Baina, who was standing not far away.

No problem, at this distance... I'm sure I can hit her. The tactical goggles linked to the robotic arm indicated that Edward had locked onto Baina, and with just a thought, the high-powered laser would pierce through the girl's body.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Bai Aina's tone was unusually indifferent, yet her words were remarkably polite. This surprised Edward, who wondered why she had suddenly become so courteous.

"What is your purpose?" Edward stopped moving forward after getting a certain distance from Baina and asked her, word by word.

"Me? I have many purposes. After all, everyone has many thoughts in life, right?" She spoke slowly and deliberately, her expression and words giving the impression of being a gentle and refined girl. "Of course, if you're talking about now... it would probably be sending those people who should have died long ago to hell."

"Someone who should have died long ago?" Edward was slightly taken aback, seemingly not quite understanding.

Seeing that Edward didn't seem to understand her meaning, Baina patiently explained, "It's those mental patients. They should have died long ago. But we can spare them. We can give each of them a granulation tissue for mental rehabilitation and let them give back to society."

“Who gave you that right? You’re far too arrogant.” Frowning, Edward recalled Gordon’s advice and knew that no one had the right to force a decision or change someone else’s mind.

“No one gave me this right. This isn’t arrogance; it’s just something I had to do.” Bai Aina pointed at Edward and said with a smile, “How is it? That arm is working quite well, isn’t it? It’s much better than your original one, isn’t it? According to your thinking, this is also a kind of arrogance, after all, I inexplicably cut off one of your hands, reattached it to you, and injected you with the enhancement serum.”

"But isn't it you, who sees yourself as a victim, who is the biggest beneficiary of this arrogance?"

Edward was furious when the matter was brought up, and just as he was about to continue speaking and arguing, Baina suddenly frowned.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: My Heart and My Actions, Clear as a Mirror

At some point, a light drizzle began to fall from the gloomy sky. The rain was so fine that it seemed more like a thin mist enveloping the Gotham Bridge than rain.

But even in this drizzle, figures clad in black combat suits beneath light armor, carrying samurai swords and wearing midnight snack masks, blended into the scene. These were the Court of Owls' direct assassins, known as Claws.

In the past, they were orphans adopted by the Court of Owls. After their deaths, they were resurrected by injecting Dionysus Factor, which was used to modify their bodies and brainwash them, giving them superhuman strength and agility, as well as near-immortality.

Despite their exceptional skill in concealing their heartbeats and footsteps, making no sound even when moving in large groups, and even having successfully ambushed Batman, they were facing Beaune, a perfect being.

The reason isn't complicated: their life magnetic fields are simply too conspicuous. Unlike Kars in the original work, Beaina uses her perfect creature abilities more skillfully. Although she looks very similar to a normal human, her physical structure has little to do with that of a normal human.

In place of the uterus is a special organ called the ampulla of Lorenz, which sharks evolved in the deep sea to replace their five senses. Its function is to sense electromagnetic waves and weak electric currents. With the enhancement of perfect organisms, it can even clearly judge the strength of biomagnetic fields.

The biomagnetic field of the Claws hidden in the rain and mist was even stronger than that of Batman, as dazzling as a fire in the darkness. Compared to the fireflies around them, it was impossible for Bai Aina not to notice them.

"What are you looking at?" Edward noticed that Beaina was looking around, so he also looked around through his tactical goggles. He was immediately alarmed when he noticed several claws lurking nearby.

"You all must have come here in this weather for a reason, right?" Before immediately launching a fatal attack, Bai Aina asked the eight Claws very politely.

The reason the Claws came here was very simple: Baiana threatened the Court of Owls' control over the city. Although they had all been brainwashed into loyal agents of the Court of Owls, the Claws still possessed excellent judgment.

After realizing that both the superhero rookie and the target had discovered his presence, the commander of Claws stopped hiding and stepped forward.

This is… Noticing the other party's attire, Edward instinctively became wary. Although the killing intent honed by Claws in life-or-death situations had been actively suppressed, it felt like a needle pricking the skin to Steel Wrist's keen senses.