American comic book: After mastering resurrection, I became incredibly popular.

“Bruce, you almost died,” Jason said.

“I know,” Bruce nodded.

“I thought you were going to become the Joker,” Jason said in a low voice. “I didn’t expect you to wake up on your own. I knew then that the Joker had shown you mercy.”

"You sound unhappy?" Bruce said with a wry smile.

"..."

“Anyway, it’s all thanks to you guys,” Bruce said. “Without you, I wouldn’t have woken up at all.”

Jason didn't understand Bruce's meaning, nor did he know what Bruce had experienced in his dream, but his heart was already wavering. He was examining himself and his actions. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "I won't leave here for now. Everything will have to wait until Barbara wakes up. But don't expect me to be following you around like a lapdog in the future."

His tone was fierce, but Bruce gave a faint smile: "Okay."

Wang Baixi muttered to himself, "That's it? I thought you were going to have a good cry together."

"Shut up," Bruce and Jason said at the same time.

“Alright, alright, when father and son are of one mind, their strength can break metal.” Wang Baixi raised his hands, making a gesture of surrender.

Chapter 149 The Thief in My Heart

Late at night.

Inside the Batcave, Bruce sat in front of the Bat Computer.

Right now, everyone else has gone to rest, but Barbara is still in the cryogenic chamber. Her vital signs are stable now, and Bruce has come up with a plan. He sent a text message to Gordon in Barbara's voice, saying that Barbara went to the Metropolitan Hospital for treatment with friends, and even forged travel records to avoid Gordon's verification.

However, there was still one thing he couldn't figure out.

At this moment, Bruce had already accessed the logs of Wayne Enterprises' security system and begun investigating what Laughing had done with his iris information.

The anti-tracking system revealed that Laughing Hare did indeed attempt to unlock Wayne Enterprises' storage area using his iris data. But beyond that, there was another record hidden deep within the logs, pointing to the Batcave's internal systems.

Bruce's hands stopped on the keyboard.

He opened the hidden access log and found that Xiaoke had not deleted or modified any data, leaving only a video file.

What kind of video will it be?

He clicked on the video, and Xiao Ke's face immediately appeared on the screen. He was sitting in a dimly lit room, facing the camera, his smile unusually calm.

"Hey Batman. If you're seeing this, it means you're awake. I guessed it, you always pull through."

Bruce stared at the screen without moving.

"Yes, I can access the Batcave's system, but I can't do anything about it. After all, your security system is too tight. But it's okay. Actually... I just wanted to leave you a message."

At this point, Xiaoke leaned back.

“I acknowledge you, Batman. You and I are the same kind of people. We both wear another face, we both can’t stop. The only difference is that you stand in the light, and I stand in the shadows.”

Bruce's breathing was very light.

"Another face"?

He knew very well that before becoming the Joker, the Laughing Man was a circus performer. He once had a normal family and a normal life, but due to the accidental death of his wife Jenny and the pressure of life, he was forced to participate in crimes. When Batman chased him in a chemical plant, he fell into a chemical pool and was disfigured, thus transforming into the Joker.

However, Bruce knew that these things were only the world as Laugher saw it. In reality, his wife and children were still alive, and Bruce had contact with them privately, but he deliberately kept Laugher's wife and children away from him.

Just as the Laughing Man worries that Bruce will no longer want to be Batman after his true identity is revealed, Bruce worries that the Laughing Man will go completely insane once his last veil of compassion is removed.

The clown continued, "...You can't drive me away, and you can't kill me all. You'll see me again in the future. Maybe with a different face, maybe with a different name."

Xiao Ke leaned closer to the camera and lowered his voice.

“I know how the Joker was created. You know it too, you just won’t admit it. Gotham needs a Batman, so it needs a Joker. This show isn’t over yet.”

The screen went dark.

Bruce leaned back in his chair, staring at the black screen, and didn't move for a long time.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Wang Baixi came over with two cups of coffee, placing one of them next to Bruce.

"Still not asleep?" Wang Baixi asked.

He doesn't need to fight crime today, does he?

“I can’t sleep,” Bruce said.

"What did you see?" Wang Baixi asked again.

Bruce pulled up the video again and showed it to Wang Baixi. After watching it, Wang Baixi scoffed, "He's really stubborn. Does he really think he can lose half the battle?"

“Some of what he said is true,” Bruce said in a low voice.

"Which part?" Wang Baixi picked up his coffee and took a sip.

“I do know how to create a clown; there’s a method,” Bruce said. “I’ve cracked the formula for the laughing gas virus…”

"So what? You're not going to mass-produce clowns to play house with, are you?" Wang Baixi joked.

Bruce didn't take the joke; instead, his expression became even more serious. He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, or rather, this was the subject all along.

"Your Majesty, there's something I've been keeping from you."

"What is it?"

"I was wary of you."

Wang Baixi's smile slowly faded, but he didn't show much surprise. He already knew. How could someone like Bruce not be wary of someone who suddenly appeared?

"I put a miniature explosive in your clear glasses. It's not very powerful, but it's enough to blow your brain apart."

Wang Baixi subconsciously touched his transparent glasses.

"And I also installed a tracker and a power-off device in the chassis of your car, and your owl... Hedwig, I also implanted a tracking chip in it."

Wang Baixi's expression froze.

No, it's one thing to be wary of one hand, but why be wary of so many hands?

I thought I was like Green Arrow, where all I had to do was break my arm!

His eyes widened, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out, "Bruce, you fucking bastard?"

I know you'll be angry.

"I just think it's outrageous." Wang Baixi subconsciously took off his glasses, held them in his hand, and examined them from all angles. "I wear this thing every day when I video chat with you. Does that mean every time I blink, I'm greeting death?"

“I haven’t detonated it yet,” Bruce said.

"Nonsense! What would have made me able to sit here and have coffee with you?" Wang Baixi threw his glasses on the table. "You're really something, Bruce. I thought you trusted me at least a little more than you trusted Jason."

“You’re too dangerous, which is why I need to be even more wary of you.” Bruce looked into his eyes. “Your Majesty, you don’t even blink when you strike. I see no bottom line in you.”

"Really? I have a lot of principles, okay?"

"What's your bottom line? The law?"

Wang Baixi was speechless for a moment after hearing that.

To be honest, people who take the law as their bottom line can be considered to have a flexible bottom line, but people who take the law as their bottom line... well, let's just say they're not that great.

“But none of that matters anymore.” Bruce’s tone softened. “I’ve taken all of that apart. Explosives, locators, listening devices, chips, everything.”

"When did this happen?" Wang Baixi asked.

Impossible, Bruce must be lying to himself!

"After returning from the factory of Mr. Freeze."

"why?"

“Because right now, the real danger is me, never you.” Bruce turned his head, his gaze falling on the blacked-out video window on the computer screen.

Wang Baixi frowned.

“King,” Bruce said with a sigh, “I’ve never said any of this to anyone. Dick, Tim, Alfred, they all idolize me to some extent. They see me as Batman, as the one who’s always prepared and always on the right side. But you’re different.”

“You’re exaggerating a bit in what you’re saying, and also: How am I different?” Wang Baixi asked.

“You don’t have any idol image to me,” Bruce said. “When you look at me, you only see an ordinary person who makes mistakes, lies, and is afraid.”

"I didn't expect you to think so highly of me." Wang Baixi awkwardly touched the back of his neck. "So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Bruce remained silent for a long time before saying, "I suspect the Joker isn't dead."

Wang Baixi's hand, which was about to be lowered, froze in mid-air: "Are you kidding me? I personally blew up the clown, and I personally smashed the laugher's head. The criminal was smashed into a pulp. All three of them are dead, and I killed them all with my own hands!"

“I know they’re dead,” Bruce nodded. “But the Joker I’m talking about isn’t outside.”

"Where is it?" Wang Baixi pressed.

“Here.” Bruce raised his hand, tapped his temple with his fingertip, then moved it down and pressed it against his chest. “The Joker lurks within me, in my mind.”

Wang Baixi stared at him, speechless for a moment.

No, brother, why did you change your confidence level?

“Do you understand what I mean?” Bruce continued, “It doesn’t make sense that I could break free from the nitrous oxide virus today through sheer willpower. The Joker told me himself that it was a specially made virus, designed specifically for me. How could a specially made virus be overcome by willpower alone? Unless…”

“Unless the Joker never intended to kill you with the virus,” Wang Baixi continued.

“Yes, that virus was just a trigger,” Bruce said. “What the Joker really wanted to do was to let his madness and thoughts enter my brain through laughing gas and then lie dormant. He’s said before that the ultimate Joker he wanted to create was me.”

Wang Baixi narrowed his eyes. "Bruce, I had Kelvin turn the entire Joker gang's hideout upside down. They found nitrous oxide, the formula, tapes, and a whole bunch of disgusting props. But nothing of it proved that the Joker could put his thoughts into other people's heads. The kind of thing you're talking about, we call it: magic."

“I know,” Bruce said.

"Then what makes you think he did it?" Wang Baixi asked.

“Intuition,” Bruce said. “My intuition has never been wrong.”

"...Wow, that's so authoritative."

“Wang, I’m not here to debate with you today.” Bruce sighed, turned around, and looked directly at Wang Baixi. “I’m telling you this today because I want to ask you for a favor.”

Please?

"Go on," Wang Baixi said, his expression turning serious.