PFC Chapter 3913 The Nameless Bat (83)
Chapter 3913 The Nameless Bat (83)
Chapter 3913 The Nameless Bat (Chapter 83)
Gordon and Schiller sat in silence in the Joker's car the whole way. Gordon really didn't know what to say. The Joker's decision to help wasn't surprising; after all, this cybernetic lifeform had been diligently causing trouble for Batman, a clear case of a third party interfering. It would be strange if the Joker didn't hate it.
However, the fact that the Joker could drive a truck, and could do so calmly under such circumstances, truly overturned Gordon's stereotype of this madman.
Gordon had never been interested in the mental world of the mentally ill, so he assumed the Joker was mentally ill. In his mind, the mentally ill were incapable of taking care of themselves, spending their days either attacking others or rambling incoherently.
But at that moment, he suddenly realized that the Joker wasn't necessarily a patient. Driving requires not only a clear mind but also hand-eye coordination. And driving such a large truck in a storm isn't easy; several times, crosswinds from the side of the road nearly caused the truck to go out of control, but the Joker always managed to quickly regain control, proving his excellent driving skills. As a truck driver, he wasn't just serious, he was excellent.
While this truck has some special features, the current environment is even more harsh. If he were driving a regular truck under normal circumstances, the Joker could probably handle it just as well. So why doesn't he drive a truck?
Gordon had initially thought the Joker had completely lost his mind, which was why he was so determined to cause trouble for Batman, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. He couldn't help but wonder, if the Joker wasn't mentally unstable, why didn't he just live a peaceful life instead of constantly causing trouble for Batman?
The car quickly reached the highway exit. The Flash, sheltered under a billboard, was battered and bruised by the wind and rain. He was initially happy to see someone come to pick him up, but his smile vanished the moment he stepped into the car and saw the driver.
"you you you you you……"
Before the Flash could finish speaking, he turned around and saw Schiller sitting in the back, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Gordon really didn't know what he was so relieved about.
Fortunately, they arrived at the hospital without any major incidents. The running wheel was placed in a storage room on the top floor of the hospital. As soon as the Flash walked in, he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this running wheel is really beautiful. Batman didn't lie to me."
Although it's called a running wheel, it's actually like a large treadmill. The bottom is flat, and there's a semi-transparent cover on top. A bunch of pipes around it connect to a hemispherical energy conversion device, which seems to be used to collect and store the Speed Force.
The entire piece is made of bright silver metal with beautiful, flowing curves, looking like the kind of equipment you'd only see in a science fiction movie. It's really quite beautiful, and it perfectly matches the Flash's aesthetic.
Red Robin assembled the machine according to the instruction manual left by Batman. The Flash warmed up and tried it out on the treadmill. As he ran, golden light flashed inside the enclosure, and the converter next to him immediately lit up. With a "whoosh," the previously dim room was illuminated again.
All the police officers and paramedics cheered and rushed out to restart the surgery. Gordon breathed a sigh of relief and then asked Red Robin, "Did you pull the wires?"
Red Robin shook his head and said, "No, I also think your plan is good, so I wanted to try it out first, which is why I didn't pull the wires out."
"Is that possible...?"
“I’m afraid it will be difficult,” Schiller said. “The electronic life form should have been inside the Batcave the moment it opened. Now it’s just a matter of how long it will take him to completely decipher the equipment inside the Batcave and what he plans to do with it.”
“Oh, right,” Schiller said, as if suddenly remembering something, turning to the Joker, “Did it contact you?”
"Who are you talking about?" asked the clown who was wiping the rain off his head with a towel. "Oh, that ghost? It sent me an email with a bunch of weird stuff. I think it's completely insane, so I blocked it."
Gordon, standing nearby, was utterly at a loss for words. How could the Joker be so normal when Batman wasn't around? And he even had the audacity to accuse others of being crazy—was that reasonable?
“Indeed, if you can’t find any information, blocking is the best option, but I think it definitely sent messages to more than just you. I guess the Riddler might have fallen for it.”
The Joker frowned and said, “The Riddler? I’m afraid he’s not the only one. There are plenty of idiots in Arkham Asylum. Killer Croc can’t use a cell phone, Mudface is too stupid, Harley has forgotten her 12th email password, Harvey’s inbox is full of work emails, and I’m afraid Hugo and Teach will also choose to cooperate with that guy.”
"What I care about is why it chose Penguin's people again. The guy who died in the police station was someone Penguin had just bribed recently, which cost him a lot of money, and he probably even lost one of his men. He died so quickly, Penguin must be very angry."
"Of course it wants to provoke the Penguin, because the Penguin controls Gotham's high society. If he goes berserk, Gotham will descend into chaos even faster, and Batman won't be able to set up any defense network." A cold glint flashed in the Joker's eyes.
Schiller didn't say anything more; the Joker certainly knew what to do. Sure enough, not long after, Gordon received a report from his informant: the Penguin had been kidnapped by the Joker.
Because the area outside was flooded and it would be difficult to get back without a truck, they remained at the hospital. Gordon and Schiller were both in the top-floor lounge. Gordon was quite surprised when he received the call.
"What did you say? The Penguin asked me for help? I didn't even know Batman's last name was Gordon... Yes, I'm the police chief, it's my responsibility, but how am I supposed to help? I can't even swim!"
“It’s not that I don’t want to save him, but I can barely take care of myself right now, let alone the Joker who kidnapped him. If I could handle the Joker, I wouldn’t need Batman. Besides, he now has a truck that he can come and go as he pleases, making it even harder to catch him. Tell him to wait, maybe Batman will be back soon.”
Gordon didn't say much and hung up the phone immediately. But as he looked at his phone, his pupils contracted sharply, and he jumped up from the sofa.
Schiller turned to look at him, and Gordon said, "Tim has been attacked, I have to go save him!"
“Wait,” Schiller quickly called out to him, then said, “Are you sure it was Tim who sent you the text message?”
Gordon paused, then said, "Text messages can be forged, but the distress signal he sent was encrypted. It's a unique code that Batman uses to communicate with me, and electronic life forms couldn't possibly know it."
Despite Gordon's words, Schiller followed. They made their way to the hospital rooftop. After power was restored to the hospital, Red Robin must have left from here by plane.
He was indeed somewhat careless. The cybernetic lifeforms hadn't targeted his plane before because they needed Robin to open the Batcave's entrance, but now that they'd infiltrated it, Red Robin was useless. Modern equipment like planes are defenseless against cybernetic lifeforms and could very well be manipulated into crashing.
Fortunately, even the most advanced electronic life forms must abide by the laws of physics and cannot alter Earth's gravity, so they could parachute out during the crash. It's unclear whether Red Robin failed to parachute or was attacked after jumping.
Gordon observed the direction but couldn't discern anything. The distress signal from Red Robin didn't include any specific coordinates, so he could only guess the direction Red Robin had gone.
“Drake Estate,” Schiller said suddenly.
Gordon suddenly realized. Since they couldn't go back to the Batcave and Wayne Tower was without power, Red Robin would most likely choose to go find his family, especially since Alfred was there too.
He glanced in the direction of Drake Manor, then hurriedly ran downstairs. Luckily, the hospital managed to get a speedboat to use as an ambulance. Gordon borrowed the speedboat and sped off towards Drake Manor.
Schiller didn't go with him on the speedboat, but gave him the umbrella. About twenty minutes later, Gordon helped Red Robin into the hospital lobby.
Emergency room doctors and nurses rushed out, and Schiller also went over to take a look. Red Robin had been shot in the abdomen and had a slash wound on his arm. From Gordon's angry expression, it was clear that one of the police officers he had sent had defected.
Schiller's eyes darkened. He knew this had touched a nerve with Batman. If this electronic lifeform was merely using technical means to hinder him from building a defense network, Batman could patiently wear it down. But to directly cut off the hospital's power and then physically injure Robin was simply courting death.
Schiller didn't believe that the main universe Batman, who had already obtained magical energy, hadn't made any preparations. Sure enough, less than half an hour after Red Robin was injured, the main universe Batman appeared at the hospital.
“What’s going on?” he asked Gordon.
Gordon repeated it verbatim. The silence of the main universe's Batman began to fill the room with a somber, dark atmosphere.
“I originally planned to give it the Batcave. I set up many puzzles there. If it wanted to know my secret, it would definitely choose to solve them. Although I might not be able to stop it, it would be enough to delay it for a while. I didn’t expect it to still choose to hurt Robin.”
"What are you going to do now?" Gordon asked.
“I intended to stall it and then build a magical defense network. Once the network was in place, it would have nowhere to hide. But it seems it doesn’t want me to finish my job.”
There was an unspeakable sense of danger lurking in the tone of the main universe's Batman. Gordon had noticed that Batman had become more radical and aggressive since coming into contact with magic.
Schiller, however, knew that this had nothing to do with magic, but rather with Batman's contact with the multiverse. The situation in the multiverse forced him to step out of his comfort zone, to abandon his street hero identity, and to look towards Earth and even the universe. If he didn't, his own universe might become a casualty of the multiverse's great battle royale. In the event of future catastrophe, his universe would be among the slowest to react, and nobody wanted to be in that position, forcing him to run as fast as he could.
The main universe Batman remained silent for a long time, then he opened the Battlegrounds Communicator and sent the first message in a month in the Batman group chat: "Gather for a meeting."