PFC Chapter 3776 Rapid Pursuit (21)
Chapter 3776 Rapid Pursuit (21)
Chapter 3776 Rapid Pursuit (Twenty-One)
Batman was in the office talking to Talia, mainly about the presidential election and his rivals. After about ten minutes, they suddenly heard a security alarm.
Soon, the head of security rushed into the office and said, "The surveillance system suddenly lost all connection, and someone broke into the laboratory on the 19th floor!"
"A lab?" Batman knew perfectly well what had happened, but he feigned ignorance and said, "The lab on the 19th floor is just a regular lab. What's the point of forcing your way in? Is anything missing?"
"No, it's just that it looks like a glass jar broke. Our people are still investigating the problem with the surveillance footage..."
“Alright,” Batman said, “but don’t make me feel like you’re deliberately trying to cause me trouble. I don’t have the patience of your former boss.”
The department head had already heard about Elliott's death. The head of security wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "I will give you an explanation before you come to work tomorrow morning."
After he left, Talia stood up with a serious expression and said, "It's the Court of Owls. It must be them. They're deliberately causing you trouble if you don't cooperate with them."
“But attacking those ordinary labs is pointless,” Batman said, putting down the documents in his hand. “If that’s all they’re capable of, we’ve already won.”
Talia was somewhat displeased with his nonchalant attitude, but didn't say anything. The two briefly discussed campaign strategies, and then Talia hurriedly left, clearly to deal with the Court of Owls.
Batman turned on his computer again to check the surveillance equipment. Although the Wayne Tower's surveillance system had been temporarily offline, the cameras he had placed were unaffected.
Surveillance video shows that Jason Todd, the Red Hood, hacked into Wayne Enterprises' surveillance system and took away the Laughing Man's head.
But he didn't seem to have been brainwashed. It seemed that the Laughing Maniac had told him something else through the employee, which prompted him to rush over and voluntarily steal the Laughing Maniac's head.
Batman thought for a moment and realized what the maniac had told him. He probably needed to make some preparations for this.
Arkham Asylum was eerily quiet at night. The metal mask reflected a faint light that flowed along the uneven, ancient walls. Claw Dick was walking down a corridor in Arkham Asylum.
Bruce Wayne's return was too suspicious. His appearance was destined to disrupt the existing good situation, which would jeopardize the interests of the Court of Owls. After leaving Wayne Enterprises, Dick immediately began his investigation.
He wanted to know what was happening inside Arkham Asylum.
Even if Elliott was completely useless, he couldn't possibly make someone who had been locked up here for decades suddenly appear so energetic and vibrant afterward. Dick felt there was definitely something wrong. So, he went to Arkham Asylum to investigate.
Elliott did not disappoint him. He was not careful enough in preserving certain top-secret documents, and was seriously lacking in vigilance. Dick, on the other hand, was an expert in this area. In the laboratories of Arkham Asylum, which resembled a human experimentation site, Dick found clues related to "human cloning experiments."
From these materials, he learned that Elliott had complex feelings for Bruce Wayne. From childhood, he knew he couldn't compare to the boy next door. Little Bruce was smart and handsome, the "other kid" his parents always talked about.
Elliott felt genuinely happy when the Waynes died. He was gloating. But when he learned that his parents were going to adopt Bruce, he was devastated because his childhood role model would come into his home and make him feel utterly inferior.
Filled with resentment and malice, Elliott began to constantly provoke Bruce's mental state by mentioning his parents' deaths. Perhaps it was divine intervention, but Bruce's mental state did indeed begin to deteriorate step by step, eventually leading to his admission to a mental hospital.
But Elliott wasn't having an easy time either. As he grew older, he realized he was no match for Bruce. In fact, as a teenager, Elliott wasn't even as smart as Bruce was as a child. Elliott was envious of Bruce's intelligence and desperately wanted it.
He began conducting human experiments on Bruce Wayne, trying to figure out why he was so intelligent. But he clearly couldn't crack the code of God's creation. So he changed his approach; he wanted to clone Bruce Wayne's body and then transfer his soul into the new body, thus gaining Bruce's intelligence.
Upon seeing this, Dick was horrified. He thought he had guessed the truth—the returning Bruce was not the real Bruce, but a clone of Bruce Wayne, and Elliott's soul resided within him.
This is no wasted effort. Besides granting Elliott access to Bruce's wisdom, he gains the identity of Bruce Wayne, making his control over the organization more legitimate. The voices of opposition within Wayne Enterprises will gradually subside. Furthermore, he can use the identity of Bruce Wayne to run for president; his mysterious past and tragic experiences will garner him more votes.
Dick felt a chill run down his spine at Elliott's intelligence and ambition. But he couldn't let him succeed, because the presidency must not be handed over to the League of Assassins.
His only option now is to find the real Bruce Wayne and get him to expose Elliott's conspiracy. Only then can the Court of Owls turn the tables.
By observing the lab logs, Dick learned that Arkham Asylum had a top-secret laboratory. If the real Bruce was hiding in Arkham Asylum, then he must be there.
The secret laboratory was built underground. Dick silently sneaked into the first basement level. He arrived at the laboratory door, but heard faint voices coming from inside.
“I saw him. He was more cunning than ever before. I sensed a certain evil aura emanating from him. He was very wary of me.”
"You should kill him."
"I...I don't think I can do it."
"How is this possible?! You received training from so many masters, honing yourself into a true revenge machine, yet you can't kill a clone controlled by an idiot?!"
Dick listened to the voices coming from inside the door. Although he didn't know who the two people talking were, he felt his guess was correct. The Bruce Wayne outside was an imposter, a clone controlled by Elliott.
“I need help,” the deep voice said. “I have to defeat him and take back everything my parents left me.”
“I will help you,” another voice said. “First, we must disrupt his cooperation with the Assassins' Guild so that we can divide and conquer them…”
“Perhaps I can help you,” Dick said from outside the door. “The Court of Owls can help you.”
The lab door opened, and Dick saw a strong figure covered in bandages standing by the window, while another person, slightly thinner, was wearing a janitor's uniform and laughing like a madman.
“What exactly do you mean?” Jason stared intently at the head in his office at the Red Line Defense Group building. “What do you mean Bruce Wayne is a fake?”
“I know you might not believe it.” A maniacal laugh echoed through the office. “But this Bruce Wayne isn’t some little boy from an asylum. He’s stronger and tougher. You don’t want to live in his shadow forever, do you? First Elliott, then Bruce. When will poor little Jason get his turn?”
“Shut up!” Jason’s face darkened. “As long as he can maintain his contract with the defense group…”
“You know he won’t. He won’t trust Elliott’s men. He’ll use a different group. Those Wayne Enterprises veterans have long been dissatisfied with you…”
“What evidence do you have?” Jason asked.
“Let’s make a deal,” said the Bat Who Laughs. “You do me a favor, and I’ll give you the evidence you want.”
"What is it?" Jason asked.
"Help me kill someone, then bring the body to me. It's that simple."
Batman, who was eavesdropping on Jason's conversation through a bug on his body, began to ponder. It seemed the Batman Who Laughs wasn't planning to wait for Schiller to carry out his plan. Come to think of it, if Schiller were to resurrect him, even if he could weaken the new Batman Who Laughs, he himself would become weaker. Wouldn't all that work have been for nothing?
More importantly, maniacal laughter would absolutely eliminate any risk of becoming Elliott. Most of the universe's Silence is a poor imitation of Batman; it's better to kill him than to let him be Silence.
If someone can be so lively even with only their head remaining, then perhaps finding a corpse, cutting off its head, and grafting it back on could actually bring them to life. Therefore, his request for a corpse isn't unexpected for Batman. But who will his target be?
Arkham Batman? That's possible. Using the Red Line Defense Group to kill him, then getting his body and trying to take over the rendezvous with the Overlord—that's a good option. But Batman's instincts tell him otherwise. Arkham Batman is just too powerful; the Laughing One is practically nothing but a head now, he probably won't easily provoke him.
Himself? That would be a decent, albeit less ideal, choice. But now that he's successfully replaced Bruce in this universe, is running for president, and has the League of Assassins' backing, Jason will have an even harder time getting to him. The chances aren't very high.
So perhaps it's Batman from this universe? Batman thought it was highly likely. He'd just met the Silent Batman with the Laughing One, and this guy was clearly trained; while his skill level might not be top-tier, it was certainly above average. And being alone and without anyone to protect him, he was obviously an easy target.
Batman was certain of his guess. He calmly picked up his water glass, took a sip, and pondered how to protect the Silent Batman without making a sound. Then he heard Jason's voice coming through the bug:
"Kill someone? Kill whom?"
Schiller Rodriguez.
Batman spat out a mouthful of water.
I have gastroenteritis again. Sorry for being late.