Chapter 43 Going Home to Catch a Little Red Bird

The area around the formerly abandoned Goston Building has become a wasteland, reportedly due to excessive groundwater extraction causing cavities in the ground. Gotham's Wayne Enterprises has taken over the site and sealed it off.

Three figures suddenly appeared from the deep crater: Wen Yue, dressed in Red Robin's uniform; Jason Momoa, Red Hood; and Robin Dick. Players might recall that Gotham already has a Deathstroke-disguised Batman patrolling at night; just in case, it's best to avoid running into someone wearing the same outfit.

Wen Yue, who had worked all night, yawned and relaxed upon arriving in the familiar world. Looking around, she condemned the Court of Owls: "They said the courthouse built a base that hollowed out Gotham's underground! Look at how much this land has collapsed!"

Dick spoke up for the court, saying, "Didn't we blow it up?"

"They dug us out first before they bombed us; there's a cause for every effect. Regardless, it's all their fault." The players never engage in internal strife; a flawless logic shifts the blame.

In Gotham City, it was still dark, the sky not yet bright. Wen Yue climbed out of the crater, stepping over the rubble and broken walls. As soon as she peeked out, she saw a furtive figure. Wen Yue gestured behind her, and Jason and Dick, in unison, quietly peeked out.

After observing for a moment, Wen Yue recognized the person. A mischievous player, harboring ill intentions, stealthily approached the person diligently searching and rummaging through the gravel. "Tim, what are you doing up so late at night?"

Tim was startled, and the black metal piece in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. Wen Yue looked closely and exclaimed, "Good heavens, how did they dig up the fragments of the Batmobile 2?"

"Who are you? Do you know me?" Tim asked warily.

"I am Red Robin, oh no, you are Red Robin." Wen Yue shook her head inwardly. Now that she was back in her own world, why pretend? She should just give Tim back his identity as Red Robin.

Tim was dumbfounded: "?"

"Have you been investigating owls here these past few days? Or Batman?" Wen Yue asked. Otherwise, Tim couldn't have disguised himself so skillfully; his greyish-white clothes blended perfectly into the dilapidated building. Wen Yue also noticed many signs of ransacking along the way. Although everything had been put back in its original place, the friction marks hadn't been cleaned up, indicating that the perpetrator wasn't very strong or large. So it was this kid who left those marks.

"Do you know where Batman is?" Tim seized on the key phrase, since most people wouldn't know that Batman had disappeared from the Court of Owls base here. Tim discovered this on the day Batman's night patrol was replaced, and he had been investigating the original Batman's whereabouts these past few days. The last time the original Batman was seen was near the sewers, but the huge commotion here afterwards seemed to indicate the location of the final battle.

“Of course, let’s go home together.” Wen Yue extended an invitation, taking the opportunity to recruit Tim into the Bat Squad of this world.

Red Hood chuckled, "Much cuter than the one over there." This Tim hadn't received Batman training or Madam Shiva's martial arts instruction yet, so he wasn't as sharp or aggressive, and looked weak and easy to bully.

Dick seemed a bit reserved, lagging behind Tim as they walked together. He took off his Domino mask and said "I'm sorry." He remembered when he was still Claw, he was ordered by the court to kill Tim's father.

Tim paused for a moment, then quickly realized, "You're Claw from that day?"

"It's me, I'm so sorry..." Dick said weakly, bowing his head.

“You’re very different from that day. Does the Court of Owls’ claws brainwash people?” Compared to the cold claws he had before, Dick now looked like a child his age.

"Yes."

"You seem to have broken free of the brainwashing now. Was it Batman's doing?"

"yes……"

"Who were you before? A homeless child? You look somewhat familiar." Tim's gaze lingered on Dick's face.

“My name is Dick Grayson, and I used to be an acrobat.” Dick’s voice lowered.

“Flying Grayson? I saw your circus performance before, the last one, so that’s when the Court of Owls turned you into claws…” Tim realized his words were inappropriate: “I think I’ve offended you a bit, sorry.”

"It's okay." Dick was unusually well-behaved and considerate today; he was practically an angel.

Tim relaxed and continued to ask, "Did they kill your parents?"

"No, it's the local gang."

"Is that so..." Usually, the killer is a beneficiary of the system, but he might be wrong. Gotham's gangs are used to acting arrogantly, and it's possible that they might impulsively kill to protect the gang's reputation... Tim was so engrossed in thinking that he almost tripped on the uneven gravel road, but Dick reacted quickly and helped him up.

“Thank you…” Tim paused slightly, then reached out and touched Dick’s exposed skin. “Your hands are so cold. Is it because you haven’t grown up all these years?”

“Claws are all living dead, and I’m no exception.” Dick’s eyes dimmed. “I’ve been asleep in the courtroom all these years, and that’s probably why I haven’t grown up. The first thing I did after being awakened was to deal with Mr. Drake…”

Seeing Dick's guilty expression, Tim put his arm around his shoulder and said, "I forgive you. Actually, we are both victims in court."

Tim quickly changed the subject: "You were adopted by Wayne? I've seen your picture in the news."

"Yes."

"So Wayne is Batman?" Dick's Robin suit fit him perfectly, allowing for easy movement, and was made of a special material. It was clearly a custom-made suit with extremely high bulletproof protection, costing a fortune that ordinary people couldn't afford. Wayne, who adopted him, was the most likely candidate. Dick was taken away by Batman that day, and his masked appearance today was just like Batman's. As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," and those around masked vigilantes often follow suit and join the cause of justice.

Upon hearing Tim's question, Dick's gaze involuntarily fell on Wen Yue in front of him.

Tim noticed Dick's reaction, then suddenly realized and asked Wen Yue in front of him, "Are you Batman? Are you Wayne? Wayne is Batman?"

A series of questions came out without any hindrance, and Tim used this information and logical reasoning to analyze and deduce Batman's true identity in a short period of time.

Wen Yue's lips curled up, and she readily admitted, "Yes, Detective Duck." Dick was like a greenhorn in front of Tim, and before long, all his secrets had been dug up.

"Are you the 1001st question?" Red Hood shook his head and muttered to himself, "Actually, Tim here isn't that much cuter."

"Perhaps it's a million questions." Wen Yue smiled and slowed her pace to walk alongside the two behind her, gently placing her hands on each of their shoulders. "Alright, clever little detective, it seems we can't let you go. Come with us."

"Weren't they already leaving?" Tim said slyly. This group never intended to let him leave in the first place, and he didn't want to leave either. He could tell that Wen Yue and her group didn't have any ill intentions.

"It seems so." Wen Yue captured an external brain +1. As for whether Tim is willing to join? Never mind, once we've met him, he's a player. It's not safe to let Tim, with his adventurous spirit, continue investigating in Gotham.

"Who's been patrolling Gotham at night lately? Is it a double you hired?" Tim asked with great interest.

"I'm not a stand-in, just temporarily filling in. The one on night patrol now is the infamous Deathstroke, a mercenary. Being his employer puts my personal safety at great risk." Deathstroke was unhappy with his employer's words, as he had a history of killing.

"Welcome back in triumph." The voice of the world's consciousness rang in the player's ears. "I've arranged a car to pick you up."

Batmobile No. 3 came into view as it approached from a distance.

Wen Yue's eyes lit up. "Thanks! You're so reliable!"

Jason stared in disbelief at the Batmobile No. 3 that had pulled up in front of him. "What's going on? How did you get in touch with the Batmobile?" All the instruments had been damaged during the time travel, and he couldn't fathom how the players had managed to contact the Batmobile's AI driver to pick them up.

"Perhaps it's automatic," Wen Yue shrugged, brushing the question aside with a humorous tone.

Finally back in the familiar Batcave, unlike the Batcave in the vampire world, the Warm and Gentle Batcave only displays a few items. After all, the player hasn't been Batman for very long, and many collection cabinets are still empty of loot.

But isn't this also a kind of luck? The future tragedy has not yet occurred, the river of time has not yet sealed the door to hope, players still have the chance to prevent the birth of some criminals, and criminals have time to choose a different path at the crossroads of life. Many people who teeter on the edge of despair and are about to fall into the abyss may only lack a glimmer of hope.

Just like the Cryo-Freeze who diligently researched a cure for his wife, he was rescued by the player and given a position in the company before he even made his debut. He received substantial support from Wayne, who provided him with laboratories and funding. His groundbreaking cryogenic technology also generated significant profits and value for the Wayne Group, making it a mutually beneficial arrangement. If his angelic halo were still intact and had energy, he could have used Holy Light to heal his wife. However, there's no way to do that now, and the player plans to ask the world's consciousness tonight.

“Wow, cool! This is amazing. I’ve dreamed of this place countless times.” Tim walked into the Batcave, looking around excitedly. “It’s just a bit empty, but that’s understandable, considering Batman hasn’t been around for very long.”

"Look around as you please, but be careful of dangerous items." Wen Yue remembered that there were many powerful weapons with a wide area of ​​effect in the bat cave.

"What is this, the Red Hood's hood?" Tim held up the Red Hood on the table with both hands.

“I’m warning you, don’t touch my hood, it’s a bomb-themed one,” Jason said, taking a moment to look up and warn him as he started up the Batcomputer.

Jason and Dick still vividly remembered the last time the computer started smoking as soon as they turned it on. They were in a rush and didn't have time to check it then. Now Jason finally had time to figure out what was wrong with the computer. Dick also joined in to troubleshoot the computer problem.

"You, Jason, you still secretly stuffed bombs into your hood behind my back." Wen Yue put down Deathstroke's work log from the past few days and turned her sharp gaze to Jason.

"I wasn't wearing it, you know," Jason said guiltily, trying to clear himself up, stubbornly arguing, "Is it wrong to admire it?"

“I’m sorry.” Tim obediently lowered his hood, turned around and walked to the display case, bringing his face close to the glass with great interest. “My God, unbelievable. These are batarangs? So many styles.”

"You can pick any of these; consider them bat-themed souvenirs," Wen Yue said casually, waving her hand. These were bat darts that players kept as souvenirs; there were more than one of each kind, so feel free to take one as a nice bonus collectible.

"Thank you, I'm very interested." Tim opened the display case and began selecting items with great enthusiasm.