Chapter 96 Arkham Knight

This should be the most prosperous area in Gotha.

The high-rise buildings are like undulating mountains, together with the viaducts and tarmac roads, they form the steel skeleton of a city. Under the gloomy sky, the twinkling lights are like flowing galaxies, rippling with the waves surrounding the islands and drifting into the distance. The moonlight is covered by thick clouds, and the bat lights are replaced, hanging high in the sky.

but.

This is not a peaceful place.

Under the prosperity lies an unmistakable smell of decay. There are few vehicles on the road. Helicopters with searchlights hover over the city, and the sound of walkie-talkies can be heard from time to time. There are almost no normal residents on the ground. Mobs and militias with weapons roaming around occupy the streets and alleys. The air is filled with the smell of thick smoke. Gunshots can be heard from all directions, and sirens occasionally flash by. It's really strange. There are no ambulances, no fire alarms, no people's discussions and reporters' reports. This is an empty city, like an old man who is about to die, and every wrinkle on his skin exudes the breath of death.

Everyone else evacuated.

A voice said in his heart.

Those left behind are either hopeless scum and death row inmates, or idealists who try to perish along with these parasites.

That's it, he thought.

Ah...sorry, my summary is not comprehensive enough.

The voice spoke again.

Some people are both, right, Bruce?

The second half of the sentence was drawn out, revealing a disgusting sticky feeling.

"Little ugly".

Moses came up with the name.

"It's me! It's me!" After his identity was exposed, Xiao Chou immediately gave up his pretense and laughed recklessly. He didn't have much patience in the first place. "Oh my God, Bruce, what is going on? Why am I in your mind?"

"..." So annoying. I always feel like this scene has happened before, and this time Xiao Chou's heartbeat is especially clear, as if he really exists.

But Moses remembered nothing.

His memory is blank, and the only person who can relieve his boredom is a psychopath.

The criminals below had no idea that Batman was squatting on the roof behind them. They looked empty and lonely and could only rely on chatting to pass the time.

One of the strong men said: "I thought life would be better after Xiao Chou died."

"Yes," answered the companion, "I would rather please the little clown than face the scarecrow. I get creepy when I see his face."

As soon as the Scarecrow's code name appeared, it immediately attracted Moses' attention.

He realized that he was probably getting into some minor trouble caused by Dr. Crane, aka the Scarecrow. Well, considering the scale of the city's fall, this trouble was not small.

But why does he have no memory?

Besides, Xiao Chou... is dead?

He recalled some images.

It was an incinerator.

Joker, Batman's old rival, Arkham's number one madman, the source of evil who has killed countless people, lies in the flames with his eyes closed, with a frivolous smile on his face. However, his sins will end here, the flames will take away everything, burning tangible objects into black ashes. No one will be afraid of him, no one will remember him, and no one will die because of him. This will be the best ending that Joker is unwilling to face...

"What are you talking about?"

A familiar face suddenly appeared in front of the thoughtful Batman.

"Hahahaha, I'm here Bruce. Am I dead? I'm not dead, look at my arms and legs, they're as flexible as ever."

Xiao Chou took two steps on the rooftop and gave a weird smile to the man who completely ignored him: "Just ignore me, little bat. It's really sad. We are old friends. What's more, now, I will not die unless you die. Is there any greater relationship in the world than this? Of course not~"

Little ugly toxin.

Moses thought of another term.

Chou died, but before he died he injected several victims with the toxin in his body, which would turn anyone into Chou. These people were already controlled, except Batman. Yes, he was poisoned, and if it was not treated, sooner or later the madman would be reborn through his body.

Xiao Chou: "What are you going to do now? You look lost and sad. If you continue like this, you will become like old Gordon in less than five years. But you may not live to see that time, right? Hahahaha, don't be angry, I'm just joking. Of course I want you to live longer. Remember, as long as you are alive, I am alive, ahaha!"

Commissioner Gordon.

and his daughter, Barbara.

Moses remembered why he was standing here. Barbara Gordon was his assistant, the former Batgirl, but she lost her ability to walk because of Xiao Chou's revenge. He remembered the scene he saw when he arrived. The girl fell to the ground covered in blood, unconscious from a bullet wound in the waist. Xiao Chou had written a message on the wall in fluorescent green: "You dragged your friends into our crazy game, you should have known this would happen!"

Barbara later became a prophet with amazing perseverance and courage. She was still trying to help him, but he didn't tell his other collaborator, Commissioner James Gordon. If Jim knew... No! Stop! This is not something to consider now!

——Think about what you want to do.

The sharp pain in his head reminded him that he should not allow himself to indulge in the memories of the past.

Moses knew he had to find Barbara. The girl was now in the bell tower, and she could help him track down the scarecrow drug's production site.

Xiao Chou's figure and voice disappeared behind him.

He thought he was late, but the communicator didn't ring. Barbara was not a careless person, and this tiny detail made the Dark Knight suspicious, but when he rushed to the clock tower, he found that the scene was completely different from what he expected.

Barbara and Tim, who wasn't supposed to be there, were whispering to each other.

**

Barbara: "Your hair! Is it a buzz cut?"

Tim: "Stop, we can still be friends without this. What happened to your leg?"

"It was probably a worse accident than your hair change," Barbara said. "Don't look at me. You know the truth is, I'm fine."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "Alfred stayed in the Batcave. It seems I'm the only one who made it. Where are the others?"

"Dick is still in Bludhaven. Luckily, he was halfway there when we arrived in this universe. It seems that the original Nightwing is planning to come back to help after hearing about Gotham's movements. Jason didn't reply to me for the time being, he just reported that he was safe. Damian fell into a chemical plant. I told him to wait there and not to worry. We will rush over to help him."

"Do you think he'll agree?"

"Bruce taught him what to do when faced with an enemy he cannot defeat."

Robin points out the point: "There's Batman, what about the others?"

"...I don't know." Concern emerged on the prophet's pretty face. "I can't contact him at all. The bat lights above the GCPD are still on. What on earth is going on here?"

"Bruce said before that if we regard the universe as a program, this coordinate represents a bug that appeared at the beginning of its writing. If we want to prevent this bug from continuing to affect the stability of our universe, we must find the root cause of the bug and try to fix it."

"I don't fully understand the definition of 'error' yet. But from what I have observed so far, the difference between this city and the one we are familiar with is that there is an extra 'Wayne'."

"What?" Barbara's previous search focus was on recent major events in Gothen, and she didn't understand what Tim meant.

"The Wayne here is a surname that cannot be separated from the history of Gothic," Tim said softly. "You may not know that a long time ago, Batman, Catwoman and Red Hood entered a fragment of a parallel universe together. Wayne was not an outsider there either."

"I've heard of it," Barbara said quickly. "I've read about it, and some of your . . . conjectures. But I thought there was no evidence for it?"

"Indeed, it may be a conjecture that can never be confirmed." Tim walked to the computer and looked at the screen, which showed the photos and reports of Xiao Chou's death that Barbara had collected. His heartbeat accelerated a little because of the calm and shocking scenes in the photos, but he restrained himself from imagining the consequences of Xiao Chou's death at the first time.

"But I still think our goal is related to Wayne or Batman. In addition, everyone has entered their own bodies in the parallel world, and their age and era have changed, but Barbara here will not be able to stand up suddenly because of your arrival. So I think Batman is likely to have encountered trouble from that body, and internal or external factors prevented him from responding to us."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the gaze behind him and turned around abruptly.

I don't know how long the person they were talking about had been standing there.

Tim: “…”

Is it necessary to be so mysterious in front of your family? !

"Bruce?" Barbara, who was about to draw her gun, spoke immediately, "You're here! Great, I was just wondering..."

Robin put his hand on her shoulder to stop the girl from speaking any further.

He looked at the silent man suspiciously and asked tentatively, "What's wrong with you, Bruce?"

Moses felt dizzy.

He decided to blame his intermittent headaches and blurred vision on the nagging little clown who appeared next to him whenever he had time. Now this guy walked around the clock tower, tut-tutting and recalling how he pushed open Barbara's door with a gift and shot her in the face.

Amid the constant background noise, he said to Robin stubbornly without looking away: "You shouldn't be here. Where's Alfred?"

"He's staying in the Batcave. I've made arrangements for that," Tim replied.

He looked serious, as if he was pondering some complex problem of the century.

"...And Barbara, I asked you before where the Scarecrow poison was produced, and you said you had it ready."

"Yes," the prophet replied. Her expression was not quite right, but Moses could not figure out why. Batman became more and more alert, and his emotions gradually fell into a blank indifference and coldness as the waiting time increased. His fingers were already pressing on his belt.

"At the ACE factory," said the Prophet.

In fact, this is not the original survey result left by Barbara, but Damian's landing place.

Even if it was the same person, it would take some time to figure out the content that had been accurately encrypted by oneself, not to mention that Barbara had no idea what had happened until half a minute ago.

But she had to speak.

Anyone can tell that something is wrong with Batman.

The dark vigilante observed her for a moment and found nothing unusual. Tim broke the silence by saying, "I'll go with you."

"Can."

Tim gestured to Barbara from behind: Leave this to me.

Barbara nodded silently after Batman turned his head.

It is precisely because Bruce does not trust them now that he agrees to bring Robin with him, which in turn gives everyone a chance to find out the reason.

Before leaving, Moses looked back at Barbara.

The girl smiled as she sat in a wheelchair and watched the two men leave. Her blond hair was neatly combed and her clothes were tidy. She did not feel sorry for herself because of her disabled legs.

...This made his throat dry and difficult to breathe.

**

At this time, inside the ACE factory, Damian hid in the shadow of the building, while Scarecrow's subordinates shouted in panic: "I saw it! I really saw it! It's Robin!"

"That can't be Robin, you idiot! Robin isn't that young! When I find the kid who dared to tease me, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"

"But he's wearing Robin's uniform! Should we ask the boss what to do?"

Then Scarecrow's nonchalant voice sounded in a leader's earphone: "Why not ask my partner... What do you think, Arkham Knight? Are you going to kill that ignorant brat who sneaked in?"

Damian showed a disgusted expression.

Who would name themselves that?

Arkham? Knight?

Don't you feel uncomfortable being together?

For a long time, no one answered in the headset.

Just when the scarecrow was about to lose his patience, a voice that had obviously been through a voice changer said in an eerily calm tone: "Don't worry about him, he's a fake."

Damian holding the eavesdropping device: "..."