amaotonovel Chapter 3880 The Nameless Bat (5)
Chapter 3880 The Nameless Bat (5)
Chapter 3880 The Nameless Bat (50)
“It really was the Eden Killer,” Natasha said, narrowing her eyes. “The woman who killed her husband died of a drug overdose. So that’s another man and a woman. And the couple killed by their son was also one of them. It’s highly likely that the Eden Killer did it.”
"He must have manipulated them through emails or something similar, making them fight amongst themselves. He put pressure on the Penguins to release the prisoners. What will the Penguins do?"
Just then, Schiller suddenly stood up. Immediately after he stood up, there was a knock on the door. Natasha instinctively grabbed her gun, but Schiller walked to the door and opened it.
A bodyguard with a gun stood at the door and said, "Boss, please come in. Professor Rodriguez and Agent Romanov, please come with us."
Schiller and Natasha left the room with the bodyguards, but Natasha remained vigilant. The bodyguards might also be manipulated and could turn around and shoot them at any moment.
Fortunately, the bodyguards successfully led them to the Penguin's room without any mishaps. But even after seeing the Penguin, Natasha didn't put down her gun. After all, who knew if the Penguin was being manipulated?
“Don’t be nervous, ma’am. I’ve called you here to seek technical assistance.” The Penguin’s gaze fell on Schiller. “I need to know if what the boy said is true, or if there are any details he’s overlooked. I’ve heard that you once mentioned hypnotic interrogation methods when you were teaching at the FBI.”
Schiller nodded and said, “There is indeed such a method, and it is mostly used for witnesses who are mentally unsound or too young. These people may not be lying intentionally, but they may have forgotten many things after experiencing a traumatic event, or they may have been manipulated by others to conceal part of the truth. Hypnotherapy can help them remember those things.”
“Very well, I ask you to help our little boy recall who exactly instigated him to kill his parents.”
“I can help with this, but I can’t guarantee it will work,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “I’ll help you out because you’re genuinely interested in catching the killer.”
The penguin's expression softened slightly, but only slightly. He waved to Schiller, gesturing for him to go to the next room. When the door opened, Natasha saw the little boy sitting in a chair, fiddling with a toy robot.
"What did he tell you?" Natasha asked.
The Penguin briefly recounted what had just happened, and then he saw the female agent show a hint of hesitation.
"You know something, don't you?"
Natasha paused, realizing that the people in this city were exceptionally perceptive. But thinking about it, it made sense; those who could survive in a city like this were probably even more astute than agents. The Penguin not only survived but rose to a high position, evading countless assassination attempts. Even as an agent, he could easily be caught red-handed.
“Have you ever thought…” Natasha paused slightly, then said, “that what the child said is true.”
"Just because he's a kid?" The Penguin's tone turned dismissive. "You should put away your useless sympathy, outsider. Gotham kids are all born liars, the kind you can't even detect with your lie detectors. I think that guy's a born bad seed, destined to be a supervillain. He's completely made up an excuse..."
"Okay, I'm sure you know that the CIA has some special intelligence sources, especially since I was sent by Batman. I can only tell you that this isn't just happening in your area. And based on the existing clues, the Eden Killer might not even be human."
The penguin paused for a rare moment. He stared at Natasha and said, "Not necessarily human? What do you mean?"
"The child said that his robot friend instigated him, is that right?"
“Yes, but that sounds ridiculous. And it’s not even a real robot; it’s just a robot-shaped toy, the kind made of plastic…”
"There's a sound-generating device on it."
"Yes, but it can only tell children's stories or imitate robot transformation sound effects. Do you expect this thing to grow a brain and incite others to kill?"
“I’m afraid it’s not what you think,” Natasha said, shaking her head. “I’m just asking you, do you have a place where you can completely block out internet signals? Ideally, a place that has never had internet access long before the Eden Killer appeared.”
The penguin narrowed his eyes. He stared into Natasha's eyes and said, "You should know that someone like me has more than one safe house. To protect against hacking, there's no internet, and no electricity either. What's wrong?"
“You should say what you have to say there,” Natasha shook her head at him.
The penguin grew increasingly agitated, as the information Natasha had revealed was clearly beyond his comprehension. He desperately wanted to know more, but also realized this wasn't the right place to talk. And he couldn't leave for the time being.
A few minutes later, Schiller came out of the room, looked at the Penguin, and said, "He wasn't lying. And I did see the scene in his memory where he was talking to his robot toy friend."
"Dialogue? So that damn plastic toy can actually talk?"
“Yes. Don’t look at me like that, Mr. Cobblestone. If we were in cahoots, you wouldn’t have had the chance to ask so many questions.”
"You're all in cahoots with Batman, aren't you?"
“That’s right, but even you have to admit that Batman would never become an assassin. So for now, you’re on Batman’s side,” Natasha said. “If you want to know more, take us to your safe house.”
The Penguin looked thoughtful, but then shook his head and said, “No, I need more concrete evidence. Since you have dealings with Batman, you should know that there are too many strange things happening in this city. Those lunatics are always lurking in the shadows, and it’s not surprising that they can do anything. If you want to convince me that these recent murders may actually be caused by some supernatural force, I need to see it with my own eyes at least once.”
Natasha sighed and said, "Since you insist, I have nothing to say. I can only tell you that Chief Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, is a very skilled hacker, and perhaps she can give you what you want."
“I’ll figure something out,” the penguin said.
“Your time is probably running out, Mr. Cobblestone. The gang has surrounded the area.” Schiller looked out the window; many cars were parked around the manor, and everyone was clearly armed. But perhaps because the situation hadn’t escalated to the point where a large-scale shootout was necessary, everyone was still observing.
The Penguin finally made up his mind. He said, "If there is one person in Gotham who will always stand on the side of justice, I believe it is James Gordon."
After saying that, he turned to his subordinate and said, "Go and invite Chief Gordon over. While you're at it, go to his house and invite Miss Gordon over as well. Show some courtesy; she's not one of our prisoners."
Schiller and Natasha returned to their room and did not participate in the conversation between the Penguin and Barbara Gordon. However, they both clearly believed that the Penguin could handle the Gordons.
To reiterate, the Penguin is arguably the easiest of all the bad guys in Gotham to deal with. He's simply trying to protect his own interests, and coincidentally, these interests happen to align with James Gordon's. Gordon has no reason to refuse him.
The only real danger is involving her daughter. But even if the Penguin doesn't target Barbara, she'll inevitably have to deal with the Eden Killer sooner or later. She might have already clashed with him, almost catching him red-handed.
“The Penguin is clever; he’ll find a way to lure the other person out.” Schiller turned on the coffee machine in the room, slowly pressed the button, and said, “The Eden Killer will try to apply more pressure, so he will definitely strike again. The next time he strikes will be a good opportunity for the Penguin.”
"Who will he use as bait?" Natasha said. "It has to be a man and a woman, with some emotional entanglement, both having weaknesses, and preferably able to die together..."
Natasha spoke slower and slower, then stared intently at Schiller and said, "So what you said to me in the banquet hall was meant for the Eden Killer?"
"Come on, what kind of emotional entanglement is the Soviet Union?" Schiller turned to look at her. "What weakness do you expect the Eden Killer to find in this kind of relationship?"
“For example… I betrayed my faith or something,” Natasha said. “He might email you saying I’m a traitor and then tell you to kill me or something.”
“Interesting,” Schiller commented. “He can’t even understand the feelings between men and women, how can you expect him to understand the feelings between comrades who share the same ideals? Besides, I never said I was your comrade.”
“Okay, that’s a bit ahead of its time. Wait a minute, does that mean you’re using this method to exclude us?” Natasha suddenly realized, and said, “It’s clear that the Eden Killer has made progress in his understanding of love, desire, and family. So if we act like lovers, or just like friends with a bit of ambiguity, he might still harass us. But if we mention things like ideals and homosexuality, he’ll know that’s outside his comprehension, so he definitely won’t target us.”
“You can understand it that way if you want,” Schiller said.
Just as Natasha was about to say something more, there was a knock on the door. They were then taken to the Penguin's office.
"To make a long story short," the penguin coughed twice, "we need bait."
Natasha turned to look at Schiller. Only then did she realize that this wasn't entirely about getting the Eden Killers out of the game, but also about having a legitimate reason to refuse the Penguin's demands.
This is actually quite difficult, because the Penguin's demands are very reasonable. After all, if other people are used as bait, not to mention whether they can manage their emotions and not reveal any flaws, if the Eden Killer really finds their weaknesses and makes them turn against him on the spot, then the Penguin will become the clown.
Schiller and Natasha, however, both had close ties to law enforcement. Such law enforcement personnel are generally not afraid of being caught red-handed. If you try to blackmail a CIA agent with past misdeeds, that would at least constitute a crime of leaking state secrets and espionage. CIA agents themselves know this, so they are generally not threatened.
Furthermore, since they are all Batman's people, Batman will help them solve some problems. Natasha is also very strong, making her the perfect choice to act as bait.
The penguin is in a bad mood right now. Despite his apparent composure, he's like a volcano on the verge of eruption. If you start arguing with him now over a disagreement, it's hard to say what he might do.
However, if it's due to force majeure, it's much easier to refuse. After all, the bait needs to be effective; if it expires prematurely, it's definitely unusable.
But Natasha also found it difficult to explain how her complicated relationship with Schiller had influenced the Eden Killer's choices. She had several possible explanations in mind, but they all felt like deliberate excuses.
Just then, she heard Schiller say, "I'm afraid that won't work, Mr. Copperpot."
"Why?" The penguin's tone suddenly turned somber, his gaze fixed unfriendly on Schiller and Natasha.
"Because we are both KGB agents. (Russian)"