amaotonovel Chapter 3878 The Nameless Bat (48)
Chapter 3878 The Nameless Bat (48)
Chapter 3878 The Nameless Bat (Forty-Eight)
Natasha nearly choked on her drink. She coughed violently a few times, forcefully pulled her red hair back, and stared at Schiller, saying, "What?!"
"I don't know what you're surprised about. He's the President of the United States. Which US president wasn't influenced by the Soviet Union?"
"But his Soviet Union in that universe is already..."
"It is precisely because it is dead that he wants to know what it was like when it was alive."
"Then why did he go and look through history books? Why did he come to me?"
"He is drawn to you, just like everyone else. Seeing the tombstone in your heart, he will surely wonder what kind of great ideal could make someone like you so devoted."
“Don’t they like to describe this as brainwashing? Like hypnosis or something?” Natasha said, frowning.
“Other presidents might, but do you think Batman is that stupid?” Schiller said with a smile. “Besides, the Batman you’ve messed with is exceptionally clever and decisive.”
Natasha opened her mouth, but didn't know how to respond. She said, "What does he want from me? Soviet intelligence?"
“Then he should go look through history books.” Schiller shook his head. “Even information not written in books, he can find a way to get it. Never doubt Batman’s technical skills.”
"so what?"
"He wanted to know the more abstract things. For example, what united the people of that land? What made them become the most powerful nation in the world in just a few decades? What makes someone like you willing to go through fire and water, risk your life?"
Schiller took a step closer, staring at Natasha, and said, “Batman always does the best. When he’s a vigilante, he saves the darkest cities; when he’s president, he builds the best country.”
Natasha felt increasingly uneasy as she listened: "He...he...no way?"
"Perhaps he didn't originally value that long-dead behemoth so much, but then you appeared—a person born in Stalingrad, who witnessed the glorious era, who came from among them, a steadfast and idealistic person. After he discovered your strength and excellence, he would especially want to know why all this time has occupied such a heavy weight in your soul. That's only human nature, madam."
Natasha tilted her head back in despair.
Schiller moved a little closer and said, “There must have been quite a few people like that in those days, right? They were initially attracted to you, then couldn’t resist, and finally disregarded everything. I’m afraid even you yourselves are amazed by your own allure.”
Natasha tilted her head slightly. She pursed her lips and remained silent, which seemed to be her tacit agreement.
“You’re in big trouble, madam,” Schiller said, raising his glass as if in celebration.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"
The scream interrupted Natasha's thoughts. She instantly switched into battle mode, subtly touching the gun strapped to her thigh and the widow's sting on her arm, and quickly walked into the crowd.
Schiller remained still, standing by the almost empty window, observing the crowd like an outsider.
An old man in a blue suit stumbled and fell into the crowd, followed by a woman who was sobbing uncontrollably. There was no doubt that they were not a couple—the old man's first wife looked extremely distressed.
Even a simple scene of catching someone in the act of adultery would be quite a spectacle. But after the old man got up, he stammered, "The washroom... there's a corpse in the washroom!!!"
The crowd scattered with a whoosh. But then the door opened, and in with the cold wind and dampness came heavily armed bodyguards. They blocked the door, preventing anyone from getting out.
"The Eden Killer has struck again!" The Penguin reappeared on the second floor, saying, "He killed one of you at my charity gala. He's incredibly audacious!"
Natasha turned her gaze away from him and stood in the crowd, turning to look at Schiller. Schiller slowly shook his head at her.
Natasha tried to move to the side, but her path was blocked by a tall bodyguard. From this angle, however, she could see the open door to the restroom—blood was slowly flowing into the corridor, and the smell of blood followed.
"Now, everyone go upstairs to your rooms!" the Penguin roared. "No one is allowed to leave until I find the killer!"
The bodyguards escorted the crowd upstairs, guns drawn and menacingly staring at everyone, as if the slightest delay would make them the prime suspects. Everyone hurried along, eager to cooperate, fearing the enraged fat man would come after them.
Only Schiller remained leisurely. As he passed the Penguin, he nodded at him and said, "A smart move, Mr. Cobblepot. But do you think this way the assassin can't kill anyone?"
The penguin's face remained as gloomy as ever, but he didn't respond, pretending not to hear. Schiller followed the bodyguard to a room on the third floor.
The Penguin had clearly planned this all along. There were plenty of empty rooms, and each one had been cleaned. However, he obviously didn't intend to have a room for each person; instead, he locked the two of them together.
Natasha was put in Schiller's room. Of course, this was definitely the Penguin's idea—although the female agent beat him up, he didn't believe Natasha was the assassin. So having her keep an eye on the highly suspicious Schiller was the best option.
Natasha remained vigilant, gun at the ready by the door, until all movement on the floor ceased. Only then did she holster her pistol, sit down on the chair by the window, and look at Schiller standing at the other window, saying, "You know something, don't you?"
"Indeed. But I assure you, I am neither the Eden Killer nor a copycat, and I haven't killed anyone recently."
“The key is that you know who they are, but you won’t tell them.” Natasha frowned, staring at him. “What benefit do you get from letting them kill people indiscriminately here? Why are you doing this?”
“You are the greatest benefit,” Schiller said, looking at Natasha.
“My God, if you weren’t so serious, I would have thought this was flirting,” Natasha said, waving her hands. “Now I’m starting to understand the agent. You can occasionally slack off, but you can’t be flirting all the time, can you?”
“I’m stating the facts.” Schiller shook his head slightly, adjusting his cuffs as he spoke. “It’s a good thing that you exist in both universes.”
His tone was serious, and Natasha couldn't detect a hint of joking in his voice, but the underlying meaning was indeed too abstract—what did he mean by saying that her presence here was a benefit? What good would it do to add a female agent to these two universes?
Natasha couldn't help but recall what Schiller had said earlier: Batman from Arkham was very curious about her and wanted to see what that miraculous kingdom was like through her. Perhaps this was the only unique thing about her.
"My God, no way!" Natasha couldn't help but roar, "I never paid attention in a single political education class back then. What I hated most was the nagging political commissar. I even stole his hat once because he made me copy things as punishment. You better not be saying I'm going to do this job!"
"What are you thinking about?" Schiller's slightly teasing voice rang out. "I'm referring to the exchange and cooperation between the two worlds. Although many people used to queue for the other side's instance, it wasn't as direct and indispensable as it is now."
Natasha coughed violently a few times. Fortunately, she quickly recovered and said, "You mean, this is just to strengthen the connection between the two worlds?"
“This is just the prelude.” Schiller’s speech was still slow, making one feel drowsy after just a few sentences. “We need a larger, broader, and more powerful alliance to deal with the greater dangers in both worlds. This requires someone to set a good example.”
Natasha instinctively sensed danger: "Framed the president and staged a murder are just the beginning. What exactly are you planning?"
“It’s us,” Schiller said. “From the moment you agreed to come here, you couldn’t escape. And because of Batman’s special interest in you, you might play a very important role.”
"Besides you, who else knows about this?"
“Schiller knows all of that,” Schiller continued. “Oh, except for the agent. He always sets off very quickly and usually doesn’t look at the memory bank.”
"So you all knew, but kept it from him?" Natasha showed a hint of disgust.
"Of course not. But it doesn't matter whether he knows or not. He doesn't care about these things at all. He's not interested in any grand conspiracies; he only focuses on the work at hand."
“He’s a bit too focused on the present,” Natasha couldn’t help but say. “He’s walked Batman around at least three times, but now he’s lying in the medical center like nothing happened. Batman even gave him painkillers.”
"Agents always find a way to escape."
"So what do you plan to do about this situation?" Natasha frowned again. "The Penguin's move wasn't exactly clever, but it was effective. He gathered Gotham's elite and imprisoned them all through a murder case. This makes it difficult for the Eden Killer to take them down one by one. In any case, at least it protected their safety."
Schiller shook his head and said, "You and I both know that the Eden Killer isn't a real killer, or rather, not a specific person. I don't believe that the agents haven't been able to expose him in such a long time. Since you know what form he takes, you know that the Penguin's physical protection methods are useless."
Natasha then realized: if the mastermind behind both worlds is the same electronic life form, then unless a fortress without a network is built like Batman's, he will definitely take advantage of the situation.
“But there’s an advantage to the Penguin doing this,” Schiller said. “If he wants to continue committing crimes, he at least has to expose a part of himself to manipulate humans.”
“Like sending emails?” Natasha immediately thought of the methods of electronic life in another universe. She said, “He can find someone’s weakness and then send them an email threatening them to kill someone. But that’s not easy either, because the manor is full of bodyguards now.”
"Do bodyguards have no weaknesses?"
"Of course there are. But if you manipulate these high-society people to kill each other and disguise it as a revenge killing, it might not be exposed so quickly—after all, there are many conflicts of interest among these people. But if you manipulate the bodyguards, the Penguin will definitely investigate like crazy because it concerns his own safety, which may speed up the exposure."
“That depends on what this intelligent electronic life form chooses.” Schiller sat down in another chair and turned to look out the window.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky. A brief flash of light was followed by even deeper darkness. That instant of light illuminated two figures locked in a life-or-death struggle within a room of the manor. With a sizzle, blood splattered onto the shadows, and screams erupted alongside the thunder, like the overture to the final climax of a symphony.
Finally, the setup is almost done. I'm exhausted.