amaotonovel Chapter 3861 The Nameless Bat (31)
Chapter 3861 The Nameless Bat (31)
Chapter 3861 The Nameless Bat (Thirty-One)
“I think we need a break,” Natasha texted Schiller on her phone. “We’ve done far too many projects that aren’t included in Batman’s paycheck. We’re even close to figuring out the killer for him. Don’t you think we need an administrative leave?”
“Not interested,” Schiller replied.
"What are you doing?"
"Browse the internet."
"Knowing full well that there might be an electronic life form behind this? Maybe it's watching you through a camera."
"It's useless. I'm pretty sure there's no iris recognition technology in this universe. Batman didn't invent it. So what if you see it?"
Natasha typed rapidly on her phone: "He'll know what you look like. He might even publish your face."
“You know that the identities of FBI agents are public, right? I’m not a spy, I’m a police officer.”
“You’re incredibly boring,” Natasha typed with a sigh. “This meeting is incredibly boring too. They invited me here just because I’m suspected of being the president’s mistress. They’re probably hoping I’ll convey their positive work attitude to the president.”
“You can pretend to be asleep,” Schiller replied, as flat as ever. Natasha could almost hear his tone through the words.
“Never mind, I need something to perk me up.” Natasha sat at the table, typing on her phone. “The coffee at headquarters is absolutely terrible. I suspect they’ve concentrated the essence of Washington’s sewers into the coffee machine.”
“I’m checking internal FBI files.”
Upon seeing this message, Natasha immediately sat up straight, assuming he had uncovered clues about the mastermind. However, Schiller sent her a message: "Last year alone, there were a staggering 11253 reports of groundwater contamination related to Washington. Quite a condensed count."
Natasha pushed her cup of coffee, which was full of coffee, slightly away from her.
She glanced up; the CIA chief was still rambling on. Natasha listened briefly, then typed, "They mentioned a sense of crisis."
"A sense of crisis? And with Amazon?"
"No. They feel that the president relies too much on the Justice League, making the Justice League do many things that should have been done by them."
"The FBI should be the ones feeling the crisis. Within the entire CIA, only your group has internal law enforcement authority."
"Yes. But it looks like my boss wants me to persuade the president to broadly distribute this authority to the CIA. Judging from his eyes, he wants to do it in bed."
“Batman wouldn’t do that.” Schiller typed so fast that Natasha realized he was using a computer.
"Of course. It's precisely because I'm from another world and can't stay here forever that I have this privilege. Batman wouldn't grant such privileges to local residents. Oh, and you're an exception."
“No.” Schiller replied first, then replied again. “I asked him for access to the Brother’s Eye, but he refused.”
"You really dare to apply," Natasha couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.
"It was purely out of duty. He rejected my application, so I suggested to him that the system be completely shut down to ensure that evil electronic life had no chance to take advantage of it."
Did he agree?
"There's been no reply yet. I'm not sure if he's avoiding the issue or if he has some other plan."
Do you think Batman would think about cyber life?
"I told you, Batman realized things sooner than we thought. Otherwise, what did he and Luthor discuss in private? And what did he have the Arkham Knight do?"
“We really should go on vacation.” Natasha crossed her legs and typed on her phone, head down. “I’m in favor of greed. As long as we don’t do the work, Batman will do all of it.”
After a pause, she typed another line and asked, "If it's an administrative leave, where do you plan to go?"
"what?"
Where are you planning to go on vacation?
What's wrong with your home?
"Jesus Christ! You're planning to spend two months at home instead of going on vacation?"
"Aren't you?"
"Of course not. Although I know this doesn't conform to stereotypes, Black Widow does have vacations. Back in the Soviet Union, I would choose to spend two weeks in Anapa. But in the United States, that damn Nick won't give me much time, so I'll go to Long Island."
"Missing Tony Stark?"
"Come on. I really don't know how a place with so many hot guys could produce a Tony Stark. Don't change the subject, where do you usually go?"
"Hawaii".
“I knew it! You live like the protagonist in a 90s Hollywood spy movie. Every movie starts with you getting a call from your boss while you're lounging on a deckchair in Hawaii, getting involved in a major transnational criminal case, being chased by assassins on your way back to the city, and then bumping into a hot blonde…”
“You’ve really watched a lot,” Schiller replied. “It feels like I’ve watched all of James Bond’s movies through this passage. Thanks for saving me money on movie tickets.”
Looking at Schiller's dry reply, Natasha sighed deeply. She said, "Let me teach you, boy. The correct reply at this moment is 'Too bad you're redheaded. Understand?"
"No. There's nothing to regret. Your blonde hair would look ugly."
Natasha collapsed onto the table.
She glanced up at her boss, who showed no sign of stopping, and decided to change her target, starting to text Arkham Batman.
“Do you know how difficult he is?” Natasha couldn’t help but complain. “I wasn’t expecting any intimate contact with him (I would if I had the chance to kill him), but we couldn’t even have a proper conversation. Sigh.”
Arkham Batman replies to messages as slowly as an elderly person who has never used a smartphone. He says, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to text your ex-boyfriend complaining about how difficult your current crush is?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Aren't you trying to win him over?"
"You're not my ex-boyfriend. At least in this universe, I'm still your current lover with a very unique name and a rather dubious background. Or are you already planning to clarify?"
"No, I'm busy with something else." Arkham Batman's reply was slow, indicating he was indeed occupied. "The Justice League members have some disagreements about the style of Gotham Base. I'm working on the third version of the blueprints. Superman has decided to remove the tower. What do you think?"
Along with the message came a set of blueprints. Natasha glanced at it casually and said, "It doesn't look like a magical building at all. But it does look better without the tower. Will it affect its functionality?"
"No. Superman said he'd patrol in place of the drones on the tower. He's always a man of his word. We're worried it'll tire him out. Maybe his dog could help."
"Is it really appropriate to talk to your current partner about your best partner and soulmate? How's Wonder Woman doing?"
"She went back to clean up the mess I made. I guess she'll have a good talk with her brother and resolve some of the hidden dangers sealed on Mount Olympus. But overall, she's much better."
"You've become difficult to deal with too. Or is it that writing always limits the expression of people like you?"
"I'm using voice input. Considering your boss might not want to hear my voice at this time, I'm converting it to text."
"Your accent is pretty standard... Good heavens, I must have been corrupted by the detective. If I keep talking to him, I'm going to completely forget how to flirt. Tell me about it."
“You would have given me a chance to catch my breath before. But even though you’re not in public now, I can’t do that.”
"Because you need to concentrate on drawing?"
"Because I'm not sure if this counts as sexual harassment of an electronic life form."
“So you knew all along.” Natasha pursed her lips, paused for a moment, and then replied, “I bet he has no idea about the plan I just came up with to deal with him. The inspiration came from you.”
"It's best not to do that. I really need to finish the drawings by tonight. Also, the water in the bathroom is off."
Natasha couldn't help but laugh, thankfully without making it out loud. So her boss just glanced at her.
“There’s another reason,” Arkham Batman replied, “I guess he might be studying.”
"Who?" Natasha exclaimed in shock. "An agent? Has the sun risen in the west?!"
“Cyber life.” The speed of his reply revealed Arkham Batman’s frustration. “He’s learning everything about sex. So we’d better not talk about it.”
"What conclusion did the psychologist reach with you?"
"Not really. You know I've never trusted psychoanalysis. His opinions are only for reference. They're my own judgments. And I'm currently gathering information more broadly."
"It sounds like the prelude to a new job."
"I guess so. Do you have friends in other universes?"
Natasha frowned as she looked at the message. She lightly tapped the screen and continued typing, "Don't tell me that thing is from another universe. I'll have a clearly misleading suspect in mind."
"Tell me."
“Ultron,” Natasha typed after a pause, “is generally considered an evil robot, an AI that is comparable to Jarvis, and has caused many cosmic omnic crises. Schiller and I have suspected him, but we have no evidence.”
What type of artificial intelligence is it?
"I was born in 1928."
"You mean 'question and answer type'?"
"I mean, I'm an old lady who's almost 100 years old. Your question is beyond my knowledge."
"Okay. Did he ever control the global network?"
"K."
"And then what did he do?"
"He killed several superheroes and sparked a war. Of course, he may have achieved even greater victories in some universes as well. But in any case, he deeply loathed intelligent life and harbored a peculiar hatred within him."
“Something doesn’t sound right,” Arkham Batman replied quickly. “If he despises intelligent life, he shouldn’t be studying our mating process. But he might be learning something about it.”
"How exactly did you figure that out?"
"Batman from another universe sent me some interesting stuff." Accompanying the message was a bunch of pictures. Natasha swiped down, revealing a vast expanse of red.
"Oh my god!" She hadn't even finished looking at the pictures before she frowned and replied to a message. Then she scrolled up and looked at all the bloody crime scenes before replying, "Is this a serial murder case? Why did they all die in a connected state?"
“That’s not all,” Arkham Batman replied. “They were all clients and prostitutes, murdered one after another over two weeks. The perpetrators were a man and a woman, codenamed Adam and Eve. But according to experts, they were simply being manipulated by a serial killer codenamed Eden Killer. There was also a copycat with a different style, but equally difficult to deal with, who killed the mayor of the city where Batman lives.”
“What utter nonsense,” Natasha couldn’t help but comment. “Are you saying that you could probably find ten thousand lunatics with an IQ over 180 in your city, but you can’t do anything about a serial killer who targets prostitutes?”
"It's not that there's no way out, it's just that Batman in that universe is busy with more important matters and can't get away for the time being. And because of the mayor's death, everyone in high society there is on edge. The police chief is under a lot of pressure. He might have to request backup soon."
"You don't mean to ask me to go and help out, do you?"
"Or the agent could go. I believe his presence would put even more pressure on James Gordon."
"Why? I think he's more focused on his work than I am."
“That’s the problem because he’s too focused,” Arkham Batman replied. “If the mastermind were a cybernetic lifeform, there wouldn’t be any killer for him to catch. How many suspects do you think he would put in jail?”
"That does sound like a problem. Okay, the pay is still going to go up. And I might send a few unlucky guys to jail too."
"No problem, deal. You can get ready to leave after your meeting."
Just then, Natasha heard the good news that the meeting was over. So she put away her phone, ignoring the last message Batman Arkham had sent her:
"And most importantly, the professor is in that universe. It's best not to bother him unless necessary... and even if you have to, don't go."