amaotonovel Chapter 3756 Rapid Pursuit (1)
Chapter 3756 Rapid Pursuit (1)
Chapter 3756 Rapid Pursuit (Part 1)
Just as the group of personality traits inside the Tower of Thought were having a heated discussion, Pride frowned and said, "The main universe's Batman sent me a message. The analysis results of that thing the Maniac Laughs is making are in, and I might have to go over there."
Soon, Arrogance used his body to travel through the Battle Realm System to the main universe and arrived at Batman's Batcave. The two stared at the component analysis results displayed on the machine, speechless for a moment.
“I don’t know why he’s so sure his experiment was a success,” Batman said after a moment of silence. “At least so far, I haven’t seen anything special in these ingredients.”
"Is adding an unusually large amount of stimulants considered unusual?" Schiller sighed and said, "He might as well say he concocted a super long-lasting stimulant, intending to drive Batman insane due to excessive stimulation."
Batman, unsure what to say, stared at the analysis results on the machine. There were no mysterious ingredients; just as Schiller had said, it contained a generous amount of excitatory neurotransmitters, and all sorts of stimulants all at once. If it were an ordinary person, even without being poisoned by these random ingredients, they might experience symptoms like epilepsy due to overstimulation, or suffer mental health problems from excessive excitement.
However, Schiller's mental and neurological processes differed somewhat from those of ordinary people, especially in the mental aspect. The heightened state induced by stimulants could lead to an overactivity of the pathological personality traits. Although the pathological aspects are closely linked, they generally don't manifest entirely. However, under drug stimulation, this time the entire pathological side was mobilized, resulting in a collective frenzy.
“It’s also possible that the criminals’ genes are only targeting Batman,” Arrogance said after thinking for a moment. “If you were the one affected, he might actually get what he wants. But if it’s me, then it’s just that he got what he deserved.”
"Do you know which universe he went to?" Batman asked.
"Isn't it his own universe?" Arrogance said with some surprise.
“He’s hidden his universe.” Batman had clearly done his research, he said. “He hasn’t appeared in the Battle Realm, and there’s no way to locate him using ordinary methods. The Dark Universe he went to this time is special; there’s a mob there.”
"A mob?" Arrogance pondered. Batman wouldn't usually use that word to describe ordinary people unless they were truly outrageous. This reminded Schiller of the Omega Batman he encountered in the Broken Bat mission; the inhabitants of that universe could certainly be described as a mob.
“I’ve heard there are players in that universe,” Arrogance said. “Anyone you know? Perhaps we could get a glimpse of what’s going on from their perspective.”
“I’m making contact.” Batman frowned, paused, and then continued, “The situation in this universe is complex and challenging. We generally wouldn’t choose this path without being certain… Ah, God. The worst-case scenario.”
"The worst-case scenario? The Joker?"
"Yes. I only know that a clown went there, but I don't know exactly which clown it was. I hope it's not one of the most troublesome ones."
“I have a feeling this isn’t simple.” He tapped his arrogant fingers lightly on the back of his chair. “The Batman Who Laughs seems to be recruiting Batmen who are victims in the Dark Multiverse. They may not be as strong as those complete lunatics, but the knights of the Light Universe can’t bring themselves to kill these victims. So it’s obvious who he’s after.”
He arrogantly looked at the main universe's Batman and said, "He wouldn't come up with such a trick for no reason. And you started planning how to deal with him as soon as he first appeared."
“I admit, I did put some pressure on him. I contacted some Batmen in the universe to try and find out what made him this way.”
"You've made contact with his origin universe?"
"Yes. But he couldn't investigate too deeply and he discovered it, so he hid his origin universe."
"That's strange. I thought he would be the kind of person who would want his story to be told throughout the multiverse."
“He is. But he is clearly hiding a bigger secret in his own origin universe and doesn’t want me to know it. Realizing that I have begun to investigate him in depth, he has to have some means of retaliation. Perhaps that’s why he targeted those victims. He’s determined to take them hostage.”
The main universe's Batman paused for a moment, then continued, "And the Joker. I mean, the Joker in our universe. He harbors far more malice towards the Batman Who Laughs than I do. He's also been trying to win over Jokers from other universes. They might have put some pressure on him. And I suspect it's not a coincidence that the player who appeared in the universe the Batman Who Laughs fled to was the Joker."
"They're not fighting over him, are they?" Arrogance squinted and said, "The Joker always wants to be Batman's savior. But there aren't many Batmen in the Dark Multiverse who can be called pure victims. If the Batman Who Laughs wins one over, the Joker will naturally lose one. There's a competition between them."
“That’s very likely,” the main universe Batman concluded. “The fact that the Batman Who Laughs chose that universe as his first destination for retreat proves that the Batman in that universe is very important. The Joker must know this too, so he wants to rescue the Batman in that universe before him. There should have been a battle between them.”
“But things are probably in chaos now,” Arrogance sighed. “Even the Batman Who Laughs probably never imagined that a madman would chase him into that universe. Right now, more important than trying to win over the Batman of that universe is saving his own life.”
"He may be Batman, but he's also the Joker. Are you really confident you can kill him?" the main universe Batman asked.
"Perhaps I couldn't completely kill him. But do you think he's someone who isn't afraid of death? Or rather, isn't he afraid of pain?"
The main universe's Batman frowned. Schiller continued, "He is both Batman and the Joker, but for that reason, he is neither Batman nor the Joker. You think he inherited all the good qualities of Batman and the Joker, but in my opinion, he perfectly eliminated the good qualities and inherited all the bad."
"He doesn't have Batman's strong willpower, nor the courage to face life and death without ever backing down. He also doesn't have the Joker's utter madness, nor the determination to fight to the death without any scruples. If I had to describe him, he's more like an ordinary person with an unusual appearance but an ordinary heart."
“You’d think I can’t kill him. Other Batmen would think that, even the Joker would think that. But he wouldn’t. He’d think that even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, it’s not worth taking the risk. He’s not willing to risk it.”
“Perhaps you are right,” said the main universe Batman. “If that weren’t the case, his first reaction upon discovering that I was investigating his origin universe wouldn’t have been to hide it, nor would he have chosen to hide and plot when he first encountered the President. The real Joker wouldn’t do that. They would have pounced on him with ecstasy, grabbing all of Batman’s attention immediately.”
"Therefore, he won't take my pursuit lightly. Or rather, for the foreseeable future, his primary task will be to escape from me. For that reason, any plans to win over the Dark Batman are no longer important."
"So it seems the Joker will be the winner of this round."
Arrogance suddenly chuckled and said, "It seems you dislike this monster, a combination of Batman and the Joker, more than the Joker."
“I’ve uncovered something in his origin universe.” The main universe Batman rarely expressed his disgust, saying, “If that’s true, he will never be forgiven.”
"The bad things he's done aren't limited to that. Fortunately, we were one step ahead of him. To be precise, many steps ahead. Someone set a good precedent, and many others followed suit, preventing him from ever achieving his goal."
Batman sensed the hidden meaning in the arrogant words. He thought for a moment and said, "I know that in this universe, it's not just the Joker and I who are plotting against this guy; there are many other forces secretly helping us. Do you think I should contact them?"
“There’s no need for that,” Arrogance shook his head and said. “This guy isn’t worth all the trouble right now. There are far more crises lurking in the shadows of the Dark Multiverse, or rather, in all the multiverses. If you have the time, you might as well look into the ‘Wall.’”
Batman didn't press further. Clearly, his investigation into the Dark Multiverse had uncovered parts of the universe's truth. The Maniacal Laughter was conspicuous and lively, but the secrets silently lurking in the darkness were perhaps far more deadly.
When Pride returned to the tower, everyone had already gone to the theater. He opened the theater door, and Greed beckoned to him. Pride sat down beside him, and Greed handed him the popcorn he was holding.
"The superego grants us access to our visual system, allowing us to witness this chase from a first-person perspective."
"A morbid perspective?" Arrogance frowned slightly and said, "It seems we have no choice but to watch an avant-garde film."
"It's alright, everyone except one person will definitely understand it anyway." Greed turned to the agent beside him and said, "You agree, Agent?"
Upon hearing this, the detective simply turned his head, glanced at Greed, and then turned back without saying a word.
"Have you found out exactly which universe it is?" the bishop in front asked, turning his head. "Is it the universe of Omega Batman?"
“No,” Arrogance replied. From his conversation with Batman, he already knew that the Laughing Maniac might have gone to a new Dark Multiverse to recruit a new Batman. That was unlikely to be the Omega Batman already under his control.
“All I know is that the Joker is in the lead role,” Arrogance continued, “but I can’t be sure which universe’s Joker it is. Perhaps we’ll find out soon.”
Everyone looked at the screen. There were no concrete objects on the screen, only vividly intense blocks of color and lines. This meant his mental state had reached its peak, and the traces of treatment were becoming increasingly faint. The clock was reversing; Schiller was beginning to approach his original self more and more.
In a Gotham City shrouded in gloom, the people living there are completely unaware of the impending chaos and disaster. Inside the banquet hall of a newly built corporation, the lights are dazzling and the atmosphere vibrant. Intricately carved golden doors are pushed open, and a strong man in a suit, arm in arm with his beautiful dark-haired companion, slowly walks to the front of the crowd.