Marvel: The Sole Player

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"Are you crazy?"

Harvey’s eyes widened behind his gas mask: "There are hundreds of criminals locked up in Arkham Asylum, and we don’t even have enough people here to count on two hands. What’s the difference between taking the initiative and seeking death?"

Darian explained calmly: "Even if we huddle here, those criminals will eventually find their way over. The control room manages the access control system for the entire Arkham Asylum. As long as they want to break through the lockdown and escape, they must take this place first."

Gordon’s brow furrowed: "That is indeed the case."

Darian continued: "So, instead of waiting here for them to group up and besiege us, it’s better to take the initiative now while they are still scattered in various areas and haven’t formed enough strength. We can lock them back into their cells in batches. This is the only way to minimize the risk."

Gordon was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "It’s a feasible method. In that case, we’ll divide into two teams. One team will stay to guard the control room, and the other will come out with me."

"No need."

Darian raised his hand to stop Gordon: "I can complete this task alone."

"No, absolutely not!"

Gordon immediately rejected the idea upon hearing it: "Many of the criminals inside have firearms. If you go in alone without any cover, it’s too dangerous!"

Darian’s expression was steady: "It’s about the same as that bunch from the False Face Society. A small scene."

Gordon was momentarily speechless.

He suddenly remembered that Darian had wiped out the False Face Society single-handedly and captured Black Mask. These armed criminals really weren’t much in comparison.

Darian immediately added: "Furthermore, the control room is the top priority. Enough manpower must be left here to prevent the criminals from damaging the control system again. Besides, I’ll be more flexible acting alone; even if I can’t win, I can escape."

Gordon pursed his lips, his gaze lingering on Darian’s face for a long time before he finally let out a heavy breath and nodded.

"Alright, I agree to you acting alone. But remember, be careful in everything. If you can’t hold out, retreat immediately, and we will support you."

"No problem."

Darian smiled slightly.

The reason he insisted on acting alone was for nothing else but the contribution points of the mission.

If Gordon and the others followed him, his contribution would be split, and the rewards would shrink directly. Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?

Under the admiring and worried gazes of the police officers, Darian pulled open the iron door of the control room, locked it behind him, and turned to walk into the depths of Arkham Asylum.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, with two automatic rifles hanging naturally at his sides, their muzzles pointing diagonally at the ground. He had no intention of being stealthy or covert.

After turning through three junctions, the sound of messy footsteps came from ahead, mixed with several curses accompanied by bleeping sound effects.

Four or five burly men in hospital gowns were creeping along the corners of the walls, holding blood-stained firearms. At a glance, it was clear they had just snatched them from the guards.

The moment they saw Darian, they all stopped in their tracks, their faces instantly tensing up.

But when they saw there was only one person opposite them, that bit of tension vanished instantly. Instead of hiding, they surrounded him with their guns raised, their eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent.

Darian stopped and said with a smile: "Prisoners, please return to your respective cells immediately. Otherwise, I will determine that you are attempting a jailbreak and handle it according to the regulations."

The opposite side was silent for a full second.

Then a burst of unbridled laughter erupted.

"Did you hear that? He’s telling us to go back to our cells!"

"Kid, who do you think you are? The new Warden of Arkham?"

"He looks like a rookie who just started. He probably brought so many weapons to bolster his courage because he’s scared to death, right?"

These people had been locked up in Arkham Asylum for many years and were poorly informed. They didn’t recognize Darian’s face at all, treating him only as some unlucky ordinary officer who had run into their guns.

Even if Darian was fully armed, so what?

They had more people and more guns; there was no reason to fear a lone guy.

A scar-faced criminal walked up to Darian, a cruel smile stretching across his face: "We just happen to be short on weapons. I suggest you obediently hand over your guns, or else..."

Bang!

A gunshot cut him off directly.

The man’s head exploded instantly, and his body fell straight backward, slamming heavily onto the ground.

After he fell, the previously blocked Darian reappeared before the remaining people. His automatic rifle was already raised, and a wisp of faint blue smoke drifted from the muzzle.

Darian looked at the faces that had instantly frozen, a kind smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "Disobedient people must be punished."

Before his voice had even faded, he pulled the trigger again.

Da da da da da da—!

Muzzle flashes lit up one after another in the narrow corridor, and the dense gunfire echoed crazily in the confined space.

The entire process took less than four seconds, and there were no longer any living people standing in front of Darian.

Darian lowered his gun, stepped over the bodies on the ground, and spoke into his headset: "Ultron, connect me to the broadcast for all areas of Arkham Asylum. Tell those prisoners that the Warden is here for an inspection."

As he spoke, he pulled a mask out of his tactical vest and put it on, then took out a mini speaker, flipped the switch, and hung it back on his waist.

Immediately afterward, a powerful piece of music blasted out from the speaker.

Deng deng deng deng deng...

Deng deng deng deng deng deng...

The rhythm was tough, the drumbeats dense, and every heavy beat landed precisely on his footsteps.

"Scum on the run, face the Warden’s judgment. The purge has begun."

Darian left those words behind and turned to walk toward the deeper ward areas of Arkham Asylum.

His soles ground through the pools of blood on the floor, leaving a clear bloody footprint with every step, his figure gradually disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

At the same time, a cold electronic mechanical voice spread through the broadcast system to every corner of Arkham Asylum.

"Warning: His Excellency the Warden will personally quell this riot and purge all threats. All personnel in custody must return to their designated cells immediately. Those who continue to riot will be executed on the spot."

"Warning: His Excellency the Warden will personally quell this riot..."

"..."

"Warning..."

"..."

The warning tone played on a loop three times, and the entire Arkham instantly boiled over.

In various ward areas, angry curses and bursts of laughter rose and fell, almost lifting the ceiling.

They had seen arrogant people, but never someone this arrogant, actually daring to threaten the criminals of the entire Arkham alone.

Do you think you’re Batman?

"Find him! Kill him!"

"Tear this big-mouthed guy to pieces!"

Not a single criminal took the warning seriously, all clamoring to make Darian pay the price.

The criminals who were originally wandering around aimlessly immediately moved. They formed groups, carrying snatched firearms and weapons, searching everywhere for Darian’s whereabouts, vowing to hack the guy who dared to provoke them into a thousand pieces.

And in the corridor of Block B, a group of criminals soon found a clue.

From a distance, they heard a burst of music with a strong sense of oppression drifting down the corridor.

Deng deng deng deng deng...

Deng deng deng deng deng deng...

"Where’s this BGM coming from?"

The few people looked at each other and immediately raised their guns, following the sound.

One criminal was the first to reach the corner. Peeking around, he saw a masked figure in the corridor walking slowly forward, the GCPD logo on his tactical vest exceptionally prominent.

A look of wild joy instantly appeared on his face, and he opened his mouth to call out: "He’s here! Come over—", "Bang!"

The words were still stuck in his throat when a bullet accurately hit his forehead. He didn’t even let out a scream before falling straight down.

The remaining criminals were startled and raised their guns, about to rush out and counterattack.

But as soon as they ran to the corner, a grenade with the pin pulled rolled to their feet.

"Shit!"*4

Curses rang out simultaneously, followed by a thunderous explosion that instantly drowned out everything.

Darian didn’t even bat an eyelid as he continued forward along the corridor.

This explosion was like a positioning signal, instantly spreading through most of Arkham. The criminals who were still searching aimlessly immediately changed direction, swarming toward the location of the explosion.

Before he had walked two thousand meters, another group of criminals appeared at the end of the corridor ahead, walking toward him with guns raised. The two sides ran right into each other.

That group was stunned at first, but then realized that the Darian in front of them was the madman from the broadcast. They immediately raised their guns to fire.

But Darian’s movements were more than one level faster than theirs.

Almost at the moment they raised their guns, the two automatic rifles in Darian’s hands fired simultaneously, shooting with both hands, every shot a headshot.

Da da da da da da—!

Gunshots rang out in succession and then quickly subsided.

In less than five seconds, the several people opposite him had all fallen to the ground, breathless.

Darian’s footsteps never stopped from beginning to end as he continued to push forward.

He didn’t hide at all. The BGM he carried was like a mobile tracker; as the music spread further, more and more criminals followed the sound to find him.

However, although there were many of these criminals, they were actually a disorganized mess without even basic tactical coordination. Most of them only knew how to swarm forward.

Against these hotheads, Darian could easily deal with them using only Dead Eye.

In corridors, stairwells, and wards...

Anyone who showed their face in front of Darian would be taken out by a single shot. No one could last more than a second against him.

He pushed forward all the way, killing anyone in his path without the slightest pause.

For a time, gunshots, explosions, and music intertwined, becoming the most terrifying background noise in all of Arkham Asylum.

The criminals who were originally aggressive and wanted to tear him to pieces gradually lost their nerve.

At first, they all thought Darian was just an arrogant fool who didn’t know the height of the heavens and would be found and killed by them before long.

But ten minutes had passed, and instead, dozens of criminals had already been killed by this masked guy.

And they hadn’t even touched the corner of his clothes, let alone injured him.

"Don’t be afraid! He’s only one person, his ammunition must be limited. He’ll be drained sooner or later!"

A criminal with a face full of scars hid behind a pillar and shouted at the top of his lungs, trying to stabilize the morale of those around him.

Hearing this, the others nodded in agreement, and their tense expressions relaxed a bit.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, they saw Darian at the end of the corridor turn and walk straight into the utility room beside him.

Two seconds later, Darian walked out again.

In his hands, he was actually carrying a Gatling machine gun, with the ammunition belt hanging from the gun body all the way to the floor, the end nowhere in sight.

The criminals: "...."

No, why is there a Gatling machine gun in the utility room of Arkham Asylum!?

In the next second, the criminals decisively turned and ran.

What a joke! Trading shots with a Gatling? Wasn’t that just pure suicide?

The criminals who were originally rushing toward the music instantly scattered like birds and beasts. No one dared to approach Darian anymore.

Although most of those locked in Arkham were heinous madmen, being mad didn’t mean they weren’t afraid of death.

They dared to go against the Gotham police and challenge Batman because they knew the other party would mostly hold back and wouldn’t use lethal force right away.

But this Warden was different.

Every shot was a headshot, never missing. He didn’t even give them a chance to raise a French military salute, killing them the moment they showed their faces.

However, just because they didn’t look for Darian didn’t mean Darian would let them go.

He had already opened the map of Arkham Asylum, and the locations of these criminals had long been clearly marked on the mini-map.

Darian followed the red dots on the map and found the fleeing criminals. The six barrels rotated crazily, tearing them and their cover to pieces.

The mission objective given by the system was clear: stop the full-scale riot in Arkham Asylum.

As long as there was still one criminal causing trouble in Arkham Asylum, the riot would not be considered completely quelled.

Conversely, as long as all the rioting criminals were cleared out, the riot would naturally be resolved.

"No mercy is needed. The black sheep deserve their fate. To deal with Gotham’s thugs, one must use violence to suppress violence."

In the two eye sockets of Darian’s mask, two cold white lights faintly lit up, exuding a full sense of oppression.

The speaker on his waist was still looping the drumbeats, each sound like a death-dealing pendulum.

Deng deng deng deng deng...

Deng deng deng deng deng deng..

The criminals who were still hiding with a fluke mentality, upon hearing the music approach, either shrank into corners trembling with fear or ran in the opposite direction like crazy.

But no matter how they hid, they couldn’t shake off that music that followed them like a shadow.

Four criminals fled for their lives, kicked open the door of a storage room, and hid inside, using various items to block the door tightly, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Just when they thought they had escaped.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the adjacent wall was blown open directly, and brick fragments scattered all over the floor.

In the dust, the masked figure walked out slowly, his white-lit eye sockets staring straight at them.

"Found you."

"Aaaah!"

Screams instantly pierced the corridor and quickly returned to silence.

This scream was like the last straw, completely crushing the psychological defenses of the remaining criminals.

Finally, a criminal couldn’t take it anymore and scrambled back to his original cell, slamming the iron door shut behind him.

Seeing this, other criminals followed suit, racing each other to run back to their respective cells.

Darian indeed didn’t make it difficult for those criminals who returned to their cells, but those who didn’t have time to hide in their cells were ruthlessly swept into fragments by his Gatling machine gun.

Thus, an absurd scene appeared in the entire Arkham Asylum.

A fully armed officer was chasing down prisoners with a Gatling machine gun, preventing them from returning to their cells.

While the prisoners were desperately trying to evade his pursuit, doing whatever it took to return to the cells that restricted their freedom.

The officers in front of the surveillance screens were dumbfounded. For a moment, they couldn’t even tell which side was the villain.