Marvel: The Sole Player

The Joker Gang Captain quickly inquired in the channel, only to find that many Joker Gang members had already lost contact.

Some Joker Gang members even saw several black tentacles surge out from the shadows, dragging their companions into the darkness, and then disappearing without a trace.

For a time, news of a haunting spread throughout the channel, and the remaining Joker Gang members felt terrified and uneasy.

"Believe in science, there are no ghosts in this World; it must be Batman who broke in."

The Joker Gang Captain, having seen the World, shouted into the channel: "From now on, everyone form teams of two, no one is allowed to act alone, report any abnormality immediately!"

The order was given decisively, but unfortunately, it was of no use.

More and more people lost contact, and the voices in the communication channel vanished one after another, which was hair-raising to hear.

Seeing his side’s personnel constantly decreasing, the Joker Gang Captain gritted his teeth and made a prompt decision to have everyone gather in the center of the floor.

The surviving Joker Gang members quickly gathered, holding their firearms and looking around alertly; the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

The Joker Gang Captain tried to stabilize morale: "Don’t panic, Batman doesn’t kill people, we’ll be fine, at most we’ll just stay in the hospital for a few months. Once today is over, we can get a large commission from the Joker, and we won’t have to worry for the rest of our lives. This deal is a guaranteed profit."

He had the confidence to say this.

Batman has an absolute no-kill rule; his moves seem brutal, but in fact, his sense of proportion is extremely precise.

Someone once saw Batman use a Rocket to blow a fleeing car into the sky; the car flipped three and a half times in mid-air, and burned into a fireball when it hit the ground, but the criminal driving inside surprisingly didn’t die.

Besides that, there were even more ridiculous things, such as the multi-ton Batmobile crushing over a criminal’s head, the Batmobile hitting a criminal at over two hundred yards, or grabbing a criminal’s head to compete with the hardness of the concrete...

But no matter how heavy Batman’s hand was, not a single criminal ever died because of him.

It was like having peace mode turned on in a game, always being able to keep the enemy’s last drop of blood.

Hearing this, everyone’s tense nerves relaxed a bit.

In fact, they were all desperadoes hired by the Joker at a high price. Their mission was to first attack Arkham Asylum to get the Joker out, and then set an ambush to capture Batman.

Ultimately, whether the mission succeeded or not, they would receive a large sum of commission.

Compared to that huge sum of money, getting a little injured was no big deal.

Just then, a grappling hook shot out from the shadows overhead, precisely wrapping around a Joker Gang member’s ankle.

Before everyone could react, that Joker Gang member was like bait thrown out by a fishing rod, flying out the window into the air, with a scream falling straight from a high altitude, ending with a dull impact.

The air in the hall instantly froze.

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at the Joker Gang Captain.

The Joker Gang Captain waved his hand calmly: "Don’t worry, it’s only the twenty-sixth floor, he won’t die."

Joker Gang members: "???"

Do you even hear what you’re saying?

Whoosh!

At the same time, a batarang whistled through the air, piercing directly into the neck of a Joker Gang member.

Puchi!

The sound of the sharp blade entering flesh was clearly audible.

The Joker Gang member’s eyes widened, his hands tightly clutching his neck, a large amount of blood immediately gushing out from between his fingers, and a gurgling sound coming from his throat.

His body swayed, and he fell headfirst to the ground, twitching a few times before becoming still.

Joker Gang members: Σ( mouthA mouth)

One person swallowed: "His neck has been pierced through, he should be dead, right?"

"A pierced neck is a pierced neck, and death is death; these are two different things, don’t confuse them."

The Joker Gang Captain remained calm and explained: "Don’t look at how exaggerated it seems on the surface with so much blood; it’s actually just a superficial wound, it just looks scary. I guarantee Batman didn’t kill—"

"—Boom!!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the batarang stuck in the Joker Gang member suddenly exploded.

This Joker Gang member was instantly blown into a pile of fragments, and the explosion even affected several surrounding Joker Gang members, who were blown away one after another, with screams rising and falling.

The Joker Gang members who were lucky enough not to be affected widened their eyes and turned to look at the Joker Gang Captain.

The Joker Gang Captain paused for a few seconds and spoke awkwardly: "Uh, this might be Batman’s latest technological means; what we’re seeing is actually a holographic projection."

"Or maybe Batman has mastered some advanced medical technology that can put someone who’s been blown to bits back together and heal them..."

"..."

Joker Gang members:"...."

"Listen to yourself, do you believe those words?"

Just then, someone finally caught a glimpse of a silhouette flashing through the darkness.

"He’s there!"

Everyone quickly moved their muzzles and pulled the triggers frantically at that shadow.

Da da da da da da—!

The gunshots erupted, and the bullets sprayed over with bright orange firelight, tearing short light trails in the darkness.

However, the bullets that landed on the black shadow were all blocked, splashing a shower of sparks.

Amidst the hail of bullets, a cylinder was thrown from the darkness, drawing a low parabola and rolling right into the center of the crowd.

After a soft sound, a thick white mist burst out, instantly swallowing everyone.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!

Then, a series of dull blows sounded one after another.

The gunshots became sparser, changing from dense strafing to a few scattered shots, and finally fell into complete silence.

The smoke slowly dissipated.

Darian, wearing the Batman suit, stood on the spot, with Joker Gang members lying all over the ground by his feet, their life or death unknown.

Only the Joker Gang Captain escaped the disaster. Standing not far from Darian, the Joker Gang Captain trembled all over, holding his firearm and gritting his teeth: "Don’t come over! If you take one more step forward, I’ll shoot... myself! That way, if I die, it’ll count as you killing me. Batman, you don’t want to break your no-kill rule, right?"

Darian: "....."

You really are a freaking genius.

Darian spoke in a deep voice: "Stop acting, Joker, I know it’s you."

As the words fell, the Joker Gang Captain’s trembling suddenly stopped, and he tilted his head.

"Oh? How did you tell?"

"Because I am Batman."

Darian found that this sentence was simply a universal answer, capable of handling any question.

No wonder Batman says it every day.

"Hahahahaha! As expected of you, Batman!"

The Joker Gang Captain let out a piercing laugh and ripped off the Joker mask on his face.

Under the mask, there was surprisingly another Joker face.

His face was paler than a dead man’s, and the red greasepaint at the corners of his mouth extended all the way to the base of his ears. Coupled with those eyes full of madness, he looked very creepy.

[NPC: ???]

[Codename: Joker]

[Favorability: ???]

[Evaluation: Batman’s nemesis, Clown Prince of Crime, Joker, Gotham’s Asia Dream, Arkham Lifetime VIP, Spokesperson for Chaos, Sunny and Cheerful Big Boy, The Joker is me, original and photocopy of ID card hidden in playing cards]

This person was none other than Batman’s lifelong nemesis, the Joker.

This was the first time Darian had seen an NPC’s name unable to be displayed. As expected of the man whose true identity could only be found after Batman sat on the Mobius Chair.

Darian said solemnly: "Surrender, Joker, all your men have fallen."

Joker chuckled: "They’re not my men, just mercenaries I hired with a lot of money. It just so happens that I’ve been short on cash lately and couldn’t pay the final installment. Thank you for helping me solve this trouble; it saved me a lot of expenses."

Darian: "..."

It really has to be you, Joker.

"But as for you, Batman."

Joker grinned, his smile almost splitting to his ears, his eyes revealing a look of madness.

"It seems you’ve really fallen. You actually killed someone yourself just now; this completely goes against your principles."

Darian remained unfazed: "No, they’re just sleeping."

"Hahaha, that’s a good joke!"

Joker slapped his thigh and laughed loudly: "It’s exactly the same as what that new hero who recently popped up in Gotham said. What was his name again, Spider-Man? Seems to be a comic book character; do you know him?"

Darian nodded: "Met him a few times. He’s a very nice person, friendly and handsome. Even I, Batman, feel inferior looking at him."

Joker’s grin grew wider: "I feel he’s quite interesting. I originally thought about playing with him after a while, but now it seems unnecessary."

Darian understood.

Joker had long seen through the fact that he wasn’t the real Batman.

However, he wasn’t surprised at all.

Batman and Joker have loved and killed each other for many years; they are both archenemies and the people who understand each other best in this World.

Darian’s acting style was too far from the original Batman’s, just like Wade strolling down the street in a Wolverine suit... No, it should be Wolverine wearing a Deadpool suit; it wasn’t strange at all to be recognized at a glance.

But Joker didn’t say it explicitly, and Darian didn’t explain; he was still Vengeance, the Night, and Batman.

Since he was seen through anyway, he didn’t bother to maintain Batman’s steady style and said cheerfully: "Joker, return to Arkham; I, Batman, promise not to hit you anymore."

"That won’t do. I finally managed to get out for some fresh air; I won’t go back so easily."

Joker shook his head and suddenly showed a dejected expression: "It’s just a pity about the plan I meticulously prepared. According to my script, Batman should have been exhausted by the time he got here, his spirit reaching its limit, so I could play a good game with him."

The disappointed look on his face lasted for less than a second, and in the blink of an eye, it bloomed into a brilliant yet eerie smile, his eyes staring straight at Darian.

"However, since you are Batman, you play this game with me."

Joker took out a device from his bosom. Its appearance was so crude it looked like it was pieced together from scrap. There was a button on each side, left and right, and a red indicator light in the center was flashing.

"I have a detonator here, controlling the bombs under two ships outside respectively."

Joker pointed at Gotham Bay outside, where two ships, one large and one small, could be seen quietly moored on the sea surface.

Joker licked his lips and explained enthusiastically: "One ship has dozens of people on it, and the other ship has only five people. Press one of the buttons, and the corresponding ship will go boom-boom-boom-boom-boom..."

"..."

Halfway through his sentence, Joker suddenly convulsed as an electrified batarang pierced directly into him.

"Too much nonsense, skip the dialogue."

Darian didn’t bother listening any further.

When he heard this opening, he knew without guessing that it must be the classic trolley problem again.

Either sacrifice the few to save the many, or sacrifice the many bad people to save the few good people.

It was the same old routine over and over; only these supervillains never get tired of playing it.

This kind of moral dilemma might work for torturing Superheroes with a bottom line, but for a player, it wasn’t as important as the task at hand.

His task was to capture super-criminals, not to rescue hostages. Whether the ships exploded or not had nothing to do with him.

"Hahahahahahaha—!"

Even after being shocked like this, Joker could still laugh. His laughter was intermittent amidst the electric current: "You, this Batman..."

"Is indeed very different... I hope you can hold on later... Hahahahaha..."

"..."

The laughter trailed off with a rising note as Joker collapsed to the ground laughing, losing consciousness.

On that hideous face, an exaggerated and distorted smile still remained.

Darian looked down and sincerely praised: "This electrical resistance is much stronger than that guy Thor."

Thor’s electrical resistance ranking: -1.

Darian squatted down and took out a steel cable to tie Joker up, leaving only a breathing hole.

For someone like Joker, he wouldn’t feel at ease unless he tied him up a few extra times.

[Objective: Have Batman arrest the fugitive super-criminals (6/7)]

Darian clapped his hands and stood up: "Done. Now only the last one is left."

Boom!

At that moment, the ceiling overhead suddenly shattered.

A massive shadow, far exceeding the size of a normal human body, descended from the sky, fists clenched together like a fleshy sledgehammer smashing toward the crown of Darian’s head.

Darian reacted extremely quickly, crossing his arms upward, and the huge fist smashed heavily onto the armor of his forearm.

Bang!!

In the thunderous impact, a terrifying force poured into his body along his arms.

The ground beneath Darian’s feet instantly crumbled, and he, along with countless pieces of rubble, smashed through the floorboards, falling to the next level, then through that floor’s ground, only stopping after falling several levels, finally smashing a deep pit in the ruins.

The massive shadow also jumped down through the series of holes, landing heavily in front of the deep pit; the ground shook twice the moment he landed.

Darian flipped over and stood up from the pile of rubble, shaking off the powdered concrete from his shoulders, and looked up at the enemy opposite him.

It was a burly man so tall he hardly seemed human, his physique rivaling the Hulk.

He wore a black and white mask on his face and a philosophical tank top on his body. At a glance, he looked like a good man who doesn’t keep a mistress. His exposed muscles were bulging in blocks, and veins wriggled under his skin like small snakes.

Most striking were the several tubes connected to the back of his neck, through which some kind of fluorescent green liquid flowed, emitting a faint glow in the dim ruins.

[NPC: Bane]

[Favorability: -60]

[Evaluation: Has a ’Broke Back’ bond with Batman; look for Bane for massage and bone-setting; steroid spokesperson; junkie; DC’s Venom host]

[Status: Venom Buff Active]

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