Marvel: The Sole Player

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A few days later, Darian was sprawled out on the spacious sofa, listlessly pressing the TV remote control. Channels flipped rapidly across the screen, but nothing could pique his interest.

He was on administrative leave, and even Director Gordon hadn’t sought him out again.

There was no help for it; during the Arkham Asylum riot a few days ago, he had slaughtered dozens of prisoners at once, instantly freeing up more than half of the previously scarce bed space.

The incident was too massive; even if Director Gordon wanted to suppress it, he couldn’t. He had already written dozens of reports just to submit to his superiors, and he didn’t dare recall him to the Gotham City Police Department.

After this battle, Darian’s reputation in Gotham had risen to a new level.

In addition to his previous title of Gotham Gun God, he had now happily acquired a new nickname: the Arkham Warden.

There was even a saying circulating in the streets.

"Whether Arkham is in chaos or not, the Warden decides."

The good news was that the Arkham Asylum riot event wouldn’t be triggering anytime soon.

The prisoners there already had some psychological issues to begin with, and after that day’s battle royale, their conditions had collectively worsened.

Now, whenever they stepped one foot out of their cells, they would become anxious and uneasy, always feeling as if some mysterious masked man with a Gatling gun was watching them from the shadows.

For this reason, Director Gordon specifically asked Darian for that "Warden’s Tune," planning to play the music on a loop throughout the facility whenever Arkham Asylum had issues in the future, ensuring the prisoners would be more obedient than if they had taken sedatives.

The title of Arkham Warden was not only circulating within Arkham Asylum but had spread throughout the entire Gotham underworld.

The gangsters who were already wary of Darian were now even more terrified.

Arkham Asylum was the highest institution of learning in the Gotham criminal circle; if even the ruthless people inside had been beaten into submission, let alone small-time thugs like them.

With Darian’s skyrocketing reputation, the deterrent power of the Gotham City Police Department had also increased by several levels.

Now, Gotham gangs no longer dared to be as rampant as before. They all instructed their subordinates to avoid the Police whenever possible. If they couldn’t avoid them, they would just accept their bad luck and spend a few days inside, treating it as continuing education, for fear that the Gotham City Police Department would unleash Darian, that human nuclear weapon.

However, for Darian, this wasn’t a good thing.

He couldn’t return to the Gotham City Police Department to report for duty for the time being, and naturally, he couldn’t accept missions from Director Gordon.

He had been so bored these past few days that he was about to grow mold, watching the news on TV every day, hoping for some major crisis to appear.

Unfortunately, most of the news on TV was trivial, with the content of supernatural power being Zero, and only occasionally mentioning that incident in Gotham a few days ago.

Compared to the news on his main server, it was like heaven.

The news over there was either about some Superheroes resolving a crisis or some Supervillain pulling off a major stunt; watching the news was more exciting than watching a Hollywood blockbuster.

There was, however, one female reporter in an out-of-town news segment who slightly caught Darian’s attention.

Her name was Lois Lane, a reporter for the Planet Daily, known in the industry as the "Reporter Hero," possessing an extremely powerful ability.

That was the ability to summon Superman anytime, anywhere.

Whenever she encountered a problem, as long as Lois shouted, Superman would immediately descend upon the scene.

Just ask yourself, isn’t that ability powerful?

However, Superman hadn’t officially appeared in public yet, so Lois’s ability was still in an unactivated state; for now, she was just an ordinary investigative reporter.

"If I wait until Superman and Lois get together, then kill Lois, would that count as a major crisis?"

A malicious expression appeared on Darian’s face.

Seeing that the dungeon mission was slow to progress, he began to wonder if he should create a major crisis himself.

As everyone knows, a bored player is more dangerous than ten Supervillains combined, because you never know what kind of crazy stunts they might pull just to relieve their boredom.

Ding-dong!

Just as Darian’s thoughts were becoming increasingly dangerous, the doorbell suddenly rang.

He was too lazy to move and gestured with his chin towards Selina, who was applying nail polish nearby: "Selina, stop messing with those damn nails and go open the door."

Selina rolled her eyes, reluctantly put down the small bottle, and walked to the door in her slippers, making a clattering sound.

A few seconds later, her voice came from the doorway: "Darian, your friend is here to see you."

"Friend?"

Darian was stunned for a moment, thinking it was Gordon or Harvey, and said casually: "Bring him in."

Footsteps approached from afar, and Selina led a man into the living room.

"Officer Darian, long time no see."

Darian turned his head to look and nearly jumped off the sofa.

Bruce Wayne.

He wore a bright, Gotham-richest-man-style social smile on his face, as if he were here to visit an old friend of many years.

Bruce, something dirty has come in!

Darian never expected Bruce to come knocking.

Besides, when did they become friends? Hadn’t they only met once?

However, Bruce looked to be in a worrying state.

His left arm was in a cast, supported by a bandage around his neck, and there were still faint bruises on his face.

Obviously, these were injuries from a few days ago that hadn’t fully faded yet.

Darian teased: "Mr. Wayne, what happened to you? Don’t tell me you were caught red-handed stealing someone’s wife and got beaten up for it?"

Bruce: "..."

Actually, he didn’t want to end up looking like this, but he really couldn’t withstand Alfred’s nagging.

Alfred believed he had been seriously injured and must protect the wounds properly and not mess around, so he had forced him into this patient look.

Bruce coughed dryly and laughed it off: "It’s nothing, I just accidentally fell at home and suffered some minor injuries."

Darian laughed: "Then the floors in your house must be really slippery to cause such a miserable fall."

Bruce selectively ignored this topic, scanned the living room, paused briefly on Selina, then returned his gaze to Darian’s face, his smile fading slightly.

"I came to see you today because I have something serious to discuss."

Darian raised an eyebrow and waved at Selina: "Selina, go back to your room and stay there for now."

Selina’s gaze shifted between the two, clearly piqued by curiosity, but in the end, she obediently picked up the nail polish bottle and turned back to her room.

The door closed, and only the two of them remained in the living room.

Darian pointed to the sofa opposite: "Sit. Want a Coke or tea?"

Bruce sat down and said: "Tea, please, thank you."

"Sorry, I just ran out of tea."

Bruce: "...Then a Coke."

"The Coke is finished, too."

Bruce: U—0

Then why the hell did you ask!

In the end, Bruce asked for a glass of plain Water, took a sip, and said slowly: "Officer Darian, I’ve heard about what happened at Arkham Asylum. You killed nearly half of the prisoners and suppressed the Arkham Asylum riot."

Darian laughed: "You’re too kind. Maintaining peace and stability in Gotham is what I should do."

Bruce narrowed his eyes: "But don’t you think there’s something wrong with this approach?"

Darian nodded, not denying it: "Indeed, there is a problem. I didn’t kill the other half; I am truly ashamed."

Bruce: "..."

"Officer Darian, you are too extreme."

Bruce frowned and said bluntly: "You clearly had enough strength to deter the prisoners and make them return to their cells, but you didn’t do that; instead, you chose a more intense method."

Under Bruce’s speechless gaze, Darian took a Coke from the fridge, opened it, and took a sip.

"I am acting according to the law. The prisoners were attempting a mass prison break, and law enforcement has the right to open fire freely. Moreover, facing so many deranged prisoners alone, my life was under serious threat, so using unlimited self-defense was completely reasonable, justifiable, and legal."

"But you are not an ordinary person."

Bruce’s voice lowered, and his gaze became sharp: "If I’m not mistaken, the woman who opened the door for me just now should be the thief Catwoman, right?"

"It is said that Catwoman is under the protection of Spider-Man and, with Spider-Man’s assistance, has committed repeated crimes. The relationship between the two is quite extraordinary."

"Since she is in your home, that means..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.

That silly cat Selina actually made me take the blame; I must teach her a lesson later.

Darian blinked, looking innocent: "What Spider-Man? What Catwoman? I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Did you bump your head when you fell and start hallucinating?"

Bruce didn’t respond, but instead raised his hand that wasn’t in a cast and pointed to the antique vase on the coffee table.

"This vase is from my home. Some time ago, someone broke into my manor and stole it."

Darian didn’t blush or skip a beat, speaking immediately: "Nonsense, this vase is clearly a family heirloom of mine, passed down from my great-grandfather’s generation. What makes you say it’s yours?"

Bruce was expressionless: "I bought this vase at Sotheby’s three years ago for 6.5 million. I have the complete auction records and appraisal certificates in my possession."

Next, he pointed to the oil painting on the wall.

"This painting is an authentic work by a famous French painter. He gave it to me personally, and his signature and dedication are on the back."

"And this, this, this... all of these are things from my home."

Bruce pointed to a dozen items in the room, his face growing darker and darker.

Coming to Darian’s home, he actually felt a sense of familiarity, as if he were back at his own home. After all, his belongings were everywhere—how could he not feel familiar?

"Hahaha, actually, I picked these up. I thought no one wanted them." Darian’s tone was somewhat guilty.

These were indeed trophies Selina had moved back from Wayne Manor. He felt these things had no practical use, so he just casually placed them at home as decorations.

Who knew Bruce would suddenly pay a visit and recognize these items?

Bruce stared fixedly at Darian: "At this point, is there any need to keep pretending?"

"I didn’t expect that even with me hiding so deeply, you would eventually discover it."

Darian shook his head, his expression suddenly changing. His devil-may-care demeanor instantly switched to something deep and solemn, and his voice dropped an octave, just like a throat cancer patient.

"That’s right, I am the Guardian of Gotham, the one who defeated Batman twice in a row, everyone’s friendly neighbor, Spider-Man!"

Bruce’s mouth twitched.

Can you not mention defeating Batman? Thank you.

And that voice of yours, believe it or not, I’ll sue you for infringement.

"It really is you."

Seeing that Darian finally admitted it, Bruce’s gaze became complex: "I really didn’t expect that the Gotham Gun God and Spider-Man would be the same person."

Darian chuckled: "Likewise. No one expected that Bruce Wayne and Batman would also be the same person."

Mutual doxing as a gesture of friendship.

Being directly exposed by Darian, Bruce wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Since Darian was Spider-Man, it was impossible for his true identity to remain hidden.

After all, when Alfred found him at the meat processing plant that day, he had only his underwear left, with a pile of pork covering him, and no concealment on his face. The other party must have known long ago that he was Bruce Wayne.

It was for this reason that he chose to meet Darian as Bruce Wayne, rather than as Batman.

Bruce said in a deep voice: "Spider-Man, that file of yours is forged. You are not an ordinary Police officer at all. What is your purpose in coming to Gotham?"

Darian spread his hands: "The file is real. I am just a Police officer, it’s just that my strength is a little bit stronger than an ordinary person."

He used his thumb and index finger to gesture a Universe.

Immediately after, Darian said passionately: "As for my purpose, of course, it is to fight criminals and maintain justice and peace. That is why I became a Superheroes, fighting for a better tomorrow for Gotham!"

Bruce said coldly: "But your style of doing things doesn’t seem like that of a Superheroes."

Darian chuckled: "The definition of Superheroes is not something for you alone to decide. Besides, my reputation is much better than yours now. People outside are saying you are a dishonest, morally corrupt, perverted, despicable, and shameless villain. I never thought you were such a Batman; I truly misjudged you."

Bruce: U—0

Who is responsible for that?

He had already investigated everything that happened that night.

Darian had taken over his job under his name, cleaning up all the mess he left behind in one night, and even his arch-enemy Bane had been beaten into a serious injury.

If it were Bruce himself, he probably couldn’t have achieved this, even if he were Batman.

However, the cost was that his image plummeted, and the filter of fear he had painstakingly cultivated for years among the Gotham criminal circle showed a crack. His fan club began to question the moral level of their idol, and he urgently needed a PR move to prove himself.

For example, catching a few Supervillains and beating them up to promote the intimacy between the idol and his fans.

Unfortunately, most Supervillains were now locked back in Arkham Asylum, and Batman couldn’t find an opportunity, so he had to wait for future plans.

But compared to his damaged reputation, what really made Bruce uneasy was another matter.

He discovered that Darian had exposed quite a few things during the battle that were not recorded in his database. This unknown was undoubtedly a highly dangerous signal for Batman, who suffered from severe paranoia.

Bruce suspected that Darian was hiding more things that he didn’t know about.

And this was the real reason for Bruce’s visit today.