bacchusnovels Chapter 88 The Joker Appears
Chapter 88 The Joker Appears
Chapter 88 The Joker Appears (Please Read On)
Chen Tao's heart began to pound; for the time being, things were still developing as he had anticipated.
"Batman, we're trying to track the Joker's signal."
Tim's voice came through Chen Tao's earpiece: "If we stall for a little longer, we'll find him soon...find the location of that nuclear bomb!"
"Even if the Joker isn't with the nuclear bomb, as long as there's any remote-controlled nuclear detonation device near him, we can use him to pinpoint its exact location... so we just need to buy ourselves a little more time!"
"You won't destroy Gotham with a nuclear bomb."
Chen Tao said:
"You only want to conquer this city, not destroy it. What use is a pile of rubble to you?"
This is nonsense.
Nuclear blackmail is called blackmail because it always has a specific target.
Even if it's not Gotham City, it could be any other city. All Bane needs is a bargaining chip, and it doesn't matter which city that chip is in.
Bane knew that Batman was smart enough not to have missed this point, and he was also well aware that the other party wanted to stall for time, but he seemed not to care.
"Hello, big bat, can you hear me? Ee-yo-ho~ Hehehe, shouldn't I be the one holding the giant firework now?"
The clown yelled into the communicator, "I'm angry! I'm going to launch a giant firework!"
"Be quiet," Bain said to him.
And so the Joker obediently fell silent. He froze there, just like a video that had been paused.
"So I never intended to blow up Gotham," he heard Bane say. "The nuclear bomb was pre-programmed to target Metropolis."
Damn it, what does this have to do with the Metropolitan Government?
Chen Tao's heart sank.
He had previously sent Alfred to search for Clark Kent in Metropolis, but had not yet found him.
Given the massive population mobility in metropolitan areas, finding an out-of-towner like Clark Kent among tens of millions of constantly moving people is not something that can be done in the short term.
However, based on the timeline, if Jimmy had already started working as a photographer under Louis Lane, while Clark Kent had not yet joined the Daily Planet, it means that our Kansas boy was most likely still in the period of having just left his small-town farm and arrived in the big city, busy looking for a job.
Would Superman at this time really be capable of protecting tens of millions of people from a nuclear bomb?
If he makes a mistake, and witnesses such a tragedy, will he cause the world to develop directly in the direction of "Injustice" or "Justice Lords"?
(Note: In these two parallel universes, one Superman is a tyrant and the other a dictator.)
He was also hoping that once everything was over, he could retire as he had promised Alfred, and then find Superman to replace him...
He had initially assumed that even if Bane were to be attacked, the cities surrounding Gotham would be targeted first… Oh well, as long as the nuclear missiles flew over Gotham, it would be the same – rivers of blood, or rather, the blood would evaporate, and tens of millions would die. Neither outcome was acceptable to him.
Therefore, he had prepared enough backup plans. Like a true Batman, he had multiple contingency plans in place.
"Bruce, we're still looking, we're locating it, we'll find it soon..."
Robin's voice kept coming through the earphones: "Wait a little longer..."
"If you intend to destroy Metropolis with a nuclear bomb, then Metropolis will be destroyed."
Chen Tao tried his best to spout nonsense.
"..."
Bain was momentarily at a loss for words. He had just been about to say something threatening when Chen Tao's nonsensical ramblings interrupted his train of thought.
He shook his head, as if trying to even out his brain, and then reorganized his thoughts for a moment:
"Bombing the Metropolis means nothing to me, and destroying tens of millions of innocent lives was not my intention."
"If life is destroyed, then life dies."
Chen Tao continued rambling, urging himself on in his mind.
hurry up!
"Don't interrupt me again!!!"
Bain snorted angrily, then tried to readjust his voice to its original cold and cruel tone, but failed.
"Oh, damn it, I didn't necessarily mean to blow up Metropolis—"
Everything I've done is for you!
"you!"
"To defeat you, to conquer your city, to weaken you—"
"Batman, I have a way to save Metropolis."
Bain let out a sigh of relief and finished saying everything he was about to say: "An opportunity for self-sacrifice."
He waved to Martha Wayne, who was standing next to him, and she walked over. Then, without warning, half of her body split open.
Bain reached into her belly: "Here, ten months of pregnancy, the miracle of life was born, wasn't it?"
He took a pre-prepared bottle of liquid from Martha Wayne's body.
"But this place can also be a repository of deadly poisons."
Bain placed the vial of poison in front of Chen Tao.
"This is my gift to you, Batman. You must drink it."
He said with malice:
"I specially created this venom for you to weaken you, a remedy to corrode your body."
He said, "Since that day, I've studied the nature of your body, some tiny nanobots. And some car and dinosaur transformations. I know you inside and out now."
He said, "This was specifically developed for you. They can destroy your nanobody, so you will never have a chance to confront me head-on again."
"I didn't know you had any scientific research talent."
Chen Tao said somewhat strangely, as he pondered:
Does Bain have this kind of setup? How could they develop something like this in just four days?
"You can choose to believe it or not. I bet you're thinking right now, how could I possibly have such research capabilities to develop a targeted drug in just four days?"
Bain pointed to the canister of venom he was carrying on his back: "But it's also possible. After all, I've completely mastered the art of making venom; I'm a self-taught poison master."
"So, wanna take a gamble, Bat? Bet I'm lying to you?"
"Even if it were true, you wouldn't die. I can tell you very clearly that I don't have the ability to develop a drug that can kill you."
"You've only been weakened; you're confident you can beat me, right?"
Bain's voice was whispering.
Tim's voice followed: "Batman, I've found the place, but there's nobody here!"
!
Chen Tao frowned and immediately switched the audio to speakerphone mode.
"No clowns, no nuclear weapons, no control consoles... and no live stream, it's just a recording..."
Bain suddenly looked at the communicator on his wrist.
He looked even more surprised than Chen Tao.
"How could that be?" he said. "I clearly told the clown..."
Chen Tao whispered into his headset, "Contact Harley and Poison Ivy. We still have a backup plan. It's alright..."
But before he could finish speaking, he heard a familiar laugh.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Chen Tao roughly guessed what had happened. The seeds he had sown by instigating the Joker and Bane had finally blossomed and borne fruit.
He turned around and saw the Joker appear at the corner of the corridor, staring at Bane with malicious intent.
"How could I... just let you steal Batman's affections like this?"
Ah, it might be going on sale this Friday~ I really should have stockpiled some drafts, sob sob. Damn it, I write so slowly.
(End of this chapter)