Chapter 603: I, Joker (Part II)
Chapter 603: I, Joker (Part II)
The figure was clad in a pitch-black Batman suit, his entire body encased in a skin-tight uniform that left only his mouth and nose exposed.
This Batman suit differed from the original in three key ways: first, there was no Utility Belt at the waist; second, the Mantle resembled a pair of raised dragon wings; third, a glaringly bright yellow Batman symbol was emblazoned across the chest.
"Faithful followers", The_Bruce declared, standing atop the cathedral’s summit, his Mantle billowing as he spread his arms. Through a communicator at his lips, he proclaimed, "I descended upon this city long before my Army arrived. My divinity is built upon your faith! Does anyone among you dare seize my sacred throne? Tonight is your chance! It is your ancient right!"
[The crowd in the Plaza knelt, listening to the Gotham King’s declaration.]
[The Batman-symbol spotlights, in various colors, swept the skies like celebratory beacons.]
"Prove yourselves! Come shake my reign!" The_Bruce continued. "I, the first descendant of the Batman god Bruce Wayne, welcome your challenge!" As he had done in years past, he outlined the rules: "Tonight, anyone who can capture and kill a Revival villain before I do will earn the right to challenge me. If you can slay me in martial arts combat, you shall become the new God!"
[Meanwhile, four "villains" were released from their restraints.]
As the narration played, Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy were "lifted" from their glass columns. Each was bound at the waist by a thick, steel-bar-like metal ring, connected to a steel cable. Like puppets dangling from strings, they were hoisted and placed into four separate vehicles.
"This moment… pray to Batman for survival!" The_Bruce turned to face the villains. "Beg for mercy, plead for release, or pray for slaughter…"
Before his words faded, the four villains had already been loaded into their respective vehicles.
Joker’s ride was a flat, triangular-shaped modified car. Its rear wheels were massive, taller than the chassis, while the front wheels were normal-sized. Four powerful spotlights adorned the front, and the bumper was shaped like a gaping "mouth", giving the car’s face the appearance of a grotesque grin.
Harley Quinn’s vehicle was similar in style to Joker’s, but painted in red and black, with no "mouth bumper."
Poison Ivy’s transport was a green hovercraft, slightly larger than a motorcycle, decorated with plant motifs. Using hover technology, it had no wheels.
Two-Face’s vehicle was the most modest—a tiny flying disc, barely two meters in diameter, barely enough space for two people. Two one-meter-tall control sticks stood on the disc, serving as both handles and supports.
But despite its simplicity, the device could fly, giving it a certain advantage.
"Some innocents must die to save others", The_Bruce concluded his speech. "Order must be overturned for salvation to come! My people, show your sins before the villains—Batman will purify them! Now… let the slaughter begin!"
[For you four, the rules are simple.]
[If you can kill Bruce while evading the city’s pursuit, you will gain freedom.]
[But until now, no villain has survived this ritual…]
Amidst deafening noise and roars, Joker, Harley, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy sped off in four directions, their vehicles tearing through crowds, carving bloody paths onto Gotham’s streets, vanishing into the night…
As the opening CG ended, players regained control.
[Main Quest Triggered]
[Survive the pursuit and regroup with at least one ally.]
Feng Bu Jue snapped back to awareness as the quest prompt echoed in his ears. But he had no time to check the game menu—he found himself gripping a steering wheel, speeding in a high-velocity vehicle.
[Your appearance has been adjusted to Joker’s form in Npc perception.]
[An item has been added to your coat pocket.]
Two system prompts followed as Feng Bu Jue slammed the brakes.
The car didn’t stop… or even slow down.
"Ahh~ As expected", Feng Bu Jue muttered calmly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead while analyzing the situation. "This car has no brakes… and this safety belt has me locked in place." He shifted his shoulders slightly, testing the restraint.
Suddenly, a figure lunged into the road ahead, shouting slogans, eyes burning with fanaticism.
Feng Bu Jue made no move to evade. He simply kept driving straight, letting the "Joker Car" plow into the martyr.
Crash—
The figure flew sideways, crashing onto the roadside. Seconds later, he lay dead, his corpse contorted grotesquely in a pool of blood. Purple gas hissed from the car’s front, staining the corpse’s face with a hideous, Joker-like grin.
"Hmph… How ironic", Feng Bu Jue scoffed, showing no pity. "In this situation, the real Joker would never swerve. True villains survive… only the righteous die trying to avoid them." He shook his head. "Only the good would veer to dodge someone, only to crash their car."
Meanwhile, on the street behind him, a Batman vehicle screeched to a halt beside the corpse. The_Bruce leapt out, cradling the body. "Behold… Joker’s first victim."
He wasn’t speaking to empty air. Cameras were everywhere—drones and mobile units tracked the scene.
"I swear vengeance for this innocent life!" The_Bruce vowed, his heroic figure broadcast live on countless city screens.
Even Feng Bu Jue, still driving, saw it on a roadside display.
"Heh… If you dare come, I’ll dare to kill you", Feng Bu Jue smirked, pulling out the [Wjq-308 Military Shovel] from his satchel. "But… killing you outright would lack dramatic flair."
Clearly, with none of his abilities restricted, Feng Bu Jue dismissed The_Bruce as a boss-level threat. Already, he was plotting something far more elaborate.
"Hmm… This belt’s surprisingly durable", he muttered, steering with his left hand while sawing at the safety belt with the shovel’s serrated edge.
Soon, he freed himself and leapt from the car’s roof. The out-of-control vehicle crashed into a wall, flipping over, while Feng Bu Jue flipped mid-air, dissipating momentum with a few light steps before landing gracefully.
"Alright… Next, I need to deal with—" He scanned the empty street. Above, several falcon-shaped drones circled, hovering seven or eight meters high.
"Joker! Face Batman’s judgment!" A ferocious roar erupted.
A Batman-suited figure swung down on a rope, charging at Feng Bu Jue.
"Two hundred thirty pounds, standard suit, cape, gloves—muscle silhouettes stitched on, terrible agility, fat and clumsy", Feng Bu Jue noted instantly.
"Hmph", he snorted, sidestepping lazily as the attacker lunged past him.
As the man swung past him, Feng Bu Jue casually delivered an elbow strike to his waist.
"Aaagh!" The imposter Batman tumbled from the rope, crashing heavily to the ground. The searing pain in his waist nearly made him pass out—compared to that, landing on his back was nothing.
"What do you think you're doing?" Feng Bu Jue stepped forward, standing over him. "Do you really believe you could kill me? Then defeat The_Bruce and become the new god?"
"Ugh... ugh..." The fat man couldn't speak. He might have internal bleeding or a spinal injury—or maybe he was just terrified.
"Heh..." Feng Bu Jue suddenly chuckled. He raised his head, glancing at the mobile cameras, then leaned down toward the fallen man. "Look at your face... Why_so_serious?" He stared into the man's terrified eyes. "Come on, smile."
At that moment, all the city's giant screens were playing back the scene (with split screens on the edges showing other players fleeing in vehicles). Everyone was watching—including The_Bruce himself.
"Don't you understand?" Seeing no reaction, Feng Bu Jue pulled a handgun from his pocket (the item he obtained upon entering the scenario) and pressed it to the man's forehead.
"C-cough... ugh..." The imposter nearly burst into tears but forced a twisted grin. Ironically, he was still wearing his homemade Batman mask.
"Hehe... That's better." Feng Bu Jue nodded, stood up, and holstered the gun.
The man's tense body relaxed instantly, and he passed out.
Feng Bu Jue smirked indifferently, then looked up at the mobile camera. "Listen well, my villainous companions!" he declared loudly. "Lu Nong Zha... Yun Chao He. Chang Ri Wei Xiao Yi... Qi." After finishing these disjointed lines, he turned and left.
In most scenarios, dialogue between players and Npcs was automatically translated into the listener's native language. However, the two lines Feng Bu Jue just spoke left the characters in this scenario genuinely confused. To them, the "Joker's" words were just strange, incomprehensible syllables...
...
At the same time, the other three in the city...
Harley, played by Ruo Yu, was still in the car. Her situation mirrored Feng Bu Jue's minutes earlier—no brakes, and the safety belt locked in place. Her solution was similar too: she used a longsword to cut the safety belt.
However, Ruo Yu wasn't as skilled at multitasking as Feng Bu Jue. Balancing cutting the belt while controlling the speeding car required more time. Plus, using [sealed sainthood] in a car wasn't convenient. Unlike the compact military shovel (only forty centimeters when folded), this was a meter-long longsword—accidentally cutting herself would be awkward.
Xiao Ling's situation was slightly better. Carrying a military dagger, she had already escaped the shuttle when Feng Bu Jue recited his poem. She cleverly slipped into the city's sewer, temporarily evading camera surveillance.
As for Xiao Tan... things were dire. First, his flying vehicle had a strict altitude limit. Second, its speed maxed out at forty kilometers per hour. Third, his hands were shackled to the control lever with two welded iron rings, and his feet were locked to the flight vehicle's base with similar metal fixtures.
In short, Xiao Tan couldn't reach into his satchel to retrieve anything, forcing him to zigzag aimlessly in the vehicle.
The worst part? He was trapped in a densely populated area. Streets and buildings teemed with people—some in civilian clothes, others in homemade Batman or Batgirl costumes. They surrounded "Two-Face", hurling various improvised weapons (a few even had guns) at Xiao Tan.
...
Back to Feng Bu Jue...
After moving quickly for a while, Feng Bu Jue stopped beside a roadside power distribution cabinet.
"Hmm... this should work." He muttered, pulling out the divine military shovel and prying the box open in three swift moves.
Then Feng Bu Jue did something shocking—he removed his gloves and reached inside...
"Aaaaaagh!" No one knew what he touched, but lightning flashed, and he was flung backward. His hand was charred, his body emitting a burnt stench. He twitched on the ground for a while.
But seconds later, Feng Bu Jue struggled up, calmly pulling his gloves back on, letting the scorched flesh stick to the fabric.
The live broadcast audience was stunned.
"Good... this burn doesn't cause continuous vitality loss, just hurts like hell", he thought. "Still, the vitality value drop is shocking. Even pulling my hand away instantly cost 50%... I'd be dead several times over in real life." He licked his dry lips.
He was right. In reality, he wouldn't have pulled his hand back. Even if he did, one second of contact would kill an adult.
"Phew—" Feng Bu Jue stretched lazily, groaning in satisfaction.
The next second, his expression shifted. Suddenly, five or six golden lights shot from his hand, each tracing a precise path to strike a mobile camera.
...
"What just happened?" The_Bruce asked grimly, staring at the static-filled monitor feeds.
The Gotham ruler had returned to his castle, standing in a command center-like room. The entire right wall was embedded with screens, displaying feeds from all city surveillance and mobile cameras.
Several staff members in police uniforms (resembling the first Robin's suit, with an "R" emblem on the left chest) sat at elevated control stations, monitoring data and reporting updates.
"Did he just shotgun them?" Gordon, the man resembling Commissioner Gordon, quickly replied. He stood near Bruce, holding his Batman suit and mantle.
"I don't think so..." Bruce said. "Even if those lights were gunshots, what about the electricity stunt earlier?"
"We turned him into the 'Joker'—he's a madman now. Who knows what he's doing?" Gordon shrugged.
"I think I know", a bald old man in a brown research coat interjected. Dr. Klibon, The_Bruce's most trusted subordinate, was using a portable device to monitor Bruce's vitals (hence his bare chest and mantle-free state).
"This man is extremely clever. He realized he had a tracking chip in his head but knew he couldn't remove it himself..." Dr. Klibon explained.
"Doctor's right. We lost the tracking signal from him before he destroyed those cameras", a staff member called from above.
Bruce immediately asked, "So... we've completely lost his trail?"
Silence fell over the room.
"Hehehe..." Bruce's menacing grin returned. He turned to Klibon. "Finished? What's the data?"
"New heart's rhythm is stable. No rejection like the other transplants", Klibon replied.
"Excellent. Klibon, another super stimulant injection", Bruce said, turning his gaze to the monitor. "Leave the 'Joker' for last. I'll deal with 'Two-Face' first and calm the rabble outside."
(End of Chapter)
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