Chapter 605: Me, Joker (Part 4)
Chapter 605: Me, Joker (Part 4)
"It reeks in here..." Gu Xiaoling had been stuck in the pitch-black sewer for over ten minutes, yet the pungent stench still made her wrinkle her nose.
At this moment, she had attached a flashlight to her submachine gun and was advancing cautiously with the weapon raised.
"A line from a poem hinting to gather at the police station", she muttered to herself. "They deliberately omitted one character from each of the two lines in two poems to indicate we should meet at the police station... Truly impressive, Commander. This method of conveying information is brilliant. Even if spoken directly in front of a live broadcast, the Npcs in the scenario wouldn't understand its meaning. Only us players would get it..." Her expression suddenly shifted. "Wait... Will Xiao Tan be okay?"
The more Gu Xiaoling thought about it, the more anxious she became. But then she recalled, "Hmm... Feng Bu Jue must have considered this. He wouldn't leave Xiao Tan to fend for himself. He's probably already taken care of it." At this thought, she felt reassured. Even if Xiao Tan's literary skills were questionable, Feng Bu Jue's strategic mind was reliable.
Clack-clack-clack...
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from the corner ahead, interrupting Gu Xiaoling's thoughts.
At the same time, several light sources flickered on from that direction.
"Poison Ivy", a man's voice activated through a sound system. "Is that you?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried far enough in the cavernous sewer. The tone... seemed inquisitive.
"We mean no harm", a woman's voice system activated a second later. "We want to help you."
"Who are you?" Gu Xiaoling remained wary, her alertness heightened.
"I'm Qiao Yi. Qiao Yi.Colin", the man replied.
"I'm Maya", the woman added. "We're members of Gotham's resistance organization. We're here to help you."
Gu Xiaoling pondered for a few seconds before replying, "Come out. Let me see your faces."
"Alright, but we hope you won't shoot", Qiao Yi said.
"No wonder they won't come out—they know I have a gun", Gu Xiaoling immediately realized. Her eyes shifted sideways, and two seconds later, she spotted a surveillance camera hidden in an inconspicuous crevice above.
Bang!
With her submachine gun still raised, Gu Xiaoling swiftly drew a handgun from her holster with her other hand and fired in one fluid motion.
Bullets struck the camera dead-on, triggering a fiery explosion.
"Oh my God! What did she just do?" a man's voice exclaimed from around the corner.
No one had time to answer him because—
"Don't move!" Gu Xiaoling's voice rang out as she dashed forward nearly ten meters, appearing before the group.
The people hiding at the corner all wore expressions of shock. One moment they were marveling at the monitor feed's sudden disappearance, the next their opponent had silently closed the distance.
"Drop your weapons", Gu Xiaoling threatened, raising her submachine gun. "I'll count to two. One..."
"Hey! Hey! Don't do this!" Qiao Yi raised his voice. "We don't have any weapons!" He lifted both hands high—his left empty, his right holding a Gameboy-like device. "This is just for monitoring feeds."
Behind Qiao Yi stood two others—Maya, who had spoken earlier, and a slightly shorter man. None of them held weapons, only flashlights.
"Listen, Ms.", Maya said, "we know you're not the 'Revival's Poison Ivy.' Please stay rational. You're not the person from your memories—the Bruce and his henchmen erased your original memories and implanted many crazy, terrifying things into your mind."
"Oh?" Gu Xiaoling's expression flickered. "So that's the setting here..."
"I know I'm not Poison Ivy", Gu Xiaoling replied. "And I'm perfectly rational, so... I don't trust you."
"See? I told you this was a bad idea", the shorter man at the back said. "Let's go, Qiao Yi. Before she brings the pursuers here..."
"Dar, be patient", Qiao Yi waved him off, then turned back to Gu Xiaoling. "Listen... Ms.", he glanced around. "The sewer is our resistance organization's base. We've installed many cameras here to evade the Bruce's forces. If we wanted to kill you, wouldn't it be easier to turn off our flashlights and ambush you in the dark?"
Gu Xiaoling observed them silently. Qiao Yi's gaze was earnest, Maya's eyes showed concern, while Dar looked annoyed and anxious, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly.
They didn't seem to be lying.
"Alright, I'll trust you—for now", Gu Xiaoling lifted her gun barrel. "So... tell me what I need to know." She played her role with ten points of seasoned sharpness, immediately trying to extract intelligence.
"First, you need to deal with the tracking chip", Qiao Yi replied.
"Tracking chip?" Gu Xiaoling questioned. "Inside me?"
"In your brain", Qiao Yi clarified. "That chip contains Poison Ivy's related memories and can make your personality extremely ferocious."
At this, Gu Xiaoling suddenly realized why Feng Bu Jue had deliberately touched the electric current. This further confirmed the three's resistance member status.
Actually, if Feng Bu Jue were here, he could have confirmed this instantly. In the original comic plot, the resistance leader Qiao Yi.Colin (Joker's descendant) was transformed into Joker, while four other members were turned into Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, and Ra's al Ghul. Their appearances were forcibly altered to match those super-villains (like Penguin, whose cigarette holder was permanently glued to his mouth, maintaining that pose until death). Their original memories were erased and replaced with chips containing tracking functions and specific villainous personalities.
The current scenario the hellfront four were experiencing actually took place one year before the original comic plot. At this time, the resistance members hadn't yet been captured by the Bruce. The four villains transformed this year were merely ordinary citizens.
"As a player, I'm naturally immune to memory alterations", Gu Xiaoling mused. "But the chip's tracking function should still work. That means once I return to the surface, I'll soon be recaptured by cameras."
"What method do you plan to use?" Gu Xiaoling asked. "Not a craniotomy, I hope?"
"No need", Maya stepped forward, pulling a cell phone-shaped device from her pocket. "Just carry this device with you. It can't restore your original memories, but at least it can block the chip's tracking signal."
Gu Xiaoling cautiously reached for the item. When she saw the item description, she relaxed slightly.
[Name: Signal Jammer]
[Type: Plot-related]
[Quality: Common]
[Function: Blocks the signal from the brain tracking chip]
[Can be taken out of scenario]
[Background: Effective radius of two meters, remains functional when placed in satchel.]
With this item obtained, the group's identity could be confirmed with 100% certainty.
"Thanks", Gu Xiaoling took the device and immediately placed it in her satchel.
"Oh my God, what have they done to your body?" Maya stared at Gu Xiaoling, eyes wide.
To Maya, Gu Xiaoling appeared as Poison Ivy—green skin, wearing a green-and-black bodysuit resembling a backless gymnastics outfit. Most strikingly, her body was covered with plant-leaf-like physical matter, the green leaves embedded like scales along her curves.
To the resistance members, the sight of Gu Xiaoling placing the item into her satchel looked like she was shoving it directly into a cluster of scales on her waist. Maya shuddered with goosebumps.
"I don't know", Gu Xiaoling shrugged noncommittally. "Alright, the tracking signal is cut now. What's next?"
"We plan to rescue the others", Qiao Yi looked at her. "You..." He hesitated. "I don't know how you did that earlier, but your marksmanship was incredible. Would you be willing to help?"
Meanwhile, in Gotham's bay area...
Xiao Tan, playing Two-Face, had been gradually cornered. Exhausted and constantly fleeing, he couldn't even stop his flyer to do anything else, remaining strapped to the disc as it zipped around.
He was being chased in circles through the maze of skyscrapers and narrow streets, with thousands of rioters hurling every imaginable projectile at him.
Suddenly, Gordon's face appeared on the live broadcast screen. "Two-Face always gets knocked down... defeated... destroyed..." He began a stern lecture. "He's defeated by his own inner demons..."
As he spoke, a Batman aircraft appeared in the night sky.
This time, it was undoubtedly the real Bruce making his entrance.
"He's an incorrigible villain", Gordon continued. "You faithful believers are Batman's true servants, not him! He's unfaithful... even when facing his own inner demons."
As he spoke, Xiao Tan's flyer suddenly went out of control.
"What's happening!" Xiao Tan's heart lurched. He found the flyer beneath his feet seemed to be hijacked by someone else, uncontrollably tilting sideways.
"When the Monster Kingdom Coin flips, his strength weakens", Gordon's voice continued. "Frankly, his aggression-fueled strength is astonishing. But such strength can never last! His inner demons are his downfall because he doesn't understand the power of faith!"
As he spoke, Xiao Tan's flyer suddenly broke through altitude limits, flipping upside-down and rocketing skyward.
Like... a Monster Kingdom Coin tossed into the air.
(End of Chapter)
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