Villains Were Doomed by Their Own Stupidity

Victor and Gotham University's president were thinking about how to deal with Bruce, but Batman was also thinking about how to deal with them.

After all these days of tempering, Batman had come to understand many things. For example, he had found answers to every question Schiller had asked him.

He now admitted that he was different from the police. He was not some embodiment of absolute justice. In truth, he was no different from those criminals, because neither of them obeyed the law. Batman had made up his mind: he would uphold only his own justice and stop caring about judicial justice.

So, his methods of investigating Christine's disappearance were no longer so awkward and reckless.

Once Batman had figured things out, no one could match his cunning or execution.

He started with Gotham University's president. Compared to Victor, an old cop who had spent years in the police force, the president, though cautious, had never attended the police academy or undergone professional counter-surveillance training. Physically, he was just an ordinary man. He was far easier to deal with.

One night, Batman slipped directly into the president's home. Though he did not find where Christine was being held, he discovered several inconspicuous calls in the president's landline records.

He guessed that the president could not have kidnapped Christine himself. He must have had accomplices or subordinates, and contacting them through a landline was the safest option. Not everyone had the means to crack landline records, and ordinary people had no way of seeing what numbers an old-fashioned landline had called.

Bruce resumed his identity as a student and deliberately paid a visit to the president's office. His reason was perfectly legitimate: he had clearly done his homework, yet Schiller had still deducted points from his assignment. He intended to complain to the president.

During his conversation with the president, Batman used professional equipment to collect a voice sample, then used a voice changer to call the unfamiliar number.

Batman was skilled with words as well. He did not ask any questions, merely said vaguely, "How is she doing now?"

The person on the other end did not seem particularly cautious. Without thinking, he replied, "Sir, we haven't touched her, just as you ordered. But such a pretty little thing... my men are having trouble controlling themselves..."

"If anything happens to her, you're finished," Batman said.

"Of course, of course. I'll keep them under control."

The moment the man spoke, Batman knew they were just a few gangsters. Every gang in Gotham was the same, and Batman knew them better than anyone.

As soon as the call ended, Batman pinpointed the gangsters' location. His equipment was not yet fully developed, but the Wayne Family had so many satellites hanging in the sky that tracking a cell phone signal could hardly pose a problem.

After finding the place, he discovered that Christine truly was not in immediate danger. The president had not intended to use her to threaten Wayne; he wanted to force her to become an informant. Naturally, he could not hurt her, or how else would she go on dates with Bruce?

Christine was rescued by Batman. Though she had not suffered physical injuries, she was deeply shaken. After Batman took her to the hospital, Christine said she was willing to testify in court and identify the president as the man who had kidnapped her.

Meanwhile, things were not going well for Victor either. In the face of an old hand like Victor, a thorn like Gordon, who only wanted to uphold justice, was the hardest kind of person to deal with. After all, Victor could not shout in the Police Department that Gordon was wrong for pursuing justice. He still had to put on a righteous act.

Gordon knew exactly what kind of person Victor was, but he still had to play along, stall for time, and keep Victor too busy to destroy evidence for Jonathan or tamper with the files.

Gordon guarded everything related to Jonathan like a hawk. He had solved the case himself, too. Victor could not be sure that, after destroying the evidence in the Police Department, Gordon had not kept something in reserve. This rookie was reckless and difficult, but he truly had some skill.

Maroney was even more unfortunate. To increase Maroney's sunk costs, Schiller went to the chemical plant every few days to sabotage it. He never did anything major. Today, a machine would be missing two parts; tomorrow, a drainage pipe would be clogged. These minor issues would only be seen as accidental mishaps, but they seriously delayed operations.

Some machine parts could only be bought from the original manufacturer, so Maroney had to go to great lengths to acquire them. For parts the manufacturer did not supply, he had to pay even more to buy them from someone else.

Back and forth, nearly another million dollars went down the drain without even making a splash.

Maroney believed these problems had arisen because Jonathan's bail was taking too long. He thought the workers were unprofessional and that only Jonathan could handle it, so he pressured Victor.

With Victor under pressure, he had no choice but to go to the president again. But the president discovered that Christine, whom he had kidnapped, had vanished. Before the whole plan had even begun, it had already died in the womb.

Yet Victor was desperate for him to carry out the plan. After the Director and the president realized their most crucial piece was gone, the immense pressure forced them to take a risk and directly kidnap Bruce.

On the day Schiller accepted Bruce's invitation to dine at Wayne Manor, Bruce went straight to find Schiller after class. The two got into the car together, intending to return directly to Wayne Manor.

Gotham University was still some distance from Wayne Manor. It was not as far as the East Side across the diagonal, but the drive would still take at least half an hour.

If Gotham had one advantage, it was that it was not as congested as New York. The roads in that godforsaken place were straight and broad, allowing drivers to accelerate without restraint.

To show his sincerity, Bruce had not arranged for a driver to pick them up. He drove himself.

Perhaps driven by a subtle desire to show off, he had not chosen some bulky, secure vehicle. Instead, he drove a beautiful Lamborghini, bright blue and outrageously flashy.

Just as Bruce was about to push the speed up to 140 miles per hour, several masked men suddenly rushed out from around a corner. Their dark gun barrels pointed at the car, and Bruce's first reaction was to yank the wheel.

He was not afraid, but the professor in the passenger seat had received no such training. He shouted, "Professor, get down!!"

Schiller said calmly, "I am quite certain that the car your butler ordered for you came with bulletproof glass and tires."

Then he said, "If you want to find out who is behind this, you can pretend the vehicle has gone out of control, knock yourself unconscious, and perhaps you will get some clues later."

Bruce could tell that this group was trying to kidnap him. Otherwise, they would not have aimed every bullet at the lower part of the vehicle.

Bruce hesitated. If he were alone, he would absolutely do it. But he regarded Schiller as an ordinary person. If Bruce was kidnapped, the kidnappers would not dare kill him, but Schiller might not be so safe.

Schiller said, "I don't think you need to worry about me. I would not joke with my own life."

Bruce finally stopped the car. He wrenched the steering wheel hard, making the vehicle spin sideways across the road several times before its rear slammed into a streetlamp, as if the brakes had failed. Then he tilted his head and collapsed over the steering wheel, while Schiller also pretended to pass out.

The kidnappers had at least a little honor. Seeing that Bruce was not alone in the car, they did not immediately kill them. Instead, they dragged Schiller into the vehicle as well. They were fairly cautious, putting hoods and handcuffs on both men.

After driving for a while, they seemed to have arrived somewhere in the Slums. Bruce and Schiller were hauled out and taken into a room.

Their hoods were removed. Both Schiller and Bruce put on shocked expressions, but Schiller was genuinely stunned by what came next, because the president actually walked straight out.

He truly had not expected the mastermind to stroll out so openly, without even wearing a mask. He was even dressed in the suit he wore to work. Schiller was speechless.

Even if you did not know Bruce was Batman, you had concealed ninety-nine steps of your crime. Was this really where you chose to fumble?

If someone picked Bruce up and shook him right now, it would count as him letting his guard down if less than two pounds of miniature cameras fell off him!

Of course, just like in the movies, the potbellied president began enthusiastically explaining his evil plan.

He said he had long prepared a double for Bruce. Once Bruce was kidnapped, the double could immediately replace him. He also explained that he had originally planned to use Christine's kidnapping to bring about Bruce's abduction, but had never expected Bruce to be such a pushover. A few gunmen had been enough to succeed.

In the midst of his boastful speech, he confessed every last one of his crimes.

After making every mistake a movie villain could possibly make, Schiller finally lost patience with him. He said directly, "Bruce, do it."

Bruce sprang up at once. The handcuffs had not restrained him in the slightest. The president was standing far too close, and in less than two seconds, Bruce had pinned him down and snapped the handcuffs onto his own wrists.

The gunmen waiting outside rushed in, only to be subdued by Bruce one after another. When Gordon arrived, the president still tried to use Victor to pressure him, but Gordon said, "Sorry, but the Director was caught by me last night sneaking into the archives room to destroy evidence. He damaged the surveillance cameras, but Harvey had placed another camera there under the pretense of sorting through junk. The evidence is conclusive, buddy."

Bruce said, "Looks like they've run out of tricks. Next, there's one more person we need to deal with."

Schiller pulled a file from his briefcase and said, "Just as we planned, I got a detailed map of that chemical plant and its personnel layout. I think a certain spandex freak can start moving."

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