Home Invasion

"Careful!"

Jude shouted as he activated his Gravity Boots, flipped backward onto the ceiling, and hung upside down as he fired several shots in quick succession.

Lasers flew everywhere, instantly blowing apart the guns that had suddenly emerged from the floor.

Bruce fired his grappling hook, wrapping it around a flamethrower around the corner. He yanked hard with both arms, and with a crack, the flamethrower snapped in half, stopping the stream of fire.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Jude asked, "How long have we been in here?"

Bruce checked the time. "One hour and three minutes. Why?"

"Oh... nothing. Fighting alongside you has been pretty fun. More than an hour passed in the blink of an eye, hahaha."

Bruce: "..."

"What? You want to roast me but can't get the words out, right? Or would that be out of character for you?"

Bruce: "...Shut up. I just want to rescue Gordon as soon as possible. There's still a huge mess outside waiting to be dealt with."

"With a genius like me helping you, rescuing him will be easy."

Bruce ignored him and pointed ahead. "Another riddle. Just how many of these things did Nygma prepare?"

"He's called the Riddler. Of course, the more the better. Let me see what the question is this time."

Before a large door sat seven keys, labeled in alphabetical order: a, b, c, d, e, f, and g. There were no other hints whatsoever.

Even with Bruce and Jude's intelligence, they hesitated at that moment. Without any clues, not even a god could guess the answer.

Bruce turned several keys over in his hands. "They're all ordinary keys. The only differences are the teeth. Nothing special. The answer isn't in the keys themselves."

"Given Nygma's personality, he definitely left a clue. If it isn't in the keys, then it can only be these letters. But what do the letters represent?"

"There are too many things letters can be used for—mathematical formulas, stocks and funds, everyday contexts, tire specifications... No, that's not it."

"We won't know unless we try. Pick one at random and open the door. Time is slipping away."

Bruce stopped hesitating. He grabbed the key labeled A, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it. Nothing happened.

At that moment, Nygma's image suddenly appeared. He looked at them mockingly and said, "Looks like you chose wrong. Gordon loses fifteen minutes. He has twenty-seven minutes left now, and you two must accept punishment as well."

The moment he finished speaking, three drones surged out from the passage behind them, unleashing a storm of bullets.

Fortunately, the two had already been on high alert when the Riddler appeared. Batarangs and laser beams flew out alongside the bullets, instantly blowing up the drones, but both Jude and Bruce took a bullet in the arm.

"Hahahaha... Looks like you can bleed too, can't you? Keep it up!"

"Enough, Nygma. Stop this boring game. I don't have time to play with you."

As Bruce spoke, he slammed a heavy punch into the door. Dust fell from it, making it clear that the thing was not particularly sturdy.

The Riddler narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you going to break the rules? Then let me tell you this: Gordon will die immediately. Killed by Batman. That would be pretty interesting too, wouldn't it? Hahahaha..."

Jude grabbed the somewhat out-of-control Bruce and pointed at the keys. "Pick another one."

Bruce glanced at him, then picked up the key labeled G and inserted it into the keyhole. After turning it, there was still no response.

"Haha, wrong again. Gordon loses another fifteen minutes. He only has twelve minutes left now, and you'll have to accept punishment again!"

Bzz...

Another drone appeared in the passage, but before it could fire, Jude shot it out of the air.

But the Riddler did not care. As long as they guessed wrong once more, Gordon would die. And if Gordon died, the blow to Batman would far exceed killing Batman himself.

"You have one last chance. Don't choose wrong again. Which one is it? B or C? Or perhaps one of D, E, and F? Hurry up and guess, Batman!"

Bruce's gaze shifted among the remaining five keys as his mind raced, trying to determine the answer to this riddle.

Then, a hand suddenly reached out and took the key labeled C.

"Use this one."

Bruce looked at Jude. "Why?"

"Because this genius brain has already seen through the mystery. It's a music riddle. The letters A, B, C, and so on represent major keys in musical notation, and what we need to guess is how many sharps each major key has."

"A major has three sharps, which is why three drones appeared when you picked that key."

"G major has one sharp, and one drone appeared when you picked that key."

"B major has five sharps, D major has two, E major has four, F major has six, and only C major has no sharps."

"So the answer is the key labeled C. Am I right, Nygma?"

The Riddler's previously delighted expression immediately darkened. He gave a sinister chuckle. "You can try it."

"At a time like this, you're still bluffing. That means I'm right."

Bruce inserted the key into the keyhole and gave it a gentle turn. The tightly shut door immediately opened, and the Riddler's image vanished.

Batcave. After arguing for a while over whether it would be Central Plaza or Wayne Tower, the group decided to split up.

Damian and Nightwing headed for Wayne Tower, while Stephanie went to Central Plaza. After discussing it, they ultimately felt Wayne Tower was the more likely target. After changing into their suits, the three immediately set out.

It was nearing the morning rush hour, and many office workers were getting ready to head to work.

When Damian and Nightwing arrived at Wayne Tower, they could not enter through the front entrance because they were still operating as superheroes. Instead, they had to enter through a hidden door.

"Wayne Tower is so big. Where do we go?"

"Let's split up. The most valuable places here are the technology R&D department and Bruce's CEO office. If the enemy wants to obtain or destroy something, those two places are the most likely targets."

When Nightwing arrived on the floor where the technology R&D department was located, he immediately discovered that the security door had already been cracked open. There was no need to explain what that meant.

"Robin, come to the technology R&D department. The enemy is here."

"Got it!"

Nightwing cautiously entered, moving slowly along the wall. He soon spotted a group of people gathered around a large machine, studying something. Judging by their attire, the intruders looked somewhat like ninjas.

"You can't dismantle it by force, Zeko, you idiot. Get out of my way!"

"Stockman, if you yell at me again, I'll crush your skull."

Though he said that, he still stepped aside.

A skinny, bespectacled man walked over to inspect the machine for a while before directing the ninjas to begin dismantling it.

Grandpa Rick was smarter than Bat.