Owls on the Move

The Ninja Master strode with aloof dignity toward the room where the spray device was stored.

The Ninja Master was in high spirits, feeling that everything was under his control. To borrow a famous line from Let the Bullets Fly, he was walking with the force of a tiger and covering a thousand miles in a day.

Before long, his long-cherished wish would be fulfilled. Destroying Gotham City had practically become an obsession for him; he would not rest until he achieved his goal.

Not far behind him, Jude silently followed. ACE Chemicals was a massive company, with quite a few high-rise buildings, not to mention the basement. Hiding a spray device would be far too easy.

If they searched bit by bit, it would be too late by the time they found it. Besides, there was outside interference. The best method was not to search for it yourself, but to let the enemy lead you there. That was exactly what Jude was doing.

The two moved forward at an unhurried pace, utterly unaffected by the carnage erupting behind them.

After twisting and turning through several corridors, the Ninja Master finally led Jude to a room hidden away in a corner.

Squeak...

The door opened, revealing the large spray device stolen from Wayne Group. Dr. Baxter Stockman was bustling around it, repairing and studying it.

Beside him, Bebop and Rocksteady sat in chairs scrolling through their phones. Their screens displayed no intelligence reports, but comedy videos, and the two laughed uproariously as they drank.

The sight of those two idiots filled Ra's al Ghul with irritation. They seemed utterly unaware of the danger and had no sense of occasion. They were practically two brain-dead imbeciles.

The Ninja Master truly could not understand how Shredder had not been angered to death by having subordinates like them.

Swish!

A gleaming Persian Scimitar suddenly pressed against the chests of the laughing pair, and Ra's al Ghul swept his hawk-like gaze over them.

"Turn it off. Now!"

Smash!

A beer bottle fell to the floor and shattered. The two idiots swallowed hard. Even their boss Shredder feared the Ninja Master, let alone them.

They scooted their hips to either side, away from the sharp blade, and put on ingratiating smiles.

"Honorable Demon's Head, everything is normal here. With us guarding the place, you can rest assured."

"It is precisely because you two idiots are here that I am even less assured. Baxter, how are the repairs going?"

Stockman Fly hurried over to the Ninja Master and saluted. "Honorable Demon's Head, things are better than I expected. We may not need to wait until dawn. The plan can begin in an hour."

Only then did a faint smile appear on Ra's al Ghul's face. His lean body slowly approached the spray device as though he were gazing upon a priceless treasure.

Thump!

Suddenly, he seemed to hear a heartbeat.

The Ninja Master slowly turned around, clasping his hands behind his back. In a tone like a charlatan brainwashing his audience, he said, "Remember this: every moment of delay adds another thread of risk. Though I am completely confident, we must still remain cautious. For example... this!"

The hands behind his back suddenly drew out. He stamped his foot and leaped toward the front left. A flash of cold light followed as the Persian Scimitar slashed forward—straight at where Jude was hiding.

Damn, he found me!

The instant the Ninja Master moved, alarm bells rang in Jude's mind. He sprang onto the ceiling, hung upside down, and fired repeatedly. As long as he could blow up the spray device, the enemy's plan would be ruined.

But while he had a plan, so did the Ninja Master. A protective barrier like a glass wall rose from the ground, shielding the spray device within it.

Such a large movement would inevitably accelerate his heartbeat. The Ninja Master instantly pinpointed his location and flicked out a Damascus Dagger with his right hand.

With a dull thud, the dagger buried itself half a foot deep into the ceiling, demonstrating Ra's al Ghul's formidable strength.

Jude had no choice but to dodge again, but every time, the Ninja Master could accurately judge his position. His eyes seemed to be equipped with radar, and each flash of his blade came within less than ten centimeters of Jude's body.

"You thought concealing yourself would deceive me? How naive. Locating someone by sound is a basic training course in the League of Assassins."

The Ninja Master taunted him while nimbly evading the laser beams.

His eyes darted back and forth like a cheetah's. In less than half a minute, he had actually forced Jude out the door.

The feeling of being hidden in darkness while still seeming completely exposed was exceptionally uncomfortable.

"FUCK! If I'd known these martial arts masters were this good, I should've trained my hand-to-hand combat properly. I've been too passive."

Ever since arriving in the American Comics World, Jude had believed that with his array of high-tech gadgets and equipment, he might not be able to run wild without restraint, but protecting himself would be more than enough.

So while he had considered training his hand-to-hand combat skills, he had never felt any urgency and had not put it into action. Now, he regretted it so badly his guts were turning green.

Whoosh!

With one strike, the Ninja Master severed a steel pipe as thick as an arm. He snorted. "Your breathing rhythm has quickened, and your heartbeat is accelerating. Are you nervous?"

"You should be. Because you chose the most terrifying opponent!"

In Gotham City, hundreds of coffins were arranged in neat rows inside a massive basement. Each coffin bore a number on its surface, ranging from one to over a hundred.

The basement had clearly been modified. Rows of nozzles protruded from the walls, continuously blasting cold air and keeping the temperature below minus ten degrees Celsius.

In the gloomy environment, the basement door slowly opened, and a man and a woman wearing white masks walked in.

"These coffins truly are magnificent!"

"What, is this your first time here?"

"Of course not. But every time I see these coffins, I am still awestruck."

The woman walked up to a coffin and gently brushed her fingers over the cross symbol on its lid.

"There's a question I've always wanted to ask."

The man glanced at her. "What question? Go ahead."

"Who is stronger, Talon or that Bat?"

The man paused before answering. "To be honest, Batman is definitely stronger. Talon is, after all, merely a machine. But don't forget, we have an army, while the Bat Family only has a few people."

The woman giggled. "That's true. I can hardly wait to see the magnificent sight of Talon ravaging Gotham."

"As you wish, my lady."

As he spoke, the man walked to the control panel. After entering the password, he pressed a button. The cold air immediately stopped, replaced by warm air.

Before long, the basement temperature had risen above freezing, and the coffins began to shake. Hands stretched out from within them one after another, like the talons of owls.