Why Is It Arkham Asylum Again?

Ian's face instantly flushed red, like a purple eggplant.

Aside from Ian, the other three present were all very familiar with what came next.

It was once again a transformation at the genetic level, a massive boost in physical abilities, and Ian's screams.

Even the gag ball stuffed in Ian's mouth was bitten apart by him under the excruciating pain!

One could only imagine how painful the transformation and evolution were.

Of course, the effects were equally remarkable.

First was Ian's build. His original height of around six feet shrank to just over three feet.

The hair all over his body grew wildly, turning him into a fluffy little ball. The corners of his mouth unconsciously stretched into an exaggerated grin, and a row of neat white teeth stood out sharply beneath the laboratory lights.

Other than his face, every other part of his body had become that of a genuine Yordle...

Yordles might have been adorable, with their round heads and fluffy bodies, but with Ian's face on one, it looked especially bizarre...

Li Wei had no choice but to shift his gaze anywhere but Ian's face to keep himself from laughing out loud.

The second change was Ian's physical condition.

Jigs might have been classified as a mid-lane mage, and he might have been a Yordle, but anyone who thought his physical abilities were weak was seriously underestimating him.

Compared to the hulking powerhouses of the League of Heroes, Jigs's physical abilities might have been weak, but for an ordinary person, they still brought Ian a qualitative improvement!

The ordinary ropes binding him had already been snapped during the transformation.

The wheelchair had also been scrapped. Li Wei was already considering whether his asylum needed to buy wheelchairs in bulk as consumables...

Finally, and most importantly!

There was the knowledge inherited alongside Demolition Genius Jigs's Hero Template.

Knowledge of making explosives and all kinds of detonation techniques.

For Ian, who had already been a demolition genius, it held unparalleled appeal. This knowledge and these abilities had opened the door to a new world for him!

Li Wei glanced at Ian, whose eyes were vacant as he absorbed the new knowledge.

He did not sit idle either, shifting his attention to Jigs's abilities.

Short Fuse.

Bouncing Bomb.

Sticky Bomb.

Hextech Cluster Bomb.

The Perfect Storm.

There were still five abilities, all related to explosions.

But as expected of a hero classified as a mid-lane mage, the destructive power was terrifying!

Compared to the other three Hero Templates Li Wei possessed, its large-scale destructive power was stronger than all three combined!

Especially Short Fuse's passive ability and The Perfect Storm.

Short Fuse's passive ability allowed Li Wei to turn anything he held into an explosive and throw it out, creating explosions anytime, anywhere!

The Perfect Storm was even more outrageous!

Once this skill entered reality, its power rivaled that of a missile!

Its activation range was even larger than all of Gotham City! At the very least, the areas surrounding Gotham were all within its effective strike range!

If he wanted to, he could throw this terrifying giant bomb right now and blast Gotham City Hall and the surrounding area into ruins!

"Hiss..." Looking at Jigs's abilities, Li Wei unconsciously drew in a sharp breath.

The destructive power was simply too terrifying!

Jigs was only a 1350-cost mage. How powerful would the more expensive Hero Templates be?

Especially those mid-lane mages who transcended reality and wielded magical powers—destroying heaven and earth might not have been an exaggeration for them.

And what about those demigods? Perhaps they could go toe-to-toe with those famous superheroes and supervillains...

Li Wei became lost in thought.

But he quickly came back to himself.

It was still too early to think about that. Hero Templates above the 1350 price tier had not even been unlocked yet, and he had no clue what the unlock conditions were.

After receiving the new knowledge, Ian looked at Li Wei with a complicated expression.

Li Wei did not need to explain anything. After having the Hero Template loaded, Ian naturally understood everything, and he also understood what Dr. Hugo had said earlier.

"Join the glorious evolution!"

This really was an evolution, a fundamental transformation.

As for Ian's unstable mental state? It had long since been cured by the Hero Template's power!

From a certain perspective, Arkham Asylum truly was the best psychiatric hospital in all of Gotham, perhaps even the entire world. It had cured Ian's mental problems in less than an hour.

Never mind anything else—just say whether it cured him or not!

Although Ian had now become Li Wei's friendly unit, he still had plenty of complaints about Li Wei's methods...

Why make it so scary? If Li Wei had told him earlier, there would have been no need to tie him up. Even if he had needed to call a cab himself, he would have come over and tied himself to the wheelchair!

Especially the bombs in Jigs's memories that possessed all kinds of miraculous functions—they utterly dazzled Ian.

Explosions were art!

The bigger the bomb, the better! The shorter the fuse, the better!

When Li Wei saw Ian's expression change, he knew that Arkham Asylum's first patient in the truest sense had completed his transformation.

"Ian, welcome to Arkham Asylum. Welcome home. But... do you want to change back into your original appearance first?"

Li Wei looked at the bizarre Ian and said it while trying hard to suppress his laughter.

Chapter 49: Why Is It Arkham Asylum Again?

As the first "patient" to arrive at Arkham Asylum, Ian naturally received a room of his own.

Although Ian's mental problems had been completely cured, he could not be discharged.

Or rather, for the sake of the City Hall's medical subsidies, Arkham Asylum simply did not have a discharge option!

As long as the patients continued living here, City Hall had to transfer the corresponding medical subsidies to Arkham Asylum on schedule every month according to their agreement.

This was more stable than becoming a civil servant!

Fortunately, Ian had no intention of leaving Arkham Asylum. His head was now filled with the bomb-making knowledge inherited from Demolition Genius Jigs, and he could not wait to put those ideas into practice!

The underground Indian Hill Hospital beneath Arkham Asylum happened to be fully equipped. Although it was currently only a biological laboratory, with a few modifications, part of it could be turned into Ian's bomb factory.

Dr. Hugo displayed extraordinary enthusiasm at the arrival of this "new colleague" and test subject, personally taking Ian into the elevator down to Indian Hill Hospital.

Li Wei could not be bothered with the rest.

As far as he was concerned, it was enough as long as Ian did not leave Arkham Asylum. If Ian really managed to develop something interesting, that would just be an added surprise.

Other than the two in the underground laboratory, Li Wei and Stan went their separate ways and returned to their rooms.

Li Wei had been right.

Just as the night began to fade from the sky, Fish's corpse, hanging from a streetlamp, was discovered.

Normally, one or two deaths in Gotham were nothing worth mentioning. The procedure was to report it, have the police come make a token record, collect the body, and call it a day.

But if the dead person was Fish, the Falcone Family's second-in-command, it was different!

Especially during this sensitive period, when the Maroni Family and the Falcone Family were at war!

When Gordon heard from the responding officer that the dead person was Fish, his expression changed. He immediately called Harvey and rushed to the scene as fast as possible.

When Gordon arrived and saw Fish's familiar face, confirming her identity, his headache instantly doubled.

Fish was dead!

This was big trouble!

In Gotham's underworld and legitimate society, there was at least one rule that applied equally to both.

The deaths of those at the bottom of society and those at the top had completely different consequences.

Fish could definitely be considered part of Gotham's upper class in the underworld.

Especially since she was now the Falcone Family's second-in-command.

At first, Gordon suspected that she had been killed by the Maroni Family. But after Fish's body was taken down from the streetlamp, Gordon saw the hideous wound on her neck.

It was Gotham Beast!

Gordon was familiar with it, which only made his headache worse!

Tch, troublesome!

This brought up Gordon's recent experiences and "achievements."

The City Councilor murder case, the war between the Maroni and Falcone Families, Cobblepot returning to Gotham alive...

Everything that had happened lately made Gordon feel that Gotham City was becoming increasingly surreal!...

During that time, Victor had stormed the police station. Other than Harvey, not a single officer had dared to stand with Gordon, making him understand that in this city, a gangster's name might have carried more weight than the law or the police!

It also made Gordon realize that changing this city for real would be a long and arduous task.

The surreal nature of things was not limited to institutional problems. Not long ago, he had arrested a criminal named Sionis. That man was a complete psychopath who liked making job applicants play out scenarios like battle royales.

However, all of that had passed safely. Other than the two colossal forces of the Falcone and Maroni Families, which Gordon could not possibly bring down yet, he had sent every other criminal to prison.

There had been a few twists and turns along the way, but things had passed safely enough.

At the police station, Gordon's courage and willingness to fight had gradually awakened the remaining conscience in his fellow officers, finally earning him the support of the other police.

Other than the gang war, everything was moving in a better direction.

He had even gradually approached the truth behind the murder of The Waynes. He had found a homeless girl from Gotham—Selina Kyle—who claimed to have witnessed the murder of The Waynes.

Although Selina had run away before she could make a statement at the police station for some other reason, there was hope now, wasn't there?

Yet at this crucial moment, Fish, the Falcone Family's second-in-command, had been killed by Gotham Beast!

Gordon had no choice but to shift his focus from investigating the murder of The Waynes to this matter.

Of course Gordon knew about Gotham Beast.

In Gotham's underworld, Gotham Beast's string of frenzied crimes had become a terrifying urban legend that sent countless gang members running in fear.

As for clues, there were currently none. The Gotham Police Department only knew that a deadly beast prowled Gotham after dark, and that its targets were all gang members and various criminals.

Perhaps Fish had simply been unlucky enough to encounter Gotham Beast.

That was what Gordon thought at first.

But when the officers made a new discovery in an abandoned factory nearby, Gordon quickly changed his mind.

When Gordon reached the abandoned factory, a Flesh Lotus bloomed quietly in the open space within.

Other than that Flesh Lotus, not a blade of grass grew in the abandoned factory. Even the ground had turned a rotten, inky green!

Gordon and Harvey exchanged a glance and finally realized that Fish's death was not as simple as they had imagined!

Even Khada Jhin, who had vanished without a trace, had come!

This was where Fish had actually been killed!

The two immediately called for support from the police station.