Godhood Unlocked: I Chose Sci-Magic Dual Cultivation

In Gotham City's darkness, an invisible hand seemed to be obstructing the police and shielding Scarecrow.

With the twenty-four hours nearly up and the police still making no progress, many citizens began fleeing together.

Those who were still more or less decent people could no longer endure this madhouse of a city. They took their families and fled Gotham.

The villains rotten to the core, however, treated the place like paradise and began to celebrate.

They smashed, looted, and robbed their way through the city without fearing Batman's appearance, because that bat had not been active for a long time.

It must be dead! Clinging to that hopeful thought, the villains committed atrocities throughout the city.

Yesterday, Gotham City had 6.3 million residents.

Today, it did not...

The only ones left on the streets were those profiting from the riots.

Criminals, scum, and worse still, there were not enough good people left to stop them.

Over those twenty-four hours, the Justice League's three members witnessed the city's fall.

From peaceful prosperity to a living hell, Gotham took only twenty-four hours.

"I never thought order could collapse so quickly." Clark could not help but feel shocked.

"Even I have rarely seen such a rotten situation. Is this city really worth saving?"

Strictly speaking, Wonder Woman had seen situations worse than this. Back then, the God of Lies' Wishing Stone had caused enormous trouble across the world.

But that had been because a god's black hand was stirring things up behind the scenes. This was the first time she had seen a disaster caused purely by individuals.

They all turned their eyes toward Bruce Wayne, Gotham's Dark Knight.

After Scarecrow released his threatening broadcast, Clark had suggested that the three of them capture the criminal, but Bruce had refused.

This man's suspicion toward strangers ran deep in his bones, especially since he was deeply wary of Dane's beliefs.

He feared that if the three helped, Dane would simply kill the criminal.

Bruce had not yet given up on his "procedural justice."

Perhaps sensing Bruce's determination, Dane did not interfere in the matter.

But he chose to watch from the sidelines, lest Batman failed to contain things and the situation spiraled completely out of control.

The Justice League now vaguely regarded Dane as its leader, so neither Clark nor Wonder Woman objected to his decision.

Dane had told Bruce that if he could not resolve the matter before Scarecrow released a new batch of toxin on a massive scale...

Then the three of them would act directly. They could not just sit by and watch the city turn into a dead city, could they?

So during those twenty-four hours, not only were the police searching, but Bruce was also tracking Scarecrow's trail.

Soon, with Oracle's help, he found traces of Scarecrow.

Oracle was Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl and Commissioner Gordon's daughter.

After Joker shot her several years ago, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down, she had provided Batman with technical support under the identity of Oracle.

Commissioner Gordon had never known about this. He thought Barbara's paralysis had been the criminals' revenge against him, and he had always felt deeply guilty about it.

"Bruce, Dad just called and told me to leave Gotham..."

Bruce's movements suddenly came to a halt. He did not know what he should say.

If possible, Barbara should never have put herself in danger, especially in her current condition.

But before he could say anything, Barbara continued.

"I agreed to it, but I'm not leaving. Gotham still needs me, and you... need my help too."

With that, Barbara cut off the communication, leaving Bruce to continue his preparations in silence.

Dane watched everything coldly, while Clark and Diana seemed somewhat moved.

Just then, Alfred came over with three cups of hot coffee.

"Coffee?"

"Thank you, Alfred." Dane nodded in thanks.

Alfred had hurried back to the Manor shortly after Scarecrow's broadcast.

Because he knew that when things reached this point, even Bruce, who had been despondent for so long, would force himself back to his feet and continue fighting.

That was also when he met Dane and the other two.

Alfred was not as guarded as Bruce. Once he learned why the three had come, he warmly welcomed them.

It had to be said that Alfred truly was a gentleman. Being around him was far more pleasant than being around Bruce.

"Would you like anything for dinner tonight?"

Diana was about to politely decline when Dane's voice came from beside her.

"Meat. Lots of meat. Even more meat. Any kind of meat."

Diana quietly rolled her beautiful eyes, then stopped being polite. "Something simple will do. No need to go to too much trouble."

Clark casually ordered something as well. He actually wanted a cheeseburger, but would that seem a little too lowbrow?

Alfred smiled, noted their requests, and went off to prepare them.

"Alfred really is a fine butler. How did he end up with Bruce Wayne?"

"How about we poach him for the Justice League?"

Dane sighed as he came up with a bad idea.

Suddenly, he felt a chill down his back. Turning around, he found Batman giving him a death glare.

He had to admit, that suit was pretty intimidating.

"Heading out?" Dane casually changed the subject.

Batman stared at him for a long while before looking away. "Someone is calling for me."

Dane followed his gaze out the window and saw a massive bat-shaped shadow hanging high among the clouds.

The Bat-Signal, Commissioner Gordon's way of summoning Batman.

"Then good luck. We'll be cheering for you from here."

With that, Dane lay on the sofa as if he were in his own home and started scrolling through his phone, ignoring him.

Batman's eyelid twitched. Ever since meeting this guy, he felt like his whole aura was plummeting.

He took a deep breath, stopped paying attention to them, and headed back through the hidden room toward the Batcave.

Diana said with amusement, "Why do you always have to provoke him?"

"I don't. I respect him very much!" Dane denied it flatly.

Diana could do nothing about him, so she went into the study, intending to find a book to pass the time.

Clark sat down across from Dane and asked in confusion, "Are we really not doing anything?"

"That's right. During the agreed period, we can't do anything. But..."

Dane deliberately left him hanging, and Clark immediately took the bait.

"But what?"

"We aren't Gothamites, so Batman doesn't trust us. But we can let Gothamites get involved."

"Then he won't have anything to say, right?"

"Who?"

Clark had not caught on yet. Dane suspected his super brain had suffered a stroke if this still needed spelling out.

He turned his phone screen toward Clark. It displayed Feixun, another social media product by Pioneer Technology.

But that was not the important part. The important thing was the profile picture: it was Jason's.

"He's finished his training and is about to return."

"I told him about Gotham's situation. You know the kid. He decided to come back and teach the criminals here a profound lesson."

Clark relaxed. He still had confidence in Jason.

But he relaxed too soon. What Jason had learned in the League of Assassins were killing techniques, not the law!

Dane did not remind him. He simply continued typing on Feixun.

"Come back quickly. I've already prepared your equipment. I'm just waiting for you to return and start slaughtering!"

A reply came quickly.

"Mr. Dane, could you prepare another set of equipment? I brought someone else back with me this time."

Oh? He had even brought a fellow disciple back for backup? Not bad!

Dane casually asked, "Who is it? Send me his height, measurements, and body dimensions."

"His measurements are xxx. His name is Damian, and he's Bruce's son!"

Arkham Knight Returns

Damian? He had actually brought that little brat back?

Dane's expression turned strange. Well, well, the little beast had been unleashed.

For something like this...

Of course Dane had to lend his support! After all, he had a good relationship with Jason.

"No problem. I'll design him a suit as soon as possible too. He doesn't object to killing, does he?"

The reply came: "Don't worry, Damian is very mature."

Heh. Hehehehe~

Dane smiled meaningfully. If you say so.

Night fell, and a massive bat-shaped shadow appeared among the clouds.

The villains and scum grew anxious. They spread the word as they ran, shouting, "He's here!"

And Batman truly had arrived.

On the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department headquarters, beside the Bat-Signal, Commissioner Gordon paced restlessly.

"You called for me."

Batman's signature deep voice sounded behind him.

Gordon turned around in delight.

"Thank God, you finally showed up! Where have you been all this time?"

"I saw Scarecrow's declaration. How bad is it?"

Batman hid his entire body beneath his cape, truly resembling a giant bat.

A layer of mist had formed on Commissioner Gordon's glasses, but he had no time to wipe them.

"Worse than the worst situation you can imagine. Nearly half the city's population has already left."

"If this continues, not only the economy, but even the city's basic functions will soon be impossible to maintain."

"An hour ago, the Coast Guard tried to land at Gotham Harbor, but the gangs wiped them out. That was an entire unit!"

"Who did it?"

"Penguin, Two-Face, maybe Black Mask too. I don't know. Those bastards have all joined forces now!"

"Batman, something feels very wrong. This was planned!"

"Those people have always had plans."

"But they've never caused consequences this severe before! If we don't act now, Gotham is finished—or rather, it's already falling apart!"

Batman fell silent for a moment, then changed the subject. "How is the evacuation going?"