American Comics: Godhood Unlocked, I Choose Sci-Magic Dual Cultivation

The power of The Rock of Eternity was gradually becoming something she could absorb. In light of that, the way she looked at Dane lately was no longer quite so full of hatred.

As for her younger brother, no one actually knew that for extradimensional lifeforms like them, once they died in the present world, their "spirit" would return directly to their original dimension.

They could never return to the present world again.

To them, death was merely exile, far from the end.

She simply cherished the splendor of the human world and was unwilling to return to that lifeless dimension.

She had thought a great deal about it lately. If it was merely submitting to Dane, it did not seem like something she could not accept.

After all, he was indeed strong enough, and worthy enough.

So when Dane asked her once more whether she was willing to submit, she agreed.

That left him rather baffled. It did not look like she had yielded to his power.

So why had she agreed?

With caution in his heart, he cast contract magic and had Enchantress sign it.

And she signed without hesitation.

Dane was quite surprised. Even though the matter had been settled, he felt no sense of accomplishment at all.

But he had always believed in not employing those he doubted, and not doubting those he employed. Since Enchantress had made her stance clear, he was willing to place his trust in her.

Without wasting any time, he immediately dragged Enchantress into researching the design blueprints for the God of Death's divine artifact.

Gotham at Night

After the Los Angeles demon incident, the Justice League had begun to show some team spirit.

Batman was no longer as opposed as before to others entering Gotham, but he still did not like the League's other members meddling in Gotham's affairs.

And he had been dealing with quite a headache lately.

After Red Hood's massacre at Arkham Asylum, Gotham had briefly entered a period of peace.

Some of those who had fled Gotham during the Fear Gas attack had also chosen to return to the city.

The sentiment of being unable to leave one's homeland was not exclusive to us; some Westerners felt it too.

At a time like this, the best thing would be for everything to remain stable, with no major incidents.

That was also to give the people returning to Gotham some confidence.

—A false sense of confidence.

Many people would think that with nearly all the lunatics in Arkham Asylum dead, what else could throw Gotham into chaos?

But this was Gotham. Gotham was where those lunatics had been born.

If the old batch died, a new batch would naturally emerge.

Those psychiatric patients were not the true culprits here. They were nowhere near qualified...

Dusk had passed, but midnight had not yet arrived.

Batman moved through the city like a shadow, his pitch-black figure blending perfectly into Gotham itself.

He soon landed at a dock near Gotham Harbor.

He did not have much time left. A hostage was being held inside this dock.

And Batman only had ninety seconds to rescue him.

Thanks to the upgraded Nano Suit, he easily cut through the lock and slipped inside.

Batman stayed in the shadows as he approached the kidnappers within the dock.

He activated his visor, and their identity information appeared before his eyes.

Niles Nathan, former CIA member, Intelligence Division.

His gun stance indicated that he favored his right hand. The toxin on a Batarang could paralyze that arm and affect his head.

Tommy Haber, former Irish Republican special forces sniper. A metal fragment remained lodged in his skull.

Strike the right spot with any magnetic object, and he could easily be rendered incapable of fighting.

Carlos Waldeza, Blackwater mercenary. He was fond of close-quarters combat.

But he was large and slow. Not difficult for Batman to deal with.

Spider Hancock, Gotham City gang enforcer. Batman had broken one of his ribs three days ago, and it surely had not healed yet.

In an instant, Batman had formulated an action plan targeting each man's weakness.

He used his suit to hack the local power grid. He had not installed an AI in his body; he did not trust that thing.

So he had to perform every operation himself.

Fortunately, his skills were excellent. Once the local network was breached, the power was cut at once.

In the darkness, the bat opened its eyes.

The Mercenaries tensed up. One burly man said, "He's here!"

Someone had spent a great deal of money assembling this crew, but Batman took less than thirty seconds to make the mastermind understand.

He had not spent nearly enough!

In the darkness, Batman entered the cage where the hostage was being held.

He blew apart the cage door and rescued the little boy inside.

The rescued boy could not believe his eyes. He had actually seen Batman!

Thirty-seven seconds remained. Batman glanced at the timer on his visor and quickened his pace.

He used the Web-Shooter developed by Dane. Even he had to admit it was more useful than a grappling gun.

However, he still kept a grappling gun in his tactical utility belt, just in case.

Batman escaped through the skylight with the hostage.

What he did not know was that the little boy feared him no less than he feared this kidnapping.

Just as he briefly let out a sigh of relief, the little boy suddenly warned him.

Batman immediately dodged with him as a crocodile-like "man" lunged toward them!

His expression changed. Had Killer Croc not already been killed by Jason? Who was this crocodile man?

"Batman!"

The crocodile man roared, its massive body bearing down on him.

Batman swiftly dodged and wrapped one end of the grappling gun from his tactical belt around the little boy's waist.

He fired the other end, hooking it onto a building nearby. The cable retracted, pulling the boy away from the scene.

Batman then turned his attention to the frenzied crocodile man.

He had a feeling that tonight's Killer Croc was more violent, more savage.

And even more... inhuman.

He could not gamble with the hostage's safety.

The crocodile man far surpassed Batman in size, endurance, and strength, but it was not without weaknesses.

Batman tapped the touchscreen on the arm of his Bat Suit, and two ultrasonic emitters immediately assembled in his palms.

Under the intense ultrasonic waves, the crocodile man clutched its head and screamed in agony.

Batman did not miss the opportunity. He rushed in with a chain of combat techniques.

The suit had enhanced his strength and speed. Though the crocodile man was stronger than before, Batman was no longer the man he had once been...

He knew the crocodile man too well, so well that he understood every reaction and response it could make.

The crocodile man did not last any longer than those Mercenaries. It quickly went down.

To ensure it had truly fallen unconscious, he administered a powerful anesthetic.

Only after confirming that the area was safe did he lower the little boy hanging in the air.

"Raymond Edward IV, you're safe now."

The little boy taken hostage was the future heir of the Lamont family.

Lamont Enterprises was one of LexCorp's suppliers. They had developed a special solidifying agent capable of disguising Molotov cocktails as lipstick.

And on the very next day after that news was released, Raymond Edward IV was kidnapped.

Batman could now see that Killer Croc had kidnapped him, but that only made him more confused.

Because Killer Croc had clearly been waiting here all along. It had even deceived Batman into believing that he had only ninety seconds.

But Killer Croc could not possibly have that kind of intelligence.

Besides, it was barely human anymore. What would it want money for?

Before he could clear away the fog in his mind, the FBI arrived belatedly.

"Perhaps we should discuss using more legal methods to rescue hostages."

Although Batman had assisted them many times, the FBI agents were not pleased about it.

They were "new recruits" who had only recently entered Gotham and had yet to experience the city's unique "charm."

Batman did not respond to her remark. He merely said coldly, "This is my city."

The female investigator was about to say something else when one of her subordinates interrupted her.

"Chief, you need to come take a look!"

"What happened?"

The female investigator pressed a hand to her earpiece and asked.

"The money is gone!"

"Shit!" She could not help swearing.

That was ten million dollars!

To ransom the kidnapped hostage, Lamont Enterprises had been willing to pay ten million dollars for his return.

Now the hostage had been rescued, but the money was gone.

Did she think Raymond Edward would believe that the FBI had not pocketed the ransom?

The female investigator shouted furiously,

"Search! That thief must not have left yet. Find them!"

"No need. I found her."

Using thermal imaging, Batman found the person who had stolen the ransom.

She was directly above them, gripping a rope as she swung over their heads.

And Batman knew her.

"Catwoman."

Crippled or Dead, You Have to Choose One

Batman pursued her without hesitation, the doubts in his heart growing deeper.

He knew Selina. She might steal jewelry, museum exhibits, or family heirlooms from private collections.

But she would never steal cash. This cat only loved shiny things.

"Do you like tonight's scenery, Bruce?"

Even during the chase, Catwoman had time to turn back and speak to him.

"Tonight, this is all you'll get."

Batman said in a low voice, "Don't be so sure, Selina!"