Second Attack

Cheshire Cat and Killer Croc were both alive. Chen Tao couldn't help but be greatly surprised...

Overjoyed.

He and the Ventriloquist, who had mysteriously appeared beside him, pulled the three survivors out of the rubble.

[Killer Croc's Broken Scales]

[Description: Scales shed by Killer Croc after a brutal beating and the escape of a powerful enemy. Along with his scales, his fierce spirit was also shattered. You might be able to use this to summon a Batman from a parallel universe.]

Chen Tao was slightly taken aback. He looked at Killer Croc, who was clearly still alive beside him.

[However, would a being summoned by something non-human be a normal human?]

["Bane escaped, how could he escape! Is there some immortal technique in this world that allows one to survive without fighting? Then what was the point of all my hard work fighting before?"]

[Crisis Energy Units Converted: 50]

[Crisis Energy Units Currently Held: 60]

[Warning! Downloading targeted Batman file...]

[Bat-Dragon]

[Danger Level: E]

[Earth 27 is a world filled with dinosaurs. There is no Justice League here, only the Jurassic League. All superheroes and supervillains are dinosaurs.]

[Do you wish to immediately consume 20 Crisis Energy Units to synchronize?]

Chen Tao had no intention of synchronizing in front of the three of them here.

He would take the injured away first. He helped Deathshot up.

Deathshot said miserably, "Am I going to Arkham Asylum?"

"I don't want to go to Arkham." Killer Croc, still dizzy from Bane's beating, stumbled to his feet blankly. His eyes were unfocused, and he didn't even react to the massive Batman standing so close to him.

He moaned, "I'm so hungry, do you have anything to eat? My arm is broken."

Only then did his eyes successfully focus. He saw who was standing in front of him, was startled, and struggled to get up, but quickly lay back down in defeat.

He simply had no strength left.

Cheshire Cat, even in this state, was still wearing her mask. She was in good condition, the only one of the three who could stand.

She limped away, only to be knocked out cold on the back of her head by Chen Tao.

Chen Tao found that his skill for knocking people out was becoming smoother with every use.

Everything seemed normal, and things were finally heading in a stable direction. Next, Chen Tao just needed to take them away, continue manipulating them from behind the scenes, recruit more combat power, hire more fighters...

But Chen Tao had been pondering one question.

Bane...

Did he really just escape that easily?

Thinking this, Chen Tao frowned and retreated behind the three severely injured individuals, an old man, and three corpses.

He had a bad feeling.

From his knowledge of Bane in the comics, the man was bold yet meticulous, insidious and cruel. Whenever he met Batman, he always tried to test Batman's condition.

Fleeing without a fight was really out of character for him.

If he were Bane, he would definitely take advantage of the moment Batman thought he had scared him off and suddenly make a surprise return—

The moment he thought this, his face suddenly darkened, and he wished he could slap his own jinxing mouth.

"Alfred?"

No response.

"Alf? Alf?"

"Ah, sorry, Tim, I was lost in thought—where were we?"

"We should capture Batman and beat him with a whip and a crowbar." The third Robin, Tim Drake, crossed his arms, causing the chains on his wrists to clink.

Seeing that Alfred wasn't speaking, he said anxiously, "Don't you believe me yet? He's absolutely not the one I know..."

"He's not the Batman you know. He's Bruce."

"He's just pretending to be Bru..."

"You don't understand..." Alfred seemed somewhat dazed. "You don't understand at all... Tim. Gotham, Gotham gave him back to me."

"What?"

"He's alive. The child who died with his parents in Crime Alley, my little Bruce, he's alive! He was so small then... not that Batman."

"But..."

"This filthy city, this hateful city, I've cursed it countless times. It took Thomas and Martha, my best friends, from me. But today, it's shown mercy!"

"Wake up, Alfred. He's not..."

"No, no, I know him. He's my little Bruce! Tim, Bruce has told me so much. We're retiring, we're leaving Gotham, going to Fiji to live out our days..."

Alfred was rambling a bit. He used to be so sharp and capable, it almost made Robin forget that the man was already over fifty—and old men are always nostalgic, always soft-hearted, always sentimental, always stubborn.

"Jean-Paul (the previously mentioned Death Angel), Jason Todd (the second Robin, beaten to death by the Joker with a crowbar). Bruce has already lost too many people... Tim, let him go. Gotham isn't Bruce's responsibility."

He sighed:

"Bruce... my poor little Bruce, he's suffered so much! There isn't a single soft bone left in his body. Every time he swings a fist, two of his bones grind against each other, causing him unbearable pain. The scars left by Two-Face, the Riddler, the Joker—they fester and flare up every rainy season."

"But what about Gotham? Without Bruce, who will save Gotham?"

Alfred was silent for a moment. "Although I'd love to say let Gotham be destroyed, Bruce said he would find a successor."

He said, "He asked you to look for him before, but you couldn't find him. That person named Clark Kent. I don't know why Bruce chose him, but—"

"My Bruce is going to be free. We should all return to normal lives."

"And you—" He hugged the young Robin. "We'll leave Gotham, and your parents too. We'll go find a new life together, okay?"

Tim hugged Alfred, embracing his thin body and the scent of an old man no longer young.

He couldn't find the words to refuse.

"If that Clark Kent Bruce mentioned can truly protect Gotham."

He promised, "I will."

Chen Tao felt like he was about to be freed.

Seeing the muscular freak emerge from a dark corner, he felt all the blood in his body rush from his anus all the way to every drop of brain fluid in his skull.

"Bane—" Upon seeing him, everyone present felt a chill.

Deathshot struggled to get up and load his bullets, while the Ventriloquist hid behind him. Cheshire Cat... well, the petite young lady was still lying on the ground, unconscious.

Killer Croc stopped lying down and scrambled to his feet, standing beside Chen Tao.

Wuwuwu, it's safer to hide next to a superhero.

Killer Croc recalled seeing civilians protected by Batman in the past and felt a surge of empathy.

He said:

"This world is too crazy. I never thought in my life I'd be fighting alongside Batman."

But no one had the headspace to pay attention to Killer Croc's life reflections.

Everyone was ready for battle.

Batman slowly stood up.

This single movement made Bane feel suffocated.

His fighting spirit, mixed with fear, made his heart pound like a drum. Venom, flowing like lava through his veins, surged and strengthened his body.

This pure power and killing intent were enough to break a person—anyone—like a small twig.

But the man before him was different, extraordinary.

He had never worried so much about being unable to break this "twig" as he did at this moment.

"I knew you when I was still in some damn hole thousands of miles away,"

Bane spoke in silence. His voice was hoarse and deep under the respirator.

"I knew you in my dreams, and then I escaped that hell, escaped my dream, for one purpose only: to find you, destroy you, and take Gotham, which belongs to you."

"And so you came to my city, only to hide in the gutters like a timid rat?"

He heard Batman say, "You let the lunatics out of Arkham, watch them fight me, and you didn't dare stand before me until they wore me down to exhaustion?"

Bane knew very well that Batman was trying to provoke him, and he would not fall for it.

"I've seen too many arrogant fools like you. You've caused so much death, so many lives ruined... all for the sake of ruling this city, for such an absurd and ridiculous reason?"

"I will kill for anything,"

Bane replied. His aura rose with every word exchanged. "I will kill to eliminate grating noises."

His muscles flexed, his bones twitched. "I will kill to extinguish the light in the eyes of those who dare to look me in the face."

Bane clearly saw the rage erupting in Batman's eyes. He knew this was an unprecedented challenge—

Facing the Dark Knight at full strength, not weakened!

It was truly...

Exciting!

Then he saw the big black bat, without a word, pick up Cheshire Cat and Deathshot on his shoulders with his left and right hands, grab Killer Croc, tuck the Ventriloquist under his arm with his other hand, and snap his feet together, transforming into two wheels with a whoosh.

Bane:?