Plant Crisis

The call came from Ventriloquist, and he brought Chen Tao some bad news:

Deathshot was making a fuss about quitting and returning to Gao Village—Chen Tao only felt exhausted.

Once again, he deeply realized that reality was not a video game. There was no ridiculous setting like "[recruit soldiers and see their loyalty]."

Every one of the few people he had recruited was more troublesome and eccentric than the last.

Gordon stood nearby for a while. When he noticed that Batman had not left him as he usually did to answer the phone, he tactfully moved aside and kept out of the way.

Chen Tao had Ventriloquist hand the phone to Deathshot. After steadying himself and thinking briefly, he altered his voice to sound exactly like Deathshot:

"Okay, okay. Even if you don't want the money, you still have to stay alive and reunite with your daughter. I respect your choice and wish you well, but I still have a few things to say."

"Are you satisfied now?"

Deathshot's expression on the other end of the phone was strange. Being persuaded in his own voice was inexplicably terrifying.

"Listen, Lawton. I've looked into you. Your daughter's adoptive parents are just an ordinary family, right? They don't have the ability to give your daughter a proper education."

"Your daughter is still in elementary school. Next, she'll attend the worst public middle school in the community, surrounded by punks with dyed hair, cigarettes, tattoos, and a penchant for fighting. Then she'll go to the crummiest high school—assuming she doesn't go bad first. And then what?"

"Get knocked up one day by some redneck scumbag punk? Become a single mother, huh? Work as a supermarket cashier, her figure ruined and her skin sagging. Is that the life you've planned for your daughter?"

"Shut up! Bastard!"

Deathshot's anger was easily provoked. He should not have been such a hotheaded idiot, but nobody could remain calm when their family was involved.

"Ah—yes—that's right. Her father is the famous Deathshot, a murderer wanted by more than ten countries. The only difference between Zoey and the other slum girls is that her awesome father can shoot through the necks of every bad guy who approaches her, and he also has some savings from all those years as a mercenary. But what good is that?"

"No matter how much money you have, the true upper echelon of those elite schools will never open their doors to Zoey. And if you try to launder all that dirty money, half of it will simply vanish."

"You can launder your money, but what about your identity? Where do you plan to live with Zoey? The Sahara Desert or the East African Rift?"

"My dear mercenary, you don't want your daughter to be unable to receive a proper education, do you?"

"Enough! Stop talking!"

There was an odd hitch in Deathshot's voice, as though he were biting his tongue to keep the sound of his heart from bursting out of his mouth.

"I can get you a letter of recommendation from Gotham's most prestigious school, from Bruce Wayne or Jim Gordon."

"I can use financial operations to turn two hundred million dollars into legitimate income under Zoey's name."

"I can plan a perfect life for Zoey."

"..."

Silence.

Deathshot sighed on the other end of the phone. He had not expected to reverse course and surrender just minutes after making his decision.

He did not ask whether the other party could clear his identity. He knew that even if Chen Tao could, he would not do it for him.

What Chen Tao needed was a fighter who could charge into battle, not a veteran soldier constantly thinking about washing his hands of the whole business.

"All right, I understand. I'll help you..."

"What did you call me?"

"Boss."

The matter was settled.

Present the facts, put the cards on the table, and complete the deal.

To be honest, Chen Tao could not be bothered to wonder whether the other party was deliberately raising the price. It would be meaningless.

Once Bane was dealt with, his cooperation with this group of mercenaries would immediately end. They would settle their accounts, fulfill their promises, and head toward their own happy lives, never to cross paths again.

At least for now, he had Deathshot completely under control. That was enough.

Besides, the National Guard had already been deployed. Could Bane really destroy an entire army by himself?

Looking on the bright side, perhaps Batman would not even need to act.

Chen Tao ended the call and looked at Gordon, preparing to discuss how to deal with Bane. He still had something in his hands—but wait, it seemed the other man was on a call too.

Jim Gordon turned around and wiped the sweat seeping from the wrinkles on his forehead, smearing it into his brown hair streaked with gray.

His expression was extremely solemn.

"Give me a moment, Batman,"

he said.

He hurried down from the rooftop through the stairwell. A few minutes later, Commissioner Gordon returned with a file folder and handed Chen Tao one of the documents inside:

"You read this first. I'll explain. Three days ago, STAR Labs was attacked. A living person was kidnapped—Harold Goldbloom, a chemistry professor, the leading figure in GothCorp's chemical research division, an expert in biological and chemical weapons, and a top-tier genius in biology, botany, and toxicology..."

He took out a photograph for Chen Tao. It showed a balding man with graying hair who looked so intelligent he was practically brilliant.

Chen Tao's heart sank when he saw it.

"It was already a very serious matter, but at the time, Firefly had just set Elmer's Wharf on fire."

Chen Tao followed up, "And that pervert Firefly was watching the wharf turn into a torch while climaxing, and then..."

Chen Tao faltered. He suddenly realized that in the original history, Batman had arrived at the scene immediately, beaten Firefly into a panic, and sent him fleeing in disgrace.

But at that time, Chen Tao had only just crossed over and was still using the Batcave's toilet paper to try to activate the [Alfred Protocol], so—

"Firefly got into a fierce clash with the boys who rushed over after hearing the news."

(Gordon's "boys" referred to the police officers under his command.)

"Besides Firefly, there were Amygdala, Ogre, Two-Face..."

Gordon rattled off a long string of names as if reading out a menu, then continued, "Bane released too many people from Arkham Asylum, so Poison Ivy's matter was delayed."

"But ten minutes ago, I received a report. The forensics team used technical means to restore the damaged surveillance footage, and we suddenly discovered that Poison Ivy wasn't the only one who raided STAR Labs—"

Chen Tao took the photograph Gordon handed him. Standing beside Poison Ivy was a horrifying tree-man.

"Then we discovered that Professor Goldbloom had just developed an extremely wide-ranging biological weapon for GothCorp. If Poison Ivy and this nonhuman monster intend to replicate the weapon and use it in the city..."

Chen Tao studied the photograph carefully for a moment.

"I know him. That guy is Plant Master, Jason Wood," he said firmly. "He recreated the accident that turned Alec Holland into Swamp Thing, transforming himself into a walking plant and becoming a lesser avatar of the magical force known as The Green."

"The Green? What the hell is that?"

"An elemental essence representing plants. Along with The Red, which represents flesh-and-blood animals, and The Black, which represents decay and death, it is one of the three fundamental forces."

"All right, wait." Gordon said, "You just mentioned magic, right?"

"I don't know why our discussion suddenly jumped from a police procedural to a superpowered magical free-for-all."