Batman and Joker's Clash and Game (Part 3)

"Hmm... it seems little Ikka isn't behaving very well. But it's alright, it's alright if little Ikka isn't behaving. The most important thing now is to deal with that Little Bat. I wonder if that Little Bat can give me any more surprises?" Seeing that little Ikka's consciousness was pretending to be dead, the Joker shook his head and turned his attention back to Batman.

After all, with the Ika Mask on the Joker's face, Ikka's consciousness can't escape! The Joker can deal with Ikka whenever he wants, especially now that he has complete control over Ikka's power...

The Joker could even sense that his power had surpassed that of Ikka himself. Behind the Mask seemed to be an endless Dark World, constantly bestowing immense power upon the Joker. It seemed that the more evil the Joker's heart was, the more power he could obtain.

However, although the Joker was very curious about the power behind the Mask, he was more interested in confronting Batman. In front of Batman, everything else had to take a backseat!

Under the Joker's special care, the number of Shadow Warrior in Gotham City has increased dramatically, even surpassing the number of humans venturing out at Gotham City.

At first, these Shadow Warrior were hiding their tracks, but later they openly appeared on the streets because their purpose had changed from murder and robbery to attracting Batman's attention.

Later, the Shadow Warrior also discovered the existence of the small machines. After all, the small machines had limited ammunition, and when the Shadow Warrior moved in groups, the small machines were simply unable to eliminate them all. Even hiding themselves and returning to the Batcave became a problem.

Of course, with more and more Shadow Warrior appearing, Batman realized that he could no longer send the machines he sent out back to the Batcave, otherwise he might accidentally expose the hidden Batcave, which would be a greater loss than a gain!

Therefore, Batman quickly modified those machines into disposable self-destruct machines. When their energy was about to run out, these machines would scan for nearby Shadow Warrior. Once Shadow Warrior was detected, the machines would self-destruct. If no Shadow Warrior was detected, the machines would go into hibernation, waiting for the Shadow Warrior to appear.

Afterwards, Batman demonstrated what it means to be incredibly wealthy and what the power of money is! One after another, expensive self-destruct machines were secretly dispatched by Batman to perish together with the endless stream of Shadow Warrior.

Even if Gotham City is somewhat chaotic at night, this expense is nothing to Batman as long as it can protect the peace and safety of Gotham City.

And so began the clash and game between Batman and the Joker —a collision of superhuman abilities and the power of money.

Of course, with Butler Alfred's reminder, Batman also tried to find the controller behind the Shadow Warrior, and even went to Arkham Asylum to visit the Joker and a series of other criminal patients.

"Hey! Isn't this the famous Batman? What brings you to Arkham to visit me? Have you missed your old friend?" When Batman finally saw the Joker, the Joker, dressed in a retro suit, sat there calmly watching Batman mock him, without a trace of Mask on his face.

"I've heard that Gotham City has been quite unsettled lately. It seems like countless ghosts are claiming lives at night, and some expensive machines are even battling them. Isn't that ridiculous? Ghosts are even appearing? Do ghosts really exist in this world?"

"Do you believe ghosts exist?" Batman asked the Joker with a deep look in his eyes.

"Of course not. If they were, wouldn't people like you and me be haunted by ghosts every day?" The Joker chuckled dismissively at Batman's question, his gaze lingering on Batman's face.

The Joker was now somewhat eager to try it out; he wanted to know what would happen if he replaced Batman's Batman Mask with the Ika Mask that was pressing down on his buttocks.

Will Batman be controlled by the Mask, or will he, like Batman, recognize the darkness within himself and thus control the Mask in return? Hopefully, Batman won't disappoint!

"What are you looking at?" Batman noticed that the Joker's gaze was giving him a strong sense of threat, so he stared directly at the Joker and asked.

"I was wondering, you wear the same Mask every night, don't you get tired of it?" The Joker smiled gently, as if an old friend were joking with Batman.

"I don't have such strange habits." Batman slowly shook his head, then suddenly asked, "Did you do these things?"

"I did it?" The Joker shook his head as well, looking at Batman with amusement as he asked, "Where would I get such power? But I'm still quite happy that this made you suffer."

"Do you really not have that power?" Batman looked at the Joker intently and asked again.

"If I had that kind of power, why would I be locked up here? I'm just an ordinary person, an ordinary person just like you, Batman." The Joker sighed, spreading his hands as he looked at Batman. "Little Bat, I know you're eager to resolve this, but I'm sorry, you've come to the wrong place and the wrong person."

"Of course, if you'd like, you can ask me to go out and help. Just tell me to let you out, and I'll do my best to help you resolve this matter and deal with those so-called ghosts!"

"Then you'd better stay here! Your staying here is the biggest help you can give me." Batman swayed his robes, leaped out the window, and disappeared into the night.

"It's him! This is troublesome. This guy may have gained supernatural powers. He feels even more dangerous to me now. My previous plans for him probably won't work. I have to find a new solution!" After leaving Arkham Asylum, Batman gazed in the direction of the Joker's room, a thought flashing through his mind.

"Oops! Something's not right, I think I've been exposed... But so what? You know what Ikka is saying..." After Batman left, the Joker suddenly looked in the direction Batman had gone and laughed, taking off the Mask from his buttocks and putting it back on his face, speaking softly.

In theory, the Mask, which can only be removed by special means, is now in the Joker's hands just like an ordinary Mask; there is no hindrance in whether he takes it off or puts it on.

"The game has only just begun! Can you find a way to resolve the conflict between me and this Mask? Or, when the Mask is placed in front of you, will you put it on?" the Joker murmured expectantly.