Power Analysis

On the TV, a poised and elegant female host in a red evening gown stood outside Arkham Asylum, holding a microphone as she spoke.

"...Although Arkham Asylum... Ahem!"

"Sorry... Ahem!" The host suddenly broke into violent coughing as she spoke.

"Cough! Cough... Ah... Uh... Heh!"

But as she coughed, the host kept letting out strange laughs.

On live television, she began laughing eerily at all of Gotham.

"Cough, cough, cough! Heh... Hehehe... Hahahaha..."

Bai Lang narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the TV—or, more precisely, at the female host on the screen.

He saw that her hair had somehow turned from blonde to green, and her entire face had taken on an unnatural pallor.

Her eyes bulged as if she were trying to force them out of their sockets, and the corners of her mouth rose involuntarily.

Though her whole body trembled as she tried to hold back her laughter, she couldn't suppress the bizarre grin stretching from ear to ear or the wild laughter spilling from her mouth.

When Bai Lang saw the deathly white hand resting on the host's shoulder, he knew the Joker had arrived.

The pale hand settled on the host's shoulder, then shoved her aside. She fell stiffly to the ground.

At that moment, the TV screen showed the Joker, dressed in a purple suit, with green hair, a pale face, and a wide grin.

"Good evening, every citizen of Gotham City!"

The Joker pointed a gun at the camera and laughed wildly, without restraint.

"Before we begin our grand tour of terror and destruction... let's send a warm greeting to Gotham's golden boy, Mr. Bruce Wayne!"

A gunshot rang out, and the picture vanished.

Even with the TV screen blank, the current surging through Bai Lang's body—over a hundred thousand volts—was enough to let him hear the Joker's voice from somewhere outside the city.

But it wasn't easy. He needed an extremely strong will to pick the voice out.

Clearly, Bai Lang didn't have that ability yet.

Still, he knew where the final scene would take place.

If he could capture the Joker before Batman, Bruce Wayne, did, he ought to earn Ability Points.

Or he could try some other way to cause a ripple in the world.

Bai Lang lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and pushed the cells in his body to rub against one another at high speed.

Each cell was like a madman fighting with the cells around it, while Bai Lang was the commander of them all.

[Current Propulsion: 103,000 Volts] → [Current Propulsion: 104,000 Volts]

Early the next morning, he pulled up the files on the people who had died at the abandoned factory.

"How strange. These people were all connected to the Iceberg Lounge," Ryan, a fellow officer, remarked beside him.

Bai Lang looked at him and nodded.

"Maybe there's a clue linking the Joker to the Iceberg Lounge."

In his memories of the original owner, Ryan had been a pretty good friend.

"Then shall we investigate together?" Ryan suggested.

"The Joker has the whole city in a panic. Our top priority is to catch that lunatic as soon as possible."

Bai Lang didn't know where the Joker was at that moment, but following the clues they had so far shouldn't be too difficult.

"You two should stop investigating this case!" a voice called from behind them.

Bai Lang turned around. It was the two white officers who had mocked him in the records room earlier.

The taller, heavier man on the left was Hunter; the shorter, leaner one on the right was White.

"Why do you say that?" Ryan asked.

"Last night, other officers had the same idea as you. But when they went to investigate the Iceberg Lounge, they ran into the Joker. One of them ended up like that poor bastard," Hunter replied.

"Then we have even more reason to go."

Hearing that the Joker was at the Iceberg Lounge only made Bai Lang more determined to investigate there. Ideally, he'd catch the Joker today.

Watching Bai Lang and Ryan walk away, White and Hunter shook their heads.

"They know an officer got taken out there, and they're still going. What idiots."

"A few captains have already gone there. What can a couple of low-ranking officers like us even do?"

In their view, either Bai Lang and Ryan would encounter the Joker and end up cold, pale corpses, or the captains would send them packing.

Bai Lang took Ryan to the patrol car and immediately drove toward the Iceberg Lounge.

The two soon arrived at the Iceberg Lounge.

Second floor of the Iceberg Lounge.

As soon as they entered, Bai Lang saw three captains speaking with the lounge's owner, Oswald.

Bai Lang fixed his eyes on the heavyset man with pale skin and a long, pointed nose.

He recognized him immediately: the Penguin.

One of the three captains, a portly Black man, frowned when he saw Bai Lang and Ryan arrive.

His gaze fell on their chests. There were no captain's badges there, making it clear that the two were only officers.

"This case is dangerous. You low-ranking officers don't need to get involved."

The Penguin nodded in agreement.

Before Bai Lang could say anything, several of the Penguin's men started ushering them toward the exit.

"Officers, our boss would like you to leave."

Bai Lang stood firm. The burly men couldn't budge him.

He looked past the three captains at the young officers standing beside them and asked,

"Captain, they're officers too. Why are they allowed to investigate this case?"

At his words, the Black captain exchanged a glance with the two white captains, then sneered.

"They're not like you. They're with us. Unless you join a captain's team, or... become a captain yourselves."

"So all we have to do is become captains, and then we'll be allowed to investigate this case?" Bai Lang asked.

"I think you youngsters need more experience. Maybe you'll make captain when you're in your forties or fifties," Ollie said, sneering at Bai Lang and Ryan.

Bai Lang gave him a long look, then turned and left the Iceberg Lounge with Ryan. They returned to the patrol car.

"They're really going too far!" Ryan fumed beside him.

Bai Lang's face showed nothing—not anger, not even a hint of frustration.

He'd already had the chance to become a captain. It was only because of some personal reasons that he'd told Director Gordon he wanted time to think it over.

There were two kinds of captains. The first stayed at headquarters and investigated murders and other serious crimes.

The second went to precincts in Gotham or the surrounding countryside to manage public order.

But now, he had no choice but to become a captain.

He took out his phone and called Director Gordon.

"Hello? Officer Bai Lang, what can I do for you?"

"Director Gordon, I've made up my mind. I'll accept the captain's position."

Gordon immediately broke into a broad smile.

In his eyes, Bai Lang was an upright young man.

Unlike the cops who colluded with the gangs, he was a promising recruit worth nurturing.

"Excellent. Come back to the station right away. I'll prepare a promotion ceremony for you."

Ryan, who had still been grumbling, heard his good friend say that to the director and stared in disbelief.

What shocked him even more was that the director actually agreed?

Wait, Bai Lang, who the hell were you? One phone call, and the director promoted you to captain?

Wayne Manor, Batcave.

In front of a huge screen, Bruce Wayne watched the footage with intense concentration.

It showed Bai Lang in a Batman suit going on a rampage at the Red Rose Bar.

It also showed the massacre before he entered Bane's warehouse.

The later footage had been sent to Bruce's inbox by an anonymous person.

The recording ended with the fake Batman carrying a gang member toward the warehouse.

"Far faster reflexes than an ordinary person, a punch with at least five tons of force, and even some unknown ability to sense enemies..."

Bruce Wayne frowned as he analyzed the strength of the Batman impostor frame by frame.

"Looks like it's time to start building an Anti-Batman Armor."