Bruce Wayne

After a whole day of finding nothing useful, Bai Lang decided to go home and focus on cultivating the electricity inside his body.

He aimed to reach 200,000 volts as soon as possible—the level at which he could withstand bullets.

Then he wouldn't have to spend every day living in fear.

When he reached his room, Bai Lang took out his key.

A blond, white child who looked about four or five stood outside the neighboring apartment, smiling at him.

Bai Lang recognized him as Little Peter, Mrs. Lisa's younger son. He smiled and nodded back.

"Little guy, have a good day."

Then he unlocked the door and went inside.

Mrs. Lisa saw her younger son talking to the mediocre officer next door and rushed over in fright, pulling the boy inside.

She crouched in front of Little Peter, about to say something, when the television beside them reported that four officers at the police station had been promoted to sergeant that day.

"...These four officers have made enormous contributions to Gotham's public order. By order of Director Gordon and the police department's senior leadership, they have been promoted to sergeant, with an annual salary of $300,000. Here are their names..."

One of the names belonged to the neighbor who had just been talking to her son, Peter.

The average police officer in America earned only $70,000 a year, and regular officers made even less.

That was why Mrs. Lisa had looked down on Bai Lang before.

But once she heard the figure of $300,000, her attitude changed completely.

She'd originally been about to tell Little Peter not to be like Bai Lang, but now she changed her tune.

"Little Peter, you should learn from that big brother you were talking to. He's only twenty-three, but he's already caught countless criminals and protected Gotham's public order and its taxpayers. And he makes $300,000 a year, with a month of paid vacation, too..."

Little Peter recalled the broad-shouldered figure he'd just seen and nodded, still not quite understanding.

Bai Lang had no idea that Mrs. Lisa's opinion of him next door had undergone a complete change. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.

All his attention was focused on his body—or, more precisely, on every cell within it.

Every cell in his body rubbed together fiercely, and the electricity and strength they produced grew purer by the moment.

[Current Propulsion: 104,000 volts] → [Current Propulsion: 105,000 volts]

The television was still showing the news about Bai Lang becoming a sergeant that day.

But the screen suddenly went black, then changed in an instant.

A face that looked like a clown appeared before the camera.

"Good evening, Gotham!"

He pulled the camera back, revealing more of the scene.

In front of the Joker, a muscular man in gray armor, with a black cowl on his head and a black cape over his shoulders, was tied tightly to a chair.

It was Batman, Bruce Wayne.

His eyes were cold as he stared at the Joker.

He'd followed a lead to Gotham Reservoir to stop the Joker's scheme.

But he'd never expected the Joker to team up with a bizarre, uncanny man—and capture him.

I have to find a way to escape, or all of Gotham will suffer... Bruce Wayne thought as he watched the figure in the shadows ahead.

That was the man who had knocked him unconscious after he'd subdued the Joker.

When Bruce Wayne woke up, he found himself bound to the chair.

"Let's see who this is! Oh! Batman! Hahahahaha!"

"Gotham's knight of justice, captured by me at last! Hahahahaha!"

The Joker laughed wildly, then pointed to a large screen nearby.

It showed footage of Bai Lang fighting Bane.

Their terrifying, superhuman destructive power made them look like two monsters battling.

Batman, Bruce Wayne, stared at the screen in shock. The Batman onscreen lifted a car with one hand and looked as ferocious as a wild beast.

He was certain he hadn't done that. He'd never possessed such tremendous strength.

That was the work of the fake Batman.

If he couldn't escape, Gotham might have to rely on that man to save it today.

In front of the television, Bai Lang watched the Joker and Batman, Bruce Wayne, on the screen and frowned.

"If they're at Gotham Reservoir, then Batman should have subdued the Joker. So why does it look like the Joker has captured Batman instead?"

Had he misremembered, or had something happened that he couldn't have foreseen?

[Ability Points +4]

Seeing the Ability Points he'd gained, Bai Lang was even more confused. Where had they come from?

Was it because the footage of his fight with Bane had been made public?

Suddenly, his heart tightened. An extraordinary sense of danger kept warning him that, as long as he remained in this city, he could die at any moment.

It was as if something could send the city beneath Bai Lang's feet flying into the sky at any time.

Looking at the Joker on the television, Bai Lang suddenly realized a terrifying possibility.

"Joker, you son of a bitch—you've got a nuclear bomb too?!"

He quickly put on Batman's suit, preparing to find the bomb.

He hadn't even reached the realm of Magnetic Field Rotation yet. There was no way he could withstand a nuclear blast!

After he left, the image on the television changed again, revealing two transparent green spheres.

Each sphere held a person. There was a man on the left and a woman on the right.

Below them was a deep pit filled with smoking, bubbling acid.

"Ladies and gentlemen—and Batman!"

"Who do you want to live? Who do you want to die?"

The Joker's grin stretched to his ears, displaying a wild, bizarre smile.

Then he pointed to the screen showing the footage and asked Batman, "Batman, you're so powerful. Why don't you save them?"

"Hehehehahahahaha!!!"

Hearing his unrestrained laughter, Bruce Wayne's heart sank.

He knew the Joker was broadcasting live across the entire city.

Everyone believed that the Batman wreaking havoc on the screen was him.

But he alone knew the truth: he didn't have that kind of power. He was just an ordinary man.

The people watching wouldn't know that. They'd only think Batman was cold-blooded, letting people die when he could save them.

That would distort Batman's image in the public's eyes, and the Gotham he'd protected for so many years would fall into chaos in an instant.

He was frantic, but there was nothing he could do. He was completely helpless.

If the Joker were the only problem, his dozen or so plans would have been enough to handle him.

But then this bizarre man had appeared out of nowhere and knocked him flat.

That had thrown all his remaining plans into disarray.

"Oh, right! I forgot to tell you: I planted a big present in downtown Gotham. If you don't make a choice..."

"Boom! You'll all be blown to ash!"

The Joker's pale face twisted into a grotesque, feverish grin. He laughed so hard his whole body shook.

Beside him, Batman, Bruce Wayne, strained with all his might, trying to break free of the ropes binding him.

Meanwhile, in the city center...

Bai Lang finally found the nuclear warhead hidden near City Hall and guarded by members of Joker's Gang.

His sharp eyesight let him clearly see that the warhead's activation mechanism was still running.