Uptown, Rosco Hotel.
"Chief Bai Lang, you're finally here!"
Ryan stepped forward and walked over to Bai Lang.
"Ryan, don't call me that. It gives me the creeps," Bai Lang said with a grin, a freshly made Mexican burrito between his teeth.
Harley Quinn had removed the bullet from his body, and his injuries had nearly healed thanks to his cells' rapid recovery.
"By the way, has another major case come up? The commissioner doesn't look too happy."
Bai Lang glanced at Director Gordon in the distance, along with the armed officers surrounding the Rosco Hotel.
Even a dark figure was approaching from the nearby high-rise.
It was the real Batman—Bruce Wayne.
"There have been several bombings in the Fashion District. The culprit was that new Joker."
"In the most recent bombing, one woman survived. She heard the Joker say to stay on the roof of the Rosco Hotel..." Ryan explained to Bai Lang.
"Stay at the Rosco Hotel?" Bai Lang immediately sensed something was off.
Knowing the editors of the DC Universe, how could the Joker just casually give away his whereabouts?
And his keen instincts told him something dangerous was inside the Rosco Hotel.
This was almost certainly a trap. There might even be a bomb inside the hotel!
His expression changed at once. He went over to Director Gordon.
"Director Gordon, do you really believe the Joker is at the Rosco Hotel?"
At his question, Gordon turned to look at him.
"I don't believe it either, Bai Lang, but we can't afford to ignore even the slightest lead."
"I suspect there's a bomb upstairs," Bai Lang said, voicing his guess.
"And the new Joker might be hiding among the pedestrians nearby." His gaze swept over the crowd, searching for the new Joker.
Director Gordon seemed to understand what Bai Lang was getting at. He immediately took out his radio and ordered the officers inside the building to evacuate.
The officers who received the evacuation order were baffled, but they only had to follow orders from above.
So the dozen or so officers who had just made it upstairs turned around and headed back down in a rush.
Just as everyone reached the first floor, a tremendous boom blew the Rosco Hotel to pieces.
Smoke billowed, flames soared, and the explosion echoed across the heavens.
[Ability Points +7]
A pale blue notification appeared before Bai Lang's eyes.
The people around them, the officers who had just run downstairs, the officers on guard outside, and Director Gordon...
Everyone turned to watch the Rosco Hotel explode, but three people didn't look that way at all. They acted as though they hadn't noticed.
The memories of his predecessor, a well-trained police officer, told Bai Lang that people had three kinds of thoughts in a crisis.
The first was the instinct to protect themselves. The second was curiosity about what had happened.
The third was the urge to gawk—to decide whether they should take a look at what was going on.
But there was one kind of person—or rather, two—who were exceptions.
The perpetrator's first thought was to flee the scene, while the hunter stayed to observe and identify their prey.
Clearly, Bai Lang and the Batman standing on the rooftop had both noticed the dark figure in the crowd.
He wore a black top hat and a black trench coat, and carried a purple umbrella.
But his deathly pale face was enough for Bai Lang and Batman, Bruce Wayne, to know that he was behind the explosion—and that he was the new Joker.
The Second Generation Joker held his umbrella as he made his way toward a train that was about to depart.
A mocking smile spread across his pallid face.
"Heh... What amateur cops."
All he'd done was have a survivor deliver a message, and the cops had gone running over like eager puppies.
If he knew that, because of Bai Lang, no one had died in the explosion, he'd have been quite the sight.
After he entered a train car, Batman, Bruce Wayne, followed him inside.
As for Bai Lang, he remained at the Rosco Hotel, where the explosion had taken place. Batman had his own business to attend to, and Bai Lang had his.
"Bai Lang, you were right. This new Joker is a slippery one."
Director Gordon looked at the wreckage of the Rosco Hotel, still shaken.
If his order had gotten those young officers killed, it would have weighed heavily on him.
"Director Gordon! The Joker and Batman are fighting on the train!"
An officer hurried over, flustered.
"Looks like this vigilante's going to help us bring the Joker in," Bai Lang said from nearby.
Gordon knew Batman well too.
Though Batman had taken down the Rose Gang, Deputy Chief Mark, and Bane, his last furious attack that killed the Joker had made Gordon lose faith in him. But now that faith had returned.
Perhaps Batman had simply changed his methods.
After leaving the Rosco Hotel, Bai Lang took Ryan and the others to the Park Street precinct to familiarize them with their new workplace.
Along the way, they'd also caught two Black men stealing.
"All right, Ryan, keep an eye on the precinct and learn from Director Edward. Susan and Judith, interrogate these two thieves and see if there's anyone pulling their strings," Bai Lang ordered.
Edward was the head of the Park Street precinct, and held the rank of captain, the same as Bai Lang.
He was a man in his thirties, upright and principled, yet his face was full of resentment.
"Director Edward, is there anywhere to train for strength around here?" Bai Lang asked, walking over with a bottle of cola in hand.
He couldn't drink on the job, so he'd grabbed a cola instead.
He wanted to find a quiet place and use the Ability Points he'd recently earned to break through the 200,000-volt mark.
Then he could finally enjoy a peaceful stretch of life.
A lot had happened lately, and his nerves had been taut the whole time. Now that he could withstand bullets, he could take some time to enjoy life.
He could savor the peace of his second life in Gotham.
"There is." Edward took the cola. "Our precinct has one. There's a training gym next door."
He pointed to the spacious gym beside the precinct and continued, "Wayne Enterprises built it for us. They said they wanted us to stay in good shape so we could protect their taxpayers."
Bai Lang nodded, thanked him, and headed for the training gym.
The gym's door was ajar and unlocked.
He pushed open the metal door and walked right in. A musty smell washed over him.
The stale odor in the air made Bai Lang frown.
In the center of the gym stood a huge punching bag, its surface covered in dust. The bag's ropes had come loose.
Dull boxing gloves and protective gear hung on the walls, while rusty, battered equipment had been piled in a corner.
Bai Lang stepped onto a worn-out mat whose original color was impossible to make out, and his face lit up.
"With a place like this, I can safely raise my power to 200,000 volts!"
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