"In Gotham, without money, you'll be at the bottom your whole life. You'll be nothing!"
"Without money, how are we supposed to climb up from the bottom?" The Scarface Puppet on the Ventriloquist's hand opened and closed its mouth, seeming to scold him.
"But this isn't right..." the Ventriloquist said timidly. "Can't we make money legally?"
"Idiot, shut up! Make money legally?! Do you want to spend your whole life without a wife, stuck at the bottom?!"
"All right..." The Ventriloquist glanced at the injured officers, looking aggrieved, but still didn't dare argue with Scarface.
Standing by the counter, Bai Lang heard the Ventriloquist and the Scarface Puppet talking, and remembered the story behind this Gotham villain.
The Ventriloquist was a true bottom-rung villain in Gotham, a middle-aged man with nothing to his name and a deeply insecure, timid personality.
He didn't dare love, didn't dare hate, and didn't dare hope to be treated gently.
The personality he created relentlessly belittled and insulted him, while letting him indulge in grand fantasies through a split personality.
If Gotham had a most tragic villain, it was undoubtedly the Ventriloquist.
The Ventriloquist held a pistol, but his voice had changed to Mr. Scarface's.
His tone was icy, like a butcher who had slaughtered countless people, as he addressed the officers in front of him:
"Don't come any closer. Get me a car!"
Bai Lang looked at the Ventriloquist with pity and shook his head inwardly.
The poor man was also a mentally ill patient with dissociative identity disorder.
He moved, and a gust of wind swept across the patched trench coats of Arnold the Ventriloquist and the Scarface Puppet.
A muscular figure in a black Bat Suit, muscles embedded like stone, appeared before the Ventriloquist in an instant.
Arnold's pupils contracted. The hairs all over his body seemed to stand on end.
His muscles tensed, sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was so startled by Bai Lang that he didn't know what to do.
Was the black figure before him a man or a ghost?!
"Batman?" After a moment of shock, the Ventriloquist recovered and recognized the man before him.
Mr. Scarface, controlling his right hand, raised the gun. His finger squeezed the trigger, ready to fire a few shots at Bai Lang.
But before he could pull it, the Ventriloquist saw a flash, and Bai Lang snatched the Scarface Puppet from his hand.
He stared wide-eyed, stunned as Bai Lang took the puppet and toyed with it in his hands.
The Scarface Puppet was the manifestation of his secondary personality, something he used to protect himself and cherished deeply.
To Arnold the Ventriloquist, Bai Lang's act was no different from being cuckolded right in front of him.
His expression stiffened. His timid gaze gradually grew resolute, and his hunched back straightened.
The short, white-haired old man seemed possessed by a demon in an instant.
He raised his pistol and aimed it at Bai Lang, who wore the Bat Suit.
His voice was low, as if dragged out of his throat, like a vengeful ghost that could snatch away a soul.
"Batman, give Mr. Scarface ba—"
"No, don't shoot! Batman's a good man!"
In an instant, the Ventriloquist froze.
The voice had come from Mr. Scarface.
Bai Lang wore the Scarface Puppet on his right hand. His lips parted slightly as electricity surged through his chest, and he imitated Scarface's voice.
Of course, the moment he saw the Ventriloquist, he could have used the electricity in his body to roast him into a crisp.
But that wasn't what he wanted. The Ventriloquist was just a pitiful man at the bottom of Gotham, a patient with a split personality.
He wanted to try changing this villain in a gentler way.
The Ventriloquist stared at the Scarface Puppet as it spoke, completely dumbfounded.
"Don't shoot! Batman's a good man. He's here to get you out!" Bai Lang said, imitating the Ventriloquist's voice.
"Lies! Idiot, shoot him! Mr. Scarface would never say that!" The Ventriloquist's stomach spoke.
"No! Shooting him won't kill Batman. He'll just beat you to a pulp! He's here to lead us toward a better life!"
"Idiot! Shoot! Shoot!"
"You have to listen to the Bat..."
For a moment, several voices from the Ventriloquist fought over control of the Scarface Puppet.
The Ventriloquist had a split personality, and the Scarface Puppet was the manifestation of another one.
But when someone else toyed with that personality as they pleased, it felt as if his left and right brains were fighting each other.
As the argument grew fierce, Bai Lang continued to channel electricity through his body and into the other man.
Current Propulsion.
A faint golden-red flash flickered, and the poor old man immediately passed out.
Holding him up, Bai Lang squeezed hard, crushing the Scarface Puppet in his hand.
Then he carried the unconscious Ventriloquist over to the injured officers.
"Take him to a room full of police puppets. That might help treat his condition."
With that, Bai Lang vanished.
As long as there were enough puppets, the Ventriloquist might end up in something like a system crash.
And if they were all identical police puppets, his secondary personality might become more like a police officer.
Imagine having countless police personalities in one body, while the main personality was timid and cowardly. What would happen to that person?
Bai Lang casually handed out the wad of cash the Ventriloquist had stolen to people in a poor neighborhood, then left.
Batman Bruce Wayne had appeared on Arkham Island, while Bai Lang guarded Gotham.
Fortunately, nothing else went seriously wrong that night.
The members of Joker's Gang were all locked up, and Arnold the Ventriloquist was confined to a room filled with identical police puppets on Bai Lang's suggestion.
The Ventriloquist's secondary personality had been created mainly to protect his main personality.
If the puppet that had protected him was destroyed, his mind would be left in an extremely fragile and fearful state.
But what would happen if, at that point, he were locked in a room with hundreds of identical puppets?
[Ability Points +10]
A blue notification box appeared before Bai Lang.
He knew the hundreds of puppets must have begun treating the Ventriloquist.
He stood atop Wayne Tower, looking down over Gotham.
The dawn's rosy light fell on him, outlining his muscular figure. He seemed like the real Batman.
A new day had begun. Only then did Bai Lang return home and change back into his clothes.
Selina the Catwoman had already left, but Bai Lang found a small note on his bed.
It had Selina's contact information and a message:
"Mr. Detective, get in touch if you have time..."
Bai Lang looked at the note and couldn't help shaking his head.
It seemed Selina the Catwoman had taken a liking to the feeling of the Electric Baton.
Was that her version of Windows?
He sat on the bed, controlling the friction between his cells as he brought up the Blue Panel.
[Name: Bai Lang]
[Lifespan: 23/120]
[Abilities: Level 1 Firearms Mastery (71%), Level 1 Power Control (85%), Current Propulsion (300,000 volts/500,000 volts) (Advanced Ability: Magnetic Field Rotation), Death Whisper (Possesses part of Death Authority; can see, speak with, and enslave the dead, and enter the spirit world)]
[Ability Points: 14 (Earned by causing ripples of impact on the world)]
[Spend 50 Ability Points to draw another ability or unlock a feature]
"I earned 14 Ability Points in just one night. If reports come out about two Batmen, I should earn even more."
"The Court of Owls' Talons should make their move in the next few days. I bet it won't be long before those people from Krypton show up."
"That'll affect a lot of places. I have to get stronger..."
Thinking this, Bai Lang focused his gaze on the panel.
Before you continue