The headquarters had been reduced to rubble by the explosion, so Commissioner Gordon sent everyone home to rest and left only a few people to investigate the bombing.
Though anger filled their hearts, life had to go on.
Bai Lang decided to train first, using all the Ability Points he'd earned that day to improve his strength. Afterward, he'd investigate the explosion at the police station.
As he opened his door, his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Lisa, was coming home with her son, Little Peter.
When she saw Bai Lang, Mrs. Lisa gave him a polite smile, then quickly ushered her son inside.
The little boy tugged at his mother, his face full of admiration. "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a police officer just like the big brother next door."
Mrs. Lisa's expression changed at once. She hurriedly grabbed her son and admonished him.
"Little Peter, listen to Mom. That big brother next door is already in his twenties, and he's accomplished nothing. He's a nobody, and he doesn't even have a girlfriend."
She stroked her son's head and said earnestly, "You mustn't follow his example. You have to make something of yourself. Don't become a nobody."
The abandoned factory was part of a sprawling complex of derelict buildings.
Blurred afterimages streaked across the open yard.
A closer look revealed an arm swinging again and again.
After leaving home, Bai Lang had come here to practice his punches and test his newly developed ability, Current Propulsion.
Surging red electricity crackled across his body.
The current stimulated his muscles, giving every punch immense, unmatched force.
"Yah! Imperial Shocking World Palm!"
His palm, backed by tremendous power, slammed into a huge iron ball a meter in diameter.
With a deafening boom, the ball shot forward and crashed into the wall, punching a gaping hole through it.
Fortunately, the place was far from the city center. Otherwise, with a racket like that, someone would surely come to investigate.
"My strength has reached a terrifying ten tons!" Bai Lang looked at his arms, where surging power was gathering.
"And this is nowhere near the limit of Current Propulsion. With my cells at full strength, I can release the current from my body and inflict terrifying damage from a distance."
He pointed a finger at the iron ball. A red bolt of lightning instantly struck it.
The terrifying heat made the ball glow bright red.
With that one attack, the iron ball, weighing several tons, melted.
Bai Lang looked at the molten ball and nodded weakly.
"That move is truly terrifying. But there's so little current in my body that a single attack nearly drains it all. If I can reach two hundred thousand volts, I'll be able to unleash lightning attacks without stopping."
A pale-blue panel appeared before him.
[Name: Bai Lang] [Lifespan: 23/120] [Abilities: Level 1 Firearms Mastery (71%), Level 1 Combat Mastery (72%), Current Propulsion: 49,000 volts/500,000 volts (Upper ability: Magnetic Field Rotation)] [Ability Points: 3 (Earned by causing ripples that affect the world)] [Spend 50 Ability Points to draw another ability or unlock a feature]
"I earned three Ability Points today. I'll put them all into Current Propulsion!"
In an instant, Bai Lang felt the cells in his body rubbing together at a much faster rate.
[Current Propulsion: 49,000 volts] → [Current Propulsion: 55,000 volts]
Before he could feel the full force of this surge, faint voices reached his ears.
"Heh heh. The police station's been blown to pieces. I bet that old bastard Gordon's furious right about now..."
"Don't leave a single clue behind. If Batman comes after us, none of us can stand up to him except Boss Bane!"
"..."
Bane?
The voices seemed to be coming from a few abandoned buildings beside the factory.
Hearing the men inside, Bai Lang's expression shifted.
No wonder the police station had been bombed. Bane was behind it!
Could this be Bane's hideout?
More than a hundred people had died in the bombing at the police station that day. It had been a living hell.
If he'd been unlucky, Bai Lang could have died in the blast, too.
A surge of anger welled up in him. He immediately started toward the voices.
But then he thought better of it. If he showed his face, and any of those men had other accomplices who remembered him, they might use a bomb to get back at him...
So he turned around, put on a suit just like Batman's, then followed the voices deeper into the cluster of buildings.
After walking for over a thousand meters, he finally spotted three muscular men carrying rifles.
Bai Lang stopped and crouched, looking for an opportunity to take them out.
But their conversation left him stunned.
"Tsk, tsk. Six, I did pretty well in bed last night, didn't I?"
The man they called Six was the thinnest of the three. Hearing the other man, he glared at him, his face full of anger.
"You damn queer! I'm straight!"
The third man patted Six on the butt, grinning lewdly. "Heh heh. Six, let me have some fun with you tonight, too, will you?"
"I've got plenty of tricks. Like..."
By the time Bai Lang came to his senses, his ears had already been subjected to their vile, sanity-destroying filth.
His face darkened, and he fixed the three men with a murderous stare.
When he saw they'd let their guard down, he launched his attack without hesitation.
"Ribbit! Queers, die! Sea Tiger Explosive Fist!"
As he roared, his cannonball-like fist slammed into the three men's chests.
Before they could react, a dark figure came crashing through them with immense force, snuffing out their lives in an instant.
Bai Lang flung his arm, throwing all three bodies to the ground.
He clenched his teeth, his face dark.
Damn queers!
He didn't even want to think about what he'd just heard. The thought of it made him sick!
So damn disgusting!
He wanted to dig out his own brain and forget every word he'd heard!
After killing the three men, Bai Lang continued farther inside.
This was the largest part of the abandoned factory. He could hear voices coming from dozens of places alone.
He had no idea where Bane was, but he could grab someone and ask.
Every so often, armed men with guns patrolled the corridors. They were all Bane's men.
When they saw "Batman," the guards panicked and opened fire.
But Bai Lang was ready. He weaved between them like a ghost and knocked them unconscious.
He found an empty room and dragged in the armed guards he'd just knocked out.
He slapped two of them awake. When one started to shout, Bai Lang immediately struck him unconscious again.
Then he turned to the other man who was awake and asked in a low voice, "Tell me where Bane is."
"Fuck you! Batman, I'll never betray Boss Bane!"
Bai Lang placed a hand on the man's head and clamped down like an iron vise.
"I have countless ways to make you talk. Believe me, you don't want to find out what they are."
When the man didn't answer, thin threads of electricity flowed from Bai Lang's fingers into his body.
Even after Bai Lang had electrocuted him for quite a while—turning his skin from white to black—Kent still refused to reveal where Bane was.
Seeing that, Bai Lang had no choice but to swallow his disgust and describe the trick he'd heard the queer mention earlier.
Sure enough, at the mention of such a cruel method, Kent immediately caved.
Clutching his backside, he stared in terror at the demonic Batman before him.
"Boss Bane's in the biggest warehouse!"
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