Battle

The nearly ten-ton wrecked car tore through the air with a thunderous roar, flying dozens of meters like a cannonball before crashing down with immense force.

Bane's eyes bulged. He was completely dumbfounded.

He wanted to ask Splinter if this was really the information they'd gathered.

How could a human at the limits of strength lift a car with one hand?

This was so absurd that even absurdity itself had opened the door and welcomed it home!

Even he could only just manage to lift a car with both hands, and only with Venom coursing through his veins.

He couldn't do it as casually as Batman was doing it.

But the car hurtling toward him left him no time to think.

"Batman! You'll never be able to kill me, I tell you!"

Bane roared, then raised both hands to catch the wrecked car head-on.

Boom!

The car slammed into his hands. Bane's face flushed red, and his arms trembled as the paving stones beneath his feet cracked in root-like patterns.

But it didn't end there. To everyone's horror, the black-clad figure bent his legs and suddenly sprang forward.

Boom!!

The ground exploded, spraying dust and gravel everywhere. A terrifying crater half a meter across appeared where he'd stood.

With a thunderous boom, Bai Lang's body became a blurry afterimage too fast for the naked eye to follow. He kicked up a gale and charged at Bane, who was holding the car, with unstoppable force!

Bane's massive frame and weight absorbed the full force of the car.

But Bai Lang's speed suddenly exploded, carrying an utterly overwhelming aura.

Amid that invincible presence, which made everyone tremble with fear, Bai Lang swung a punch with a suffocating blast of pressure, striking hard at Bane.

The Current Propulsion in his body surged wildly, pushing every cell in him to its limit.

"Yah! Sea Tiger Explosive Fist!"

Terrifying currents gathered around his right fist, unleashing an extraordinary, fearsome power.

Seeing this, Bane quickly flung the car aside, then raised both fists and slammed them toward Bai Lang.

Boom!!

The ground collapsed in an instant. A massive, terrifying crater three meters in diameter formed around Bane, and a web of cracks spread in every direction.

It was as if a massive earthquake had struck the entire warehouse. Rubble covered the floor, and everyone was sprawled on the ground.

Some were even struck by flying stones, badly injured and bleeding across the floor.

Even Bane had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His right arm hung at an unnatural angle, its bones apparently broken.

Everyone stared at Bai Lang, stunned.

Usually, their boss Bane was the one who took them to rob banks, blow up police stations, and beat up Batman with his overwhelming strength.

Why had their roles with Batman been reversed today?

And with their boss Bane's incredible strength, how could he... how could he fail to withstand a single punch from Batman?!

Splinter stared wide-eyed at Bane's injury, feeling as if the sky had fallen.

"H-how could this happen?"

"M-monster... Batman's a monster!!!"

One man's mind snapped at the sight. He dropped his rifle and frantically ran for the warehouse window.

He hadn't gone far when a terrifying hand tore through the air and swung a slap at him, sending him flying.

Boom!

He shot through the air like a cannonball and smashed into the wall, leaving a smear of blood behind.

"None of you are getting away today!"

The words came from Bai Lang's mouth in a voice like a demon's.

They had blown the police station to rubble. If he hadn't noticed in time, he might have been killed too. Worse, they had killed several officers he knew.

How could he let anyone here get away?

As he spoke, he appeared like a ghost beside another man trying to flee.

He grabbed the man and hurled him backward.

Four or five of Bane's men were knocked down hard, sprawling across the floor.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Lang had cowed Bane's dozen or so men.

Everyone looked terrified and didn't dare move, afraid they'd be grabbed and slammed into the ground the very next second.

Everyone except Bane.

Even after Bai Lang had broken his right arm, Bane remained unafraid. With a murderous glint in his eyes, he charged at him.

He clenched his left fist, his muscles bulging, and tore through the air as he swung it hard at the Batman before him.

But Bai Lang neither dodged nor evaded. He stood right where he was, waiting for Bane's punch to land!

Boom!!

A muffled thud rang out as Bane's fist, packed with immense force, slammed into Bai Lang's chest.

But when he looked up, he saw that the other man hadn't moved an inch and wasn't even injured.

He slowly raised his head and saw that this "Batman" didn't show the slightest expression.

"H-how is this possible?!"

Bane stared wide-eyed at Bai Lang, who stood perfectly still, and felt his heart jolt.

This couldn't be!

Last time, he'd broken Batman's back!

"You fight like a mad child." Bai Lang's low voice rang out.

Those words were more than Bane could take.

His most prized strength hadn't even managed to budge Batman!

"This is impossible! Die!" Bane roared, clenching his fist again and swinging his arm.

Seeing Bane trying to punch him again, Bai Lang swung a fist and smashed it into his face.

The black oxygen mask shattered instantly, and even the Venom canister on his back exploded.

Then Bai Lang planted a foot on Bane's chest.

Crack!

Bai Lang pressed down hard, crushing Bane's chest.

With that, Bane, the mastermind behind the police station bombing, sank into endless darkness.

[Ability Points +5]

When Bane's men saw Bai Lang kill their boss, a chill ran through each of them.

They feared he'd kill them next.

Splinter stared blankly at Batman, filled with terror.

When had Batman gained such terrifying strength—and when had he started killing people?

After killing Bane, Bai Lang rounded up all the remaining gang members from the abandoned factory and brought them to the huge warehouse.

Looking at the more than a hundred people before him, he asked expressionlessly, "Who among you took part in today's bombing of the police station?"

No one answered. Nobody knew if Batman had gathered them to kill them all.

Just then, a skinny boy stepped out of the crowd.

He looked to be somewhere between his teens and early twenties, but his body was covered in scars.

"I know. H-he... and those guys over there!"

The boy pointed out several people in the crowd. Bai Lang nodded, then moved.

Everyone the boy had identified was beaten into pieces in a matter of seconds.

At least this avenges the officers who gave their lives for Gotham...

At that moment, the pent-up frustration in his chest finally eased.

But looking at the dozen or more people before him—some young children, others elderly—he thought that they were all gang members, and there was no need to let them live.

With that thought, a trace of murderous intent appeared in Bai Lang's eyes.

"Sir, we only joined the gang because we couldn't survive in Gotham."

Mick shuddered and quickly spoke up.

Hearing this, Bai Lang's raised hand paused.

"I used to work at a bakery, but then it was bombed, and I lost my job."

"Same here. The Joker killed the company's manager, and the business went bankrupt..."

"Me too..."

"None of us have killed anyone. We only joined this gang to get by."

Mick looked nervously at Batman.

Bai Lang's expression remained blank as he surveyed the people below.

It seemed they'd been driven to join gangs because of the conflict between criminals and Batman, as well as the Gotham government's inaction. They simply couldn't survive in Gotham otherwise.

Everyone looked at him cautiously, staring at the face whose features were obscured, as if shrouded in darkness. They were anxious about what would happen to them.

He sighed inwardly, pulled out a slip of paper, and handed it to Mick.

"Go to this address. A man named Bai Lang will arrange jobs for you."

"From now on, stay out of trouble!"

After witnessing Bai Lang's merciless slaughter, everyone present nodded like pecking chicks.

After the police station bombing and everything he'd been through in Gotham lately, Bai Lang realized that being alone in the city wouldn't work.

Even with the superpower of Current Propulsion, who could say he wouldn't get crushed by accident the next time Superman fought a Kryptonian?

But Bai Lang didn't know that after he left, someone had obtained all the security footage from the abandoned factory.