It was a very ordinary umbrella, identical to the ones used by the general public.
But it was also slightly different. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, like a work of art worth collecting.
Zhang Ye picked up the umbrella. It felt remarkably solid in his hand. Clearly, its canopy was no ordinary material; like Batman's cape, it was made from high-tech synthetic bulletproof material. Its ribs were sturdy and heavy as well. When Zhang Ye lifted it, he found that it weighed even more than he had imagined.
At the center of the umbrella was a precise device resembling a control hub, connected all the way to the handle of the shaft. There were several buttons on it, but Zhang Ye did not dare touch them carelessly. With such a delicate and complicated mechanical umbrella, using it without properly understanding it would definitely hurt him before anyone else.
Zhang Ye gazed at the umbrella in delight, unable to suppress the smile on his face. Who could refuse a Myriad Mechanisms Umbrella brimming with technological flair?
Then, he found a small notebook beside the umbrella. Opening it, he saw dense notes detailing every method for using the umbrella, along with all the ingenious mechanisms installed within it.
Clearly, Batman had left this notebook behind, and he had already thoroughly studied every mechanism on the umbrella.
It was hard to imagine that this umbrella had originated in the seventies or eighties. An ordinary person could never have created something with such a mechanical feel. It was an extraordinarily complex piece of high-tech equipment.
"The first: Penguin's umbrella."
Zhang Ye's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the umbrella. Judging from Batman's notes, it was equipped with all sorts of powerful technology. It was definitely far more practical than his previous Iron Suit, which could only fire Repulsor Rays.
After a quick glance through the notes, Zhang Ye discovered that the umbrella could fire bullets and small missiles. The laser emitter at its tip could shoot lasers, while the umbrella point could release poison gas. However, the ammunition for these weapons had not yet been loaded.
Furthermore, an umbrella sword could be pulled from the handle, and the opened umbrella could serve as a shield. More than that, once opened, it could spin at high speed and be used as a miniature helicopter. It truly was an all-purpose umbrella containing every kind of ability.
This was a Bulgarian umbrella, clearly a tribute to a real historical assassination. In 1978, the Bulgarian writer Markov, who had defected to London, was pricked in the thigh with an umbrella on Waterloo Bridge. He was poisoned and died four days later.
In this universe, however, the umbrella had become Penguin's signature weapon. Its various mechanisms were enough to give even Batman a headache.
After finding the umbrella, Zhang Ye quickly located his next target.
It was a bottle placed beside a battered hood, containing a vivid green liquid. A label around its neck read, "Do Not Open," with red paint marking it as well. Its name was written on the bottle itself—Fear Toxin.
"The second: Scarecrow's Fear Toxin."
Zhang Ye smiled faintly. Beside the potion was the formula for Fear Toxin, thoughtfully left behind by Batman. Evidently, Batman had long since thoroughly figured out the weapons of all his old enemies.
Fear Toxin was the signature ability of Scarecrow, a notorious Gotham City villain. Once released, the gas was colorless and odorless. Those poisoned by it would experience terrifying hallucinations, seeing the things they feared most deep in their hearts.
What was most astonishing was the sheer potency of this Fear Toxin. The vast majority of living creatures could not resist it. Even Superman had been caught off guard by it before, which showed just how terrifying it was.
Perhaps only Joker's Laughing Gas could overpower it. Unfortunately, Zhang Ye did not find any Laughing Gas or its formula here. The only items related to Joker were a pocket that went "ha ha" when activated and a Joker belt containing many nonlethal weapons.
"Maybe this Fear Toxin can be stored inside Penguin's umbrella. That umbrella has a corresponding poison delivery system anyway." After giving it some thought, Zhang Ye quickly decided to combine the two weapons into one.
Batman had many enemies, but most of them were intellectual opponents. Whether Mad Hatter, Penguin, Scarecrow, or Joker, their high-tech weapons were almost secondary. Their true danger lay in their intelligence.
Therefore, when Zhang Ye searched for equipment that suited him, he generally did not care about an opponent's reputation. What mattered was the practicality of their gear. No matter how famous a villain was, their equipment would not suit him if it was useless.
Soon, Zhang Ye found another useful item. However, this one was not for himself, but specifically for Pietro.
It was a scepter similar to Riddler's cane, though far more flamboyant in appearance. It had been crafted entirely in the shape of a lightning bolt, and its effects matched its appearance: it could unleash powerful electric currents to attack.
At full power, it was comparable even to a real bolt of lightning, capable of instantly electrocuting someone into a dried corpse.
"Pietro, come try this. A speedster who can also shoot lightning—you're practically an alternate version of The Flash now." Zhang Ye casually handed the lightning scepter to Pietro, who was also extremely excited.
"Zhang, this thing looks so cool. Is it powerful?"
"It's decent. It can't compare to the lightning of the real Thor or the god-king Zeus, but it's still a very formidable weapon," Zhang Ye explained.
The wielder of this scepter had been a wealthy man named Maxie Zeus. He worshipped the ancient Greek Gods and had even dreamed of conquering the world under ancient Greek rule. He founded one of Gotham's largest gangs, proclaimed himself Zeus incarnate, and believed that the Olympian Gods were all supporting him.
Simply put, he was a complete and utter madman. Yet this man had become one of Gotham City's most feared gang leaders. When he was active, Penguin had merely been a small-time thug who did not even have a gang of his own.
Apart from these items, nothing else was worth Zhang Ye's attention. Whether Ventriloquist's puppet, Kite Man's kite, or the weapons of the Talons, they were all rather ordinary things that could not provide any effective help.
Zhang Ye did see the belongings of Bane, KGBeast, and Deathstroke, but he did not find a single vial of the mysterious serum that had allowed them to surpass the limits of the human body. Batman had probably destroyed that kind of thing already.
Given Batman's character, he would never have left those items behind. Serums that enhanced physical abilities were different from Fear Toxin. Like Captain America's serum, they could instantly turn someone into a super-soldier, but they would also amplify the darkness in people's hearts.
Batman had spent his entire life fighting the darkness within people's hearts, so he did not use such things. Naturally, he could not possibly have left them behind.
However, what surprised Zhang Ye was that the display room even contained the heads of Man-Bat and Killer Croc. Their savage appearances had been preserved as specimens. It seemed the Wayne family truly had started out as hunters. If these villains had not gone too far, Batman would probably have been Gotham's biggest "villain."
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