Finding 'Superman'

"Just who are you?!" Professor Yefuni's eyes widened, staring intently at the figure that resembled a god of death.

The loud shout echoed through the passage. The figure seemed drawn by the sound, slowly turning around. The long trench coat swayed in the flames, yet showed no signs of catching fire.

"Someone actually made it this far while resisting the Fear Toxin?" A raspy voice, like metal scraping against metal, spoke, betraying a hint of surprise.

The old professor could no longer suppress the terror in his heart. He abruptly raised his gun, firing several shots at the black, bird-masked figure. He was fast, but the shadow was faster. The moment he raised his hand, the humanoid shadow moved.

The bird-masked figure swiftly raised an umbrella in front of it, shielding most of its body, blocking the bullets that shot out. The bullets made dull 'thud' sounds against the umbrella's surface. Then, the tip of the umbrella opened instantly, and Professor Yefuni saw a rapid flash of light.

The next moment, the old professor felt a pain in his chest, freezing him in place. He swayed, a chill spreading from the soles of his feet. Professor Yefuni found it hard to breathe, and then he collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, the bird-masked figure with the umbrella closed it and let out a strange chuckle. "Looks like I underestimated the people here. I didn't expect to find someone with such strong willpower."

Professor Yefuni gasped for air, but he realized he had lost control of his body. It was then that it dawned on him that he had probably been hit by the figure's weapon.

His breathing gradually weakened. Professor Yefuni felt an overwhelming drowsiness wash over him. Even though he desperately tried to stay awake, he couldn't hold on. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he noticed that the flames around him had gone out.

Or rather, they had never been there in the first place.

There were no flames, the heat, the smoke, the burning researchers – it was all an illusion!

The figure had used a special toxin, causing everyone to hallucinate. So, there were no zombies either. It was all a deception. From beginning to end, everyone here had been killing each other in a hallucination.

Then… his students…

Professor Yefuni's eyes widened. He stared at the black figure, desperately opening his mouth to say something, but in the end, nothing came out – he died, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The old professor only caused Zhang Ye a little surprise, but it didn't care too much. Compared to this world, these people's deaths had no impact.

Batman had approached Zhang Ye unnoticed. He wore a special bat-mask, having prepared himself as soon as he realized Zhang Ye was loading the Fear Toxin into the umbrella.

The old bat had originally planned to sneak in, investigate Superman's exact location, and then prepare to act. He also wanted to see how Zhang Ye and Pietro would handle the situation.

But to his surprise, as soon as they entered, Pietro had sped through the entire experimental base, familiarizing himself with the layout. He also conveniently destroyed the monitoring room and communication equipment.

Zhang Ye was even more outrageous. Without hesitation, it dumped the Fear Toxin into the ventilation shaft and used the umbrella's propeller to spin it at high speed, forcing the toxin through the ventilation system and into the entire experimental base.

At the same time, the leaked toxin also affected the military fortress outside the base. In the blink of an eye, everyone affected by the Fear Toxin turned into madmen. Everything they saw and heard was distorted.

Like the professor who saw his student as a zombie, everyone in the military fortress grabbed their weapons and indiscriminately fired at their comrades. In that situation, no one had time to think. Everyone had only one thought: kill the others and survive!

Thus, a battle royale began. Those with guns used guns, those with artillery used artillery, and some even used tanks to blast the monsters they saw into pieces.

The entire military base was in chaos. By the time Batman realized it, it was too late. The war was unstoppable. Only by killing everyone could this horrific feast be stopped.

Frankly, it was the most astonishing scene Batman had ever witnessed. Even the Scarecrow, the creator of the Fear Toxin, had never caused such widespread destruction. This made Batman somewhat dissatisfied with Zhang Ye and Pietro.

Zhang Ye saw the expression hidden beneath Batman's mask. It turned its head and said, as if explaining or talking to itself, "We're rescuing Superman from the Mao Country military base. This is a crime in itself. We don't have time to dwell on these things. If we can't rescue Superman quickly, the world will be destroyed. Besides, there are many guards here. Without this method, we'll suffer casualties."

Batman didn't say anything. No one knew what expression was on his face under the mask. He stepped forward, walked in front of Zhang Ye, looked at the huge steel cage, and said in a low voice, "This is where Superman is being held."

Seeing Batman take out a device from his belt, seemingly preparing to crack the cage's code, Zhang Ye quickly spoke up. "No need. Pietro can solve the code. He's fast. He can try all the permutations and combinations of the password in a very short time."

The next moment, as if to confirm Zhang Ye's words, Pietro sped forward, his hand becoming a blur. Before Batman could respond, the password lock turned green, and the massive, airtight steel cage slowly opened.

Seeing this, Batman silently put the device back and retreated into the shadows, showing no intention of entering, clearly letting Zhang Ye and the others handle it themselves.

Zhang Ye simply smiled and took the lead, walking inside. The cage was huge, a metal sphere, but the inside wasn't as spacious as expected, only about ten square meters.

The cage was dark, with only a few red emergency lights on. The small space contained only a simple iron bed frame and a screen. On the bed, a red and blue suit was casually placed. Zhang Ye could clearly see the 'S' symbol on the suit through the lenses of its bird-mask.

Picking up the suit and handing it to Pietro, Zhang Ye continued inside, going around the screen. A woman in a white surgical gown came into Zhang Ye's view.

"Found her."