Cat

Cat

The nosebleed poured out like a faucet, scorching hot as it splashed across Li Zu's chest.

His head spun, and his limbs convulsed.

Bracing himself against the wall, he struggled through the alley beside City Hall.

Turning an entire person into a toy was difficult. It had clearly drained too much of his energy, focus, even his vitality!

His back scraped against the wall as he collapsed into the corner.

Even on a sunny day, this alley remained hidden in darkness.

The three brothers from the alley had already left. In their place was a drunk reeking of alcohol. After mumbling a few unintelligible words at Li Zu, he used his bottle as a pillow and went back to sleep.

His heart pounded wildly, his eyelids heavy. Li Zu took deep breaths to steady himself.

Meow~

A pure white cat leaped over.

It squatted in front of Li Zu, tilting its head as it watched him.

The cat licked its paw, jumped onto the wall, and quickly disappeared.

"What a cute little cat~"

He pushed himself up against the wall. After causing such a commotion in City Hall, it was dangerous to remain nearby.

The show had begun. He also wanted to see how Joker would use Harvey Dent's son and daughter to pull on the nerves of all Gotham—and overturn the whole world while throwing the city into chaos!

City Hall.

Thomas Wayne emerged alongside Penguin and Jim Gordon.

Penguin left by car, claiming he needed to look after his business.

Jim got into Thomas's car with him.

"Harvey Dent is dead, but you don't look very upset."

"Mm-hm." Thomas's reply was concise.

"With all due respect, Arkham is just for show. Joker, Toyman, and the rest always end up locked in there." The justice in Jim's heart no longer allowed him to watch the asylum on the outskirts serve as an "umbrella" for those lunatics.

"Maybe Batman should deal with them the way he dealt with Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Riddler, and the others..." Jim looked at Thomas meaningfully.

"Jim, any news on Joker?" Thomas had no intention of saying much more on the subject. Perhaps whenever he was not wearing that black suit, he tried to distance himself from that identity. Or perhaps there was another reason.

"No. We've also got other matters driving us crazy. A lot of people have gone missing near the sewers outside the city," Jim said. "All we found were wallets stuffed with cash and discarded like garbage, along with eyeballs crushed flat and shoved inside."

"I'll take a look later."

"Let me off at the next intersection. Thanks." Jim nodded. He knew Thomas had matters of his own to handle.

After dropping off Jim Gordon, Thomas returned to Wayne Manor.

The house was quiet, filled with the scent of alcohol, classical music, and... medicinal ointment and rubbing alcohol.

The old butler was nowhere to be seen.

Thomas went upstairs and pushed open the guest room door.

A figure wrapped in bandages like a mummy lay unconscious in bed.

He had chosen to trust that young man, but the lightning strike had not granted him speed beyond time. Instead, it had put him into a coma, and he had yet to wake.

"You should be grateful I used to be a doctor."

With that, Thomas shut the door. He was preparing to investigate the strange man-eating incidents in the sewers outside the city.

But the ringing phone interrupted his plans.

It was Jim Gordon.

"Harvey Dent's son and daughter have been kidnapped! The children rescued from the school bus just told us—Joker did it!"

Even through the phone, one could imagine how furiously Jim was gritting his teeth.

"Toyman entered City Hall to create chaos?" He could somewhat guess Toyman's reason for acting, but after turning Harvey Dent into a toy, who could kidnapping Harvey Dent's children threaten?

Only Batman!

"I'll go find Oracle. She might have information," Jim answered.

Thomas put down the phone. Before he could resolve his countless troubles, another problem had appeared. He had to ensure Harvey Dent's children were safe. At the very least, before the new sheriff arrived, he needed to hand over a satisfactory result. Only then could the privatization of the police force possibly be maintained.

Jim put away his phone, slipping it into the right pocket of his trench coat.

Adjusting his glasses, he entered the basement of a building.

The room was very cramped.

The lights were off.

Beside the bed stood a large desk with five or six computers displaying different images.

The glow from the monitors illuminated most of the room.

"Meow~"

A kitten leaped over and gently rubbed against Jim's calf.

Several others meowed at him. Clearly, he was a frequent visitor here.

Slumped before the computers was a woman.

"I need your help finding Joker." Jim stopped behind the woman's chair. The reflection of the monitors on his lenses obscured his eyes.

"Jim, why is that monster still alive?" the woman asked, grief written across her face.

"Selina..." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, offering what comfort he could.

"You don't have children, do you?" Selina asked.

"No. And no time for them."

There was more than helplessness in Jim's answer. There was fear as well.

If demons were not judged, evil could not be eradicated. He feared that his family would be dragged into it too, and the wisest choice was... not to have family at all.

"Even if you save those children, Thomas will do everything he can to restore them. But nothing can ever truly be restored."

"Never."

"Never..."

Jim gently wiped Selina's tears with a tissue. The cats fell silent as well. The room was quiet, save for soft sobbing.

After a long while,

"I don't know where she is," Selina said. "But I found Toyman. He looks terrible. His eyes, ears, nose, and mouth are all bleeding."

"Perhaps you can tell me where he is." Jim's eyes lit up.

The car swayed to a stop before an abandoned villa.

Li Zu pushed open the car door, his knees weak.

Just pressing the accelerator had nearly used up half his strength. He had spent the other half turning the steering wheel.

The stairs creaked and shook. They had been sturdy when he left.

He pushed open the door. Joker Lady sat by the window. She liked that spot very much.

Two bound children were curled up in the corner.

"You really do look awful~" Joker Lady stared at Li Zu, who looked as though he had been drenched in blood, and revealed a silent, eerie smile.

"What's your plan? How are you going to overturn this world?"

He threw himself onto the sofa draped in a white dust cover. Blood instantly stained the dusty cloth red.

Li Zu understood the danger he was in. Batman would kill him, Arkham Asylum was still hunting him, and he had just turned Harvey Dent into a toy.

And then there was the mentally unstable "boss" in front of him—Joker.

Falling unconscious would come at a steep price.

"A game is only fun if we take it one step at a time. Let's play house~" Joker Lady opened her arms toward Li Zu, as if she were proposing something even more entertaining than overturning the entire world.

She pointed at the two tearful children in the corner. "They've been waiting far too long~"

"Someone gets to play Daddy, someone gets to play Mommy, and someone gets to play the child~" Her shoulders slumped as she walked toward the children. "We're going to have so much fun, and then... he'll come!"

Suddenly, Joker Lady's smile vanished. She glared at Li Zu. "You're always so reckless. You've lowered the difficulty of the game!"

Li Zu looked outside. Through the window, he saw a cat crouching in a tree.

It was a tabby.

"I just wanted him to come faster. Once you deal with your little personal matter, we have more important things to do... and of course, not play house!" he added emphatically.

He suddenly began to regret working with a lunatic. Perhaps simply killing Joker Lady would make things easier for him.

(End of chapter)