Newcomer: Toyman

Newcomer: Toyman

Batman gritted his teeth through the pain and bent down to help the female clerk, who was still clutching her stomach and laughing on the ground, to her feet.

The clerk seemed incapable of doing anything but laugh. She had no sense of danger whatsoever.

Batman's staggering was enough to make her laugh. The corpses littering the floor were enough to make her laugh. Even the bomb beeping urgently—"beep, beep, beep"—was enough to make her laugh!

The two staggered around the corner, narrowly escaping the explosion.

Boom!!

The blast of heat from behind knocked them to the ground.

"Ha ha ha ha..." The woman was still laughing, though her laughter was mixed with coughing.

Tears from her coughing, saliva, upturned lips, and two neat rows of teeth formed a picture called "eerie."

Batman silently watched her face, his gaze grave.

"It's some kind of neurotoxin." He had identified the problem just as he reached out to touch the clerk.

"Ha ha ha ha... hic!" The laughter stopped abruptly.

She was dead.

Yet the dead clerk's face was still twisted into a smile.

Her vacant pupils stared at Batman.

"Joker!"

The armored truck barreled out of Gotham Merchants Bank.

Joker spun the steering wheel wildly, cackling.

He plowed through two Christmas trees by the roadside and sped away amid the towering sprays from two fire hydrants.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Li Zu sat in the passenger seat, holding the meat saw that was still making Joker's shoulder bleed profusely.

"What could be more interesting than making someone who calls himself a hero see reality for what it is?" Joker's voice was full of pride. "In the end, he'll understand that there's no one in this world who doesn't deserve to die, and no one who won't kill~ Ha ha ha ha!!!"

Batman's bottom line was not killing, but Joker looked forward to making Batman break his own rule—even if the person Batman killed when he broke it might be Joker himself!

He was a madman. As long as he could drag something into darkness and find it entertaining, that was enough for him.

Joker believed Li Zu would understand him.

They were the same kind of person.

Could there be two Jokers in this world? Of course. Anyone could become a Joker after learning too many truths, or simply becoming mad enough.

Joker had formed this idea because Li Zu had ignored the gun pointed at him earlier, and his eyes had shown an indifference toward life and death.

It was precisely that "madness" that made Joker think Li Zu was a rabid dog, a rabid dog just like himself.

"You really do have a sick sense of humor." Li Zu put away the meat saw and shrugged.

His real source of confidence was completely different from what Joker imagined.

He was terrified of dying. It was just that something else had given him confidence.

World exploration progress: 60%

Resurrections +1

Gotham,

Christmas,

0:55

The bell hanging at the entrance of the department store began to sway.

Its jingling tried to attract a reindeer sleigh.

Vroom~

What approached was the roar of a car engine, not a reindeer-drawn sleigh.

The car drifted to a stop, smashing through the department store's entrance. The driver's door opened, and Joker, wearing Black Mask's mask, jumped out. His voice had also become far more "serious" than before, like the Black Mask people knew.

He said to Li Zu in the passenger seat, "Want to meet the other friends? Our quarterly review meeting is about to begin~"

Li Zu pushed open the passenger door.

The one-eyed mercenary had left after receiving his share of the payment, and Joker had not stopped him at all.

Joker did not want to provoke Deathstroke. He could tell Deathstroke had no interest in the truckload of cash, and he had no interest in Deathstroke either.

Besides, his madness was completely useless against Deathstroke.

Li Zu patted the red Santa hat on his head.

He smiled. "Of course~!"

Gotham City Hall.

A massive Christmas tree, like the one in Flashpoint World, decorated the holiday with gift boxes tied in bows, star-shaped ornaments, and glitter...

On the fifteenth floor.

Inside an office controlled by Black Mask's thugs.

A group of people had gathered there.

"Well, well, well~"

Black Mask clapped his hands. "Killers, assassins, and arsonists... Hmm, welcome to the first-quarter technical review meeting for killing Batman~"

He stood in front of the table.

A cake sat on the table, cut into four pieces.

"First, let's welcome a new member. Please introduce yourself~~~"

"Black Mask's" voice was shrill as his raised arms trembled.

The other three turned their gazes toward Li Zu, who stood off to the side wearing a Santa hat.

"Merry Christmas~"

Li Zu stepped out of the corner and into everyone's line of sight.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He held a toy gun in his left hand, and the way he waved it while introducing himself made the other three frown.

"Now is the time to kill Batman, not recruit some yellow-skinned monkey," the burly man in a black hood said in a muffled voice.

He had nothing but contempt for Li Zu. Even his gaze toward Black Mask, the "boss," was filled with disdain.

On the other side, the burly man sitting in a chair and wearing electrified gloves stood up.

Electrocutor, a terrifying man who attacked with high-voltage electric gloves.

The arcs crackling around his fists possessed a strange pull that could make one's heart stop.

"Can this guy kill Batman? With a toy gun?"

Electrocutor strode heavily toward Li Zu.

Blue arcs flickered between his spread fingers, and the air grew scorching hot.

His hand reached for the toy gun in Li Zu's hand.

Bang~

The bullet struck Electrocutor's shoulder, bursting into a vivid spray of blood.

The toy gun had become a real gun.

Electrocutor froze as well. He could not withstand bullets.

"I'm not here to steal your job. I just wanted to... take a look at interesting people like you." Li Zu looked toward the other two.

The man in the black hood was Bane.

The arsonist covered head to toe in specialized gear and carrying a flamethrower was Firefly.

"Mm, mm~"

Li Zu suddenly thrust the barrel forward, pressing it against Electrocutor's brow. "What do you think you can do besides discharge electricity? Kill Batman and claim the bounty?"

"Careful~" Electrocutor slightly raised both hands, signaling for Li Zu to be careful in case the gun went off.

Bang!

With a crisp gunshot, Electrocutor's right leg buckled, and he dropped to one knee.

It was "Black Mask" standing behind him who had fired, but he had now removed the Black Mask, revealing green hair and a crazed smile.

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

He rapidly fired several shots into Electrocutor.

When the corpse hit the ground with a thud, Electrocutor had completely lost all signs of life.

"Four pieces of cake. Now it'll be easier to divide~" Joker took a piece of cake and bit into it. "Mmm~~, I love this flavor!!"

Holding the cake, he comically imitated a British gentleman and raised a hand toward Li Zu in invitation.

Li Zu turning a toy into a weapon and "Black Mask" suddenly becoming a green-haired freak had truly shocked Bane and Firefly.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

Li Zu cleared his throat, a smile appearing on his pale, frail face. "You may call me..."

Toyman!