Chapter Summaries

Joker staged an auction of Batman before the Court of Owls after Batman deliberately let himself be captured while rescuing children from Joker and the Talons. The winning bidder began stripping Batman’s armor as Batman struggled helplessly on the operating table.

• Joker welcomed the Court of Owls to his Midnight Show and brought the restrained Batman onto the stage.
• Joker auctioned Batman’s chastity, and the Court of Owls bid increasingly enormous sums.
• Batman recalled rescuing children from Joker’s timed bombs and fighting Talons before allowing himself to be captured to investigate their plans.
• Joker explained that he had changed his approach after reading stories about Zuo Ci while in Arkham Asylum.
• The man holding paddle number 91 won the auction, approached Batman, and began removing his armor as Batman shouted at him to get away.

Joker interrupted Old Gay’s assault on Batman by mutilating him, then flooded the chamber with Laughing Gas and threatened the Court of Owls with a bomb and a Hand Cannon. Batman broke free, but Joker forced the Talons to turn on him to protect their masters.

• Batman remained bound while Old Gay stripped his armor and prepared to assault him.
• Joker gave Old Gay lubricant, then suddenly grabbed and cut his genitals into strips.
• Joker released Laughing Gas, incapacitating the Court of Owls members and most of the Talons.
• Joker told Batman that a bomb was buried beneath the chamber and claimed he had hidden the remote control.
• Batman broke free and lunged at Joker, but Joker kicked him into the Talons and shot a Court of Owls member.
• Joker ordered the Talons to kill Batman if they wanted to save their masters, and they turned toward him.

Batman defeated the Court of Owls’ Talons and subdued Joker, who had held a hostage and falsely claimed bombs were hidden underground. Zuo Ci arrived and helped Batman assess the scene, leaving the two to explain the sprawled, laughing Talons.

• Batman used lethal techniques to incapacitate the Talons, confirming they could not die.
• Joker held a hostage and fired a gag flag from his revolver, then killed the man with it.
• Batman fought Joker, pinned him to the operating table, and searched for the supposed bomb remote.
• Zuo Ci arrived, put on a gas mask, and checked underground for bombs but found none.
• Joker admitted the bomb threat was a prank, and Batman knocked him out.
• Batman told Zuo Ci that the incapacitated men were Court of Owls members, prompting Zuo Ci to apologize for calling them maggots.

Zuo Ci sent the captured Court of Owls members to the Imperium of Man, where they were forced into endless administrative labor, and offered Batman access to interrogate them. After Batman disappeared with the Talons and Joker, Zuo Ci left Gotham.

• Zuo Ci gave Batman the photo he had taken and denied recording Batman’s humiliation, then discussed what to do with the captured Court of Owls members.
• Zuo Ci sent the Court of Owls members to the Imperium of Man, where Rothschild woke as an Administratum official and was forced to tackle a backlog of more than 158 years of work.
• Zuo Ci showed Batman the officials’ endless labor through the World Lens and offered to let Batman visit them for interrogation.
• Batman agreed to wait before questioning the Court of Owls members, then disappeared with Yanba Huzi, the Talons, and the unconscious Joker.
• Zuo Ci complained about Batman’s strange disappearance, activated his invisibility and intangibility, and drifted away.

Batman explained that the Court of Owls accidentally awakened the Color Council and caused Gotham’s chaos through a series of foolish decisions. With the crisis’s instigators dealt with but the Color Council still active, Zuo Ci agreed to help after Batman offered to pay him.

• Zuo Ci arrived at the heroes’ gathering point and was surprised to find Batman already there with Robin.
• Batman revealed that the Court of Owls had awakened the Color Council during a sacrifice, triggering the chaos in Gotham.
• Batman explained that the Court had hired Joker through a cost-cutting scheme, then sent the Talons to confront the city’s overwhelming threats.
• Barry, Zuo Ci, and Batman criticized the Court of Owls’ decisions, while Diana noted how exhausting the night had been.
• Batman warned that the Color Council remained active and pointed to the vines spreading over Poison Ivy.
• The group looked to Zuo Ci for help, and he agreed after Batman offered payment before browsing the product catalog.

Zuo Ci exchanged points for a Conversation Ticket and used it to contact God, after his friends mistook his plan to visit God for a suicide attempt. He arrived in a white room and greeted the old man he believed was God.

• Zuo Ci exchanged enough money for forty points, bringing his total to a hundred, then cursed the system over its unfair exchange rates.
• Zuo Ci told the others he planned to go see God, and Barry, Diana, Batman, and Robin tackled and restrained him, thinking he intended to harm himself.
• After they realized the misunderstanding, the group apologized, and Zuo Ci threatened them before buying a Conversation Ticket.
• Zuo Ci wrote "GOD" on the ticket, was transported to a white room, and met a kindly old man watching television.
• Zuo Ci greeted the old man as God.

Zuo Ci met God and asked him to help settle the little fellows, and God agreed to provide a solution. After revealing that Zuo Ci was in a Tomato novel, God kicked him back, promising the solution would arrive once he returned.

• God welcomed Zuo Ci, served him cookies and milk, and asked why he should help with the little fellows.
• God teased Zuo Ci before agreeing to help and explaining that he created separate multiverses for transmigrators.
• God told Zuo Ci that his novel was on Tomato, and Zuo Ci celebrated the news.
• God offered to fulfill another request, but kicked Zuo Ci away after hearing his extravagant thoughts.
• God said he would give Zuo Ci the solution when he got back, then relayed the author's note that the chapter would not affect the plot.

Zuo Ci received a Cross from God and activated it to summon Heaven’s Gate over Gotham. The heavenly spectacle lifted Zuo Ci into the air and transformed his robe, leaving him wondering if he could exploit the moment to worship himself for luck.

• Zuo Ci returned from meeting God but could remember only that God had agreed to help.
• A pure white Cross struck Zuo Ci, and his system revealed that he needed to shout hallelujah to use it.
• Zuo Ci warned everyone to evacuate Gotham, and Barry, Diana, Batman, and the others moved its residents at least thirty kilometers away.
• Zuo Ci shouted hallelujah through a megaphone, but when nothing happened, he struck the Cross a few times.
• Heaven’s Gate opened above Gotham, angels emerged singing hymns, and holy light lifted Zuo Ci and changed his Mage Robe into white robes.
• Zuo Ci realized God had set him up for a spectacular display and considered worshipping himself to gain luck.

Zuo Ci remained suspended in the sky while God’s display terrified the Parliament of Colors, including the Green. In Hell, Lucifer prepared an avatar to visit the Mortal World, but a sudden slap hit everyone in Hell and convinced him to put his plans aside and restore order.

• Zuo Ci complained that the angels had left him hanging for half an hour and swore he would rip off their wings.
• Poison Ivy suddenly screamed apologies while unconscious, and Batman realized the Green was speaking through her.
• Diana and Batman saw that God’s threat had terrified the Green and the other members of the Parliament of Colors.
• Lucifer finished making a puppet avatar for the Mortal World and prepared to place a sliver of his soul inside it.
• An unseen slap struck Lucifer and every demon in Hell, so Lucifer put the puppet away and resumed his duties to prevent chaos.

Zuo Ci remained suspended in the sky after Gotham returned to normal, unable to end his divine state, and offered to help Batman and the others. When God did not restore Gotham, Zuo Ci threatened the president and the White House with divine punishment unless they restored the city.

• Zuo Ci complained to the system about being stuck in the air, but the system refused to help him.
• Batman contacted Zuo Ci and confirmed that Gotham had returned to normal, then learned Zuo Ci could not stop his current state.
• Zuo Ci offered to help the group, and Batman requested that Gotham be rebuilt while rejecting the idea of resurrecting the dead.
• Zuo Ci asked God to restore Gotham, but God did not answer, so Zuo Ci sent a video feed to the White House.
• Zuo Ci threatened the president and the president's allies and families with Hell and heavenly fire unless they restored Gotham, then cut the connection.

Zuo Ci forced the White House to send money and supplies to rebuild Gotham, then accidentally discovered that saying “God is awesome” shut off his divine manifestation. When Batman warned that rebuilding the devastated city would take years and cost many lives, Zuo Ci agreed to help.

• Zuo Ci threatened the White House into sending money and supplies, while Batman prepared to receive them.
• Batman suggested Zuo Ci try a command or passphrase to end his divine state, and Zuo Ci's “God is awesome” made the spectacle vanish.
• By dawn, the White House had delivered an enormous supply of necessities, building materials, and money to Gotham.
• Batman estimated that the resources could rebuild Gotham and construct another city, but repairs would take five years under ideal conditions.
• Batman warned that years of rebuilding could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of lives, so Zuo Ci agreed to handle the problem as long as nobody shorted him on money.

After finishing Gotham’s repairs, Zuo Ci consulted Batman about what to trade with Yellow Pelt in the Warhammer world. Batman recommended simple, affordable biological modification technology, and Zuo Ci selected Shocker Combatant Modification Technology.

• Zuo Ci had Kuaiqing and Unkei serve as chief engineers while Black Essence handled Gotham’s repairs and renovations.
• Zuo Ci paid Black Essence for completing the work, and Black Essence left the shop cheering with his wages.
• Batman emerged from the shop’s corner, and Zuo Ci asked him for advice about a business offer from Yellow Pelt.
• Batman recommended selling simple, effective human biological modification technology rather than physical goods or mechanical technology.
• Zuo Ci chose Shocker Combatant Modification Technology as his proposed trade.

Batman asked Zuo Ci to help form a superhero alliance, and ten years later Zuo Ci was training its young heroes. The chapter ended with Zuo Ci taking Damian and the others for training while warning them not to treat the Virtual Arena like a game.

• Batman asked Zuo Ci to share information and help unite superheroes against growing threats, and Zuo Ci agreed the alliance could work.
• Batman listed potential members, then realized they had forgotten to bring Superman back.
• Ten years passed, and Zuo Ci watched a report about Mayor Cobblepot before Damian arrived to ask him to train the young heroes.
• Damian explained that the other heroes were unavailable because of missions, disputes, injuries, detention, or other mishaps.
• Zuo Ci agreed to supervise the young heroes and warned them not to use the Virtual Arena for play.

Zuo Ci received a shipment from Yellow Pelt containing valuable Space Marine enhancement technology and a Gene-seed made from the Emperor's genes, but he remained suspicious of the Emperor's generosity. On Terra, Guilliman received another cryptic message from the Emperor and returned to his administrative work.

• Zuo Ci opened the shipment and found twenty-two Stasis Fields containing Gene-seeds, Primaris augmentation technology, Alpha Primus creation techniques, and a Gene-seed made from the Emperor's genes.
• Zuo Ci asked the system to scan the shipment for hidden contingencies, and the system found nothing unusual.
• Zuo Ci put away the shipment and decided he would eventually visit the Warhammer universe and use the materials to help strengthen Jack.
• The Emperor sent Guilliman a fragmented message about saving, death, returning, and thirteen lives.
• Guilliman noted the message down and went back to his administrative work.

Zuo Ci brought Jack to the Batcave for a difficult Primaris surgery, with Batman providing the operating room and taking notes. The procedure began with a bizarre Warhammer ritual and alarming weapons, leaving Dick and Zuo Ci horrified as Jack faced the operation.

• Zuo Ci visited the Batcave with Dick and learned that Alfred was recovering in the hospital while Batman was at the operating room.
• Zuo Ci gave Dick two boxes of Brain Platinum that contained Fountain of Life water.
• Zuo Ci found Jack warming up and prepared to perform the Primaris surgery, with Batman explaining that his operating room and skills were the best available in Gotham.
• Inside the operating room, Imitation Cawl performed a ritual in a red robe while singing the Binary Cant.
• Dick watched in alarm as Imitation Cawl brought out chainswords, a power drill, and other weapons, and Zuo Ci realized Jack's head was about to be cut off.

A month after his surgery, Jack completed his tests but still suffered from pain as the gene-seeds inside him clashed. Mr. Freeze returned to Zuo Ci with a visitor, and Zuo Ci recognized him as Hal Jordan.

• Zuo Ci confirmed Jack's tests were complete and noted that the gene-seeds had integrated successfully despite their internal conflict and the pain it caused.
• Jack refused Zuo Ci's offer to balance the powers inside him, but accepted a pain-adjustment dial to make the suffering manageable.
• Zuo Ci warned Jack to avoid drugs and reduce training while his condition remained unstable, and Jack agreed to rest and adapt.
• Mr. Freeze returned from deliveries and said he had given a ride to someone asking about Zuo Ci's shop.
• Hal Jordan stepped out of the truck, and Zuo Ci recognized him immediately.

Zuo Ci met Hal Jordan, who sought a cure for his terminally ill mother, and agreed to examine her. He opened a portal to the hospital and hurried Hal through it.

• Zuo Ci recognized Hal Jordan and invited him into his shop, where Black Essences served Hal tea.
• Hal showed Zuo Ci an advertisement and asked whether he could make his mother healthy again.
• Zuo Ci said treating Hal’s mother was possible, though he wondered whether her cancer might be tied to Death.
• Zuo Ci opened a portal directly to the hospital, and Hal followed him toward his mother’s room.

Hal returned to the hospital with Zuo Ci to save his dying mother, only to learn that healing magic could not cure her pancreatic cancer. After seeing her condition improve briefly, Zuo Ci prepared to remove the cancer directly.

• A doctor told Jim that his mother’s pancreatic cancer had spread and that there was nothing more the hospital could do.
• Zuo Ci and Hal arrived through a Portal, and Hal asked Jim about their mother’s condition.
• The doctor recognized Zuo Ci as a Mage and asked him for an autograph before letting him enter the ward.
• Hal saw his mother’s weakened state and broke down in guilt, while Zuo Ci moved him aside to treat her.
• Zuo Ci used Light Wounds Healing, but found that the spell also strengthened the cancer cells, so he decided to cut them out.

After Hal's mother survived surgery, Zuo Ci met Tethyu, the DC Comics Lady Death, who had come to investigate the change to her fate. Hal found Zuo Ci on the rooftop and came to pay him.

• Hal and Jim learned from the exhausted doctor that Hal's mother had come through the twelve-hour surgery and needed rest.
• Zuo Ci explained that he had kept Hal's mother's health from falling for a day so the doctors could remove most of her cancer.
• Tethyu arrived on the rooftop, accepted Zuo Ci's Death Orb and Monster Energy, and said she was not angry that he had changed the timing of a death.
• Tethyu pointed out that Hal was approaching, and Zuo Ci joked that Death was ready to kill them all, startling Hal.
• Hal asked Zuo Ci about the person he had been speaking to, then said he had come to pay him.

Zuo Ci told Hal Jordan that he would collect payment for saving Hal’s mother after Hal became a superhero, then returned to his shop with Tethyu. Dick Grayson arrived in Batman’s place and got caught in Zuo Ci’s electrified mousetraps.

• Zuo Ci corrected Hal Jordan’s assumptions about payment and told him he would collect when Hal became a superhero.
• Zuo Ci gave Hal a Red Potion and instructed him to give it to a red-colored alien he would encounter.
• Zuo Ci returned to his shop, where Tethyu examined the place and spoke with him.
• Dick Grayson entered the shop and triggered Zuo Ci’s electrified mousetraps.
• Dick explained that Batman was on patrol and had sent him to speak with Zuo Ci.