Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn

The two men in identical armor strolled brazenly through Batwoman's company as they headed down the stairs, completely ignoring the surveillance cameras along the way.

Su Ming had arrived on the rooftop and had no idea what was going on, but Cindy did not seem concerned either. She was probably deliberately trying to lure out Batwoman.

When they reached Bliss Wayne's office, Cindy casually smashed the liquor cabinet and helped herself to two bottles of good wine, utterly ignoring the shrill alarm.

She twisted one open, took a sip, smacked her lips, and nodded.

She tossed the other bottle to Su Ming. Then the two of them walked straight into the elevator and headed downstairs.

Under normal circumstances, Deathstroke would not take an elevator. If someone cut the power, he could end up trapped like a turtle in a jar—or falling freely with the elevator.

But Cindy stepped in naturally, without the slightest concern, so he said nothing and followed her inside.

The fact that she was this unconcerned meant she had probably already dealt with every guard downstairs.

His brain immediately made the deduction. It worked far better than before he transmigrated. If he had possessed a brain this good back then, he could probably have attended any school on a scholarship, right?

"Ding!"

The elevator reached the first floor. The two stepped out and found the lobby in complete disarray. More than a dozen security guards lay scattered across the floor, their fate unknown. Much of the furniture and decoration had been smashed apart. It looked like Cindy's work.

Su Ming looked around. Some of the guards were gorgeous women. As expected of Wayne Enterprises—even the security guards dressed so stylishly.

He was still not used to this world where women dominated and men were scarce. When he saw women, he still instinctively judged whether they were pretty, just as he had before.

"Come on. They're all alive."

Seeing Su Ming standing amid the wreckage, Cindy urged him onward. She had deliberately spared those guards so they could complain to Bliss.

The chances of Batwoman appearing because of this were slim, but it was worth trying. Besides, dealing with those guards had taken barely any effort.

"You drove here? Do you know where Harley is?"

"Of course. As for Harley, she should still be hanging around with Jester's Circus, right?"

The two walked through the shattered glass doors and into the dark curtain of rain. Some suspicious-looking women lurked at the street corners nearby, watching them, but the moment they saw Deathstroke emerge from the building, they scattered like birds and beasts.

They had only wanted to take advantage of Wayne Enterprises' disabled security to steal some valuables or information. But if Deathstroke was working, they had better stay far away.

Cindy's car was parked across the street. It was just an ordinary American jeep, but the interior was a mess—not from garbage, but because it was packed with weapons of every size. The back seat held a pile of Rocket Launchers and two enormous ammo crates.

Even Su Ming's passenger seat had a grenade on it. As soon as he got in, he sat on it. He pulled it out from under his butt and handed it to Cindy.

"Your grenade."

"No, it's your grenade." Cindy glanced at him and gave a snickering laugh beneath her mask as she turned the key and started the vehicle. "Trying to seduce me won't work. I only work for money."

Su Ming's eyes went wide beneath his mask. What the hell does she mean, seduce her? I was just returning the grenade I sat on.

Right, this world is reversed. Men are the weaker side here. Usually, women pursue men, give them flowers and gifts, and then men "marry" them...

Su Ming shuddered. That was way too awkward. Thinking about it that way, his earlier action really had seemed a little suggestive.

If a woman in his original world pulled a cylindrical object from beneath her butt and handed it to him, he would probably get the wrong idea too.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not used to this world yet."

"Uh-huh."

Cindy gave two utterly insincere responses and drove off.

The car tore through the rain and sped down the streets. Streetlights flashed past on both sides, bathing the interior in alternating brightness and darkness. Cindy knew the roads well, while Su Ming prepared his weapons beside her.

Yes, weapons.

If they wanted to find Harley Quinn and confirm whether the world truly faced destruction, they would definitely have to charge into Joker Gang territory.

Those lunatics who blindly worshipped Joker had no rationality whatsoever. If you could not knock them unconscious, it was common for them to drag you into a suicidal explosion with them.

And Joker had once used a gas that made people laugh themselves to death—laughing gas. Those lunatics had it too.

Su Ming did not intend to use the two guns strapped to his thighs. He was not ready to kill yet. Knocking people down would be enough, and the electric shock effect on the staff in his hand was quite useful.

"Security guards carry Tasers too. Could that be why I transmigrated into Deathstroke?"

But preparing just the staff did not take much time. Before long, the two fell silent.

"I don't like Gotham. This city is a little too crazy."

Su Ming did not know why. Maybe he was nervous, or maybe he was afraid of the sudden silence, but he still took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Why?" Cindy shot him a curious glance. "I remember being pretty popular here."

"Oh, sure. I mean, so am I. But don't you think our straightforward style doesn't really fit this city? The people here think differently from us."

Su Ming paused. He did not know whether Cindy could catch the joke. The atmosphere just felt a little awkward, and he wanted to say something, anything.

At that moment, Cindy ran a red light and splashed a Black man on the roadside with dirty water. When he drew a weapon and fired at the car, she flashed the taillights provocatively and laughed for no apparent reason.

"Ha ha, true. Everyone here is crazy. If there weren't so much work here, I'd rather live in Star City."

Star City was Green Arrow's city. The villains there were far more straightforward than Gotham's lunatics.

If it was confirmed that Atlantis was about to flood the world, Su Ming would have to fight for his survival no matter how dangerous it was.

The problem was that he did not feel ready. Perhaps he could indeed fight desperately for survival, but he still could not take lives as easily as the original Deathstroke had.

It was not because of some Mother complex. It was simply because... he had lived in a stable society. How could he suddenly start killing people?

He also knew that even if he did not go to war with Atlantis, if he wanted to survive in the DC Universe, Deathstroke's old enemies would force him to kill eventually. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

Just as he was thinking, a rocket trailing white smoke flew toward them from a roadside building.

With his extraordinary physical abilities and dynamic vision, he could even see an exaggerated smiling face painted on the warhead in red and white. Raindrops struck the warhead one after another, shattering into sparkling fragments that reflected the streetlights.

"Jump!" Cindy shouted, throwing open the door and leaping out.

Even without her special attention, the body's exceptional qualities made Su Ming instinctively perform the same move.

Cindy landed steadily, but after Su Ming came to his senses in midair, he had no idea what to do. His back crashed into a pile of roadside trash.

The car was hit and exploded into pieces. Amid the flames, everything seemed to slow down as he noticed Cindy glance at him. For some reason, he felt that the person beneath that black-and-yellow mask seemed to be in a good mood.

The next instant, a torrential hail of bullets came roaring toward them, accompanied by gunfire and crazed laughter that drowned out the wind and rain. The firepower was so intense that the muzzle flashes lit up the nearby streets.

Ordinary bullets were useless against Deathstroke's heavy armor. Promethium was not especially good at absorbing shock, so the impacts hurt a little, but they did not even count as superficial wounds.

The two found cover separately. Cindy hid behind the corner of an apartment building on the left, an automatic pistol already in hand as she returned fire from time to time.

Su Ming hid behind a dumpster. Before he even realized it, he had drawn his gun—and before he could react, he had already killed several women with brightly painted faces.

Their bodies fell like sacks from the buildings on both sides, crashing into roadside puddles or the burning wreckage of the vehicle.

Some could still twitch, struggle a little, roll their eyes, and then breathe their last. More of them were like lifeless stumps, simply dropping to the ground.

What the hell? I spent so long agonizing over the meaning of life and building myself up mentally, and this body reacted so fast that all my preparation was pointless.

For this body, killing was as instinctive as breathing. He felt no discomfort afterward. Instead, this level of Crossfire made him feel... exhilarated.

The nausea and grief people described after their first kill in novels and movies had nothing to do with him.

Fine. Since I've already started killing, there's no point pretending to be sorry. I might as well keep killing.

He gritted his teeth, leaned out from behind the dumpster, and opened fire again.

Call it following instinct or smashing the pot after it had broken, but Deathstroke had trained shooting and fighting into bodily instinct. What could Su Ming do besides accept it? Give up these skills and let others slaughter him?

This was Gotham. It was not a place where normal people could live peaceful lives.

If it came down to who was crazier and more ruthless, he would not be afraid!

Working together, the two Deathstrokes made quick work of the several dozen Joker Gang Members. The street soon returned to silence, and the rain washed away all evidence.

Of course, no police would come investigate. People dying around here was an everyday occurrence.

If they were lucky, the bodies would be thrown into a mass grave or crematorium. If they were unlucky...

Heh, Gotham had no shortage of people who engaged in all kinds of madness. For example, the misanthropic Cannibal Chaplain, the cash-strapped Anatomy Professor, and deranged perverts desperately in need of corpses for toys.

"That's why I like Gotham. The locals are simple and hospitable, you can enjoy real gunfights anytime, and it's a great place for a vacation."

Cindy swapped in two fresh magazines, holstered her pistol, and walked over to him.

"Whew. I thought Gotham's most enthusiastic people all lived in Arkham. Didn't expect the residents of this Madman's Villa to be so hot they're smoking."

Su Ming patted his shoulder and tossed aside a rotten vegetable leaf stuck there. Thankfully, the rain was coming down even harder now, washing the filth from him and making him look less pathetic.

Cindy looked around as though getting her bearings, then quickly chose a direction. "Come on. Let's go talk to Harley and see what the hell is wrong with these people."

"Even if I'm not a doctor, I know their illness is called insanity."

Su Ming let out a breath and followed behind her, making a dry joke.

That was right. The original Deathstroke had been a master of dark humor too. After blowing apart a target's head or snapping their neck, he often muttered some dry joke to himself.

The surrounding buildings stood silent. In the rainy night, they resembled monsters lurking in the darkness. Their pitch-black doors and windows were their eyes and gaping mouths. Those hollow, expressionless faces could devour the hope in a person's heart and drive them into pain and madness.

Abandoned apartment buildings lined both sides of the road. They were now used as hideouts by the Joker Gang. High on their exterior walls were painted giant Joker heads, playing cards, and other magic props, though some colors were already washing away in the rain. They had probably been painted within the last few days.

Both sides were completely dark now. Only a building in the distance appeared to have power, with colored lights spilling from its windows. That should be where Harley was.

There was no need to think about it. With Jester currently in prison, Harley was either plotting how to rescue him or grieving alone.

Su Ming did not believe she had failed to hear the intense Crossfire earlier, yet she had shown no reaction so far.

Only when he and Cindy reached the building glowing with lights did he hear music through the rain. Fierce rock music and shouting drifted down from a room upstairs.

"Well, looks like our little Harley isn't as heartbroken as we thought. She's working out."

Cindy tilted her head to listen and noticed the sounds of boots striking a wooden floor beneath the music.

Harley Quinn of the Main World had originally been a Psychologist at Arkham Asylum. While studying Joker, she was gradually drawn in by his chaotic thinking, fell madly in love with him, and helped him escape prison. Afterward, she remained by his side, helping him commit all sorts of crimes. Unfortunately, Joker only considered her a nuisance and often used her as bait or a shield to escape Batman.

But the DC Universe had always been chaotic, and Su Ming could not say what the relationship between Harley Quinn and Jester on Earth -11 was like.

For example, Earth-37 was also a gender-swapped world from the 1960s. There, Harley Quinn and Joker were lesbian lovers.

But in the New 52, Harley and Joker had broken up. Harley had turned over a new leaf, joined the Birds of Prey, and had an ambiguous relationship with Batman.

Still, no matter which Parallel World she was in, Harley's abilities were about the same—genius-level intelligence and perfect gymnastics talent.

She liked listening to music and reading. When she had free time, she also enjoyed dancing. She was crazy and chaotic, but she knew she was a good girl.