It Wasn't Him!

That man...

Was it really that man?

Unable to tell whether it was excitement or terror, Qin Wei felt goosebumps spread from his heels all the way to his scalp.

Snapping out of their daze, the Red Hoods raised their guns and fired. Muzzle flashes instantly lit the dark alley, and the acrid smell of gunpowder overwhelmed the sour stench of garbage.

Qin Wei tackled Oswald to the ground. Bullets grazed his scalp, spinning and ricocheting between bricks and trash cans.

Sparks scattered across the bloodstained black armor. With a flick of his wrist, the mysterious man hurled three bat-shaped throwing blades.

The blades spun past the mottled concrete wall, ricocheting at fiendishly tricky angles to plunge precisely into three thugs' throats.

The wounded Red Hoods clutched their throats in agony, the terror of impending death sending their muscles into uncontrollable spasms. They could no longer hold their guns steady. Their Uzis spat fire, sweeping arcs through the air and mowing down a swath of their companions.

The mysterious man seized the nearest Red Hood and snapped his wrist with a crack, then brought a brutal elbow strike down into the thug's face.

The thug crumpled, exposing his mangled, bloody face to Qin Wei.

The Red Hoods beside Qin Wei were scared out of their wits. With no desire to keep fighting, they dropped their guns and scrambled out of the alley.

Now only two Red Hoods remained before the mysterious man. One held a gun, his legs shaking like leaves. The other sat in a puddle, clutching his head, too afraid to look at that terrifying figure.

Leather boots stepped over two corpses, and one foot landed in the puddle.

That movement shattered the armed Red Hood's last shred of nerve. He dropped his pistol and fell to his knees with a thud.

The other Red Hood suffered a complete breakdown. Babbling incoherently, he pedaled his legs through the puddle as though riding a bicycle, crawling on all fours toward the alley's exit.

If I could just get there!

If I could just reach that place!

As he drew closer to the exit, the Red Hood excitedly tore off his mask. Tears and snot covered his twisted face.

He felt a pang of regret.

If he had known such a terrifying monster prowled the Lower District, he would never have listened to Jason's bullshit and come looking for trouble with the Roman.

He also felt a little lucky.

He was so close to escaping. That was far better than the gruesome deaths his companions had suffered. The monster still had prey in front of him, so surely he had no time to bother with him!

But would things really go as he imagined?

The mysterious man swept aside his cape, and a grappling hook shot from his waist with a sharp hiss.

The hook pierced the fleeing Red Hood's calf and punched through the bone before its claws spread, sinking into his flesh like a bloodthirsty hound clamping onto its prey.

Before the poor bastard could even scream, the retracting hook dragged him back to the man's side.

"H-help me!"

He screamed at the top of his lungs as he flew through the air. The mysterious man seized his head and slammed it hard against the concrete wall.

Crack!

Brick fragments flew from the wall as the Red Hood's head was crushed.

Silence returned to the pitch-black alley.

Having witnessed everything, Qin Wei had a horrifying thought-This guy was definitely not Batman!

What happened next quickly confirmed his suspicion.

Qin Wei's phone rang, and the mysterious man slowly turned his head toward the sound.

He saw the iconic bat ears on the man's mask, but unlike the classic half-open design in the comics, it did not leave the lower half of his face exposed.

It was a solid black bat mask.

"What, some weirdo?" Gordon asked.

"Yes, he's wearing bulletproof armor and a cape. He's another force involved in this riot. He doesn't seem to have any particular target. He attacks anything alive, and he's vicious about it. Quite a few of our officers have been attacked, and two were seriously injured and sent to the hospital.

"But his interference has had some effect. The riot really has been suppressed."

Gordon stroked his mustache in silence, then suddenly raised his head as though something had occurred to him.

"He must be wearing a cowl, right? What does it look like?"

"Uh... there are two pointed things on his head. They don't really look like devil horns. I keep thinking they look like some kind of animal, but I can't put my finger on it." The young officer scratched his head, looking stumped.

Gordon gave him a little hint:

"A bat?"

"Yes! That's it, a bat! When he jumps off a building, his cape spreads out just like bat wings!... How did you know, sir?"

"Someone told me about him. At the time, I thought he was seriously ill. I almost sent him to Arkham Asylum."

As the officer described the strange man's appearance, Gordon immediately thought of the nonsense Qin Wei had told him.

That was right. The first time he had heard of that man's existence had been from Qin Wei.

Remembering the ravings of some nobody from over four months ago proved that Gordon had a pretty good memory.

He found an excuse to send the young officer away, then took out another phone and called Qin Wei.

Meanwhile, in the alley in the East End, the ringing phone disturbed the mysterious man.

The instant he turned around, a terrifying presence filled the alley, enough to freeze the blood.

Oswald pressed himself against the wall, not even daring to breathe loudly. His eyes darted about, searching for a weapon that could stand up to the man.

He soon spotted his gun lying in the puddle.

Reason told him that guns were useless against this monster, but people instinctively sought comfort under extreme stress. Right now, a gun might offer him the greatest sense of security he could find.

The move seemed reasonable enough, but if Oswald had observed as carefully as Qin Wei, he would have noticed that the mysterious man did not attack unarmed people. The thugs who had dropped their guns and fled at the mere sight of him were the best examples. Even the one who had thrown away his gun and knelt to beg had escaped with his life.

The biggest fool had been the Red Hood who had just died so horribly. He had wanted to escape while still clutching his gun, and naturally, his end had been tragic.

Now Oswald's actions were placing him in the same danger as that Red Hood.

"Don't..."

By the time Qin Wei noticed and tried to warn him, it was already too late. A black shadow flashed past his eyes.

Crash!

When he came to his senses, Oswald's head had already been driven into the shattered concrete wall-a heavy leather boot was planted on his face.

The mysterious man looked down at Qin Wei from above.

His face was hidden behind the mask, making his expression and thoughts impossible to read, but his eyes gleamed coldly with unmistakable menace.

Well? Do you want to pick up a gun too?

Oswald...

Oswald?

Little Penguin!

That instant was both fleeting and endless. Qin Wei felt as though someone had cut open his skull, stuffed a hundred blasting caps inside, lit the fuse, and vanished, leaving him standing there alone.

"Boom!"

What was the rational solution?

Do not provoke an unknown opponent.

Given that the mysterious man only attacked people holding guns, Qin Wei could ensure his own safety by doing nothing at all.

But expecting humans to remain rational forever was asking too much.

They would always be driven by hormones and swayed by emotion.

Take Qin Wei's feelings toward Oswald. He was indeed using him, but he also genuinely considered him his best friend.

"Heh!"

Qin Wei lowered his head and glanced at the gun beside his hand. The corner of his mouth twitched as he forced a brief, derisive laugh through clenched teeth.

Then, right in front of the mysterious man, he extended his hand and slowly reached for the pistol.

Isn't this exactly what you wanted? Come on, then. It's what I want too.

The instant his fingertips touched the pistol, the mysterious man's kick arrived. He raised his knee and drove his heavy tactical boot toward Qin Wei's face with a rush of wind.

His attack was swift and utterly without hesitation. He was clearly aiming to break Qin Wei's neck.

This time, however, the opponent he faced was no petty thug like the Red Hoods.

Qin Wei sprang up, driving through his Achilles tendons. As he evaded the kick, he threw his weight forward, clamped both hands around the man's waist like steel pincers, and tackled him to the ground.

The mysterious man's movements faltered, as though he was surprised that Qin Wei could counter him within milliseconds.

But he quickly found his answer when he happened to catch sight of Qin Wei's face.

His facial muscles twisted inward toward the space between his brows. As every crease knotted around his eyes and brow, that face became a raging blaze of fury.