As the Bat Gang sprang into action, the corridor filled with alternating screams and the clang of weapons.
Golden light streamed through the clear glass windows, dancing through the chaos and illuminating the wreckage strewn across the floor.
Bang!
Lynn slammed another elbow into Joker's face.
The tremendous force shattered several of Joker's teeth, leaving his face covered in blood.
Joker stumbled back several steps in a panic, staring at Lynn with lingering fear.
"Wait, we could join forces and form an unprecedented Crime Syndicate! We could make Gotham our city!"
Lynn said nothing. He just kept throwing elbows.
"Man!"
The Boss martial soul's roar cut Joker off as a pitch-black elbow smashed toward his face.
At the sight of that elbow, as black as Batman himself, Joker's heart trembled. It felt as though he had rediscovered something familiar.
"Could this be..."
The elbow slammed into Joker's chest, its tremendous force bringing an unnatural flush to his pale face.
"Ohohoho!!"
Seeing the flush and excitement on Joker's face, Lynn couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
Don't tell me Joker's a masochist?
Whenever Batman caught this guy and beat him senseless, he always seemed to wear a satisfied smile.
Lynn shook his head, rushed up to Joker, and aimed Yan Shuangying's Beretta 92 at his head.
"This is a robbery, Boss Joker! Hand over everything valuable you've got!"
Aching all over, Joker hurriedly emptied his pockets onto the floor.
"It's all here! There's nothing else!"
Lynn looked down and saw a dagger, a laughing gas syringe, and a gun scattered across the floor.
The moment Lynn's attention shifted to the floor, Joker's lips spread into a crazed grin.
He pulled another laughing gas syringe from his pocket with his right hand and stabbed it toward Lynn's head.
This was a laughing gas virus he had specially developed, capable of sending people into fits of insane laughter.
Ordinary people infected with the laughing gas virus would generally laugh themselves to death.
Those with strong wills would instead be driven mad by it.
Just as the syringe was about to pierce Lynn's neck-
Bullet Time!
Lynn immediately activated his cheat, and Joker's movements seemed to slow countless times over before his eyes.
He swiftly raised his elbow and struck with all his strength.
Bang!
The tremendous force slammed straight into Joker's crotch.
A shattering sound rang out. Joker's eyes widened, their bloodshot orbs seemingly about to pop out of their sockets.
His pale face turned even whiter, and the syringe fell from his hand.
Now he really wouldn't be able to do that sort of thing anymore.
Lynn picked up the laughing gas syringe and pistol from the floor and put them into his System Inventory.
[Story mission progress: 50%]
"That counts as robbing Joker?"
He raised an eyebrow, then suddenly understood.
So all I need to do for this story mission is rob Joker and Riddler separately.
I thought I had to tie them up together and strip them of everything before it counted.
Zzzzt!!
While Lynn was pondering this, the metal floor beneath his feet suddenly retracted.
Caught off guard, he and Joker both plunged downward under gravity's pull.
The instant they fell, two green spherical enclosures rose rapidly from below, trapping them separately on the left and right.
Bubble, bubble!
Thick bubbling sounds rose from below.
Looking down, they could see a huge vat of concentrated sulfuric acid continuously giving off white fumes.
Anyone who fell into it would probably be reduced to bare bones in an instant.
Harley Quinn, who had just finished dealing with the Joker Gang Members, saw this and instantly paled.
"Holy shit! What the fuck is going on?"
This was becoming a real pain in her ass.
She had thought that once they dealt with the Joker Gang, they could steal their money and weapons. She hadn't expected something like this to happen.
Which dirty bastard was pulling tricks behind the scenes?
Poison Ivy stared intently at the two enclosures and the acid pool below, her expression growing somewhat grave.
Looking down at Lynn, Catwoman frowned. "He'll be all right, won't he?"
She remembered that Lynn had plenty of strange gadgets and abilities. He should be able to escape.
But Harley Quinn beside her looked utterly worried and immediately rushed down.
"Shit! Edward Nygma, let my Puddin' down right now!"
Standing beside the acid pool with a cane and a green hat, Riddler looked up at her words.
"You mean... you want me to let Joker down?"
"Fuck! I've got nothing to do with him! I mean the other one!"
Harley rushed up to Riddler and raised her pistol, aiming it at his head.
"If you don't let him go, I'll kill you!"
Seeing how frantic Harley was, Riddler snickered, then shot a provocative glance at Joker inside his spherical enclosure.
"Hey, Joker, did you see that? She doesn't care about you. She doesn't love you anymore!"
"I told you ages ago. Someone else has stolen what's yours."
"Holy shit!" Joker cursed.
His expression was vicious as his gaze swept over Harley Quinn below, disdain spreading across his face.
"Let me tell you something, Riddler. I can make as many Harley Quinns as I want."
"Before Harley Quinn, three others already died for me. And she's the most insignificant of them all!"
Joker's scornful voice echoed throughout the passage.
To him, Harley Quinn was nothing more than a disposable pawn.
Before Harley Quinn, he had already created three others.
Those women were unbelievably stupid. All it took was a few tricks to make them fall in love with him and pledge their loyalty.
But Joker didn't care about them at all.
The Harley Quinns he casually created were merely bait for Batman, a little extra entertainment for their game of cat and mouse!
"Oh, how pathetic, Harley Quinn."
Riddler covered his mouth, a hint of sympathy appearing on his face. He looked at Harley with the same pity he might show a stray puppy.
"You want that man impersonating me to survive?"
"Let him go!"
Harley's expression was icy.
Her gun remained aimed at Riddler's head, and she looked like an enraged lioness.
"Well, you asked for it."
Riddler spread his lips into a mocking grin.
"Then I'll... let him down."
With that, he pressed a button on his remote, and the spherical enclosure instantly opened.
Gravity pulled Lynn's body down toward the acid pool below.
"Hahaha!! Harley Quinn, there's an acid pool down there! You think he can survive that?"
Riddler's face was full of scorn, and he kept sneering.
"With sulfuric acid that concentrated, even if Batman came..."
"Even if Bat-Faker came, what?"
"Huh?"
Riddler seemed to realize that something was wrong.
He abruptly looked up and saw a figure in Red and Gold Armor hovering above and to his right.
The figure held Harley Quinn with one arm while raising his other hand, the Palm Cannon in his palm aimed straight at Riddler's face.
Riddler: "..."