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Chapter 86: Anti-Tony Armor (1)
Knight of Justice Harvey had been like a madman these past few days, beginning to enact his justice using increasingly extreme methods.
The Joker was creating death daily, with more and more high-ranking officials brutally murdered by various means. What began with the deaths of mayors, judges, and other high-ranking officials gradually spread to middle-level personnel like Commissioner Gordon. Countless people in Gotham City had been bought off by the Joker. This villain, most skilled at exploiting human nature, always seemed to find the weaknesses of humanity, then drive public officials within the system to die for him at the most crucial moments.
Everyone in Gotham City felt unsafe; no one knew if the colleagues they spent day and night with had already been secretly swayed by the Joker, secretly planning to murder them.
The most terrifying thing was that every time the Joker killed someone, he would definitely inform the public who the next victim would be. People spent every day in fear and anxiety, praying to the deities that it wouldn't be them. The ugliness of human nature was fully exposed; people wished that those around them were the targets, so that they themselves would be safe.
Unbeknownst to anyone, trust had become the scarcest thing in this city. This change was sudden, yet it seemed to be a natural progression. The Joker was using his terrifying methods of manipulating human minds to twist everyone's true nature.
The Joker had no superpower; if Tony came, he could kill him with one punch. But his ability to control and twist human minds alone was enough to overpower most superheroes.
Harvey's face was contorted as he ran madly, tracking the frantically fleeing figure ahead of him. He had just spoken on the phone with his beloved girlfriend Rachel, and the Joker's next target was Rachel. This plunged Harvey into a state of frenzy; he swore he would dig three feet deep to find the Joker, he wanted to protect his beloved!
Harvey still remembered what Rachel had just said to him: "Don't worry, Harvey. I'm on the top floor of Wayne Tower, it's very safe here. Bruce will protect me."
Heh heh heh... His beloved woman had to be protected by her ex-boyfriend. Even though Bruce, for some unknown reason, frequently raised funds to support many of his actions, Harvey felt grateful towards Bruce, but this did not mean Harvey was a man of great magnanimity.
Especially, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding between his girlfriend Rachel and Bruce. This feeling was hard to describe, but Harvey, with his keen intuition, could perceive it. This made him very uncomfortable.
Especially at this critical juncture, the Joker wanted to kill Rachel! Yet it was Bruce protecting Rachel, not him, Harvey!
Harvey was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot red. He wanted to personally catch the Joker, that villain, and personally protect Rachel!
He caught up and brutally knocked down the fleeing figure.
"Tell me! Where is the Joker!!! Tell me!!!" Harvey's face was twisted as he grabbed the other person's collar and roared madly, completely devoid of his former composure and calm.
The person he caught was a man. He swallowed, sweating profusely, but still let out an uneasy, trembling chuckle. Harvey could tell that this man was imitating the Joker.
Harvey was enraged; this laughter made him feel as if he was being mocked for his incompetence! He drew his gun and pressed it against the man's forehead, roaring with killing intent: "Now can you tell me where the Joker is?!"
"No, no, you're the Knight of Justice, you can't do this..." The man gritted his teeth, his trembling body shaking uncontrollably, but he absolutely refused to speak.
This further enraged Harvey. He suddenly became calm, like the calm before a storm. This Knight of Justice stared at the man with a chilling gaze: "Want to play a game?" With his left hand, he held the pistol against the man's head, and with his right hand, he pulled out a coin.
"Heads, you live; tails, you die!" Harvey gritted his teeth and said in a cold voice.
"No, you wouldn't..."
"I will! I definitely will!!!" Harvey roared. "You think I won't? Huh? You think I won't?!"
In the man's terrified gaze, Harvey tossed the coin, then caught it with one hand and slowly opened his palm.
It was heads.
The man who was caught swallowed frantically, letting out a series of trembling chuckles. Sweat streamed down his forehead like gushing springs. He knew he had survived at the hands of the Knight of Justice, that Knight of Justice Harvey would no longer kill him.
Before he could fully unleash his manic smile, Harvey spoke again, his face grim.
"This round doesn't count, let's do it again!"
"No! You can't do this! I don't know anything! Oh God!" The man broke down, tears and urine gushed out simultaneously as he cried and collapsed onto the ground.
Harvey's face was twisted. Amidst the man's terrified pleas, he tossed the coin into the air once more. Unbeknownst to him, his left hand, gripping the gun, tightened more and more, his index finger already slowly pulling the trigger.
The coin fell silently, like the Grim Reaper's descending scythe.
A large hand suddenly reached out and tightly caught the coin.
"You're entrusting the decision of a life to a coin? This man's name is Schiff Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic, a mental patient from Arkham who is most easily drawn to the Joker. Even if you kill him, he won't say anything."
Batman, with a hoarse voice, was hidden in the darkness. He looked at Harvey, a flicker of unconcealed disappointment in his eyes. Due to the dim light, Harvey did not notice anything amiss.
"Harvey, you must remember that you are a symbol of hope, something I can never be. You are the Knight of Justice of this city, you are Gotham City's only legitimate dawn in decades! But if anyone saw this, everything would be over, the criminals you apprehended would be released, and all the dead would have died in vain!" Batman said.
"Then have you found the Joker? He's going to kill Rachel!" Harvey asked impatiently; he only cared about the Joker now.
"Rachel is hiding in Wayne Tower, she's safe for now." Batman answered evasively. "I just tracked the Joker's movements and personally sent a thug into Arkham Asylum, and I've also realized one thing clearly: the Joker isn't the only one threatening this city!"
"Harvey, tomorrow you will hold a press conference, and I will also take off my mask at that time, so no one else will die because of me." Batman said slowly. He had already decided to go all in. The city he protected had people dying every single second; the Joker was slaughtering the elite, and others were secretly instigating the lower classes. The situation was becoming increasingly rotten. If he didn't make a desperate decision soon, he believed everything would become irreversible.
"What? No, you can't compromise! Damn it, you can't compromise!" Harvey grabbed Batman, roaring somewhat frantically. Batman was Gotham City's last psychological defense line. If even Batman gave up, who could save this city? Him? Could he bear this burden?
Batman shook off Harvey and stepped into the darkness, his figure gradually vanishing. The lonely Dark Knight had made his decision.
"Where are you going? I won't allow you to compromise! We'll go find the Joker now, there's always hope!" Harvey roared like a madman.
Batman stopped, but soon continued forward: "I have more important things to do. Some things always need to be done by someone."
Darkness enveloped everything, shadows covered the land, and the biting cold wind swept through layers of dark clouds, crushing this prosperous yet sinful city.
Batman's cowl had a communicator, which allowed him to maintain real-time communication with his old butler Alfred.
"Young Master, according to your instructions, all the equipment is ready... Are you really going through with this step?" Alfred looked at the screen, letting out a deep sigh. Behind him, numerous cutting-edge high-tech instruments were densely packed, filling the entire Batcave.
"I have to do this, Alfred, I have to protect this city." Batman walked with broad strides in the darkness. Bruce Wayne had made his final decision: "I will build a brand new armor, a never-before-seen super armor! I will personally end all of this!"
(end of chapter)
Knight of Justice Harvey had been like a madman these past few days, beginning to enact his justice using increasingly extreme methods.
The Joker was creating death daily, with more and more high-ranking officials brutally murdered by various means. What began with the deaths of mayors, judges, and other high-ranking officials gradually spread to middle-level personnel like Commissioner Gordon. Countless people in Gotham City had been bought off by the Joker. This villain, most skilled at exploiting human nature, always seemed to find the weaknesses of humanity, then drive public officials within the system to die for him at the most crucial moments.
Everyone in Gotham City felt unsafe; no one knew if the colleagues they spent day and night with had already been secretly swayed by the Joker, secretly planning to murder them.
The most terrifying thing was that every time the Joker killed someone, he would definitely inform the public who the next victim would be. People spent every day in fear and anxiety, praying to the deities that it wouldn't be them. The ugliness of human nature was fully exposed; people wished that those around them were the targets, so that they themselves would be safe.
Unbeknownst to anyone, trust had become the scarcest thing in this city. This change was sudden, yet it seemed to be a natural progression. The Joker was using his terrifying methods of manipulating human minds to twist everyone's true nature.
The Joker had no superpower; if Tony came, he could kill him with one punch. But his ability to control and twist human minds alone was enough to overpower most superheroes.
Harvey's face was contorted as he ran madly, tracking the frantically fleeing figure ahead of him. He had just spoken on the phone with his beloved girlfriend Rachel, and the Joker's next target was Rachel. This plunged Harvey into a state of frenzy; he swore he would dig three feet deep to find the Joker, he wanted to protect his beloved!
Harvey still remembered what Rachel had just said to him: "Don't worry, Harvey. I'm on the top floor of Wayne Tower, it's very safe here. Bruce will protect me."
Heh heh heh... His beloved woman had to be protected by her ex-boyfriend. Even though Bruce, for some unknown reason, frequently raised funds to support many of his actions, Harvey felt grateful towards Bruce, but this did not mean Harvey was a man of great magnanimity.
Especially, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding between his girlfriend Rachel and Bruce. This feeling was hard to describe, but Harvey, with his keen intuition, could perceive it. This made him very uncomfortable.
Especially at this critical juncture, the Joker wanted to kill Rachel! Yet it was Bruce protecting Rachel, not him, Harvey!
Harvey was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot red. He wanted to personally catch the Joker, that villain, and personally protect Rachel!
He caught up and brutally knocked down the fleeing figure.
"Tell me! Where is the Joker!!! Tell me!!!" Harvey's face was twisted as he grabbed the other person's collar and roared madly, completely devoid of his former composure and calm.
The person he caught was a man. He swallowed, sweating profusely, but still let out an uneasy, trembling chuckle. Harvey could tell that this man was imitating the Joker.
Harvey was enraged; this laughter made him feel as if he was being mocked for his incompetence! He drew his gun and pressed it against the man's forehead, roaring with killing intent: "Now can you tell me where the Joker is?!"
"No, no, you're the Knight of Justice, you can't do this..." The man gritted his teeth, his trembling body shaking uncontrollably, but he absolutely refused to speak.
This further enraged Harvey. He suddenly became calm, like the calm before a storm. This Knight of Justice stared at the man with a chilling gaze: "Want to play a game?" With his left hand, he held the pistol against the man's head, and with his right hand, he pulled out a coin.
"Heads, you live; tails, you die!" Harvey gritted his teeth and said in a cold voice.
"No, you wouldn't..."
"I will! I definitely will!!!" Harvey roared. "You think I won't? Huh? You think I won't?!"
In the man's terrified gaze, Harvey tossed the coin, then caught it with one hand and slowly opened his palm.
It was heads.
The man who was caught swallowed frantically, letting out a series of trembling chuckles. Sweat streamed down his forehead like gushing springs. He knew he had survived at the hands of the Knight of Justice, that Knight of Justice Harvey would no longer kill him.
Before he could fully unleash his manic smile, Harvey spoke again, his face grim.
"This round doesn't count, let's do it again!"
"No! You can't do this! I don't know anything! Oh God!" The man broke down, tears and urine gushed out simultaneously as he cried and collapsed onto the ground.
Harvey's face was twisted. Amidst the man's terrified pleas, he tossed the coin into the air once more. Unbeknownst to him, his left hand, gripping the gun, tightened more and more, his index finger already slowly pulling the trigger.
The coin fell silently, like the Grim Reaper's descending scythe.
A large hand suddenly reached out and tightly caught the coin.
"You're entrusting the decision of a life to a coin? This man's name is Schiff Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic, a mental patient from Arkham who is most easily drawn to the Joker. Even if you kill him, he won't say anything."
Batman, with a hoarse voice, was hidden in the darkness. He looked at Harvey, a flicker of unconcealed disappointment in his eyes. Due to the dim light, Harvey did not notice anything amiss.
"Harvey, you must remember that you are a symbol of hope, something I can never be. You are the Knight of Justice of this city, you are Gotham City's only legitimate dawn in decades! But if anyone saw this, everything would be over, the criminals you apprehended would be released, and all the dead would have died in vain!" Batman said.
"Then have you found the Joker? He's going to kill Rachel!" Harvey asked impatiently; he only cared about the Joker now.
"Rachel is hiding in Wayne Tower, she's safe for now." Batman answered evasively. "I just tracked the Joker's movements and personally sent a thug into Arkham Asylum, and I've also realized one thing clearly: the Joker isn't the only one threatening this city!"
"Harvey, tomorrow you will hold a press conference, and I will also take off my mask at that time, so no one else will die because of me." Batman said slowly. He had already decided to go all in. The city he protected had people dying every single second; the Joker was slaughtering the elite, and others were secretly instigating the lower classes. The situation was becoming increasingly rotten. If he didn't make a desperate decision soon, he believed everything would become irreversible.
"What? No, you can't compromise! Damn it, you can't compromise!" Harvey grabbed Batman, roaring somewhat frantically. Batman was Gotham City's last psychological defense line. If even Batman gave up, who could save this city? Him? Could he bear this burden?
Batman shook off Harvey and stepped into the darkness, his figure gradually vanishing. The lonely Dark Knight had made his decision.
"Where are you going? I won't allow you to compromise! We'll go find the Joker now, there's always hope!" Harvey roared like a madman.
Batman stopped, but soon continued forward: "I have more important things to do. Some things always need to be done by someone."
Darkness enveloped everything, shadows covered the land, and the biting cold wind swept through layers of dark clouds, crushing this prosperous yet sinful city.
Batman's cowl had a communicator, which allowed him to maintain real-time communication with his old butler Alfred.
"Young Master, according to your instructions, all the equipment is ready... Are you really going through with this step?" Alfred looked at the screen, letting out a deep sigh. Behind him, numerous cutting-edge high-tech instruments were densely packed, filling the entire Batcave.
"I have to do this, Alfred, I have to protect this city." Batman walked with broad strides in the darkness. Bruce Wayne had made his final decision: "I will build a brand new armor, a never-before-seen super armor! I will personally end all of this!"
(end of chapter)
