Chapter 1943: U: Surpass the Great Event (32)_1

The Joker's lighter is an important item in Batman's memory, because it typically ignites the fuse of a bomb or some flammable substance capable of burning down an entire building.

Lord Superman can't say that Batman is completely fearless regarding this, but it's more like an instinctive stress response that has settled in him. If this was the Batman he knew, the Joker's spine would already have been broken four times over.

But now, Bruce sat down on the chair next to Arthur with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, leaning over, one hand sheltering the flame, the other on the armrest.

Arthur also bent over and held the burning end of his nearly-finished cigarette towards Bruce's unlit one.

The moment the cigarette was ignited, a streak of red light passed by, instantly turning their cigarettes to ash.

Both pairs of eyeballs stared blankly at the rising black smoke in front of them.

"What are you doing?!" Bruce looked up at Lord Superman in disbelief, as though he was staring at an alien.

Lord Superman was also dumbfounded by Bruce's matter-of-fact attitude. Shouldn't he be the one asking that question?

"There's marijuana in that cigarette!"

"I know."

Lord Superman was left speechless again.

For the first time in his life, Superman felt a sense of helplessness in playing this game alone.

Bruce turned back around, leaning into his chair and said with a slightly upbeat tone, "I was just trying to stay alert. Are you from the 'Illegal State'?"

Lord Superman furrowed his brows deeply, if it weren't for his muscles, they would've twisted into a knot.

Lord Superman was a person who greatly respected the rules. According to the division of the Europe and America camps, he would be considered a conservative. On Planet 50, where he ruled, not just drugs, but even non-addictive medicine was metered precisely. Drug misuse was completely eradicated, and addicts were extinct.

But what's going on with this Batman? Why does he look like a teenager, who skips school on a weekday and runs around with a group of friends, pockets stuffed with hands, howling and tossing their still lit cigarettes into the trashcan to see who can set the trash ablaze first?

Wait, are all Batmen orphans? Does the one in front of me still have his parents? Is this how Bruce Wayne is when he's not Batman?

Looking at Bruce who was chatting and laughing with the Joker, a complex feeling arose in Lord Superman's heart.

Lord Superman's feelings towards the Batman of his own earth were already quite complicated.

Still, the storyline on Lord Superman's earth was relatively simple. Luther killed The Flash, then successfully ran for President. Superman, furious, killed Luther.

What could be seen as violating common sense, is that the Batman of this universe, often referred to as Grey Bat, supported Lord Superman's actions completely, with his exact words being, "Someone has to do it."

Then, Superman realized this straightforward method saved quite a lot of hassle, so he formed the Justice Lord Team and ruled the world with heavy-handed justice. All criminals were executed, and any actions outside the law were severely punished.

Up to this point, Grey Bat still supported Lord Superman. But recently, just before joining the game, Lord Superman sensed something was different.

Lord Superman wanted to extend his justice even further. He hoped Batman would create a portal for him so that they could punish evil in more universes.

Batman didn't refuse, but Lord Superman could sense his attitude changing; he no longer seemed willing.

It's easy to understand Lord Superman's feelings. If it weren't for your support, I wouldn't have come this far. But now you want to stand on the moral high ground and accuse me of brutality?

Of course, Batman hasn't made any substantial moves to betray him yet, but Lord Superman knows he will—because that's just Batman.

He has the power and determination to break anything but can never break free from the last cage, the one called 'Batman'.

Lord Superman saw the Bat suit as a cruel instrument of torture, relentlessly tormenting Batman's psyche, compelling him to act against the continuous atrocities and pushing him to betrayal.

So naturally, Lord Superman started wondering, If you had an extra ticket, would you come with me—if you hadn't chosen to wear this costume back then, could we have established a more perfect governing structure and a better future for humanity?

Just at that moment, Lord Superman met a younger Batman. He didn't sense that deep-seated seriousness or profound pain that he felt from Batman. This, of course, sparked his interest.

But right now, even seriousness seemed better.

If you had to choose between an upright gentleman who sticks to his own principles due to past sufferings that haunt his conscience, and a reckless teenager who having never been knocked down by life seems ready to take on the world, who would you pick?

Lord Superman may be violent, but he's not stupid.

A traitorous Batman might only object to his violent ways, but would an unhinged Batman end up setting the cosmos on fire?

Lord Superman has another trait – he also seeks justice. Although he might be overzealous and have violent methods, he wouldn't be out of place on Earth in the DC universe.

Like other Supermen, he can't tolerate crime and definitely wouldn't allow the universe to be destroyed. But letting this unhinged Batman continue to develop, what could the prospects be for the cosmos?

What's even scarier is that if this Batman does drugs, nobody can imagine what a high Batman could do. The Joker is a crazy with a semblance of sanity, but an addict is genuinely insane.

Suddenly, Lord Superman felt a bit restless. He looked straight at Bruce and said, "Put your hand back or I'll cut it off. I'm talking about both of you!"

Just then, Bruce reached out to Constantine for a cigarette again. As Constantine was actually about to hand one over, they were interrupted by Superman, the justice lord, throwing them a deathly glare.

Bruce looked back at him, paused as if testing the waters, then, seeing the red light in Superman's eyes, reluctantly withdrew his hand. He coughed lightly a couple of times, as if trying to divert the topic at hand.

"Allow me to introduce you all to Dr. Schiller Rodriguez. This is my psychology professor, a world-renowned psychology master, whom you've just seen on the screen."

"I had the great privilege of studying under him during my enriching college years, and I was also fortunate to receive his tutelage during my postgraduate studies. I am also planning to apply for a doctoral candidacy under him in order to pursue deeper academic research."

At this statement, the other three were taken aback.

Constantine coughed severely, likely coughing up pieces of his lung tissue this time. His palm was all bloody, and it was Owen who gave him some tissues before he could salvage what very little was left of his image.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH! Did I hear that right? You're saying that this killer is your psychology professor, who taught you for four years plus another three, and you plan to keep reading for who knows how many more years??!"

Bruce lightly nodded his head, then as if he just remembered, raised a finger and said, "Oh right. He's also one of the jokers in our universe."

This time it was Superman's turn to cough.

"'One of'??" Superman repeated Bruce's words, staring intently at his face and asked, "How many jokers do you have in your universe?"

"Maybe about five or six." Bruce tapped his chin thoughtfully, "They aren't all full-time jokers, and none of them are as excellent comedic actors as Mr. Arthur. Besides being a psychology professor, we also have a truck driver, another world's richest man, the ancestor of a vampire, among others."

The super-brain of the justice lord was buzzing.

"Hold on." He held up a hand and completely turned to face Bruce, asking, "Are you sure you didn't take a puff before coming here? What's this about the ancestor of a vampire?"

"You don't have Cain in your world?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow, "Due to a couple of random circumstances, he became the Joker. But he didn't last long, he disappeared after a while."

"Wait!" Superman had to call upon his super-brain to understand this complex relationship. He said, "Batman once said that he and the Joker are archenemies, but if you're not Batman..."

"Who says I'm not Batman?" Bruce interrupted him and said, "I have the bat equipment, just not wearing it. I came here while performing my Batman mission on the rooftop."

"Performing the Batman mission on the rooftop?"

At this point, Bruce sighed deeply, as if burdened with the weight of the world, "Yes, there were a lot of photographers that day. I stood there for over three hours, and people kept coming."

"I would've liked to have a stand-in or put a robot up there, but my fans are too perceptive, they can tell from a slight misalignment of muscle texture. So, I had to do it."

The super-brain of the justice lord was starting to run out of steam.

He held up a hand to stop Bruce from continuing, "So, you're saying that in your universe, Batman is some sort of idol celebrity, and your daily job is dressing up in the bat suit and posing for pictures?"

"Uh, well, not exactly." Bruce's words relaxed Superman slightly, only for him to continue, "I also occasionally post on my private website, interact with my fans, and promote Batman-related products."

"You sell merchandise too?!!"

Bruce nodded and reached into his hoodie pocket. He pulled out a shiny little metal piece and tossed it to Superman, saying, "This is the latest keychain design. Fresh from the factory, haven't even had a chance to sell them."

The Justice Lord looked at the little metal piece much like a subway grandpa inspecting a smartphone, squinting at it closely, then holding it at arm's length, seemingly having forgotten about his super-vision.

"How much does this thing sell for?" The Justice Lord asked, somewhat reluctantly.

"This is a limited edition, only 2000 to be sold worldwide. It's 50 dollars each."

"COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!!!"

The three cacophonous coughs overlapped, and the host, Owen, was momentarily confused as to who to give napkins to.

Superman finally remembered his super-vision. But all his scrutiny could conclude was that it was a plain stainless steel bat-shaped little metal piece. Neither was it made of gold, nor contained any valuable gemstones.

"50 bucks for this thing?!! Why don't you just rob people instead?" Constantine was the first to raise his voice .

"Comes with early buying rights to the Sex Pistols' concert tickets."

"I'll take ten of those right away!"

"Only a madman would..." Arthur started to say.

"There's early buying rights to tickets for your comedy show too. That's a minimum of twenty million visits for the ten-day music festival."

"Priceless!"

Bruce threw up his hands.

The Justice Lord silently covered his eyes.

Well, things were worse than he thought. The insane Batman appeared to still possess his superintelligence, but didn't use it for heroic deeds. In short, this bat was a slick business dealer.