Chapter 206: Solution

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

...

"Why are there mutated Man-Bats in Wayne Tower?"

The Phantom Thief asked Lucius.

"I remember that everyone here should have evacuated already, so how could Man-Bats come in?"

"At first, I had the same thought as you, Phantom Thief."

Lucius replied.

"About half an hour ago, I received a notification from Batman. He instructed me to wait for you at Wayne Tower. We both believed the building would be safe at that time, but we were wrong."

Lucius sighed and continued, "While Wayne Enterprises' employees have indeed evacuated, this building isn't entirely empty."

"A few hours ago, when the False Face Society attacked Wayne Tower, they sent a small team into the building to search for Bruce. However, shortly after, the False Face Society moved to Robinson Park."

The Phantom Thief's expression changed.

"It seems you've already figured it out. That's right, when the False Face Society left, they didn't take all of their members with them. They left behind about twenty or thirty people in Wayne Tower."

"The False Face Society, these people just won't give up."

Phantom Thief remarked.

"At that time, everyone was relieved when the False Face Society left, and no one bothered to count their numbers. So, we instinctively thought that all of them had already left."

As a result, when Lucius urgently returned to Wayne Tower, Man-Bats ambushed him without warning.

Luckily, he took the main entrance and directly took the elevator to the floor with the control room.

Fortunately, he encountered a Man-Bat not far from the control room, which gave the Phantom Thief an opportunity to save his life.

Otherwise, if Lucius had been attacked outside the monitoring room, he would probably have died by now.

Even if Phantom Thief found Lucius' location through the control room, he couldn't save him because there is a huge difference between "recovery" and "resurrection."

Especially in the system mall, the prices of items that can resurrect people are terrifyingly high, and even if Phantom Thief had enough amazement points, he couldn't afford to spend so much to resurrect Lucius.

After all, he was just a stranger with no connection between them.

Lucius was too injured and lost consciousness after hiding in the control room, and he had no opportunity to send a signal to Batman.

"So, there are at least twenty Man-Bats lurking in this building right now."

The Phantom Thief walked into the monitoring room and looked at the screens.

"Almost half of the cameras are blacked out, and we can only see eight Man-Bats on the surveillance."

Phantom Thief had already killed two Man-Bats at the beginning, and one was electrocuted at the door to the control room.

That left at least nine Man-Bats whose locations were still unknown.

"Mr. Fox, do you know where the Aerosol Dispersal Device is hidden in Wayne Tower?"

After noting the positions of the known Man-Bats, Phantom Thief turned to Lucius and asked.

It's hidden in Lab A4869 on the 45th floor."

Lucius answered and then took out an ID card from his clothes and handed it to the Phantom Thief.

"Only my card has access to that area. I can't go with you due to my current physical condition, but I can guide you on operating the device from the surveillance room."

The Phantom Thief nodded, took the ID card, and then turned to leave.

After a few steps, Lucius's voice rang out again.

"Phantom Thief... thank you for saving my life. Robin was right; deep down, you're a good person."

The Phantom Thief paused for a moment and then continued walking towards the exit of the control room without turning back.

Watching the Phantom Thief leave the room, Lucius prayed in his heart that he would succeed.

At this moment, the hopes of countless people in Gotham were in the hands of the Phantom Thief.

He didn't stay in place the whole time either.

As the sound of the door closing echoed, Lucius limped over to the control panel and sent a message to Batman while explaining everything that had just happened.

Meanwhile, there are countless media workers watching the live broadcast silently, praying for Phantom Thief and hoping for his successful mission.

The False Face Society and Black Mask were criticized by others.

"I can't believe there are so many Man-Bat in Wayne Tower, which should have been empty. The False Face Society is truly heartless, and the Black Mask is a despicable criminal responsible for all the bad things happening in Gotham today!"

Others changed their opinion of the Phantom Thief due to his actions in saving Lucius's life.

"I used to think Phantom Thief was just a selfish and arrogant thief. I had no interest in him and never believed his announcement about stealing the virus. But now, I can be sure I misunderstood the Phantom Thief before."

There were some people amazed at Phantom Thief's methods of dealing with the Man-Bats.

"The infected people with the virus have the advantage of echolocation, which allows them to pinpoint the location and shape of everything around them with precise ultrasonic waves. This should have been their absolute strength, but Phantom Thief turned the tables by setting an ambush. Phantom Thief's strategy intelligence is not to be underestimated."

Regardless of their different perspectives, they all shared a common wish at this moment.

The Phantom Thief hoped that nothing else strange would happen on his way to find the device. The situation really needed to end this time.

On the other side, Batman finally receives Lucius's message, and he is relieved to know that he didn't misjudge the Phantom Thief.

All they need to do is hold on a bit longer until the Phantom Thief finds the device. Once he does, the Man-Bat Virus crisis in Gotham can be successfully resolved.

After that, they will need to uncover the mastermind behind this incident!

...

Following Lucius' instructions, Phantom Thief boarded the elevator that was closest to Laboratory A4869 in Wayne Tower.

He now had Lucius' temporary ID card, which gave him the highest level of access within Wayne Tower, except for areas that required eye or handprint authentication.

With the exception of some highly secure locations, the Phantom Thief could freely enter and exit all other facilities.

The floor where the control room was located was the 88th floor, and it would take about ten seconds to descend to the 45th floor.

During this time, Phantom Thief reviewed the shortest route that Lucius had told him.

"After the elevator doors open, there will be a T-shaped corridor. Go straight for about thirty-five meters and take a right turn. Then enter the third intersection on the right, and the seventh laboratory on the right will be your destination..."

"This route is not displayed on the surveillance screens, and I'm not sure if there are any Man-Bats blocking the way. This is also the most dangerous area."

As he watched the elevator's floor indicator slowly descend, the Phantom Thief remained alert, holding a Card Gun and an electric shock device in his hands.

Just in case a Man-Bat happened to be blocking the elevator doors when they opened, he could launch an attack first.

"I hope luck is on my side."

And in that instant!

Ding!

A clear bell sound rang, and the elevator doors opened slowly.

The Phantom Thief instantly raised his card gun and electric shock device, his concentration at its peak.

Fortunately, the Man-Bats he had anticipated were not outside.

He wasn't sure if they had gone elsewhere for a walk or if they were simply not aware of his presence.

There was no time to waste. The Phantom Thief quickly checked both sides and then proceeded along the planned route.

To avoid alerting the Man-Bat with the sound of his footsteps, Phantom Thief carefully controlled his speed while remaining silent.

As for the bell sound from the elevator a moment ago, it rang before the doors opened.

The elevator had strong soundproofing, so the possibility of someone hearing it from the corridor outside was low.

After a few minutes, the Phantom Thief arrived at the door of Laboratory A4869.

Luck was on his side; Phantom Thief didn't encounter any Man-Bat blocking his path.

With over eighty floors, Wayne Tower is very tall and very big. The chances of running into a few dozen Man-Bats throughout the building were not very high.

Phantom Thief had actually hit the jackpot by encountering only two Man-Bats when he first entered.

Phantom Thief's safe progress was a relief to the viewers watching the livestream. It seemed that God was indeed watching over Gotham.

"Phantom Thief, can you hear me?"

Just as the Phantom Thief used Lucius's ID card to open the laboratory, a voice came from somewhere.

"Mr. Fox?"

The Phantom Thief recognized the voice.

"I'm currently in the control room using the broadcast equipment to talk to you. Have you reached the laboratory?"

Lucius asks this because the surveillance cameras were damaged, so he can't see what's happening in the lab.

"You've arrived just in time, Mr. Fox. I was actually about to ask you what the device looks like and where it is located."

The Phantom Thief had already entered the laboratory at this point and was looking at the various strange devices inside as he asked Lucius.

The laboratory wasn't large; in fact, it was quite small, with an area of only about twenty square meters.

It seemed more like a storage room for experimental equipment than a laboratory.

What was particularly strange was that there was no device that looked like it could expand and spread a vial of antidote throughout the entire city.

The most noticeable piece of equipment was in the deep part of the laboratory, a large object that resembled an operating table.

"The main body of the Aerosol Dispersal Device is not in Lab A4869. That's where the control console for the device is located."

Lucius provides a response at this moment.

"The device is actually hidden on the top floor of Wayne Tower, but it can only be activated using the control panel."

"Oh, I see. Then tell me how to operate this control panel."

The Phantom Thief hastily and urgently.

"Of course, I contacted you for this reason..."

After some time, Phantom Thief completed the final operation on the console.

Suddenly, a mechanical arm extends from the console, with a receiver on top that perfectly fits an injector.

"Put the antidote for the Man-Bat virus onto it, and the device will automatically start replicating the formula of the antidote, then mass-produce the same antidote. Finally, it will spread throughout Gotham using the transmitter that extends from the rooftop."

Lucius explains.

"I understand."

Phantom Thief replied and then pretended to reach into his pocket, pulling out the Reverse Man-Bat Inhibitor and fitting it into the receiver.

Then, the mechanical arm retracted the antidote back into the console, and the device started to operate independently without needing additional steps.

"This should be the end of it,"

The Phantom Thief sighed with relief after completing everything.

"Yes, in just over ten minutes, the device will finish replicating the antidote, and it will be over."

Lucius answered while also taking a deep breath in the control room.

"It's just a matter of time,"

The Phantom Thief nodded and left the laboratory.

"During this time, I've been mentally pressured. Although I haven't used much physical energy, I still feel a bit exhausted."

He thought while rubbing his neck and returned to the elevator.

Of course, he wasn't going back to find Lucius but rather to go straight to the rooftop to leave this place.

Ding!

The elevator rang and began to go up.

However, just as the elevator had barely gone up two floors, a sudden impact sound came from above the elevator.

The force of the impact was quite strong, causing the entire elevator to shake. Then, there was a tearing sound, as if some sharp object was scratching on the metal roof of the elevator.

Phantom Thief realized it was bad; there were definitely Man-Bats above the elevator.

But why?

The elevator's bell shouldn't be able to be heard from outside...

Suddenly, Phantom Thief realized something he had ignored.

The elevator's overall structure was sealed tightly, making it difficult for the sounds from inside to spread to the corridor outside the elevator.

But at the same time, precisely because the elevator was so sealed, the design of ventilation was important, and Wayne Tower's elevator ventilation was designed at the top.

With the flow of air, sounds could naturally travel outside.

In the elevator shaft, he could hear the elevator's bell and even the sounds of the elevator moving!

There had definitely been a Man-Bat hiding in the elevator shaft earlier!

And there were no surveillance cameras in the elevator shaft, so Lucius couldn't warn the Phantom Thief.

Clang!

Just then, a loud bang came from the top of the elevator, and a hand with sharp claws and black fur appeared in front of the Phantom Thief.

The elevator roof had been punched through by a Man-Bat

Phantom Thief reacted quickly. As soon as he saw the claws reaching down, he hit back.

He pulled out his electric shock device and turned it to the highest voltage, then swung it upward with force.

Zzzt zzzt zzzt zzzt!

A strong high-voltage electric shock instantly burned the Man-Bat's arm to a crisp, causing it to twitch uncontrollably.

Not only that, but its body also began to twitch wildly, shaking the elevator continuously.

Soon, the Man-Bat stopped moving.

Just when Phantom Thief thought the danger was over, a sudden change happened!

...

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