Chapter 26: Robbery

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Chapter 26: Robbery

"Evacuation efforts should not be led by individuals or companies but should be planned and carried out by the government."

Quinn stood on the street, and hundreds of Gotham citizens carried their belongings, moving slowly along the road towards a car transfer station where double-decker buses transported them to evacuation sites.

"But I have to admit that in a country that advocates freedom and democracy, the government's ability to command is far weaker than that of capital. Wayne Enterprises has already done a good job."

The evacuation plan divided the street community into batches and calculated the best evacuation routes through Batman's computer, which worked perfectly and had enough time buffer. However, many things couldn't be predicted by computers, and although Batman had thought of them, he couldn't avoid them.

Crime, a term long accustomed to Gotham, increased by 500% within two hours after the evacuation notice was issued.

People couldn't take all their belongings when leaving their homes, so apart from securing and waterproofing, many things were left behind.

This gave the villains an opportunity.

"Give me the money!"

"No, please, that's all our savings."

The man's hands trembled as he held the throat of an eight-year-old boy.

"I said, give me the money!"

Pain spread through the boy's body from his throat, and he remained still like a quail. He remembered what his father had said – when encountering bad people outside, do not resist vigorously because most of them are irrational, and struggling blindly would only lead to the opposite result.

"Mom... I'm in pain," the boy was covered in cold sweat.

Seeing her child in pain, the mother hesitated for a moment, then placed the cash in her arms on the ground. "Please don't harm my child. This is all the money I have; it's all yours."

Seeing the greenish dollars on the ground, the man couldn't contain his excitement. His unfocused pupils dilated as he pushed the boy backward and turned to pounce on the mother who placed the cash there.

"Stay away from my money!"

He shouted hoarsely, but no matter how hard he tried to move his legs, the distance from the woman only grew larger.

"Mana!"

(Bad guy flew away!)

A gentle stream wrapped around the man like a rope, and Manaphy swung her tentacles, tossing the man upwards.

The boy fell to the ground but felt no pain. A water current protected him from harm, and he stared in awe at the enchanting fairy until his mother embraced him.

"Thank God you're okay."

The boy shook his head firmly. "No, Mom, it was the fairy; she protected me!"

The mother looked up, and Manaphy blinked her eyes at the mother and child before flying into the sky.

The man who was flung by Manaphy lay on the ground, rolling and moaning. His right leg twisted in an abnormal shape.

Quinn held handcuffs and stepped on the man's broken leg bone, saying, "Don't move, you are under arrest."

The man screamed in pain like a slaughtered pig. Quinn noticed the needle marks on his arm when he handcuffed him, so he shifted his weight forward a bit.

He pushed the man into the overcrowded police car and slammed the door shut with his foot.

Manaphy skillfully reduced her size and perched on his shoulder, waiting for praise.

Quinn patted her head and said, "Well done, very neat. But you got too close to the criminal. If he had been clear-headed, he could have stabbed you with a knife at that distance. Next time, use the water gun to subdue them."

Taking advantage of the crime wave in Gotham, Quinn was teaching Manaphy how to fight, considering the fate she would have to face soon.

"Use the techniques proficiently, don't be limited by the surface of the moves, Manaphy. You can directly control water flow; the water gun and tidal spin are just different forms to unleash your power."

It was more like a Pokémon teaching its trainer rather than a trainer communicating with their Pokémon.

As the only Human Pokémon, Quinn passed on his experience of learning moves to Manaphy. The starting movements of Slash were simplified continuously, and now he could perform a segment of Slash with just a single sword flourish, significantly reducing the chance of mistakes during battles.

The Bat-communicator's indicator light lit up.

[Oracle report: Quinn, make a left turn two blocks ahead, there's a bank robbery in progress. Number of robbers unknown, heavily armed.]

"Copy that."

Quinn frowned as he looked at the seriously overloaded police car. Now he understood why Dick and Batman liked to have their vehicles equipped with autopilot.

...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A black truck crashed through the bank's entrance, and the cargo door opened. A group of thugs wearing crow masks jumped out. The first one to arrive fired shots outside, shattering the remaining glass.

No police were outside; he was warning any other ill-intentioned colleagues.

"Cowards, get the hell out of here. This bank is ours!"

Knowing the situation in Gotham, the crows showed no fear and walked calmly to the bank manager.

"You bent down to secretly press the alarm button just now, didn't you?"

The bank manager was sweating profusely. He hadn't expected his slight movement to be discovered, so he simply closed his eyes and waited for death.

But he didn't hear any gunshots.

"Hey, boss, look at his expression, does he think he's done something heroic?" one of the crows mocked.

The man wearing a gas mask sat down on the sofa in the bank hall. The sharp needle on his fingertip pierced the sofa.

"You... you are...!"

The bank manager opened one eye and saw a yellow-brown straw mask. His courage was instantly shattered.

"Scarecrow!"

As if witnessing something a thousand times scarier than a torrential beast, the manager rushed towards the vault.

Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, looked disdainfully at the panicking crows, "The fear of the timid and weak is tasteless. If you want to savor the most delightful fear, you should find someone with strong willpower."

Like Batman. However, this old adversary probably didn't have the energy to stop the bank robbery now that the city was flooded with vicious violent crimes.

Street robberies might cause casualties, but bank robberies wouldn't. For the thieves, a quick and decisive action was crucial. Scarecrow understood Batman; he cared more about a life than millions of dollars lost by the bank.

The crows looked at the news broadcast on public television, "Thanks to Bruce Wayne, ha, all the Gotham police have been dispatched to maintain order among the public. Without the police pressure, we can take our time to empty the entire vault."

Scarecrow coldly glanced at his subordinates, "Hurry up and get to work! I can't wait to join this carnival!"

Scarecrow enjoyed spreading fear, and the evacuation operation led by Wayne Enterprises gave him an opportunity. By injecting high-concentration fear toxin into the shelter's ventilation system, he could become Gotham's true nightmare.

"Yes!"

The crows quickened their pace, throwing bags of cash into the car and dropping countless bills along the way, which no one cared about.

Suddenly, a large banknote flew up from the ground, then fell again, seemingly alive, slowly approaching one of the crow captors.

This distracted two of the masked robbers, using this chance.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Quinn knocked two of them unconscious with the hilt and quickly dispatched two others at a greater distance with his gun. The crows were immediately reduced by four.

Hearing gunshots from the police firearms, Scarecrow immediately lay down on the sofa, avoiding the lethal bullets.

Quinn appeared, separating the hostages and the crow robbers.

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