Chapter 24: The Sorcerer?

Luo Yajun greedily inhaled the air, tainted with a pungent stench, coughing violently twice. As he regained his composure, he could finally make out the dark figure that descended from the sky.

It was then that he realized it wasn't some sort of bat monster, but rather, it appeared to be a person. However, the sanity of that person was questionable, as he intentionally fashioned himself to resemble a bat.

What kind of lunatic would dress up like that?

Although, if you were to call him simply insane, it seemed like he was a bit more sophisticated.

Despite the constant flickering lights making it difficult to see the details, with a quick glance, Luo Yajun could still discern that the equipment on this peculiar individual was far from cheap.

The armor he wore seemed to be made of some highly durable fiber material, with reinforced armor plates in crucial areas. Just by estimating it, he felt that the bulletproof and explosion-resistant capabilities of this toy-like attire were undoubtedly stronger than the protective gear worn by their Ninth Division.

Luo Yajun quickly realized that the eyewitness in the Klein Tower also mentioned seeing a bat-like creature. Unless there was another madman in this city who enjoyed going out in the middle of the night dressed as a rodent to perform performance art, it was most likely the person right in front of him.

After being kicked and sent flying, Guan Ye, stood up and twisted his neck in a strange manner.

"Oh? And who are you?" he smirked, tilting his head as he sized up the other person.

At the same time, behind the screen watching all of this cautiously was Chu Cheng, who was referred to as Batman. The bloody scene that caused physical discomfort, combined with the man's eerie smile and the overall madness of the situation, naturally brought Chu Cheng's mind to the one and only infamous archenemy of Batman, the Joker.

Speaking of Batman, he really had it tough. Back in the day, the Joker turned Gotham City upside down, causing Batman a great deal of trouble. But nowadays, for some unknown reason, everyone seemed to think they were the Joker themselves. It drove Batman mad to the point where he woke up one day with the whole world as his enemy.

And now, in this different world, Chu Cheng had hoped that he could finally temporarily escape the daily love-hate relationship with the Joker. But, for heaven's sake, another Joker's spiritual successor appeared out of nowhere.

Chu Cheng couldn't help but think that if he were Batman, he would probably be silently cursing right now, thinking, "Damn it, the Joker is still after me."

"Be careful," Luo Yajun spoke up. "This guy is not easy to deal with."

Although he wasn't sure about the origins of this bat-like individual, the signs so far indicated a higher possibility of them being an ally.

However, the situation was still far from optimistic.

This bat-themed lunatic might also be an infected individual or a metahuman. However, Luo Yajun didn't consider this bat-themed person as a formidable opponent.

Because he had just experienced it firsthand, he knew that "Guan Ye" possessed one of the most powerful abilities among the infected. Luo Yajun himself was considered highly infected among all the agents in the Ninth Division. Excluding the awakened superhumans with special abilities, there were only a few individuals in the entire Ninth Division who were stronger than him in terms of physical fitness.

As his thoughts raced, "Guan Ye" had already taken the initiative to charge forward. He was incredibly fast, reaching Batman in an instant, and his blood-soaked hand was about to reach out.

Batman remained expressionless, only slightly leaning to the side, causing the fingers stained with blood to almost graze the tip of his nose. Then, he lowered his center of gravity, and his right hand swiftly emerged from beneath his cape, pressing forcefully towards "Guan Ye's" chest.

In the next moment, to Luo Yajun's astonishment, "Guan Ye's" body was sent flying with a deep rumble, crashing into a parked car with a loud bang. The car door crumpled and sank as the entire vehicle flipped over onto its side.

Luo Yajun: !?

What kind of power is this?

Even for an infected individual, isn't this power a bit too outrageous?

And look at that bat-themed weirdo, standing calmly in place, his hands hidden beneath the large black cape, as if he hasn't even exerted any force. He even exudes the demeanor of a grandmaster in a martial art novel.

Detective Luo's gaze towards him became complicated.

But little did he know, Batman wasn't an infected individual, nor did he possess any superhuman abilities. He simply had financial power.

As they say, the poor rely on mutations, while the rich rely on technology, and Batman undoubtedly exemplified the latter.

Although he didn't parade around like the neighbor next door, donning a suit of armor and fighting for justice at every opportunity, Batman had an array of handy gadgets in his utility belt.

For example, the one he just used was a disposable miniature jet thruster. At first glance, it looked like an inconspicuous button, but once the activation switch was triggered, it would emit powerful flames, unleashing an astonishing thrusting force.

The usage of these gadgets includes, but is not limited to, attaching them to enemies to make them drift like funeral hearses, affixing them to objects in the environment to turn them into battering rams, or even cosplaying as a low-budget Iron Man by attaching them to oneself.

Bruce Wayne has quite a collection of miscellaneous gadgets in the Batcave. During the beginner's tutorial, Chu Cheng spent an entire day in the newbie simulation, learning and memorizing the functions and uses of each piece of equipment.

Many of them made him exclaim, "It's like being the president in a convertible car with an open roof!" They truly expanded the realms of imagination. It can be said that if you can think of it, Wayne Enterprises can make it happen.

However, there is a practical problem that players cannot bring all of them every time.

Chu Cheng had never imagined that storage capacity could be an issue for Batman. After all, ever since the introduction of a Doreamon character with a four-dimensional pocket in the world of anime and manga, a four-dimensional space has become a standard feature among animated characters.

Although Batman doesn't possess such abilities, he has his high-tech utility belt. Despite its appearance of just a few small compartments, in movies, TV shows, and comics, it miraculously functions like a Doreamon character's pocket. It may contain items such as throwing darts, grenades, grappling hooks, breathing apparatuses, flashbangs, smoke bombs, and you might even find Bat Shark Repellent among them.

However, fantasies are beautiful, and reality can be harsh. The game mercilessly reminds Chu Cheng that Batman can only carry a maximum of twelve pieces of equipment into battle, excluding the grappling gun. Anything beyond that won't fit in the utility belt.

So, players need to choose their equipment in advance before each battle. They can easily change their gear at the Batcave anytime, but not during combat or missions.

Despite being struck with such force, which could disintegrate the bones of a normal person, "Guan Ye" remained unscathed. He quickly climbed to his feet from the other end of the car, still wearing a smile on his face.

"Heh, interesting little trick. However..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Batman swung his hand, and an object emitting a faint blue glow flew in an arc towards "Guan Ye."

"Guan Ye" agilely dodged, but to his surprise, the object, as if magnetized, was drawn towards him when it came close, sticking to his torso with a thud.

Hiss... Hiss... Hiss...

The small object released a powerful electric current, and countless visible electric snakes immediately coiled around "Guan Ye's" body, causing him to convulse and emit black smoke.

The object was a throwable electric shocker that could adhere to the target and deliver a powerful electric shock.

However, after convulsing and emitting black smoke, "Guan Ye" tilted his neck and continued walking towards them, his body contorted and twisted. His skin was burned and cracked in multiple places, emanating the scent of charred flesh. His facial muscles were stiff from the electric shock, but his smile appeared even more sinister.

Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

He could still move like that? His health bar must be really high.

Since that was the case, Batman swung his hand once again.

Bang.

A spherical object exploded at "Guan Ye's" feet, releasing a large amount of gel that instantly expanded at an astonishing speed.

The gel was a black-tech invention developed by Wayne Enterprises. It was normally highly concentrated and compressed inside the spherical bomb. Upon detonation, the metal casing would rupture, and the highly concentrated gel would rapidly expand upon contact with the air.

And the end result was just like what was happening now.

"Guan Ye" was completely enveloped in the expanding gel, as if being stirred into a wad of cotton. Within three seconds, the gel rapidly solidified and took shape, resembling a towering sculpture.

"Guan Ye" was trapped inside the sculpture, still maintaining his outstretched hand. His bloodied palm struggled to emerge from the gel, and his five fingers came to a halt just a hair's breadth away from Batman's mask, immobilized and unable to move.

Batman stood motionless in place, his face expressionless, neither moving nor evading, as if everything was under his control.

Luo Yajun stared at this bat-like figure, unable to speak for a while.

So... this person turned out to be a sorcerer?