Chapter 2071: Knight's Horrifying Night (13)_1

On a pitch-dark road, an occasional car beam flashed past, a truck sped through the night rain, causing waves on the thin layer of rainwater on the road.

The shadow of a town skimmed along the distant horizon— as a truck stopped at a toll booth, a vine extended from the crevice of the car window and pricked the neck of a police officer inspecting the truck's cargo.

Another figure slipped into the toll booth and quickly raised the barrier, allowing the truck to continue speeding towards the distant town.

When the truck's headlights disappeared into the dark rainy night, the sign above the toll booth, bearing the name of the city, emitted a cold light—"Brood Seawen".

The truck effortlessly entered an underground cold storage room. When Poison Ivy got out of the vehicle, she looked at Peter incredulously and said, "Didn't you say you've only been in Gotham for less than a month? You even prepared a base in Brood Seawen."

"I didn't set this up," Peter shook his head, "After I got access to the Bat Computer, I discovered that Batman's first assistant used to be active here and set up over ten safe houses in this city. I'm just borrowing one of the most hidden ones."

"Madam, please give them another dose of anesthetic to make sure they don't wake up for the next 24 hours. Then you can choose to stay here, or continue back with me."

Poison Ivy showed a hint of hesitation on her face, but to Peter's surprise, she said, "I'll go with you, I need to return to Gotham."

"May I ask why?"

Poison Ivy rolled her eyes slightly, then looked at Peter and said, "I know how dangerous you are, boy. No matter what storm you stir up in Gotham tonight, you can't really harm the plants there."

"Also, I'm not the loner you think I am. The chaos you instigated between the Scarecrow, Penguin Man, and Batman will inevitably spread throughout Gotham. I want to go back and be with Harley, and make sure she has absolutely no interest in you or your plans. That's not easy."

"Then get in the truck," Peter opened the door of the truck again and got in, saying, "It's not far from dawn."

The truck slowly drove out from the darkness of the underground cold storage exit. What Peter did not notice was a discreet red dot flashing a few times in the profound darkness around the corner.

Just after he returned to Gotham, Peter received communication from Batman.

"Where are you, Peter? Answer me."

"I'm on Lexi Island," Peter responded, "Poison Ivy informed me that there's a Harley Quinn base there, and we're heading that way now to see if we can locate Barbara and Gordon."

"Come back now, I have another assignment for you."

Peter's hand, holding the steering wheel, paused for a moment and then replied, "Ok, I'll turn around at once."

Poison Ivy beside him said, "Are you planning to return to the Batcave? Then drop me here."

"You're coming back with me, but don't go in. As soon as I signal you, make some fuss to draw Batman over."

"You're crazy, I won't face Batman!" Poison Ivy turned her head back and shook her head, saying, "I've been avoiding this, becoming a thorn in his side isn't a good thing. He has ready hostages at his mansion— it has the most exotic plants in all of Gotham."

"But we've moved them all."

Poison Ivy was taken aback for a moment, turned her head again to look at Peter, and said incredulously, "You didn't plan this all the way here, did you?"

"I don't want you to fight him, just create a disturbance like other super criminals, get spotted, and leave before he arrives, it's that simple."

Poison Ivy sighed, "I will help you one last time, but then you have to promise me that when this matter is over, you will visit my lab and help with the chemical analysis of the plant toxin."

"Perfect terms of trade, madam, I appreciate it."

Peter returned to the Batcave, first went to the dressing room, changed out of his uniform, and then took a shower.

Amidst the sound of running water, Batman's voice sounded outside the door, "Peter, how soon can you finish? We have to hold a strategy meeting."

"Shortly, sir. Could you ask Mr. Alfred if my clothes are dry yet? And where can I find them?"

Batman left, and amidst the sound of water, Peter, lying in the bathtub, let out a relaxed sigh, reviewing the entire process of executing his plan in his mind, to ensure nothing had been overlooked.

The subject of Peter's test was Batman, but of course, it wasn't about curing Batman.

Nor was it simply because curing Batman was too difficult, but rather that Peter isn't a psychologist, it didn't make sense for him to specialize in this area— the returns would be fewer relative to the effort, it wasn't worth it.

Peter wanted to exhibit his capability to independently control situations, which was vitally important.

Obviously, as the Spider Legion becomes more active across an increasing number of universes, the status of the group will increase. Whether it's Shiller or Nick, they won't want to let go of the leadership of this group easily.

In fact, most Spider-Men are not suitable as leaders. They can work together and help each other out, but to lead a large group spanning multiple universes, good-heartedness and love alone are not enough.

This isn't to say that one has to be immoral or evil, but to preserve that kindness in a complex multiverse environment requires a stronger ability. In some ways, this implies being even stronger than those without morals.

Since ancient times, people have called a leader who lacks morality but is powerful a hero, while those leaders who are ethical and good enough are hailed as saints, because without compromising on their values, the difficulty of leading a team escalates to another level.

Currently, Spider Legion is mainly directed by Nick, but Nick realizes that he and the Spider-Men do not share the same ideals. He is also not the type of leader who can fully ignite the hearts of justice and positivity in his team members, precisely what largely fuels the Spider-Men.

Though Peter enjoys scientific research, he is clear about his responsibility; other than making the lives of all the Spider-Men better, he should also fully utilize the powers of the numerous Spider-Men, making the entire cosmos a better place.

To be a leader, one cannot ignore human nature. Such a widespread team will invariably face a variety of challenges that showcase the diversity of life.

Learning through practical experience and accumulating wisdom from mistakes is feasible; however, Peter has his own pride - he only chooses the most challenging difficulty setting when playing games.

Therefore, Peter comes to Gotham, facing Batman, who is even known among Batmen as a tough one to deal with.

Peter is not overambitious. He has chosen a challenging target and a dangerous environment, intending to set his goals a notch lower, thus, he spends nearly a week scouting around Gotham, looking for problems suitable for him to solve.

During this process, Peter notices that whenever he passes by certain locations, his Spider-sense just flickers, attracting his attention. Soon, he discovers the fear gas laid by Scarecrow.

By the time Peter found out, Scarecrow's deployment of the fear gas was almost complete. Thousands of fear toxin bombs were hidden in every corner of this vast city. Even if Peter had multiple hands and heads, he wouldn't be able to dig them all up in a short time.

Even if Batman were notified to help dig with the Batman Family, it would merely tickle the snake, causing Scarecrow to detonate the bomb ahead of time, leading to a greater disaster.

Since the disaster is inevitable, Peter takes this as his research topic, aiming to keep the situation under his control as much as possible on the night of the disaster, making every effort to reduce casualties and end the disaster as soon as possible.

Following Batman's shared pace is not out of the question, but that would not help refine his abilities. Moreover, he's more than just a Robin; running around Gotham City to finish tasks is far less than what he can potentially achieve.

However, Batman surely wouldn't listen to his explanation, so Peter could only choose to work by himself. But this is Batman's Gotham, and going at it alone will definitely pit him against Batman.

So, Peter's best option had become leveraging his advantage in the asymmetry of information, acting early to catch Batman off guard. While Batman was distracted by various early-sown clues, Peter should quickly finish his business.

This time, Peter is going all out. In addition to the knowledge of psychology learned from Shiller, the technology learned from Stark, the skills of pursuit and combat learned from Steve, and the skills of human and time management learned from Nick, he applied everything he had: the symbiotic organism, the healing potion, the modified Spider-Man suit, and more, whilst maintaining the informational advantage, managed to have Batman stumbling around Gotham for half a night.

But he knew this was just the beginning. After observing Batman for several weeks, he found the Dark Knight to be impossibly strong, probably the strongest and most comprehensive human he has ever faced.

The people Peter knew before, including his superiors, were mostly only good at one side or several sides.

But not Batman, Batman is a true hexagonal warrior. Peter, after racking his brains for weeks, couldn't think of any weaknesses to exploit.

While lying in the bathtub, Peter took a deep breath, went through the entire plan process in his head to make sure there were no issues, then closed his eyes to rest for a while to regenerate his physical and mental stamina, and finally got out of the bathroom after changing clothes.

Upon arriving at the Batcave's mission conference hall, only two individuals were waiting there - Batman and Nightwing.

"How's the research on the fear toxin?" Batman asked.

After confirming his expression was in check, Peter replied, "The chemical analysis still hasn't yielded any results, but the radiation theory is basically certain. I am now transmitting the data of common radiation bands into your computers."

"Once the antenna is fully upgraded, the satellite would be able to point out the potential locations of the fear toxin bombs, and our next step is to focus on modifying the antenna and then dig out all the bombs."

"Robin has gone missing. So have Gordon and Barbara," Batman spoke again, his gaze on Peter. "You also had a near abduction experience and were pursued."

"But none of this matters," Peter shook his head. "As superheroes, we must be prepared for the possibility of being wounded. We have to keep fighting for the people who are still alive."

Batman silently watched him. Peter met his gaze fearlessly, but Batman merely shook his head. "My plan differs from both of yours."

Nightwing's face showed an anxious expression, continuously shooting Peter looks. Peter squinted slightly, somewhat unable to decipher Nightwing's intentions. Prior to this, he had never interacted with this first-generation Robin- there was just too little information.

"This briefing is for me to announce my plan. All you two need to do is listen, moving to the side."

The atmosphere turned a bit stiff. Peter could clearly see Nightwing's twitching facial muscles. Seeing Nightwing's disapproving gaze, Peter turned and walked toward the chair Batman pointed at.

With no choice, Nightwing also moved over to take a seat. As he turned towards Peter, his face read: "You will soon understand why I left Gotham."

Indeed, Peter wanted to hear Batman's plan. He believed it would help him formulate targeted defences.

The next second, the Spider-sense rang sharply.

Click, click, click!

Several metal buckles extended from their necks, wrists, and legs, quickly snapping shut, completely immobilizing Peter and Nightwing.

Peter's pupils contracted suddenly.

"Whatever my plan is, you two will stay put. Don't even think about leaving before the situation gets resolved."