Chapter 444 The Initial Part of Blizzard (Part 2)_1

Batman did not approach, instead he threw a Batman dart at the pile of stuff. The anticipated explosion did not happen, and the things just scattered around with a clattering noise.

The round toys rolled on the floor, stopping next to the wall. The Batman lollipops, wrapped in colour paper, fell on the floor, making a crisp sound. The wrappings glowed under the lamp.

Even for Batman, this situation was a bit hard to comprehend. But having dealt with the Joker multiple times before, he knew that the best way to counter this madman was to not overthink.

However, asking Batman not to overthink was like asking him to climb to the heaven. In the end, he approached and picked up one of the toys to examine it.

There was no bomb hidden inside, it was just a very ordinary plush toy: a round bat body with two cartoon-style bat wings. The other two toys were life-sized Batman figures, one with regular skin tone and the other was a laughing Batman.

After assessing the three toys, Batman picked up several lollipops. He discovered that the wrapper on one of them had been torn and it appeared to have been licked a few times. He wondered why it had not been completely finished before being discarded.

Upon examining everything, Batman didn't get any useful clues, only gaining a new insight into the extent of Joker's madness.

He checked the chair again and sat down. From that angle, he could see all of the monitors clearly. Batman realized that Joker had been sitting there earlier, using the phone to disclose the agents' locations to them.

As Batman went from one screen to another, he noted that each wall mounted screen corresponded to one of the three main buildings of the manor. The screen directly in front displayed the centre building of the manor, which housed the banquet hall.

As Batman was scanning these screens, he suddenly fixed his gaze on the frontmost screen.

This screen monitored the banquet hall. Since the banquet hall was situated on the first floor and had a courtyard overhead instead of a ceiling, its monitor was installed higher up.

Right then, the screen showed a rope hanging in the middle of the banquet hall's courtyard, with two people tied back-to-back at the end of it.

Batman narrowed his eyes and moved closer to the screen. He realized the two people hung from the rope were Clark and Lex.

Batman stiffened, completely taken aback by the sight.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised that Joker had captured Lex. Though Lex was smart, he was young and physically weak, even weaker than an ordinary person. This major flaw rendered his intelligence almost useless.

Batman, who knew that the clown-faced madman was not as simple as he appeared to be and had an information advantage, figured he could easily capture Lex, if he was alone. But Clark...

Batman rested his chin on his hand and squinted at the monitor, where he saw a green stone tied to Clark's chest. Clark looked extremely agonized, seemingly weakened to his limits. His face was pale and his chest was rapidly moving with difficult breaths.

The green stone was emitting a glow that gave Batman a dreadful premonition. The radiation source, Clark's prior weakness, and his current pain...

It seemed that this so-called Kryptonite, which could cause cancer in ordinary people, could also weaken and cause pain to individuals with special abilities like Clark.

Batman's speculation was almost close to the truth. As he was about to delve deeper into understanding the principles of Kryptonite, the scene in the screen changed.

A figure stepped into the frame. He was dressed in a long suit, his hair was green and his face was painted like the Joker's.

What struck Batman as odd was that he wasn't limping or swaying as usual, but moving like an actor in a drama, crossing the hall with exaggerated stride.

In the middle of the hall was a strangely shaped gift box. It appeared to be made from an assortment of junk with its sides made of cardboard or plastic. The ribbon wrapped around it was crumpled and looked torn off from somewhere.

However, Joker strode solemnly up to the box, untied the ribbon, and opened it up to reveal a bomb.

Joker lit the fuse of the bomb, quickly ran towards the corner and huddled up, covering his ears until the bomb exploded with a deafening sound.

Batman tensed for a moment. However, once the smoke began to disperse, he realized that the bomb had been placed at a very low location, a fair distance away from where Clark and Lex were hanging. The explosion had not harmed them.

The explosion didn't destroy anything or send shrapnel flying. Only a loud noise was produced with smoke rolling out. Thus, it only had one effect: it made the doors of all guest rooms on the second, third, and fourth floor open.

Peeking from the doors, many guests seemed puzzled about what had happened. Their eyes soon fell on the two men hanging from the center of the courtyard.

Most of them hesitated at the door, not daring to step out. They were unsure if there would be a second explosion.

Just then, they heard a passionate voice coming from the middle of the banquet hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight is a terrible blizzard night! But we are gathered here, our hearts tied together in spite of the cold…"

"Hello everyone! I am a comedian from Gotham!"

Just as the figure in the middle was talking, everyone hurriedly ran into their rooms, ignoring his speech. The sound of slamming doors echoed continuously, interrupting the Joker mid-sentence.

He flipped his hand and muttered, "Fine, you bunch of tasteless cowards. Go back to your rooms… go and hide…"

"You'll never understand how great of a comedian Jack was. But that's fine, I always have my last spectator…"

Batman, watching from the surveillance room, saw the Joker slowly turn his head and focus his gaze on him, beyond the screen.

Just then, he reached into his pocket, like those celebrities and took out a handkerchief. After disdainfully looking at it, he tossed it aside and pulled out a Batman lollipop from the pocket.

He unwrapped the candy, chomped it into pieces then swallowed it, exhaling with satisfaction. Suddenly, as though a thought occurred to him, he scampered offscreen and returned with a telephone which he placed on the floor.

The Joker was indeed putting on a silent act, Batman thought. All those exaggerated movements and facial expressions only served to draw attention. Unfortunately, as the Joker said, the only spectator now was Batman.

After placing the telephone on the floor, the Joker dialed a number, and suddenly, the shrill ring of phones could be heard from each room.

Not surprisingly, this odd-looking telephone had been ripped from the surveillance room. Batman glanced to the side and saw the messily disassembled phone console.

"Listen up, if you don't want to be spectators, then come and be actors, you cowards!"

"Now, a bomb hangs from the rooftop above the atrium. It's not too powerful, but it's enough to blow a head to pieces."

"As you can see, there are two ropes, each attached to a person. They are the main actors of this scene, while you are the extras..."

"Next, I will tell their backstory to you. After hearing it, you can use your room's telephones to vote!"

"Press the yellow 'Call Service' to vote for Lex Luther, and the blue 'Do Not Disturb' to vote for Clark Kent!"

"For every vote a person gets, I will raise his rope a bit higher. The person who touches the bomb first — BOOM!"

After saying that, he paused for a moment, then suddenly dropped the telephone receiver to the floor and bent down to speak into it:

"Oh, I forgot! This is a comedy show, not some radio talk show. So please, take your telephones, sit by the table and pour a glass of wine for yourself..."

"Of course, I know what you're thinking- you don't want to be a mere spectator, you feel it's unfair to join my performance without getting an appearance fee, you'd rather throw the blanket over your head and sleep..."

"But I won't let you do that!"

The Joker lied on the floor, propping himself up on his forearms. He opened his mouth wide to the telephone on the floor and exaggeratedly said, "I! Won't! Let! You!"

He placed his hand behind his ear, leaning his ear closer to the telephone receiver and asked, "Let me hear, who's laughing? You think my threats are meaningless, do you?!"

The Joker stood up again, rushed offscreen and reappeared with a strange-looking button in his hand. He pointed at the button with his finger and said into the telephone receiver, "Look, what is this?"

"Right, this is a switch. A switch that can release deadly radiation…"

"Beneath this old mansion is a massive secret base. Some might think they have explored all of it, but it's actually only a minor part…"

"Behind that door is a giant meteorite from space. The entire mansion is sitting on this meteorite. The moment I push this button, the door will open and the deadly radiation will leak out!"

"Those exposed to this radiation will contract incurable cancer. You'll suffer on your hospital beds, until the cancer cells eat away at your bodies!"

"And the range of the radiation is... everyone in this mansion!"

Clark, hanging mid-air, looked down and saw the madman with the painted face closing his eyes.

He opened his arms wide, twirling slowly in the empty banquet hall like a lonely dancer dancing with the cold winds in the snow.

Soon, he stopped, standing still in place, his voice solemnly reciting verses like an invocation.

"The Blizzard will never stop, here, there is no god to save you."

"Now... prepare to make your choice."