Chapter 304: Three Detectives (8)_1

On the outskirts of Gotham, a hillside not marked on any map, concealed beneath a steep cliff, a carefully camouflaged iron gate was hidden among the rubble.

After undergoing numerous scans and verifications, Batman walked along the metal bridge inside the gate, a pentagonal archway supported the entrance to the Batcave, while a long metal bridge extended through several archways into the mountain.

On the inner side of the archway, there were tubes radiating cold light, casting one blue strip of light after another on the bridge. As Batman passed under these archways, the cold light flowed down his cloak.

After crossing the metal bridge, there was an elevator platform, and when the platform descended to the bottom, it could be seen that the construction here was not yet complete.

Opposite the lift was a huge cylindrical space, split into several tiers. At this time, only the bottom layer and half of the second layer were completed. On the outside of each layer, there was a corridor extending from the wall, where several doors were situated.

It was not hard to see that this tower-like structure seemed to have been designed by Batman, drawing inspiration from a building only existing in dreams. When standing at the bottom of the tower looking up, the stacked floors could give a person an endless sense of oppression.

At this point, it was still a genuine underground base, devoid of any strange collectibles. But when Batman stepped off the elevator platform and walked down the hallway on the second floor, into a room behind one of the doors, countless surveillance screens appeared around the room.

Each screen represented a corner of Gotham, but only two-thirds of the surveillance screens in the room were lit up, with the rest displaying black screens.

This was a clear testament to the Gothamites' endless fascination with novelties, and their destructive inclinations. The black screens represented destroyed cameras that had been fixed in various locations.

Batman had been a bit busy lately, so he hadn't had time to repair the cameras. However, even with only two-thirds of the screens, he could still monitor more than half of Gotham's buildings.

Batman squinted his eyes and began his search.

Just about ten minutes earlier, he had received word from Jason that Dick had been kidnapped. Batman had to admit, his heart had skipped a beat when he heard the news.

Batman also couldn't deny that finding a nanny for Aisha wasn't the only reason he had adopted Dick. Wanting an assistant wasn't the whole reason either. If put to words, Batman could say that he and Dick just seemed to click.

Even though Batman didn't like to dabble in mysterious metaphysics, when he interacted with Dick, he found the cold alienation he normally felt when interacting with others as Batman was absent. It seemed they had a natural understanding of each other.

Having insisted on sending Dick to a boarding school, only for something to happen there, had already given Batman pause. And now, hearing the news that Dick had been kidnapped, the anger that he hadn't felt for a long time was rekindled within him.

Batman squinted his eyes, scrutinizing every detail on-screen. Quickly, he halted his head movements, settling his gaze on a screen to his right.

To facilitate searching, the surveillance screens were arranged according to geographical locations, the ones closer to the center represented areas closer to the city center of Gotham, while the ones at the corners represented more remote locations.

At that moment, his gaze fell on a screen displaying a building located on the edge of East Gotham, between the third and fourth docks.

Most of the screens surrounding it were blank, indicating the heavy damage done to cameras in this area. Not because people living there were wary, but because this area was a well-known gathering spot for addicts in Gotham. After getting high, the addicts would kick anything they saw, resulting in the cameras being quickly damaged.

Upon seeing this location, Batman's fingers twitched reflexively. His face turned cold, and before he set off, his low voice echoed in the empty room, sounding slightly eerie.

"Constantine..."

The location shown on the surveillance screen was a club in East Gotham. Due to damage on the buildings on the ground, the club had been closed for a long time.

A corner of the building above the club had collapsed, and nobody dared enter. However, in the last remaining camera at the corner of the building, a man wearing a long trench coat was seen carrying a child into the basement.

By the time Batman arrived, Dick was lying on the floor of the basement. Batman went over to him. After examining him, Batman found no injuries on Dick, which did not align with Jason's description of a bloody kidnapping scene. Batman stirred Dick, jolting him awake.

Dick blinked somewhat dazedly. Seeing Batman, he sighed in relief. Batman asked him: "Who kidnapped you?"

"...That Constantine." Dick massaged his forehead, furrowing his brows as he spoke. "Initially, I was in Jason's underground base. Suddenly, he appeared from a corner, looking like it was some sort of magic."

"He attempted to attack me, but I managed to dodge. You know, I am not easy to deal with. I picked up a crowbar to fight back, managed to strike his forehead and scratch his arm..."

"But in the end, he used something like a magic array...and knocked me out..."

Just as Batman was inspecting the basement area, there was a noise at the door. Constantine, who had just returned, descended the stairs. Upon making eye contact with Batman, he turned to run.

Batman was faster. Several Batman darts flew past Constantine's ears and struck the door. Batman's low voice echoed: "Move again, and you're dead."

Constantine's figure froze on the stairs. Then slowly, he raised his arms to indicate he was no threat. He said: "I want to turn around."

Batman didn't respond. Taking his silence as agreement, Constantine cautiously turned around to face Batman. Before Batman could ask him anything, he said: "Let me explain! I swear I didn't mean any harm..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a fist the size of a sandbag appeared in his field of vision.

When ten minutes had passed, Batman threw Constantine, who was now akin to a lump of mud, onto the floor. Constantine screamed in pain. Another Batman dart whizzed past his cheek to strike the floor, causing him to immediately fall silent. Batman asked: "Why did you kidnap Dick?"

"I'm on a case, isn't that what you wanted?"

Batman eyed Constantine, and Constantine explained: "Didn't I say before? Lorena Sanchez specializes in using the souls of children for her practices. Do you know how she extracts children's souls?"

Batman silently watched him without expecting a response, while Constantine continued: "I don't know if you've ever heard this legend. On All Hallows' Eve, a beautiful woman dressed as a witch carries a basket full of candy. If children want the candy in her hand, they have to call her 'mom'."

"Once the child takes the candy and eats it, they have essentially completed a transaction with the Ghost Mom."

"Once a child calls the witch 'mom', the witch can usurp the ownership of the child's soul, truly becoming his mom, then she sells that child's soul to the devil in return for what she desires..."

Suddenly, Batman understood his meaning. He turned his head and asked Dick, "Have you encountered this witch?"

Dick hesitated before replying, "No, I haven't... and besides..."

"Even though I haven't been in Gotham long, whether it's on Easter or any other night, if anyone were walking around in strange costumes asking people to call them 'mom', they would definitely get a bullet."

"And furthermore, Gotham's children won't call anyone 'mom' casually. When I worked as a Smoking boy, only the boss of the block could be called 'Dad and Mom'. Anyone calling out randomly would be beaten to death."

"...Have you eaten anything strange recently?" Batman asked again.

Dick shook his head, then suddenly remembered, "Actually, I did get some candy when I was working as a Smoking boy, given to me by the local boss. But I didn't eat it..."

Batman turned back to Constantine. It seemed as though Constantine had come to a dead end with his story. He stopped struggling, laid flat on the ground, flashing a triumphant grin at Batman before his body slowly turned to ashes.

At that moment, an alarm on Batman's wrist alarm went off, and a sharp, long beep indicated someone had breached Wayne Manor.

Batman looked at the ashes on the floor and stated, "Same trick twice, at least you're a daring fraud, Constantine..."

"Wait!" Dick said, struggling to stand up, "Didn't you say before that this alarm meant there was an intruder in the manor? We need to get back quickly, Aisha is still in the manor..."

Dick repeated his words, his tone gradually slowing down, before his voice rose in alarm, "Aisha is still in the manor."

When Batman and Dick got back to Wayne Manor, they found Constantine collapsed in the middle of the living room, just like before, and Aisha, with her sharp teeth bared in a horrifying smile, standing by his side.

Batman calmly walked over to Constantine and said, "This scene feels familiar, doesn't it?"

Constantine on the floor heaved a deep breath and then collapsed heavily, as if all the air was drained out of him. His voice was filled with deep desperation.

"...Are there any normal people left in Gotham??"

Batman walked over, grabbed Constantine's collar, and dragged him into the basement. After chaining Constantine up, the first thing Constantine asked was, "Got a cigarette?"

But Batman was not Shiller, his interrogation process was primarily physical. Batman broke Constantine's arm joint bare-handedly. Amidst screams, Constantine gasped, looked up at Batman, and said, "You sure are tough, kid..."

"If it was earlier, I wouldn't mind playing with you, but now, I have things to do..."

As he spoke, a sphere of light flew out of Constantine's chest and disappeared within the basement almost instantaneously. Batman looked towards the direction the ball of light disappeared. That's where he kept Sinestro captive.

The moment Batman walked out of the door, Sinestro in the neighboring cell activated a teleportation spell and disappeared.

Batman returned to Constantine's cell with a grim expression, his foot came down, and crushed Constantine's knee joint. But this time, Constantine didn't scream, he laid there as though he was high, and said in a dreamy tone.

"Thank you, Professor Shiller. He taught me a new piece of psychology, and now I can finally put it to use..."

Before Batman could figure out what Constantine meant, the Constantine on the floor suddenly turned into ashes. At the basement club in the East District, a figure slowly arose from the ashes. Adjusting his tie, Constantine muttered to himself,

"...So, this is Gotham, huh? Interesting."

A voice suddenly resounded,

"Is it?"

Constantine's body stiffened suddenly since he felt something hard against his back. He heard the person behind him say,

"Well... welcome to Gotham."