Chapter 13 A Joke

Once, a man in a purple suit told a joke to a man dressed as a bat.

The joke went like this—

Once upon a time, in a mental asylum, there were two people.

One night, they decided to escape together.

They climbed onto the roof, where the city's scenery stretched out under the moonlight, and the road ahead led to a world of freedom.

But before them, between two buildings, was a narrow gap.

The first person jumped across easily, but his friend was afraid to jump because he was scared he would fall.

So the first person had an idea. He said to his friend, "Hey! I have a flashlight. I'll turn it on and shine the light between the two buildings, and you can walk across on the light."

But the second person shook his head and said, "What? Do you think I'm crazy?"

"You'll definitely turn off the flashlight halfway through!"

...

Under the hazy moonlight, the Batmobile sped down the street.

Wayne in the car…we still have to call him that for now…looked grave.

His destination was undoubtedly that carnival that had been abandoned for many years.

For someone with the same deductive abilities as the real Bruce Wayne...solving Feng Bujue's riddle wasn't too difficult.

The "flashlight" that Jue-ge left him was like a key, and the lock that corresponded to this key...Feng Bujue had already left it in Arkham Asylum that afternoon.

"Water…in a place with water…a huge wheel, wooden planks, weeds, and…a pink elephant…"

These words were what Feng Bujue had said when talking to Doctor Quinzel. Without a doubt...they had been recorded word for word by the voice recorder.

At first glance, it seemed like the ramblings of a madman, but in reality, Feng Bujue was using fragmented information connected to visual graphics to point to a specific location; this location...or rather..."this scene," he had seen in a comic book, and that comic book was one of the most famous and classic stories in the Batman series—*The Killing Joke*.

A considerable portion of the story, including its climax...takes place in that abandoned carnival.

Anyone with a certain understanding of Batman comics would have an impression of that place; needless to say...Wayne, who had "the ability to preemptively prevent many villains from becoming evil," must also know the location of the carnival.

Of course, there are thousands of Batman stories. With just such a vague description, it would probably still be too obscure; therefore, Feng Bujue used another thing related to *The Killing Joke*—a flashlight—to show Wayne the way.

During their second meeting on the top floor of the Twin Towers, Feng Bujue and Wayne had clearly both realized that the other was also a "traveler from another world," which was evident from their meaningful conversation. The difference was that Wayne had figured this out in the submarine, while Jue-ge had understood it earlier...therefore, Feng Bujue had prepared the flashlight in advance and said, "I'll be waiting for you 'there'" when he threw it.

At this point, Jue-ge's plan was complete.

And Wayne...after returning to the Batcave, he immediately took that flashlight to the instruments for a comprehensive analysis, while also retrieving the video and audio data from Arkham and quickly browsing through it.

About forty minutes later, he heard the passage that Jue-ge had left behind. Combining it with the clue of the flashlight, it didn't take him long to deduce exactly where "there" was.

...

Whoosh—

On the highway in the suburbs, the sound of the engine tore through the night sky.

The Wayne of this universe was driving not the "realistic" armored Batmobile from Nolan's films, but the "super" Batmobile from Tim Burton's films; a streamlined, slender body, a black, reflective shell, exaggerated turbocharger intakes...integrated into a unified Gothic design style, this was the classic Bat-equipment should look like.

Click—whirr—

Just as the Batmobile was about to drive to the entrance of the carnival, suddenly, with the sound of a large piece of equipment being powered on, dozens of beams of strong light lit up in the darkness, focusing on the center of the road.

At this moment, in the middle of the road, stood a person, a man in a purple suit.

Through the display screen in the car, Wayne could see the other person's full appearance without being affected by the light—"Jack" looked no different from before. The only subtle difference was that his hands were now gloved.

Wayne didn't know what this meant, nor did he care about such details.

Within two seconds, he made a decision, slammed the accelerator to the floor, and charged straight towards the other person.

"Heh…" Facing the rapidly approaching Batmobile, Feng Bujue's face revealed a smile. "Good, here it comes…" He opened his arms and shouted loudly towards the front, "Come on!"

The roar of the engine was approaching, with no sign of slowing down.

"Come on! Hit me!" Feng Bujue was still standing in the middle of the road, in the center of those lights, with no intention of retreating.

"Madman…" Watching Jue-ge's actions, Wayne couldn't help but mutter this evaluation to himself.

Bang!

Two seconds later, the collision occurred.

Wayne had indeed deduced that Feng Bujue had superpowers, but he didn't think that the other person's abilities were strong enough to withstand this impact.

A Batmobile weighing more than two tons, hitting a target at a speed of over two hundred kilometers per hour, would generate kinetic energy of approximately 3.09 million joules...enough energy to vaporize a person like Feng Bujue, who weighed about a hundred pounds.

However, the scene when the collision occurred was…

At the moment when the front of the Batmobile was about to hit him, Jue-ge lifted his foot and stepped down, "stopping" the entire car.

At that moment, with Jue-ge's foot as the center, the surrounding ground instantly shattered and formed a sunken pit; the Batmobile, which had been stopped, also began to change under the effect of inertia. The entire car crumpled like a crushed soda can…

However, the material of this Batmobile was truly astonishing. Its hardness and toughness far exceeded the limits that current human technology could achieve. Under such an impact, this "one-piece" body still did not completely fall apart, but was only "compressed and deformed" to a certain extent.

Clang—

Immediately afterwards, the movable canopy on the upper-rear part of the Batmobile (the 1989 version of the Batmobile entered and exited by moving this canopy, which was integrated with the windshield) was ejected; it was not ejected by some kind of "ejection device," but was punched out by someone inside the car…

"Ho~" Feng Bujue looked at the unharmed man who slowly stood up from the almost flattened cockpit, and said in a lazy tone, "As expected, you're not dead yet?"

"That's…" Wayne stepped out of the cockpit, walking on the car body, looking down at Jue-ge in front of him, and said in his late-stage throat cancer-like voice, "...what I should be saying."

Feng Bujue naturally wouldn't die. He had already made a deal with Doctor Manhattan; relying on the doctor's ability to control particles, decompose and reorganize, ignore causality, and so on, combined with the [Kongtong Seal] he brought, as well as the energy stored in the [Tiangang Di Sha Box] to this day...Jue-ge had regained his lost equipment and skills, and...he had become even stronger.

Wayne wouldn't die either. Although he had also suffered almost the same impact as Feng Bujue outside the car, he was very well prepared tonight, and this level of injury was nothing at all.

"That suit you're wearing...is quite similar to the 'Hellbat' (Hellbat Armor, appeared in the dC New 52 era, designed by Bruce Wayne, and jointly manufactured by other members of the Justice League)." Although Wayne did not answer Jue-ge's question, Jue-ge continued the previous topic, "But you and I both know...that the Justice League of this universe doesn't have Superman or Green Lantern, which means...the two most critical parts of this armor—the shell and the cloak (extremely high strength, and can be shaped at will according to the user's will, and even separated, just like Green Lantern constructs)...cannot be completed." He paused, "Even if you can use some kind of substitute to solve the material problem, you still can't explain how you survived that amazing 'car accident' just now."

"Hmph...so there are things you can't figure out either." Wayne snorted coldly and threw a punch.

His fist was very powerful, so much so that when Feng Bujue caught his heavy blow with one hand, the surrounding air was shaken with an explosive sound.

"Actually, I figured it out, I was just complaining." Jue-ge looked at the bewildered Wayne with a smile and replied, "You got the formula for Miraclo (a special biochemical phosphorus that allows the user to gain multiple abilities within an hour, including super strength, stamina, speed, resistance to attacks, night vision, and underwater survival), right?"

"You…" Wayne turned his head to look at his fist, which was being held firmly by the other person, and didn't know what to say.

Before coming here, Wayne had indeed injected himself with Miraclo, and he was also wearing his own "modified" Hellbat armor...logically speaking, this punch should have killed the other person.

However, Feng Bujue looked like he was taking the punch very easily.

"I bet the look on your face right now is amazing…" Feng Bujue said, reaching out with his other hand with lightning speed, grabbing the other person's helmet, and using brute force to tear off a large part of it, "...might as well share it with me."

After a part of the helmet was broken, the other small half quickly fell off Wayne's face. Then, a face of shock mixed with anger appeared before Jue-ge.

"Even if you have the same IQ as Bruce Wayne, your 'wisdom' is still just average." Feng Bujue shook his hand, shaking off the helmet fragments夹带的头盔碎片from his fingers, "Like most 'transmigrators', even if you gain great power, you still can't break free from the格局 limitations of your inherent values and personality."

His tone gradually became cold, a coldness similar to "disappointment," as if a child had lost interest in the toy in his hand... It was chilling to hear at this moment.

"Why did you make the 'Hellbat Armor'? Why couldn't you design it yourself from scratch? The resources and information you have are far more than the real Wayne, aren't they?" Feng Bujue asked, "If you used the technology of 'mass-producing Inerton alloy' at the weapon level, whether it was made into an armor coating or used as the core to create a separate armor...it would be more useful than the阉割版 castrated version of the Hellbat you are wearing now."

"Ah—" Wayne was completely enraged by Jue-ge's "lecture." He roared and activated the secret weapon inside his right wrist armor.

In an instant, a silent impact erupted, shattering the armor of Wayne's entire right arm, and relatively...it also caused damage to Feng Bujue, who was holding his right fist.

After the eruption, Jue-ge's left hand...the part before the elbow seemed to have disappeared as if vaporized; if he hadn't let go and retreated in time, the damage would probably have extended to his shoulder.

"Hmm...is this your 'original' part?" When Feng Bujue spoke, he didn't even think about it. He took out the [Qi Xu Ru Lin] orb from his knapsack and activated its ability to repair his severed limb, "This kind of 'atomic explosion' that harms the enemy by a thousand and harms yourself by eight hundred...is really not clever."

"What do you know?" Wayne shouted, "What right do you have to judge me?" He walked down from the wrecked Batmobile, shouting, "Everything I've done is 'the right thing'! 'Justice'! Do you know how much effort I've put in and how much I've worked to create and maintain today's situation?"

"I know." Feng Bujue said, "I've already had Doctor Manhattan use telepathy to convey to me your general experience here." He paused for half a second, adding, "Because I know, I despise you even more."

"What did you say?" Wayne's expression showed that he found it unbelievable.

"Your 'justice' is false and double standard." Feng Bujue continued, "The real Bruce Wayne would never walk the same path as you...even if he had the same information as you."

"Are you referring to his principle of 'not killing'?" Wayne said, "You and I both know how stupid that principle is!"

"Yes, it's very stupid." Feng Bujue said, "But this 'stupidity' is precisely a dividing line in his heart...it is this line that separates the justice he implements from your 'despicable', 'selfish', 'hypocritical' justice..."

"Nonsense!" Wayne roared again, flashed to Jue-ge's side, and threw another punch.

Feng Bujue didn't even look at his opponent. He easily dodged the attack with a backflip after a shift step. Before he even stood firm, he continued, "In order to nip those villains who might become 'threats' in the bud, you started acting long before you became 'Batman'...and the first thing you did was design the death of those who bullied the Scarecrow back then."

"Those guys were a bunch of bastards anyway!" Wayne argued, but his attack didn't stop.

"Heh...sounds like you empathize quite a bit. I can imagine...you didn't have a good life before you transmigrated." Feng Bujue's ability to see through people's hearts was indeed powerful, and his words undoubtedly hit the sore spot of this fake Wayne.

"What position do you have to accuse me when you've砍死砍伤 hacked and injured so many innocent police officers?" Wayne asked back, launching another round of fierce attacks.

But Jue-ge was getting easier and easier to dodge: "You saved Mr. Freeze's wife because you sympathized with him; you prevented Two-Face from being disfigured because you appreciated him; you even led the Penguin to the right path because you thought he was very valuable as a good person...

"But for the equally悲哀 miserable Killer Croc, you took a different approach...

"You found Killer Croc in his youth, claimed to protect him, and arranged a place for him to live that was suitable for his survival.

"At first, he was also very 'obedient' because the young Killer Croc was also very afraid of the changes in his body; but as time passed, he gradually couldn't stand that kind of life.

"At this time, you became murderous...because you knew that after he returned to society, even if you could make him temporarily turn to good, this malicious world would one day force out his beastliness.

"So...one day, you sent him a 'special bed'. After he laid down on it without any precautions, he was locked up with shackles, and then you sealed the entrance to his residence, letting him live and die inside...as if that way, you wouldn't have to be responsible for his death."

"What do you know? Do you know my pain at the time?" Wayne roared, "I really did treat Waylon (Killer Croc's real name is Waylon Jones) as a friend! Do you think I felt good putting him there!"

"Yes, you were sad for a little while, and then you continued to live your good life." Listening to Wayne's excited tone, Jue-ge's disdain in his words was even more obvious, "After dealing with Killer Croc, you calculated that the time was about right, so you killed botanist Jason Wood, preventing the birth of Poison Ivy...Of course, according to your standards, campus bullies deserve to die, not to mention people like Wood.

"Then, you turned the Riddler into a brain-dead idiot because his黑化 turning evil was also without any reason and difficult to prevent; his wisdom would pose a huge threat to you...

"As for guys like Zsasz, just throw him into a high-security prison. Maybe time will make him change his ways, right? Heh...Even if he really doesn't change his ways and insists on doing evil after he comes out, he himself is not a difficult character to deal with. You just need to catch him again...and let him be locked up for another ten years or so, and that's it."

Wayne stopped arguing when he heard this and asked, "So what? I nipped those hidden dangers that would bring countless deaths and disasters in the bud, and I've already reduced the sacrifices to the lowest limit. Compared to that 'so-called hero who condones villains doing evil everywhere and never kills', I've saved more people!"

"That's where your problem lies..." Feng Bujue continued, "No matter how high-sounding you say it, in the end, it's always other people who are making 'sacrifices'."

These words shocked Wayne's heart, and his expression underwent a subtle change.

"Look, you didn't realize this until I reminded you, did you? This is typical 'transmigrator thinking'." Feng Bujue said, "A person who adheres to extreme egoism under double standards sees everything he does...as justice.

"Your own pain...like losing a so-called 'friend' or something...is magnified infinitely by you, as if it's so great that it's moving to tears; while other people's pain...like becoming brain-dead or dying...is all 'reasonable' in your eyes.

"Your so-called 'justice' is just acting on the premise that you think it's 'convenient'; you only use an orderly way to deal with things that are easy to deal with, and people or things that are difficult to deal with...people or things that will cause you 'trouble', you deal with them in a 'transgressive' way once and for all, and then attribute it to 'reasonable sacrifices where the benefits outweigh the disadvantages'.

"In the end, your personal gains and losses outweigh justice itself, and your personal will is greater than all other systems."

"No matter how many reasons you find to convince yourself, no matter how many things you do that you think are right, compared to the real Bruce Wayne...you are worthless.

"Because he is a person who is crueler to himself than to others, a madman, an incurable fool!

"He is...fucking...Batman!"

As he spoke, Feng Bujue's tone gradually rose.

At the same time, the fake Wayne stopped attacking and belatedly realized one thing—at this moment, the power on his body was being "drawn" away little by little by some strange force.

He...was gradually becoming a mortal.

"Aside from the identity of Batman, what about your private life as 'Bruce Wayne'?" And Feng Bujue's words were far from over, "Why did you marry Harleen Quinzel and let her use the name Harley Quinn after marriage? In the end...it's just because of your personal preferences. Compared to Catwoman, a 'bitch from the East End (in the setting of *Batman: Year One*, Catwoman is a prostitute from the bottom of Gotham)', Quinzel, a psychology professor from a respectable family and with higher education, is naturally more suitable as a wife...of course, provided she doesn't become a brain-dead fan of some madman."

Jue-ge spread his hands and smiled, "Speaking of which...that madman, with your help, is now a middle-class comedian who is doing okay in life, right? It seems that his children are almost in high school?" Jue-ge already knew this information very well from Doctor Manhattan, "And Clayface is still his B-movie star; the Ventriloquist is living a comfortable retirement life...As for those 'Robins', 'Batgirls', 'Alfred'...they have all been arranged by you to stay away from 'Bruce Wayne' and 'Batman', and are each living ordinary lives."

Feng Bujue curled his lips and sighed, "Alas...the basic pursuits of transmigrators have generally been realized by you—absolute personal safety, a high degree of privacy and freedom, a wealthy material life, a woman you like...plus a few weak or mentally retarded opponents to satisfy your sense of accomplishment as a 'hero'...Isn't that a great life?"

Speaking here, he changed the subject: "Then here is the question…what the fuck does this have to do with 'justice'?

"Do you think you are more correct than that 'so-called hero who condones villains doing evil everywhere and never kills'?

"Then you are wrong…

"You and him; fake Wayne and the real Batman...your justice has an essential difference.

"This difference has nothing to do with the 'result'. No matter how many people you 'save', it cannot change or explain anything.

"This difference is about the most basic starting point of what you do, about the true meaning and spirit of the word 'hero'.

"This difference is that your actions taken in the name of justice are, in the final analysis, all for yourself; while Bruce Wayne...the real Batman, his justice, although not entirely...at least most of it is for others."

When Jue-ge finished speaking, the power on the fake Wayne had dissipated by about seventy or eighty percent.

"What…what do you want?" At this time, the fake Wayne's tone changed, and fear was revealed in his eyes—because he had vaguely felt Jue-ge's intentions.

"Hmph…hehehe…" Hearing this, Jue-ge smiled evilly. He didn't answer the other person's question, but tilted his head, spread his arms, "My appearance reminds you of someone…doesn't it?"

"No…no!" In a panic, the fake Wayne finally revealed his true nature. He actually turned around…attempting to escape.

At this moment, he was no longer Gotham's Dark Knight, but an ordinary transmigrator; even if he possessed a strong physique and extremely high IQ, even if he had a full set of Batman equipment and many black technologies from the dC universe...he could not bear the name "Batman".

Clang—

After running only a few steps, the fake Wayne fell to the ground. The reason was very simple...without "power", he didn't even have the ability to move normally while wearing this "fake Hellbat armor".

"Don't worry, taking back your power...is just the beginning…" Feng Bujue looked at the fake Wayne on the ground who was on the verge of collapse, approached step by step, and said with a crazy expression and a grin, "In the next few years, Jon (Doctor Manhattan's real name) will slowly correct your influence on this world...Your wife 'Harley Quinn' will go crazy because of your 'disappearance'; the suppressed dark side of the Scarecrow will eventually awaken; Two-Face will be disfigured in another violent incident; Mr. Freeze's wife will have to get sick again, and this time it will be incurable; Relatively...the Riddler's illness will be cured without medicine..."

"No…no…no!" The fake Wayne's pupils contracted, his face was pale, and he couldn't even move while lying on the ground. He could only make desperate wails.

But Jue-ge's words would not stop because of this: "Somewhere in this world, another unfortunate person will get a similar atavistic disease to Killer Croc, and another unscrupulous botanist will develop a toxin that causes Poison Ivy to mutate; some Kryptonians, the Green Lantern Corps, and other alien forces will also come to Earth in some form one after another. These are all questions of time...Nothing cannot be corrected and reshaped.

"Of course, a new 'Batman' will inevitably descend here. He may come from the future, or the past, or he may be a person who died and was resurrected in some events...The important thing is that he will be the real 'Bruce Wayne'."

Feng Bujue paused for a moment and then said: "In short, this place no longer needs you, this 'fake Wayne'...Everything you have done is meaningless..."

Just as Jue-ge finished saying this, new changes occurred on the fake Wayne's body on the ground.

"Uh...uh-ah—" In the midst of哀嚎 groans, his pale face turned into a veritable "white"...as white as bleach, and his strong and solid body rapidly瘦削 thinned down.

Feng Bujue knew that these changes...were caused by the effects of "Miraclo" and the "Hellbat Armor".

The variant of Miraclo, "Mirakuru Serum (i.e., the serum used by villains such as Deathstroke and Red Arrow)", has the side effect of making people irritable and even扭曲 warping their personality; and the Hellbat Armor...its power itself is the "user's life", and the body of someone who wears it for a long time will be腐蚀 corroded.

At the moment, because his power was taken back by Doctor Manhattan, under these double side effects, the fake Wayne's suddenly weakened body and spirit were both overwhelmed.

Click—click—

Jue-ge didn't stand by and watch. He strode to the other person, tore off a few pieces of armor with his bare hands, and then拎拎 out the fake Wayne from the armor and threw him on the open space next to him.

"Don't be afraid...I won't kill you." Then, Feng Bujue rode on the other person. Now he only needed to use his weight to suppress this fake Wayne. "I only have...a simple, small request." He took out a small knife from his pocket,晃 shook it a few times in front of the fake Wayne's terrified face, and continued in a疯疯癫癫 madman's tone, "Before...heh...you asked me my name, but I didn't answer you, because I think...you actually know the answer..."

At this moment, the fake Wayne's spirit and body were on the verge of collapse. The last straw supporting his reason was only the instinctive will to survive.

"Come on...say my name." Feng Bujue's knife was already架架 on the other person's face.

"J...joker…" The fake Wayne颤抖 trembled as he squeezed out that word.

"Hehe...hahaha...hahahaha..." When this word was said, Feng Bujue仰天仰天 laughed almost crazily.

[Current mission completed, all main missions completed]

[You have completed this script, automatic teleportation in 180 seconds]

The expected system prompt came, but Jue-ge's business was not finished—his hidden mission was still one last step away.

After laughing for a full minute, Jue-ge lowered his head again and looked at the fake Wayne, "Don't look so depressed, come...smile too."

After saying that, the small knife in his hand extended into the fake Wayne's mouth…

He slowly left two割痕 cuts on both sides of the other person's嘴角 mouth, or rather...left a permanent "smile" on the other person's face.

In the first few seconds of this process, the fake Wayne惨呼 wailed in pain, but his cries did not last long before they stopped...because his spirit and mind finally, completely崩坏 collapsed at that moment.

When the small knife离离开 left the fake Wayne's pale face, he was already发自发自 sincerely…smiling.