Chapter 1 Water, This is a Place with Water

It was built along the river, in a remote location.

The rusted Ferris wheel, the creaking animal rocking chairs, and countless abandoned amusement facilities all indicated that this place had been deserted for many years.

Beside the weed-choked road, a wooden advertising board stood alone in the wind, with a faded poster stuck on it—the Bonos Brothers Circus was performing here.

Perhaps not many people remember the name now, but many years ago, this troupe was quite famous.

Gotham was one of their tour stops. The mayor at the time had specifically allocated funds to build this carnival in the suburbs to welcome them.

Times have changed. Now, the Bonos Brothers have disappeared, and the carnival venue… has become a dilapidated place where even homeless people wouldn’t stop.

But tonight, a guest has arrived here.

Creak—creak—

The man in the long purple suit sat on a tattered animal rocking chair. He swayed the chair like a child, looking like he had nothing to do.

"I know you're there." At some point, Feng Bujue suddenly looked up at the sky and said to himself, "You're watching, listening, waiting…" He paused, "I've been sitting here for fifteen minutes and haven't done anything, but I still haven't been judged as 'passive gaming'. This can only be explained as… you've interfered with the 'Destiny' judgment system."

After he finished speaking, there was about five seconds of silence.

Then, another voice spoke, "How do you know… it's me?"

This was a gentle male voice, but his tone sounded cold and numb.

"Process of elimination," Feng Bujue replied without hesitation. "List everyone who has the ability to manipulate timelines and interfere with 'Destiny', then consider who is more likely… The conclusion is that characters lower than you can't do this, and characters higher than you wouldn't make such an out-of-place situation. Therefore… after thinking about it, it can only be you."

Having said that, Feng Bujue turned his face in the direction of the voice and looked at the man who suddenly appeared not far from him.

That… was a humanoid creature all in blue, and his entire body was glowing like a blue fluorescent stick.

He was very tall, at least a head taller than Feng Bujue. Aside from the unusual skin color, he was basically the image of a middle-aged man without clothes or hair.

In the DC universe setting, there are many beings that can be called "gods," and he is one of them, and a very powerful one; people call him—"Doctor Manhattan."

"I guess… you want to talk about a deal with me now," Doctor Manhattan said after two seconds.

"Can you predict the future… do you still need to 'guess'?" Feng Bujue replied.

"Yes," Doctor Manhattan replied. "Because… you are not within my 'observable' range."

"Then… what about Bruce Wayne?" Feng Bujue asked, "Or… the guy who 'is probably Bruce Wayne'… can you see his future clearly?"

"You already know the answer, why ask the obvious," Doctor Manhattan replied.

"Heh…" Jue Ge smiled, lifted a leg, turned sideways, and flipped off the pink elephant (that is, the animal rocking chair he was sitting on). "Yes… if you could see it clearly, our conversation at this moment wouldn't exist."

"You seem a little dissatisfied, why?" Doctor Manhattan had telepathic abilities. Even if Feng Bujue was smiling on the surface, he could see his true emotions.

"Because the 'hints' you gave me were too obvious, making me feel a little bored," Feng Bujue replied. "'You can keep your own thoughts, and I am also very happy to help you resolve the confusion in your heart. When you explore the truth, you will naturally get a logical answer… interdimensional traveler.'" In the next second, he repeated the last paragraph of the opening introduction word for word, then paused for half a second, and then said, "The 'interdimensional traveler' at the end of your sentence, from the context, seems to be a name for me, but in reality… it is the 'answer' itself… From the beginning, you told me the 'truth'—the reason for the various anomalies in this world is… interdimensional travelers."

"Isn't it good to tell you?" Doctor Manhattan asked again.

"Heh…" Feng Bujue said, "I don't want to answer this question. After all, you don't understand me, so I can't say you're wrong."

"Hmm…" Doctor Manhattan groaned, and in the process, he tried to analyze Jue Ge's psychology. "I really didn't expect… you to be such a dangerous person."

"You should be glad that I'm not like that 'Wayne'… I won't stay here for long," Feng Bujue said.

"Yes, I am very glad," Doctor Manhattan nodded slightly. "If you had come that year… this world would probably have been turned upside down."

"Okay, I don't have time to imagine the development of another non-existent timeline with you. Let's talk about the 'deal' part," Feng Bujue changed the subject.

Hearing this, Doctor Manhattan's expression did not change. He just paused slightly and then replied, "A long time ago… I also made a deal with 'him'. That was when he first came here…"

"That year, Bruce Wayne was nine years old. On the night of the first anniversary of his parents' death, the sad him swallowed half a bottle of sleeping pills, ending his life.

"The cause of everything happened at that time…

"One minute after Bruce's vital signs disappeared, a 'consciousness' from another world entered his body, bringing him 'back to life'; and that 'consciousness'… is the 'Batman' who competed with you twice today.

"When this special individual who 'cannot be predicted' was born on this timeline, I immediately came to him and negotiated with him.

"He claimed to be from a higher dimension than me. In that dimension, all the multiverses in my dimension, all the people, things, and events… were just imaginary products for people to pass the time.

"He listed in detail the full picture of several different futures, and I did observe those universes that were completely consistent with his description.

"In addition, he knew me quite well and could tell many secrets about me that were never known to outsiders.

"As an 'observer', facing such an existence, I naturally would not choose to obliterate him… because he is 'unique' and 'of great reference value'… His appearance has changed the 'realistic direction' of this universe. No matter what future this universe goes to, it is an excellent specimen for me.

"So, I made a deal with him…

"I gave him the abilities that Bruce Wayne should have—amazing intelligence, physical fitness, energy, etc. I also cleared all the characters who might become a 'threat' in his eyes… such as the Kryptonian known as 'Superman' in other multiverses, and other alien civilizations in this universe that might intersect with Earth.

"He promised that he would 'do better than the real Bruce Wayne'."

Speaking of this, Doctor Manhattan stopped for a moment and shook his head: "Actually, I never cared whether he would do 'better' or 'worse'. I just wanted to see… what he would 'do', and… 'how to do' it."

"So… to this day, you've seen enough?" Feng Bujue followed up.

"I've seen enough," Doctor Manhattan replied. "What I need now is change, but I can't predict what kind of impact directly interfering with him on a material or non-material level by me… or 'one of me' (Doctor Manhattan can replicate himself into countless individuals, and each has their own thoughts, abilities are the same as the main body) will have on my own quantum flow and all the multiverses of this dimension."

"So…" Jue Ge replied, "you want me to… 'kill Batman' for you?"

Doctor Manhattan nodded and then said, "These are my demands and needs, talk about yours."

"Heh… easy to say~" Feng Bujue raised one side of his mouth, and an evil smile appeared on his face. "My requirements are definitely simpler than that 'traveler's', and they can be easily achieved…"