Gotham's night was far from peaceful, with fierce battles erupting in the darkness.
Drake faced off against Dracula.
They were myths and legends in the half-blood realm, holding deep mutual respect and responding to each other with full force, making their battle exceptionally intense.
Morbius and his two companions confronted the purebloods.
There were too many pureblood nobles, but fortunately the three had considerable combat power. After some coordination, they entered a perfectly synchronized state.
Meanwhile, Orm dealt with the Talon assassins, freezing them in place on the spot, then hiding aside to wait for Commissioner Gordon's team to arrive and take them away.
Alan had called ahead to notify Gordon to clean up the battlefield.
At Blackgate Prison, Bruce had already invested funds to renovate specialized freezing cells for holding Talon assassins.
Moreover, Gordon had imprisoned Talon assassins multiple times and was very experienced with the process, using refrigerated transport vehicles.
Of course, Alan wasn't idle either—he deployed three of his Robins, excluding Nanaue.
Joker Arthur rallied the Joker gang members.
Penguin Cobblepot and Riddler Edward assembled the Penguin gang.
They were kidnapping Gotham's wealthy elite, targeting the Court of Owls.
Now, with vampire Dracula, Talon assassins, and pureblood nobles all being handled by corresponding personnel, Alan naturally turned his attention to the Court of Owls.
They were just a group of ordinary people—personally intervening would be overkill.
This was when Gotham's two major criminal organizations, the Joker gang and the Penguin gang, came in handy.
Previously, Alan had realized he lacked manpower, so he hadn't had time to trouble the Court of Owls.
Now things were different—all the means they could deploy had been neutralized, allowing him to act with complete impunity.
Furthermore, without the annoying Batman around, Alan was gradually letting himself go.
Inside a rundown warehouse.
"Are you people insane? I'm Councilman Magellan."
The middle-aged councilman looked at the criminals wearing clown masks before him, his heart filled with panic.
He couldn't understand why the Joker gang would capture him.
Usually, they had no grudges, and sometimes he even paid them to do dirty work.
Yet here they were, targeting him for no reason.
"We're after you specifically."
Alan wore a bandit mask with a carrot in his mouth, saying coldly, "Kid, I don't like you. Is there a problem with grabbing you to vent some frustration?"
"No, I haven't offended you people. You can't treat me like this."
Hearing this reason, Magellan was so aggrieved he nearly cried.
So he was just a punching bag.
"Still talking back? I'll stab you to death—stab, stab, stab..."
"Ahhhhh..."
Alan held up the carrot and stabbed it into the man's belly, breaking the entire carrot.
Magellan screamed in terror. Of course, a carrot couldn't kill anyone—this was just a manifestation of psychological fear.
Alan threw away the remaining carrot leaves with one hand and pulled out the Blade of Redemption from behind his back.
Pressing the blade against Magellan's face, he introduced it menacingly: "See the rust on this blade? This is a tetanus blade. Just one cut and you'll die from wound infection. Heh heh heh..."
"Let Joker come out—I'm willing to pay for my life."
Magellan had a flash of inspiration, thinking of a method criminals couldn't resist.
The next moment, Arthur, nearby, removed his clown mask, revealing his signature clown makeup, but remained awkwardly silent.
With Alan present, naturally there was no role for him to play.
At this point, Magellan realized the guy dressed as a bandit was the real boss. He forced out a smile uglier than crying and asked, "What do you want to do? I'll definitely cooperate."
"You should have said so earlier—you made me reveal my cold-blooded, ruthless side."
Alan patted his chest and caught his breath: "I almost scared myself to death."
Speaking, he pulled out a complete carrot from his armpit and held it near Magellan's mouth, gesturing, "Please smoke this cigar. We're all on the same team now."
Cold sweat soaked Magellan's temples. He had already observed that the man before him was abnormal—a complete lunatic with unpredictable moods. So he wisely bit the carrot to avoid angering him again.
"Tell me about the Court of Owls. I'm very interested in this. I hope you won't be ungrateful."
Alan let out a sinister laugh, saying expectantly, "I actually hope you will be ungrateful. Heh heh heh..."
Instantly, Magellan fell into hesitation, seemingly knowing some inside information but harboring fears about revealing what he knew.
"Indeed, we caught the right person—you're one of the Owls."
Alan grinned and pulled out a photograph.
In the photo, a five or six-year-old child was playing happily in a park, clearly taken from a voyeuristic angle.
The moment he saw the boy in the photo, Magellan's eyes widened in panic as he pleaded desperately: "Don't hurt my child! He's innocent! He's only six years old! You can't do this!"
"What are we doing?"
Slap! Alan smacked the photo against his face, saying angrily, "What kind of people do you think we are? We're criminals with principles and bottom lines. How could we possibly hurt an innocent child? Your thoughts are too filthy—I'm very disappointed."
Hearing this, Magellan breathed a long sigh of relief.
At least the other party followed the rule of not involving family members—that was already a moral standard in the criminal industry.
"I won't hurt a child, but I can't say the same about your wife."
Changing his tone, Alan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"No, no, no... I'll tell you everything I know. Please don't tell Connie—she doesn't know anything."
Magellan's defenses completely crumbled.
The child in the photo was his illegitimate son.
Moreover, he came from a common background and had entered politics entirely through his legitimate wife's resources.
If this matter were exposed, it wouldn't just mean disgrace and losing his councilman position—he might even be kicked out penniless.
In America, rich people were extremely shrewd, signing various prenuptial agreements. If one party was at fault in a divorce, they would leave with nothing.
The problem was, without money, the mistress he kept on the side wouldn't pay attention to this old man either.
Alan asked righteously, "Councilman Magellan, what are your thoughts on such an evil and insane organization as the Court of Owls?"
What thoughts could he have?
They were a powerful force with extensive infiltration—completely untouchable.
However, Magellan caught Alan's implied meaning and agreed: "For the country and the people, such evil forces must be physically destroyed."
"Excellent compassion. Congratulations on passing the test and gaining recognition from Gotham's Comedy Squad."
Alan said seriously, "Our Comedy Squad is dedicated to saving Gotham. As the squad leader, I hereby grant you the honor of peripheral membership."
"Thank you, Squad Leader, for recognizing me," Magellan replied awkwardly.
Comedy Squad.
Damn it, couldn't they be a bit more serious?
Even "Troublemaker Squad" would be acceptable.
"Very good. An initiation ceremony is necessary."
Alan brought over a chair and set up a camera for a Q&A session.
He inquired about matters related to the Court of Owls and the members Magellan knew.
Clearly, he was collecting evidence.
With leverage in the other party's hands, Magellan had no choice but to comply.
Having spent most of his life climbing to high society, he wasn't willing to fall from grace.
Recalling his childhood farm life served as motivation for his upward climb.
After the interrogation, Alan was satisfied and turned off the recording, waving his hand: "Untie our councilman comrade."
"When can I go home?"
Magellan was like a deflated balloon, completely spiritless.
More and more leverage was falling into their hands—the illegitimate child secret, the betrayal recording. He had gone from potentially living on the streets to potentially dying on the streets.
"Don't be anxious."
Alan put his arm around his shoulder, comforting, "Squad members must take an ID photo. Someone strip his clothes!"
"Strip clothes!?"
Magellan jumped back a step, hugging his chest with both hands, tears welling up as he pleaded, "I've already told you everything! Don't mess with me!"
"What kind of talk is that? This is normal squad initiation procedure."
Alan gave a look, and the Joker gang members understood.
Under coercion, Magellan reluctantly removed his clothes, allowing everyone to take photos with cameras clicking away. He even had to pose like a magazine cover model.
After enduring this humiliating process, Magellan put his clothes back on piece by piece, feeling as if he'd been violated by a group of thugs—utterly devastated.
Alan bared his teeth threateningly: "If you dare betray the Comedy Squad, the next day I'll mail three sets of materials to all the major newspapers."
Magellan nodded woodenly, as if he'd lost his soul.
Alan casually ordered two Joker gang members to escort him away.
Removing his hood, Alan asked Arthur, "Do you understand what to do now?"
"Don't worry, boss. Leave everything to me from here."
Arthur's face was full of sinister smiles—returning to his old profession, this was his specialty.
Of course, Cobblepot and Edward were doing similar things at this moment.
If they couldn't defeat them head-on, they would disintegrate from within and eventually replace them.
"The Court of Owls parasitizes this city of Gotham, while our Comedy Squad will possess you from within. Heh heh heh..."
Alan laughed, but his expression gradually darkened as he sighed, "In the end, I've become what I hate."
Half an hour later.
Magellan was returned to his kidnapping location.
He composed himself and got in his car, but didn't start the engine for a long time. Humiliating scenes kept flashing through his mind until his emotions spiraled out of control.
"I'm dirty... woo woo woo..."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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