Batman strode towards the window, just as silently as he had arrived.
"Wait, what did you find?" Gordon stepped in front of Batman, his eyes firm behind his glasses.
Batman rasped, "This doesn't concern you."
Having "studied" with the League of Assassins, Batman knew how terrifying those assassins were. Bringing Gordon along was akin to putting the officer in danger.
Even though they hadn't known each other long, Batman could sense that Gordon was a good cop.
"You don't need to know."
Batman reiterated his position.
Gordon pushed up his glasses, his tone resolute:
"No, I need to know!"
He was agitated. "I'm a police officer in this city, and I'm also its protector. I have the right to know the truth from you, to bring justice to these victims!"
The two of them stared at each other, neither speaking.
If this were a romance, it would be a story about a masked hero and a tsundere police officer. Unfortunately, reality was far crueler than any story.
Batman was silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, if you insist on knowing. I can tell you…"
Suddenly, Batman pointed behind Gordon. "What's that!?"
"What?" Gordon turned to look, but there was nothing behind him but darkness.
When Gordon turned back, the figure in the black robe had already vanished without a trace. Only the open window proved how he had left the room.
"Damn it."
Gordon slammed his palms against the wall in frustration.
He'd been played by that damn black-suited, spandex-wearing freak!
Gotham's sewers.
"Clang, clang."
The imposing Batman, like a sewer pipe worker, climbed down the iron ladder, using both hands and feet.
Batman pulled a glow stick from his utility belt to dispel the darkness as he walked through the underground passage, which reeked of decay.
His cape was soaked with sewage, as were his trousers.
Ignoring the stench of the sewers, Batman walked and thought.
Since ancient times, cities have always been places where superstitions converge.
After all, the residents of the city come from all over the world. People leave the small villages where they have lived for generations and move into the giant mazes of shadows and cold light cast by steel and glass.
They hold onto the beliefs they brought from their hometowns, and others also carry all sorts of prejudices.
For example, Asians would draw charms to bring misfortune upon others, and black people would use the corpses of animals to hold strange and evil African rituals.
Silently, Batman walked to a corner that went in all directions, looking at the granite walls.
The League of Assassins came from the sewers.
But in Batman's mind, he thought of a nursery rhyme that was popular in Gotham.
"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time."
"From the shadows, in the night, they watch the walls, the bed, and every stone, the hearth."
"This mentions the Court of Owls."
Batman narrowed his eyes, suspecting the Court of Owls was mixed up with the League of Assassins.
If that were true, it would undoubtedly be a terrible situation.
It meant he would need to deal with two behemoths, doing everything he could to drive them out of Gotham, to liberate Gotham from their grasp.
He tapped his finger against the walls of each granite section.
Knock, knock～
I don't know if it was luck or…
The hollow sound coming from the wall made Batman clench his fist.
This wall was empty; something might be hidden inside. "Boom!"
Batman swung his fist and slammed it against the granite.
With the spray of bricks, a small hole appeared in the wall. Batman punched again to enlarge the hole until he could pass through it.
"Crack."
He stepped into the opening, his boots crunching on the gravel.
The flare flickered a few times and lost its light.
Batman simply tossed away the flare and silently moved deeper into the cave.
For some reason, he preferred the concealment of darkness over light.
He passed through a narrow passage and a dim corridor, and a vast underground maze suddenly appeared before Batman.
"Zzzt."
A huge LCD screen stood overhead.
With the flickering of static, a massive golden conference room appeared on the screen.
Batman looked up at the scene on the screen, his lips turning down in a typical expression: suspicion.
He saw inside the screen.
A figure wearing a pristine white mask sat in the main seat.
He sat there, like a living emperor.
Ra's al Ghul?
No, it couldn't be him. Batman had undergone trials with the League of Assassins.
He knew Ra's al Ghul's demeanor. As the leader of the League of Assassins, his very presence felt like a cold, venomous snake, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike a fatal blow.
But the man sitting in the golden chair didn't have that chilling aura. He held onto the armrest casually with one hand, his legs slightly spread, his body leaning lazily against the back of the chair, giving off an air of unreserved dominance.
Batman looked up at the young man. He watched as the figure slowly stood up, his imposing form creating a terrifying sense of pressure.
This person's bearing reminded Bruce of an ink painting he had seen during his travels in the East. It hung on the wall of Lady Shiva's training ground, depicting the legendary Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu, who was said to have defeated a thousand men single-handedly.
And behind the mysterious man stood a line of League of Assassins members.
They were dressed to the nines, fully armed, with only cold eyes visible beneath their black masks, staring intently at the screen as if poised for a killing spree.
Batman's mind was racing.
He began to speculate on the connection between this person and the League of Assassins, and what their scheme might be.
Just as Batman was pondering, the man slowly walked to the front of the camera, his hands clasped behind his back, as if he were a deity looking down on Batman.
He heard the man's low voice coming from the screen.
"I want to play a game with you, a fun game."
"This is a recording, and I'll be waiting for you at the end of the road."
He extended slender, white fingers and pointed at the assassins behind him.
"These are the elite of the League of Assassins. They will infiltrate this maze and hunt you down in ten seconds."
"If you can escape them, I don't mind telling you the truth about Gotham City."
Hearing the mysterious person's words, Bruce's heart trembled slightly.
The truth about Gotham City?
Looking at the maze in the distance, Batman's calm heart also produced a trace of anger.
What did this guy think he was? A clown to be toyed with?
"Then, let the game begin."
The mysterious person snapped his fingers lightly.
The next moment, the screen went dark, and the original light disappeared. Darkness once again enveloped this underground maze.
Following that, came the rapid sounds of footsteps and the clashing of armor from all directions.
Batman knew he had to run.
------------------------
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