Chapter 171: What Do You Mean I Didn't Say It? Just Ask!

When Batman arrived at the botanical garden riding the Batpod, Alfred told him that Poison Ivy had already left the garden with the Riddler.

But he could not pull away to catch those two right now, because a group of gang members was still inside the botanical garden, and they had never emerged from within; this perhaps indicated that this group was already in dire straits.

Even so, Batman still decided to rush over first to confirm their situation; perhaps he could still save one or two lives.

He drove the Batpod directly into the botanical garden, speeding along the forest road, and soon located a section of path overgrown with thorns.

"The growth of these plants is abnormal." He made the judgment at a glance: "Moreover, the thorns bear bloodstains; judging by the color and degree of coagulation, these people were only recently lowered from these thorn bushes."

Furthermore, the thorns on those poisonous vines each carried a drop of strange green sap; it was obvious that these plants, which grew completely against all reason, were poisonous.

A path had inexplicably opened within the thorns, but it did not look as if anyone had cut it open with a sharp weapon; rather, it seemed as if they had automatically parted to make way, the width even sufficient for him to drive the motorcycle through.

But he looked at the axe in his hand—he had ultimately heeded Alfred's advice, because upon careful thought, it seemed there truly were no weapons nearby capable of countering Poison Ivy, and this axe found along the way turned out to be the best weapon against plants.

Perhaps this axe was brought for nothing, perhaps not; in any case, Batman still gripped it tightly, then drove the motorcycle into that small path, and just a few seconds later, he reached the other side of the overgrown poisonous vines; the thorns and obstacles before his eyes all vanished, revealing six figures on the ground, and the person squatting beside them.

"Ma Ma Zhaodi"

Batman recognized that person immediately; last night while chasing the Joker, he had handed over the Riddler, whom he had deemed certain to die, to this officer, and what he did not expect was that the Riddler had actually survived with injuries like those, and had even escaped directly from the hospital.

He had also conducted a review today; combining the Riddler's examination results, he understood that he had almost been tricked by the other party, and it was for this reason that he had formed a certain impression of this officer, and when he further investigated this person, he discovered that there were even more extraordinary matters surrounding him.

Who could rescue more than twenty people from the Joker's Joke Killing Theater with almost no injuries? Who could solve the Riddler's long-planned, nearly foolproof prison-break plan on the second day of taking office? Who could accidentally stumble upon that car accident caused by the Joker, incidentally save a driver, and coincidentally keep watch over the Riddler whom Batman had almost let go? Who today again encountered the driver murdered by the Joker with laughing gas, and extracted the location of the crime from him?

Most importantly, from this Gotham City Police Department officer's experience, which was like Superman's, he discovered a fact: namely, that in any matter involving him, apart from the few comic actors shot in vital points by the Joker at the very beginning in the theater, no death had occurred again.

It was as if since he stepped onto the stage and walked into the spotlight of that comedy theater, the Joker and the Riddler had lost the ability to kill; from then on, all victims suffered severe injuries, but not a single one died, and even their wounds were quite strange, ones doctors had never seen before.

Even just at noon today, he had gone to Gotham Hospital, and after he left, the conditions of all the injured critical patients seemed to have improved.

Was it him? Batman thought, could it be this officer who saved so many people? Could he, like Poison Ivy, Solomon Grundy, or Clayface, possess some secret or special ability that he himself did not fully understand?

Thinking further along this speculation, could his ability be healing or protection?

In just a few short seconds, the person before his eyes made Batman's mind spin through several circles; he dismounted the motorcycle, hung the axe back on his waist, and walked straight over.

"Batman, we meet again."

Ma Ma Zhaodi nodded to Batman; at that very moment, his phone rang, so he waved to the other party, then answered the call.

"Hello, Commissioner Gordon?"

"Yes, it's me, Ma Ma Zhaodi—six figures who look very much like gang members have appeared in the botanical garden, hung up by some vines; I have rescued them. This is very much like what 'Poison Ivy' does according to the criminal files, but her whereabouts are not visible; I guess she does not intend to remain at the crime scene."

"Yes, their condition is not good; they all have injuries, and their minds are unclear; they must be sent to the hospital first."

"Me? I just happened to pass by here, heard someone screaming in the botanical garden, then climbed over the wall to get in."

"It won't happen again, it won't happen again."

While he was on the phone, Batman walked straight up, checking each of the six gang thugs on the ground one by one—heartbeats strong, surface wounds left by thorns, blood loss from the wounds not significant, all in a state of unconsciousness; it seemed these people had only these minor injuries on their bodies.

"No one died," Batman judged quickly: "On my way over, seven handguns and one automatic rifle were dropped on the ground; this firepower's destructiveness is very strong, and this is still a botanical garden—and Poison Ivy did not kill anyone?"

This was not normal.

He recalled the sap he had seen when walking through the thorn bushes; it was obvious that causing only minor injuries was absolutely not Poison Ivy's intention.

He should have collected some vines as samples just now, Batman reflected silently in his heart; having only just started out a year ago, his experience was still somewhat lacking, and many times he missed the best opportunities.

If he turned back now to search the forest for those poisonous vines, he might not be able to find them again.

Having finished thinking, Batman began to confirm the identities of these six people; this step was actually not too difficult; just as he had learned the news immediately after Carmine issued the assassination order, the information on some high-level personnel of the Falcone family was unidirectionally transparent to him and Commissioner Gordon.

"'Big Gun' Carano, 'Fishy' Christopher, 'Fan' Leonardo, 'Baby Face' Keno."

Batman's gaze swept over these gangsters lying haphazardly on the ground, then turned to Ma Ma Zhaodi, who had just finished his call, and asked: "You saved them."

"They were just lucky." Ma Ma Zhaodi replied: "When I arrived here, Poison Ivy had already left; I only needed to lower them from the vines; it didn't take much effort."

"I am not talking about that." Batman's expression did not change: "The vines were poisonous, and you detoxified them."

"Yes."

Hmm?

Why did this guy admit it so straightforwardly?

(End of this chapter)