Chapter 188: There Is an Old Chinese Saying

Ma Ma Zhaodi left the Gotham City Police Department.

"There is an old Chinese saying: 'A man is not rich without outside wealth; a horse is not fat without night fodder.'" He said to Commissioner Gordon: "As the saying goes, wealth is sought in danger. The fortune-teller said I am the Lone Star of Heaven, but I disagree. I believe that those who venture out must decide their own life or death."

"My former boss once told me, 'There is no trash in the world, only resources in the wrong place.' Before, I thought my life was a comedy, but now, I feel it could be even more fun."

Commissioner Gordon listened to Ma Ma Zhaodi's flowery words, stunned into silence. He subconsciously asked, "What happened to your former boss?"

"He went to prison and was sentenced to ten years."

"No wonder he is a 'former' boss."

"In short, that is basically it, Commissioner Gordon—see you again if fate allows."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be 'again'."

Ma Ma Zhaodi left the police station there and then.

And the war continued, with no changes occurring.

Half a month later.

Gotham, rooftop.

"Don't go, Gordon."

"Have you seen the map, Batman? I have."

Jim Gordon gazed out from the rooftop in all directions. Today, Gotham City still had clear weather, but the scene within his sight did not appear sunny.

"This city has already fallen."

He sighed. At this moment, the streets were sparsely populated; most people were hiding in their homes or offices, daring not to stay on the streets for long. The city was filled with gunpowder smoke, dilapidated and collapsed houses, and burned-out residences—all destroyed during the war between the Joker and the Riddler.

Crows circled in the sky above the city, appearing to search for rotting corpses and flesh. Perhaps they could occasionally get their wish—as the war expanded, casualties among the city's residents increased. Although the wounded outnumbered the dead, some deaths had indeed occurred.

The Upper West District in the distance was decorated in bizarre shapes, with colorful buildings flashing blinding lights. Large numbers of thugs wearing black suits and ties would occasionally emerge from these buildings. That was the position occupied by the Joker, who controlled almost the entire Upper West District.

And the buildings in the East District remained chaotic, like weeds growing at random, but all doors and windows were sealed. Almost all areas had patrols and sentries; seemingly ordinary dilapidated buildings were actually fortified inside into small bunkers.

As the war developed to this point, these two forces occupied opposite sides of Gotham, forming stable bases. The Park District, sandwiched between the East District and the Upper West District, had become the main battlefield. Both sides were recruiting their own soldiers and sending them into the Park District as pieces in a game of strategy.

Commissioner Gordon was right; this city had indeed fallen.

"This city has fallen before," Batman replied. "This is Gotham City, and Gotham City has always been like this."

He turned his head to look at Gordon beside him and continued, "And next, we must save it, just as we have in the past."

Gordon smiled bitterly and took a puff from his pipe.

"You know what you are saying, right? But do you believe your own words?"

Batman did not answer.

"Every day, people enter the Park District from the two zones to fight, wave after wave. The Joker uses these people to perform his jokes, the Riddler uses them to display his riddles, and I only see them falling, wave after wave."

Thinking of the scenes he had seen in the Park District, Gordon couldn't help but shake his head: "We have been very lucky, with you and Mr. Kite helping out; even many critically injured people did not die. But luck will run out one day. Moreover, we simply cannot intervene in this war with force; the police department has not even been fully repaired yet."

"During the one-hour daily truce, when we go in to collect the bodies, the blood flows into puddles. You have seen those horrific sights, Batman—whether men or women, whether using bombs or poison gas, their sole purpose is to eliminate the other side. They stop at nothing, completely brainwashed by the Joker and the Riddler into machines that obey orders."

Batman remained silent. He understood that everything Gordon said was true; this commissioner had borne too much psychological pressure, which was why he had left letters for the Riddler and the Joker during the truce, demanding negotiations.

And those two criminals were actually willing to talk—there was definitely something wrong with that.

The Riddler wrote a thirty-seven-page letter, detailing strict requirements for Gordon's negotiation route, attire, and behavior. He ordered Gordon to wear a prison uniform and demanded he follow his envelope instructions strictly, treating him completely like a puppet on strings to be manipulated at will.

The Joker's reply was written in lipstick on a corpse, consisting of only one sentence: "Leave only your underwear, wear nothing else, and then come."

This was, of course, also an insult to him.

And Commissioner Gordon, who was being manipulated at will by both sides, showed no sign of flinching on his face at this moment.

Batman continued, "You, alone, without weapons, think you can negotiate with them, but this will only turn yourself into prey delivered to their doorstep—they will not listen to you, and they might even kill you."

"Then let them try."

Thus, that afternoon, Gordon met with the Joker and the Riddler separately.

Man-Bat, Mr. Freeze, the Mad Hatter, the Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Scarface, the Ventriloquist, Deadshot, Cluemaster. These were the super-villains under the Joker.

Deathstroke, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Mr. Zsasz, Killer Croc, Firefly, the Scarecrow, Two-Face, and the Crazy Cycle Knight. The Riddler's forces were no less impressive; everyone even had a green riddle symbol marked on them, representing their enlistment in the Riddler's army.

After talking with them, Gordon returned to the rooftop again.

"They want you."

He said to Batman: "Both sides."

"In their own words, 'Bring Batman to me, and the war will end'."

Batman asked, "What did you say?"

Gordon shook his head; he did not accept this proposal.

"We must enter the war zone."

"We cannot go in," Gordon said gloomily, taking a puff of smoke. "The Joker has planted bombs everywhere, and the Riddler has kidnapped a large number of civilians. They all have hostages. If we go in, they will kill them."

Speaking of this, his expression became resolute.

"I have contacted the federal government. Since this is a war, we must treat it according to the standards of war—not relying on the police, not relying on vigilantes, but relying on absolute armed force."

"And you and I, we must maintain the situation, preventing anyone from entering the city center and preventing anyone from escaping from the city center to the suburbs—"

Speaking of this, Gordon suddenly thought of a question, so he asked it: "By the way, wasn't the Crazy Cycle Knight fighting alongside you before? Why did he join the Riddler?"

Batman did not answer.

Gordon looked back, but he was already gone without a trace.

(End of this chapter)