Chapter 203: The Perverted Bicycle Hero's Fourth Field Mission

PS: A typo in the previous chapter; it was the Scarecrow, not Two-Face.

Night fell, and Gotham City was unusually quiet tonight.

Actually, it couldn't be called quiet, after all, quite a few of the Riddler's soldiers still roamed the streets; it's just that in the recent past, gunshots and explosions would ring out in Gotham's nights from time to time, with fires rising everywhere, so compared to those nights, tonight seemed far too peaceful.

Ma Ma Zhaodi rode his bicycle, swaying gently through the neon-lit streets; his black robe slipped through the colorful lights and plunged straight into the evening wind blowing against him, carrying the scent of smoke.

The airflow brushing past carried a hint of moisture, dissipating much of the summer heat; even through the black robe, Ma Ma Zhaodi could feel a touch of coolness.

The bicycle left the street, and a shimmering great river ran alongside the road, emitting moisture; the rising mist made Ma Ma Zhaodi feel as if he had reached the seaside, so he unconsciously hummed a familiar tune.

"The mountain flowers bloom on the mountain, and I have just come up the mountain~"

"So you too have come up the mountain, to watch those mountain flowers bloom~"

"I don't understand what you are singing." The Scarecrow's voice sounded behind him: "But must we really ride your bicycle and slowly sway our way there?"

"I could indeed ride a bit faster." Ma Ma Zhaodi shrugged: "But I haven't strolled leisurely through the streets like this in a long time, especially at night—it reminds me of my hometown. Pity, Gotham has no night markets; you wouldn't know the joy of going out at midnight to eat along an entire street."

"The Riddler sent us to scout the Xiaochou Sect's territory, and now I sit on the back seat of your bicycle, like a madman, moving at a turtle's pace with you; fifteen minutes have already passed, and we haven't even left the East District." The Scarecrow was not interested in the night market Ma Ma Zhaodi mentioned; he even placed a sleeve on his shoulder: "Now, you'd better get into the West District within half an hour, otherwise, Nygma won't mind if I return alone to report."

Ma Ma Zhaodi turned his head to look; a thin tube extended from the Scarecrow's sleeve, one of the tools he used to release fear toxin.

"Alright, alright."

The moment Ma Ma Zhaodi finished speaking, the bicycle's speed suddenly increased; the Scarecrow hurriedly retracted his extended hand and grabbed the back seat, just in time to avoid falling straight off the bike.

He didn't want any physical contact with Ma Ma Zhaodi; that person was too bizarre; every mission they had undertaken so far had resulted in an incident. The first time, an entire patrol squad and the Kite Man were gone; the second time, Deathstroke Slade was gone; the third time, they went to a banquet with the Riddler, and a knife suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

He still had to endure the pain and finish dinner, pretending to be composed while mocking the Xiaochou Sect. In reality, after returning from dinner, the Riddler hadn't eaten any food requiring both hands and a fork for several days afterward; even this morning, his arm was still wrapped in bandages.

It was clear he was probably in real pain.

To be honest, most other super-villains were actually marveling at the Riddler's good temper; Ma Ma Zhaodi hadn't been shot dead by the Riddler yet—but then again, it was precisely because the Riddler displayed such a rational attitude that he could recruit a considerable number of super-criminals.

Just as the bicycle was about to leave the East District streets, Ma Ma Zhaodi suddenly slowed down; he carried the Scarecrow into the adjacent buildings, vanishing from the road in a few seconds.

"Do you have something—"

"Jonathan, someone's coming."

Ma Ma Zhaodi's words cut off the Scarecrow's angry cursing; after a moment of stunned silence, he turned his gaze toward the distance of the street, where three figures—one thin and two fat—seemed to be faintly appearing.

"Can you identify them?" Ma Ma Zhaodi said: "One is Cluemaster; his red uniform is easy to recognize, but the other two..."

The Scarecrow looked at the three figures and suddenly laughed in a chilling manner.

"Hehe, those are the Xiaochou Sect's new henchmen, not famous, haven't done anything major; of course you don't know them—but regardless, they are all the Xiaochou Sect's people."

"Your luck tonight is very good." His face, covered by a tattered burlap sack, split open to reveal two rows of teeth, showing a chilling smile; he happily patted Ma Ma Zhaodi: "I guess even a loser sometimes has a stroke of good fortune."

"So you know who they are?"

"The Ding-Dong Brothers." The Scarecrow replied: "To contend with those inhuman freaks, one must use one's brain more; of course I know them inside out—but those two brothers are nothing more than fools who read too many fairy tales, deluding themselves into thinking they can become villains."

"Oh, the Ding-Dong Brothers from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; they would probably have a lot in common with the Mad Hatter."

At this moment, the three figures on the street gradually walked closer.

"So which of you is the older brother? Which is the younger?" Cluemaster wore a yellow half-mask, completely covering the lower half of his face below his eyes, so his voice was slightly muffled.

"I am the older brother." The bald fat man took a bite of the sandwich in his hand; he wore a loose white tank top and black striped pants, with red sneakers on his feet, looking slightly ridiculous.

"I am the younger brother." The fat man wearing a hat casually took the sandwich from his brother's hand; his build, appearance, and voice were no different from his brother's; equally bulging belly, equally covered in flab, equally looking like he weighed over four hundred pounds.

The difference was that his clothes were a short-sleeved white shirt; a green round top hat on his head, green suspenders, and black leather shoes made him look somewhat like the portly comedic character from British comics.

"Alright, alright, so, the older brother is called Ding-Dong Brother, and the younger brother is called Ding-Dong Junior?" Cluemaster made an OK gesture: "I completely understand—ahem, don't mind me talking too much; this is my first time being sent by the Xiaochou Sect here to do reconnaissance in the East District; you know, I'm a bit nervous, so knowing you've already done reconnaissance here, I'm quite happy."

At this moment, the voices of Ding-Dong Brother and Ding-Dong Junior alternated; their way of speaking was very strange; one person spoke half a sentence, and the other continued with the second half; the two seemed to have a twin's telepathy, able to read each other's thoughts.

"Don't wor""ry, the reconnaissance mission is still""quite safe, and""it's not the worst."

"The worst is running into Bat""man; we have""once dealt with Bat""man; he punched""my face; do you know""how much that hurt?"

"Even if everything goes""wrong, who among the Riddler's""subordinates can hit""harder than Bat""man?"

Hearing this, Ma Ma Zhaodi guiltily put away the communicator inside his black robe; however, the call to Batman had already been sent; the deed was done; he hoped that when the Ding-Dong Brothers met Batman again, they could keep their composure.

(End of this chapter)