Chapter 204: Reconnaissance Mission: Meeting the Scarecrow, Fear Toxin as Strong as

"Though that's the case, don't you think it would be better to be caught by Batman?"

Beside the Ding Dang Brothers, Clue Master spread his hands: "At least he won't kill us, and he'll lock us up in a safe place. If we don't want to get dragged into this war, this is the only way to escape, right?"

The Ding Dang Brothers exchanged a glance and scratched their heads together.

"Bruce Wayne has already given that money to the Riddler. The Joker's power is waning, the situation worsens every day, our territory is gradually being lost, and everyone is living in constant dread."

"But I am Clue Master. I have already sorted all this out. Think about it: if we had refused the Joker's invitation to join back then, it would have been a dead end; but if we defect to the Riddler now, he will kill us too—since we didn't join him immediately back then, it's probably too late now."

Clue Master asked, "I am Clue Master, but in reality, I never fit in among that group of lunatics. What about you? Don't you have the same thought? You're just a bit bigger, but you're not natural-born killers, or lunatics."

"You're right, but" "We just came here to patrol today."

Hearing the two's reply, Clue Master couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, yes, we can only do as the Joker says, then pray not to be directly killed by a super-criminal from the Riddler's side. Besides that, what else can we do?"

"You can still fear."

A hoarse, shrill voice rose with thick green fog by the river. Immediately, a straw monster with a sack over its head stepped out of the mist. Its round, pupil-less eyes glowed with eerie green light, and its blood-stained maw opened wide, revealing blood-dripping fangs.

Of course, this was the image appearing in Clue Master's eyes after inhaling the Fear Toxin. In reality, Ma Ma Zhaodi outside the scene saw his true actions—he merely threw a green Fear Toxin grenade, then, relying on a specially made mask that completely filtered out the toxin, walked boldly into the exploding gas.

As the Scarecrow stepped forward, Clue Master's gaze fixed on him. In his eyes, the approaching straw monster grew larger and more terrifying, finally transforming into a vague, void-like black shadow that tightly gripped him in its palm. His body, his mind, and even his ability to think were repeatedly crushed and assimilated into that void.

"Ah, ah, aaaaaah—!"

He fell to the ground, curling and hunching his body, instinctively using this posture to protect himself. His eyes stared blankly ahead, pupils having lost focus. His hair was covered in riverbank dust and mud, only his mouth still instinctively emitting terrified screams.

The Scarecrow let out a chilling laugh. He took a deep breath of the thick fear permeating the air, carefully listening to the painful wails emitted by Clue Master. This feeling excited him, made him tremble, and filled him with satisfaction—Jonathan Crane's obsession with fear surpassed almost anyone in the world, and the pleasure spreading fear brought him surpassed almost anything else in the world.

Satisfied with the effect of his new toxin, he bypassed the already defenseless Clue Master and turned his gaze toward the Ding Dang Brothers, who were sprinting in the distance. He had to admit, although they were quite fat, the two were indeed quite agile.

"Run, my friends, run, run into endless nightmares."

Saying this, the Scarecrow leisurely pursued them. The two had just been standing beside Clue Master; even if they ran fast, they would inevitably inhale some of the Fear Toxin. The more they moved, the faster their blood flowed, and the easier the toxin would take effect. Within a few dozen steps, they would experience hallucinations, visual illusions, and auditory hallucinations.

"Ah, no, no" "Stop! Don't come over!"

Sure enough, after running a few more steps, the Ding Dang Brothers began screaming and wailing, then turned and ran back toward the Scarecrow. After seeing the Scarecrow approaching step by step before their eyes, they both tumbled to the ground with a thud.

"Now, gentlemen, it's your turn to experience the wonder of fear—isn't that great? The Joker's soldiers?"

"Isn't it a wonderful thing to wake up from the nightmare of one's own life?"

"No, no" "No, no!"

The Scarecrow didn't care about the wails of the fallen Ding Dang Brothers. He extended his two sleeves, aiming the cuffs at their faces.

"No, this isn't wonderful at all, Jonathan. I know you're having fun, but my mask isn't a gas mask; it can't filter your Fear Toxin—can you give me the antidote or something first?"

Jonathan looked back at Ma Ma Zhaodi hiding in the distance and sneered: "Why bother? You can't do anything anyway. I can handle these three opponents alone; I don't need your help—or rather, I'd be delighted to see you terrified and falling to the ground. How about you try the Fear Toxin too?"

"You don't even spare your teammates. Just like you." Ma Ma Zhaodi shrugged: "Alright, anyway, I tried my best. Since you don't plan to let me join the fight, I'll just watch from the sidelines."

"It's already over; there's no fight—"

Bang!

The moment the Scarecrow finished speaking, a heavy kick descended from the sky, directly kicking him flying.

"Who—Batman? Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

The Scarecrow clutched his chest, which was somewhat winded from the kick, and couldn't stand up for a long while. Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't tell whether Batman had held back during that strike, or if he had simply given the Scarecrow a plain normal attack.

"Jonathan, your fear journey ends here. Come with me to the Gotham City Police Department."

Batman, descending from the sky, unilaterally declared the Scarecrow's fate in a cold tone. He wore a breathing mask on his face. His towering figure, nearly two meters tall, blocked the moonlight, casting a large shadow that enveloped the Scarecrow.

Looking at the dark bat figure and hearing the opponent's oppressive voice, the Scarecrow trembled all over. Undoubtedly, Batman matched all his beautiful imaginings of fear.

Trembling, he watched the other approach, then jumped up and punched toward Batman.

Crack—

"Ah—!"

The familiar sound of a bone breaking, the familiar rhythm; this was no surprise at all.

However, just at that moment, a puff of smoke exploded from the sleeve of the Scarecrow's broken arm. This smoke was a vivid green, completely different from the one just now.

Ma Ma Zhaodi, watching from the side, silently shook his head.

"High-potency Fear Toxin? Probably useless."

However, in the next instant, he suddenly realized the problem.

"Damn it! The Ding Dang Brothers are still within the range of the toxic smoke!"

(End of this chapter)