Chapter 236: Riddler: I Admit I Had a Gambling Component

Just as the Penguin's orders were passed down here, he had finally managed to calm his mood, but soon he received even worse news.

The communicator on Poison Ivy's chest suddenly rang, and on the other side of the line, a half-dead, hoarse voice delivered new information to her.

"Pamela, it's Firefly. Batman used an unmanned fighter jet to snatch Man-Bat away. Fortunately, it wasn't smart enough to grab two people at once, so I escaped, but be careful—it's heading your way!"

Poison Ivy glanced at the Batwing in the sky and couldn't help but curse, "You damn well said that too late!"

"Then I can only wish you good luck."

The communication cut off, and the hearts of both the Penguin and Poison Ivy sank.

The Penguin hadn't expected that Man-Bat would be captured while Firefly escaped; meanwhile, Poison Ivy hadn't expected her teammate to be so unreliable, only passing the news along just now.

Of course, it was also possible that Firefly had been in a state of severe injury, busy treating wounds or having passed out, but to her, these reasons could not help alleviate the predicament she now faced with Batman.

"Pamela, don't force me to use high-potency herbicide."

Hearing Batman's words, Poison Ivy's expression shifted several times, but after a few seconds, she suddenly smiled.

"If you want me to go back to the police station with you, that's easy, Batman," she said. "As long as you can first deal with these citizens who want to kill you."

Batman frowned, suddenly sensing that things were not simple.

Bang!

Following the sound of a gunshot, Batman felt the impact of a 9mm pistol bullet against his back armor—after being shot enough times, he could subconsciously distinguish the caliber of a bullet.

But what puzzled him was another question.

"Why?" He turned his head and discovered that a citizen had already climbed up from the ground and raised a pistol at him.

"Only nine minutes have passed." He suddenly turned back to look at Poison Ivy: "You lied."

"Information provided by an enemy can never be fully trusted. One floral scent can neutralize another; isn't that romantic?" Poison Ivy said with a smile. "Mad Hatter is a lunatic, so he believed it. Batman, are you also a lunatic—or a fool?"

At this moment, more and more citizens were gathering around them. People wearing hats stood there in a daze, rising in a half-dreaming, half-waking state, and raised their guns at Batman.

And from the surrounding buildings, even more people walked out—when Ma Zhaodi had originally infiltrated the theater, he had already discovered that the surrounding guard force was thin. This was not because the remaining people had all been placed inside the theater, but because they had all been hidden in the surrounding buildings.

And at this moment, this group of people surrounded Batman tightly.

"Mad Hatter's last order before losing consciousness was to attack you, so now only you will be besieged."

"If I were you, I would first look for the control buttons for these people outside the theater on the Mad Hatter," Poison Ivy's mocking voice was drowned out by the crowd. "After all, they are all holding guns in their hands, and you probably wouldn't want to see them shooting at each other—that would be very bloody."

Batman frowned deeply. He first fired a grappling hook into the sky, and the Batwing descended rapidly, pulling him up. But when he looked back at the ground, Poison Ivy and Ma Zhaodi were nowhere to be seen, leaving only the incapacitated Mr. Freeze and the already unconscious Mad Hatter on the ground.

"Both of them are excellent actors," he thought to himself. "But if we were truly fighting today, I would have made the same misjudgment."

"Another lesson learned."

He sighed and sat in the pilot's seat of the Batwing. The plane's sturdy shell blocked the pistol and rifle fire from the others on the ground. He fired two grappling hooks straight down, hooked up Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter one after the other, and then quickly flew away from the battlefield.

These controlled citizens naturally could not catch up to the Batwing on foot. After Batman disappeared from their field of vision with the Mad Hatter, they all lost their target and returned to the area around the theater with confused expressions. Some began to continue patrolling, while others hid back in the buildings.

"Boss, today's battle is over." The Penguin, currently suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, reported to the Joker with a solemn expression: "We have suffered losses... we must make plans for the next step early."

"All three of my cards are gone." The Joker snorted unhappily: "The theater will soon—hmph, I estimate it has already fallen."

"Boss, the squad has already arrived at the perimeter of the theater." As the two talked, a report sounded again in the communicator: "Everything around is not quite right. Everyone seems to have been released from control. Some have already taken off the hats on their heads on their own and even thrown away their guns."

"We didn't see the Mad Hatter or Batman, but there are traces of vines and ice at the scene. Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze—"

"Enough, enough." The Joker interrupted impatiently: "Batman moves really fast. You all withdraw—to tell you the truth, I finally know why the Riddler went to such great lengths to send Thor here."

"What bad luck... that guy..."

Five minutes later, in the hall, the Riddler was sitting calmly in his seat, waiting for his subordinates' report.

"Nygma, Poison Ivy has returned."

"Very good." A smile appeared on his face, and he reached out to pick up his gold cane and walked down the steps: "Let them in."

"Uh... there is one more thing."

"Hm? What is it?"

"The result of today's battle is that the Joker's side—Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, and Man-Bat—were all taken away by Batman, while Poison Ivy and Firefly successfully escaped."

With every sentence he spoke, the smile on the Riddler's face grew brighter. Nothing could make him happier than today's results.

A daring, ingenious strategy; a desperate counterattack against superior numbers; a strategist who plans in the tent and wins against the strong with the weak.

"That's right, you faithfully executed my plan," he said. "I admit, in this battle, I did indeed have a gambling component—letting Thor work for the Joker, and then having Firefly and Poison Ivy face multiple enemies at the same time."

"But I won the bet, or rather, this result was already within my expectations—I know Batman likes to balance things, so naturally, I could turn him into one of my chess pieces."

"In any case, today is our victory. You can—"

"No, Nygma, I meant to say, someone came back with Poison Ivy."

"Who would come back with—wait!"

The Riddler suddenly widened his eyes and gripped his cane tightly; the relaxed smile on his face vanished without a trace in an instant.

At this very moment, he finally discovered the problem in today's battle report—there was one person who had never been mentioned.

He looked toward the door. That familiar black-robed figure was standing there, making him feel a wave of dizziness.

"Boss, I'm back."

"Who the hell told you to come back!"

(End of chapter)