Chapter 237: Why Aren't You Laughing? Are You Naturally Unwilling to Smile?

"A man went to a toy store and said he wanted to buy a new boomerang. Then he asked the clerk, 'How do I get rid of the old one?'"

The Joker told the Penguin a cold joke and asked, "Do you think this joke is funny?"

"To be honest, it wasn't very funny to begin with," the Penguin answered honestly. "But considering last night's situation, I can hardly say it isn't funny."

"Some jokes that aren't funny always become very funny under special circumstances," the Joker shrugged. "Although I can't laugh."

The Penguin understood his mood. Last night they had suffered heavy losses, with almost all their combat power wiped out. The Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, and Man-Bat had all been captured by Batman; these were all their super-villains with actual combat capabilities.

Furthermore, losing the Mad Hatter meant they had no subordinates left to use, so now the Joker had almost completely become a lone commander.

"It's okay," the Penguin comforted him. "The Riddler probably can't laugh right now either."

To be honest, the Riddler indeed could not laugh at this moment.

"A man went to a toy store and said he wanted to buy a new boomerang. Then he asked the clerk, 'How do I get rid of the old one?' Hahaha!"

In the Riddler's hall, Ma Ma Zhaodi was telling jokes to Mr. Zsasz. Although Mr. Zsasz across from him had a blank expression and clearly wasn't impressed by the joke, Poison Ivy's mouth corner was curling up wildly beside them.

She turned her head to look at the Riddler sitting in the hall; he had heard that joke too, and his face was now even fouler than Mr. Zsasz's, his drooping mouth corners reminding one of the Joker who couldn't laugh.

In a sense, the two had reached a mutual understanding at this moment.

"Enough, stop telling your rotten jokes," the Riddler interrupted. At this moment, Ma Ma Zhaodi was particularly hateful in his eyes; the way he told jokes seemed like mocking himself as that fool who bought toys, unable to get rid of the "Perverted Bicycle Hero" boomerang.

"Yesterday's failure will be the last straw that breaks the Joker. Now, we are about to win this war—it is time to talk business. We must reach out and take the fruits of this victory into our grasp."

He looked at Firefly, Mr. Zsasz, and Poison Ivy in the hall, adjusted his top hat, and revealed a seductive smile. "After dealing with the Joker, we can rescue everyone else in Arkham. Gotham is about to become ours."

The day of the final battle came very quickly. Although Batman had anticipated this, when the moment arrived, he still felt somewhat dreamlike.

"The Penguin has run," Batman said to Catwoman beside a tall building. "But he hasn't betrayed the Joker. However, his subordinates were captured by the Riddler, and they tortured out the location of the Joker's final hiding spot."

"And then you found out?" Catwoman laughed. "How did I not know your information network is so extensive?"

"His movements were too big; he simply couldn't hide it. Not to mention that building is already surrounded; four super-villains walking down the street are conspicuous enough on their own."

Hearing this, Catwoman casually looked down a few times. From here, she could indeed see four strange figures in outlandish costumes leading a group of armed thugs surrounding the building.

Batman was not wrong. Whether it was Firefly wearing steel armor flying in the sky with black smoke billowing; or the Riddler who was green from head to toe; or Mr. Zsasz who was naked and covered in scars; or the Perverted Bicycle Hero in a black robe and Poison Ivy in a plant-vine outfit, they were all characters who would turn heads the moment they stepped onto the street.

"Alright, it seems they can't wait to make a move. So, why did you call me here?"

"This building is a bit troublesome," Batman replied. "It is a building the Joker carefully set up. Except for the seventy-third floor, every other floor is unsafe. The roof, the elevators, the stairwells... every passage is filled with traps. Whether going up from the bottom or down from the top, one would probably have to shed several layers of skin."

Catwoman raised an eyebrow. "And then?"

"I need to figure out a way to get in. I need your help to check—you are the most agile and can dodge the traps along the way."

"You give the dangerous missions to me?" Catwoman extended her claws and scratched Batman's chin. "What a ruthless arrangement. Don't you have any subordinates who can help inside the building?"

"Not subordinates. And they aren't inside either."

"Then they can help."

"But no one is as professional as you."

"Yeah, well," Catwoman replied casually. "You've learned to flatter like that recently, but do you think saying that will make me help you?"

Batman said nothing.

"Question: There is a bomb on the floor of the building. Two inches from the bomb is a computer, three inches away is a can of gasoline, and four inches away is a barrel of nitroglycerin."

Outside the building, the Riddler was looking up at the glass curtain walls, posing riddles with interest. "If the bomb explodes, what will be destroyed first?"

"The bomb itself will be destroyed first."

Ma Ma Zhaodi chimed in from behind. "Boss is truly too smart! One day, I will compile a book of 'Brain Teaser King' using the cold jokes the Boss has told."

That's the vibe, that's the vibe. The familiar flavor suddenly shot up.

The smile on the Riddler's face vanished instantly. He felt a familiar discomfort. Having a fool guess his riddle and compliment him in this way made him feel the humiliation of being dragged down to the same intelligence level. It was uncomfortable, stifling, yet he was helpless. If someone else had said this compliment, it would have been mere mockery, but the Perverted Bicycle Hero was a fool who would only praise sincerely. This made the Riddler feel even worse.

He would rather have his ribs broken by Batman or be shot through the stomach by the Joker than suffer such humiliation again. He decided never to tell riddles that even a fool could guess in the future.

"Wait," Firefly suddenly said. "Is there something climbing up the outer wall of the building?"

The Riddler looked up once and suddenly sneered. "Catwoman has come too. Maybe she is Batman's new outside help, or maybe she sees the situation is unfavorable and wants to join us. But regardless, she cannot stop today's final battle, nor escape the reckoning afterwards."

"Then what should we do?"

"Let her be. We prepare to go up the stairs."

On the outer wall of the building, Catwoman was almost climbing to the seventy-third floor. There was no wind in the high sky today, which facilitated her climbing.

She took a moment to look down. The pedestrians on the ground had become as small as ants, and the buildings were tilting and extending in her field of vision. At this very moment, she was already in the air more than two hundred meters high.

(End of Chapter)