Chapter 164: Kill Batman?

Brilliant purple light nearly filled the entire room, fully demonstrating the unrest within the Amethyst Emperor's heart.

The Amethyst Core was the heart of the Amethyst Civilization's development. It was no exaggeration to say that their entire civilization was built upon it.

However, the original core had been mostly depleted long ago. Nowadays, they only used secondary amethysts, causing the civilization's advancement to hit a severe bottleneck.

They urgently needed a new Amethyst Core to support their research, making it the primary objective of the Amethyst Civilization's searches in recent years.

Yet the Amethyst Emperor never expected that the very prize he had mobilized countless personnel and resources to find would be discovered first by Saster.

"He got it?!" the Amethyst Emperor exclaimed, losing his composure—an exceedingly rare occurrence.

Kansa stared at his father with a faint, mocking smile. Although he could not defeat Saster, he no longer feared him either.

Now, seeing the father he once revered as a god lose his composure, the Amethyst Emperor's image further crumbled in his mind.

"Calm down, Father. Even I was not as surprised as you when I heard the news," Kansa appeased.

"Father, do not let impatience cloud your judgment," Kansa replied, shaking his head. "If he had the Amethyst Core, why would he continue hunting me down?"

The Amethyst Emperor remained silent for a moment, adjusting his emotions. The Kansa standing before him felt like a stranger; he could no longer treat his son with his previous attitude.

After a long pause, the Amethyst Emperor slowly spoke, his gaze calm and his voice gentle. "It seems you have experienced a great deal. You have changed quite a bit."

Kansa could not help but sigh inwardly. 'If you spent two days in Li Yu's hands, you would change quite a bit too.'

"People change," he stated simply.

The Amethyst Emperor did not dwell on the topic of change, instead asking, "Are you implying that you know the location of the Amethyst Core?"

Based on Kansa's implications, since Saster had not obtained the Amethyst Core and was still hunting him, it was obvious that Kansa was the key figure.

"Perhaps," Kansa replied in an ambiguous tone.

The Amethyst Emperor's face darkened, and he voiced his deep dissatisfaction, "I hope you understand that, eventually, you must return to my side."

This was a naked threat. Kansa might appear incredibly bold teasing the Amethyst Emperor right now, but ultimately, he had to return to the Amethyst Civilization.

"If I cannot even survive this current ordeal, how can I possibly return?" Kansa saw things very clearly, stating bluntly, "Father, you must do everything in your power to protect me. You have no choice."

"The agents of the Star Glory Empire have arrived. To avoid a conflict, they will likely reach an agreement with Saster to share my value."

"They can cooperate with each other, but there is absolutely no possibility of cooperation between you and Saster."

The Amethyst Emperor's eyes grew deep and dark, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. This son had truly handed him a difficult problem.

"You know exactly what the Amethyst Core represents. The entire civilization needs it. The people on the other planets of the Amethyst Civilization need it. The Radiation Project is difficult to implement precisely because we lack the original core."

The Amethyst Emperor suddenly spoke, attempting to use the greater good to persuade his son. Although the chances of success were slim, he had to try.

"Because of the amethysts on our foreheads, our internal conflicts have grown increasingly fierce. If the Radiation Project cannot be pushed forward soon... I fear..."

"Father!" Kansa interrupted, shaking his head in amusement. "I once heard a certain someone say this—If I Have No Morals, You Cannot Morally Kidnap Me."

"If I follow your logic, as long as it benefits the Amethyst Civilization, it does not matter who gets the core. So how about I immediately turn myself in to Prince Saster, would that be acceptable to you?"

The Amethyst Emperor's face looked dreadful as he glared fiercely at this incredibly unfamiliar son. He said coldly, "I will ensure your safety. But if you dare deceive me, even the fact that you are my son will not save you!"

With that, he disconnected the call. Kansa gave a self-deprecating smile, stepped out of the corner, and blended into the stream of travelers, disappearing from sight in moments.

......

"You asked the Card Master to rent out his Laboratory? Did he agree?" Mangu stared at Li Yu with an odd expression.

"He did not!" Li Yu threw his hands up in exasperation. "You also feel he should have agreed, right? But he flat-out refused, and it is not like I was not going to pay him."

"He was so furious you would think I asked to sleep with his wife."

Two sharp gazes pierced into Li Yu's thick-skinned face. He glared back righteously until Mo Duo surrendered, averting her eyes and muttering something under her breath.

'I feel like him refusing is perfectly normal...' Mangu thought to herself.

"He dared to refuse you? Is he tired of living?!" Li Ping gnashed his teeth, wishing he could instantly chop the Card Master into pieces.

Li Ping was promptly shooed away. The Hunter grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Who let him come over? That guy only knows how to blindly holler."

Mangu gently waved her hand and said in a coquettish voice, "It was me. I thought he was your friend. It seemed pitiful for him to stay over there all by himself."

The Hunter immediately fell silent. Compared to Mangu, he seemingly preferred Li Ping.

"Are there any other Gene Chain modulators in this place?" Li Yu changed the subject.

"Although there are..." Mangu leaned against the Metal Crate, resting her chin on her hand in thought. "The Card Master is already one of the most outstanding ones. If he cannot do it, the others probably cannot either."

If an eighteen or nineteen-year-old blooming maiden struck such a pose, it would give off an innocent and adorable vibe.

But the person striking this pose right now was Mangu, which only caused the others to awkwardly avert their eyes.

Li Yu looked at Peyton, feeling more and more that this man was an absolute treasure.

Peyton was currently spacing out, calculating when he could finally embrace death. Yet, he inexplicably felt a sudden chill. For some reason, death seemed to have moved even further away from him.

"What do we do next? When are we leaving here?" The Hunter did not know how many times he had repeated this question.

"What is the rush? You guys have not even acquired the status of a Purple Crystal Honorary Knight yet. Besides, with the current state of emergency, your spaceship's mimicry will be detected. If you leave now, you will have to abandon your vessel," Mangu advised.

"Not to mention, his B-grade Gene Chain has not finished modulating yet."

Three reasons, each well-founded and logical, dealt a critical blow to the Hunter.

"There is no rush for now. Let us handle Kansa's situation first," Li Yu also shook his head. He had another plan in the works—selling the Amethyst Core currently in his possession.

Being broke was truly agonizing.

Originally, he wanted to sell it to some easy mark. Not only would he gain Star Coins, but he could also use them to draw Saster's firepower.

However... if Kansa could return to the Amethyst Civilization, leveraging his influence, they might be able to sell it directly to the Amethyst Civilization itself.

But this matter required careful planning and a great deal of caution.

The Hunter sighed heavily. He knew that leaving right now was not the most opportune time, but he was just a man hoping to preserve his reputation in his twilight years. What was wrong with that?!

......

Two days later, Li Yu received news from Kansa. The agents sent by the Star Glory Empire had finally arrived, a full two days later than the Sun-Hunter Squad.

Kansa was preparing to rendezvous with them, though he still had no idea how they would proceed afterward.

Meanwhile, the Second Clone's journey in the DC World finally updated its first day's System Log.

[DC World – Day One: You arrived in Gotham City. The smell of decay and the pervasive aura of sin in the city brought you joy.

However, the appearance of the Justice League on the news made you feel apprehensive.

Gotham seemed peaceful during the day. You wandered aimlessly and arrived at Wayne Tower. You looked up, wondering if Batman was there.

As night fell, sin began to breed. You deliberately walked into the alleyways, yearning for Gotham's welcoming ceremony.

Finally, a few thugs approached you, flipping their knives. They grinned maliciously, and you trembled all over with excitement—someone was bringing you free money.

However, a figure emerged from the pitch-black shadows, a black cape fluttering gently. The thugs were terrified.

Batman swiftly and efficiently tied up the thugs, preparing to hand them over to the police.

"Do not come to secluded places like this," he warned you in flawless Chinese, his indifferent tone as cold as ice.

Faced with the overwhelming sense of intimidation rushing toward you, you sneered, ready to teach this young Batman a lesson.

But you suddenly remembered that this was not a simple Batman world. Killing an unprepared Batman would not be hard, but dealing with his group of close friends would be incredibly troublesome.

You had no choice but to turn around and leave, preparing to depart from Gotham.]

[Acquired Green Title – Do Not Walk at Night – Gold. Extract?]

[Acquired Special Item – Unprepared Batman. Extract?]

'It is here, it is finally here, this is the feeling...' Li Yu thought, looking at the two buttons faintly glowing with the word [Extract]. A long-lost sensation welled up in his heart.

It felt just like when he had first crossed over, looking forward every day to see what his clone had harvested.

He directly extracted both rewards.

[Acquired Green Title – Do Not Walk at Night – Gold: In the dark of the night, you have a high probability of attracting criminals.]

Uh... what use was that? Li Yu pondered for a moment but did not mind too much. He would just let it gather dust in his inventory and treat it as a good omen.

[Acquired Special Item – Unprepared Batman: As everyone knows, a Batman without preparation is at his weakest. Faced with great danger, he can only run away to devise countermeasures and make a comeback.

Upon use, it will randomly teleport the host to any location within a hundred-kilometer radius.]

This was a divine artifact for escaping. It looked like a miniature figurine styled after Batman's classic sideways combat roll, carrying a distinct hint of mockery toward the hero.

Not bad... not bad at all. Li Yu was entirely satisfied, but looking at the last line of the System Log, his expression darkened once again.

That clone of his was indeed thinking about running away. He was definitely going to find some hidden corner to set up the Fatherland Society again.

But Li Yu let out a sinister chuckle. He had anticipated this long ago. The Butterfly Effect would absolutely not disappoint him!

That guy actually wanted to slaughter Batman! If the clone had suddenly attacked, Batman might really have been killed.

But Batman's companions would definitely go crazy, especially that guy who wore his underwear on the outside. There was no telling how utterly insane he would go.

Yet... a wicked thought blossomed in Li Yu's mind. 'If he really killed Batman, what kind of incredible loot would drop?'

"I cannot think like that, Batman is my role model..." Li Yu shook his head. He could not control the clone anyway; whether he killed him or not was completely out of his hands.

On the other side, at the docking port in the East District of the Inuit Hub, a group of four walked out. Three of them wore inconspicuous black Armor.

Only the person in the middle was draped in a black robe, making it impossible to tell their gender. The other three vaguely formed a protective formation around them.

The foot traffic here was massive, with Interstellar travelers of various species coming and going. The group's attire actually seemed quite normal, not drawing any unwanted attention.

"Where is the target?"

A voice rang out through their internal communication channel.

"The rendezvous point is at the entrance of the Pinky-Pinky Apparel Store in the East Two Block."

"According to the latest orders from above, we need to keep him alive."

"Isn't that the exact reason we were delayed for two days?"

"Let us go..."

The internal channel fell silent. The four marched with synchronized steps, maintaining their fixed formation as they headed toward the target location.

At the entrance of the Pinky-Pinky Apparel Store, Kansa waited with a hint of anxiety. Even though he had received the Amethyst Emperor's promise that the Star Glory Empire would definitely protect him, he still felt uneasy.

This annoyed him somewhat. Why didn't the Amethyst Civilization directly send someone to protect him? The Amethyst Emperor had been ambiguous and had not given a clear answer. His unease stemmed precisely from this uncertainty.

"Mommy... I want that!" a childish voice cried out. The portable smart Translator not only possessed millisecond-level latency but could even flawlessly simulate tone and inflection.

To Kansa's left, a small octopus head swung a few of its tentacles, pointing straight at a pink octopus outfit displayed in the Pinky-Pinky Apparel Store.

"We are not buying it!" the Mother, a large octopus, firmly refused.

"No... I want it, I want it!" The little octopus burst into tears, tentacles flailing wildly as black ink splattered everywhere.

Kansa's mouth twitched. Amidst the large octopus's continuous apologies, he backed away repeatedly, though a few drops of ink still managed to stain his clothes.

'Bear children are truly terrifying,' he thought, shaking his head. But suddenly, his back bumped into something solid.

"Apologies..." He subconsciously turned his head, and his pupils shrank. Four black silhouettes were standing right behind him, though he had no idea when they had arrived.

Without wearing any Armor, Kansa only reached their chests. Shadows completely enveloped him. His gaze moved past the figures in black Armor and landed on the Black-Robed Figure.

Instinct told him that this person was incredibly important.

"The Earth Shakes High Hills, A Stream-Laced Mountain Range Eternally Beautiful?" Kansa's bad premonition grew even stronger as he probed.

This was the secret rendezvous signal. It was provided by Li Yu after Kansa casually mentioned the need for a code word earlier.

Li Yu had immediately blurted out two phrases. Hearing that they sounded decent enough, Kansa decided to use them.

Although he was almost certain that the other party was from the Star Glory Empire, he still had to verify the signal. It was a test to gauge their attitude.

The other party remained silent, completely ignoring the code word. 'As expected,' Kansa thought, 'they come with ill intentions.'

"Haha, I mistook you for someone else, my apologies..." Kansa forced a smile, playing dumb despite knowing exactly what was happening, in a desperate attempt to leave.

His face was covered by an Optical Mimicry Mask, having already completely altered his appearance.

Before he could even turn around, two massive mechanical hands forcefully dragged Kansa into the small circle formed by the armored trio.

Kansa's expression changed drastically. He struggled violently, but the arms pressing down on his shoulders possessed a crushing force of ten thousand tons, making it impossible for him to resist.

Right at that moment, the Black-Robed Figure slightly raised their head. Their pale cheeks were unremarkable, but it was those blazing crimson eyes that made Kansa's eyes widen in shock.