Chapter 1686

"You, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

Spider-Man, who had retracted his arm after snapping the web, looked at the small figure standing before him. It was a young boy with short black hair and blue eyes that still looked vivid in the dark night. But now, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper, his lips were devoid of color, his gaze was completely unfocused, and his pupils were slightly dilated.

"Hey! Hey! What's wrong? Can you hear me? You... wait, you look like Bruce Wei En. God, you wouldn't happen to be his..."

Spider-Man moved closer to get a clear look at the boy's face. But just as he was about to further speculate on the boy's identity, the boy opposite him shook his head vigorously, swayed with a bit of dizziness, and collapsed powerlessly.

Spider-Man lunged forward to catch him. He glanced back at the Gotham City skyline; the most prominent building, known as Wei En Tower, had long since extinguished all its lights. Having stayed here for so long, Spider-Man knew very well that an ambulance wouldn't come at this hour.

He touched the side of the boy's neck to confirm his pulse was beating normally, then pulled back his eyelids to check his eyes; the eye movement and pupil state were also relatively normal. Next came the respiratory rate and heart rate, which felt slightly weak. Therefore, Spider-Man judged that he might be suffering from paroxysmal syncope caused by extreme exhaustion.

Spider-Man picked the boy up. He hesitated noticeably just as he lifted his leg, then turned and walked in the other direction.

Spider-Man brought little Bruce to the Batcave.

Batman was not in the Batcave at the moment, but he had given Spider-Man authorization to enter. This was not an unusual move; most of his Robins could enter and exit the Batcave freely, they just couldn't use most of the dangerous equipment there.

When little Bruce woke up, he found himself lying on an examination table. He instinctively tried to sit up, his muscles tense and his expression nervous, but soon the strange man with spider-like compound eyes on his mask walked over from the side and said.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not some mad scientist. You fainted, and I brought you to a safe place. I originally wanted to take you back to my temporary base, but it doesn't have complete medical examination equipment. Clearly, something is wrong with your body."

Little Bruce lay back on the table, somewhat powerlessly. He said in a dry voice, "It's not my body that has a problem; it's my brain."

"Usually, those are related." Spider-Man sighed softly. When he performed certain medical treatments, he was gentler than usual. He said like a patient doctor, "The physical examination results show you are too exhausted, which has caused your brainwave curve to fluctuate significantly and abnormally."

"I am tired, but that has nothing to do with it..."

"Listen, kid, I'm not trying to lecture you like your parents, but I really have to tell you: at your age, nothing is worth getting this tired over. Whether it's studying, life, or exploring unknown realms, going against the laws of physical growth and brain development won't do you any good."

Little Bruce opened his mouth slightly. His lips moved imperceptibly. Even though he didn't make a sound, at that instant, Spider-Man's spider-sense began to scream.

Spider-Man arched his back, his waist muscles tensing, and he jumped backward several meters, almost from a standstill. But nothing happened, which made him look around suspiciously, as if trying to find a crisis hidden in the air.

Little Bruce struggled to extend a finger to point at his own head and said, "The knowledge of the gods... is here... very dangerous... I need it... but it must be controlled..."

He spoke so vaguely that Spider-Man barely understood. He attributed little Bruce's current dazed and chaotic state to mental problems caused by exhaustion. After performing another brain scan, Spider-Man said, "I'm afraid you need to rest."

"I mean no offense, but..." Spider-Man drew out the sound, looking at little Bruce with some concern, and said, "Before that, can I ask you: does your condition have anything to do with your parents?"

Little Bruce squinted his eyes and nodded blankly. Of course, he was acutely aware at every moment that his parents were dead, but his pursuit of forbidden knowledge was precisely because he wanted to know what the world after death was really like. Therefore, he couldn't say that reaching this point had nothing to do with his parents.

But Spider-Man misunderstood. He thought, what could make a child this tired? Of course, it was the pressure from his parents. If this boy, who looked so much like Bruce Wei En, really was related to him and came from an extremely wealthy family, then his parents were very likely making him this exhausted at an age when he shouldn't be under such pressure, all because of his status as an heir.

This deduction was quite normal and reasonable. Spider-Man thought, if his original family was like a hell to him, then he couldn't just irresponsibly send him back. The actions of this child's parents had far exceeded the scope of education and involved abuse. So, regardless of what his relationship with Bruce Wei En was, Spider-Man believed they shouldn't meet for now.

Thus, he sighed and said, "You should know how bad your condition is. The owner of this base won't be back for a while. You can rest assured living here until your body recovers."

"I will find time to talk to Bruce Wei En. Although I don't know if it will work, I think he should be condemned for his wrong way of educating you. You should rest now."

After saying this, Spider-Man left the room, leaving little Bruce, whose mind was filled with terrifying whispers, lying on the examination table alone. Little Bruce knew how unorthodox his previous actions were; in other religions, being burned at the stake ten times wouldn't be enough.

But he still wasn't willing to give up that fleeting glimpse of forbidden knowledge he had seen in the hallucinations of the Outer Gods. It contained too many things he wanted to know: life, death, where humans come from, and where they go...

Little Bruce was quite young, so certain aspects of his personality hadn't fermented into something more paranoid due to years of isolation. But Bruce Wei En in every universe was actually the same; they all had seeds of paranoia in their hearts. Once they decided on something, they would never give up easily, and the more difficult it was, the more they would hold onto a ruthless determination.

Batman in the multiverse was almost never religious, not even in his childhood. Little Bruce now looked like he was bewitched by gods, but in fact, he was walking on a path completely different from that of a believer.

He didn't want to offer sacrifices in exchange for knowledge or complete tasks to seek answers; he was trying to understand the forbidden knowledge he saw with his own strength, attempting to forcibly parse it with human wisdom without wanting to pay any price. To be precise, he was plundering the gods.

What I see is mine, and what I can understand will surely be used by me. This was arrogant to the point of madness, but which Batman in which universe wasn't crazy? It was just that the direction of their madness was different.

Little Bruce fell into a hazy sleep, but the things in his dreams were even more terrifying. The whispers that only made him unable to concentrate while awake became real, strange, and terrifying in his dreams.

Suddenly, little Bruce was startled awake. Before the dizziness of falling from a massive black hole had completely dissipated, he saw a pair of bloodshot eyes staring straight at him.

When little Bruce's vision focused, he realized that this person who was almost lying on the examination table had a head of messy green hair, a pale, narrow, and elongated face, a bloody mouth smeared with exaggerated red lipstick, and a pair of bloodshot eyes with deep bags that looked like they hadn't slept in a year.

This uninvited guest who appeared suddenly looked even more dazed than little Bruce. After staring at little Bruce for a while, he suddenly let out a series of shrill laughs.

It was too piercing. This was the only thought that could emerge in little Bruce's chaotic mind. But immediately after, the terrifying whispers gradually weakened, and for a moment, little Bruce felt his brain return to normal operation.

Thus, he struggled to lift his upper body, stared tightly at this strange man, and said as if giving an order, "Quick, quick, hurry up!"

"You're not him... you're not Batman." The strange man's expression changed suddenly. The smile on his face faded, and his expression became mysterious and strange, clearly deep in thought.

He stared at little Bruce for a while longer, then said, "No, you are him. You are Bruce Wei En, and you are also Batman. But you are also not. You are going off the rails. What changed you?"

Suddenly, in little Bruce's field of vision, the green-haired strange man revealed a ferocious expression. His hands, like ghost claws, clamped onto little Bruce's neck and began to exert more and more force.

"Let me see what changed you!"

An angry roar echoed in little Bruce's ears, but the dizziness of suffocation left him completely unable to resist. As his own consciousness grew weaker, the whispers gradually became stronger. In his hallucination, little Bruce saw countless doors opening to him, and his soul was about to walk into them.

He should walk into them. If that was the place where people were destined to return after death, then his parents must be waiting for him behind the doors. This was the ending he deserved.

But suddenly, he felt the chill of sweat. When he woke up again, he found himself being carried on someone's shoulder. In a daze, a strand of green hair drifted before his eyes.

The strange man carrying him wasn't strong, but he seemed to possess immense power. He was walking down the stairs step by step, heading toward the darker underground, humming a strange tune.

He noticed that little Bruce had woken up, so he spoke in a tone completely different from his previous madness, sounding like a philosopher.

"I never thought there would be a bat that could weave a cocoon for itself. You are completing your metamorphosis. I will be honored to witness it all."

"If you can survive and grow wings, I will see the disqualified monster I've dreamed of. If you die in the cocoon, I will nail you to Batman's door and let him admire this exquisite specimen with me."

"I will not... become a monster..."

"Then let me see how deep the morality you can hold onto really is... At least I'm glad that some poor wretch in some universe no longer has the chance to change you with madness, because you are chasing madness yourself and letting it change you."

The jolting stopped, and little Bruce found himself thrown onto the ground. A figure turned and walked outside the railing. The green-haired strange man grabbed the railing with both hands, stared at little Bruce with an eager gaze, and said, "You just stay here and safely complete your metamorphosis. I will feed you with rich sacrifices and nutrients. No matter what, you will be an excellent reunion gift for Batman."

After saying this, he wanted to turn and leave, but suddenly heard a faint call from behind. When he turned his head again, little Bruce's blue eyes were focused on him, and he said.

"No sacrifices or nutrients... give me more, more... knowledge..."