Chapter 1906: U: Beyond the Great Event (32)

The Joker's lighter is a very important item in Batman's memory, because they usually ignite the fuse of a bomb, or some flammable material capable of burning down an entire building.

Lord Superman cannot say that Batman is entirely without fear of this, but it is more like a stress response that has settled into instinct. If it were the Batman he knows, the Joker's spine would have been snapped four times over by now.

But right now, Bruce, biting on an unlit cigarette, sits down in the chair next to Arthur, leans his body forward, one hand shielding the flame, the other pressing on the armrest.

Arthur also leans forward, bringing the lit end of his cigarette, which is almost smoked to the filter, to Bruce's.

Just the second after the cigarette is lit, a "Swish!" of red light flashes by, and the cigarettes hanging from both their mouths turn into ash.

Two pairs of cross-eyed gazes stare blankly at the black smoke rising before them.

"What are you doing?!" Bruce looks up, staring at Lord Superman in disbelief, as if looking at an alien.

Lord Superman is also stunned by his matter-of-fact attitude. Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?

"This cigarette has marijuana in it!"

"I know."

Lord Superman is choked up again.

For the first time in his life, Superman feels that coming to this game alone is quite helpless.

Bruce turns back, leans against the chair, and says in a slightly lighthearted tone, "I just wanted to refresh my mind. Are you from an 'illegal state'?"

Lord Superman frowns deeply. It could be said that if not for the resistance of his muscles, those two resolute eyebrows would have twisted into a braid.

Lord Superman is someone who values rules quite highly. If categorized by Western alignments, he belongs to the conservative faction. On Earth-50, which he rules, let alone drugs, even non-addictive medications are rationed down to the gram. The phenomenon of drug abuse has been completely eradicated, and addicts have long since gone extinct.

But what is up with this Batman? Why does he look so much like a teenager who skipped school on a weekday evening, hanging out in groups on the street with hands in pockets, howling, throwing unextinguished cigarette butts into trash heaps to see who can burn the bin first?

Wait, are all Batmen orphans? Could it be that this one isn't? Is Bruce Wayne who didn't become Batman just like this?

Looking at Bruce, who is chatting and laughing with the Joker, a complex emotion suddenly rises in Lord Superman's heart.

Lord Superman's feelings toward the Batman of his own Earth are already very complex.

The plot on the Earth where Lord Superman resides is quite simple: Luthor killed the Flash and even successfully ran for president. Superman was furious and killed Luthor.

And perhaps somewhat beyond common sense, the Batman of this universe, commonly known as Grey Batman, actually supported Lord Superman's actions. His original words were roughly, "Someone has to do it."

Afterward, Superman discovered that this clean and efficient method was very useful, so he formed the Justice Lords team, adopting violent means to rule the world. All criminals were killed, and any criminal behavior outside the rules was severely punished.

Up until this stage, Grey Batman still supported Lord Superman, but it was probably recently, before Lord Superman participated in the game, that he felt something different.

Lord Superman wanted to spread justice further. He hoped Batman would open a portal for him so they could go and punish the evil in more universes.

Batman did not refuse, but Lord Superman could feel his attitude had changed; he seemed no longer willing to do so.

Lord Superman's psychology is actually easy to understand: if not for your support, I wouldn't have reached this point today, but now that we have reached this point together, do you still want to stand on the moral high ground to condemn my atrocities?

Of course, Batman hasn't made any substantial moves of betrayal yet, but Lord Superman already knows he will sooner or later, because this is Batman.

He has the power and the determination to break everything, yet he is always unable to break his final cage—the cage named Batman.

In Lord Superman's view, that bat-suit is like a cruel instrument of torture made of thorns; it is constantly interrogating Batman's heart, telling him he cannot sit idly by while atrocities continue, urging him to commit acts of betrayal.

So Lord Superman naturally thinks, if there were one extra ticket, would you come with me—if you hadn't put on this suit back then, would we have a more perfect ruling structure and a better human future now?

At this very moment, Lord Superman sees a younger Batman. Lord Superman doesn't feel the profound seriousness and deep pain in him that he feels in Batman, which naturally piques his interest.

But now, it looks like it would be better if he were serious.

A gentleman who insists on his principles to an excessive degree due to a painful past and is tormented by his conscience, versus a crazy teenager who has never been beaten by society, knows no fear, and dares to do anything—which one would you choose?

Lord Superman is just a bit violent, not lacking in intelligence.

A betraying Batman only opposes his violent means, but wouldn't a crazy Batman set the universe on fire?

Lord Superman has another trait, which is that he actually pursues justice too, just slightly overcorrected, and his methods are relatively violent, but if placed on a DC Earth, it wouldn't be considered too out of the ordinary.

Like other Supermen, he cannot tolerate criminal behavior, and even less can he sit by and watch the universe be destroyed. But if this crazy Batman is allowed to continue developing, can the universe still have a good outcome?

What's even more terrifying is, if this Batman does drugs, then truly no one can imagine what a high Batman could do. The Joker is also a rational madness, but an addict is truly crazy.

Lord Superman suddenly can't sit still. He looks straight at Bruce and says, "Put your hand away, or I will cut it off. I mean both of yours!"

Just then, Bruce reaches out to ask Constantine for a cigarette, and Constantine is actually planning to give him one. Just as this pair of "crouching tiger and hidden dragon" is in the middle of the handover, they are met with Lord Superman's murderous gaze.

Bruce looks back at him, his movement stopping as if testing him. Only when he sees the red light in Lord Superman's eyes does he reluctantly withdraw his hand, coughing twice, seemingly wanting to turn the page by bringing the topic back on track.

"Allow me to introduce to everyone: this Dr. Schiller you just saw on the screen is my psychology professor, Schiller Rodriguez, and also a world-renowned master of psychology."

"I am very honored to have spent a fulfilling university time under his guidance, and during my graduate studies, I was also fortunate to receive his instruction, and I am currently planning to apply for doctoral candidacy under his name to continue deeper academic research."

As soon as these words are out, the other three are all stunned.

Constantine coughs heavily several times. This time he might have truly coughed up a few fragments of his lungs, his entire palm covered in blood. It is only after Owen hands him a few tissues that he saves what little image he had left.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough! Did I hear that right? You're saying this murderer is your psychology professor? He taught you for four years plus three years, and you're planning to study for who knows how many more years???"

Bruce nods lightly, then, as if just remembering, holds up a finger and says, "Oh, right, he is also one of the Jokers in our universe."

Now it's Lord Superman's turn to cough.

"'One of'???" Lord Superman repeats Bruce's phrasing. He stares tightly at Bruce's face and asks, "How many Jokers are there in your universe?"

"About five or six, I guess." Bruce calculates, tapping his chin with his finger. "They aren't full-time Jokers, nor are they excellent comedians like Mr. Arthur. Besides a psychology professor, there are also a truck driver, another world's richest man, a vampire progenitor, and so on."

Lord Superman's super-brain is buzzing.

"Wait a second." He reaches out a hand, flicks his cape back, truly turns around to face Bruce, and says, "Are you sure you didn't take a hit before coming here? What the hell is a vampire progenitor?"

"Doesn't your world have Cain?" Bruce raises an eyebrow and says, "Due to some complete coincidences, he became a Joker, but it didn't last very long; he disappeared not long after."

"Wait!" Lord Superman has to fully utilize his super-brain to understand this complex relationship. He says, "Batman once said he and the Joker are arch-enemies, but if you aren't Batman..."

"Who said I'm not Batman?" Bruce interrupts him and says, "I have the bat-gear, I just didn't wear it. I was standing on a rooftop exercising Batman's mission when I came here."

"Standing on a rooftop exercising Batman's mission?"

Speaking of this, Bruce sighs, as if filled with endless worries, and says, "Yeah, there were an unusually large number of people taking photos that day. I stood there for over three hours, and people kept coming one after another."

"I would have liked to let someone else impersonate me, or put a robot up there, but that group of fans has eyes too sharp. Even a slight misalignment in muscle texture can be detected, so I had to do it myself."

Lord Superman's super-brain is not enough.

He reaches out another hand to stop Bruce's continued output and says, "You mean to say that in your universe, Batman is actually something like an idol star, and your daily job is wearing the bat-suit for people to take photos?"

"Uh, not entirely." Bruce's words just made Lord Superman feel a bit relieved, but then he immediately adds, "Occasionally I also post updates on private websites to interact with fans, promoting bat-merchandise and such."

"You even sell merchandise?!!!"

Bruce nods, reaches into the front pocket of his hoodie, fumbles around, pulls out a shiny little metal piece, throws it to Lord Superman, and says, "The latest keychain, a sample just sent from the factory, hasn't even been sold yet."

Lord Superman looks at the little metal piece like an "old man looking at a smartphone on the subway," moving it close and then far, seemingly completely forgetting to use his super-vision.

"How much does this thing sell for?" Lord Superman asks with some disdain.

"This is a limited edition, only 2,000 sold worldwide, 50 dollars each."

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!!"

Three violent coughs overlap. Host Owen doesn't even know who to hand the tissues to for a moment.

Lord Superman remembers his super-vision now, but even with his super-vision used at full power, looking left and right, this thing is just an extremely ordinary stainless steel bat-shaped metal piece, neither made of gold nor any precious gemstone.

"This thing sells for 50 dollars?! Why don't you just go rob someone?!" Constantine is the first to raise his voice.

"Includes a priority purchase qualification for the Sex Pistols music festival tickets."

"Give me ten first!"

"Only a crazy person would..." Arthur starts.

"Includes a purchase qualification for your comedy performance tickets. At least 20 million people over the ten-day music festival."

"A priceless treasure!"

Bruce spreads his hands.

Lord Superman silently covers his eyes with his hand.

Fine, the situation is worse than he imagined. The crazy Batman seems to still possess super-intelligence, but it's completely not used on the right path. In short, this bat is also a profiteer. ===== CHAPTER 1907 =====