Chapter 267: The No-Bat Event (Middle)

The rain in Gotham never stopped, and the thunder outside rumbled continuously; damp, cool air seeped through the window cracks, and the already cold coffee cast a reflection of lightning.

Hugo removed his glasses, rubbed his temples, and sat up straight from his desk; he glanced at the documents beside him and the cold coffee, thinking he really wasn't suited for late-night overtime—he always fell asleep.

At that moment, he heard a familiar voice echoing in the room: "Hugo has woken up again in his office; the coffee he brewed at noon is completely cold, but it doesn't matter—if he drinks this cup, he'll find a key hidden at the bottom, and what door does this key open?"

Hugo slowly reached for the coffee, lifted it, and drank it down; the cold coffee tasted awful, Hugo frowned, then felt a metallic object touch his lips—it was a key.

A key. What door would it open?

Hugo shook his head and searched left and right around his desk; he found only one locked drawer in the cabinet to his right. He inserted the key and turned it right—the drawer opened.

The voice spoke again: "Oh, looks like this is the key to the office cabinet drawer! Hugo is so clever!"

"Hugo pulled open the drawer and found a schedule inside; it read that he must reach Ward 302 for rounds at 9: 0…"

"Hugo is a dedicated doctor; he doesn't want to miss his rounds—but where is Room 302?"

Hugo opened the drawer, pulled out a sheet of paper, and saw one line written on it: "Proceed to Room 302 for rounds at 9: 0."

Hugo turned to look out the window; the voice spoke again: "Hugo glanced outside and saw it was overcast and rainy—he couldn't tell the time by the weather. It seems his problem now is finding a watch…"

Hugo turned his head, then looked down at his wrist; the voice added: "Hugo suddenly remembered he was wearing a watch on his wrist."

And there, on Hugo's wrist, appeared a watch—the time read 9: 7. The voice continued: "Damn! Too late! He only has three minutes to reach Room 302. Hugo knows he must move quickly!"

Hugo strode away from his desk and reached the door; he twisted the handle—it wouldn't open. The voice said again: "Undoubtedly, this is another door requiring a key. Hugo must search for it."

As Hugo began frantically rummaging through the room for the key, the voice kept whispering in his ear: "This is strange, isn't it? This isn't a game—why does every door need a specific key?"

"Honestly, I hate games where you have to solve puzzles every two steps—it's a complete waste of my life. Why not take a faster route? Like just kicking the door down?"

"Don't worry—you're rushing to do rounds for the patients' sake. It's late, everyone's gone home, no one will see you…"

Hugo froze his movements and stared at the door. It was just a wooden door; in Hugo's gaze, the door's surface rapidly aged, becoming unstable. He decided: why bother searching for a key when he could simply kick it down?

He stepped to the door, raised his foot, and kicked hard—just as his foot touched the door, it transformed into a giant red button. Instantly, alarms blared throughout the room, and emergency lights flashed wildly.

When Hugo's foot struck the button, it depressed. The wallpaper on the walls peeled away, revealing countless bombs. In a violent explosion, Hugo was blown to pieces.

The last image he saw before dying was himself standing outside the door, wearing a malicious grin.

Seeing Hugo return to the first floor, Victor asked: "This must be another special zone, right?"

"Correct. I call it the Chamber of Self-Control."

"What was that voice constantly misleading Hugo?"

"His name is Temptation."

Amid the confused glances of the others, Schiller began explaining again: "We live in society, so we must follow rules—but following rules isn't easy. People constantly face temptations."

"He lies, creates illusions, and slowly lures people into breaking rules. The temptation Hugo faced was mild—it merely simulated an ordinary work scenario, then guided him step by step to kick that button…"

"When I entered, he wasn't this gentle. Hundreds of layered traps were routine for him."

"So how do we leave? You said Temptation can set infinite traps, using every possible method to lure us in—how do we break through this floor?"

"There are many ways. Temptation creates illusions and traps, but they always have flaws. I can't explain the exact methods to you, but here's one correct example…"

"That same stair-climbing madman from before—he sat still the moment he entered this floor, chatted with Temptation nonstop until Temptation went insane, sobbing and running upstairs to complain. Then he passed."

Schiller turned his head toward Jack. Jack still ignored him.

"Alright, but now Hugo seems to have returned to the first floor again—what do we do now?"

Schiller sighed. Though Victor didn't know how a globe could sigh, he still heard Schiller's sigh, followed by: "Honestly, he's a bit disappointing… or did that madman's performance raise my expectations for challengers too high?"

"Forget it. I'll tell the elevator operator to teleport Hugo to a higher floor."

The torrential rain gradually lessened into a fine, chilling drizzle; countless raindrops fell through the twilight like golden dust drifting from the sky.

When Hugo awoke, he found himself tied to a chair, and a strangely shaped figure approached him.

His head was a cylinder, his body a cube, his arms and legs also cubes, and a pitch-black cloak hung from his back.

He extended one finger forward; Hugo saw his hand was shaped like a capital "C," fused to his arm like a wrench. He pointed behind Hugo and said: "Let him go, Joker! Or I'll make you regret it!"

Hugo strained to look back and saw another figure standing behind him, similarly shaped but wearing a purple suit, face painted with clown makeup. The Joker extended his own C-shaped hand and said: "Batman—it's time to choose. You…"