Chapter 309: The Three Detectives (8)

Outside Gotham, on the side of a hill not marked on any map, beneath a steep cliff, a carefully disguised iron door was hidden beneath scattered rocks.

After multiple scans and verifications, Batman walked along the metal bridge inside the door; pentagonal arched portals supported the entrance to the Batcave, and the long metal bridge passed through several arches, extending deep into the mountain.

Inside the arches, cold-light tubes cast blue streaks across the bridge's surface; as Batman passed beneath them, the cold light streamed down his cape.

Beyond the metal bridge lay a lift platform; when it descended to its lowest point, it became clear the area was unfinished.

Opposite the lift was a massive cylindrical space divided into multiple levels; currently, only the bottom level and half of the second level had been completed. Along the outer edge of each level extended a walkway, lined with several doors.

It was obvious this tower-like structure was inspired by some architectural fantasy existing only in dreams; standing at its base and looking up, the stacked floors imposed an endless sense of oppression.

This place was not yet a true underground base—no strange artifacts, no curiosities—but when Batman stepped off the lift onto the second-floor walkway and opened one of the doors, countless surveillance screens filled the room.

Each screen represented a corner of Gotham; yet only two-thirds of the screens in this room glowed, the rest remained dark.

This proved Gotham's endless curiosity and destructive impulse—each dark screen meant a fixed camera had been broken.

Batman had been busy lately, so he hadn't yet repaired the cameras; even two-thirds of the screens monitored most of Gotham's buildings.

Batman narrowed his eyes and began searching.

About ten minutes ago, he received word from Jason that Dick had been kidnapped; Batman had to admit, upon hearing the news, his heart had trembled.

Batman also sensed that finding a nanny for Elsa wasn't his only reason for adopting Dick, nor was it simply to find an assistant; if anything, his aura and Dick's were perfectly aligned.

Though Batman disliked studying strange metaphysical theories, he found that when he was with Dick, the coldness and distance he felt with ordinary people as Batman never appeared between them—they seemed to share an innate understanding.

Zero Point Reading

Previously, he had insisted on sending Dick to boarding school, and when the school had been attacked, Batman had already hesitated; now, hearing Dick had been kidnapped, the flame of anger he hadn't felt in years reignited within him.

Batman narrowed his eyes, scanning every screen meticulously, leaving no detail unexamined; soon, his head stopped moving, fixing on a screen to his right.

For ease of reference, the surveillance screens were arranged geographically—the closer to the center, the closer to Gotham's downtown; the farther to the corners, the more remote the location.

The screen he now watched showed footage from the eastern edge of Gotham, between the third and fourth piers, from a single building.

The screens surrounding it were all dark, proving the cameras there had been severely damaged—not because the residents were cautious, but because this was Gotham's most notorious drug addict hangout; those addicts, high on something, kicked anything they saw, so the cameras broke quickly.

Seeing this location, Batman's fingers twitched; his face grew cold. Before he took off, his low voice echoed through the empty room, chillingly ominous.

"Constantine…"

The location on the screen was a club in the East End; due to surface damage in Gotham, the club had been closed for a long time.

One corner of the building's upper floor had collapsed; no one dared enter, but the sole remaining camera in the wall's corner had captured a man in a long trench coat carrying a child into the basement.

When Batman arrived, Dick lay on the basement floor; Batman approached, checked him—no wounds, contradicting Jason's report of blood at the kidnapping scene—and his shaking of Dick's body woke him.

Dick blinked, dazed; seeing Batman, he exhaled in relief. Batman asked: "Who kidnapped you?"

"... onstantine," Dick said, rubbing his forehead. "I was in Jason's underground base when suddenly he appeared from the corner—like magic."

"He tried to attack me, but I dodged—you know I'm not easy to handle. I grabbed a crowbar and fought him, broke his forehead, slashed his arm..."

"But in the end, he used something like a magical array to knock me out..."

As Batman surveyed the basement, the door creaked—Constantine descended the stairs, returning, and locked eyes with Batman; he turned to flee.

Batman moved faster; several bat-shaped shurikens flew past Constantine's ears and embedded in the door. Batman's low voice rang out: "Move again, and you're dead."

Constantine froze on the stairs, then slowly raised his arms, signaling he meant no harm: "I'd like to turn around."

Batman said nothing; Constantine assumed consent, and slowly turned to face him. Before Batman could speak, Constantine blurted: "Listen! I swear I meant no harm..."

Before he could finish, a fist the size of a sandbag filled his vision.

Ten minutes later, Batman tossed Constantine, now a limp rag, onto the floor. Constantine screamed—another bat-shuriken grazed his cheek and stuck in the ground; he fell silent. Batman asked: "Why kidnap Dick?"

"I'm investigating a case. Didn't you ask me to?"

Batman stared at Constantine. Constantine continued without waiting for a reply: "Didn't I tell you before? Laurenza Sanchez specializes in harvesting children's souls. Do you know how she extracts them?"

Batman remained silent. Constantine pressed on: "Have you ever heard this legend? On Halloween night, a beautiful woman dressed as a witch walks with a basket of candy. If a child wants her sweets, they must call her 'Mommy.'"

"When the child takes and eats the candy, they've made a pact with the Ghost Mother."

"Once the child calls the witch 'Mommy,' she can usurp ownership of the child's soul, truly becoming their mother, then sell the soul to the devil for what she needs..."

Batman suddenly understood. He turned to Dick: "Did you encounter this witch?"

Dick paused, thinking. "No... and..."

"I haven't been in Gotham long, but if someone dressed oddly walked the streets on Easter or any other night, demanding kids call them 'Mommy,' they'd get shot."

"Besides, Gotham kids don't just call strangers 'Mommy.' When I was a street kid, only the head of one block was called 'Mom and Dad.' Anyone who called someone else that got beaten to death."

"... ave you eaten anything strange lately?" Batman asked.

Dick shook his head, then remembered: "I did get a few candies recently—but they were given to me by a junior boss where I worked as a runner. And I didn't eat them..."

Batman turned back to Constantine. Constantine suddenly seemed to lose his story; he gave up struggling, sprawled flat, and offered Batman a smug grin before dissolving into ash.

At that moment, Batman's wrist alarm blared—a piercing, sustained tone warning him someone had breached Wayne Manor.

Batman looked at the pile of ash on the floor: "Using the same trick twice? You're at least a bold liar, Constantine..."

"Wait!" Dick struggled to his feet. "Didn't you say that alarm means someone broke into the manor? We have to get back—there's still... there's still..."

Dick repeated it several times, his tone slowing, then rising. He met Batman's gaze: "... here's still Elsa in the manor."

When Batman and Dick returned to Wayne Manor, Constantine lay sprawled in the center of the living room, just as before, beside him stood Elsa, grinning with sharp teeth.

Batman walked calmly to Constantine's side: "This scene feels familiar, doesn't it?"

Constantine's chest heaved once, then collapsed like a deflated balloon. His voice dripped with exhaustion.

"... oes Gotham have no normal people at all???"

Batman stepped forward, grabbed Constantine's collar, dragged him into the basement, and cuffed him. Constantine's first words were: "Got any cigarettes?"

But Batman wasn't Schiller. His interrogation relied on physical therapy—he crushed Constantine's arm joints by hand. Constantine screamed, gasping, looked up at Batman: "Damn, kid..."

"Before, I wouldn't have minded playing with you. But now, I have real business."

As he spoke, a glowing orb flew from Constantine's chest and vanished instantly into the basement. Batman watched its path—it led to the cell where he imprisoned Sinestro.

The moment Batman stepped out of the cell, Sinestro in the adjacent cell activated his teleportation and vanished.

Batman returned to Constantine's cell, face dark. He broke Constantine's knee joints—but this time, Constantine didn't scream. He lay still, as if high, speaking in a dreamy tone:

"Thank you, Professor Schiller. You taught me a new psychological insight—perfectly useful now..."

Before Batman could grasp his meaning, Constantine on the floor dissolved into ash. In the basement club of the East End, a figure slowly rose from the pile of ash. Constantine adjusted his tie, muttering:

"... his is Gotham? Interesting."

Suddenly, a voice spoke:

"Is that so?"

Constantine froze—something cylindrical pressed against his back. He heard the voice behind him say:

"Then... welcome to Gotham."