Chapter 3288: The Weight of the Bat

Batman does not want Superman to hug him, and it is not out of shyness or some psychological resistance to physical contact.

The logic is the same as not wanting a Tyrannosaurus rex to hug you.

Facing a gargantuan creature that could send you flying with a mere twitch of a hair, no normal person would want any physical contact with him. What kind of sane bat would want to hug the sun?!

Batman does have a bit of paranoid delusion, but not wanting close contact with Superman is entirely out of a human instinct for self-preservation.

This guy's strength is too terrifying. If his arm used even one-hundred-thousandth more force, Batman would be turned into a pulp of meat on the spot.

Batman understands Superman too well; this type of person will just take an inch and take a mile. If you let him hug you once, he'll want to hug you every time you meet in the future. What if he loses control one day?

You wouldn't go dashing into the middle of the road every day just because cars have brakes, would you?

No normal person would do that, right?

But unfortunately, Bruce is not normal.

Batman even suspects whether his self from another universe has never seen Superman, or if he has never seen Superman fight crime.

With one punch from Superman, aliens and their ships are turned directly into flat textures. A planet as big as Earth is like a kettlebell in his hands; he could swing it around and throw it straight out of the galaxy.

Even the Joker, with his mushy brain, would know not to make easy contact with someone like that, right? Has Bruce really been taking too much medicine?

Batman completely overturned his previous plan. Sharing an identity with Bruce is too dangerous. If he dares to hug Superman today, I don't even dare to imagine what he might hug tomorrow.

But the problem is, if he wants to expel Bruce from the identity of Batman, he has to explain where Bruce came from. Yet he doesn't want anyone to know the secrets of the Multiverse and the Battle Realm.

"Otherwise, I'll just expel myself from the identity of Batman," Batman thought.

But he clearly still underestimated Bruce's power.

Clark said with great grievance: "I know the plan isn't going smoothly, and it might be difficult for you. If you don't want to explain, I won't force you. But you were the one who told me to take the data and keep it myself; now that you won't let me do that, you should at least give me a reason, right?"

"Fine, if you don't want to give a reason, then you don't have to be so cold to me. I'm not the one who brought you trouble. You can't lay the blame on me when I've done nothing wrong; that's not fair..."

Batman, who has never believed in God, really wants to ask God right now what exactly that lunatic Bruce said to Superman.

What does he mean by cold? Batman is utterly baffled. Haven't I always been like this? And what is this "warmth" you speak of?

Batman feels like he is really looking for trouble. He knows the answer won't be anything pleasant, but he just wants to ask.

"You think I'm cold?" Batman asked.

"I don't think so. I just... I just don't understand why you're suddenly like this again. I clearly didn't do anything."

"But your judgment is poor," Batman thought to himself.

"Now is not the time to talk about this." Batman prepared to use his old method to brush it off. He said, "Give me the data first, and I'll explain it to you later."

Batman walked toward him, but Clark actually took a few steps back and said, "No, I won't give it to you. I suspect you're an impostor."

Batman really had to use a lot of effort to refrain from sighing. When he saw Bruce, he should have expected that a day like this would come. But when this day truly arrived, he was still utterly baffled.

He has always been like this, and Bruce is clearly not right. Yet the moment Superman and Bruce met, not only did he not suspect anything, he even felt that Bruce was the real one. Isn't this absurd?

Batman suddenly thought, could it be that in Superman's heart, he has always been like Bruce?

At the thought of the probability of this being true, Batman felt a chill down his spine. What kind of structure must Superman's brain have to see the same traits in him as in Bruce?

This is probably one of the unsolved mysteries of Krypton.

Batman didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, but Clark clearly didn't want to give up on communicating. He said, "I apologize again for not being by your side for the past while. If you still mind this, then I promise it won't happen again."

"There's no need for that." Batman could only say this. He certainly doesn't want Superman coming to Cat Getan every day.

But these words meant something else in Clark's eyes. Clark looked into Batman's eyes and said, "Bruce, you are more fragile than you think. Why are you never willing to admit this?"

These words successfully ignited Batman's emotions. He looked at Clark coldly and said, "Aren't humans all fragile in your eyes? You don't even need to lift a finger to kill them easily."

"You know that's not what I meant. I'm not referring to physical strength, but mental strength. You are not nearly as strong and firm as you imagine yourself to be, but you insist on thinking you are."

Clark stepped forward and said, "Someone who feels not a shred of sadness or despair over the death of a loved one is not strong, but cold and heartless. If you insist on acting like this, you will eventually lose everyone who loves you."

"Cat Getan is a terrible city. Feeling sad about the situation here is a sign of compassion, not weakness. Imagining the work you need to complete and feeling disbelief and exhaustion is a sign of normal intelligence, not laziness."

"Batman, why do you never understand that as long as you are willing, many people will come to help you? We have waited a long time for this, and you are only using your pretense of strength to accuse us of being cold, cowardly, and incompetent."

"That is not a pretense!" Batman raised his voice and said, "That is who I am. Why can't I live as myself?"

"Because you just can't, you can't do it." Clark said, louder than him, "If you were truly as fearless and omnipotent as you imagine, Cat Getan wouldn't be the way it is today!"

"So you still think I'm incompetent?!" Batman stared tightly into his eyes, almost roaring, "You also think the Joker is right, and everything I've done is wrong?!"

"You know perfectly well this has nothing to do with the Joker." Clark said, not showing any weakness, "The way you are obsessed with arguing about right and wrong right now is exactly what shows how fragile you are. If you firmly believed you were right, you wouldn't need to ask me over and over, you wouldn't need to ask anyone."

Batman's hands dropped. The force that seemed to be pinning his facial muscles together suddenly dissipated. His features seemed to be dissolving and flowing downward.

"Yes, if I am the kind of fragile coward you say I am, what do you intend to do? Choose someone else to replace me?"

"Weakness has never been an obstacle; arrogance is." Clark said, "Fragile species become strong precisely because they need to protect their own fragility with all their might. This process is a great miracle of life. As a bystander, I only feel envy. And you are a participant and a creator; you should feel honored."

"It is precisely because you are a fragile human, without an indestructible body, that you need to forge a suit of armor for yourself. It is because you don't have an unshakable spirit that you need to constantly reflect and explore yourself, to find the path and the truth."

"The efforts you've made have ultimately made you Batman. But that is just a result. Regardless of whether the result truly had an effect, the entire process is precisely the proof of humans forging greatness from weakness. It is the fundamental reason why I admire Batman. Why would you feel ashamed of this?"

For a moment, Batman saw the sun come out in Cat Getan.

He turned his head away, finally recalling in his heart why he was so unwilling to see Superman. Every time this happened, he would feel as if he had turned from a bat into a rat in the gutter.

Considering that Superman is still an alien, an alien persuading a human to admit he is human and demanding he feel proud of his human identity—is there anything more absurd in the world than this?

Batman doesn't want the data in Superman's hands at all now. If he wants to write it, let him write it. If someone in this world must be melted by the sun, then let the super-criminals make this great sacrifice.

Batman wanted to leave, but it was already too late.

The Pale Knight, Gordon, and a man wearing an FBI uniform rushed into Wei En Manor together.

Although it wasn't raining, everyone could see that the atmosphere in the hall of Wei En Manor at this moment was not exactly harmonious.

Because they had just heard this shocking news from Schiller, the few who had just arrived naturally took this disharmonious atmosphere as Batman and Clark discussing the gambling ring.

"I'm sorry..." Gordon started to say.

"I know this is hard to accept." The Pale Knight also said, "I think I should bear some responsibility."

"Regardless, we cannot jump to conclusions." Chandler was still biting the bullet and saying, "Are you sure you have sufficient evidence? This is no small matter."

Clark thought of Batman just saying that things weren't going smoothly, so these few people must be the helpers he found. He thought that since they were all his own people, there was no point in beating around the bush; it would be better to get straight to the point.

"I just went to Arkham Asylum and saw those traps that could be called insane. This is unquestionable evidence."

"Did you take pictures?" The Pale Knight asked.

In this regard, Clark appeared quite vigilant. He said, "Before it hits the papers, I won't tell you anything. I can only guarantee to restore the truth of the facts as much as possible."

"Wait a minute!" Chandler hurriedly spoke up, "Are you planning to expose it directly? Do you know the consequences of doing this?"

"Are you afraid?" The Pale Knight asked coldly, "Is that all the guts the FBI has?"

Chandler's mouth was full of bitterness. He said, "This kind of scandal that could deal a fatal blow to stock prices will make those people chase you down like madmen. And it will be a fight to the death; I don't even know which newspaper would dare to help you publish such news."

"That won't require your concern." Clark said.

"I think we can conduct a synchronized arrest." Gordon said, putting his hands into his trouser pockets, "Arrange for people to lie in wait before it hits the papers; spread the news and arrest the targets at the same time. At the very least, it can ensure the public won't blame the police for their efficiency."

"Do you have enough manpower?" The Pale Knight asked, "That's not one or two, but several hundred targets, living in different heavily guarded manors. Each one has at least several tunnels, and some even have helicopters."

Gordon, of course, had no confidence at all, otherwise he wouldn't have needed to come find Batman. In his view, since Batman dared to expose it, he must have made foolproof preparations for the arrests. He only needed to cooperate.

But unfortunately, among those present, only Batman was still out of the loop.

Yet everyone assumed he was the initiator of the plan. Out of trust in Batman's plan, they all readied their skills and took their positions, just waiting for Batman's order to start the team fight and win this guaranteed victory.

Batman's silence was taken by them as being full of confidence. And Batman's hesitation before speaking caused him to miss the best time to ask.

By the time he reacted, everyone had already discussed it and then dispersed. Clark went to write the press release, Gordon went to arrange the arrests, Chandler went to call his colleagues, and the Pale Knight went to coordinate logistics.

In this plan formulated by Batman, only Batman himself was left idle. He wanted to cooperate but had no way to start, and wanted to ask but no one answered.

This Cat Getan train, which had been running wild because its engine was broken, finally became a ship of a new era.

Batman, holding an old ticket, couldn't find his seat and could only stand alone and lost in the familiar carriage, like a remnant of the old days who still hadn't recognized reality, his stubbornness becoming sorrowful.