Chapter 3762: Fast and Furious (Eighteen)

The Agent's gun, already cocked, did not miss by even half a second.

He watched Elliot collapse, struck in the heart, and slowly lowered his arm. Behind Elliot, the shareholders, Talia, Harvey Dent, Jason Todd, Oswald Cobblepot, and finally Dick, who had just entered, all stared at Shiler in shock.

"FBI Special Agent Shiler Rodriguez," Shiler said expressionlessly. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation suspects Thomas Elliot is the murderer of the Elliot couple. I was ordered to investigate. During the confrontation, he refused to cooperate and assaulted an officer. I will charge him with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. Any questions?"

"You killed him!" Dent stepped forward, looking at Elliot's corpse on the ground, and shouted in disbelief, "Even if you were investigating, you couldn't just kill him!"

"I said, he assaulted an officer."

Dent looked at Shiler in disbelief, trying to find any trace of guilt on his face. But unfortunately, Shiler looked just like every other FBI special agent: he killed without blinking.

"Wait, Agent, you just said Thomas killed his own parents?! My God, how is that possible?"

"Thomas was only a child when the Elliot couple died. How could he commit such a brutal act? I never expected him to be that kind of person..."

"Could the Wei En couple's case also be..."

"Jesus, I felt something was wrong back then. We've been working with a murderer for so long; just thinking about it makes my back crawl!"

"Didn't you hear the Agent? He even dared to assault an officer! During the bridge bidding, I saw him throwing things in the preparation room. He's a violent maniac!"

The shareholders discussed among themselves, seemingly unable to believe Elliot's actions. But one word after another, they hammered home Elliot's guilt and confirmed his assault on the officer.

"Alright, everyone, calm down," Batman said. "I didn't believe it either when the Agent showed me the evidence. I never imagined my good friend Thomas could be this kind of person. The Elliot couple took me in when I was homeless; they were like my own parents, yet Thomas killed them. I really don't know how to express how I feel right now..."

"Oh, God, Bruce. You are the biggest victim. This is all just too terrible for you. Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, my depression has only just gotten better. The doctor specifically warned me not to be stimulated. I think I need to rest."

The shareholders tactfully retreated, leaving only a few interested parties who were unwilling to leave, including Jason, Dent, Cobblepot, and Talia and Dick, representing the League of Assassins and the Court of Owls, respectively.

Shiler looked at them with ill intent.

"You will all be subject to an FBI investigation," Shiler said before anyone else could speak. "If I were you, I'd hurry off to destroy the evidence instead of standing here foolishly, hoping to resurrect Elliot."

"What the hell is going on?!" Jason was clearly breaking down; he had no idea what had happened.

Arkham Batman looked down at Elliot's corpse, then at the gun in Shiler's hand, and said, "No safety."

The others looked at him. Jason asked, "What?"

"The gun in his hand has no safety."

"So?"

"From raising the arm to firing, it took less than a second. No one could have stopped him."

The group silently took a few steps back.

"Fine, Bruce. If he was responsible for that case back then, then he deserved it. But we still need to talk about the presidential candidacy." Talia reached out to Bruce and said, "We believe you are a better partner. I guarantee that everything will be legal, just as we supported Elliot before. We will also handle the negative fallout from Elliot's death; don't be impulsive, okay?"

"You should consider the Court of Owls instead," Dick said, arms crossed. "The League of Assassins' influence in the Americas is far inferior to that in Asia. The Court of Owls is the choice for the people of Cat Getan."

"I just want to ask," Cobblepot held out a hand, "no matter who becomes the head of Wei En Enterprises, our cooperation remains unchanged, right? If so, I would be very happy to see Wei En Enterprises return to its true master."

"That's what I think too," Jason said. "You must guarantee the continuation of the business cooperation between Wei En Enterprises and Red Hood. Don't tear up the contract just because the leadership changed. As for Elliot, screw him."

"How can you all be like this?!" Dent looked at them with disapproval. "There's clearly something wrong with what happened today, how can you..."

"How much do you know about the Wei En couple's case?" Shiler suddenly asked. "And the Elliot couple's? Why is it that after the deaths of two such well-known entrepreneurial couples, the murderer never faced proper justice, Mr. Justice?"

Dent's face turned ugly.

Talia and Dick struck almost simultaneously. With two swift motions, a blade slit a throat, and a talon pierced a heart.

"Let the past be the past," Dick said, looking at Dent's corpse. "Digging up cold cases does no one any good. Mr. Wei En, if you can't swallow this anger, the Court of Owls can help you kill the murderer."

"That won't be necessary." Talia walked over and placed a hand on Batman's shoulder. "The League of Assassins is dedicated to serving you, Mr. Wei En."

"I'm a bit tired," Batman said. "Let's discuss business and the old cases tomorrow."

The group was reluctant, but looking at one another, no one dared to be the first to speak, and they left one after another.

After only Batman remained in the office, the door to the lounge slowly opened. A thin, hunched figure walked out.

"Good evening, Alfred," Batman said. "Has he arrived?"

The elderly Alfred nodded slowly.

Batman heard movement on the windowsill. He turned his head, and a bolt of lightning cut through the rainy Cat Getan night, revealing a terrifying figure standing outside the window.

A freak wrapped in bandages walked into the light.

"Why go to such lengths?" Batman sighed. "I know what you want to ask. Why do those cold, cruel shareholders, those wicked criminals, seem to have suddenly changed their tune and stood on my side?"

The bandaged freak stepped into the light. His uniform looked somewhat like Batman's, but bandages were wrapped around all his exposed skin, making him look like a fusion of Batman and Hush.

"No, they haven't turned to me; they've only turned to the benefits I can bring them. I did better than Elliot."

The other did not speak, but Batman seemed to have mind-reading abilities as he continued, "You want to ask, I only showed my face at the shareholders' meeting, how could I have done better than him?"

Batman suddenly sneered, "In the eyes of those people, Elliot kept me locked in an asylum for decades without being able to kill me, while I returned and killed him in just a few hours. That's a clear judgment of ability."

Batman turned around, looked at the Hush-Batman with his blue eyes, and said, "If you hide in the darkness like a ghost and eliminate them one by one, you will indeed have your revenge. But what about Cat Getan?"

"Elliot's authoritarian rule is not a long-term solution. To restore true order to the city, it requires a wise ruler to govern for a long time. Besides you, who else has such ability?"

"Yes, you have no obligation to do so. But shouldn't the people who helped you survive in the asylum for decades enjoy a better life? Don't you want to repay them?"

"Believe me, Bruce. The best way to repay them is to rebuild the order of this city and make people's lives better. This is also what your parents would have wanted to see."

"... Who exactly are you?" The bandaged freak's voice was so hoarse it was almost impossible to tell it was Bruce.

"What about you?" Batman countered. "Are you a demon seeking revenge, or an angel seeking to repay a debt?"

"Neither," he replied. "I am Hush."

Arkham Batman and Shiler walked out of the office together. On the way out of Wei En Tower, Arkham Batman said, "Do you think there's any hope for this universe's Batman?"

Shiler walked on in silence. Once they entered the elevator, he seemed to react only then. "Sorry, I was just thinking, why did the Batman Who Laughs run to this universe? Is there something special here?"

"Although he looked like he was running in a panic, I don't think it's that simple," Arkham Batman said. "He has a certain ability to foresee the future; perhaps he had already guessed his failure in the previous universe. Coming here is likely to make up for that failure."

"Make up for it? With what?"

"This universe's Batman has his own peculiarities."

"For example?"

"He was locked in an asylum."

"You mean..."

They bypassed a corner of the corridor. Arkham Batman said in a low voice, "Almost all Bruce Waynes in the multiverse lost their parents in the same way. How many have you heard of being driven insane by the trauma?"

"That might have been Elliot's conspiracy."

"But the shareholders' attitude has proven that someone in Wei En Enterprises wanted to protect him. If they could protect him from being killed for so many years, they would have been even more strict with his care back then. If he wasn't truly mentally ill, they wouldn't have sent him to an asylum."

"You mean, he really went crazy?"

"At least during that period, he was. Regardless of whether he is now, he must have shown some abnormalities back then, forcing even the butler and shareholders who wanted to protect him to send him for treatment."

"But you aren't that fragile."

"Yes. This proves that what caused his mental breakdown might not have been his parents' death, but something else."

Shiler suddenly remembered the Bruce from the universe where Pride was located. At that time, Pride and Joker wanted to enter his mental world precisely because his mental state was unstable.

Shiler paused his steps.

Could Hush-Batman be one of the Laughing Bat's backups? Does he also have a Laughing Egg inside him?

Shiler turned and walked toward the elevator: "Quick! Go back and find Batman!"

Arkham Batman didn't know how much Shiler had deduced in that instant, so he asked, "What's going on?"

"The Batman Who Laughs cannot predict my actions. So even if he predicted his failure in the previous world, he would have thought it was you chasing him. And you don't kill."

"So?"

"Since you wouldn't kill him, he had no need to activate a backup. If he lured you here, it can only mean—he wants to transfer the backup."

Shiler's thoughts were like lightning, quickly clearing up everything. He said, "The Laughing Bat first made you fail your mission in the previous universe, knowing you wouldn't let it go, deliberately revealing his tracks, pretending to be defeated, and running to this universe, luring you here as well. Then, he transfers the Laughing Egg into your body."

"Why?"

"Because you are strong enough," Shiler said. "You are likely one of the strongest Batmen in the multiverse. He wants your body!"

?? It's starting!