Chapter 450: Scream Poem Return (Part 1)

Batman didn't wait too long. He turned and wanted to walk out of the surveillance room, then go to stop the Joker's conspiracy. But just then, the surveillance room door, which was originally open, suddenly closed.

Just like the doors of all rooms underground, the surveillance room door was also all-metal and explosion-proof. Batman threw a few micro-bombs at it, but could only leave a little scorched mark on the door, unable to cause more damage.

Batman was very sure that the surveillance room door being suddenly closed was definitely not an accident. But he didn't see the Joker in the screen make any extra movements, meaning this door might not have been closed by him through remote control. The person who closed the door was someone else.

Because the Joker in the screen kept talking, Batman couldn't be completely sure whether footsteps had come during this period. If this was really the case, it meant the Joker had accomplices.

"The Point Guard is Here"

Batman frowned and thought. He thought that before, they were hunted by agents and circled the manor several times. During this time, the Joker should have been sitting in the surveillance room, observing their situation in real-time, because the agents received information very timely, which could prove that the Joker was in the surveillance room during that time.

After the agents stopped chasing them, they formulated the plan to search for the entrance on the first floor. Immediately after, Batman began to use the helicopter parts to make bombs, and at the same time, the Joker found Lex and Clark and kidnapped the two of them.

Looking at it this way, the timeline matches up. But there was a very big loophole in this, that is, if the Joker kidnapped Lex and Clark during the time Batman was making the bomb, then at what time was his bomb made?

Batman saw very clearly that the bomb that made the noise and attracted the residents out before wasn't small. Although the composition was relatively simple, it took a certain amount of time to make, not to mention the bomb tied to the roof beam.

These were both very obvious homemade bombs, and there was no possibility of moving finished products directly. Batman spent some time making the bomb that blasted out the underground exit. He didn't believe the Joker could make two bombs in the same time as him, not to mention subduing Lex and Clark.

Lex alone would be fine, but Clark wasn't so easy to deal with. And, if his guess was correct, Lex wasn't on the first floor either. So, whether the Joker made the bomb first or caught the two people first, he had to shuttle between different floors. Counting the time to rush back and forth, it was absolutely too late.

The Joker had accomplices? Who would it be? Why help the Joker?

Batman hadn't thought of the answer to this question yet, when he heard the Joker in the screen holding that button and saying:

"Before I start the introduction, I must say to a certain audience who is most willing to cheer for me, you had better honestly stay there and be a good audience."

"If you want to rush onto the stage to interrupt the great performance, then the angry Joker will immediately press the button and give this performance the most humorous and grand ending!"

Batman's finger pressing on the door paused. He still turned back and continued to keep his gaze on the screen.

Because he saw that the Kryptonite tied to Clark's chest looked like it was tied very tightly, but because the crystal itself was irregular, and the rope was just wrapped around a few sharp corners of the stone, it could be clearly seen that because the center of gravity was not right, the rope passing through two of the sharp corners had already started to loosen somewhat.

Clark's chest heaved non-stop. He was now in extreme pain, not only because of the Kryptonite tied to his chest, but also because of the choice he had made before.

At this time, the Joker's voice came from the ground. His tone carried a trace of relaxation and happiness, as if he were reciting a short opening poem.

"First of all, what I want to introduce to you is this one—Clark Kent."

"As you can see, he is handsome, tall, and dashing. I can also tell you that, at the same time, he is also very righteous and kind."

"Seeing the explosion in the reception room, he would rush to rescue from far away. Hearing that a friend is in danger, he would lend a helping hand. At the same time, he is also a freshman at Metropolis University, with excellent grades, good performance, and has a bright future..."

"Of course, I have to mention his family background. He comes from a small town in Kansas, his family owns a farm, his parents are loving, and life is happy..."

Words of praise kept pouring out of the Joker's mouth. He praised Clark to the skies, repeatedly emphasizing how excellent, kind, and righteous he was.

But just then, Batman saw that a certain room in the picture suddenly turned into a blue, non-stop flashing small square. When the blue square flashed, there was a line of white letters in the center of the blue square, which said "Do Not Disturb."

He knew that this was someone in the room pressing the "Do Not Disturb" button, meaning he chose to vote for Clark Kent.

Batman didn't feel surprised. This banquet invited many people. Besides business celebrities, there were also many people from the entertainment industry. Not all of them had received higher education, and everyone's tendencies and personalities were different. It wouldn't be surprising if someone became the first bird to stick its head out.

Moreover, many of them didn't know Clark. Hearing the Joker praise Clark like this, they would inevitably have a rebellious psychology, feeling that this was actually a conspiracy of this madman.

Soon, more and more blue squares lit up. Until almost all the guest room screens lit up with blue squares, Batman saw many people holding phones while shouting loudly, seemingly wanting their voices to pass through the walls and be heard by the next room.

Through the mouth shapes, Batman could know what they said.

"Damn it! Definitely vote for him! Don't tell me you want to kill old Luthor's son? He won't let us go!"

"Where exactly did old Luthor go? His son was kidnapped, and he doesn't even care?!"

"Ghost knows if this guy named Clark is an accomplice of that madman, and I don't believe anyone can really be as perfect as he praised."

"I know little Luthor. He is a poor little thing suffering from autism, and he is still young. He might have to inherit the Luthor Group in the future. We can't kill him..."

"We can't kill little Luthor. He is old Luthor's only son. If he inherits the Luthor Group in the future, he will definitely be far worse than his father. If he dies, and old Luthor finds another more powerful successor, that would be troublesome!"

Just like this, almost all rooms started to have blue flashes. That cold light fell on Batman's mask. The information in their words was conveyed to Batman's brain, and merged with the praise constantly pouring out of the Joker's mouth, just like an entire complete world was suddenly split into two halves.

One side was praise, the other side was murderous intent. Two completely different emotions surrounded Batman.

This was a strange and absurd scene. All the actors on this stage seemed to be performing their own parts. The Joker was wildly praising Clark, but the other supporting roles didn't appreciate his kindness, stubbornly making their own decisions.

But they seemed to have thousands of threads of connection again. Everyone was observing the other's reaction, and then making the decision they thought was right.

Soon, Batman discovered that many people who pressed the button for the first time started to become angry. They held the phone and said loudly:

"It's not that I wanted to press it; I was forced to!"

"That madman said if we didn't press the button, he would let radiation leak and let us all get cancer. You don't know how painful cancer is!"

"My father died of late-stage lung cancer. In the last few days he was alive, he could only rely on painkillers to maintain his life. That was too painful. I don't want to become like him!"

"What did I do wrong? I just want to live. Why can't I press it?"

"He is just a college student. So what if his studies are good? How much achievement can he have in the future? Maybe he will still roll home to farm. There is one less farmer in this world, one less farmer!"

"I have a company worth tens of millions, and so many employees waiting for me to support. I am more important than him!"

"Why is he tied up there, while I am the one making the choices? Because I am the Lord's chosen, blame the Lord for not choosing him; the cast-off deserves to die!"

Batman just stood here, watching their corners of the mouth pulled down hard, eyes hung high, and because of speaking loudly, the spray of saliva, watching them red-faced and arguing for themselves, scratching their ears and cheeks to think of reasonable excuses.

In this scene, Batman suddenly had that strange feeling. They were so into the play, even when facing this kind of situation, they could use their smart brains to justify themselves.

They were so serious and earnest, going to put a layer of reasonable coat on this absurd comedy performance.

Are these people victims? Perhaps they are, Batman thought.

When those full-screen blue squares flashed, that kind of cold light shone on Batman's eyes, flowing down from his eyelashes, like icicles under the eaves in a melting snow day.

At this time, he couldn't help but think, why are they so serious?

Batman shook his head, throwing those thoughts away. This kind of scene was still not enough to shake him. He was no longer the Batman who had just started.

He took out the equipment from his Batman belt and started trying to pry the door. Although the Joker threatened that if he left, he would press the button, he couldn't really sit still and do nothing. That wasn't Batman's style.

Soon, the Joker's actions in the screen confirmed Batman's previous guess. He should have accomplices, because the Joker's other hand picked up another phone. He said "uh-huh" to the other side a few times, and then raised his tone and said:

"It seems that many people have made their choice. They chose—Clark Kent!"

"You chose very well! You are about to send a good person with excellent character and learning to the bomb, and then let the bomb blow his head into a bloody mess!"

"I can give you a chance to regret it, as long as you press another button, the result will change... You don't intend to do that? Really don't?... Oh, alright."

"Wait!" The Joker suddenly used a puzzled tone. He put another phone to his ear, said "hello" to the other side a few times, and then said:

"Emergency communication! Emergency communication! We learned from an unknown but reliable informant that Lionel Luthor is dead!"

"That is the friend we are hanging, Lex Luthor's father, the controller of the Luthor Group, he is dead!" ===== CHAPTER 451 =====

"And that is our friend currently being hung up, Lex Luthor's father, the controller of the Luthor Group—he is dead!"