Chapter 4943: There Is No Batman Here (Forty-Eight)

This is a Luthor form born from a lab accident. The incident at the time could be called a pile-up; anyway, after twists and turns, it directly produced what may be the physically strongest Luthor form — Joker Luthor with cryogenic powers.

However, Lex has never liked cyborgs, so this form wasn't maintained for long before he reverted it himself. Although his body still contains cryogenic power now, even more like the classic version of Mr. Freeze than the current Victor Fries, he doesn't normally use it, and no difference can be seen from the outside. This form has already been forgotten in the river of history.

Who knows where Brainiac dug this up from, but he seemed to find this form interesting, so he designed it into a minor boss. Perhaps precisely because of this, the Physics Department teaching building isn't hard to enter at all.

The Agent never intended to fight him head-on; after discovering he was really there, he just dragged him outward. Then he discovered that the zone boss really could be dragged out, and this Cryo Joker Luthor's attack desire was quite strong, but he had no magic or occult powers — he really was the optimal Pokémon.

Humans are most keen on playing cricket-fighting in every game. In any game where you can freely kite mobs, there's no one who wouldn't want to drag two monsters together for a showdown at the Purple Forbidden Peak. If you could tie up a monster and throw it into another monster's territory, even if you could beat it head-on, there would absolutely be many people who'd choose this flashier method. Beast-baiting is human nature.

After dragging Cryo Joker Luthor out, the Agent didn't bother with him anymore; he increased speed, dropped aggro, returned to the vehicle, and said: "It'll work, let's ferry one over first to test."

They drove back to the North District, called the others, especially Polaris, because the most critical part of his plan was — someone had to drag the monster into the truck.

The truck has only one entrance; after dragging the monster in, you inevitably have to face the monster head-on, and still bypass it to exit through that door. This requires the person dragging the monster to be able to shift forms, and Polaris happens to be able to.

This time they didn't bring too many people; besides the Agent and Deathstroke, one Red Robin, one Polaris — four people headed for the West District.

When the car arrived, the Agent discovered with some surprise that Cryo Joker Luthor hadn't returned to the physics lab. He had thought they'd have to kite him all over again, but in reality this guy was just lingering around the previous drop spot, wandering there continuously.

This gave the Agent a bold idea, but he didn't say it for now. Polaris got out of the car, glanced at the other, and fired a hand cannon to draw Cryo Joker Luthor over.

Seeing him come over, Polaris rushed into the truck cargo hold. Cryo Joker Luthor was quite cunning; he didn't go straight in, but fired several cryo-gun shots at it instead.

This naturally couldn't freeze Polaris. In fact the truck itself seemed immune to status effects; not even the tires froze over. Polaris just stood there, continuously harassing the monster with ranged attacks. After a while, Cryo Joker Luthor finally couldn't hold back; he charged into the cargo hold, trying to grab Polaris.

Polaris instantly turned into a magnetic field, not only leaving the cargo hold directly but also incidentally shutting the door, then stood on top of the truck, wrapped the whole truck in magnetic force, and shouted: "Caught it!"

Cryo Joker Luthor kept firing inside the cargo hold, but it was useless. The cryo gun's penetration is poor; it can indeed freeze the cargo hold walls, but can't spread outward. And Joker had no counter for this situation — after all, no intelligence, not even persuadable.

The car drove all the way toward the North District. But just as they were about to reach the manor, the Agent said: "Don't go in yet, leave this monster outside the gate, we'll go catch a few more."

Red Robin looked at him with some shock. But he immediately thought of how this Cryo Joker Luthor had been lingering outside the building. He said: "You're sure this guy won't go back?"

The Agent nodded; the car stopped. Polaris wanted to ask what was going on, but the Agent shouted at him: "Open the door!"

Polaris looked slightly puzzled but didn't ask further. Once the door opened, the frenzied monster charged straight out, but the truck drifted away, leaving only the monster raging helplessly in place.

They drove a bit farther, observed for a while, and discovered that these minor bosses, after leaving their original spawn points, just settle in — they don't think about running back at all. The Agent's plan had a basis for execution.

Returning to Gotham University again, the Agent thought. The names Arrogant proposed were basically all students. Among them, only two had superpowers: one was Flash Barry Allen, one was Poison Ivy Pamela Isley.

Flash definitely couldn't be caught; the Agent knew that clearly. Although this truck has all kinds of miraculous properties, it absolutely cannot contain Flash. And he suspected Flash wouldn't spawn in the university; more likely at his later workplace.

In that case, Poison Ivy was a good choice. Pamela has superpowers, and her attack methods should be fairly varied. Plants might fear artillery bombardment somewhat, but things have come to this — catch her first, talk later.

The Agent and Deathstroke went to the Biology Department again. This exam was harder, because there were some essay questions, between science and liberal arts. The Agent had to go offline again and contact main-universe Poison Ivy. They'd dealt a few times; the relationship was decent.

Regarding the questions the Agent asked, Poison Ivy only felt very puzzled. Especially the environmental protection essay. Main-universe Poison Ivy said suspiciously: "You're not trying to do some environmental opinion poll, are you? I must remind you, I can't represent public opinion."

"No," the Agent said patiently, "there's this exam question in the game I'm playing; just answer truthfully."

"But my opinions probably wouldn't get most professors' approval either," Poison Ivy said, "views are too radical; even Batman thinks they lack feasibility..."

"The examiner is Brainiac."

"Then no problem." Poison Ivy immediately wrote a flowing piece. Because she'd dealt with the Pamela from the universe Brainiac rules. She knows how much Brainiac values seed agriculture and plant cultivation. Those parts beyond human management capacity, Brainiac handles completely.

As for environmental protection, even more so. Brainiac is the world's most radical environmental warrior, radical enough to even chase Shiler over water pollution, and actually drove away those guys throwing junk into the lake. Poison Ivy has to call him Big Brother.

With the answers in hand, the Agent went to take the exam alone. Sure enough, the exam passed very easily, and he did indeed find Pamela in the Biology Department. Pamela had also been heavily modded; in short, turned into classic-skin Poison Ivy.

Getting her to the North District was more difficult, because she can use magic to summon vines that burst from the ground to beat people. That way the car couldn't be driven, but conveniently they just didn't drive. Everyone got out of the car, leaving only Polaris and Poison Ivy inside. Then Polaris used a magnetic slingshot to fling the car to the North District. The landing spot was extremely precise; her physics mastery was evident.

There were already two monsters, but the Agent still wasn't satisfied. Poison Ivy's plant magic is somewhat countered by artillery; although it can produce some control, it also lacks killing power. They still needed a striker.

The Agent thought for a bit, decided to go find Harley Quinn. Mainly because he felt the Robins' aggression wasn't strong enough, especially in this universe. Joker's girl would do.

And he'd found the right person. Harley's state was the superpowered state from when she fought Combat Master Kant. Black aura all over, knife in hand, speed beyond imagination.

Polaris repeated the same trick, but she was a bit careless. When Harley charged, she didn't instantly turn into a magnetic field, but was slightly slow, and took a knife slash on the arm.

Polaris muffled a groan, but still ran out and shut the door. The Agent waved his hand: "Send her straight to the manor, then ferry those two over."

Car arrived, door opened, blackened Harley charged straight out, slashing whatever she saw; the final boss was no exception.

By the time those two were also transported over, a righteous three-on-one had formed. Cryo Joker Luthor and Poison Ivy Pamela handled control; Harley handled DPS. And all the players who orchestrated this situation hid to the side watching excitedly.

The Agent's decision to bring more people was quite correct, because this boss has several phases. At first artillery bombardment, later summoning mob enforcers — Deathstroke had to step in to clear adds. By the third phase, he even summoned his two sons, at least minor-boss-tier strength.

Fortunately they also had Polaris. Polaris conserved power precisely for this moment to finish it in one blow. When she entered, an electromagnetic storm swept the field; all minor bosses went down.

This ultimate move accumulated for a long time directly cleared the field. Simultaneously, it forced the final boss's last form — The Uncrowned King.

Old Don Falcone indeed was once Gotham's Uncrowned King. During the decades he ruled, this city operated in a bizarre but fairly orderly way. And now others see what kind of existence that Bruce who charged into the North District back then truly saw.

Falcone summoned countless phantoms. Not just mob enforcers, but countless Gotham citizens. Churches, docks, universities. An entire huge city hung inverted behind him.

The decisive moment arrived; no one held back. The Agent raised his gun, Deathstroke swung his greatsword, Polaris gathered her final power. Gold and blue light flared simultaneously.

BOOM——！！！！！

"North District final boss has been slain, rewards are being settled. Main quest completed, North District threat level dropped to lowest, proactive attacks no longer trigger, but unfinished side quests can still be completed."

Everyone heard this prompt tone and looked north. Polaris slowly descended, exhaled: "This thing really wasn't easy to fight; I almost used full power."

"No way," Deathstroke looked at him and said, "Your full power can destroy at least a planet, right?"

"Not that weak," Polaris said, "but Brainiac obviously wouldn't let me do that. There should be an invisible value system limiting my output damage."

"Regardless, it's a good start." The Agent holstered his gun, then said, "Let's see the rewards; the final boss gave..."

Unexpectedly, the final boss's reward wasn't equipment, but an illustration — in the rainy night, a truck speeds toward the brightly lit Falcone Manor; in the dark, damp cargo hold, specks of firelight.

Even the Robins, most keen on game gear, didn't complain, just sighed: "Perhaps the hardships and struggles we take for granted in the game, in another intelligent life's eyes, look like a great miracle."

"Humanity's very survival is a miracle." Brainiac said: "No reasonable basis; turning the tide through a chain of miracles, I don't think this is coincidence, and as to why exactly, I'm still exploring."

"I can tell." The Agent put the illustration away. "This universe's Gotham is indeed a good research subject, because it can get better — like a miracle among miracles."