Chapter 42

Within this ‘prison’ lies the truth he must investigate!

The archives window.

The young Black man managing the archives is helping Su Chen look for a file.

At the same time, Su Chen starts chatting with him.

“Last time, I took my resentment out on someone else.”

“I thought it would bother me, but it didn’t at all!”

The young Black man is a bit confused and asks,

“What are you talking about?”

“I messed up, I did something bad!”

Su Chen looks earnestly into the young man’s eyes as he speaks, his tone somewhat mysterious.

After the social services clinic had its budget cut, Su Chen lost the place where he could pour out his heart.

And in this hospital, surrounded by all sorts of psychiatric patients, Su Chen feels a sense of familiarity.

Unconsciously, he wants to talk about some secrets hidden deep in his heart with the young Black man, who he finds easy to talk to.

“You know what I mean? Trying to be happy all the time is just... too hard!”

Listening to Su Chen’s words, the young Black man, clearly sensing something wrong with his mental state, immediately becomes uncomfortable.

Just then, he finds the file and waves it in his hand.

Across the window, he opens it and starts reading to Su Chen.

“Fleck, Penny Fleck.”

“Diagnosing physician: Dr. Benjamin. The patient suffers from delusional disorder... and narcissistic personality disorder.”

“The charge is endangering the safety of her own child...”

Upon reading this, the young Black man suddenly feels something is wrong; he looks up at Su Chen, hesitating.

He clearly realizes at this moment... that Su Chen is the child recorded in the file whose life was endangered by his mother?!

But at this very instant! Su Chen suddenly strikes!

He thrusts both hands into the window and snatches the file from the young man’s hand!

Then, without looking back, he sprints away into the distance.

“Hey!!”

The young Black man angrily slaps the window glass, but it is to no avail; Su Chen’s figure disappears around the corner in the blink of an eye.

Not until he dashes into the emergency stairwell and runs down several flights of stairs

does Su Chen stop in the hallway.

Gasping for air, he opens the file in his hands.

His fingers, turning the pages, tremble slightly; clearly, Su Chen’s heart is not at peace!

As Su Chen moves, the audience in front of the screen also becomes tense.

This... likely contains the truth about Su Chen’s origins!

[Gotham City Hospital Psychiatric Department, Psychiatric History and Diagnosis: Penny Fleck]

[Behavior extremely bizarre....... committed physical abuse......]

[Child Adoption Application Form: Adopted child’s full name unknown (abandoned infant), custody transferred to Penny Fleck]

Seeing this page, Su Chen’s fingers pause, his expression visibly becoming extremely heavy.

His breathing grows slightly ragged; clearly, his mood is extremely complex!

At this moment, confirming Thomas Wayne’s words,

Su Chen’s heart sinks abruptly.

【Arthur... was he really adopted?!】

【My god... all of this was just a fantasy of Penny’s....】

【It’s too hard to imagine... Arthur’s mother has been lying to herself and Arthur all along....】

【And... she actually abused Arthur too?!】

【That’s too terrifying, even if he was adopted, she shouldn’t have done that!】

【The behavior of a mentally ill person, who could have predicted it....】

The comments are filled with disbelief and sympathy!

Su Chen, with a gloomy face, continues to flip through the file.

Inside the file,

there is even a detailed record of an interrogation.

[Question: You also stood by and watched while one of your boyfriends repeatedly abused your adopted son.]

[Question: Penny, when we found your son in your filthy apartment, he was tied to a radiator, malnourished, with multiple bruises on his body and severe head trauma.]

[Answer: I never heard him cry, he was always a happy little boy.]

Next to the interrogation record are countless old photos.

The little boy in the photos is covered in bruises on his body and even his face; he clearly suffered cruel, inhuman abuse!

Countless news clippings also confirm the authenticity of these contents from the side!

[A mother and her son suffer horrific domestic violence!]

[Child’s adoptive mother lets him be abused!]

When all the viewers see the content of this page,

their hearts are suddenly shocked!

A chill spreading from within their hearts...

How could there be such a mother...

Even if he was just an adopted child... she actually let others abuse him?!

And it even caused severe brain trauma...

Wait.... Su Chen’s illness of laughing for no reason... isn’t that caused by brain trauma?!

“Hahaha....”

“Hahahahahaha....”

But just as all the viewers feel a chill in their hearts, Su Chen, looking at these pages of records, suddenly starts to laugh.

As if he has seen something extremely ridiculous.

The laughter grows from small to loud...

In the laughter, there is sorrow and helplessness.

In the laughter, there is the madness of being about to be swallowed by darkness!

And this time,

it is not Su Chen’s illness acting up!

It is not uncontrollable laughter!

It is just as his mother told him, always a happy little boy.

But at this moment,

Su Chen realizes

that his life for these past few decades has been a joke! And even more, a tragedy!

From beginning to end, he has lived in a lie woven by someone else!

From childhood to adulthood, he has been desperately trying to fulfill the hopes placed upon him by his mother!

His nickname is Happy, and his goal as an adult is to bring joy and laughter to everyone!

Yet... he was the very person who had served as his life's guide and reliance for decades.

was the culprit who let others abuse him since childhood, even causing his brain damage!

In other words,

the culprit behind Su Chen suffering discrimination since childhood, being labeled a freak, and needing to take psychiatric medication as an adult....

The culprit behind Su Chen’s tragic life for these past few decades....

is the mother he depended on for survival... Penny!

At this instant,

Su Chen’s mental world almost completely collapses!

“Hahahahahaha!!”

“Hahahahahaha!!”

In the hallway, the incredibly sorrowful laughter echoes repeatedly.

Wrapped in shadows and darkness,

Arthur seems to be falling into an abyss.

And the Joker is stirring.

— Author's Notes —

Second update! Double the word count! Explosive updates for you brothers today!! Just asking for a few flowers!! Recommendation tickets!! Monthly tickets!!