Chapter 1208: Lamb's Cry (29) (Patreon)

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As night fell, Bruce didn't rest in his room. Instead, he carried a slightly oversized flower pot to the corner of the Manor garden.

To everyone's surprise, the flower pot didn't contain flowers, but a type of mineral ore. What was even more bewildering was that Bruce squatted down, holding the pot, and began talking to the ore.

"Just like we did in the mine, if someone attacks the Shadow Ore, don't restrict it. Let the shadow vines inside the Shadow Ore erupt completely."

"But that's very dangerous!" a voice came from the mineral, and a pair of half-transparent eyes appeared, looking at Bruce. "Your human bodies are very fragile. If you get hit, you might die."

"Then can you control the shadow vines to restrain the opponent without hurting them?"

The eyes in the mineral blinked, and a affirmative response was heard. After putting down the pot, Bruce walked back to the hall with some difficulty, where Jason and Tim had just arrived.

The two kids were carrying two heavy boxes, and Tim held his box overhead, running to Bruce's front like he was offering a treasure. "Look, we went to the Batcave and brought all your equipment!"

"Thanks, but I don't want to use them now," Bruce said, shaking his head.

Tim's eyes widened in surprise. "Not use them? How will you protect yourself? You'll get hurt."

Jason also chimed in, "You're already injured. If you don't wear armor and fight, others only need a knife to stab your lungs."

"Don't worry, I have a way."

Bruce comforted the two and asked them to stay in their bedroom, not to come out, and let Alfred take care of Aisha. He himself didn't wear any equipment, just a ordinary guard uniform, sitting on the sofa waiting for the night to arrive.

After night fell, Bruce, feeling a bit tired, heard a sound coming from the garden. He immediately became alert and walked to the garden.

Bruce knew that Thomas would take this path. The entire Gotham's Manor had a weak point in the garden, which he had also exploited before.

So, he wasn't surprised to see Batman Thomas standing in the darkness, even darker than the night.

Bruce leaned against the Manor's wall, feeling unwell. The air in the garden was cold and humid, and his injuries were still aching. He didn't have the energy to recover, and he didn't have any equipment to give him a sense of security.

Bruce felt like he was naked, like a baby, but this was his own doing.

"You've heard about what happened during the day," Thomas said.

"I know it was you," Bruce said, his hand supporting himself on the wall, trying to hold back the urge to slide down and curl up. "You deliberately hid, letting me exhaust myself while running, and deliberately stirred up the family conflict between Alberto and Roy, making me tired from mediating."

"Do you still not plan to repent?" Thomas asked, but he wasn't really asking, as if he was certain Bruce wouldn't change.

What made him feel puzzled was that he didn't see any stubbornness in Bruce's eyes. Bruce finally couldn't hold back, and his back slid down the wall, sitting on the ground.

Thomas's eyebrows furrowed deeply. He couldn't understand Bruce's action, which was showing weakness to the enemy, not beneficial for the battle.

"I think what you said makes sense," Bruce said, his head slightly lowered, his voice dry and hoarse. "The career of Batman has no meaning. I should give up early and go back to being Bruce Wayne."

Thomas stiffened, but soon began to cautiously look around, saying, "This is your delaying tactic."

"The instinct of Batman makes you suspect everything," Bruce said, his voice intermittent. "You think I'm lying, just to set a trap for you."

"I won't repent. You want me to repent, but I repented, and you don't believe it. Are you crazy, or am I?"

Bruce was muttering to himself, as if he wasn't talking to Thomas in front of him, but to himself. He thought of another person.

When he showed that he wasn't an ordinary person, Bruce wanted him to be an ordinary person. But when he really tried to be an ordinary person, Bruce didn't believe it.

Bruce now only felt like laughing absurdly. He didn't believe in mysticism, but at this moment, he could only say that everything was a cycle of cause and effect, a revenge that wasn't satisfied.

Bruce used his last bit of strength to stand up, leaning against the wall, looking at Thomas's eyes. "I'll give up being Batman, won't wear that costume again. You should call Gordon now, tell him what you did today, and then go surrender and go to prison."

Bruce saw Thomas's fingertips start to tremble, not in anger, but in shame. So, Bruce said, as if possessed, "You're taking revenge, right?"

"Because I disobeyed you before, because I didn't follow your arrangement, because I refused you, so even if I take a step back, you still feel ashamed for giving in."

Thomas's face was expressionless, staring at Bruce, but he discovered that Bruce seemed to be talking to himself, not to him.

Thomas took a step forward, and just as he was about to touch Bruce, a bat dart flew out, hitting the palm of his hand. Thomas instantly rolled to the side, his vigilance at its highest.

But the target of the bat dart wasn't his arm, but a strange flower pot behind Thomas. The sharp blade hit the mineral, and instantly, countless shadow vines erupted.

A pair of eyes appeared and disappeared among the vines, which slowed down their attack, but still instantly wrapped around Thomas's body, pulling him back to the wall and fixing him in place.

Thomas stared at Bruce, who took a few deep breaths before standing up and saying:

"I don't blame you at all, and I'm sure you're the real Thomas, although you might not be the Thomas who's already dead. But you might be my father, because our way of thinking is so similar."

"When two people have a conflict, and one side advances while the other retreats, I need to advance even more to verify my suspicions. And when the other side has no choice but to retreat, I'll feel that my suspicions were correct, and then I'll start using violence to get what I want."

"But this kind of pressure has nothing to do with the original conflict. It's just that I'm angry about the other person's past resistance... it's about getting revenge."

"I don't know if this is a genetic disorder of the Wayne Family or a curse from Batman."

Before Thomas could open his mouth, Bruce asked him: "You give me a familiar feeling, but it's not because you're Thomas. It's because your judgment of me is always based on something beyond the facts... what did Schiller tell you?"

"He said Batman is destroying himself," Thomas replied after a moment of silence.

"Of course," Bruce said, stumbling out of the room while supporting himself on the wall. "I'm not surprised you were deceived, but it's not your fault. It's not a trick, but rather an understanding of human nature."

"He saw that what you care about most is whether your son will follow in Batman's tragic footsteps."

"So he fabricated a tragic story about me, using your anxious psychology to make you feel that change is urgent and that you can't wait for evidence. He doesn't understand you too well, but he understands me too well."

"Where are you going?" Thomas asked, looking at Bruce's departing back.

Bruce's footsteps paused, and he said: "Maybe to hell."

In the dark and narrow prison corridor, Amanda led a group of security personnel quickly towards the staircase, going down to the bottom floor, where she saw Bruce waiting.

"Where is Schiller?" Bruce asked, looking at Amanda.

"The brutal case that happened in the Metropolis district's La Vera County Federal Bureau of Investigation base has been suspected to be the work of a mysterious organization called the 'League of Assassins', and Talia al Ghul, who disappeared a few days ago, has become the prime suspect."

Amanda crossed her arms, looking at Bruce and saying: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Talia has an extra interest in you, and they suspect that the Wayne Group might be colluding with the League of Assassins. So, they entrusted me with the investigation... you know, they need balance."

"So now, this prison is still under my control, and the employees want money, but they want their lives even more."

"Mr. Wayne, Professor Schiller said he doesn't want to see you. Please leave now."

"Where is he?" Bruce asked again.

Instantly, the sound of numerous guns being cocked filled the air, and the security personnel aimed their guns at Bruce. Amanda continued: "I advise you not to have any dangerous thoughts. Just yesterday, a group of KGB agents infiltrated the prison, almost causing a big mess."

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation thinks the KGB might be trying to rescue Schiller, which means Schiller has important secrets or is extremely valuable. So, they immediately took Schiller to the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters."

"I don't know what they discussed, but in the end, they reached an agreement. Schiller will use his abilities to serve the Federal Bureau of Investigation at critical moments, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will help Schiller get acquitted. In other words, Schiller is no longer a prisoner."

Bruce took two steps forward, but didn't say a word. Amanda knew he was repeating the question.

Amanda showed a mocking expression, just about to speak, when Bruce suddenly rushed to her side and grabbed her neck with his arm.

"Don't move," Bruce shouted.

The security personnel wanted to turn their guns around, but seeing Amanda being held hostage, they hesitated, knowing that shooting either of them would not have a good outcome. So, they stopped moving.

Amanda gritted her teeth, looking at Bruce sideways and saying: "Anyone with a conscience wouldn't send their teacher to prison and then come here to cause trouble!"

"Tell me, where is he?" Bruce's arm tightened.

Amanda had difficulty breathing, glaring at Bruce, but finally managed to stammer: "The interrogation room... he told me to tell you... if you go to find him... you'll be responsible for the consequences..."

Bruce released Amanda, who covered her neck and looked at his departing back, taking a few deep breaths before telling the security personnel:

"Call the doctor, prepare for emergency rescue... forget it, prepare the plane. These two lunatics, even if one of them has to die, don't let it happen here!"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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