Chapter 266 Where will the dream go (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Selina grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car, turning back to give Bruce an air kiss as she said, "Thank you, darling. I had a great time. I need to go pack my luggage now. See you tomorrow afternoon!"

Bruce leaned to the side, extending his hand to open Selina's car door. Selina understood his gesture, walked back, leaned forward, and nestled into Bruce's embrace, giving his cheek a kiss.

Then she quickly left, and Bruce touched the spot on his cheek where Selina had kissed him. He sighed, thinking that he was really becoming a bit infatuated.

If someone had told him a year ago that he would spend several days driving along the East Coast, he would have found it more unbearable than being imprisoned. But who knew that love could be so unreasonable? When Selina said she had a great time, all his guilt about wasting time vanished.

Of course, now that the vacation was over, he had to return to his normal life. Bruce slowly started the car and drove back to Wayne Manor. When the night fell completely, he got into the Batmobile, dressed in his Bat-suit, and left the Manor to continue perfecting his Batcave.

After all this time, the Batcave was mostly built, with only a few light equipment pieces left to be installed. The Batmobile roared through the streets of Gotham at night. However, as soon as he passed an intersection, a bright light dazzled his eyes. He squinted and looked towards the right side of the road, where a huge truck was parked.

The intense light came from the truck's high beams. The two headlights flickered, and when the light went out, Batman saw the terrifying smiling face on the driver's seat of the truck.

His instincts started screaming, and Batman slammed on the gas pedal, but it was too late. The massive truck had already rushed towards him. Batman pressed a button in front of him, and in an instant, the seat ejected, propelling him out. He tumbled on the ground, rolling twice before standing up.

The heavy truck collided with the Batmobile, flipping it entirely. When it hit the ground, fragments of the windshield and roof scattered around. Then, the front of the giant truck exploded, and the flames erupted like a stationary cigarette fire in the dark.

"Welcome home, Batman, hahahaha!"

A series of piercing laughter echoed from the darkness. Batman squinted and saw that figure.

Just like a destined confrontation, they faced each other in the darkness of Gotham. The person opposite him, with Joker's makeup, didn't hold any weapons and appeared fragile.

But Batman's heartbeat accelerated, and blood rushed to his head. He didn't know if he was feeling fear or excitement.

"Did you have a good vacation, Batman?"

Joker looked into Batman's eyes, a smile on his face, seemingly expecting an affirmative answer. But quickly, he made a sad expression and said, "But I'm not happy, Batman. Do you know? Do you know what I've been through recently?"

"I was captured by a crazy psychologist and taken to the hospital! He conducted his terrible dream experiments on me. He threw me into the depths of the subconscious, where I had to face a terrifying monster!"

Suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at the wreckage of the truck's explosion. He screamed, using his fingers to pry open his eye sockets, sliding four fingers down from his eyelids, making a terrified expression. He said, "Oh my God, what did I see?"

He hurriedly ran over, frantically searching through the debris of the explosion. Suddenly, he found a piece of tire that hadn't been completely burnt. Holding the fragment, he said, "My Miss Tire, she's dead, sob. It was she who kept me company in your absence..."

Batman stood there, watching the Joker's performance. He didn't say anything; he just frowned.

Rain started to pour in Gotham, and before long, it turned into a heavy downpour. Lightning streaked across the sky, and rainwater splashed on the wreckage in the middle of the road, carrying the scent of burning far away.

At that moment, the Joker stood up. He stood in the rain, without armor, without a cape, without weapons. He stood alone, like a thin and pale ghost.

The rain smeared his makeup, as if his entire skin was melting away, but he still wore that crazy smile and said to Batman, "You think I'm an annoying madman, don't you?"

"Always popping up from various places, causing you a lot of trouble, showing you performances you don't like and can't understand, saying crazy things you don't want to hear and can't comprehend..."

"But, Batman, I will make you understand..."

His smile became increasingly manic. Within that terrifying expression and movement, stripped away from the absurd and bizarre sense of humor, only danger and madness remained.

He took out a button from his pocket and said to Batman, "Have you ever made an important decision in your life? The kind of decision that can change your life's path?"

"I just made one such decision."

"I made a bet with someone, Batman..."

"I bet that you won't disappoint me, so now..."

The Joker looked straight at Batman through the rain and said, "...the game begins."

With a loud bang, the button was pressed, and Batman turned his head. He saw a violent blaze rising from somewhere in the city.

As the button hit the ground, tiny splashes of water flew up. When the ripples subsided, only the Joker's mad smile remained, while Batman had disappeared.

The next night, in the cold rain accompanied by sharp alarms, a massive Bat-Signal lit up the sky above Gotham. Gordon held the phone and said, "Get the negotiator up there fast!! What the hell does that maniac want?"

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, looking at the nearby building's rooftop. There was only one figure standing there, but the side of the building was lined with ropes, each with a person tied to it.

On the television, the Joker's face looked even more terrifying in the rain. He held the camera and said, "Do you know? Just yesterday, in the underground passages of twelve major streets in Gotham, I asked all the homeless people who they hated the most. I asked them who they thought caused their miserable lives..."

"Many people complained to me about various things. Their bosses fired them, their landlords evicted them, convenience stores and restaurants didn't provide them with free food, yes, yes, all sorts of things like that..."

"And I, Hero Jack! I weep for their tragic fate, so, hahahahahahahaha!!" The Joker burst into a series of maniacal laughter and said, "I brought their enemies here!"

He took a deep breath, shrugged his shoulders, one hand supporting the camera, the other pointing to the edge of the rooftop, and shouted, "Can you see it? Bums! Your enemies... are about to... about to die!"

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

In the camera, the Joker walked towards the edge of the rooftop in pouring rain. He took out a dagger and pressed it against the rope. The bound person in the suit, looking like an elite employee, stared up at the Joker's crazed face and the dagger pointed at the rope holding him. He screamed in despair, "No!! No, please!! I'll fall, I'll die!!"

"Oh, Hero... Yes, I am a Hero. I will give the condemned a chance to say their last words. Do you have anything to say?"

"Please, let me go! I beg you, don't do this... don't do this to me, I don't want to die!!"

The employee pleaded incessantly, his mind completely shattered, unable to form a complete sentence.

The Joker found it boring and swung the dagger, cutting the rope. The employee fell from the High-rise building of over 30 floors, crashing to the ground, turning into a puddle of flesh.

The police and negotiators on the ground hadn't even reacted when ropes and bodies fell from the sky like a torrential rain, and all they could see were the desperate expressions of the victims before their deaths.

Just as the Bat-Signal had been lit, a second figure appeared standing on the rooftop. It was Batman.

As expected, a dark figure stood opposite the Joker.

They exchanged words, then engaged in a fight, the entire world filled with the sound of rain and thunder.

Their fight resembled a silent performance, a showdown that was not particularly exciting and even somewhat comical.

In the end, the Joker was knocked down, his arms restrained. But Batman's shoulder had also been cut, blood washed away by the rain.

Lying on the ground, the Joker continued to laugh, saying, "Batman, you've won. But do you think this is what everyone wants to see?"

"Even if you are the Hero for all of Gotham, you are certainly not the Hero for those bums. They almost got to see their enemy fall from the High-rise building and turn into a puddle of flesh, having a more tragic ending than them!"

"You can never become a Hero, hahahahahahahaha! The innocent people you save may be the very ones that others dream of killing. I wonder if they'll hate you? Hahahahahahahaha!!"

After the Joker was taken away, Batman walked alone through the streets, got into his car, started it, and drove into the endless dark rainy night of Gotham.

He was not swayed by those mad words and speeches; he had simply exerted too much energy.

Instead of going directly back to Wayne Manor, he drove to the Batcave, where he tended to his wounds as usual. First, he used a spray, then bandaged himself up. Once everything was taken care of, he disposed of the bloodstained clothes, put on a new outfit, and then drove back to Wayne Manor.

Wayne Manor was still brightly lit, and Alfred stood at the door to greet him. Seeing his slightly pale complexion, Alfred said, "Master, you need something warm to drink. How about a cup of hot chocolate?"

"Thank you, Alfred."

He didn't refuse but walked over and sat down next to the sofa. When Alfred brought the hot chocolate, he instinctively reached out with his accustomed hand to take it, but it tugged at his wound, causing him to pause for a moment. He immediately switched to his other hand to hold the cup.

But he knew that Alfred had noticed, although the butler didn't say anything and simply sent him upstairs to his bedroom as usual.

A deep exhaustion surrounded him. He stood in front of the washbasin in the bathroom, looked at himself in the mirror, and saw a pale face, expressionless. However, somehow, that insane smile appeared in his mind, reflected in his eyes, and then refracted into the mirror. It was as if he saw himself smiling.

He shook his head, suppressing those chaotic thoughts, and walked out of the bathroom.

His fingers paused on the switch of the desk lamp, but after hesitating for a moment, he decided not to turn it off. He simply lay down on the bed, without turning off the lights, and slowly fell asleep with a weary expression.

Faint breathing echoed in the room as the night grew darker and the rain grew heavier.

Soft light filled the entire room, reflecting a faint halo on the bed, walls, and carpet, seemingly exposing all darkness.

And when a lightning bolt streaked across, in the deepest corner under the bed, a crimson smile slowly appeared, revealing a mad grin.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 267 Layers of Fear (1)