Chapter 414: Hal's Misfortune (Part 1) (Patreon)

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In the pitch-black night, in a room on the second floor of Wayne Manor, the dim lights were flickering. Hal raised his hands and stood in the center of the room. He turned around and saw the face of an old man.

"I know you have a unique ability to disappear and reappear instantly, but from my observation, it takes you some time to activate this ability. Do you think you disappear faster, or do I pull the trigger faster?"

If the people living in Wayne Manor heard what Alfred said at this moment, they would surely be astonished. This old butler seemed like a different person. He had never spoken in such a cold tone to anyone in the manor before.

In the eyes of most people, Alfred was always the smiling butler who carried plates and arranged tables, or the one who cleaned the shelves with a duster.

But from his current posture, it was clear that he had handled a gun before. In his hands was a double-barreled shotgun with a solid wooden grip. The long barrel reflected a chilling cold light under the illumination of the lamp, and the muzzle was pressed against Hal's waist.

Hal swallowed nervously. He dared not move. Just as Alfred had said, it took him some time to activate his Green Lantern abilities. Under normal circumstances, this time was so short that it could be ignored. However, the most fatal point was that the Green Lantern ring emitted light.

Once Hal tapped into the Green Lantern energy, the ring would emit a green glow that would spread across his body in an instant. Even though it was a very short moment, there was still that time. Hal had no doubt that as soon as his ring emitted even a hint of light, the trigger would be pulled.

Hal didn't dare to bet on whether the bullet would be blocked by the green light when it was fired. Because if it couldn't, he would be cut in half directly. The Green Lantern power could indeed allow Hal to recover quickly, but this self-healing ability had its limits, and being cut in half was definitely not included.

"You are Bruce's butler, right?" Hal asked, trying to ease the tension. Alfred didn't answer him. He just pushed the shotgun forward slightly. Hal tightly closed his eyes and then said:

"Okay, okay, don't be like this. Do you know the origin of this child? She's not actually a human, she's a monster..."

Suddenly, Hal heard a "click" sound behind him. It was the sound of the trigger being pulled. Tremendous fear engulfed him, but after a cold sweat, he realized that the expected pain didn't come. Alfred had only pretended to pull the trigger.

"I know a lot of things," Alfred stared at Hal and said, "much more than you can imagine."

His tone remained icy, making it impossible for Hal to discern his emotions. Alfred continued, "I know you see me as an ignorant old butler, otherwise, you wouldn't dare to invade this manor like this."

"I'm not here to invade, I just... uh!"

Hal was once again nudged by the gun barrel. He promptly shut his mouth. Then he heard Alfred say, "If your parents didn't teach you that visiting someone's home requires an appointment and entering through the front door, then I think today you should have learned."

Hal lowered his hands, sighed, and turned to face Alfred. Looking into his eyes, he said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Butler. I know it's wrong to trespass on someone's property, especially in such a dangerous and disrespectful manner."

"But you have to allow me to explain. Aisha is not actually..."

Seeing the gun barrel slowly rise to the level of his eyes, Hal raised his hands again and took two steps back, saying, "Okay, let's not talk about this."

He also realized that whenever he mentioned Aisha's background, the old butler didn't want him to speak. As expected, Alfred also looked into his eyes and said, "It is the duty of a butler to handle all the issues concerning the master's children, including any doubts or dishonorable aspects of their lineage..."

"I believe you wouldn't want to become a part of those background stories." Alfred elongated his tone slightly. Hal understood his meaning. If he wanted to leave here alive, it would be best to keep his mouth shut and swallow this secret.

Taking a deep breath, Hal said, "Okay, let's not discuss this issue. I came here just to ensure that her extraordinary abilities won't endanger ordinary people..."

After speaking, Hal didn't care whether Alfred could understand him or not. He started explaining to himself, "Yellow Lanterns have always been the greatest threat to Green Lanterns. Although I haven't encountered a real Yellow Lantern, the Green Lantern Corps takes them very seriously."

"It's the same this time." Hal sighed and continued, "When they learned that the leader of the Yellow Lantern Corps and the Yellow Lanterns had descended upon this place, they considered sending a powerful Green Lantern here to deal with these issues."

"However, everything happened too quickly. After the resolution was concluded, everything came to an end, so I could only stay here to wrap things up."

"Whether it's for the safety of Space or the safety of ordinary people, I have to do this."

"Your name is Hal, right?" Alfred suddenly asked.

Hal crossed his arms and nodded. Alfred looked into his eyes and asked, "What do you think is the cause of all this?"

Hal felt puzzled by this question. He scratched his head and said, somewhat perplexed, "Cause? Actually, I don't really know why. I just suddenly received an order saying that members of the Yellow Lantern Corps had come to Earth and I was supposed to deal with them..."

"Then, I came to Gotham and inexplicably got pulled into a dream. Next thing I knew, I was fighting that monster, and somehow I managed to win... I don't even know how."

"All of a sudden, the Yellow Lantern entity turned into a little girl, and the leader of the Yellow Lantern Corps disappeared..."

Hal said helplessly, "Actually, I have no idea what happened from start to finish..."

"So, you're going to report to this so-called Green Lantern Corps like this?"

"I..." Hal was taken aback, and Alfred said disdainfully, "In a situation where you don't know the cause, the process, or even the complete outcome, you choose to report to your superiors?"

"What shocked me is that your superiors actually based their orders on your incomplete information..."

"Green Lantern Corps..." Alfred scoffed lightly and said, "If this is the level you all have, it's best to go back to where you belong and not get involved in matters on Earth."

Hal put his finger to his forehead, unsure how to describe the butler in front of him. The old-fashioned, elegant British accent made him feel like he was conversing with a nobleman, but the words lacked any mercy.

"I'm also an Earthling!" Hal emphasized.

"An Earthling who sells Earth's information for a living?"

Hal was once again taken aback, and he gestured helplessly, saying, "I'm doing this for the safety of Earth..."

"Every spy says the same thing."

Alfred lowered his gaze, not wanting to look at Hal's stiff expression. He said, "One day, a group of foreigners found you. They offered you money and power, and then they told you that you should maintain peace in your homeland by telling them every detail."

"You take money to do their bidding, complete missions, and when you get arrested, you tell the judge that you were just maintaining peace..."

As he spoke, Alfred's gaze fell on the Green Lantern ring, and he said, "...but you remain silent about the benefits you gained from them."

"In the first half of my life, I've seen too many people like that."

"Are they guilty? Perhaps the blame doesn't solely lie with them. Many people truly believe that their actions can bring peace to their own country."

"But are they innocent? The immense benefits they gained from betraying their country put them above the ordinary people who suffer as a result. In the end, only they enjoy peace and comfort."

Hal's expression gradually turned serious from his initial helplessness. Alfred shifted his gaze back to his eyes and said, "Humans chase after money because it's the universal currency in our society that can bring us the greatest enjoyment."

"But how do you know that the thing you wear on your hand doesn't play such a role in space?"

"Perhaps, what you consider to be a very powerful force is nothing but garbage and residue to them. They only need to provide you with a little garbage, and you will hand over the interests of your country..."

"Stop!" Hal closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed his ring with his thumb. It was very clear that his fingertips were trembling. Alfred continued to say to him:

"If you don't remember who you are, where you come from, and who you ultimately work for, and can't stick to this goal all the way to the end, then the only thing waiting for you is to be betrayed by everyone..."

Hal's emotions seemed to be fluctuating violently. He turned his head to the side and after a while, he took a deep breath. In an instant, the green light of the ring lit up.

At this moment, he didn't hear the sound of the trigger being pulled. Hal forcefully bit his lips. He thought he was about to leave this place and find a quiet place to think about these issues alone. Suddenly, the door of the room opened, and a small black figure appeared outside the door...

Hal didn't even see her move. In the instant when the green light of the ring spread to his arm, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm.

"Ah!" Hal screamed in pain. He looked down and saw Aisha, with her sharp teeth biting on the wrist guard on his arm. The thick wrist guard couldn't stop her sharp teeth, and blood was oozing out from between her teeth.

Hal instinctively shook his arm, trying to throw Aisha off. As a result, her teeth pierced through the wrist guard, and the wrist guard slid down along with her. When it slid down to his hand, it wrapped around Hal's hand like a glove.

Hal was in great pain and kept shaking his arm. When the wrist guard and the little girl were thrown off together, the ring on his finger, emitting a green light, was taken down with the wrist guard.

Hal gritted his teeth and covered his bleeding arm. He looked at the princess bed, where there was no little girl at all. The bulge under the quilt was a stuffed toy. This was a trap from the beginning.

Just as he realized this, he suddenly found that the green light energy that had spread into his body disappeared. He turned his head and saw the Green Lantern ring, which had fallen and drawn a high parabola.

"Ding!" The crisp sound of metal hitting the floor rang out. Hal breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the ring wasn't broken.

He was about to walk over to pick up the ring when the black hole gun appeared in front of his eyes again. Hal slowly raised his hands.

At this moment, a tender hand slowly approached the floor and picked up the ring. Dick, who had just been awakened, rubbed his eyes and looked at the ring in his hand.

"Hey, kid, put it down. That's not a toy..." Hal reached out to stop him, but the just-awakened Dick was still drowsy. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, and a green light spread directly onto his body.

"Wait... what is this?" Dick asked in a muffled voice.

Hal slapped his forehead and said, "No!"

"I seem to... feel something... is this what I should do?" Dick muttered, and Hal suddenly remembered something and said, "No! Don't teleport! This ability is hard to control..."

With a "bang," Dick was slammed against the wall.

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