Chapter 432 Metropolis Mystery (Sixteen) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

With a loud "bang," Lex's gun was knocked out of his hand, and the tip of Schiller's umbrella was pressed against his forehead. Lex took two steps back, raising his hands as he stared at Schiller.

Selena rolled and caught the handgun that Schiller had knocked away. She raised the handgun but hesitated, not sure whom to aim at. Selena was on Bruce's side, but the conflict earlier was between Schiller and Bruce. According to logic, she should aim the gun at Schiller.

However, Schiller was from Gotham and also Bruce's mentor. They had only exchanged harsh words and not physically fought. On the other hand, Lex had just shot at Bruce, so she turned her aim towards him.

But Lex, without a handgun now, was just a defenseless teenager. In terms of threat level, Schiller was more dangerous. Selena hesitated for a while, her gun wavering between the two. Finally, Bruce walked forward and pushed down Selena's arm.

Everyone present was somewhat confused. Lex's actions seemed illogical. As a Metropolis native, he had no involvement in Gotham's affairs and had no enmity with Bruce. So why did he shoot?

Adding to that, Lex's attack on Benjamin made him seem like a madman ready to attack anyone at any time. Lex was about to say something when Schiller pointed the umbrella forward and warned him to step back.

Schiller was highly cautious of Lex because he knew from the comics that Lex was exceptionally intelligent, one of the smartest people in the entire DC universe. Dealing with such individuals was tricky as their actions often concealed deeper meanings.

Bruce tried to ask Schiller something, but Schiller interrupted him, refusing to engage in any conversation with these highly intelligent individuals. He turned to leave, looking at Benjamin still alive on the ground and the lifeless Lionel. Schiller commented before walking away, "Please clean up this mess. I need to go back to sleep."

Lex sighed deeply, realizing that Schiller truly had amnesia. Bruce was intrigued by Lex's reaction and asked how he knew.

"Why should I tell you?" Lex retorted with obvious displeasure towards Bruce.

Lex walked to Lionel's corpse, grabbing his arm with some effort, and dragged him into the bathroom. He said, "Bring that annoying Agent here. I'll go to the warehouse downstairs and get some tools."

Bruce inquired about Lex's intentions, and he replied that he wanted to clean up the place. Lex didn't want the two corpses lying around, waiting to be discovered by other Agents.

As Lex left, he continued to complain, "The sewage system in this old Manor must be terrible. Dealing with two bodies at once might clog it up completely..."

Bruce didn't move Benjamin but flipped him over. He started tapping Benjamin's acupoint. Lex noticed this and hurriedly asked, "What are you doing? What if you wake him up?"

"I want to wake him up," Bruce replied without looking up. He added, "I need to extract useful information from him, and besides, he is the head of the Central Intelligence Agency team assigned to investigate the spy case in Metropolis. He can't die."

Lex stood behind Bruce, observing his actions, and said, "Fine, do as you wish."

He then turned to leave, but Bruce continued speaking, "I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor, but you can't leave either. You should stay until I get the information I need."

Lex paid him no attention and didn't stop his steps. However, he soon heard the distinct sound of the gun's safety being cocked. Selena was aiming the gun at his head. Lex turned around, disdainfully sneering at her.

"Do you know, talking too much to fools like you is a waste of my life," Lex mocked.

"Wayne, the Wayne Group you own is merely an industry handed down to you by your parents. The entire Luthor Group is powerful because of my decisions."

Lex continued taunting, "What? Are you closer to that Professor? Do you feel like his prized student?"

"Maybe he complains about you being a fool but sticks with you because he has no better options. He favors you only because there's no one better. However, he will soon realize that he and I are kindred spirits."

Lex insulted Bruce's dual identity, saying, "Pretending to be a playboy on the surface while secretly managing your industries, you think you're a genius disguised as an ordinary person."

"But the truth is, you're just an ordinary person, useless in front of real geniuses..."

Bruce stood up from Benjamin and walked towards Lex, locking eyes with him, "That Professor taught me many things, but the most important lesson was..."

Bruce intentionally dragged out his words, making Lex eager to hear the rest. Then, with a "bang," Bruce's fist struck Lex, knocking him down. Bruce looked down at him and said, "Though words can be powerful, sometimes a fist is the best way to deal with problems."

Lex remained on the ground, showing no intention to move. His red hair covered his eyes, hiding the contempt within them. Bruce observed his face and suddenly asked, "What's the 10th digit after the square root of 39?"

"3," Lex answered without hesitation.

"And the square root of 235?"

"7."

Lex stood up from the ground, wiping away the blood from under his nose. He grinned at Bruce, "What about the 15th digit after the square root of 659?"

"1," Bruce immediately replied.

Their questions and answers flowed without pause. Selena, unable to comprehend the complex mathematical and physics knowledge they were exchanging, watched as the two super geniuses competed against each other.

Selena muttered to herself, "Men and their competitiveness."

As the time passed, Selena became drowsy. She woke up from the sofa, feeling her arms numb from being compressed. She glanced outside the window at the relentless snowstorm and the dark skies.

She squinted, checking the clock on the wall. It was already 6 in the morning.

Selena covered her forehead with her hand, then turned her head to see that Bruce and Lex were still standing in the center of the room.

No, they were no longer standing. They had brought a chair and a table into the room, the table stacked with various scraps of paper.

Selena stretched her arms and yawned. She then glanced at the two men and turned back, walking emotionlessly towards the guest room's exit. Neither Bruce nor Lex noticed her, even ignoring the handgun she left on the table.

Selena reached the corridor, which was quiet. Despite Benjamin's disappearance overnight, no Agents had come searching for him. If they had, Bruce and Lex had likely dealt with them. Selena didn't spot any Agents in the corridor, so she headed downstairs.

She reached the grand hall and continued to the side, turning a corner to reach the storage area behind the Manor. Selena found the monitoring room, but she wasn't searching for it; she only wanted to find a telephone.

Fortunately, the monitoring room also had a telephone that connected to the guest rooms. Selena picked up the phone and dialed a number. On the other end, Schiller's tired voice answered.

"Professor?... Ah, no! Don't be angry!... Alright, I know, I get really angry when I can't sleep too. But, there might be some trouble here, and we might need you to deal with it..."

"But... but it could be a big problem. Do you want to listen to the details first?"

Selena spoke to herself while looking at the telephone in her hand, listening to the dial tone after the call was hung up. She bit her lip and finally said in a low voice, "Never mind. It probably won't be a big deal."

She turned and walked back up the staircase, preparing to return to her room for some rest.

Selena had a very traditional Gotham upbringing and had no formal education. Reading newspapers was the extent of her literacy, which already surpassed many other Gotham citizens who lacked education. She couldn't be expected to understand complex mathematics and physics.

Selena was more of an intuitive person, relying on her instincts. Therefore, she couldn't grasp the magnitude of the sparks that flew when two evenly matched super geniuses clashed.

As Selena started to doze off, she was awakened by shouts from the reception room, "The guest room exploded! Hurry, put out the fire!"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 433: Metropolis Doubts (Seventeen)