Chapter 1011: Is this Batman? (Part 2) (Patreon)

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"Alright, Miss Zatanna, you should take a rest now," Victor stepped forward, adjusting his glasses and gesturing to the students still tinkering with equipment, "There should be some empty dorms for students, let's escort this young lady there for some rest, she can't keep pushing herself like this."

Turning to Batman, Victor continued, "Remember the second piece of news I mentioned? The issue with rainwater is not the same as the issue with drinking water sources."

"Gotham's drinking water primarily comes from groundwater. With over 50 purification plants and 7 major water companies in the city, they're essentially ineffective. The quality of Gotham's drinking water is not much better than medieval times."

"I detected over 70 hallucinogenic components in the groundwater, in small quantities but precisely balanced. It seems someone intentionally poisoned it."

Victor sighed, "These hallucinogenic components are likely the main cause of Citizens going insane. According to the clues Jason brought, the poison in the water source may have a delayed effect."

"Somebody has been poisoning Gotham's water source for a long time. Initially, the toxin may only cause mild hallucinogenic reactions, which in a city like Gotham, where a bit of mental haze is not unusual, may not raise much concern. Many people might not even bother going to the hospital, and if they do, they might not undergo psychiatric examination."

"However, as the toxin accumulates in the body and cannot be metabolized, it reaches a critical point where it is triggered and stimulated by the mysterious substance in the rainwater, causing Citizens to go mad."

"At the same time, since many of Gotham's plants also rely on the groundwater system, they too exhibit signs of madness... but I'm not much of a botanist."

"So, you're saying someone has been introducing a chronic poison into Gotham's groundwater, and the interaction between Gotham's rainwater and the magical properties of metal is triggering the toxicity, leading to Citizens' madness?" Batman summarized concisely, to which Victor nodded.

Putting down the materials in his hands back on the lab table, Victor remarked, "So, this was bound to happen. If not today, then tomorrow. As for the abundance of blue cabbage and the chaotic vines, I have no idea."

But Batman understood very well. The collective consciousness of All Things Green, representing all plant life, would surely take notice of the madness spreading among plants. With the arrival of the natural order and its discovery by Constantine, Gotham was now overrun with blue cabbage.

Just then, Batman's communication device rang. He picked it up and said, "Lex? What? You found the source of the toxin spread? Alright, I got it. I'll be there shortly."

Ending the call, Batman turned to Victor, "Lex has conducted a broad-spectrum sampling and has identified the point of poisoning. I'm going to see his analysis report now and contact Gordon to prepare for apprehension."

"Go ahead," Victor nodded at Batman, "I've provided the police with a batch of cryogenic weapons to handle any situation during the apprehension operation. Additionally, Copperpot informed me of something amiss, so he's deployed personnel in the East District. I'll inform him to stay vigilant."

As Batman left, Victor watched his retreating figure, shaking his head, but a smile appeared on his face, "Your treatment has indeed shown remarkable results. If it were before, he wouldn't have shown up for the entire incident."

Soon, Batman arrived at the laboratory on the other side of the research building. Lex was sorting through a pile of experimental materials, with a map of Gotham City on the wall, marked with numerous locations.

Seeing Batman and Clark arriving together, Lex snorted coldly, then smirked cynically. However, he quickly realized it wasn't the time for sarcasm. He went straight to the map and pointed, "Copperpot's children assisted in sampling at over 160 locations in Gotham. I've analyzed the concentration of the samples."

"The conclusion is that the toxin's diffusion follows a concentric ring pattern, higher in the east and south, lower in the west and north. In other words, the source of the toxin diffusion is located in the East District or the southern area."

"Subsequently, a second detailed sampling was conducted." Lex pointed to the locations on the map, "120 positions in the East District formed 60 lines, repeatedly sampled in the most densely focused area, progressing towards the center in a circular pattern, and finally identified the most probable location."

Batman narrowed his eyes, observing Lex. Lex wasn't in great shape; he had fallen into the cryogenic storage unit and been infected with the Joker virus.

However, perhaps because he wasn't a Gotham native, the Joker virus gradually subsided. But Victor's developed cryogenic fluid had replaced his blood, giving him Freeze's abilities but also causing his skin to turn blue under light.

Despite this, the dark circles under his eyes were still very prominent. Batman knew Lex didn't have a base in Gotham, hence no supercomputer. All conclusions were calculated by hand.

Batman directly took out his communication device and said into it, "Hello? Gordon? 3 Hell's Edge Green Street, in the back alley. Capture the poisoner alive."

Lex widened his eyes, looking at Batman. "Aren't you going to double-check the calculations? Shouldn't you be back in your Batcave right now, opening up your advanced supercomputer, running all the data again, and then be amazed at the accuracy of my conclusion?"

"He believes in your conclusion, and you're still upset?" Clark leaned back, looking at Lex with some confusion. "Although I don't quite understand how you determined the location, your data seems reliable. It's normal for us to use it directly, isn't it?"

Lex pursed his lips, making a face like he had just eaten a fly. But then, Clark turned to Batman again. "However, he has a point. We should still verify, just in case we catch the wrong person, right?"

"Why do you think we might catch the wrong person in Gotham?" Batman retorted. Clark hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uh, well, although the probability of catching the wrong person seems relatively low given the security situation here, it's not nonexistent, is it?"

Batman's blue eyes emitted a faint glow as he said, "For certain reasons, my soul's strength has peaked, and so has my mental capacity. At the same moment he stated his conclusion, I had already completed all the calculations. The result is accurate."

Before Lex could retort, Batman turned to him. "The precision of your data astonishes me."

Lex was momentarily silenced again. He glanced away, but then he noticed Batman staring at the map of Gotham, his expression darkening. Batman continued, "The poisoner isn't the key here. There must be someone behind him orchestrating this. It's not that simple."

"How do you know?" Lex walked to Batman's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. Then he asked, after a moment of thought, "Don't you know how many lunatics there are in Gotham? Someone might suddenly want to destroy Gotham..."

"Indeed, but there aren't many who can accurately identify the fatal aspects of Gotham's water sources and rainwater. Moreover, orchestrating the widespread dissemination of toxin in such a short time, and triggering its outbreak at a precise moment, isn't something an ordinary person can do."

"I'll go to Green Street." Batman turned and left the laboratory. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "Clark, take Lex to the Batcave."

"I've unlocked all the monitoring equipment permissions. Lex, keep an eye on all the anomalies in Gotham City at all times. Clark, guard the Batcave and don't let anyone in."

With that, Batman's figure disappeared into the hallway, exuding a demeanor of iron and iciness that was different from before. Lex and Clark exchanged a glance, their shocked expressions completely uncontrollable.

Lex pursed his lips and said, "You better tell me carefully what has been happening during this time. Damn it, I've been busy with getting my papers published recently. How did this suddenly..."

As Batman left the research building, intending to contact Alfred to send a helicopter, the Bat Wing's silhouette appeared on the skyline. After landing on the rooftop of a building, Hal stepped out from inside.

He glanced at Batman and said, "Your butler contacted me, said you needed a professional fighter pilot. Since I happened to be free, I came. Triple pay for holidays, no need to thank me."

Batman stepped onto the Bat Wing first, followed closely by Hal. As the hatch closed with a click, Batman turned his head and looked at Hal. "You have superpowers, right?"

Hal was taken aback by the question but nodded. "Green Lantern energy, you mean? Yeah?"

"I have a superpower too. Do you know what it is?"

"What is it?"

"I'm super rich."

Batman leaned back, resting against the seat. Turning his head forward, he said, "Three hundred times the pay, and... thank you."

With a slight tremble of Hal's hand, the Bat Wing flew over the vast expanse of towering blue cabbages. In just a few minutes, it landed on the rooftop of another building.

The dark figure leaped down, his cape illuminated into a dazzling neon color by the police lights. Gordon had just put away his gun when he turned his head and saw Batman emerging from the shadows.

He was about to speak but saw Batman stepping directly out of the shadow. Gordon was momentarily stunned but ultimately said, "The suspect is in the house ahead. To ensure there's no intense conflict leading to casualties, we're devising a raid plan..."

"No need. I'll go in alone. I already have some speculations." Batman shook his head. Under Gordon's gaze, he flipped over the alleyway's wall along the shadows.

Walking through the rain-soaked yard, pushing open a rusty door, in the dimly lit room sat a figure. Batman stood at the door, looking at him, then spoke:

"Professor Klein, long time no see."

Sitting at the table inside the room was Jonathan Crane, the future Scarecrow, world-renowned psychologist and expert in mental illness, former professor of psychology at Gotham University.

Jonathan was pouring himself some water, his expression very calm, as if he hadn't seen Batman. He took a sip from the glass, then said, "It seems Schiller's treatment for you was quite successful. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given me a chance to speak."

"But I still believe I'm not inferior to him. Your condition is also rare in the field of psychology. If it were handed to me, I would achieve no less than him." Jonathan said with his head lowered.

"I came here alone to ask you a question." Batman's low voice echoed in the room. He said, "You're also a world-renowned psychologist. Perhaps only you can answer my question."

Jonathan turned his head to look at Batman. His figure was against the light, making him appear even darker. Batman continued, "Why would someone, with no injuries to the body, no head trauma, completely healthy, fall into a coma?"

Jonathan's hand trembled, and the water in the cup spilled out. His fingertips trembled slightly.

Then, he closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, sighed, and looked up at the ceiling, saying:

"...It seems, my defeat wasn't unjust."

Everyone: ?

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1012: Scarecrow's Misfortune (Part 1)