chsdbacks Chapter 66 Essence
Chapter 66 Essence
Chapter 66 Essence
On the Bat Stealth aircraft, Chen Tao sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"Batcomputer, connect me to Robin."
no response.
"Hey Bat PC. Connect me to Robin."
"Connected... Batman is calling Robin."
The plane remained hovering, with the butler Alfred sitting in the pilot's seat, a candle stub mask beside him.
Soon, Tim Drake's face appeared on the screen in front of him.
He put his legs up on the table, picked up a drink, took a swig with a grunting sound, and then turned around and took a big bite of Alfred's secret recipe sandwich.
"Tim, is everything alright at the reservoir, the assembly square, the night market, and other places where people gather? Is Gotham Television's firewall up and running? Has it been hacked? Are the surveillance cameras on the television station's interview vehicles working properly? Remember, if anyone steals these vehicles, immediately cut them off from—"
"No, old man." Tim finished his drink in a huff, then tossed the empty plastic cup behind him.
"Damn it, Batman, none of the things you predicted happened. I think you're just looking for excuses to leave me in the Batcave and not take me on the mission!"
Chen Tao felt a little guilty.
Undeniably, he did have such thoughts, but it was mostly out of wariness towards scarecrows.
At all times, we should be wary of Gotham's three old tricks: poisoning the Gotham Reservoir, delivering terrorist speeches to the citizens of Gotham on television, and releasing fear-inducing gas in public squares where people gather...
The Gothamites are adept at this kind of thing; it's old-fashioned, but extremely destructive.
Chen Tao knew that the Joker was a complete madman, but that didn't mean that the other criminals in Arkham were normal.
For a madman, there is no such thing as "this one is a little crazy, that one is not so crazy".
A madman is a madman. Chen Tao had read "The War of Jokes and Riddles." The more he learned about the comic, the clearer it became that he should never underestimate any madman.
So he said:
"I'm so sorry to have left you in the Batcave, Tim. I apologize."
"I admit I did it on purpose."
Batman's sudden direct approach made Robin a little embarrassed. He immediately put his feet off the table and began to stammer.
"Oh, no, it's okay, Batman, I'm not blaming you!"
Chen Tao smiled. He understood all too well what rebellious teenagers were thinking. Maybe Batman didn't understand kids, but Chen Tao certainly did.
"But this is just out of concern for you, and it is indeed necessary to be wary of the Scarecrow's possible actions."
Chen Tao deliberately emphasized, "Your work is not meaningless; it is an extremely important backup countermeasure plan."
"You know that," Chen Tao said.
"Generally speaking, what Scarecrow does is manipulate fear, so whether it's poisoning the sewers or gathering a large number of Arkham criminals, these are not the essence of his behavior."
"I never underestimate my enemies. Scarecrow is just as crazy as the clown; he doesn't have a clear purpose like a traditional criminal."
Chen Tao added:
"Take Bane for example. If Bane wants to poison the city or do something, he must have a purpose, such as taking control of the city, killing someone, or exhausting me, just like his previous Arkham Asylum riot plan."
"But scarecrows are different; scarecrows simply enjoy the act of instilling fear in others."
"Therefore, the outcome is not the scarecrow's purpose; intimidating others is the scarecrow's purpose. Everything he does is to better intimidate others. He is not a criminal in the true sense, and we cannot use conventional thinking to deduce his identity."
"Therefore, based on what I know of Klein, Scarecrow is capable of anything if his plans go wrong, including but not limited to cooperating with others or even submitting to them."
Chen Tao's gaze was deep and thoughtful.
That's right, that's the biggest difference between Scarecrow and the Joker. Although the Joker also forms alliances with others, these alliances usually end up like the saying "A great man cannot remain subservient to others for long," followed by internal strife and chaos. Luther must have a lot to say about this.
Chen Tao continued speaking to Robin:
"But the scarecrow is different. It doesn't matter to him whether he rules the city or gains money and power. He just wants to scare people."
"It's good to scare ordinary people; it's even better to scare the whole city through Gotham radio; it's good to scare people with bombs; it's good to scare people with words; it's good to scare people in the dark; it's good to scare people in the daytime. He'll get an orgasm as long as he scares people."
"All he wanted was that shiver; he didn't care what happened afterward."
"That's why I insisted on dealing with the scarecrow first."
Chen Tao concluded:
"The Scarecrow is a villain with a tendency to slide to his knees. He is also suspected of stealing the nuclear bomb. If he really did steal it, he might not care about cooperating with or even submitting to others in exchange for better protection of the nuclear bomb, and letting him happily scare others every day—"
"After all, he just wants to scare people. If the nuclear bomb explodes, he won't have anything to scare. But if Batman comes knocking and takes the nuclear bomb, he won't have anything to scare either."
"Therefore, finding allies to protect the nuclear weapons is the most likely thing he will do."
Chen Tao has many enemies, including Bain and the Court of Owls behind Lincoln March, so...
"Therefore, the best option is to destroy the scarecrow before it consummates with them..."
Chen Tao wanted to continue, but Alfred spoke up:
"Excuse me, sir, but I'm afraid Professor Klein has already done so."
Alfred switched the view from the Penguin's glasses onto the screen. It was a remote camera disguised as a monocle, a piece of advanced technology created by Lucius.
"Moreover, what Klein has done is probably beyond our imagination."
Alfred said slowly, "Creative ideas—we often forget that Scarecrow, besides being a master of manipulating fear, is also a genius in pharmacology. If Klein's claims are true, and these things are indeed his creations, then he probably collaborated with others a long time ago."
Chen Tao also saw what was happening on the screen, and his face immediately darkened.
Indeed, one should never underestimate any Gotham villain.
On screen, two Claws stepped out from beside Lincoln March. They drew knives from behind their backs, and then, to Lincoln March's astonishment, their bulging muscles burst through the Claws' uniforms. They tightened their masks and roared to the sky!
"Sir, have you made any contingency plans for this situation?"
"have."
"What is it, sir?"
"I."
(End of this chapter)