Chapter 49: The Lead Actors of the Grand Drama

"Don't you feel like the firepower on the other side has decreased significantly?" a police officer asked. "Do you think they might be sneaking over?"

"Not really."

"Sounds like there's some movement downstairs, but fortunately I locked the door before coming up."

"That's impossible. How could they possibly get around to the lower level?"

"Open the door quickly! I am your Captain Harvey!" Harvey Bullock ran up to the second floor, crawled behind a barricade, and carefully observed the situation ahead.

Then he saw a huge cabinet move and literally "swallow" a gunman whole.

"What kind of monster is that?" Harvey Bullock blinked hard, deeply suspicious that he had inhaled some strange substance in the chemical plant and was now hallucinating.

"I told you I wasn't seeing things earlier! That cabinet really moves!" Other police officers also noticed the anomaly over there, and the remaining few gunmen finally realized something was wrong.

Roland suddenly burst out from the cabinet, darting rapidly toward the remaining gunmen.

Several men opened fire on Roland, their various weapons spitting bright muzzle flashes. Roland executed a roll to evade them, bullets kicking up dense sparks on the floor.

"Hey!" Carrying a heavy experimental workbench, Roland hurled it directly forward, knocking one gunman unconscious with the impact.

Taking advantage of this opening, he closed the distance to the gunmen even further.

Given Roland's abilities, moving fast with punches within seven paces was no exaggeration.

Using the "active step" footwork of Bajiquan, he instantly crossed the distance, appearing right in front of the gunmen. Immediately afterward, Roland's punches and kicks rained down like a storm.

Perineum, eyes, waist, knees, ankles... Roland struck areas of the human body that were non-lethal yet excruciatingly painful, subduing all the remaining gunmen in one go.

"Thank you, Father Roland." Seeing that all the gunmen were dealt with, Harvey Bullock crawled out from behind the cover and shook hands with Roland.

"It's nothing, just lending a hand," Roland said.

After exchanging a few polite pleasantries with Roland, Harvey Bullock carefully inspected the fallen men... "Wait, these look like people from the Maroni family."

"You know them?"

"Yeah, this is Amedeo Maroni, this is Luca Galinari, Daniel Maroni... Good grief, these are all heavy hitters from the Maroni family, and they've actually been sent here." Harvey Bullock said in astonishment.

"Shouldn't this be the Joker's setup? How did it get mixed up with the mob?" Roland felt something was amiss.

"Don't worry, I'll find out soon enough." Harvey Bullock smiled good-naturedly, dragged one of the gunmen aside, and applied his special memory-recovery technique.

For the police in Gotham City, dealing with all sorts of criminals is a daily routine, and interrogation by torture is a skill they are forced to master.

As a renowned "bad cop" in Gotham City, Harvey Bullock was naturally well-versed in this routine. A few miserable screams followed by Italian curses echoed through the air, and before long, the gunman spilled everything he knew.

After listening to the confession, Harvey Bullock hastily rallied his squad and headed straight for the police precinct.

"The fear toxin the Joker stored here was quietly hijacked, and then they staged an 'accidental' fire?" Roland felt a mounting sense of pressure. Compared to the Scarecrow himself, the thought of the Joker wielding the fear toxin felt far more threatening.

Upon learning of this, Batman was even more distraught than Roland. Abandoning his nightly routine of beating up Carmine Falcone, he relentlessly searched for traces of the Joker using every available means, yet still came up empty-handed.

"Where on earth could this guy have gone..." Batman sat quietly on a rooftop in deep thought, when suddenly he spotted a familiar dark shadow slipping through the window of a jewelry store's back door—a petite yet remarkably agile figure.

"Selina..." Batman sighed, leaped off the rooftop, and fired his grappling hook, binding the lithe body of the female thief inside the building.

"Hey... What a wonderful encounter." Catwoman smiled sweetly at Batman. "I wonder, did we really bump into each other by such coincidence, or have you been quietly tailing me?"

"Just a coincidence," Batman said flatly. "I've got a headache over someone else right now..."

"Bringing up other people in front of such a charming lady is hardly polite." Catwoman twisted her body into a bizarre posture, "slipped" out of the restraints, and thrust her toe directly toward Batman's chin.

"Hmph, I suppose I do need to focus more." Batman caught Catwoman's foot, feeling somewhat startled by her ability to escape so easily.

"Well, seeing as you're so distracted, I can't be bothered to play with you anymore." Catwoman pulled her foot back, waved at Batman, and fled the scene.

Batman didn't pursue her, instead remaining silent in contemplation.

The next day.

The sewers of Gotham City.

Roland walked through the tunnels, his golden pupils glowing like flashlights. Kamaitachi blades danced around him, and he soon located a homeless child.

"Father Roland, what brings you down into the sewers?" The child, who had frequented the church for meals, naturally recognized Roland, though he looked quite surprised to see him here.

"I'm visiting relatives," Roland said. "Your king, Killer Croc, is my relative."

"Uh... really?"

"Of course, look at my eyes." Roland pointed to his golden pupils. "Aren't they identical to his?"

"They really are..." Glancing at the golden eyes that bore a striking resemblance to Killer Croc's, the child nodded. "Then I'll take you to see His Majesty the King."

Several minutes later.

"What relatives do I have?" Killer Croc was utterly baffled. His mother had died in childbirth, and his father had abandoned him, leaving him to be raised by an aunt.

Yet because of his aunt's discrimination and abuse, she had long since been bitten to death by a Killer Croc who reached his breaking point.

"Could some con artist be trying to pull a fast one on me? Got a lot of nerve, huh?"

"Hey, Waylon!" Roland pushed the door open and walked in.

"Don't tell me the relative looking for me is supposed to be you." Killer Croc froze, staring into Roland's eyes. "What's wrong with your eyes? You didn't get colored contacts just to imitate me, did you?"

"Am I that idle?" Roland shook his head. "This is a special ability of mine."

"Fine whatever. What do you want?"

"I'd like to ask you to act in a play with me."

"Not interested. I've got a big plan underway." Killer Croc shook his head.

"Don't be so hasty. Hear out my terms first."

"What terms? I'm not short on money right now."

"It's not about money. The role you'll be playing is a top-tier villain in Gotham City who effortlessly captures Batman alive, humiliating him thoroughly before executing him in public." Roland added, "By the way, the Batman in this will be played by the real deal."

"I'm in. When do we shoot?"