2217 Side Story: Fantasy Journey 58
After a discussion – or rather, the two bigshots discussed, and Victor minded his own business – Superman finally didn’t take action.
That was because Master Wayne had said very calmly, “n.o.body knows the Joker better than I do. If you take action directly, you’ll only step into his trap, and the consequences will be even worse. Then, you’ll realize that you’re being forced step by step into a desperate situation.”
Superman couldn’t say anything in response.
That was because Gotham was Master Wayne’s territory. Given the tacit understanding between the two bigshots, they rarely stepped into each other’s cities — this was mainly when it came to fighting crime; there was no problem in Superman saving people around the world.
!!On the other hand, law and order in Metropolis was clearly much better than in Gotham, and the people at the bottom were at least several times happier.
To some extent, most of the bad guys and sc.u.m in Metropolis were diverted to Gotham.
Although Batman broke bones at the smallest thing, it was much better than Superman monitoring the entire city and easily destroying their businesses.
Putting everything together, Superman really didn’t know much about Gotham’s supervillains.
But he knew about Batman and the Joker’s years of entanglement.
There were a few times when the Joker had Batman by the neck and forced him to make a choice.
Superman felt that if he were Batman, he would probably have retired after one round.
There was really no solution to how the Joker played with human nature.
It was just like that famous question about who to save between your mother and your girlfriend. Any choice you made definitely wouldn’t end well — saving who lived = choosing who died. No matter what you chose, you would be scolded for being inhumane.
This wasn’t about how virtuous you were, but how malicious the instigator was.
That was because both choices were wrong; whatever you did would be wrong. You were doomed to get zero points.
For some reason, Master Wayne had calmed down a lot recently. Um, it seemed it happened not long after he met Luke?
In the past, when he encountered a situation like this, he would be agitated and anxious as he tried to think of a way to deal with the Joker.
Now, he was still in the mood to explain to Superman and Victor, “Look, what has happened so far has nothing to do with us, but the Joker came out on live TV to say that this is all for the sake of messing with me. He clearly wants me to step in. Given his ways, he won’t let me have an easy time of it. He’ll definitely have more tricks up his sleeve.”
Both Superman and Victor nodded silently.
There were indeed idiots among the supervillains, but that definitely didn’t include the Joker.
At Master Wayne’s explanation, they were able to detach themselves from the matter and see the bigger picture.
“The later I show up, the less room the Joker will have to maneuver.” Master Wayne checked his equipment. “So, Superman, continue saving people. I’ll have Victor let you know if you’re really needed.”
He raised his head and smiled. “Don’t forget that Barry is already on a plane. He’ll be here in half an hour at most. Bale is also on his way back from Europe – he won’t take more than two hours.”
He sat down in the pilot’s seat and closed the front of the plane. “Time is on our side, so there’s no rush.”
Superman: “…Then can’t you let me out first before you close the door?”
Master Wayne curled his lip and pressed a b.u.t.ton. “I told you, you can go through the back door.”
Superman looked at the open back door. “…Thanks for the reminder.”
…
On a street in the center of Gotham, a criminal in a clown mask approached the Joker. “Boss, the convoy has been blocked again.”
Standing on the steps in front of a building, the Joker looked at the people looting shops around him and didn’t think much of it. “What is it this time?”
The criminal said, “We ran into two groups of people fighting. They burned a few cars and blocked the road.”
The Joker rubbed his toes lightly on the smooth marble floor. “What a coincidence.”
With that, his eyes went blank and he fell silent for a long while.
The criminals didn’t dare say anything and just stood there obediently.
Suddenly, the Joker sighed. “Batman, why are you so disobedient?”
The criminals: “…”
The Joker said, “Go and clear the way with the babies you stole.”
The criminal said, “Yes, boss.” He then turned around and left.
A moment later, two excavators drove out of a nearby street and headed straight for the convoy of cars.
The Joker moved down the steps as if he were dancing. “This is the best of times, this is the worst of times. Bruce baby, come and have fun with me…”
The dozens of men in clown masks around the stairs turned a blind eye to the boss’s behavior.
Don’t bother with what the boss does, just ask him what he wants you to do! That was their rule.
Those who didn’t abide by this rule were quick to die.
…
Earlier on, Victor had just blown up a few cars from the Batplane to create a traffic jam.
Now, he didn’t forget to let Bruce know. “Bruce, I’ve done my best, but it seems that the Joker was prepared. They have excavators. Do you want me to destroy them?”
Master Wayne looked at the Joker dancing below him. “No need. He’ll use even more extreme methods to force me out otherwise, which doesn’t fit with our plan to buy time.”
Victor said, “But… letting the convoy through won’t buy us time either, right?”
Hearing that, Master Wayne smiled coldly. “Over 200 rich people is also a way to buy time.”
Victor couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ver at these dark words. “Are you sure? What if he goes on a killing spree?”
Master Wayne’s smile turned even colder. “If he kills too many people, why should I show myself? Batman can be late, too. It’s impossible to stop all crime.”
Victor suddenly remembered what Luke had said in his ‘lesson’ a while ago: “The more you do, the more mistakes you make. If you don’t do anything, you won’t make any mistakes.” He now had some idea of what Luke meant.
As long as the Joker killed too many of the upper cla.s.s before Master Wayne arrived, it would be equivalent to the Joker taking the blame.
After that, no matter how the Joker tried to drag Master Wayne through the mud, it would be twice as hard.
It was like many hostage situations, where the criminals killed the hostages one by one instead of ma.s.sacring them.
The lives of the hostages were chips in a game.
If a hostage died, the offender had less leverage, and the police would counterattack even more fiercely.
It was only reasonable to use as few chips as possible to force the police to give in.
This was a mind game.
The difference was that the Joker and Batman weren’t ordinary people, and human lives weren’t that important to them.
If the Joker’s opponent was Superman, he might have succeeded.
Unfortunately, the Joker’s ‘favorite’ had always been Batman; he wasn’t interested in dull, saintly superheroes at all.
It was like how many experts in the industry were too lazy to compete with rookies, because they didn’t have to stretch themselves in a compet.i.tion; it wasn’t fun for the experts at all.
The Joker and Batman were both skilled players, and could be considered evenly matched. Only then could things be fun.