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Chapter 447: The Echo of Scream (1)

Batman didn't wait for too long. He turned around, intending to leave the monitoring room and stop Joker's conspiracy. However, at that moment, the previously open door of the monitoring room suddenly closed shut.

Just like all the doors in the underground rooms, the monitoring room's door was also made of solid metal and blast-proof. Batman threw a few mini bombs at it, leaving only some scorch marks on the door but unable to cause significant damage.

Batman was certain that the abrupt closing of the monitoring room's door was not accidental. However, he didn't see any additional movements from Joker on the screen. This indicated that the door might not have been closed remotely by him; someone else must have closed it.

As Joker continued speaking on the screen, Batman couldn't be completely sure if there were footsteps coming during that time. If that was the case, it meant Joker had an accomplice.

Frowning, Batman pondered the situation. During their chase by the Agents in the Manor, Joker must have been in the monitoring room, observing them in real-time. The timely information received by the Agents proved Joker's presence in the room at that time.

After the Agents stopped pursuing them, they devised a plan at the entrance of the first floor. Following that, Batman began crafting bombs using helicopter components while Joker sought out Lex and Clark, eventually kidnapping both of them.

The timeline seemed to fit, but there was a significant loophole. If Joker had indeed kidnapped Lex and Clark while Batman was making the bombs, when did Joker himself create those bombs?

Batman saw clearly that the bomb he used earlier, the one that made noise and lured the residents out, wasn't small. Though its construction was relatively simple, it still required some time to make. Not to mention the bomb that was suspended from the ceiling.

Both of these were obvious homemade bombs and couldn't have been ready-made. It had taken Batman some time to prepare the bomb that blew up the underground exit. He didn't believe Joker could have made two bombs in the same amount of time and also subdued Lex and Clark.

Dealing with Lex alone might be manageable, but Clark was not so easily handled. Furthermore, if Batman's assumptions were correct, Lex was not on the same floor. Therefore, whether Joker made the bombs first or captured the two first, he would have to move between different floors, and considering the time it would take to go back and forth, it was absolutely impossible.

Did Joker have an accomplice? Who could it be, and why would they help Joker?

Batman hadn't figured out the answers to these questions when he heard Joker's voice coming from the ground floor, speaking with a relaxed and joyful tone, as if reciting an opening poem.

"First, let me introduce to you... Clark Kent."

"As you can see, he's handsome and tall, and I can also tell you that he's very just and kind."

"When there's an explosion in the waiting room, he rushes from miles away to rescue. When he hears his friends are in danger, he extends a helping hand. At the same time, he is a freshman at Metropolis University, excelling in academics and with a bright future..."

"Of course, we must not forget his family background. He comes from a small town in Kansas, where his parents live happily on a farm..."

Joker kept lavishing praise upon Clark, repeatedly emphasizing how excellent, kind, and just he was. However, at that moment, Batman saw one of the rooms on the screen suddenly turn into a blue blinking square. In the center of the blue blink, there was a line of white letters saying, "Do Not Disturb."

He knew that someone in that room pressed the "Do Not Disturb" button, meaning they voted for Clark Kent.

Batman wasn't surprised. This banquet had invited many people, not just business elites, but also people from the entertainment industry. Not everyone had received higher education, and each person had different inclinations. It was not unexpected for some to stand out and support Clark.

Moreover, many of them didn't know Clark personally. Hearing Joker's excessive praise, they couldn't help but feel a rebellious mentality, thinking this was just the madman's conspiracy.

Soon, more and more blue squares lit up on the screen, until almost all the screens in the guest rooms displayed the blue blinking squares. Batman noticed that many people were holding telephones, shouting loudly as if trying to make their voices heard through the walls.

By reading their lips, Batman could understand what they were saying.

"Damn it! They must have voted for him! Do you want to get Luthor's son killed? He won't spare us!"

"Where did old Luthor go? His son got kidnapped, and he doesn't care?!"

"Who knows if this guy called Clark is Joker's accomplice? I don't believe anyone can be as perfect as he's described."

"I know little Luthor, he's a poor child with autism, and he's still young. In the future, he might inherit the Luthor Group. We can't kill him..."

"We can't kill little Luthor. He's old Luthor's only son, and if he inherits the Luthor Group, he'll surely be worse than his father. If he dies, old Luthor will find a more capable heir, and that'll be trouble!" ...

In this manner, almost all the rooms started blinking blue. The cold light fell upon Batman's mask, and the information conveyed in their words entered his mind, blending with Joker's constant flow of flattery. It was as if the entire world had suddenly been split into two halves.

One side was filled with praise, and the other with murderous intent. Two completely different emotions surrounded Batman.

It was a bizarre and absurd scene, where all the actors on this stage seemed to be playing their own roles independently. Joker lavished compliments on Clark, but the other supporting roles didn't share his sentiment; they stubbornly made their own decisions.

Yet, there seemed to be invisible connections among them. Each person observed others' reactions and then made what they believed was the right choice.

Soon, Batman noticed that many of those who pressed the button first became angry and shouted with their telephones:

"It's not that I wanted to press it; I was forced to!"

"The madman said that if we don't press the button, he'll release radiation and give us all cancer. You don't know how painful cancer is!"

"My father died from late-stage lung cancer. In his final days, he could only rely on painkillers to stay alive. It was so painful; I don't want to end up like him!"

"What's wrong with me? I just want to live. Why can't I press it?"

"He's just a big student, so what if he's a good learner? What great achievements can he have in the future? Maybe he'll just go back to farming, and the world doesn't need one more farmer!"

"I run a company worth millions, with so many employees relying on me to support them. I'm more important than him!"

"Why is he the one tied up while I'm the one making the choice? Because I'm a voter, and blame the voters if they make the wrong choice!"

Batman stood there, watching them with their sneering mouths, raised eyes, and spittle flying out as they vehemently argued and scrambled for justifications.

Suddenly, Batman had an odd feeling that they were so engrossed in the situation. Even in the face of such circumstances, they could use their clever minds to justify their actions.

They were actors, not spectators, and after being drawn into the river of rules, they never thought about coming ashore; instead, they tried to be the fastest swimmers and hoped that their comrades falling at the end would satisfy the crocodiles and ensure their own safety.

Were they victims? Perhaps, Batman thought.

When the screens filled with blinking blue squares, the cold light shone into Batman's eyes, flowing down his eyelashes like ice crystals melting under the eaves on a snowy day.

At this moment, he couldn't help but wonder why they were so serious.

Shaking his head to push away those thoughts, Batman knew this spectacle still couldn't shake him. He was no longer the inexperienced Batman.

He took out a device from his utility belt and began attempting to pry open the door. Although Joker threatened to press the button if he left, he couldn't just sit idly and do nothing. That wasn't Batman's style.

Soon, Joker's actions on the screen confirmed Batman's earlier suspicion. He must have had an accomplice, as Joker picked up another telephone with his other hand and said into it with a puzzled tone:

"Emergency communication! Emergency communication! We've understood from an anonymous but reliable source that Lionel Luthor is dead!"

"That means the friend we're hanging here with, Lex Luthor's father, the controller of the Luthor Group, is dead!"

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