radicalducati Chapter 794 Fighting the Invisible Enemy
Chapter 794 Fighting the Invisible Enemy
Chapter 794 Fighting the Invisible Enemy
In fact, Chen Tao had already made his decision before the old man Huo Rong began his speech in front of Chen Tao and the Supreme Little Superman.
The reason is simple: Chen Tao learned the other party's identity.
The old man, Huo Rong, managed to deceive Supreme Little Superman and directly revealed his identity to Chen Tao through the telepathic connection of the Emotion Spectrum user.
This identity alone allowed Chen Tao to quickly ascertain the other party's purpose.
Throughout this protracted war, Chen Tao was consistently at a disadvantage. Like a weary hunting dog, he was constantly driven to repair the burning thatched huts and chased around by hurricanes and lightning.
If the difficulties Chen Tao faced before were like towering mountains or tangled messes, now, all Chen Tao feels is emptiness.
There was nothing there.
But that's not the worst part.
The most terrifying thing was that when he first saw the old man Huo Rong, he saw his own reflection in him.
Yes, it's my own shadow.
Chen Tao knows himself all too well.
Although they are all Batmen who devise plans, each Batman has subtle differences.
The Bat Who Laughs has a complex web of plans, and he likes to trick you into sabotaging his apparent goals in order to achieve his deeper objectives, thus completing his signature "everything is going according to plan" buff.
The main universe's Batman, on the other hand, tends to be more adaptable, but he prepares a way to deal with any possibility.
For example, he once planted bombs in every major building in Gotham so that he could use them to break the deadlock if he ever had to fight enemies in those buildings.
As for the variant Batman like Night Owl that Chen Tao encountered, he... he seems to have many plans, but he lacks a central guiding principle. He plans for the sake of planning, giving the impression that he'll do anything.
But Chen Tao is different. Chen Tao's plans are more aggressive and destructive than theirs, just like how Chen Tao likes to manipulate his teammates for no reason...
First, Chen Tao has a purpose.
Next, he will write a script for this purpose, and then do everything possible to steer things toward the script he has written.
More than a planner, he was a manipulator, manipulating the enemy, his teammates, and himself, playing out the script he had set out in advance.
Regardless of the process, this result will definitely be achieved at some point, in some place.
For example, can the result of "controlling the Supreme Little Monkey" be achieved on Hero Day? If not, then I will choose to merge with Barbatos and then go myself.
No matter what unexpected events occur, I, Chen Tao, can ensure that this outcome will not change.
This result, however, laid the foundation for another outcome and served as a prerequisite for the occurrence of another event.
such as:
Controlling the Supreme Superman → At the crucial moment, the Supreme Superman punched the World Forger's disgusting blue face!
This is Chen Tao's way of doing things. The old bat in the main universe is like a groundhog planting bombs, the laughing bat is like a spider weaving a web, and Chen Tao is like a puppeteer manipulating everyone with puppet strings.
Chen Tao is skilled at manipulating everyone, so he is extremely sensitive to this kind of manipulation.
Now, Chen Tao clearly felt this sense of being manipulated.
Someone was lurking behind the elderly scourge kneeling before him, taking all his actions into account.
He used the exact same manipulation methods as Chen Tao, forcibly guiding events through constant intervention.
At this moment, Chen Tao suddenly realized that even though the old man Huo Rong himself hadn't realized it, the fact that the other person was kneeling before him was also the result of manipulation by the mastermind behind the scenes.
The plan of the Old Man Calamity was provided by the mastermind behind the scenes, and he was exposed to Chen Tao's attention because of his guidance of Luther and his giving Luther the Doomsday.
Chen Tao suddenly fell silent, and the red light in his eyes disappeared.
"What's wrong?" Superman didn't quite understand, so he turned his head to ask Chen Tao.
Chen Tao felt a little dizzy.
The main reason why Chen Tao's puppeteer-type plan was able to operate normally was that he had read the comics and knew everyone. Even the world's creators' supposedly secretive purposes were completely clear to Chen Tao.
Based on this premise, he can make moves as sharp as a knife, each strike drawing blood.
But if someone could understand Chen Tao as well as Chen Tao himself, and could manipulate him without Chen Tao even being aware of it, then…
What a terrifying enemy this would be!
Chen Tao finally understood why his previous plans had repeatedly failed, and he also understood why, even though he had clearly achieved his goal of joining forces with Supreme Superman, he still felt that something was wrong.
However, the old man's actions did not stop just because Chen Tao's thinking was stagnant; he quickly unleashed a large amount of information in Chen Tao's mind.
"You probably don't know this, but the Supreme Superman beside you has already reached an agreement with the World Founder. The World Founder has proposed an agreement to the Supreme Superman..."
As long as Superman Supreme helps him achieve multiverse integration, he can capture the entire Golden Age and nest it into his Infant Multiverse, then continuously extend the Golden Age... a genuine continuation!
That makes perfect sense; it's exactly what Superman Supreme would do. In Death Metal, The Batman Who Laughs used a perfectly created universe to pull Superman Supreme into his camp, at least for a short time.
A golden age that skips the Crisis on Infinite Earths and continues straight ahead? This would drive Superman Supreme insane; no matter how severe his madness, it would be instantly cured upon hearing this.
Just hearing this news made Chen Tao's head buzz, and then he continued to hear the other party's incessant output:
"And also, judging by the timeline, Hero's Day should have already found the body of the World Forger deep within the World Forge. He broke through the defensive counterattack system left behind by Barbatos—"
"I already know that."
"The Monitor actually had a purpose in releasing the Counter-Monitor from the hypertime stream; he had already prepared for it..."
"That's enough, wait a moment."
Chen Tao's mind was in turmoil. All this information and intelligence was deliberately given to him by the people behind the scenes who were manipulating the Elderly Calamity. The core of Chen Tao's manipulative plan was based on intelligence, and rashly absorbing this intelligence would only pollute his database.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Chen Tao smacked his lips, slowly discerning a different meaning from it.
The manipulators behind the scenes are using this method to...
Sending a friendly signal?
But it could also be a cannonball covered in icing.
Chen Tao's expression gradually changed from confusion to determination.
He could sense that what the old man Huo Rong said was true; it was his habit.
He tends to fabricate lies to deal with insignificant people, then turn them into reality to cover up the past, but he wouldn't do something so irrational with truly dangerous individuals.
If the person behind the Elderly Calamity wanted to manipulate Chen Tao directly, he shouldn't have exposed the Elderly Calamity to Chen Tao in the first place, right?
He shouldn't have been so obvious, letting Luther be completely fooled by the Old Man of Calamity. Even a fool would have noticed something was wrong. He could have easily lured the opponent elsewhere, perfectly avoiding him.
There's also the option of giving Doomsday directly to Luther and then handing it over to Chen Tao. Couldn't the other party have used a different method instead of just giving it to them directly?
The other party must have anticipated that Chen Tao would immediately come knocking through these two clues after doing something like this, but the person behind it did it deliberately, so their purpose is...
Chen Tao's gaze fell on the elderly Huo Rong in front of him, who still had the face of an elderly Terry.
"The real Terry isn't dead, is he?" Chen Tao asked telepathically.
"No, absolutely not." The old evil spirit immediately replied, "I am not a person who kills indiscriminately. I just used the car accident to steal his face, captured him, and hid him in his universe to prevent anyone from discovering anomalies in the timeline when they trace my identity back."
Chen Tao nodded.
Not killing indiscriminately is a friendly signal.
But what is their real purpose?
Chen Tao suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
If you lure him here and then extend so much goodwill without offering any guidance, then what the other person needs to do is quite simple...
Show.
The person behind the scenes wanted to show Chen Tao the dangers of old age.
But what's the point? Is it going to be a dialogue like, "Mom, I found a flower!" or "Have you finished your homework?!"
The elderly evil spirit recounted his plans on a telepathic channel.
Retaliate against the Bat Who Laughs, sever the connection between the Anti-Monitor and Barbatos, and manipulate him...
Chen Tao gradually realized what the person behind the scenes wanted to show.
A plan to expose the scourge of the elderly?
No.
From his elevated position, Chen Tao could see the hidden malice beneath the elderly Huo Rong's almost obsequious attitude.
Some people kneel down in order to better take advantage of others.
"It's just one Earth, just one Earth. Listen to me, Batman, help me, I've found a way to save my universe. Listen to me, all I need is for you to listen."
Within the telepathic space, the elderly Huo Rong shared his senses with Chen Tao, showing him something strange:
A miniature Earth suspended in the palm of your hand.
"This thing is a fake created by the World Founders. You understand what I want to do now, right? This is Earth 15."
The voice of the old man, Huo Rong, echoed in Chen Tao's mind:
"I can replace the real Earth-15 with a fake Earth-15 and a fake world one second before Earth-15 is destroyed, smoothly cutting Earth-15 off the timeline and turning it into an independent universe that keeps looping and has no future."
He said, "That way, the integrity of the multiverse's history won't be affected, right? Back then, I would still think that I had lost my home and mother, and I would carry the time travel lamp and do my best to save my home."
"Those great deeds that created the Green Lantern Corps and laid the foundation for the multiverse will not disappear; they will all be preserved in the timeline."
No one was hurt, no one will feel pain because of this, only I got what I wanted, I got what I desired, and I saved the people I love.
Chen Tao narrowed his eyes slightly. The old Huo Rong had gone a little crazy. He was so determined to believe in the script he had compiled. He had failed too many times, but he had never been so close to success as he was today.
His mindset had become somewhat unbalanced. He was like an old dog firmly believing that he would definitely get a bone. Although he was saying those things, he could no longer hide his urgency.
His attitude was sincere and genuine, at least it appeared so.
The old man said, "Can't this story... be considered a good story?"
"Oh, of course, of course, you will be rewarded. My plan will also help you, Batman Dragon. You are the hero who protects the entire multiverse, aren't you?"
Chen Tao looked at the other person and inexplicably thought of Gollum, the monster who guarded the One Ring in the Lord of the Rings novels.
"Whether you're a monitor, a counter-monitor, or a world-builder, I can help you fight them. All I need is my history, my home. You need to stabilize the multiverse; our goals aren't conflicting!"
"Moreover, if my home world wants to continue its history, it must be attached to the main universe's timeline. Your repair of the entire multiverse is also a good thing for me and my home world. In fact, you and I both know that once you enter the World Forger's Infant Multiverse, you become his puppet on the table. I will never let my universe fall into that situation again... right?"
Everything sounds reasonable, but there's one problem:
If a fake is used to replace the real one, a piece of history that affects the entire multiverse can be peeled off from the trans-time stream without any hidden dangers...
If all of this were really that simple, then such an operation should have been overused by countless regretful beings in the multiverse.
So, what should we do?
Should we directly persuade the Supreme Superman to kill the old scourge in front of him with a single punch?
Or……
I accept.
Chen Tao said.
His gaze lingered, looking behind the elderly Huo Rong.
One after another, the puppet strings hung heavily upside down from beyond the sky, clinging to the other's body.
The aged face of the old monster, which was inherited from the future Batman Terry, changed countless expressions under the pull of the heavy puppet strings, showing decay, malice, and fanaticism.
The most fervent hope, love, and reluctance—the deepest emotions—gave birth to the most persistent monster.
Chen Tao turned to Supreme Superman and said, "I just spoke with him, and now I know who the mastermind is."
"Oh, who is it?"
"World Forger, my friends, we must be extra careful around him from now on, and as for this guy in front of us..."
Chen Tao reached out and put it into the metal supernatural space inside his body.
"Let's go."
He said this.
Supreme Superman followed Chen Tao to open the space and returned to the side of the Anti-Monitor Dragon.
Meanwhile...
In his telepathic channel, the Supreme Superman whispered to the World Builder:
"What do you think of this 'future Batman,' Terry...?"
(End of this chapter)