radicalducati Chapter 79 Promise
Chapter 79 Promise
Chapter 79 Promise
"?"
Tim froze.
who am I?
Where am I?
Is this really a bat cave?
Tim fell into deep thought.
A violent mental storm swept through his mind, and the mysteries of the Big Bang were replayed in his 1.4-kilogram human brain in those few seconds. Tim felt a burst of steam shoot out of his head with a loud bang.
Chen Tao awkwardly pulled him aside.
"This is a necessary method, just like social obligations that are impossible to resist."
He explained:
"Basso Caro (Mudman's real name) is a complete performer. I'm not sure if you fully understand his true nature—"
"I understand, Batman. I completely understand your decision. I'm alright." Tim took two deep breaths, barely regaining his composure. "Remember the first time we faced him?"
"He pretended to be resistant to electric currents and then staged a lifelike death. Before that, he impersonated all sorts of people in Gotham City..."
Chen Tao chimed in, "That's right, yet another kind of madness that defies common sense. Basso Caro has no ulterior motives; his sole purpose is to play a role. And his shapeshifting ability, granted by his superpowers, allows him to become the world's best actor."
He continued in a low voice, "Beneath that shell, his life was empty. After that accident, Basso Caro completely disappeared, leaving only a shell driven by a shattered self in pursuit of pure performance."
"High-society gentlemen, sanitation workers sweeping the streets, women, men, children eating lollipops, school teachers, doctors—whatever the role, as long as it challenges Basso Caro, he will start playing these people for a period of time..."
"He would beat the original owner up, then dump him somewhere far away from Gotham, in some messy place, and then take his place until the real owner returned."
Chen Tao said, "Since he's pursuing an acting career, I'll just give him a script that's challenging enough."
Tim looked at the other man, whose enormous palm held a small performance booklet. Tim glanced down at it and saw that it read:
From Arkham to the Batcave: How to Become Batman's Favorite Robin
The following subtitle is:
Basso Caro's Youthful Diary: Robin's Diary - A Life of Justice Needs No Explanation!
It says on the back:
How was Robin, Batman's beloved, created?
What are the ultimate rules to follow to become Robin?
How can you win Batman's favor and make him see you as his one and only?
The answers are all in this book. Anyone can become Robin; all you need to do is read this epic masterpiece!
"..."
Tim felt he should be angry; he had every reason to be angry.
But strangely, the anger seemed to be suppressed by something else, so it didn't rise to my heart at all.
His eyes glanced at the book.
This book was written by Batman.
I really don't want to know what's written on it at all!
"You finished writing this book a while ago?"
"Yes, that's right," Chen Tao replied, still absorbed in his plan to manipulate the clay-faced man through various underhanded means.
"I had already written it down. Back when I was dealing with the ventriloquists, I had already thought about how to control the clay-faced man... Although the core operating principles for these mentally unstable lunatics are different, they are essentially the same."
He added:
"This book is specifically written to exploit Bassocaro's weaknesses, and everything in it is something Robin would do..."
Tim was no longer in the mood to listen to Batman continue.
"You'll have to show me this booklet later," he said righteously.
"I must offer a profound critique."
Chen Tao didn't understand what the other person was thinking, so he nodded and said, "Okay. I'll open it on the Bat computer for you to see later."
"Me too! Me too!" Harley Quinn excitedly raised her hand. "Give me one too!"
She struck a boxing pose and chuckled twice: "The first female Robin in history, Harley Quinn's Robin Diary, stay tuned for a grand serialization!"
A silence.
Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn's best friend, tugged at her sleeve amidst Tim's murderous glare.
"Why are you pulling me? I need to— Waaaaaah!"
Before Harley Quinn could finish speaking, Poison Ivy manipulated a bunch of plants to gag her. She smiled apologetically at Tim and gestured for him to continue.
Chen Tao ignored their little squabbles and gave a few short commands to the Batcomputer. Then, dozens of hidden, liftable transparent glass cages rose from the ground floor of the Batcave's main hall.
He called over Killer Croc, Ventriloquist, and Harley, and had them stuff all the chip-controlled villains into the device one by one.
While the others were working, he made a video call to Alfred:
"Batman is calling Penny One. How long until the Talon assassins get their supplies back?"
"There's about an hour and a half left."
Alfredo, facing the drawing, moved the joystick, and the Batplane's mechanical arm, like a claw machine, grabbed a bunch of writhing, missing limbs and unfortunate claws: "There are too many of them, I have to keep going."
The old housekeeper exclaimed, "I can't believe I'm going to have to put them all back together! I haven't played with any building blocks in over 60 years, since I put them aside when I was four. And now I'm going to put together hundreds of incomplete limbs all at once."
"……Thanks for your hard work."
Chen Tao said.
“It’s no trouble at all, it’s what I should do, sir.” Alfred shook his head and then said, “They can help you, right? These claws can become your strength, helping you fight Bane, even if it’s just by wearing him down a little.”
He said, "They can make sure you never have any more wounds, right?"
"Yes," Chen Tao replied, "The Claws are indeed a formidable fighting force; they are very useful."
"Then what I've done has been meaningful," Alfred said. "About that four days from now... promise me you'll come back safely, okay?"
Chen Tao remained silent for a moment.
Alfred wasn't the type to constantly emphasize his efforts to others, but today he was acting out of character. He knew what the other person was thinking—
The old butler just wanted to use his efforts to win over his poor little Bruce.
The old man was simply determined to get a promise, a promise of a safe return... Whether or not that promise could be kept was not something he could decide.
He just wanted that promise.
"I will," Chen Tao assured him. "We agreed to go into seclusion, remember? I promised you. We'll go to Fiji, or the Hawaiian Islands, or Metropolis... somewhere no one knows us, after Gotham is over."
"I will retire with you," Batman promised. "I will return safely."
"I have a lot of villains from Arkham Asylum right now, and they'll get there before I do."
Chen Tao said, "With them wearing down Bane's stamina, I won't lose."
Alfred lowered his head slightly, making it difficult to see the expression on his face, and then in the next moment, it transformed into a bright smile as clear as a sunny day.
"it is good."
"We made a promise, Bruce... you have to keep your word!"
"it is good."
They hung up the call.
Chen Tao took a deep breath, stood up, and walked into one of the transparent cages.
He snapped his fingers, and the prisoners in the cage were immediately deactivated from the chip's control.
"Harvey Dent, Two-Face, old friend," Chen Tao said, "I need your help."
"Forget it. Even if I, Two-Face, were to die of boredom, or jump off this cliff in Arkham, I wouldn't help Batman in the slightest!"
Chen Tao narrowed his eyes.
"That's not up to you. Hehehe..."
Thank you everyone for the donations!
(End of this chapter)