## Chapter 11: Fleeing in the Face of Danger
“You just…”
“Get out of here, I’m running. Stop! Don’t mention those 200 million dollars. I’m afraid I can’t resist temptation. Even with all the money in the world, you need to be alive…”
“That’s right, you need to be alive. Lawton (Deathstroke’s real name), you have a chance to survive if you cooperate with Cheshire Cat.”
Deathstroke stopped in his tracks. He stared at the Ventriloquist, who had just sauntered out from a corner, his face twisted with displeasure. This old geezer, he had been hiding like a turtle all this time, and now…
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Lawton. I don’t want to, but the Bat-Baby told me to do this!”
The Ventriloquist apologized with his mouth, but the barrel of the Thompson submachine gun in his hand was firmly pointed at Deathstroke. His round, plump face, his glasses reflecting a faint glow.
“Don’t force me to do this, Lawton.”
A more somber and raspy voice emerged from the Bat-Baby doll in his hand.
Deathstroke’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. “Arnold, you…”
“——If you don’t attack him, I’ll attack you.”
Chen Tao couldn’t help but secretly cheer the Ventriloquist’s assist in his heart.
Good! You understand the art of war.
“Fuck!”
Deathstroke cursed under his breath. The Ventriloquist was right. With Cheshire Cat in front, they could hold out for a minute or more. But if he clashed with the Ventriloquist now, with the wolf in front and the tiger behind, he would undoubtedly die a more humiliating death.
He picked up the rocket launcher that had been thrown to the ground.
“One minute!” he snarled. “Just one minute!”
Then he raised the rocket launcher and fired a shot at Bane.
Boom!
“Get out of the way!”
Cheshire Cat, dodging left and right, nearly got blown to the sky by the blast. She bounced and rolled to the side, gasping for breath, her voice no longer as cold.
“You bastard, you dog! You almost blew me to pieces!”
Countdown: 50 seconds.
Boom!
A fierce blaze and thick smoke engulfed Bane, but Deathstroke knew that such a weapon could only repel him, it wouldn’t do anything to him.
He fired continuously, then took three steps in two, rolling behind a car wreck.
Countdown: 40 seconds.
Bane leaped out of the smoke. Cheshire Cat tried to continue distracting him, but Bane completely ignored her, his eyes fixed on Deathstroke, and then he shot out at him like lightning. Each of his charges was like instantaneous teleportation.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With four gunshots, the four lamps illuminating the scene exploded almost simultaneously. Bane’s steps faltered slightly, but the silvery moonlight still guided his way.
Boom!
The spot where Deathstroke had just disappeared was blown up with a kick from Bane. Building debris scattered into the sky like vegetation cut by a lawnmower.
Before Deathstroke could celebrate his escape, he saw several steel bars and boulders heading straight for him.
“Ah!”
Deathstroke screamed. He barely dodged the fatal steel bars, but he was still hit on the shoulder by a boulder.
Damn it, Bane wasn’t fooled by him at all!
Bane was a master of escape, second only to Batman and Miracle Man. The tricks Deathstroke played with illusions in front of him were simply showing off in front of a master.
Not only did this move fail to buy him time, but it also allowed Bane to turn the tables, unexpectedly injuring him.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Even with a wounded shoulder, Deathstroke still unleashed three shells in rapid succession. This rapid-fire technique maximized the explosive power, at least it could block…
Then Deathstroke watched in disbelief as the three rocket-propelled shells he had just fired were caught bare-handed by Bane in succession, and then thrown back with the same motion as a Greek demigod throwing a javelin.
His pupils reflected the rounded rocket heads.
“Fuck you.”
Countdown: 30 seconds.
Boom——隆！
Debris rained down like raindrops. Deathstroke spat out a mouthful of blood, his back burning with pain. Thanks to his excellent armor, he didn’t die on the spot.
He wanted to get up and run, but then he realized in despair that a huge boulder was pressing on his leg. He looked at Bane, who was at ease, his eyes filled with despair.
Ha ha, the world’s best shooter is actually killed by his own shells, isn’t this the funniest joke of the century?
Cheshire Cat wanted to run, but without his restraint, Bane quickly caught her.
With one punch, Deathstroke watched in horror as Cheshire Cat rolled across the ground like a football, plowing through the earth, finally colliding with a pile of building debris and lying there motionless.
Countdown: 20 seconds.
Deathstroke laughed miserably, then spat out another mouthful of blood.
His internal organs must be damaged? But it doesn’t matter anymore. He looked indifferently at Bane walking towards him step by step.
He thought back on his entire life, scene after scene, like a kaleidoscope flashing before his eyes.
Damn, he was actually so beaten up that he was even seeing a kaleidoscope, Deathstroke wanted to laugh.
His impoverished childhood, his dream of becoming a painter, the 12 bullets that pierced his parents’ and sister’s bodies, his broken life, his military career, his time as a mercenary, and—
His daughter.
“Zoe…”
Countdown: 10 seconds.
So.
This is the end.
This is the end of Floyd Lawton’s life.
Moonlit night…you are dark and bright.
…
…
…
The world breathed, sighing after the heat and explosion.
No more military forces here…
Except me.
No more authority here…
Except me.
No more hope here…
Except me.
No more Batman here, no one else.
Only Bane here.
Countdown: 3 seconds.
Bane extended his hand toward Deathstroke, the fatal, all-ending caress—
2 seconds.
His rough palm rubbed against Deathstroke’s throat.
1 second.
“Die.”
0 seconds.
“Bane——!”
The roar seemed to come from afar, but also seemed to be right next to his ears.
The heavens trembled, the white night was horrified!
Bane’s hand stopped, he turned his head abruptly, at the top of the garbage heap, he trembled all over, looking at the ultimate nightmare, who was like a god.
Buzz！！！
It was as if a nonexistent bomb exploded in the air, a chilling horror swept over Bane’s huge and terrifying body, making his hair stand on end.
What kind of eyes were those!
The bottomless darkness roared hysterically in his eyes, the surging momentum was like a tsunami, the air he exhaled was like the most biting north wind, bringing a bone-chilling chill, like the icebergs in the Arctic Ocean that have never melted for thousands of years!
He was simply standing there, but he was like the sky crashing down on the earth!
【Take one more step, and you will die！】
His body told him so.
Bane knew Batman never killed.
He’s a good guy, a superhero, superheroes have this no-kill rule, don’t they?
But…
He felt as if even his genes were roaring and roaring at him, warning him:
【Take one more step, you will die！！！】
Bane knew that even if Batman had murderous intentions towards him, he wouldn’t be able to kill him, he had complete confidence in his own flesh and blood.
But…what does it matter!
The fact is, every drop of his blood, every muscle, even every hair on his body, was roaring at him:
【Go ahead, you’ll die！！！】
Bane didn’t know how Batman did it.
He didn’t know how Batman sent this death threat to his body, like a biological hormone response, it was impossible, it wasn’t scientific, but it was something Batman could do, so it seemed very reasonable.
The true master of Gotham was roaring and howling in front of him, proclaiming his sovereignty. The bat spread its wings, casting a shadow, shining on this moment, this place, this time, announcing the arrival of the Son of Gotham!
So Bane abandoned Deathstroke, leaped several times, and disappeared behind the piles of garbage and car wreckage.
In the far east, the first ray of dawn at this moment tore through the skirt of the night like a sharp sword, illuminating the nightmare-like figure. He stood on the霞光, sweeping away the gloom in all directions.
The sun rises in the east, its way is great light.
The long, vast night, ends here.
(End of chapter)
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