## Chapter 52: Nuclear Bomb
Scarecrow found himself in error.
He had intended to unite with the Joker, to unite with this powerful colleague, but he had forgotten that the Joker was a madman.
And “madmen” don’t care about plans.
Of course, he, Scarecrow, was also a madman, damn it.
This was why he was now lying on the ground, bruised and swollen. The fear toxin had no effect on the Joker, but the Joker didn’t kill him, just beat him until he lay here in shame, like a dying dachshund.
“Wow. Seems I’m not here at the right time.”
Someone pushed open the door.
Scarecrow first saw a pair of feet.
Brown leather boots, gray-white trench coat. But when Scarecrow raised his head, he found the person was his old friend, Edward Nygma.
The Riddler.
Strangely, Nygma wasn’t wearing his signature green coat filled with question marks, the question mark cane, and the iconic eye patch and green hat.
He was just wearing casual clothes, like a white-collar worker who had just gotten off work.
“Wow, what’s going on here? I heard the Joker was with you. It’s a hassle, this is a little beyond my expectations.”
Scarecrow saw the Riddler squat down, then said:
“Care to tell me where the Joker went? Seriously—the plan is halfway through, if the main character just runs away, it won’t be fun.”
Scarecrow struggled to get up.
He saw the figures following the Riddler: the Movie Freak, the Amygdala, yes, and the Ventriloquist and Killer Croc.
They were all escapees from Arkham Asylum.
When did the Riddler recruit them?
But what caught Scarecrow’s attention most was the large living person Killer Croc was carrying in his hands.
“You got Jim Gordon—that surprises me. Nygma, what are you trying to do?”
…
…
…
Beep, beep, beep!
Chen Tao’s phone on his waist rang.
He stood up: “Excuse me, Mr. March, I think we’ll call it a day. We’ve reached an agreement on our cooperation, and I believe we’ll be as harmonious as family in the future.”
Lincoln March started to ponder. The word “family” seemed to imply something, but it also seemed like a normal metaphor.
He left the old Wayne Tower with a belly full of questions and melancholy, then shook his head at the black figure on the rooftop in the distance.
Operation cancelled.
He had originally planned to use a fake assassination orchestrated by Talon to bring Lincoln and Bruce closer, wash away the suspicions surrounding Lincoln, and make Batman think they were on the same side—
But all that should be postponed now.
His mind was in a mess now, he didn’t even have the mood to investigate who had just called Batman. All he wanted was to be quiet, today he heard a story completely different from what the Court told him, although he was a traitor with ulterior motives, it still had a huge impact on him.
Minutes later.
Pulled by the grappling hook, Chen Tao landed lightly on the rooftop of a building. It looked like a residential rooftop, with clothes drying all over it.
Thanks to Bane-bat’s memory, he finally learned how to use the grappling hook gun. Chen Tao silently released the muscle transformation from the Batman on his limbs, then quietly walked behind the two people standing at the edge of the rooftop.
Chen Tao held his communicator with his finger: “I’m here, Killer Croc.”
“Wow!”
Killer Croc jumped up in fright, almost falling off the edge of the rooftop.
“Damn Batman, uh, I mean, boss.”
Chen Tao ignored him: “Oswald?”
The short figure standing beside Killer Croc was the Penguin.
His face was serious: “Batman, we’re in big trouble.”
Chen Tao didn’t speak, he just stared at the other. The Penguin knew this meant “speak”.
“I had something stolen. A bomb.”
“Ha, what’s the big deal, you’re always getting robbed, get used to it.”
Killer Croc said nonchalantly: “Gagaha, I not only know you’re always getting robbed, but you’re always being robbed openly.”
He continued to make unintelligent noises: “I thought you were calling me to contact Batman for some mysterious reason, turns out it’s just this?”
“You’re not getting robbed on a daily basis, whoever’s broke sometimes will just rob you, I even stole from you before…”
“Shut up. Let the Penguin speak.”
“Oh, okay.”
Killer Croc covered his face with his fan-sized hand, leaving only two eyes blinking outside.
The Penguin glared at Killer Croc angrily, then said: “But this time I had a nuclear bomb stolen.”
?
“What?”
Killer Croc made a snort, he covered his mouth, the sound came out from his ears.
“I said this time I had a nuclear bomb stolen, goddamn Jesus God,” the Penguin spoke rapidly: “I kept it in the ware— ”
“What the fuck! Penguin, you’re hiding a nuclear bomb, you’re actually selling a nuclear bomb?”
Killer Croc shouted loudly: “For all these years, we’ve been living under a nuclear bomb? What’s the Joker’s insanity, you’re the one who’s insane, the Joker should kneel down and kowtow to you!”
The Penguin’s face turned red with anger: “Enough, that’s not for sale! Can you call that selling a nuclear bomb? That’s called selling arms!”
The short Penguin was so righteous, his sudden burst of momentum actually suppressed Killer Croc.
The large green-scaled figure turned half his body, whining: “I know you’ve always been an arms dealer, but I thought arms usually referred to grenades, machine guns, and rocket launchers, not tanks, helicopters, jets, and nuclear weapons.”
While speaking, the large green figure also started to speak righteously:
“I thought selling tanks and fighter jets was already the most outrageous arms deal in the world.”
“It was from that country’s breakup,” the Penguin explained:
“This is just a coincidence, it’s not a stable source. It was a long time ago, I wasn’t strong enough at the time, I only got two.”
“What the fuck, wait, you got two?”
Killer Croc suddenly found a point.
“It’s okay, it’s just one that was stolen.”
“Oh, I get it. What about the other one?”
“I sold it.”
“Not for sale.”
Killer Croc said in a low voice: “Although it’s not good to ask these things, but let me ask quietly—how much did you sell it for?”
The Penguin thought for a moment, then extended five fingers.
“50 million?”
“500 million.”
Chen Tao calculated in his mind, the Justice League Watchtower cost about 500 billion, this nuclear bomb was about 1/1000 of a watchtower.
The Batplane costs about 5 billion, this nuclear bomb sold for 1/10 of a plane.
You sold something so dangerous for that little bit of money?
Chen Tao felt tired.
“All the people I arranged in the warehouse were killed, they didn’t know what they were guarding.”
The Penguin said: “A clean kill with a single cut, professional assassin level techniques, they were dead before they reacted. There’s no way to tell who did it from the scene. Victor Zsasz? Or the League of Shadows assassins? Or some master swordsman?”
He said: “I have no idea, Batman, this is beyond my level. I’m a criminal, but not a madman, I bought the nuclear bomb just to sell it.”
He said: “Whether it’s the Joker, Bane, or Scarecrow, or the Riddler, it doesn’t matter right now.”
He said: “If this nuclear bomb can’t be found, if it’s detonated in Gotham—”
He said: “Then it’s all over, Bat.”
(End of chapter)
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