civilwarnovels Chapter 4758 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (4)
Chapter 4758 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (4)
Chapter 4758 Murderous Intent on a Rainy Night (Part 4)
Batman from Arkham is now certain that Rorschach isn't quite right in the head; they're here to play games, not to hold a conference.
Furthermore, even if meetings are held, immigration issues are no longer discussed. With all fifty states unified, the United States is the sole sovereign state on this land. There is no longer any partisan conflict; all Americans, regardless of race or skin color, possess only one identity: U.S. citizen. Immigration is no longer an issue.
Arkham Batman genuinely didn't want to answer his question, but this madman was clearly relentless. He was just following Arkham Batman around like that, preventing him from carrying out his mission. After all, whether he wanted to take a picture of Schiller or search for clues, he had to do it discreetly. With a built-in political megaphone, even if he was Batman Number Three, he'd still die at Schiller's hands.
He took two steps outside, then stopped, turned to look at Rorschach, and said, “You probably have some misunderstanding about my presidency. I didn’t get elected through a party election. Those topics and tactics that the two parties use to incite conflict among the people are meaningless to me and have never been part of my political views. I hope you can mature a bit and understand that the basic human right to survival is above all else, okay?”
Arkham Batman's words were quite subtle. He had discerned Rorschach's political leanings. After all, someone who immediately brings up immigration is generally easy to guess what kind of person they are. In the comics, Rorschach had read certain extreme conservative newspapers, which contained news about some extremely notorious white supremacist groups. Arkham Batman was simply reminding him that, at least in his community, any reason to endanger human life was unacceptable, including racial discrimination.
But like many people with mental health issues, Rorschach's personality, while aptly described as steadfast, is actually quite stubborn. He won't change his mind about what he believes in, whether it's upholding what he considers justice or anything else.
He'll fight to the death with Dr. Manhattan if he disagrees with some of his decisions. Assuming Dr. Manhattan is indeed wrong, he does resemble a staunch champion of justice, which is why many people like this character. However, he can also be stubborn about certain wrong things; for example, he firmly believes that the Comedian, who massacred pregnant women, was a loyal and righteous soldier, even idolizing him. No matter who says he's wrong, Rorschach won't agree.
“I must remind you, Mr. President. This is a very important matter, far more important than this game. An entire nation rests on your shoulders; you are responsible to the people who love this country…”
Arkham Batman had already discerned that Rorschach was a very paranoid person, but not very politically astute, and had strong biases. He really didn't want to waste any more time with him, so he said, "If you're not here to participate in the game, you can leave. But now I need to complete my mission, so please stop bothering me."
This explains why Batman Arkham's temper improved considerably after becoming president. Although he had dealt with Congress hundreds of times, he still tried to resolve conflicts through dialogue rather than physical violence. However, Rorschach seemed to interpret his politeness as a concession due to his own fault.
“You’re the president. If you spend your time playing games like this, how are you going to take care of your constituents? You have to do something to gain their trust, you have to take their opinions into account. Take immigration, for example…”
“Dr. Manhattan,” Batman Arkham shouted directly, “if you let him in here just to target me, then don’t blame me for being ruthless in the future.”
Rorschach's voice vanished instantly; it seemed Dr. Manhattan had muted him. And Arkham Batman's skills were no joke; he disappeared through the side door in a flash. It was dark and raining at night, visibility was poor, and Rorschach had nowhere to chase him.
Batman returned to the garden, but he didn't stay there long. Although he was immune to most environmental effects and ground-based attacks, he suspected that Schiller might have already entered the castle with so many people inside.
He went for a walk around the garden to shake off Rorschach and head towards the other side door. Before even entering, he saw Black Widow searching for clues. Arkham Batman didn't rush in; he stood by the window and observed. Suddenly, he saw a dark figure appear behind the spiral staircase on the right, presumably entering through the back door. It was Schiller.
Arkham Batman's heart leaped into his throat, because Black Widow clearly hadn't noticed Schiller's arrival. She was still working on the puzzle, trying to open the chest in the living room for clues. These castle puzzles all shared one thing in common: they were incredibly computationally intensive. Even Arkham Batman had to spend ages solving them, and everyone else needed to be completely focused. Black Widow was no exception; therefore, she didn't react even when Schiller was 50 yards away.
Batman Arkham took a deep breath. He considered knocking on the window to alert Black Widow. Although that might draw her attention, he was confident he could escape.
Schiller moved closer. Black Widow seemed to sense something, but by then Schiller was already nearly 30 yards away. A sudden, alarming melody rang out, a rapid violin tune finally snapping Black Widow out of her calculations. She whirled around, only to see a gleaming blade.
"Sizzle!"
"Uh!"
Batman from Arkham watched helplessly as the blade, at least 15 yards away and spanning at least four or five people, slashed into Natasha's back, causing her to bleed profusely instantly.
Natasha was pale, but as expected of a top agent, she managed to suppress a scream, only letting out a muffled groan. Instantly, her grappling hook shot out, and she leaped straight onto the chandelier above. Then, she swung against the chandelier, breaking through the glass of the nearest window with a crack, and fell into the mud outside with shards of glass.
Batman Arkham couldn't care less about Schiller; he rushed over to help Natasha up. After Schiller landed his fatal blow, he seemed to gain some powerful positive effect; almost instantly, the melody returned to their ears.
Batman in Arkham suddenly turns around and unleashes a "Cloak Stun," while Black Widow raises her hand to deliver a "Widow's Sting." These two skills appear to be control abilities, but they are actually quite different. Cloak Stun knocks back and stuns, while Widow's Sting is a hard interrupt.
Schiller was initially knocked back two steps, but his positive state seemed to grant him immunity or greatly reduce the stun duration, leaving him stunned for less than half a second. However, the Widow's Sting that followed cleared his positive state, and the two of them took the opportunity to slip out of Schiller's sight.
"Are you alright?" Batman from Arkham helped Black Widow to a squatting spot in a bush. Black Widow's face was extremely pale.
"Aren't you affected by the rain?" Black Widow asked in return.
“I am immune to most environmental effects and ground skills,” Batman Arkham explained.
"I've lost almost half my blood, and I'm still bleeding. I'm afraid I need to find something to stop the bleeding, otherwise I might bleed to death."
Batman from Arkham frowned deeply. There were even bleeding effects and environmental influences; wouldn't that mean a single strike could kill someone?
But then he thought again, and realized that didn't make sense. If a single stab could cause someone to bleed to death, then Schiller wouldn't have needed to chase after him. After the first stab, there was no need to give him another positive status to pursue.
“You shouldn’t bleed to death,” Arkham Batman speculated. “The bleeding will stop after a while, or at least you’ll bleed a little. I’ll go get you a first-aid kit.”
“No need,” Black Widow shook her head and said, “You go do your mission, I can find it myself.”
“But you’re physically disabled,” Arkham Batman said. “If you run into him again, you’re as good as dead.”
"Probably not. Since there are serial numbers, we should kill according to those numbers. He might spare my life or trap me somewhere. You can come and rescue me then."
Batman from Arkham thought the same way. While you can chop people up or down, killing should be done in a specific order. So even if he found Black Widow again, he'd probably use some special abilities or take her somewhere to trap her, without actually killing her.
Batman Arkham quickly weighed his options: should he look for the medkit, or wait to rescue Natasha? He said, "I'll take you to the wall. Use your stealth ability to stay there; the chances of him finding you are slim. If I find the healing items, I'll come and rescue you."
Black Widow frowned slightly, and Arkham Batman explained, "Didn't you notice he can't see?"
"what?"
"He has no sight, or rather, he observes the world differently than we do. Unless you are very close to him or he can focus on you, he can only judge your approximate location. With stealth skills, it is very difficult for him to pinpoint your exact location."
Black Widow breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, bring him to me if you come across him. But I still prefer to seal him away as soon as possible."
Batman from Arkham nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave; his time was precious. He needed to find Spider-Man first and give him the photo. The castle was enormous, with towers, and he didn't know how many times he'd have to go around to get to the top. Finding a window from the inside was unrealistic; only Spider-Man could see all the windows from the outside.
Batman from Arkham waited a moment in the garden, then slipped through the back door, but didn't go inside; instead, he hid at the back door. A short while later, he saw Schiller walking towards him.
He had clearly tracked down someone, but it probably wasn't Arkham Batman, because Schiller kept looking up. It was most likely Spider-Man.
Batman from Arkham raised his camera, only to discover that it could only be used within 100 yards. That was a dangerous distance; Schiller would definitely detect his presence.
But Arkham Batman remained calm. After taking a deep breath, he raised his camera, aimed it at Schiller, and waited for him to approach within about 100 yards. Click! The camera flash went off.
After confirming that Schiller's image had been captured in the camera, Arkham Batman closed the door, cutting off Schiller's view, and then turned and ran.
He wasn't entirely sure if the door could block Schiller's ability to spot someone's back, but he knew the door could physically slow Schiller down. Even if Schiller did manage to spot his back, the door opening would slow him down by two seconds, enough time for Schiller to escape.