Two hours ago, the Batcave.

"You're a smart man, you should understand my plan," Feng Bujue said to Joey as he put on the Batsuit.

"I understand, but… is it really necessary?" Joey was doing the same thing. "In my opinion, Gotham without 'super villains' is already chaotic enough."

"Ah… that just shows how far behind you are," Feng Bujue replied. "Gotham, controlled by the_Bruce's faith for so many years, won't change overnight. It takes time, patience, and…" He spread his hands. "…fear, to get people to accept the new Batman."

"Then how is what you're doing any different from what the_Bruce did?" Maya interjected from the side.

"There's a difference. He was putting on a show with sacrifices that had no means of resisting," Feng Bujue replied. "And I… am releasing real opponents for you."

"To succeed, you need friends," Xiao Tan unexpectedly said from the side. "To succeed greatly, you need enemies."

"See, even he knows," Feng Bujue shrugged and smiled.

…

Now…

Tap—tap—tap—

Unhurried footsteps echoed through the empty Bat-castle.

A figure in a Batsuit slowly walked through the corridor, heading towards the core power room deep within the castle.

At this moment, the vast fortress was silent—because corpses don't make any noise.

"Hmm… most of them were killed by firearms. Judging from the location of the wounds and their shape, over 90% of them died from Xiao Ling's guns…" Feng Bujue wasn't idle as he walked; his eyes darted around, capturing all the information within his view. "There are only 81 visible deaths along the way… a far cry from the number Clipper gave. It seems most of them chose to surrender or run away…"

"Tsk… what's that smell?" Brother Jue smelled something at a corner. "Oh… it's intestines spilling out…" He rounded the corner and saw a corpse lying diagonally on the floor. "This must be Ruoyu's work. The cuts on the bones and muscle fibers are extremely smooth, the sword qi entered from the side of the neck, passing through the lungs, heart, stomach, and intestines…"

Feng Bujue derived such information almost as soon as he observed it; he couldn't even call it "thinking."

In Brother Jue's eyes now, the data world of Thriller Paradise had become different from before. It was as if… it was the world he had seen in the [Demon Descent] state.

As long as he stared at something long enough, he could vaguely see some flowing matrix code. When he entered a messy environment, he could instantly sort every item inside in a very organized manner. When he came to a scene like this, similar to a crime scene, he could quickly reconstruct the general situation of the victim's death in his mind just by looking at the corpse. If the clues and information left at the scene were sufficient, he could even rewind the entire murder process before his eyes.

If someone were standing next to Feng Bujue at this moment, they would notice… a stream of light flashing in Brother Jue's eyes, making him look very much like those derivatives.

However, the data flow floating in the eyes of the derivatives was white, while the data flow in Brother Jue's eyes was black…

"Please enter the passphrase."

When Feng Bujue arrived at the door of the castle's main laboratory, such a voice rang out from the electronic door's control panel.

"Long live the Bat," Brother Jue took out the [Deceptive Pocket Watch] from his knapsack and said in the_Bruce's voice.

"Correct passphrase, voiceprint being verified… identification successful, welcome, Mr. Bruce," the electronic door responded and opened.

After entering the laboratory, before Feng Bujue could speak, Ruoyu said first, "What took you so long?"

"Hehe… what's wrong, miss me already?" Brother Jue replied with a smile.

Ruoyu didn't answer this boring question, but instead said seriously, "The system already prompted that the hidden quest is complete. If Joey manages to kill the_Bruce while you're dawdling, we'll only have a few minutes left."

"It wouldn't matter, actually," Feng Bujue replied. "Even if we only bring back the resources we got from the Batcave, this trip would be worth it."

As he spoke, Brother Jue came to the others and said to Clipper, who was busy at the laboratory bench, "Doctor, how's the progress?"

"It's all formulaic procedures, I've done it many times, it's very simple," Clipper's hands didn't stop working, and he grinned (he was smoking a cigarette) as he replied, "The cosmetic surgery will be completed in about five minutes, as for the brain chips…" He glanced at the electronic cabinet to his right. "This batch of goods was secretly manufactured by me, it has no tracking function, the knowledge and personality simulation is close to 95%, and it will permanently erase the original personality and memory, hehe…" He smiled. "I call these cute little things 'Devil's Souls'."

"Very good." Feng Bujue stepped forward, stood side by side with Clipper, and looked at the "Robins" lying on the dozen or so experimental platforms in front of him, laughing. "You truly deserve the word 'great', Dr. Clipper… your talent can be described as world-shaking."

"Hehehe… hehehe… hahahaha…" The two of them stood there, making the kind of evil laugh that only villains in cartoons would use.

At this moment, lying in front of them were more than a dozen captured "Robins." But soon, these people would no longer be Robins; they would become "Joker," become "Two-Face," become "Penguin," become "Black Mask," become "Poison Ivy"…

"Brother Jue, I don't understand…" Xiao Tan said. "We've already gotten enough benefits from the Batcave, and the hidden quest is complete… why do we still have to do these unrelated things? Without these villains, can't Joey really be Batman?"

"Heh… the reason…" Feng Bujue said. "You'll know when you see it…" As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to a display screen on the side of the room. On the screen, a deathmatch was being broadcasted live…

…

On the other side, atop the castle's high platform.

the_Bruce's Batsuit had been completely damaged, losing its kinetic energy support. And the "Bane Venom" on Joey's body had also lost its effect.

In the light and shadows, only two men wearing ordinary Batsuits were left, engaged in a powerful, primal brawl.

"The effects of those 'super stimulants' on your body should be almost over…" Joey said as he threw a punch at Bruce's face.

Bruce was struck in the face, a tooth flew out, and a mouthful of blood splattered, but he still insisted on not falling. "Heh… almost…" He chuckled a few times, and suddenly turned around for a side kick.

Joey hurriedly blocked this blow with his hand in front of his chest, and retreated a few steps. "Your persistence is admirable…" He gasped for breath. "You should know that even if you win against me, you can't become a god again."

"I know…" Bruce wiped his mask, his "mask" was bleeding, because it wasn't actually a mask, but his face… the_Bruce himself had also undergone Clipper's surgery years ago. In order to keep his youth, he directly fused his face with the Bat-mask.

"But you're still very motivated," Joey continued.

"Heh…" Bruce smiled meaningfully. "I'm helping you, Joey…" He raised an arm and pointed below the high platform. "Only by showing more power can you make those mobs more devout and more in awe of you."

"I don't want their faith!" Joey took another breath and attacked upwards, "I just want to stop all this!"

He roared, then charged towards Bruce with an American football tackle, successfully knocking him away and pressing him against the railing at the edge of the high platform.

At this time, the_Bruce was already at the end of his rope. The side kick just now had exhausted his last bit of strength, and he had no strength to resist any longer.

"Then kill me, heh… hahaha…" Bruce laughed. His cape had already been discarded, and as long as Joey applied a little force, he would fall to his death.

In this second, a ray of dawn on the horizon suddenly opened the sky. The Gotham King, his face covered in blood, slightly turned his head, and glanced back at the city he loved.

"No!" Unexpectedly, Joey let go, stood up, and replied firmly, "I don't kill people! I won't kill anymore! Because… I am Batman."

Joey certainly still remembered the look that "Joker" had given him before the battle started, as well as his earlier and later words.

"Gotham, will witness… the birth of Batman." Joey said as he pulled the_Bruce up. "The Dark Knight is a guardian, not a judge or a tyrant."

"Damn you! Kill me!" the_Bruce suddenly became furious. He seemed to have a sudden burst of energy, and suddenly launched a killer move, slashing at Joey's neck with the fin blade of his forearm.

And Joey… was caught off guard. He never expected that a person who had no fighting spirit in his eyes could suddenly erupt in an instant.

Squeak—

It was too late, but a beam of light appeared from Joey's side and hit the_Bruce's torso.

"Ugh—" A scream rang out.

In the morning sunlight, smoke billowed from the head of the_Bruce, who had been shot, and his body fell from the high platform…

"Haa… haa…" Joey, still in shock, gasped for breath and looked back. It was Maya who had landed on the castle not long ago who had shot Bruce. It was her again who had saved his life.

[The game is over] The system narration sounded again at this time. [Watching the_Bruce fall from the high platform, the crowd fell into a bizarre silence.]

[This scene symbolizes the end of a dynasty, and also symbolizes… the beginning of another legend.]

[A god has fallen, and then… the mobs went crazy.]

"Bat! Bat! Bat!" The whole city shouted.

"No! I am not a god! I am just a person! A mortal!" Joey raised his hands high and shouted at the live broadcast camera.

He wanted to calm those prayer-like shouts, but found that his efforts were futile. He thought he could change these people's lives, but—he just made them change the object of their praise.

But this praise didn't last long, because…

"Hahahaha… hahahahaha…" Feng Bujue's (Joker's) face appeared on the big screen again, and he laughed wildly. "Citizens of Gotham, it seems the game has come to an end, a new Batman has been born…" He changed the subject. "But… don't you think this ending is a little boring?"

Before he could finish speaking, dozens of metal flying shuttles suddenly shot out from all directions of the Bat-castle. These capsule-like bodies flew towards the distant sky like missiles.

"Batman," Feng Bujue no longer called Joey by his real name, "Guess what I just sent to the city?"

Joey stared at the big screen with complicated eyes, silent.

"Hehehe…" Feng Bujue then raised his voice and continued in a crazy tone, "…It's these people on the screen!"

The next second, more than a dozen split screens appeared on the big screen, each with the face of a super villain (of course, the Joker's face was not added).

The civilians were shocked again, panicked, and once again shouted the name of the Bat, hoping to get protection and mercy.

"You know me… I'm not a fraud like the_Bruce." Feng Bujue's face quickly returned to the screen. "My game is much more interesting than his… hehe…" He pointed to his face and grinned. "Last night, you witnessed the resurrection of the Bat. And at this dawn, you will witness my… and their resurrection! Hehe… hahaha… hahahaha…"

He ended his speech with a signature laugh, the laughter echoing in the air, unveiling a new chapter in Gotham…