Chapter 3817: Rapid Pursuit (25)

The Wayne building where Batman resides was constructed by Mr. and Mrs. Wayne while they were still alive. Over the years, it has become somewhat old. So for the past few years, Elliot had been planning the construction of the new Wayne building. The new building was recently completed, and he invited partners to attend the celebration banquet for the completion. It was at this banquet that a corpse fell from the sky, disrupting all his arrangements.

This seemingly insignificant person was like the first grain of sand during a mudslide. Since then, everything has gone off the designated path, and this is true for everyone.

The death of an assassin from the Assassin's Union cast a shadow over Elliot and Talia's cooperation. Suspicions that the Court of Owls were involved made Elliot refrain from secretly collaborating with the Court of Owls as in the original story. This even influenced Jason's attitude towards him. Everything collapsed in a very short time, almost like a dream made at dawn.

Elliot was foolish and failed to see the true significance of this murder case. But Batman is not foolish. Even though the dominoes had already fallen all over the floor, he had to see what pushed the first tile.

Although the new Wayne building has been completed, it has not officially relocated. Elliot's death further delayed the moving process. Only the banquet hall, prepared for the event, showed signs of liveliness. But when Batman arrived, the usual brilliance was gone, leaving only chaos submerged in darkness.

Batman turned on the lights, but the sight inside the banquet hall was still desolate. Because of the murder case, guests left in chaos, and spilled cups and plates remained uncleaned. The food and drinks weren't thoroughly cleared, giving off a rotten smell inside the banquet hall.

Yellow caution tape left by the police when they arrived scattered on the ground. The nearby footprints were abundant like March buds: stumbling gentlemen, women in high heels, pacing policemen...

Batman took a turn around, the scenario during the banquet vividly appearing in his mind. Then he stood directly under the atrium and looked up. The most conspicuous in his visual range was the giant chandelier hanging from the ceiling upstairs. When lit, it gleamed like a flame from the sun.

Batman slowly ascended the spiral staircase beside him. There were two corridors on the upper floor, one to the south and one to the north. The southern corridor was lined with lounges, while the northern was filled with reception rooms.

The carpet laid on the floor upstairs looked very smooth, with no footprints or bloodstains. This leaves two possibilities: either the victim didn't die in a room along the corridor but next to the atrium and fell right after death; or the assailant didn't drag the body but threw it down.

Batman was contemplating when Talia called him. Batman pressed the earpiece reception button, and Talia's voice came from the other side: "Got the autopsy report from the police department. The cause of death is normal, attacked from the front, the dagger directly pierced the heart, killing him instantly."

"Were there signs of struggle?"

"...No."

Talia's tone changed too. She realized this was abnormal, because if the dagger was inserted from the front, the victim would have definitely seen the murderer. Assassins from the Assassin's Union are not ordinary people, they should have some power to resist. Even if stabbed once, they should still struggle.

Batman had also surveyed several rooms upstairs by now, but there was nothing wrong here. Furniture was neatly arranged, floors showed no chaotic footprints, nor bloodstains, as if nothing had happened. This proved that the assassin died silently.

If he was sneaked upon from behind, that's one possibility. But since the wound appeared in the front, things became suspicious.

"Is there a body fluid analysis report?" Batman asked.

Talia paused for a moment before saying: "I didn't see it, maybe they placed it somewhere else. I'll try to find it."

"It might be difficult to find. Send samples to the Wayne Enterprises lab after collection," Batman said.

Talia agreed. Batman wanted to say something more when he suddenly heard movement downstairs. The person's action route largely coincided with his, beginning a search downstairs upon entry. Judging by the footsteps, the person isn't very strong, but trained. Batman stood above the atrium, glanced down, and saw a figure with green hair.

"Is it Clown Hero?" Batman began to ponder, "Is he also here to hunt for evidence? Who would he suspect?"

Immediately afterward, another set of footsteps appeared. Batman didn't even need to listen carefully to know it was Shiller. This relieved him. If Shiller appeared here now, it proved he didn't kill Jason Todd and make him into artwork. That's good news.

But the situation downstairs made Batman tense up a bit, because he heard Clown Hero draw a gun, and it got loaded.

The main reason for Batman's tension is he didn't know whom to help if they fought. Helping Shiller fight Clown Hero would seem too evil, helping Clown Hero fight Shiller would be too strange for Batman.

And Batman's biggest worry: that the two of them might unite to fight him once they find him.

"...I think I can explain." Shiller's voice intermittently came through, still light and slow, making people feel sleepy. He continued, "I'm very sorry about the attack that day in the police department, but you initiated it. If you hadn't tried for forced confession, I wouldn't have resorted to violence to escape."

"You want to say you didn't kill this person?"

"Of course it wasn't me. When you took everyone to the police department, you didn't convict anyone. Although I assaulted an officer and escaped prison, that can't prove I'm the murderer. And the fact is that in the subsequent autopsy and investigation, you haven't found the culprit."

"Are you here to show off to me? Like those fools who, after committing a crime, are confident the police will never find the killer, yet feel compelled to cozy up to the police to flaunt their wit."

"That was never my intention." Shiller's voice sounded sincere. He said, "I'm not emphasizing the lack of evidence; I'm just trying to persuade you that I'm not the killer."

"You'd better say that at the police station."

Clown Hero approached closer and suddenly picked up a chair, hurling it at Shiller. Shiller dodged to the side, kicking the hand that Clown Hero held the gun with. Unfortunately, the police's gun was secured to his belt by a safety strap, so the gun fell but didn't fly away. Clown Hero also didn't choose to shoot.

Batman was watching their fight from upstairs. From their previous words and current actions, it could be seen that they'd crossed paths before.

During the confrontation at the police station, Clown Hero knew this person wasn't afraid of handguns. Bullets from a handgun caused limited damage to him, possibly making him even more frenzied.

Clown Hero cocking the gun was meant to confuse Shiller, make Shiller think he would shoot, so his attention would be on the gun. And Shiller kicking his arm was also meant to mislead Clown Hero, letting him think he was truly afraid of the gun.

It's a pity that Clown Hero didn't fall for it and didn't try to pick up the gun again, opting instead for direct combat with Shiller. Clown Hero's fighting style was obviously far superior to other Jokers' chaotic Turtle Fist; he was professionally trained, fighting methodically.

Unfortunately, he still couldn't defeat Shiller. The gap in strength was significant, and his reaction speed was also somewhat lacking. The chair Clown Hero threw was easily avoided by Shiller; when Shiller grabbed a chair and smashed it down, Clown Hero couldn't dodge and was knocked to the ground, unable to get up for quite a while.

Looking at the Joker lying on the ground, Shiller repositioned the chair, using its four legs to pin the Joker's neck and shoulders, preventing him from standing smoothly. Shiller placed one knee on the chair, looking down at the Joker.

"You must be curious why I didn't kill you. In your eyes, someone as evil as me, a serial killer, wouldn't let you go twice. But I won't kill you, just as I wouldn't kill an assassin."

"Cough... why?"

"It's very difficult for me," Shiller said, a statement without context, then stood up from the chair, sighed, and said, "Chasing me is meaningless; it might just let the real culprit escape justice."

Clown Hero remained silent. Batman heard resistance in his silence. To be honest, Batman also didn't agree with Shiller's statement. Shiller was indeed highly suspect in the murder case during the banquet.

He wasn't supposed to attend this banquet, yet he came anyway, and after being taken to the police station, he assaulted the police and escaped. If it weren't for the intricate and inefficient setup at Gotham Police Department, they should have already issued a warrant to hunt him down thoroughly.

Batman suspected the police might indeed want to do this but were obstructed by some people, likely Shiller's later collaborator, Cobblepot. Such a matter wouldn't require much effort, especially without strong evidence.

So the key actually lies in the evidence. Batman surveyed the space upstairs. The absence of signs of a struggle was indeed strange, proving the victim was completely powerless to resist when harmed.

Assassins from the Assassin's Union aren't ordinary people. They're solely focused on their target, won't easily converse with anyone, nor do redundant things like eating or drinking, making it hard to lull them and even harder to hypnotize them. So getting him into a powerless state is extremely difficult.

After investigating the crime scene, Shiller's suspicions decreased again. Although he had great strength and could take out assassins from the Assassin's Union, it's hard to do so without making noise or leaving traces.

Mad Laugh's suspicions rose because he arrived quite early, and his metal mask possessed the ability to forcibly modify brainwaves, effortlessly rendering assassins from the Assassin's Union defenseless.

But Batman knew, judging merely from the evidence angle, it indeed seemed so. Yet, adding psychology, Mad Laugh's suspicions were also quite low. He wouldn't kill so straightforwardly; stabbing into the heart seemed too mundane to him. If Mad Laugh really did it, he'd strive to show off how sophisticated his methods were, eager to engrave every fold of the intestines with flowers; the corpses would surely bear those mystifying signs of torture.

If it wasn't Shiller or Mad Laugh, it proves someone else is watching Elliot in secret, likely plotting for a long time just to use a corpse to achieve multiple goals at the banquet.

Talya's voice came through the earpiece again:

"The fluid analysis results are out," Talya said, "Large residues of drugs were detected. Someone injected him with some kind of toxin, causing him to completely lose the ability to resist."

"Can you find out what kind of toxin it is?"

"The readings on the device are unfamiliar, I can't judge for now. I'll send it to you; consult a chemistry expert."

Batman picked up his phone and saw a series of data sent by Talya, frowning slowly. He wasn't unfamiliar with the data displayed from the chemical analysis results. In their cosmos, this toxin is called—fear gas.