Chapter 112: Sloan Company

After leaving Agent Luo Yajun behind, Batman quickly headed for the exit he had planted earlier.

Using his detective mode and universal decoder to avoid cameras and security, Batman moved easily through what was supposed to be "the safest place in the world."

As he passed an office, Batman heard voices through the enhanced hearing in his detective mode.

"I'm absolutely sure there's no security breach this time. If anything goes wrong, I'll eat... Well, it's just impossible!"

Chu Cheng, controlling Batman, guessed that the voice belonged to the infamous Dr. Ji, who was nervously trying to convince himself everything was fine.

At that moment, Chu Cheng understood why Agent Luo wanted to see Dr. Ji's reaction if he ever ran into Batman on the airship.

Chu Cheng briefly considered making Batman kick down the door just to mess with the doctor.

Of course, it was just a thought. He wasn't about to risk blowing his cover just for a joke. After all, he figured he'd be visiting this place plenty in the future, so he could save the surprise for another time.

Batman finally reached the exit he had set up. The electronic door system was already under his control, and he unlocked it remotely using his wrist computer.

The Batplane was waiting outside.

Dr. Ji believed no aircraft could evade the radar of an aircraft carrier, but that was based on his knowledge of current technology.

The Batplane was coated with the most advanced anti-radar material in the DC universe, thanks to Bruce Wayne's limitless budget. Plus, with some of Wayne's exclusive tech, the Batplane could fly anywhere in the U.S. without ever being detected by military radar.

To fool alien probes and even Kryptonians, it's no surprise that Batman asked Wonder Woman to lend some of her mystical magic to make his plane invisible.

With ninja-level stealth skills, some high-level hacking tricks, and top-notch gear, it's clear why the bad guys didn't stand a chance.

Even though Chu Cheng pulled off a Batman-style "disappearing act," he still heard what Agent Luo said. But for now, he wasn't interested in teaming up.

What would this team even look like? Batman and Boy Wonder ?

Not to mention, Detective Luo is past his prime for being Batman's sidekick, and Chu Cheng isn't keen on controlling his game character with someone else in the mix.

Heroes are just better off solo.

Next stop, Sloan Technology.

Batman jumped out of his airship, spread his cape to glide through the air, and quickly used his grappling gun to swing into the shadows on a nearby rooftop.

As usual, he scanned the building's layout before sneaking in. Moving between several shadowy high points, Batman quickly mapped out the entire structure as his vantage points changed.

For a tech company, the security here was surprisingly tight. There were guards on every floor, and lots of them.

Unlike places where the security guards are just messing around on their phones, the guards here were so alert it felt odd.

The guy at the door looked at every passerby on the street like they were up to something, and patrols inside the building were frequent.

Of course, this was a tech company, not a military base. With people constantly coming and going, it was impossible to have airtight security.

After all, in a place full of people, you can't control every single person or "bird" that comes through.

What was even more surprising was that when the building was scanned, many offices were still lit, and people were inside, with no signs of anyone leaving.

This reminded Chu Cheng of the classic question, "Have you ever seen the city at 4 a.m.?" Then someone replies, "Yeah, I just got off work; what's up?"

Aside from people working overtime, these folks aren't Batman, programmers, or night shift workers.

Chu Cheng noticed that the detective mode highlighted a specific part of the top-level structure of the building.

This caught him off guard for a moment. At first, he didn't see what was so special about the place. But then he remembered that he didn't know much about building design. Even if he saw blueprints, he'd be clueless.

But Batman was different. The guy has so many doctorates he could probably play cards with them.

It wouldn't be surprising if he knew something about structural engineering. Maybe Batman noticed something odd about the building's design through the scan.

Even though the place was heavily guarded, getting in wasn't much of a challenge, and Batman barely noticed any difference.

This company had actually used some advanced sensors, rare in the market, to beef up security, which was a bit surprising. But all that meant was that Chu Cheng had to take an extra step before entering.

After handling the sensors and bypassing the security cameras, Batman swiftly got inside the building and made his way to the top floor marked in detective mode.

The doorplate indicated this was the chairman's office, though the chairman wasn't around.

Batman dropped from the air vent onto a soft nylon carpet, instantly activating detective mode, and the whole office opened up like a book waiting to be read.

It was a private office decorated in the red and gray colors of Sloan Technology. There were company flags, slogans on desk ornaments, and potted plants by the large windows. The entire design was simple and classy.

Chu Cheng quickly noticed that an entire wall on the inner side of the office was glowing.

Did Batman think this whole wall was suspicious?

Batman scanned the wall, and after a quick analysis, the results came back.

"The floor in this room is slightly off in that direction," Batman's voice came through on the screen. "The weight distribution isn't balanced, so the floor is sinking. There's something hidden behind this wall."

Chu Cheng was surprised for a moment but then realized that with Batman's tech, like 3D modeling and crime scene recreation, this was actually pretty standard.

The scan showed that the walls had extra filling, probably containing lead. Everyone knows that in the DC universe, lead blocks even Kryptonian X-ray vision.

Normal rays can't penetrate it, so it's impossible to see what's behind the wall just by using detective mode.

But that's no big deal—they could just open it up.

Batman pulled out a flashlight-like device from his utility belt, marked with a black bat logo.

This was a powerful laser emitter that could easily slice through reinforced concrete, helping Batman break through tough barriers or get into places without obvious entrances.

He pulled the trigger, and a pale blue laser beam shot out, carving a bat-shaped mark on the wall.

Chu Cheng couldn't help but wonder why Batman didn't just cut a simple circle, but he guessed the guy had a bit of OCD or something.

The laser cut through the wall like a hot knife through butter. Batman stepped forward and kicked, and the wall crumbled, leaving behind a bat-shaped opening just big enough for one person to pass through.

Batman walked into the room.

It was clear that this was a woman's room. The dresser, clothes in the wardrobe, and the overall layout all made that obvious.

He switched to detective mode, and soon, dots of light appeared, each one highlighting something suspicious that Batman thought was worth checking out.

One quick glance, and Batman noticed a uniform from the Police Department's Special Service Ninth Office casually hanging on a hanger.

It looks like he hit the jackpot.

In a company this well-guarded, finding a woman hiding in a secret room in the chairman's office was suspicious.

Even if it wasn't Chen Meiyue, the missing agent, the uniform alone made it clear something was off.

Was the chairman of Sloan involved in this?

Or was this just some secret affair?

As Batman continued scanning, more clues appeared, revealing the truth piece by piece. You just needed to know how to ask the right questions.

Next, Batman scanned a shoe print revealed in detective mode.

If someone lives in space for long enough, it's almost impossible for them to erase all their traces. Everything they touch might leave a mark, and any mark could act as a silent identifier.

By linking multiple traces, Batman quickly reconstructed the height and size of the person, even estimating details like their clothing size. The 3D modeling almost perfectly recreated the figure of the room's occupant. Batman compared it and found that she did indeed look similar to Agent Chen Meiyue.

After scanning the shoe print, the data was saved to the computer for further inspection.

It was also easy to determine if she was the real deal. The detective mode flagged a fallen hair in the corner of the room. A DNA scan could quickly confirm whether the person living here was the missing agent, Chen Meiyue.

But just as he locked onto one of the hairs to start the scan, an alert popped up on the screen, warning of danger.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rocked the room, and flames filled it almost instantly.