Chapter 123: Noise

Two minutes ago, after taking down the three guards at the gate and safely lowering the hostages from the pipes, Chu Cheng, controlling Batman, headed back toward the gate. He was surprised to find the fight still raging—and it looked like things were falling apart fast.

At first, it seemed like the team was finally going to win, but then out of nowhere, someone from the other side showed up and started taking out the whole team on their own.

"Leng Ji?" Chu Cheng recalled Detective Luo mentioning the name. "Isn't that the rogue agent?"

"I believe so, sir," Friday confirmed.

"So, there are top agents from the Nine Divisions working with the 'Dead Men' group?"

"Seems like it, sir."

Chu Cheng was stunned.

This whole situation was starting to remind him of something like the notorious organization from those detective shows where one villain does all the heavy lifting while the others are just there to fill space. But then he thought about it again—Agent Leng Ji used to be a star in the organization before he went rogue, handling all the dirty work. If the asylum needed a model patient, he would've been their first choice.

So, if this were like one of those shows, it'd be as if the top villain suddenly turned on the boss, saying, "Sorry, I'm undercover." That's a pretty wild turn of events.

In any case, Chu Cheng wasn't holding his breath for the asylum to get its act together. This place leaked information like a sieve at home but somehow pulled off miracles outside. As long as their airship stayed afloat and didn't crash, they were doing okay.

Not that it was a big problem for Chu Cheng. If they didn't mess up now and then, he wouldn't be able to swoop in and pick up the pieces so easily.

While Batman was en route, Friday had already tapped into the first-person view of the nine agents on the scene to size up the enemy. Now that Batman was close, Friday gave her analysis.

"The target's strength is on par with that armored guy we just fought, and their speed and reflexes are about the same as the female phantom."

Having both the strength and speed of those two phantoms at the same time sounded like a tough challenge.

Plus, the target's defense was no joke. Leng Ji was completely covered in some strange material, looking like something out of a horror movie, and Chu Cheng had no clue what it was.

This guy seemed like he might be the leader of the Dead Men, or at least a high-ranking member.

There were definitely a lot of questions that needed answering if they could catch him. Like how many people were in their group, if there were other leaders, where the stolen evidence was, what it was for, and why he decided to switch sides in the first place.

Infected people can't be interrogated easily. First, they don't feel pain, and second, they tend to blow themselves up whenever you try to get information out of them.

Every time they manage to capture an infected person, they try to dig into their minds for info, but more often than not, the infected person will just self-destruct. So, trying to get anything useful from them usually ends up being pointless.

But Phantoms might be different. They're still a bit of a mystery since they're a new threat, but based on what they've learned so far, Phantoms do seem to feel pain. That means there's a chance to get information from them—if they can capture one alive.

"Do you think we can take him alive?" Chu Cheng asked.

"Over a 90 percent chance of success, sir," replied Friday. "If you're up for it, I've got a plan ready."

Chu Cheng quickly looked over the plan she suggested.

"Not a 100 percent chance? Whatever."

He then set up the usual tactic: cut the lights and turn the environment into a perfect battleground for Batman.

Detective Luo Yajun was still wounded and lying on the ground. He looked up at Leng Ji and forced a laugh. "You had your chance to run, but now it's too late."

Leng Ji ignored him, scanning the darkness through his mask like a skilled hunter waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Suddenly, a shadow darted behind him.

It was a tentacle. It shot out from the back of his armor-like suit and lashed into the darkness, yanking Batman out of hiding.

Batman's ankle was caught, but he rolled as he hit the ground, quickly getting up and breaking free, putting some distance between them.

"Seriously, does this guy have tentacles?"

As Chu Cheng spoke, he had Batman roll out of the way, narrowly dodging a second tentacle that shot out from Leng Ji's back—now there were two of them.

"It's just like the other Phantom we fought," Friday said. "He might have absorbed their abilities."

"A real Frankenstein, huh?"

Chu Cheng knew the drill. When some villains run out of fresh ideas for a new baddie, they just stitch together all the powers of the old ones to create something nasty.

It's an old trick, but it works, making a villain that's like a greatest-hits collection of everything they've faced before.

But there was still one problem.

"So how did he spot us?"

Batman's stealth skills are top-notch. Even though, in the movie *The Dark Knight Rises*, the old man had been missing for eight years and Bane managed to see through his disguise, it's still rare for anyone to catch Batman when he's hiding in the shadows.

...unless you're Green Lantern.

So, is this Leng Ji really that skilled? Can he see through Batman's stealth?

"It's likely due to his hearing," Friday said. "I analyzed his behavior and how he responds to different sounds. There's over a 70% chance he has enhanced hearing abilities."

"Got it. So, the Bat-radio?" Batman replied.

As Batman was caught in the trap, Leng Ji chuckled.

"Caught you," he said, eyeing Batman with a smug look.

"I've heard a lot about you, Batman. Some say you're frightening—even to me. But to me, you're just human. Compared to us evolved beings…"

"Ahhh!"

Chu Cheng pressed the button, and instantly, all the tentacles on Leng Ji's back went limp. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and twitching uncontrollably.

The agents watched in shock and delight as Batman stood up calmly, while Leng Ji, who had seemed like an invincible force just moments before, now lay twitching on the ground. The sudden change left everyone amazed.

How did this happen?

Oh... he fainted, huh?

The Batman tech isn't some mystical spell. As a leading superhero in a world full of gods and monsters, Batman still trusts in science (though he sometimes uses a bit of mysticism). His tech is top-notch.

So, it's not magic but advanced science—the sonic cannon Batman carries. 

This is why Batman was chosen for the first part of the plan on Friday. While his firepower might be lower, his versatile utility belt is packed with control gadgets. It's smarter to control the situation first and then focus on heavy attacks later.

This is much better than starting with a high-damage hero. It keeps the focus on controlling the fight and managing resources efficiently.

The prototype of this weapon was shown in *Batman Begins*, where Batman used a sonic device to call a swarm of bats. The ultrasonic waves were inaudible to humans but attracted bats to his aid.

Later, Batman upgraded this weapon from a summoning tool to a more advanced one. While normal humans can't hear these frequencies, they can give dogs a terrible headache... or affect aliens with super-sensitive hearing.

When Chu Cheng first saw this gadget, he thought it was designed to deal with super-criminals with extremely sensitive hearing. Surely, Batman didn't create this just to torture his own team members?

No way, right?

Superman?