bookbashuk Chapter 231 The Bat Mage, Bursting Gold Coins and Research Results
Chapter 231 The Bat Mage, Bursting Gold Coins and Research Results
Chapter 231 The Bat Mage, Bursting Gold Coins and Research Results
Chen Tao stared at Black Adam, who turned to ashes amidst his wailing cries.
He was different from ordinary criminals; simply put, he was a magician.
Many people may be used to Black Adam punching people like Billy, but they overlook the fact that he is different from children with power like Billy. He is a seasoned magic user, just like Zatanna, Constantine, Faust, the demon Etrigan, Lady of the Upper City, Mist Mite, and so on.
And mages all have one very notable characteristic: they are very difficult to die.
Not to mention Constantine, who is not accepted by hell, even a sorcerer like Faust, whose world was destroyed in a certain timeline, could still turn himself into a worm-headed creature and eke out a living there.
Therefore, unless faced with a crisis of the magnitude of a colossal beast, such as Zatara, the father of Zatara, a key member of the Dark Justice League and a user of ironic magic, "annihilation" or "death" does not mean that many mages are truly dead. Sit-ups are commonplace for them, and resurrection is as frequent as eating and drinking.
Even Zatara, who died because of the giant beast, would often do sit-ups in front of his daughter from time to time.
In short, he died, but not completely.
This is why Chen Taohao didn't hesitate to deliver a vicious blow to Black Adam.
If it were that easy to send Black Adam to his death, the Wizarding League wouldn't have imprisoned him thousands of years ago.
He has only temporarily driven the other party away, just like dispelling the hazy morning mist.
However, the annoying fog will return the next morning.
Of course, Chen Tao glanced at the mechanical superman standing next to him.
In terms of immortality and sit-ups, Black Adam is only fit to carry the shoes of the mechanical superhero next to him. Mechanical superhero Hank Henshaw's body is merely a vessel for his consciousness; even Darkseid couldn't kill him. He's been destroyed countless times in the comics, yet he always manages to revive. He and Black Adam are both incredibly clingy.
Chen Tao walked towards Black Adam's ashes.
"Ha, I knew it!" Killer Croc whispered to Captain Cold, "Trust me, Batman will be laughing hysterically at that pile of ashes, then smear it all over his body."
Meeting Captain Cold's horrified gaze, the green crocodile declared confidently, "That's right, this is what we Gotham people do."
Martian Manhunter nodded silently to himself. The government had been analyzing Batman's behavior for quite some time; he did indeed often engage in actions with rather abstract, non-concrete purposes. Killer Croc had spent a considerable amount of time with Batman and knew him well; his speculations aligned with the impressions left by the government's documents.
But to everyone's surprise, they saw Batman crouching on the ground.
Tiny nanobots coalesced in his palm, forming a small urn.
"Holy one, departed one. May you become a wave, receding with the tide, and in the twilight, fly towards the horizon where the sea meets the sky."
Batman then poured all the ashes into a small box he made using nanobots.
The small box floated to his head, and just when everyone thought he would suddenly burst into laughter and then shove the ashes into his mouth, he simply let the box float quietly beside his head.
"This is not what you said." Captain Cold whispered in Killer Croc's ear.
"Actually, if you think about it carefully," Killer Croc said, "Black Adam was completely killed by Batman, yet he acted so normally, collecting the ashes. That's the most abstract thing."
The crocodile was publishing his "Abstract Relativity" when he quickly turned around and met Batman's disapproving gaze, and was immediately too frightened to speak.
But Chen Tao quickly drew his attention back to the killer crocodile.
【warn!warn! 】
[You have been detected to possess the anchoring item: Black Adam's Ashes]
[Description: The legacy left behind by a magical guardian from thousands of years ago after his annihilation. His despair and wails before his destruction are identical to those when he was sealed away a thousand years ago. Also destroyed was his insatiable greed for magical power. You might be able to use it to summon Batman from a parallel universe.]
But could an existence manifested out of a thirst for magic be some kind of benevolent mage?
"No! Don't shout it out! Don't make me utter that spell! It will kill me!"
[Crisis energy converted: 159]
Your current crisis energy level is: 976.
[WARNING: Downloading a Batman-targeting file]
【Bat Mage】
[Hazard Level: B-]
In the main universe, Batman believes magic is neither controllable nor manageable, thus he keeps it at a distance. However, in a dark multiverse, the Batman of that world didn't travel the world; instead, he learned magic from Zatanna, and later even chaos magic, killing the demon Etrigan. His wand was enhanced by a ghost, making him a cunning and agile sorcerer.
Chen Tao looked at the explanation thoughtfully.
"Let's go," he said.
He took Black Adam's ashes without hesitation, leaving not a single grain behind.
Nanobots still remain on Earth, identifying and searching for Black Adam at a microscopic level.
He picked up the still unconscious Justice League leader, Kara Zo-El, and flew towards the city.
……
……
……
To the rest of the world, the war that had taken place in the suburbs was completely unknown.
But one thing is certain: with the formation of the alliance, the forces under the government and Batman's personnel quickly merged and merged, causing a major upheaval.
Inside a Wayne Enterprises laboratory in Gotham.
"Ah, Batman, you're here." Lucius turned his head and saw Batman, as usual, flying in from the edge of the window as tiny bat robots. His face was full of fatigue, though he himself probably didn't realize it.
Lucius was certain the other man was exhausted, both physically and mentally. As a core member of Batman Entertainment, Lucius was well aware of what had happened recently; the issue of merging the two organizations had kept Bruce even busier.
"Dr. Silas Stone." Chen Tao nodded to the other person in the room, acknowledging them. Then, he eagerly asked, "How's the research on the Mother Box going?"
In the center of the room, the mother box sat amidst a variety of sophisticated instruments, its surface shimmering with countless tiny particles that emanated a magnificent yet terrifying light.
"The situation is very bad," Dr. Stone was the first to speak. "All our previous assumptions about the Mother Box were flawed."
"How so?"
Dr. Stone pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. A crack opened in the steel wall next to him, revealing a terrifying monster submerged in nutrient solution.
Or rather, the corpse of a horrible monster, covered in strangulation marks and scorch marks from laser weapons piercing it.
"We are trying to do as you said, to combine a living organism with the technology of the Mother Box to create a weapon that is half mechanical and half biological."
Dr. Stone adjusted his glasses. He had been studying the field of master boxes long before Lucius, making him a true expert.
"However, the experiment completely failed. The Mother Box only frantically devoured every creature it controlled. This thing didn't understand the meaning of creation at all."
He said, "Those creatures have all submitted to the control of the Mother Box's will, turning into monsters that only know how to kill, and some have even shown Parademonic characteristics."
"When we first created him, the monster went on a terrible rampage. If Lucius hadn't arranged for Poison Ivy to be present beforehand," Dr. Stone glanced at the mangled monster with lingering fear, "we might have had another experimental accident."
"Frankly speaking, the idea of trying to create a cyborg with Apokolips technology is almost impossible to achieve," Lucius added from the side.
"We tried many times, modified the parameters countless times, and, as you said, built many machines to feed the newly born cyborg, but no matter what kind of animal we used, or even just clones..."
Lucius scratched his head first: "Well, even though those clones have no consciousness, it still challenges the bottom line of morality."
"But even after trying so many methods, we ultimately failed in every way."
"Even a normal human being with willpower could not succeed," Dr. Stone said. "Human consciousness has its limits; they cannot resist the control of the Mother Box."
"so……"
"so?"
Chen Tao carefully considered the answers given by the two scientists, still somewhat unwilling to give up: "If we use a real..."
"Such an idea is neither responsible nor scientific."
But as expected, he was met with unanimous opposition from both of them.
"Okay, okay."
Chen Tao's gaze was somewhat gloomy. He didn't actually say that he wanted to use the real "person," which was himself.
But he didn't dare gamble on whether he would crush the Mother Box with his own power as Leniak, or whether the Mother Box would corrupt him with the mind of Apokolips.
That's still too dangerous; we haven't reached that point yet.
Chen Tao clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it.
But then again...
The Mother Box is completely unable to integrate with living beings? Then how was Cyborg created?
Is the existence of each superhero truly an unrepeatable miracle?
and many more……
"Did you use all the machines in that lab during the Parademon attack?" Chen Tao asked, stroking his chin. "Leaving absolutely no clutter—that was the setup for that day?"
The two scientists looked at each other, then nodded together.
"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that the experiment failed."
Chen Tao quickly browsed through their experimental logs, but as he read on, a chilling feeling suddenly washed over him. He paused, then said:
Is there any possibility...?
Is it possible that if he hadn't intervened that day, even if Victor Stone, the future Cyborg, had actually tried to merge with the Mother Box as depicted in the comics, he might not have succeeded?
His fusion with the Mother Box will only create a terrifying monster, not the future superhero Cyborg.
This hypothesis seems far-fetched, but the experimental data showing that the mother box cannot integrate with living organisms seems quite plausible.
Damn it, what kind of dark universe am I living in?
But he quickly suppressed these negative emotions, composed himself, and changed the subject for the time being: "Alright, you two, we have other work to do next."
He said, "I need your help with the issue of the gorilla Grodd and the turtle man."
"Do you now understand them both well enough?"
"Okay," Dr. Stone said, "but it'll probably be a while, maybe tomorrow. I have an appointment with my son, Victor Stone, to watch his basketball game today."
Chen Tao glared at him.
Oh my god, Cyborg's dad came to watch his football game?
"Is it a rugby game?" Lucius said from the side.
"No, no, it's a basketball game," Dr. Stone replied. "My son, Victor Stone, is not just a football player now, he's a basketball player too."
His face was filled with the pride that only a father would show: "Today our whole family will go to see his basketball debut."
"Victory! Victory!" the father chanted, gesturing wildly as he imitated Victor Stone's most famous slogan on the rugby field.
"So I can't be late." Dr. Stone gestured for a moment, then said, "I promised my son I would go see him. He even delayed his own advancement to accommodate my schedule, just so I could be there for his match."
"I can't let him down."
He glanced at the clock hanging not far away: "Besides, it's too late now, it's time to get off work."
"But..." Chen Tao frowned. He was busy with all sorts of random things every day and didn't want Dr. Stone, the expert on mother box research, to leave work on time...
I haven't even left work yet, how can you leave work?!
A bat that had been running around like crazy lately roared inwardly.
Before Chen Tao could say anything, Dr. Stone had already begun resolutely tidying up his desk: "Don't come looking for me right before you leave work next time, Batman. Oh, anyway, I'm sorry, but let's talk about important things tomorrow."
He quickly tidied everything up, then with a flick of his foot, he vanished in an instant.
"See you tomorrow!"
Snapped!
Batman slapped him on the head.
Lucius looked at him cautiously.
"Ah, don't be angry, Batman."
He carefully chose his words: "I know you're under a lot of pressure, but Silas swore he would never let his son down again after he almost lost him last time."
He said, "He is determined to be a good father."
Seeing that Batman remained silent, he couldn't help but start to worry about Silas Stone.
Dr. Stone was, after all, a government agent assigned to Batman, and Batman wouldn't trust Dr. Stone as much as he trusted him. He didn't want a rift to develop between the two.
But in the end, he saw the other person take a deep breath:
"never mind."
Chen Tao said, "Come with me to train my new skills."
(End of this chapter)