newbobooks Chapter 54 Murder
Chapter 54 Murder
Chapter 54 Murder (Bonus Chapter, Please Read)
"Of Gotham City's 3000 million residents, 500 million have been directly or indirectly involved in first-degree murders."
This is an underground safe house in Gotham City, the Riddler's lair, the safest and most secretive kind.
The room was furnished like a typical study. The killer crocodile, sitting on the sofa, pulled out a copy of Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" from the bookshelf next to him. After flipping through it for a while, he realized he couldn't understand a single word, so he angrily threw it on the floor.
The ventriloquist picked it up and put it back.
"About 1500 million people have committed crimes, and the remaining 1000 million who have not committed crimes are not because they are good citizens, but because they are addicts, gamblers, and prostitutes in the red-light district."
The Riddler's voice echoed in the room. Jim Gordon was bound hand and foot to a chair, his eyes blindfolded and his mouth gagged with a rag.
"The reason they didn't join the criminal underworld wasn't because of any noble qualities, but because they weren't driven to desperation."
The television was broadcasting live, and the Riddler confirmed it was. Batman was there, just as he had planned. He continued:
"So you get it now? There are no good people in Gotham. The only ones who can be called good are drug addicts and gamblers, because they won't hurt anyone except themselves."
"I'm so tired, year after year, day after day. Living in a garbage dump, constantly committing crimes."
"If committing crimes is so tiring, why not stop?" the movie freak said. "You can stop committing crimes, can't you?"
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]
No, you don't understand at all.
The riddle-maker stood up somewhat nervously, then squatted down on the sofa, hugging his legs like a lonely and helpless pitiful child.
"This is a war, and if we really give up crime because we're tired, then he wins... Batman wins."
"So what? Can't we live without committing crimes?"
Killer Croc found a bag of potato chips nearby, tore it open, and popped it into its mouth.
"No, that's not it. Batman won, but I wasn't the one who lost."
Huh? Killer Croc thought he had completely gone mad.
He knew that riddles were a characteristic of riddle tellers, just like the hot dog vendors at the park entrance all had their own unique recipes. But riddle tellers had never told such difficult riddles before, at least not in his memory.
The riddle teller was a bit eccentric; he hugged his knees, like a little boy hiding in a corner during a thunderstorm.
"You don't understand, I'm not myself at all. I mean, I don't represent myself at all."
He rambled on, saying, "I'm naturally drawn to my kind, just like bats are drawn to all of us. Just like you, Killer Croc, you've always attracted all the criminals in Gotham City who have the same beastly heart as you."
"So you can command a large following with ease, and you can easily raise an army that is extremely loyal to you."
"You are their king. The kind of pure, beast-like criminals who flock to you are just like the high-IQ criminals around me, the clowns who laugh in despair after being defeated by life, and the scarecrows who worship fear."
"We, these so-called supervillains, we are their pillars of support. Batman was right when he said that most criminals are superstitious and blindly follow others..."
The riddle teller continued:
"We possess the same qualities as them, but we are far superior to them, which is why they are so easily subdued by us."
"We no longer represent ourselves, but a part of Gotham's evil. We represent those people and have become a kind of tangible embodiment of this evil."
He stared blankly at the television.
"Killing me won't do any good. If you kill me, Tutankhamun, the Master of Clues, or some other criminal similar to me will take my place. He may not be as strong as me, but he will definitely be the strongest among the remaining ones, and so on... and so on!"
"We are not special! So the bat knows very well that killing us will not stop the crime; on the contrary, his act of murdering us will only exacerbate the crime."
"Every successful crime is a huge encouragement to other criminals. Once that door is opened, he truly becomes part of the darkness, and therefore can no longer eradicate the darkness, you understand?"
"If the bat really did that, he would be just like us. He would attract other criminals, others would imitate his murderous acts, and then this metropolis of 3000 million people would become a slaughterhouse, rivers of blood, piles of corpses. Because if we're really serious, everyone is a criminal!"
The riddle teller said:
"If everyone could kill people at will under the banner of justice, the law would become a worthless piece of paper. Bat would never do that."
"That's alarmist," commented the film freak. "The supervillains are just a bit special."
"What's so special about me?" the riddle-maker asked.
"Before us freaks, there was Falcone the Roman; before Falcone, there was the Lion King of Gotham; before that, there were the four great families of Gotham; and before that, I was merely a puppet of Gotham's evil, a marionette. Whether this puppet is called the Riddler or Edward is of no consequence."
"Like the Joker, he's died so many times, how dare you say he's still the same Joker he always was?"
"We saw him disappear in the explosion, and then two or three months later he came back, fell into the river, disappeared, and came back again two or three months later. He came back, he came back again, he'll always come back. He can only be driven away, he won't die! Gotham only needs one madman who can grin from ear to ear. Does it matter what that madman's real name is?"
"He defeated me time and time again. Our game will never end until one of us collapses. The Bat is trying to turn the city upside down single-handedly! You have no idea how breathtaking that is. He's unbreakable, never hesitates, never needs a break, he's incredibly intelligent, his will is as strong as steel, like a god walking among men!"
The riddle-maker's voice grew louder as he stood up and waved his hands:
"This is unscientific! This is impossible! How could such a person exist!"
"You have no idea how desperate it is to face an opponent like this!"
"No matter how much you struggle, no matter how hard you struggle, you will be sent back to Arkham. It's so tragic!"
He slumped back onto the sofa in despair.
"Death might be a relief for me. That way I won't have to torment myself with my own powerlessness and be enslaved by the sins of Gotham. I've become unable to stop committing crimes."
"It's not just because of my mental illness. No matter what resolve I have to take, no matter what I intend to do except commit crimes, the evil in Gotham will act like an invisible hand, pulling me back on track. It enslaves me! It enslaves me!"
"No matter how much I cry and struggle, he will force me to use that damned riddle to manipulate me! To bare his fangs at that Gotham's son, born in darkness yet betraying darkness! I am a dragon that should be slain by knights, but also a servant of darkness!"
"Only death can bring me peace. But Bat won't even grant me that final peace. He won't even kill the Joker! You know what? Bat is a ruthless avenger, but his revenge isn't on me, not on Two-Face, not on the Joker! It's on the evil of Gotham City! He doesn't want to end the criminals, he wants to end crime itself!"
"But evil and crime can never end. As long as there is one human being in this world, evil and crime can never be ended! But he did it anyway! He was trying to achieve an absolutely impossible goal, tormenting himself and everyone else! He's not even human!"
He slumped into the chair as if all his strength had been drained, as if all the bones in his body had been removed.
"I'm tired, I'm really tired."
He murmured softly, "So now there are no more riddles, no more trials, no more games. Everything should come to an end."
He picked up the phone on the table and connected to Batman on TV: "Batman—now, do as I say, kill the Joker!"
He walked over to the whimpering Jim Gordon, pulled out a pistol, pressed his head next to Gordon's, and then pressed the gun against his temple.
"No riddles, no hints, I have only one order: kill the clown, or Jim Gordon and my head will explode immediately."
"Either kill the Joker and save me and Gordon, or let the Joker go and let me and Gordon die."
"Batman, you can hear me. Make your choice. Don't even think about pretending to stab or shoot the Joker in a non-lethal spot. I want you to tear the Joker to pieces. Only when I see him dismembered will I confirm his death and release Jim Gordon."
"Whether it's you or me, the principles we're bound by, the ironclad rules that cannot be broken, must all be destroyed today. If we can't destroy them, then destroy me."
"I've decided to use femtosecond laser shredding technology to kill the Joker. This technology can shred materials at the microscopic scale. In a sense, the Joker will be torn to pieces."
"That's right, let's do it now."
The clown crawled into the red cabinet, and soon the wooden planks fell off, revealing its original crystal coffin.
"Kill him immediately, no matter what method you use!"
But Batman ignored him and went up to the Joker and talked to him for a while.
"You killed him, why aren't you... wait a minute."
The riddle-maker suddenly realized something; he wasn't such a stupid person, and he shouldn't have only realized it now.
A bat-like figure with pointed ears appeared behind him, and the Riddler heard the voice—it was Batman.
"Look, I made a mistake. I always thought that supervillains like you liked games, and I thought your desire for games was endless."
"I'm an idiot, just like you. Look, you're in your room right now, making the same smart mistake I did."
"You're assuming I can't break the ironclad rule."
"You're assuming I was completely unprepared and had no idea what was going on."
"You assume my compassion is endless."
"You're assuming I don't have the courage to deal with the situation after the 'no killing iron rule' is broken."
"Imagine that what you're seeing isn't a pre-prepared recording, imagine that I'm in the Old Venn Tower right now, spouting deathbed nonsense with the Joker."
The amygdala tried to move, but was immediately pinned down by the killer crocodile, who then tied it up and pinned it to the ground.
"You're still assuming the ventriloquist and the killer crocodile aren't my men."
"—You're assuming the movie freak couldn't possibly be Batman in disguise."
Click!
The riddle-maker pulled the trigger, but no bullet was fired. Even though he had anticipated this outcome.
"You even assume I didn't secretly switch the bullets in your gun."
"Why do you underestimate me so much, Edward Nigma? Why do you assume you're the only one who will break the mold?"
The riddle teller turned his head and gave a wry smile.
"So, the Joker wasn't killed? You lied to me?"
"Nigma, Nigma...you are still so arrogant."
"Guess what, Edward—you and I have only met once, but you will know me forever from now on. Who am I?"
"Please note that what I'm about to say is not a metaphor, rhetoric, theory, or anything like that."
The Riddler heard Batman say:
"I've already killed the Joker."
Actually, I originally planned to dedicate a few chapters to explaining how the Riddler recruited Killer Croc and the Ventriloquist, from the perspective of the Riddler's first victim, and how the protagonist disguised himself as a movie freak to blend in, subtly hinting at the protagonist's presence throughout the chapters, repeatedly suggesting that the movie freak was suspicious, before creating this shocking twist. However, I probably shouldn't have let the protagonist disappear for too long, and the Joker's presence raised expectations too much, becoming too overshadowing the main character, resulting in poor reader feedback. So, I simply glossed over the Riddler recruiting Killer Croc and the others in one sentence. I originally thought that the Joker's death wasn't the climax of this story arc, so I could use it as a flashback, and then slowly narrate the Riddler's story… but I didn't expect the Joker's popularity to exceed my expectations. Everyone was anticipating the Joker, and no one cared about the poor Riddler. I had to drastically cut the Riddler's screen time. I was wrong; I won't use this flawed approach again. Here's an extra chapter as compensation; please remember to read it!
And book recommendations for good friends:
Book title: Miss Witch, Please Behave Yourself
[Recommendation]: The original title was "The Taste of a Witch Is Really Good," but I sent it to you for special reasons.
Formal recommendation: What's it like to marry a witch right after transmigrating to another world?
Roy remarked, "Witches taste really good."
(End of this chapter)