Chapter 292: Entrusting Great Responsibilities to This Person (2)

Words : 1294 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 292: Entrusting Great Responsibilities to This Person (2) Lately, Bruce has come to understand one of the biggest truths: in this world, there are only bad news and worse news, and all the unfortunate things always happen at once. Batman chose to go after the Joker first. It was evident that the madman's surprises usually had more shock than delight and were incredibly astonishing. Sure enough, when Batman arrived, he discovered that the Joker had set fire to the commercial street in the center of Gotham. At that moment, the crowd screamed and fled. A dozen cars, doused in gasoline, formed a pile, and the resulting explosion shattered nearly all the storefront windows, filling the air with thick smoke. Batman stood on the rooftop, squinting his eyes in search of his target. Just then, in the distance, another thick plume of smoke rose, indicating a fire in the impoverished slums of the East District. At that moment, the firetruck siren blared, and the firefighters arrived. They rushed to put out the fire, carrying hoses and clearing away the debris from the exploded vehicles. From the narrow gaps in the burning buildings, they searched for trapped individuals. Gotham's fire department was not the most efficient, but this was the most prosperous commercial street in the city center, largely owned by the Twelve Families' industries. They had to respond when there was a fire. According to Batman's assessment, the central commercial street was relatively spacious, and the fire had started before the explosion. Most people had managed to escape when the smoke first billowed, so the rescue operation was not overly difficult. However, the slums were a different story. The buildings were densely packed, and there was a lot of clutter. Once a fire broke out, the casualties could be severe. Therefore, upon seeing the firefighters arrive to rescue the commercial street, Batman headed towards the East District. The lingering effects of his energy depletion had not completely subsided, and Batman had a pounding headache. Consequently, he failed to notice that a journalist, who had just arrived, captured his departing figure at the end of the commercial street. The fire in the East District slums presented a significant challenge. The residential areas were tightly packed, lacking fire safety measures or escape routes. Many people were trapped in the flames. Batman exerted great effort to resolve the situation. When he finally arrived at the police station, Gordon was becoming increasingly worried. Seeing Batman was like spotting a savior. He exclaimed, "You're finally here!" "What's going on?" Batman's voice was hoarse, as if scorched by fire. Gordon had many things he wanted to say, but noticing Batman's visibly pale complexion, he hesitated. He suggested, "Your complexion is really bad. Maybe you should go back and rest for a while?" "No, it's fine. Just tell me, what happened?" Gordon took a deep breath and led Batman to the morgue. From one of the compartments, he pulled out a body covered in a white sheet. When the sheet was lifted, Batman recognized the face—it was the leader of the Lawrence family from the Twelve Families. Old Lawrence had already turned grey, and he was slightly overweight. His limbs and chest were wounded. Batman squinted as he observed, but his focus was somewhat scattered. He asked Gordon, "What did the scene look like?" Gordon hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the right words to describe it. Finally, he said, "This afternoon, Lawrence Jr. called the police chief to inform him that his father had died." "When I arrived, Lawrence was dead in the study room. He was lying flat on the ground, facing the window, with his arms outstretched, forming a cross. His limbs, chest, and head were impaled by long spikes. The forensic examiner determined that the cause of death was a pierced heart..." "Where's the murder weapon?" "It's in the evidence room. If you want, I can bring it. Also, the forensic examiner told me that traces of anesthesia were found in Lawrence's body. He was likely drugged before being impaled." "Crucifixion..." Batman murmured to himself, but Gordon couldn't hear clearly. He asked, "What? What cross?" "It's a method used to execute Christians, crucifixion, or more specifically, inverted crucifixion." "The first pope, Saint Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, died in this way... Wait, Jesus? How many disciples did Jesus have?... Twelve... Twelve Families..." Sliphead continued, "Initially, I was supposed to meet him at the street intersection, but those people chased us relentlessly. The two of us had no choice but to run into the alley. Luckily, there was an abandoned wine cellar here, or else they would have caught up with us in no time." Jason complained, "When I jumped down, I didn't see that there were boards or anything below. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten injured so easily." While Batman was securing the splint, Jason clenched his fist and refused to make a sound. Batman glanced at him and said, "You did well. Now we're going up. You should avoid coming here for a while." Jason tried to assist Sliphead in standing up, but Batman immediately picked him up. Jason struggled and said, "Put me down! Damn it!" However, his foot was swollen, and every movement caused pain in his ankle. He let out a cry of pain, biting his fist and remaining silent. After reaching the surface, Batman asked them, "Did the people chasing you get a good look at you?" "I'm not sure, but they had flashlights. They probably saw Jason." Batman carried Jason to the car, placed him in the back seat, and said, "You two go hide in my base for a couple of days. You'll find everything you need there." Ignoring Jason's objection, he started the car and drove Jason and Sliphead to a temporary stronghold in the southern suburbs. Batman's base can be said to have everything, which amazed the two children, especially Jason. Originally, being held by Batman like a child felt a bit awkward, but after seeing the advanced equipment and abundant supplies, his eyes started to light up, and he changed his initial unwilling attitude and began to excitedly explore and touch everything. Sliphead turned to Batman and asked, "Is our intelligence useful?" Batman nodded and said, "At least I know that the big boss is not some street thug; he is associated with the Twelve Families, and he might even be a member of the Twelve Families." "And just now, two high-ranking members of the Lawrence family and the Hawke family in the Twelve Families were murdered successively..." "Furthermore, Jason mentioned that he overheard their boss urging them to gather funds for the big boss as soon as possible. The big boss might know something..." Having said that, Batman told the two children, "Don't go out these few days, it might be very unsafe outside." After settling Jason and Sliphead, Batman couldn't rest when he returned to Wayne Manor. He retrieved the Bible and Gospel books and started searching for stories about the Twelve Apostles. While not many people may know the stories of Jesus and the twelve disciples, the story of Jesus and Judas is almost universally known, and Judas is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. As Batman read the book until late at night, he took notes of all the information. Exhausted, he dragged his weary body upstairs to sleep. However, when he opened his eyes after a deep slumber, he found himself once again at the entrance of Wayne Manor. In the alley outside the gate stood four familiar figures. [Read /shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

Chapter 292: Entrusting Great Responsibilities to This Person (2)

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