Selina blew the smoke from the barrel of her gun and even leaned against the wall to strike a pose.
After surviving the disaster, Will was so excited he nearly cried.
If not for the fact that he was dealing with a woman, he really wanted to rush forward and give Catwoman’s pretty little face a hard kiss.
Selina leaped into the bottom of the shaft, gun in hand, forcing the two biological monsters back.
After all, these monsters had once been human.
The fear of firearms was still etched into their genes.
They retreated while growling threateningly.
“Are you all right?”
Selina asked with concern.
“Thanks to you…
I’m strong as an ox.
Never felt better.”
Will was putting on a brave face.
The biological monster’s grip was terrifyingly strong.
That single squeeze had broken several of his ribs.
Now, even breathing caused stabbing pain throughout his chest.
Bullock’s condition was even more critical.
He was nearly unconscious and had to be supported by Gordon as they regrouped with the others.
“You…
you’re still alive…
good…”
Bullock slowly raised his eyelids.
The moment he spoke, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Thank you, Mr.
Harvey Bullock.
You’re a great police officer, just like Mr.
James Gordon!”
Will nodded and thanked him solemnly.
Although Selina had been the one to save him, he had personally witnessed Bullock being struck down by the biological monster while trying to save him.
“Why did you come back?
Did you find a way out?”
Will asked.
Catwoman shook her head.
She had simply come back to provide support.
Remember Selina’s earlier suspicion?
She believed that the enemy had gone to such great lengths to drive everyone toward the bottom of the sewers because an even greater conspiracy was hidden down there.
And the drainage outlet happened to be located on the lowest level of the sewer system.
After parting ways with the others, the more Selina thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
She also remembered that she had disarmed Gordon.
Worried that something might happen to them, she turned around and came back.
Now it seemed that Selina’s suspicion had been completely correct.
These biological monsters had been kept at the bottom of the sewers.
Doctor Hugo Strange had driven them all the way here precisely so that the monsters could kill them and silence them.
As long as they died, the location of Hugo’s hideout would remain a secret forever.
But although the immediate crisis had been resolved, the real problem remained.
How were they supposed to escape from here?
“Why did you ask for the handcuffs just now?” Gordon asked Will.
“The filter grate can’t be broken by human strength alone, but the biological monsters might be able to do it.
My original plan was to cuff one end of the handcuffs to the grate and the other to a biological monster’s toe, then use its strength to rip the grate open…
Will briefly explained his idea.
Looking back now, the desperate plan had all kinds of flaws.
For example, the biological monsters were violent creatures with overwhelming aggression.
How was he supposed to convince one to let him cuff its foot?
Offer himself as a sacrifice?
Or sing it a lullaby?
But Selina thought that the idea of borrowing their strength had merit.
“With a few improvements, it might actually work.”
As everyone talked over one another, the work lights embedded in the walls of the drainage shaft suddenly flickered on one after another, starting from the top.
Their eyes had long since adapted to the darkness, and the sudden light blinded them.
Only after rubbing their eyes and gradually adjusting did they notice a small figure standing on a platform halfway up the shaft.
The man looked to be around fifty years old.
He was bald, with a scraggly goatee and both hands tucked casually into his pockets as he smiled down at them.
He was astonishingly short.
His white lab coat was so oversized that it looked more like a floor-length robe.
There was no need to guess who it was.
Who else could it be but the final boss—Doctor Hugo Strange?
Will pressed a hand against his forehead and sighed.
He already knew the villain’s mandatory monologue was about to begin.
These people always did the same thing.
They could have remained hidden in the shadows.
They could have said nothing.
Yet they always insisted on patiently explaining everything to the protagonist.
But he wasn’t Batman.
He didn’t care about Hugo Strange’s motives.
He wasn’t interested in condemning the man for lacking humanity after committing such atrocities.
He only wanted the stolen money back—to ransom Oswald and save his own life.
Selina cared even less.
The moment the villain appeared, she fired three shots.
The height difference was simply too great.
All three bullets missed badly.
Gordon pressed her gun down, signaling her not to waste what little ammunition they had left.
“Welcome to my laboratory, ladies and gentlemen.
Are you satisfied with my masterpieces?”
Doctor Strange spread his arms wide, looking down upon them from above.
“Masterpieces?
You mean those two little rats that became obedient the moment someone pointed a gun at them?”
Resting one hand on her hip, Selina casually spun the revolver around her finger.
The pose perfectly accentuated her graceful figure.
It was a pity she was still wearing her mask.
Otherwise, the disdainful sneer on her face would have been even more captivating than her silhouette.
“Fear is the instinct of all living creatures.”
Doctor Strange wasn’t provoked in the slightest.
A gentle smile remained on his face as he spoke slowly.
“Without reverence for danger, life inevitably destroys itself.
And when death becomes the dominant melody, reproduction loses all meaning.”
Selina pursed her lips, trying to make sense of the doctor’s cryptic speech.
“But your biological monsters don’t need to reproduce, do they?”
Will picked up the conversation at just the right moment.
The instant Doctor Strange saw Will’s face, his eyebrow twitched.
He seemed to be trying very hard to keep his expression under control, yet the corners of his mouth stubbornly refused to stop rising.
To Will, the expression looked extraordinarily strange. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
And that strange expression only reinforced his suspicion.
“You know me.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen that face before.”
“More than once.”
“You could even say I’ve been searching for the owner of that face all this time.”
“But unfortunately, I don’t know your name.”
“I’ve never been interested in such trivial matters.”
“That is precisely why my clients trust me enough to conduct business with me.”
The information contained in those words was sparse, yet Will still managed to extract something important.
The doctor had mentioned clients.
That meant the original owner of this body had likely once been one of them.
He had also said he’d been searching for him.
That meant Will—or rather, this body—was important to him.
Perhaps he could use that connection to bargain for everyone’s lives.
But Doctor Strange’s next action shattered that hope.
He calmly pulled a remote control from his pocket.
“You were correct just now.”
“My biological monsters have no need for fear.”
“So I’ll simply remove every remaining emotion they possess.”
“For the next ten minutes, they will become nothing more than emotionless killing machines.”
“Wait!
You just said you’ve been looking for me all this time.
If I die—”
Will still wanted to fight for one last chance.
But the doctor gave him none.
“The only thing of value is your body.”
“Whether you’re alive or dead is of no concern to me.”
He pressed the button.
As the biological monsters let out hysterical roars, the doctor disappeared into the darkness without another glance.
Fortunately, he forgot to turn off the lights before leaving.
At last, Will and the others could fight under proper illumination.
But even with clear visibility, could they really survive against two berserk biological monsters?
The transformation was obvious to the naked eye.
Just moments ago, traces of emotion still appeared on their faces from time to time—confusion, anger, fear.
Now there was nothing left but blank expressions.
The two biological monsters stood with their mouths slightly open.
Thick ropes of drool poured over their lower lips like waterfalls, splattering onto the floor with wet plop, plop sounds.
Selina refused to believe it.
She immediately fired two shots at the nearest monster.
Bang!
Bang!
One of its eyeballs exploded.
Blood sprayed across its dull, hideous face, making it look even more terrifying.
There were no cries of pain.
No enraged howls.
Only the most basic reaction to external stimuli.
The gunshots.
The moment they heard them, both biological monsters moved.
Dropping onto all fours, they charged straight toward the group.