signingbooks Chapter 1024 The Laughing Bat Always Has a Plan, and Chen Tao Also Has One
Chapter 1024 The Laughing Bat Always Has a Plan, and Chen Tao Also Has One
Chapter 1024 The Laughing Bat Always Has a Plan, and Chen Tao Also Has One
"Oh, look, just a few seconds ago I didn't know you at all, but now I know you inside and out."
Soon, the Hanged Man began reading the trans-temporal stream of the DC multiverse. Even though he too was a being from outside the DC multiverse, unlike the Void Hand, the Hanged Man's dark magic had been stolen by the goddess of magic, Hecate, many years ago and thus spread throughout the DC multiverse. While he might not have as much understanding of the DC multiverse as the Void Hand, his adaptability was absolutely astounding, far exceeding the Void Hand's own imagination.
He licked his tongue. Chen Tao could sense that, in the reality beyond the flow of time, Hecate was engaged in a fierce battle with the Hanged Man before him.
The Hanged Man had just gnawed on a part of the body of the goddess of magic, Hecate, and the exquisite taste made his taste buds explode. He was talking to Chen Tao while almost drooling.
I ate a little and still wanted more; I could never get enough.
But is the goddess of magic really that weak? Does she have no power to resist the Hanged Man at all?
Chen Tao felt something was amiss, but his attention was quickly drawn back to what was in front of him.
"Oh, you magic users have really made a mess of yourselves," the Hanged Man sneered. "I'm learning more and more about your world, and about your fellow human beings, who revel in their fear in the shadows."
While the enemy they were facing was saying those things, Chen Tao turned his gaze to his teammate, the Laughing Bat—no, his temporary teammate, the Laughing Bat. Chen Tao secretly reminded himself that he had fallen back into his old habit of immediately trying to test someone's abilities whenever he found someone who could help him share the burden.
Each time the other party gives him a satisfactory answer, it triggers a strange dependence on the other party deep in Chen Tao's heart. He reminds himself again that he cannot do that, as it will not bring any benefit except to kill the other party.
Ok?
However, if we could kill the Batman Who Laughs, it might still be beneficial.
Chen Tao began to subconsciously let his thoughts wander; he needed to examine whether the Batman Who Laughs's plan contained any traps.
No, simply reviewing the plan isn't enough. He needs to deduce and understand his purpose through every action of his maniacal laughter, otherwise he'll definitely be tricked.
But the Batman Who Laughs didn't suddenly pull out some outrageous plan to instantly solve the problem as usual. Chen Tao watched him, waiting for the Batman Who Laughs to perform that, you know, "everything is going according to plan" act, but the Batman Who Laughs acted very—
How should I put it? Buddhist-like?
He acted like a loyal underling, leaving the spotlight to protagonists like Batman Dragon. Chen Tao gave him a couple of winks, but the Laughing Batman remained oblivious.
"The Bat Who Laughs, do you have any ideas?" Chen Tao wouldn't let the Bat Who Laughs get away. "I think you should have already prepared how to persuade the Hanged Man. You proposed this plan, and I'm the ally you found. Shouldn't you be the one to arrange these things?"
He stared at the laughing bat like a girlfriend discovering her boyfriend hadn't booked a hotel.
Chen Tao felt that the Laughing Bat must have participated in this incident for some purpose, but he acted as if he had nothing to do with it.
Instead, it was the upside-down man in front of them who spoke.
"Hey, are you even listening to me? I'm learning more and more about your world. I thought it was a simple deal, that the Void Hand would effortlessly hand your world over to me—as Hecate would steal our power and allow it to grow for a thousand years without us. Meanwhile, we'd be kept out of reach."
The Hanged Man said, "That's why I decided to come to your world, to ravage it, and to take back what has been taken. I am a pure thing, a hungry nightmare, the source of fear."
Chen Tao finally shifted his attention away from the Batman Who Laughs, and began to notice the abnormality in the Hanged Man. He understood why the Batman Who Laughs didn't need to speak. He had already influenced the Hanged Man beforehand; the other party—
The next moment, he was attacked. Those pale white hands touched his face in an instant. Chen Tao's eyes widened as he stared at the upside-down face of the man with its gaping maw.
He could almost smell the stench coming from the other person's open mouth, and amidst that stench, Chen Tao suddenly realized a truth.
Both the Hanged Man and the Laughing Bat knew the truth.
The other person seemed to be performing some kind of ritual, constantly recounting his inner journey. It was as if something from the DC multiverse had been injected into him when he arrived in the DC multiverse; the Hanged Man was trying to define himself, but this definition was primal and vague.
But the Hanged Man at least began to define himself. Chen Tao finally realized that the Hanged Man was actively socializing within the DC multiverse, simply put, actively becoming a part of the DC multiverse, rather than an outsider like the Void Hand. The Hanged Man was binding his origin story to Hecate.
A magical deity born within the DC multiverse discovered an aggregate of dark magic outside the DC multiverse, and the two are both counterparts and opposites. This is the place the Hanged Man seeks to create for himself within the DC multiverse.
Behind all of this, there must be the Bat Who Laughs behind it all. The Bat Who Laughs had the will, and the Hanged Man had the intention, which is why this bizarre situation has occurred.
Chen Tao had already prepared for a direct confrontation, but when he turned to look at the Laughing Bat, he found that the other man had no expression on his face, and his signature maniacal smile was on his lips.
Chen Tao felt a chill run through him. This was all orchestrated by the Bat Who Laughs, and he was completely unaware. This was a very dangerous sign, meaning that if the Bat Who Laughs intended to harm him, he would be completely oblivious.
He needed to figure out how the Bat of Laughter had deceived him, and how it had deceived the Hand of the Void; all of this was essential—
"Oh, come on, honey, I know what you're thinking, can you not be so discouraging? We're just working together now."
Hearing the Batman Who Laughs speak so cryptically, Chen Tao knew very well that the Batman Who Laughs couldn't read his mind. His current power was already considerable within the DC multiverse.
Therefore, there is only one answer: the Bat Who Laughs guessed what he wanted to say.
Chen Tao saw him quietly turn his head, raise a pale finger, and make the clown's classic shushing gesture in front of him, with a twisted and perverted smile on his face.
The Hanged Man paid no heed, while Chen Tao mentally deduced the Batman Who Laughs's thoughts. Controlling the Hanged Man was impossible; if the Batman Who Laughs had that ability, why would he need to cooperate with him?
But just as the Batman Who Laughs once manipulated all of Perpetual's thoughts and actions, it is not absolutely impossible for someone in a lower position to utilize the power of someone in a higher position.
If he gives the other party a hint beforehand, or offers them an irresistible condition, he can make them act in his favor at a crucial moment. This is a form of manipulation, and a very useful and skillful one at that.
"I've learned so much from you. I've learned to deceive, to say one thing and do another—a simple trick, but very effective."
Chen Tao turned his gaze to the Laughing Bat and stared at him.
You were upstream in the timeline, what did you do to the Hanged Man?
The Hanged Man began his attack, and Chen Tao leaped high to dodge from the left and right, trying to grab his hands.
"When the Void Hand came to me, we made a deal. I could see him, I could feel the Void Hand's burning desire for this DC multiverse. Can you imagine?"
"That's what the Hanged Man said," he said, clutching his face, ceasing his attempt to grab Batman Dragon, and then hovering in the air.
"To converse with someone who is almost as powerful as you, and to lie to his face? You are beautiful and arrogant creatures who possess lies. I love you very much."
"7
Hearing what the Hanged Man said, Chen Tao almost lost his composure. "Damn it, what did you teach the other party?"
He subconsciously began to analyze what the Batman Who Laughs had done. He instilled a concept similar to a lie into the Inverted Man, and then induced him to apply it to the Void Hand.
But how exactly did he inject it?
Would you directly share your memories with the Hanged Man?
He forced himself to clear his mind of these chaotic thoughts. The Bat of Laughter's true intentions would gradually emerge, depending on who he was using. Chen Tao knew perfectly well that the other party wouldn't do anything that would lose him money.
"The Void Hand made a deal with me. If I kill Hecate as he wishes, the Void Hand will give me all the magic in this multiverse, and he will only need the DC multiverse itself. We are two completely different beings, and even though our goal is the same—the DC multiverse—we don't seem to have any conflict."
"But the Void Hand doesn't think there will be any conflict." The Laughing Bat beside Chen Tao spoke in a low voice: "For the Hanged Man, once this DC multiverse is devoured by the Void Hand, his mastery of the magic in this multiverse will be completely meaningless. Without the skin, where will the hair attach? No matter how much magic he devours and masters, there will still be a magician to cast it. But according to the Void Hand's subsequent plans, this place is like a dilapidated house to be demolished. Not to mention people, you won't even see a ghost."
The Hanged Man cannot lend his magic to just a handful of people; he wants a universe that can continuously provide him with magical loans, not a wasteland that has been devoured and expelled by the Void Hand.
This is not a good thing for a magical creature like the Hanged Man.
"Wow, such accurate judgment, what an adorable creature. If I had no other choice, I wouldn't necessarily reject the final outcome of the negotiations," said the Hanged Man. "But now it seems there are other options?"
The Hanged Man said, “I’m now planning to make a deal with you, my friend. A betrayal of the Void Hand, isn’t that amazing? So tell me, Batman Dragon, Batman Who Laughs, what are you willing to offer your ultimate destroyer? You might want to act quickly now, because Hecate the Witch is manipulating Wonder Woman’s body in the main universe, and she has ill intentions. Coincidentally, so do I, hehehe!”
Chen Tao saw that the Laughing Bat seemed about to speak, and he knew the Laughing Bat would know how to answer him; this situation was entirely his doing. Bringing Chen Tao along was less of a show of force and more of a...
Damn it, this is a demonstration, not just a demonstration, but a threat. The Batman Who Laughs was already planning to resolve the matter of Hecate, the goddess of magic. On this issue, their interests are aligned, so the Batman Who Laughs intends to show Batman Dragon what happens when the Batman Who Laughs becomes your teammate.
The more perfectly he does now, the more he plants a subconscious seed in Batman Dragon's mind that "just how terrifying is the Batman Who Laughs?"
In the future, when facing Batman Dragon, just like how people often make mistakes when nervous, once this subconscious tendency is truly implanted, one will be hesitant and restrained when facing the Batman Who Laughs the next time.
Chen Tao's mind raced as he tried to figure out how to give the Hanged Man a perfect answer without colliding with the Bat of Laughter.
However, the other party was unable to collide with Chen Tao.
That being said—how does the Batman Who Laughs control the Hanged Man?
Chen Tao didn't know, but it was very likely related to the Batman who possessed the power of Manhattan. Apart from that, Chen Tao couldn't think of anything the Batman Who Laughs could have that could attract the Hanged Man.
However, Chen Tao's relationship with the Manhattan Bat was not so harmonious. He couldn't make any promises like the Batman Who Laughs; he had to try to paint a rosy picture and then hope the other party would swallow it whole.
Then he quickly came up with an idea.
"You're angry, aren't you? You want to be the unspeakable, the terrifying, but you are just the dark side of Hecate's magic. If her magic is every incredible possibility, then you are every terrible possibility. You are her opposite, and she hates you, even though you're not in the DC multiverse."
Chen Tao muttered to himself in a low voice. He was using a proven negotiation tactic that could arouse the other party's desire to make a deal.
Chen Tao took a deep breath.
"You were meant to be one person, but you were locked up. In this universe, you were never allowed to exist as you wished. This is what I can offer: I can fix you, I can make you who you want to be, I can find a way to make you whole!"
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