Inside the mask factory, the lights flared brightly.
Black Mask's lieutenant stood atop a pile of wooden crates, passionately spitting out empty promises to motivate his subordinates.
"As long as we mess up Gotham's economy, Mr. Sionis will make sure every single one of you moves into a mansion in the Upper District and becomes neighbors with Bruce Wayne!"
Gotham's villains always gave the exact same kind of pep talk.
But before anyone could even take a bite of that metaphorical pie, the steel-framed glass ceiling overhead shattered.
Crash!
Countless glass shards rained down like a torrential storm, and descending right along with them came a dark grim reaper.
When Batman landed, his knee crushed the chest cavity of one unlucky bastard.
He moved through the crowd like a war machine that required absolutely no lubrication, rampaging and crashing into everyone in his path.
The dull, sickening thuds of fracturing bones echoed one after another throughout the factory floor, making anyone who heard it wince.
Hiding atop a large smokestack directly across from the factory, Chen Mo was holding up a pair of secondhand binoculars he had picked up from a flea market, his mouth stuffed with half an energy bar that was hard enough to be used as a crowbar.
"Tsk, tsk. Look at that punch, look at that force generation. Total professional."
As Chen Mo chewed, he frantically took notes in his mental ledger.
"That shoulder throw combined with a knee strike... I need to find a telephone pole to practice that on later."
Right now, he relied entirely on raw spider-strength to bulldoze his way through fights, while his technique was completely self-taught.
Though his "brute force solves everything" approach worked, he always felt it lacked the style and sophistication of a high-level player.
Just as Batman was gearing up to finish off the remaining thugs, a sudden change occurred.
On the factory's second-floor platform, the lids of several large crates violently popped open, revealing a row of oddly shaped horn-like speakers.
They were modified industrial sonic cannons.
Vroom--!
A burst of high-frequency noise instantly exploded through the air. Chen Mo felt as if his eardrums were being pierced by thousands of sewing needles all at once.
The binoculars nearly slipped from his grip.
In the center of the factory, Batman's movements visibly stiffened. He dropped to one knee in agony, pressing his hands against both sides of his cowl.
For someone with senses as sharp as his, this kind of high-frequency noise was practically a direct assault on the soul.
Dozens of elite thugs sneered as they closed in, the alloy steel pipes in their hands gleaming with a cold light.
Chen Mo sighed, stuffing the rest of his energy bar into his pocket.
"Tsk. You wouldn't let me come over and clean up the battlefield, huh? So, are you going to say thank you in a minute, Batman?"
He leaped forward, his body tracing an arc through the air.
A strand of web precisely adhered to a crossbeam high above the factory floor.
The moment Chen Mo swung inside, he casually fired off two clumps of webbing mid-air, sealing shut the power supply lines of those sonic cannons.
Zzap!
Sparks flew in all directions, and the brain-melting noise came to a grinding halt.
A few lackeys who were about to slip out the back door to call for backup hadn't even realized what was happening before they felt their back collars tighten.
Chen Mo hung upside down from the doorframe, holding a burly man in each hand as if he were carrying two chickens ready for slaughter.
"Want to leave? There's no door for you. Not even a window."
With a flick of his wrists, webbing gushed out like tentacles, instantly wrapping the men into massive silkworm cocoons and hanging them neatly from the lintel.
"Beautiful."
Chen Mo muttered to himself, firing a few more webs for good measure to completely seal off every single exit in the factory.
Without the suppression of the sonic cannons, Batman instantly switched from "weakened state" to "rage mode."
He stood up, whipped his cape, and transformed into a streak of black shadow.
In less than three minutes, the thugs who had just been clamoring about moving into mansions were all lying on the floor counting stars.
Black Mask's lieutenant had it even worse. The moment he tried to pull a hidden dagger from his sleeve, a recovered Batman grabbed his arm and twisted.
Crack.
Both of his arms were snapped into bizarre, unnatural angles.
Ignoring the agony-filled screams on the ground, Batman walked straight toward a safe located deep inside the office area.
He pulled an electronic decoder from his utility belt, and in less than ten seconds, the safe door popped open.
There was no money inside, only a thick ledger.
Batman flipped through a few pages, his white eye lenses narrowing slightly.
Chen Mo dropped down upside down from the shadows, stopping right in front of Batman's face.
"First of all, I just saved you. So, say thank you. Quick."
Batman closed the ledger, his tone cold enough to drop icicles.
"What gives you the right to interfere in my operation?"
Chen Mo rolled his eyes, though it was unfortunately hidden by his mask.
"Your operation? Did you submit a patrol application to City Hall? This factory is a public area, buddy. Don't act like it's your own backyard."
"It's dangerous here."
"You're clearly not as good at fighting as I am. The facts just proved it."
Batman went silent for a second.
"So those men outside... you handled them?"
Chen Mo brushed the dust off his hands, looking quite smug.
"Six at the back door, hanging upside down, nice and neat. Neater than the clothes hanging in your Batcave."
"Now, everything here is settled. You can leave."
Having said his piece, Batman turned around and walked out, showing absolutely no intention of sharing the information in the ledger.
"Hey, wait a second!"
Chen Mo took two steps to follow closely behind him.
"So, about that car of yours--"
Batman stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly.
"I'm just bringing it up," Chen Mo raised his hands with an expression of pure sincerity. "Such a massive car, with such a cool design. Isn't it a bit of a waste of resources for you to drive it alone every time? Ever heard of energy conservation and emission reduction? Gotham's air quality is already trash enough."
Batman didn't say a word. He pressed a button on his gauntlet's remote control.
Out in the open clearing outside the factory, the sharp, angular Batmobile glided over silently.
The canopy slowly slid open.
The internal structure of the cockpit was displayed in full view: dense clusters of control panels, weapon systems, and a tactical computer.
And, right in the center, was a single, cramped driver's seat.
There was no passenger seat.
There was no back row.
There wasn't even a place to put takeout.
The design philosophy of this vehicle simply did not include the concept of a "passenger."
Chen Mo peeked at the seat, then looked back at Batman's deadpan face.
Batman still didn't say a word.
He didn't even look at Chen Mo's reaction. He merely pressed another button on the remote with his thumb.
The canopy came to a steady halt at its fully opened position, as if displaying to Chen Mo: See? You really can't fit.
"...Fine, you win."
Chen Mo cast a lingering, reluctant glance at the incredibly badass Batmobile, contemplating the probability of Batman agreeing if he suggested that Batman walk home and leave the car for him to drive.
Yeah, zero percent.
Another awkward silence ensued.
"So the only reason you're making a fuss right now," Batman finally spoke, his tone as flat and steady as someone reading a weather forecast, "is because you didn't get to ride in the Batmobile."
Chen Mo took a deep breath.
And another.
He raised his hand, making a "time-out" gesture.
"Enough. I've seriously had it with you Gothamites, especially you, and this way of talking."
Chen Mo circled around Batman, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
"You only ever speak half a sentence, and then use the other half to crush people. Do you know what you sound like right now, combined with that silhouette of yours standing in the rain?"
The lines of Batman's jaw didn't budge an inch.
"You sound exactly like the male lead of an online web novel saying, 'Woman, you have successfully caught my attention.'"
Chen Mo gestured wildly while complaining.
"Just like that--everything is within my control, I won't explain, figure it out yourself. It's so greasy, Batman. Seriously greasy."
"Either say a few more words to make things clear, or don't use that 'I've long seen through everything' tone to take cheap shots. Choose one out of two, is it that hard?"
"I can."
Batman concisely spat out two words.
"..."
Chen Mo waited for three seconds.
"That's it? Just 'I can'?"
Batman had already turned around and stepped into the cockpit.
"Wait a minute!" Chen Mo chased after him. "Are you saying you can say a few more words, or you can just not speak? Was that even a choice? Make yourself clear!"
Vroom--!
What responded to him was the heavy, roaring sound of the Batmobile's engine starting up.
Right before the canopy closed completely, Batman cast a sidelong glance at him.
There was no "stay safe."
There was no "good job."
And there certainly was no "thank you."
He just looked over, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery that seemed to say, 'Look, I said two more words.'
Chen Mo categorized that look as pure mockery.
The cockpit sealed shut, and the Batmobile vanished into the night like a flash of black lightning.
Standing where he was, Chen Mo gave a thumbs-up toward the distant taillights.
"Fine, you've got personality."
Muttering to himself, he shot out a strand of webbing and swung up to the opposite rooftop.
"Next time I'll bring my own little stool and strap myself to your roof."
He thought about it for a moment, then added another line.
"Heavy as a chunk of iron... domineering CEO Bat-freak... Wait, he actually is a CEO..."
The night wind was a bit chilly, blowing against Chen Mo's patched-up suit.
As he swung between the high-rises and skyscrapers, his mind was still calculating matters regarding that ledger.
Black Mask, Falcone, Maroni.
Gotham sure is getting lively.
Right at that moment, the hairs on the back of Chen Mo's neck suddenly stood on end.
Spider-Sense!
Someone was tailing him.
And it was an expert.
Utilizing Gotham's complex architectural shadows, the tracker had practically merged into one with the darkness. Their breathing frequency was terrifyingly low.
Chen Mo let out a cold laugh in his heart.
Playing stealth with me? I'm a man who can perceive air vibrations.
Instead of turning around, he picked up his pace, swiftly weaving between several abandoned clock towers.
Finally, he intentionally leaped downward, dropping into a dead-end alleyway.
The alley was filled with foul-smelling, overflowing dumpsters, and its end was a solid brick wall.
The tracker was evidently very patient. He didn't reveal himself immediately, instead quietly lurking within the shadows at the mouth of the alley.
The assassin, "Shadow," tightened his grip on the high-frequency vibration dagger in his hand.
He had been hired by Black Mask at an exorbitant price, specifically tasked with handling those "unruly little nuisances."
And when given the choice between chasing the Batmobile or chasing the little bug leisurely swinging across the rooftops, the assassin had very easily chosen the latter.
The latter looked much easier to catch up to than the former.
From his perspective, that red-and-blue freak had already run out of options.
Like a gecko, Shadow silently and stealthily crept into the alley.
However, the alley was completely empty.
Aside from a few smoldering dumpsters, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
"Where is he?"
Shadow felt a jolt of shock in his heart and instinctively looked up.
A massive, faintly glowing spiderweb cascaded down from above!
"Caught you, little mouse."
Chen Mo's voice rang out from right behind him.
Shadow's reflexes were incredibly fast. He swung his blade in a reverse grip, attempting to slash through the web.
But to his horror, he discovered that the tensile strength of this webbing was utterly absurd. When his blade struck it, it actually kicked up a shower of sparks.
Before he could change his stance, Chen Mo's fist slammed into the back of his head.
Shadow's vision went black, and he was pinned directly onto an advertising billboard on the wall.
The billboard displayed a picture of a plump, juicy burger, and Shadow was stuck right in the middle of it, looking exactly like an extra meat patty.
Chen Mo appeared before him, hanging upside down, holding a slip of paper written with a marker.
With a smack, he slapped the note right onto the assassin's forehead.
There were no menacing threats on the paper; it was simply a doodle of a chibi turtle.
Chen Mo clapped his hands clean and vanished onto the rooftop.
Less than five minutes later, a few pigeons landed on the brick wall at the entrance of the alley.
One of their eyes flickered with a faint red light, staring unblinkingly at the assassin pinned to the wall.