Rain.

Heavy rain.

The downpour hit my mantle and the whole black city. Whether it's a matter of municipal construction, or maybe it's the dust emitted from an industrial area, the city is always shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. I thought I might be able to change the situation, but then I realized that maybe I was the bleakest specter in the city. I walked through the streets and alleys, and my black shadow hung over the heads of every traitor.

In bad weather like this, the petty thieves won't go out, but there are some people who may particularly like it. Or rather, he loves every kind of weather; Or hate every kind of weather – his bright red lips always curl into a huge, exaggerated smile on his grease-smeared face. His pupils are always as small as the tip of a needle, and like his sallow teeth, it feels unreal, and sometimes it even makes people feel that his whole being is something made up of lies and hypocrisy.

And I don't disagree with that.

More than ten meters below me, this man with green weedy hair was wearing the same eternal purple suit, waving an umbrella in his hand, and dancing an unsightly dance in the heavy rain of the street.

“Im_singing_in_the_rian”

It was a complete noise to me, but I put up with it.

Just behind him, a large number of bandits painted their faces white and red, and in the rain the paint quickly turned dirty. It's obvious. They don't like to run out and do it in the middle of a rainy day, but they are afraid of their leader.

What fear is there for him? Ultimately. He's just a mortal. A body of flesh and blood, just like me. Maybe it's because humans are afraid of the unknown. Fearing the unpredictable chaos, this man walks in complete madness, and he uses his reason to practice his chaos, using the most indiscriminate means - money, force, hijacking, threats, to prove his unique theory of madness.

In this way, he used his madness to control one group of people, and then used this group of people to hurt another group of people. It is undeniable that he possesses ingenuity, and the cruelty and cold-bloodedness that is opposed to it. He crowned himself a master of humor, but he brought utter chaos and killing.

Sometimes. In the dead of night, I think that maybe I'm the same person as him. It's just that he uses madness to change this world, and I use fear to change this world. Sometimes I don't even remember the last time I went to sleep, and sometimes I even think my whole life is a long nightmare that never ends. Every night I patrol this gloomy city, every morning I collapse into my bed exhausted - maybe a few hours of overtime, maybe the next week I have to deal with some criminal gang and I can't keep my eyes shut.

At the time of these criminals. I always thought I knew enough about the city. But each time, I found more and deeper darkness at the bottom of the city. It's like when one veil is lifted, only another veil is seen. My enemies are endless, and I sometimes wonder when I am confused. I have defeated so many people, and my long-standing efforts have not paid off, and my old opponents are making a comeback every few months. New enemies are constantly emerging, and these new criminals are even more shameless than their predecessors. More ferocious, more cruel, and younger and stronger.

Maybe it's because I never kill anyone.

And then in the city. Crime turned into a game of wits and courage against me. I always get victorious, then they surrender for a moment, then hide in prisons and lunatic asylums thinking about new games, then easily escape, and then challenge me with new challenges. And so the game never ended, until one day I finally slowed down a little and a sudden bullet hit me in the head, and it all ended, and I woke up from a nightmare.

But I don't kill.

A criminal who escapes will cause a huge number of casualties, maybe just a simple trap, a well-fashioned bomb, or even just a gun and shooting down the street, they can destroy more lives than I have ever saved. With the fact that commentators in newspapers and news often lash out at me why I don't just bring them a crisp death and end this endless cycle.

But I don't kill.

I'm a guy in a high-tech tights and a black cape who wanders the city in the night. I am the hunter of sin, I am justice in the night, I am the underground knight of the city—under all these magnificent embellishments, I am just a man who continues to take revenge that never ends, and I am not for justice, nor for the people...... I'm just pouring out my anger on these people's heads for revenge. I lynched those criminals, and in my territory, there are no human rights, no humanitarianism, and the perpetrators of evil must pay.

But I don't kill.

Because that's the only way to separate me from them. At all times, I stick to my bottom line, I knock out my teeth, break my ribs, break my joints, I hang them upside down with a rope at a height of 300 feet, but I don't kill anyone. I threw them into prison, into an insane asylum, and I looked forward to changing them by means other than death. Maybe they'll change their neurotic minds because of a new treatment, and they'll have a big idea to change their ways—I know how unlikely it is that this hope will come true, but I stubbornly persevered.

Obstinate. I'm certainly a stubborn person. When I was in Tibet, they taught me that only an iron will can transcend the limitations of the physical body and reach the realm of incredible miracles. I showed them that there is something in the world that is stronger than a will of steel, and that is a will stronger than steel. At a time when most people don't read even a single bad novel for a year, I keep learning new knowledge and skills every day. Nineteen degrees, one hundred and sixty-three martial arts, behind these seemingly remarkable achievements. It's a workout for me all the time.

My friends often say that I am a dictator, and I do not deny that. But I can always see farther than they do. I don't want to let them go astray, so I always forcibly fix them on the path I have set for them. But sometimes, fate is always more fickle than I thought. I wanted to usurp God's power and correct the trajectory of my fate, but I wasn't. Even if someone calls me the wisest person in the world, I know the Tao and I can't control everything. But I never let these weaknesses be exposed to the sun or the night. The night is my best ally, and when I realized it, I found that I could never return to the sun. In my lifetime. I can no longer see the sunshine that once shone brightly. In this dangerous city, darkness is my best protection.

"Do you know the truth? Even a high school student can dispense explosives in the kitchen of his own home, or some of the more dangerous bottles and cans that can destroy the world. But what did we not do for the sake of the cause? I mean, look around, we have the power to destroy, to kill, to have fun, but why are we bound by something inexplicable? You see, your boss, weighing two hundred pounds, foams at the mouth to tell you some rules and rules, and his face is shining with oil. Baldness, midlife crisis, wife cuckolds him and sleeps three plumbers a day - him! We picked up a high-pressure gas cylinder and inserted the tube into his buttocks. Let him get his wish - BOOM! Then you will be able to realize what a precious power you hold in your hands - FREEDOM!! You are free! Dada, great United States of America! The people are free! We happily kill each other! ”

While I was pondering. He's already starting to babble nonsense. The security of this chemical plant is not tight, and it is infiltrated by internal spies. The doors of the factory were opened unhindered. He was always able to deceive people's hearts and find the crevices in their hearts accurately. It's a place I'll never be able to defend. You can't expect everyone to have an iron will. Poverty, despair, unemployment brought on by the economic crisis, three children waiting to be fed at home, and an old wife, dissatisfied with life, their hearts are full of holes. In front of an evil and reckless person like him, these poor people at the bottom of society cannot afford to fall in a few words, become an accomplice, and cause more people to fall into misfortune.

Just as he was about to kill an innocent person with the outlet valve of a high-pressure gas tank, I jumped. The wide cloak lightened the weight of the fall, and I kicked one of the bandits three meters away, the tip of the boot already breaking one of his ribs, and it took five days to get off the ground.

I watched as his eyes widened, not in horror, but in surprise.

"Ahh Kill him! And then I'll tell you a joke!! ”

I knocked down one weapon-wielding gangster after another, punching, kicking, elbowing, inching, the essence of one hundred and sixty-three martial arts in my grasp, and I knocked them down one by one with ease.

"Once upon a time there were two madmen who tried to escape from the asylum. Just one night, they escaped from the asylum. As a result, they climbed onto the roof and tried to jump from one roof to another. As a result, one madman jumped, but the other did not dare to jump. The madman who jumped over said, 'Don't be afraid, I'll turn on the flashlight and you follow the light.' ’”

I knocked the last of the bandits to the ground, and instead of fleeing or drawing his weapon to fight me, he laughed with joy. He'd told me the joke once before, and perhaps his spinning crazy brain had forgotten about it.

The second madman said...... Haha......ha He said, 'You're going to turn off your flashlight when I'm halfway there!' 'Haha

Just as he was laughing wildly, my feet suddenly emptied. It's a premeditated trap, but it's too simple. I shot my rope gun and pulled myself back to the same level as him. We fought with fists and kicks, his knife cutting through my armor several times, but I removed his wrist joints and punched him unconscious.

Maybe it's too simple this time.

“…… You're not going to kill me, are you? He sat up from the ground, and Gege asked with a smile, "My dear old fellow, you are always like this, and you are not willing to kill people. What are you afraid of? Don't be shy, join us. You will be the king of the mad kingdom in the night, and I, the poor courtier, will perform a hundred and thirty different tricks to you every day, or be beheaded by you and hung on the gates! Banzai! The King of the Land of Crazy Men!! ”

"I'm not going to kill you." I said, "But you're going to have a new operation at Arkham Asylum." Maybe it's not a new operation, but maybe it's still useful to find something old from the old paper team of history in order to deal with you...... One lobotomy. ”

His smile faded, and a human emotion rolled in his pinpoint-like pupils. Not the fear I expected, but a joy. Then he laughed loudly, no longer the kind of hysterical laughter, but the kind of gentle smile like an ordinary person sitting in the park and watching the sun set. It's like coming home and seeing your wife come up to greet you, and being amused by that joke.

His smile was too pure.

I was not on site to visit his surgical procedure. I heard him laugh and repeat at the time:

"You've finally turned off your flashlight!!"

Until the doctor gave him a large dose of anesthetic.

I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, but I can't turn back, because I'm the nemesis of Gotham City, I'm the knight of the night, I'm the hero in the night clothes, a transgressor who punishes the gods in the form of a mortal.

I'm Batman. (To be continued......)