Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 303 28. The Secret of Gotham

"I can still remember that when my master was a boy, after the death of Lord Thomas and Mrs. Martha, there was a time when he always believed that the death of his parents was a murder."

In the dark river below Wayne Manor, old Alfred used his key to open the door leading to the Batcave, and said to Merlin behind him:

"During those months, he'd been sneaking out and hiding in Wayne Mansions and some dark alleys in Gotham looking for his parents' killers. He believed at the time that it was the fabled court of owls that killed his parents. , but I never thought that the stubborn pursuit of the master back then turned out to be true."

"The deaths of Master Thomas and Mrs. Martha are actually related to the Owl Court."

Old Afu's voice was full of remorse, Merlin shook his head, and said to Afu:

"Don't blame yourself, Fu, it's not your fault. Who would know that a horror story in a nursery rhyme actually has a real blueprint? And I don't think that Bruce, who was only 8 years old at the time, would have come true The Prophet knows the answer to all of this...that's just a coincidence."

"I am also responsible."

Ah Fu said in frustration:

"I thought that after the master ran away from the Assassin's League, he completely let go of those bad pasts. I was negligent. I should have cared more about him. Now let him bear all this alone... God, Master Damian I just came back, if something happens to the master..."

"Don't think too much! Ah Fu."

Merlin stretched out his hand, and a sign of Axi fell silently on Alfred's body, which made the old man who had fallen into a strong self-blame recover a little bit.

He said softly:

"It happened, and it's no use regretting it now. If you feel sorry for Bruce, you'll still have time to make it up after we get that reckless bastard back."

"Yes! We have to find the master first, this is the most important thing!"

Ah Fu gritted his teeth, pushed open the heavy door in front of him, and a large cave naturally formed underground appeared in front of Merlin.

This is the Batcave, Batman's secret base.

The area of ​​this cave is huge, more than four times larger than Merlin's house in New York. The black Batmobile brought back by Damian is parked in the center of the transformed Batcave, and above the Batmobile, there is a hanging simple On the tarmac, there is a black light aircraft that looks like some kind of conceptual hovercraft parked on it.

This is not an exaggeration. Right in front of Merlin, there is a huge combined computer. There are hundreds of buttons on it that are not obvious. There are also three rows of 12 extremely luxurious large monitors.

This opened Merlin's eyes, even in S.H.I.E.L.D., there is no such exaggerated thing.

It can no longer be called a joint computer here, it should be called a joint data workstation.Now in 2001, this thing was definitely made by burning an equivalent volume of US dollars. The technical content of this thing is at least 10 years ahead of the data workstation of S.H.I.E.L.D.

If Fury sees this thing, it is estimated that the narrow-minded corned head will go crazy with jealousy.

On both sides of the United Data Workstation, there are two storage racks made of steel, on which there are several glass covers for combat uniforms. Merlin glanced at it, and there are several sets of bat suits stored there. Equipment for different occasions.

In the cover next to the bat suits of different shapes and colors, there are also several sets of combat uniforms for young people.

That should be the combat uniform of the Robins.

Merlin also noticed that between the rocks flanking the Batcave, there were several blocked gates, which were permanent fortifications made of the strongest concrete, where some of Bruce's seldom-used but powerful "toys" should be stored. ".

And when he saw this expensive bat cave, the first thought that came to Merlin's mind was...

"Rich people can do whatever they want."

The second thought that came to mind immediately was:

"Those criminals who were punished by Bruce were not knocked down by Bruce's fist at all, they were obviously knocked down by wads of dollars."

His last thought was:

"Compared to Bruce's Batcave, my basement in New York is... not even a doghouse!"

In the end, thousands of words converged into one hoarse sentence full of strong emotion.

"I'm so envious."

Ah Fu ignored Merlin's emotion. Under the influence of Yaxi's seal, this vigorous old butler is in a state of super executive power.

He stretched out his hand, and pressed lightly on the rock behind the entrance. The next moment, the lamps decorated around the Bat Cave lit up, instantly illuminating the dark place.

Ah Fu walked to the luxurious joint data workbench, and he skillfully manipulated the computer in front of him. After a burst of operations that dazzled Merlin, completely different images appeared on the 12 display screens.

Merlin can only distinguish three of them, which are radar reflected wave images, camera video retrieval, and satellite search frequency bands. The other search methods are unheard of by a super agent like Merlin.

This is indeed a bit surprising.

It seems that Batman Bruce doesn't just rely on force to punish crimes. The extremely top information collection system in front of him is the magic weapon for him to win every battle.

"I have to contact the two young masters first."

Ah Fu said to Merlin while he was busy:

"It's about the master's family affairs. We can't let other people intervene. It is the most appropriate choice to ask Master Grayson and Master Jason to help. They are trustworthy people."

"Oh, you mean, the former and current Robin who was with Bruce?"

Merlin had heard of the two children, and he had seen one of them.

"Yes, Robins."

Ah Fu said without raising his head:

"They were trained by the master himself. They are very familiar with the master's combat methods. Whether it is tracking or fighting, they can help."

"If you trust them, then do it."

Merlin took a step back, and he said to Ah Fu:

"I can't help with these high-tech things. I will use my way to search Gotham as fast as possible. I will come back later."

After finishing speaking, Merlin's figure changed rapidly, and he turned into a black raven in the blink of an eye. He spread his wings and flew out along the other exit of the Bat Cave. Almost disappeared into the Gotham night sky.

The spirit raven Victor is searching in another direction. This most traditional and least efficient search method has become a very effective search method after being blessed by magic.

According to the flying speed of Victor and Merlin, they can fly around the whole of Gotham in less than an hour, and Merlin's spiritual vision allows him to observe every direction on the ground from a high altitude through his own eyes. condition of the street.

The dark perception that is always on can also allow him to receive a steady stream of information. Of course, if the owl court has really been hidden in Gotham City for more than 200 years, then their base must not be so easy to find, but neither is Merlin. Need to find them immediately.

What he needs are clues, any possible clues, and then take back the Batcave and the abnormal information retrieved by the super-computing data workbench for cross-comparison, so as to determine where Bruce is most likely to be.

This is a combination of magic and technology, and it is the best way Merlin can think of at the moment.

Of course, if he had studied the mysterious divination in depth when he was studying magic, then now, he could use two sticks to locate Bruce in the streets and alleys of Gotham.

It's a pity that the study of divination requires talent, and Merlin doesn't have that talent for mysticism.

Moreover, the results of divination are easily disturbed, and the results of divination are not always accurate. This kind of magic does have great limitations.

In nearly an hour, the raven in the form of Merlin flapped its wings, crossed the small waterfall outside the Batcave, and landed on the rocky fork of the Batcave. In the middle, a very interesting scene is being staged.

Damian was in a hand-to-hand fight with a kid a few years older than him.

Beside them, a tall, handsome, black-haired young man who looked close to adulthood was leaning on the Batmobile with his arms folded, watching the two children with great interest. I'm going to fight.

These should be the two Robins who were summoned.

The older one is the first-generation Robin, who helped Bruce defeat the League of Assassins and the Master Ninja, and now goes to college in Brookhaven, Dick Grayson.

And the slightly gloomy black-haired boy who was being defeated by Damian, but who was stubbornly unwilling to admit defeat, should be the second-generation Robin who met Merlin last time. , Jason Todd, who just followed Batman in "The Knights of Justice".

To be honest, the two Robins are almost completely different in terms of personality and appearance, and I don't know what criteria Bruce used when selecting his assistants.

"You don't fight anymore!"

Old Afu was standing behind the joint data workbench. He watched with a headache as Master Damian and Master Jason were fighting. He wanted to stop it, but he couldn't intervene in the situation.

Damian belongs to the kind of rebellious boy who is born with prickles. He was cultivated by his grandfather's strict way to be domineering. In short, he is a lawless little bastard.

As for Jason Todd, Merlin has nothing to do with this kid. He just heard Bruce mention Jason's life experience, and from Bruce's point of view, Jason is also a slightly grumpy, aggressive kid with a bad temper.

The two children bumped into each other and didn't draw their knives to fight each other, which was already a great deal of face to Ah Fu.

As for Grayson, he has no reason to intervene in the situation. This big boy has left Bruce's "career" and is trying to return to the life of ordinary people. He has no reason and no motivation to intervene in the "civil war" between the two children. .

"Swish"

When Damian was about to punch Jason Todd who provoked him, he and Jason's faces were slapped by a big raven that quickly passed between the two at the same time. The force of the wings was too great, directly pushing Damian and Jason to the sides, leaving almost identical bruises on the cheeks of the two boys.

In the next second, under everyone's amazed gaze, the bird hovering in the air quickly turned into a gloomy Merlin.

He looked at the two boys fighting in front of him, and said in a bad tone:

"Maybe you should find a wider place to compete in martial arts. I think the utility room is good..."

"Listen, you two little bastards!"

Merlin looked at the two children in front of him, and said in a stern tone:

"I don't know how Bruce educated you, but now I'm in charge here, and I don't have time to take care of those childish conflicts between you! So, you either stand there honestly, or I will block you Mouth, throw you into the water to calm down! You choose yourself!"

"And you!"

Merlin's eyes finally fell on Dick Grayson who was leaning on the side to watch the excitement, and he said in a bad tone:

"I don't know who you are, but you'd better put away your sloppy face! If you want to help, watch out for these two lawless little bastards, and if you don't want to help, then you can leave now !"

"Why should I listen to you?"

Seeing that Merlin got angry, Damian, who had suffered a lot, took a step back quietly, while Jason Todd, who had met Merlin once but didn't know Merlin's identity, jumped out voluntarily.

He clenched his fist and said to Merlin:

"That bad boy insulted Batman! I won't allow him to say bad things about Bruce! Especially when Bruce's life is in doubt!"

"To shut up!"

Merlin flicked his fingers, and the flying dark red chains bound Jason who was caught off guard, and dragged him towards the stone behind him. Not a single sound could come out.

Merlin glared at Damian again:

"I'll take care of you later!"

After finishing speaking, Merlin walked to the relieved old Ah Fu, and he said to Ah Fu:

"I found several suspicious places, how is the search situation on your side?"

"There is nothing abnormal on the ground. I suspect that the master may be in an underground facility such as a sewer now."

Ah Fu pointed to the screen that was very similar to the sound wave graphics, and said to Merlin:

"Just ten minutes ago, there were several weak echoes similar to explosions under the Ridner Island. I suspect that the master may be trapped there."

"What's that place?"

Merlin looked at the constantly shaking figure, and he asked:

"It doesn't look too far from here."

"That's Arkham Asylum, a terrible place."

The first-generation Robin Grayson, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward. He pressed a few times on the keyboard of the workbench, and a flat map of Gotham appeared on the screen.Merlin looked at the shining red dot and said:

"I saw it just now...it seems to be abandoned?"

"Yes, when Master Ninja attacked Gotham, it was bombed into ruins. The city government didn't plan to rebuild it, but Bruce has plans to take it over."

Old Afu said:

"It's also where Master Thomas and Mrs. Martha used to work."

"Hmm... Several leads are coming together."

Merlin narrowed his eyes and looked at the topographic map. After a while, he said:

"Damian, Jason, go change your clothes and get ready for battle! Grayson, you go change your clothes too, and then drive to the outskirts of Arkham with these two little bastards to prepare for it. Alfred, do your best here Prepare for emergency treatment."

"I, let's go there first."

(End of this chapter)