Amidst the fervent discussion of personality traits in the Tower of Thought, Arrogant frowned and said, "Primary Universe Batman sent me a message. The analysis results on that thing Laughing Bat messed with are out, and I might have to go over."
Soon, Arrogant used his own body to transfer through the Doujie System to the Prime Universe and arrived at Primary Universe Batman's Batcave. The two looked at the component analysis results displayed on the machine, momentarily speechless.
"I don't know why he's so sure his experiment succeeded," Batman said after a pause. "At least so far, I haven't seen anything particular from these components."
"Isn't the excessive amount of stimulants considered particular?" Shiller sighed and said, "He might as well claim he's concocted a super long-lasting stimulant, intending to drive Batman into insanity from excessive excitement."
Batman didn't know what to say either, staring at the analysis results on the machine again and again. There were no mysterious components inside, just as Shiller said, with plenty of excitatory neurotransmitters added, and all sorts of stimulants seemed to be thrown in haphazardly. If it were an ordinary person, even if they didn't get poisoned from these miscellaneous components, they might develop seizures or mental issues from over-stimulation.
But Shiller's mental and neurological functionality works a bit differently from ordinary people, especially mentally. The excitement from stimulants causes the morbid side of personality traits to become overly active. Although the morbid is somewhat tightly connected, they generally don't all come out. But with the drug stimulation, this time, the morbid can be said to have all been activated, indulging in a collective frenzy.
"It's also possible that the criminals' genes are only targeted at Batman," Arrogant thought and said, "If it was you who got hit, it might truly be as he wished. But if it were me, it would be evil meeting its consequences."
"Do you know which universe he went to?" Batman asked.
"Isn't it his own universe?" Arrogant said somewhat surprised.
"He hid his own universe." Batman had obviously investigated, he said, "Neither showing up in Battleworld nor can it be located using ordinary methods. This time he went to a dark universe that is very special, there's a group of hooligans there."
"Hooligans?" Arrogant pondered. Batman usually wouldn't use this term to describe ordinary people unless they were truly excessive. This reminded Shiller of the Omega Batman encountered in a previous Broken Bat copy, where the populace of that universe could be considered hooligans.
"I heard there are also players in that universe," Arrogant said. "Someone familiar? Perhaps we could explore through their perspective."
"I'm in contact," Batman frowned, paused, and then said, "This universe's situation is very complex, the difficulty is also high. Generally would not choose… oh god. The worst outcome."
"The worst outcome? Joker?"
"Yes. All I know is a Joker went there, but don't know specifically which Joker; hopefully, it's not one of the most troublesome ones."
"I always felt this matter isn't simple," Arrogant lightly tapped the armrest with his fingertips, he said, "Laughing Bat seems to be recruiting Batman victims from the dark multiverse. While they might not be as powerful as those complete madmen, the knights of the Light Universe couldn't bring themselves to kill these victims either. So it's quite apparent who he wants to deal with."
Arrogant looked at Primary Universe Batman and said: "He wouldn't come up with such a scheme for no reason. And you've already started planning against him from the moment he showed up."
"I admit, I have put some pressure on him. I contacted some Batmen from the cosmos to find out what turned him into this."
"You contacted his Origin Universe?"
"Yes. But I couldn't investigate too deeply, and he discovered it, which is why he hid his Origin Universe."
"That is unusual. I thought he would be the type who would want his story to be told across the Multiverse."
"He is. But evidently, he has a bigger secret hidden in his Origin Universe and doesn't want me to find out. Realizing I've started an in-depth investigation on him, he must have some countermeasures. Perhaps that's why he approached those groups of victims. He intends to use them as hostages."
Primary Universe Batman paused for a moment then continued: "And the Joker. I mean, the Joker from our universe, his malice towards Laughing Bat is greater than mine. He's also been trying to recruit other universe's Jokers. They might have also put some pressure on him. Plus, I suspect that the appearance of a player in the universe where Laughing Bat fled is no coincidence."
"Could they be competing?" Arrogant squinted and said, "The Joker always wants to be Batman's savior. But there aren't many Batmen in the Dark Multiverse who can be pure victims. By recruiting one over, Laughing Bat naturally reduces one for Joker. There's a competitive relationship between them."
"Very likely so." Primary Universe Batman deduced, "The fact that Laughing Bat set his first retreat destination to that universe proves that the Batman of that universe is very important. Joker surely knows this as well, so to save the Batman of that universe before him, a conflict between them is inevitable."
"But now, I'm afraid it's a complete mess." Arrogant sighed and said, "The Laughing bat would never have thought a madman would chase him into that universe. Now, rather than trying to win over Batman of that universe, he has a more important job—saving his own life."
"Even though he's Batman, he's also the Joker. Are you really confident you can kill him?" Primary Universe Batman asked.
"Maybe I can't completely kill him. But do you think he's someone who's not afraid of death? Or rather, is he not afraid of pain?"
Primary Universe Batman frowned. Shiller continued, "He's both Batman and the Joker, but precisely because of this, he's neither Batman nor the Joker. You think he has inherited all the advantages of Batman and the Joker, but in my opinion, he has perfectly stripped away the strengths and inherited all the dross."
"He neither has Batman's immense willpower nor the courage to face death without retreating. He also lacks the Joker's utter madness and reckless determination to fight to the death. If I were to describe him, he's more like an ordinary person with a peculiar appearance but a mediocre soul."
"You might think I can't kill him. Other Batmen might think so too, even the Joker might think so. But he alone wouldn't. He'd think that even if there's a one in ten thousand chance, it's not worth the risk. He can't take that plunge."
"Perhaps you're right," Primary Universe Batman said. "If that weren't the case, his first reaction when he discovered I was investigating his Origin Universe wouldn't have been to hide that universe, nor would he have opted to hide and plot when first encountering Mr. President. A genuine Joker wouldn't do that. They'd rush forward, ecstatic, to capture Batman's attention immediately."
"So, he wouldn't laugh off my pursuit. Or, in other words, his primary task in the foreseeable future is to escape from my grasp. For this reason, any plan to win over the Dark Batman becomes insignificant."
"It seems the winner of this round will be the Joker."
Arrogant suddenly chuckled and said, "It seems you despise this creature, who is a mix of Batman and the Joker, more than the Joker himself."
"I've discovered some things in his Origin Universe," Primary Universe Batman uncharacteristically showed his disdain and said, "If that's true, he will never be forgiven."
"The evil he's done isn't just that. Thankfully, we were ahead of him, more accurately, many steps ahead. Someone paved the way, and many followed suit, preventing him from gaining any ground until now."
Batman discerned the implication in Arrogant's words. He thought for a moment and said, "I know more than just the Joker and I are plotting to deal with this guy in this universe. Many other forces are secretly helping too. Do you think I should contact them?"
"There's no need for that," Arrogant shook his head and said, "Currently, this guy isn't worth you going all out. There's still more danger lurking in the dark corners of the Dark Multiverse, or rather, all Multiverse. If you can spare the effort, it would be better to investigate the matter concerning the 'wall.'"
Batman did not pursue further. Clearly, in the series of investigations into the Dark Multiverse, he had already gleaned some cosmic truths. The Mad Laugh is jumping around here, being very conspicuous, but those secrets hidden silently in the dark might be even more deadly.
When Arrogant returned to the High Tower, everyone had already gone to the theater. He opened the theater door, and Greed waved to him. Arrogant sat down next to him, and Greed handed him the popcorn in his hand.
"Superego has granted us the permission for the visual system, allowing us to witness this pursuit from a first-person perspective."
"A morbid perspective?" Arrogant slightly frowned and said, "It looks like we'll have to watch an avant-garde film."
"It's okay, besides, except for a certain someone, surely everyone will understand it," Greed turned his head to the side and said to the agent, "Isn't that right, agent?"
Upon hearing this, the agent merely turned his head, glanced at Greed, and then turned back without saying a word.
"Have you found out exactly which universe it is?" The Bishop in front turned and asked, "Is it the universe of the Omega Batman?"
"No," Arrogant replied, from his conversation with Batman, he already knew that the Mad Laugh might have gone to a new Dark Multiverse, preparing to win over a new Batman. That means it can't be the Omega Batman, whom he has already manipulated.
"I only know that the Joker is one of the main actors," Arrogant continued, "but I can't determine exactly which universe's Joker it is. Maybe we'll find out soon."
Everyone looked at the screen. There were no specific objects on the screen, only vivid colors and lines to the extreme. This indicated his mind was exhilarated to the peak, and the traces left by the healing on him were getting shallower. Time rewound, and Shiller was getting closer to his original self.
And in a Gotham City shrouded in dark clouds, the inhabitants here were completely unaware of the impending chaos and disaster. In a banquet hall of a newly built corporate tower, lights were ablaze and colors astral. A golden door with intricate patterns was pushed open, and a strong man in a suit and tie, with his beautiful dark-haired companion, slowly walked to the front of the crowd.