"You have a point," Batman followed Joker's words, "If anyone knows the whereabouts of this universe's Bruce Wayne, it has to be Elliot."
"Why are you so sure Bruce isn't dead?"
"You said you saw a body in the cold storage?"
"Yes. His organs were removed and placed in specimen jars. I didn't get a chance to visit."
"Alright. Let's assume Elliot is a madman with a psychopathic fetish for dissecting others' organs. Since he's already removed Bruce's organs, why didn't he take the specimen jars with him and instead left them in a remote insane asylum?"
Joker wrinkled his brow and shook his head, saying, "I don't understand what those madmen think."
"That's interesting," Batman admitted his current feeling. Before he could say anything, Joker already wrinkled the muscles around his nose with some annoyance and said, "I know what you want to say. Given 99% of my counterparts are lunatics, it's peculiar for me to say something like that. But this isn't the time to discuss that. Continue with your hypothesis."
"Alright. I have a friend who is a master in the field of spiritual analysis. I often discuss the psychological world of psychopaths with him, and it's always enlightening. He once told me that those with a peculiar interest in human limbs and organs often have a 'God complex.'"
"'God complex'?"
"They believe they are above everyone, masters of others' lives. They think they have the right to manipulate others' bodies, and the best way to do that is to arrange them in forms that wouldn't naturally exist."
"Sounds like some corpse-manipulating serial killer."
"Exactly. Serial killers who collect skin and organs fall into this category. If Elliot removed Bruce's organs out of this mentality, he certainly wouldn't store his collection so casually, nor would he only create Bruce as a single victim. The wealth and power he gained from Wayne Enterprises would be sufficient to establish an organ museum."
"You seem to know them well." Joker squinted at Batman. To Batman's surprise, this face painted with a chaotic and terrifying makeup didn't seem out of place when serious, instead possessing a Don Quixote-like absurd yet humorous tragic grandeur.
"From what I know about Thomas Elliot, he isn't this kind of madman. He wouldn't excavate Bruce's organs for the sake of spiritual enjoyment. And if, as you say, Bruce was trapped in an insane asylum for years undergoing human experiments, then removing his organs was more like reclaiming experimental results."
"That's what I think as well," Joker said, "which is why they preserved his body in cold storage..."
"I'm afraid you know nothing about medicine," Batman shook his head and raised his voice, "Here's the key issue. If it's for research purposes, any researcher with a bit of scientific foundation wouldn't choose to freeze the body in cold storage. What's that chemical term you often hear in anatomy?"
"What?"
"Formalin. If cold storage was a suitable method to preserve bodies, no one would buy this rather expensive chemical."
"Perhaps he wants to store the body more intact."
"Then there's no need to remove the organs first. Since the organs have already been categorized and stored separately, why not directly dissect and soak them in formalin?"
Joker also couldn't come up with an answer because everything about it was indeed bizarre. If the goal was to preserve the body intact, there was no need to meddle; just freeze it. Since the organs were removed, it proves that the body's integrity isn't important. Considering professionalism, it shouldn't be stored in cold storage but should be dissected and soaked in formalin.
Moreover, even if the body isn't dissected, it can still be soaked in formalin. For others, it's an expensive chemical, but for the head of Wayne Enterprises, it's trivial. Even if he personally knows nothing about medicine, his researchers would certainly provide this solution. His failure to adopt it signifies something went wrong at some point.
This method of putting some parts in jars and freezing others in cold storage is extremely peculiar and indeed worth pondering.
"Which do you think is easier for a still-living person, being frozen in cold storage or soaked in a formalin jar, to survive?" Batman suddenly asked.
"Cold storage," Joker immediately responded.
It's a simple logic—assuming Bruce isn't dead, working it back gives an easy answer. To fool Elliot's eyes, the method of feigned death must be convincing. Considering Elliot would likely examine the body, Bruce must appear as a corpse.
Being frozen in cold storage allows temperature manipulation within the chamber for a short period, with little change in appearance. But being soaked in formalin, or even ordinary water, Bruce wouldn't hold his breath for long—at most a few minutes. At the extreme point of suffocation, the body inevitably reacts instinctively, making it hard to conceal.
"What's with those internal organs?"
"You haven't seen the internal organs yourself, right? Bruce Wayne wouldn't carve his name on his heart, liver, spleen, or lungs. Elliot couldn't possibly recognize his organs either, which makes them the easiest to disguise."
"So, someone is collaborating with Bruce from the inside," the Joker mused, "And this person working with Bruce could even influence Elliot's researchers."
"That makes sense. Why isn't Wayne Enterprises called the Elliot Group now?" Batman questioned, then answered himself, "If Elliot truly had the capability to lead, he would have merged Wayne Enterprises into the Elliot Group long ago. After all, years ago, the gap between them was not significant."
"But as years passed, he preferred to bear the Elliot name to lead Wayne Enterprises amid criticism rather than rename the corporation to his surname, proving he doesn't have much say within Wayne Enterprises. More likely, he's facing too much resistance, unable to execute such a plan."
"I understand now, this proves there are many within Wayne Enterprises loyal to the Wayne Family. They are not only maintaining the legitimacy of the Wayne Family but are also secretly protecting Bruce Wayne. The researchers Elliot could command originally came from Wayne Enterprises, making it all too easy for them to manipulate things."
"There's no loyalty in business." Batman's tone sank as he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Wayne are dead, and Bruce Wayne is not capable. The only reason they maintain Wayne's position is to oppose Elliot, not wanting him to form a new power circle and oust them from the center of power. Wayne is just a name to them."
"Are you worried they also want to secretly control Bruce Wayne?"
"Inevitably." Batman said, "In the contest between Elliot and Wayne, no one can remain unaffected. Whether Bruce is truly insane or not, as long as he bears the Wayne name, he has inherent legitimacy within Wayne Enterprises. Whoever can grasp him might gain Wayne Enterprises."
"Then aside from Elliot, these people should also know where Bruce is."
"They don't know. If they did, the news of Wayne Enterprises' heir returning would have been released long ago. Such news would be beneficial to them. It's because they can't find him now that there's no movement."
"So, Bruce is still in Elliot's hands."
"Not necessarily. Elliot is too foolish; he might already think Bruce is truly dead. Bruce's fake death was with the help of those people, but since he didn't fall into their hands either, it proves there's a third party. This third party has no ulterior motive, solely thinking about Bruce. Who do you think it could be?"
Batman had just thought of this when he realized the Joker here is from a different cosmos than theirs. So before he could answer, Batman said, "I want to know if Alfred is still alive."
"Your butler?" The Joker frowned and said, "He couldn't have personally helped Bruce escape; he must have arranged for someone in the insane asylum. We can figure out a way to find this person."
"How do you plan to do that?"
"Of course, by borrowing your face for a while."
The Laughing bat was fleeing under the night sky. Ever since meeting Shiller at the hospital, the latter had refocused his aim, launching a relentless assault on him. Since he had already suffered a setback in direct confrontation, Laughing had no choice but to avoid the front lines and make a strategic retreat.
Speaking of escape skills, Laughing was not bad at all. After all, he was also Batman, not foolishly running forward but hacking into the hospital's nearby street Defense System, triggering the security alarms. Immediately, drones, security robots, and security forces surged toward him. Armed trucks, bipedal robots, fully armed soldiers, drone operators, snipers, and passersby stopped for inspection filled the entire street.
Laughing seized the opportunity to dash to the back of an armed truck, knocked out the driver during a moment when he got off, stripped off his coat, put it on himself, then donned the helmet and sat in the driver's seat.
Laughing was already thin, so these soldiers' uniforms could cover him well. The soldiers under Elliot wore helmets instead of hats, further obscuring his oddly shaped head. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the passenger seat, took out a stick to hold in his hand, with one hand holding the cigarette, the other resting on the steering wheel—he truly looked the part.
This truck was chosen carefully. For one, the location was great; if anything went wrong, there was another street just ahead. A single foot on the accelerator could get him out of there, unlike other vehicles that might get stuck in the crowd. Additionally, it was not far from the hospital entrance, and the elevated vantage point provided a clear view of the main hospital entrance. Sitting in the truck, he could see when Shiller came out.
Laughing felt slightly smug. With such chaos now, even if Shiller came out, he'd probably flounder in the crowd like a headless fly. There were likely hundreds of people on the street and in the surrounding buildings. Where would Shiller find him?
Moreover, just the long knife in Shiller's hand would be enough for the soldiers to deem him suspicious. No matter how skilled he was, could he take on so many alone?
Laughing waited several minutes in the truck. Logically, Shiller, who had been chasing him, should have emerged by now, but there was no movement at the hospital's main gate.
If he continued to wait, the security forces would eventually withdraw, which would become unfavorable. Laughing controlled a drone, moving it towards the hospital entrance, but still failed to spot Shiller.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Laughing caught sight of a figure appearing at the intersection facing the truck, wearing a suit and holding a long, trailing knife. In the shifting light and shadows of the drizzling night rain, there was a soul-reaping terror.