All Worlds Madhouse

Gotham.

This is my city.

Newcomers here would think that this is a winding maze of residential buildings, noisy neighborhoods, and smelly alleys. But it is far from that. It is built on a network.

On the intersecting networks,

There is an order among them, and I am part of this order.

This city has everything one could want.

And those they don't want.

The sky is still gray.

The sky above Gotham never seems to clear up, as if there is a huge shell that separates the entire Gotham from the rest of the world.

Is there any difference in this city?

I don't know that I know everything about this city. I know every sewer under every street, every home, every radio station in this city, but... I still don't understand Gotham.

night

I was perched on the top of the Payes Tower. As usual, the noisy traffic continued into a dense and nauseating roar. I closed my eyes and tried hard to distinguish the sounds in my ears.

That is the sound coming from every radio station, every signal tower, and everyone’s mobile phone microphone in this city. These sounds can report everything in this city to me.

I was like a bat, quietly listening to the rhythm of Gotham and taking in everything.

"Bang!" There was a gunshot in the ear!

"Alfred, position yourself."

"Okay, young master. The gunshot came from the 9th block along the banks of the Kesay River. The sound was a Winchester .38 model. The system analyzed it as a civilian modification. 0.75 seconds after the gunshot, a female scream appeared at the same location. Of course, The girl screamed very energetically, she must not have been injured, so it must be a robbery, do you need me to bring you the sonar from the scene?"

"good."

I said, and at the same time, I also started to shuttle over Gotham. The powerful hook and glider allowed me to reach the crime scene in 7 minutes.

This sounds like a simple robbery. However, my heart became nervous again.

Sure enough, something weird happened again.

The audio of the crime scene that Alfred pulled up only contained the rustle of the wind.

No screaming, no threats, no hysterical roars

I speeded up, and 3 minutes later, I came to the place where the gunfire rang out.

There is nothing there.

There were just puddles of overnight vomit and night cats crawling in the shadows. There could not have been gunshots here just now, there was no smell of gunpowder smoke, and if someone fired, those wild cats wouldn't be able to sleep so peacefully.

"There's nothing here," I said quietly into the microphone inside the mask.

"Oh?" Alfred's voice came: "Is there something wrong with the sonar system again?"

"That's all I can think of now." I said calmly.

Although my tone was understatement, my heart could not be calm for a long time.

Today is the 17th.

Already the third time.

A month ago, on the evening of the 17th, my sonar system had the same problem. There was a gunshot, followed by a woman's scream, but when I rushed to the scene, there was nothing.

The same thing happened on the 17th two months ago.

This should not be a coincidence, but I have no way to explain this phenomenon.

Because I have checked my system and there is nothing unusual, it is impossible for someone to plant a virus in it. Of course, in Gordon's police system, I have never found any reports related to disappearances, shootings, and robberies at that time.

There was nothing but the sound of the gunshot.

So, is it a ghost?

I don't know, but I didn't tell Alfred about this doubt. After all, it didn't have any impact. No one was hurt and no money was lost. It was just a gunshot, which only appeared in my sonar. next to the ear.

Not even a night owl woke up.

One month later.

number 17.

evening.

I am still standing on the top of the building, looking down at my city.

Gotham today seems to be much quieter than before. Only some very simple cases occurred. These small things can be solved by the people of the Gotham Police Department. Therefore, until midnight, I did not find a reason for me to leave.

I quietly looked at the traffic dozens of meters away from my feet.

Suddenly, I thought of something unconsciously.

That strange gunshot should appear again. If this time, I can predict the location of the gunshot first, can I figure out what is going on?

As soon as this idea appeared in my mind, I couldn't get rid of it anymore. I started thinking almost uncontrollably.

That gunshot

It first appeared four months ago, near the Venus Bar.

Three months ago, it appeared for the second time, at the Pittiel Building.

A month ago, it appeared on the banks of the Ksay River.

My mind naturally marked these places on the map of Gotham and connected them to each other. This has almost become a subconscious reaction, because in Gotham, there is a bastard who likes to guess riddles and always forces me to follow him. Play this graphics game.

Hmm. An equilateral triangle.

This should not be a coincidence. So if there is any special point on a triangle.

I looked at the center of the triangle on the map.

"Alfred, continue to monitor the sonar. If anything happens, tell me as soon as possible." I said, and then jumped off the building.

"Okay, Master, but I see from the positioning, you seem to be starting to move."

"Yes, I'm going somewhere."

"Well, please forgive my curiosity. Can I ask, what are you going to do?"

"Looking for ghosts" I replied.

A few minutes later, I came to where the ‘dot’ was.

It was an alley, located in the shadow of Gotham's night. There was only a dilapidated street lamp next to it, providing the only weak light in the neighborhood. Midnight mosquitoes kept hitting the light bulb, making crackling sounds.

I landed quietly on the top of the floor directly above the alley, and observed my surroundings as a habit.

At this moment, my body couldn't help but become tense.

I have said before that I am familiar with every corner of Gotham City. However, this sentence is not absolute, because I have never been to this alley.

In other words, I have never been here since I was eight years old. I always subconsciously want to forget this place.

And it was only then that I finally remembered.

In my memory, which was sealed like a self-deception, there was also the sound of a gunshot.