The Death Knell

The United States is known as a country on wheels. Almost every household has at least one car, and the driver's license has therefore become an identity document that can travel throughout the federation.

The Transportation Administration sounds like an ordinary traffic control department, but in this country, just think of it as the household registration department.

If you want to find one person among eight million people but have no way to start, it is recommended to check the driver's license system first, and then check the social security system if you really can't find it, because the former is less confidential. Even if you don't use gray means, you can still hire a lawyer. You can find various reasons to check.

Of course, Su Ming didn't have any use for this method. He only needed to sneak into the newly thawed traffic control hall, find a still-running intranet computer, and let Strangler read the data in the database.

The process went very smoothly. There was not even a security guard here tonight, and even the alarms were destroyed by the previous freezing.

The next victim is Jean Paul, the 'Angel of Death' on this earth. Judging from the timeline information provided by Gideon, this madman will kill Gordon, maim Barbara, and blow up the city, and used it to let Batman go on a killing spree.

Of course, that was before Su Ming intervened, because in the original timeline Jack would turn back into a clown tonight, and once again escape from the Black Gate Prison where he was temporarily imprisoned, pretending to be God to encourage Paul to become a madman.

Now that there is no incentive like the clown, things may develop very differently.

But Su Ming still has no intention of letting Paul live, because the reason for his hostility to Bruce Wayne comes from the grudges between their two families in the past two hundred years. As long as he understands everything that happened in the past, regardless of whether there is a clown or not, He will go crazy.

To put it simply, his family ancestor was also one of the founders of Gotham, but later the Wayne family ancestor killed that man and took away everything from their family.

The Jean-Paul of this world is a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from severe sequelae due to exposure to biological and chemical weapons, including cancer, and now only has six months left to live.

He is old, poor, and living in dire straits, and can only rely on government and church relief.

In the original timeline, after the Joker told him part of the truth and hypnotized him, the angry veteran turned into a killing machine.

Because it's so unfair, why does Bruce Wayne enjoy everything his ancestors took away from his ancestors, but he can't even look down on his illness? Being discriminated against everywhere?

Although he has been retired for a long time, his killing skills have not faded at all. He is much taller than the Angel of Death in the main world. He is more than two meters tall and has tendons all over his body. He looks like a human-shaped bear and can easily crush people's heads. burst.

The belief in God in his heart turned him into a fanatical lunatic. With the support of faith, he could block all pain and suffering and focus on the task assigned to him by God to purify Gotham.

It is enough to have a Laughing Bat in the multiverse. Su Ming does not want Batman on this earth to start killing from the Angel of Death.

Therefore, the solution is to kill Jean-Paul himself first, so that Batman has no one to kill.

As for whether it is appropriate to sentence a person to death for something that has not happened?

Come on, Deathstroke is not a superhero. He also knows a lot about the inertia of the world. Killing people is the safest thing to do, so just do it.

And killing Jean-Paul has another advantage. As long as the scene is made full of mystery, Batman will definitely be aroused curiosity and won't follow everyone to Earth 0, perfectly separating him from Jack.

"Hey!"

"Oh, I found it. Let me see where our prey's lair is."

In the Central District south of the city, there is a relatively quiet community here. Because this is the back of the Penguin's territory, there are usually no violent street conflicts.

After all, Penguin is a businessman, and it would not be good for business if "Blood on the Street" is always staged in the territory.

The buildings in this community are very old, including a church that was built for an unknown number of years. Although this area of ​​​​the city was spared during the ice city incident.

But then the short daylight melted the snow, and the city's street drainage faced serious challenges. All the melted water from other urban areas flowed to the lower ground.

Late at night, there are still lights inside the church. A white-haired old man is holding a mop and quietly cleaning the water stains on the floor. Not long ago, it was like a tsunami came on the street, and a lot of sewage was on the floor. Climb the steps, cross the threshold, and flow into the temple of the Lord.

This is not possible, it must be cleaned overnight.

There was water everywhere in the church, and he even forgot how many buckets of sewage he had dumped. He only had the thought of serving God, humble and calm.

The small pool of water was glowing with candlelight, swaying gently on the red wooden floor, like the mellow 'blood of God', until the mop quickly spread it evenly and sucked it dry.

Jean-Paul straightened up and took a breath. Late-stage bone cancer didn't affect his job at his cleaning company too much, but it was always painful.

"Jean, how are you feeling?"

With the sound of slippery contact between leather shoes and the floor, the priest walked out of the quiet room on the side. He stood under the cross and asked his old friend with concern.

"I don't think prayer has any effect, Father." Paul leaned on the mop pole expressionlessly and shook his head: "Even if I call the name of God in my heart, my whole body hurts badly."

"That doesn't sound like good news. Maybe you should go to the hospital."

The priest is not a fanatical lunatic. The history of the church instructing patients to drink holy water to cure their illnesses has long passed.

"It's useless. I only have six months left. If I take chemotherapy, I might be able to survive for a year? Who knows." The old man continued to wring the mop in the bucket, but the veins on his arms made it look like he didn't. His tone was so calm: "But I don't have enough money anymore. If I have money, I won't go to the hospital to waste it. I would rather die in the light of the Lord and use my savings and strength to glorify Him."

The priest in black opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he obviously changed his words: "I'm sorry to hear this, Jean, maybe you can go home and rest early? You know, there is no need to wipe it." So clean, everything will go as it should when the sun comes up tomorrow.”

"You should go home and rest first. Mopping the floor can help me concentrate, and it will make me feel better if I ignore the pain." The old man continued working, using the mop to pick up another water stain: "Maybe it can also help me with my Lord's work. Leave a good impression so that when I meet him, he can overlook the dirty things I have done in the past."

"That was war, you were just obeying orders." The priest had become accustomed to this believer's stubbornness. Hearing him mention the past, he couldn't help but offer some guidance.

Jean Paul raised his head and gave a wry smile. He shook his head tiredly: "I used biological and chemical weapons to kill more than 100,000 people in the Vietnam War. It was not as simple as obeying orders."

“Man is born sinful, and our Lord is forgiving and merciful, and you have obtained His forgiveness.”

The priest made the sign of the cross on his chest, and the rosary beads made a gentle clinking sound in the candlelight.

The old man carried the bucket and walked toward the bathroom. He walked unsteadily, but soon left the area illuminated by the candlelight. His voice came from the shadows: "I feel that my fate is retribution. It must be my sin." It hasn’t been redeemed yet.”

The priest hesitated for a moment, stopped him loudly, closed his eyes and hesitated for a moment, then said seriously:

"You know our families have always been connected, right? I have a big secret about you, about Gotham that you want to hear? Maybe you can do something that will be more remembered by God, like mopping the floors. Clear away the darkness in Gotham and let the light of the Lord shine here?”

Jean-Paul put down the bucket in his hand and pulled off the towel on his shoulder to wipe his hands. His eyes flashed with fanaticism:

"Tell me how to spread the glory of the Lord. Maybe I, a dying person, can do something meaningful."