The track of dawn in the world of American manga

"Zombies appear again?"

On the dim street, Mason frowned.

He hesitated for a few seconds, looked left and right, and whispered to Batman:

"To be honest, after seeing those monsters in Blackgate Prison last time, I have been studying their characteristics privately. Do you need me to give you some advice?

I mean, I can start from an alchemist's perspective, which may give you a different way of thinking."

"oh?"

Batman narrowed his eyes and said:

"What did you find?"

"That's too much."

Disguised as "Mason Cooper", the new super villain "Three-Headed Dog" took out a small notebook that looked like a research note from his arms and waved it in front of Batman's eyes.

After flipping through a few pages, I read steadily:

"I found that these guys are driven by bloodlust and hunger. Their vision has completely degraded and they are photophobic but are more active in the dark.

They rely on hearing and smell to hunt.

The fat in the body dissolves, leaving only the atrophied muscle tissue and bones, which seem to move slowly, but once stimulated by flesh and blood, they will immediately enter the "violent" mode.

All their body fluids are poisonous, their claws and teeth are rich in toxins, and even the decay after their second death will contaminate nearby land.

Its internal organs are highly alienated.

All organs except the digestive system dissolve themselves, and the highly toxic gastric juices can digest almost anything and convert it into energy to support action."

Mason babbled a lot, and at the end he rubbed his chin and said with some uncertainty:

"In fact, the more I study, the more I suspect that these zombies are like a designed 'weapon' that can quickly transform ordinary lives into ruthless killing machines after infection."

"Where did you find all this information?"

After a few seconds of silence, Batman suddenly said quietly:

"You've only seen zombies once, right? Mason, are you... hiding something from me?"

"Well..."

Mason seemed puzzled.

The young man lowered his head and pursed his lips somewhat guiltily. After hesitating for a long time, he finally made up his mind and seemed to really want to reveal a secret that had been concealed.

He raised his head, looked at Batman, mustered up his courage and said:

"I actually dissected them and collected some samples for private research in the sewers of Blackgate Prison.

I haven't told you about this because I don't want you to think I'm interested in monsters and make you... Well, you know, I had very few friends growing up."

"The sewers of Blackgate Prison? You certainly didn't mention that."

Batman's heart moved.

Another doubt about the young man Mason seems to have been solved, but for the cautious master, one word is not enough to clear away the suspicion.

However, Mason's ability to take the initiative to speak out about this matter may mean that he really wants to maintain "friendship" with the Bat Family and is very concerned about his impression in the minds of the Bat Family members.

"Very good, the information you provided is quite useful."

Even though the information Mason told was already known to Batman, the old man still encouraged the young man and planned to leave.

But the next moment, Mason spoke again:

"Batman, wait! I haven't finished talking yet, about the last and most important conclusion of my research."

He tore out a page from his research notes and handed it to Batman, who took it in his hand and looked at it.

There are some drawings and descriptions of zombie organs marked on it, as well as very clear alchemical transformation formulas, which look pretty decent.

But this thing does enter Batman's knowledge blind spot.

He could only infer from those obscure "professional words" that Mason might have reached some seemingly unclear conclusions.

"I know you want to save everyone, but I advise you not to put in the effort. I have observed it in Black Gate Prison and conducted experiments on white mice. This zombie virus has no disease or infection process after it enters the living body.

.

This is not as simple as 'poisoning'.

In alchemical terms, it is a transformation of life forms."

Mason used a professional academic tone and patiently explained to Batman in a low voice:

"Once a living body is scratched or comes into contact with the virus itself, the transformation cannot be stopped and will be completed in a short time. Therefore, the best way to keep ordinary people away from disasters is to provide them with some preventive measures in advance.

Similar to a vaccine.

Alas, it is a pity that my level of alchemy is too low to make a special preventive potion for this virus, and the antidote I can make has no effect on it.

But I'm trying to make an ointment that can effectively kill them.

If you need it, I can speed up the research and provide it free of charge."

"You have done a good enough job, Mason. In fact, your research results are beyond my imagination and have indeed inspired me."

Batman nodded and replied:

"Go home now. If the three-headed dog targets you again, contact me immediately!"

"OK."

The young man also nodded. He quickly took out a folded letter from his arms, handed it to Batman, and said:

"I found this at the door of the cabin when I went out to buy things this afternoon. It should be for you."

"Um?"

Batman took the letter.

After taking a look at the familiar font on the envelope, he immediately knew that it was a letter from the missing Catwoman, which immediately made the master feel a lot more relaxed.

The cat-like woman is still alive.

It was nice to have one less thing that he needed to worry about from the bottom of his heart.

The sound of taxis came from the street ahead, and Mason turned around to wave. When he turned back to say goodbye again, there was nothing in the shadows behind him.

This technique of rapid movement and breath masking frightened Mason.

If Batman were an assassin...

Gee, I can’t even imagine it.

Mason got into a taxi and left. Above the tallest building in the entire block, in the cockpit of the Bat fighter in optical camouflage, the master stared at the taxi as it drove away.

After a few seconds, he said:

"Barbara, take a look at Mason's activity tonight through the location of the bat phone."

"Bruce, why do you keep doubting Mason?"

Barbara complained while typing on the keyboard:

"And it's so egregious that you installed physical tracking in the phone you gave him. Have you ever thought about how angry Mason will be once he finds out the truth?

He adores you so much."

"Just because I'm following him doesn't mean I don't trust him."

The master said without changing his tone:

"This is just a cautious concern, and I have every reason to suspect that recapturing Mason is one of the three-headed dogs' goals in Gotham.

He must be protected until the incident is over."

"Okay, there is no problem with Mason's trajectory."

After Barbara Gordon was silent for a few seconds, she looked at the path tracing diagram on the computer and answered:

"Except for staying a long time at the Iceberg Bar that Kite Man took over and the magic supplies store just now, it's almost a straight line. I haven't been to other places, let alone those zombie haunted places."

The Bat-Fighter took off silently at this moment.

"Very good, continue to monitor the whole city."

The master looked at Gotham City with thousands of lights at night. He opened the letter in his hand and said softly:

"I have a hunch that what happened tonight may be just the beginning."

"Um."

There was a response in the communicator and then it went silent. Batman, who had set up autopilot, leaned on his seat and looked at the letter in his hand. It contained some very ordinary greetings and said that he was dealing with some personal matters and would reply soon.

To Gotham.

But for the world's best detective like Batman, the code hidden in this letter cannot be hidden from him at all.

This made the master immediately alert.

What happened to Selena that made her need to use code words to send messages to herself?

Was she in danger?

On the way back to the Batcave, Batman spent five minutes finding all the code words, and then combined them into two sentences using the format agreed between him and Catwoman:

"Bruce, be careful."

The first sentence made the master's heart skip a beat, and he immediately looked at the second sentence:

"You're a playboy and you'll be finished when I get back! I'm really angry about what your other lover did for you!"

"ah?"

The master, who originally thought that this letter would contain some distress message or shocking secret, was stunned for a moment. He frowned and began to think about his relationship with Selina in the past period of time.

You didn't do anything wrong, right?

Why is she so angry?

He said he was a playboy, that was just his disguise!

It's just a joke with those models and celebrities. This cat-like woman really has a cat-like temper, which is really elusive.

The man wearing a bat helmet leaned against the cockpit and looked at the city flying by below. When he was alone, this nearly omnipotent man finally had the same troubled expression as an ordinary man.

Alas, there is no way.

Who made him fall in love with a cool girl wearing a leather jacket and holding a whip?

But the master is a master after all, and his melancholy only fleetingly passed before he quickly returned to work. He answered the old butler's call and asked:

"Alfred, how far has Lucius's research on zombie viruses progressed?"

"His team has completed the extraction of the viral gene sequence and produced several targeted drugs, and is currently conducting the first round of trials."

The old housekeeper sighed and said:

"That project was a waste of money. In less than half a month, they had already spent the money on ten Batfighters! All the stock gains from last month were lost.

Also, Master, I am on vacation in Italy now!

Please don't disturb a poor old man enjoying his leisure at this time. In fact, I am preparing to go to a banquet with some very charming ladies."

"Afu, let Lucius speed up! Don't care about money, that thing is meaningless in the face of crisis."

Batman paused and said in a deep voice:

"Zombies have reappeared in Gotham tonight, and there is a tendency to spread. The worst guesses about this matter have come true. Whether Lucius can produce results is related to whether we can survive safely.

This crisis.”

There was silence on the other end of the call for a moment, and the old housekeeper said briefly:

"I'll book a flight back to Gotham immediately."

"No, the manor's private plane left to pick you up an hour ago."

The master said in a faint tone:

"It's too much to ask an old man like you to travel back in first class. Besides, Ah Fu..."

"Happy birthday."

---

"I made this potion last night. It is a destructive potion found in the alchemy book that is effective against undead creatures."

Early the next morning, a guest came to the Gotham Police Commissioner's office. Gordon, who had stayed up all night, drank thick coffee and looked at Mason in front of him, who was demonstrating a white potion to him.

Mason held the "Elementary Black Blood" potion in his hand like a salesman.

This potion is a combat potion specifically for demon hunters recorded in Old K's alchemy book. It has the effect of deepening the damage and weakening undead creatures.

Witchers usually drink it directly.

But ordinary people would go to see God immediately after drinking this stuff, so Mason slightly modified its formula and turned it into an ointment that could be applied to weapons.

This successful modification of the formula gave Mason a 40-fold improvement in skill proficiency, making him more firm in his practical thinking that "the essence of alchemy is change."

"You can dilute it ten times and use it to soak bullets. In this way, even if it cannot hit the zombies' heads, it will cause greater damage to them and slow down their reaction speed a lot."

The young man showed the director how to use the primary black blood potion, then picked up the bottle and made a throwing motion, and said to the yawning Gordon:

"If you are surrounded by zombies, throw it out. Undead creatures hate this smell. If you pour it on your body, it will look like a moving lump of cake to the zombies.

They will also naturally ignore and stay away from you."

"Great stuff, Mason, we really need it."

Gordon, who had stayed up all night and was still shooting zombies with his gun until three hours ago, thanked him with dark circles under his eyes. He looked at the small box of potions provided by Mason for free and stood up to express his gratitude to himself as a legal "ward".

grateful.

Mason glanced at him, took out a bottle of vitality potion and dropped it into Gordon's coffee. The director quickly regained his energy and became full of energy.

"Gordon, it may not be my turn to say these words, but I don't think you can be led by the supervillain who controls zombies to attack villains."

Before leaving, Mason suggested to the director:

"People will always create zombies faster than you can dispatch the police. Even with the support of the Bat Family, you will soon become exhausted.

I said this to Batman last night, and he thought it made sense.

Maybe you should contact the government medical department.

Let’s see if we can produce some immunity drugs and distribute them to citizens, so that at least they don’t have to worry about being accidentally scratched or getting infected by contact with dirty things.”

"I contacted Mason after what happened at Blackgate Prison."

Commissioner Gordon sent Mason to the door of the police station.

The old man, who was always under great pressure, lit up a cigarette and said to Mason with a hint of helplessness and anxiety:

"But there was no response from the higher-ups. I contacted some of my old friends and they told me that this matter was taken over by the Sky Eye Society and they were solely responsible for the response.

Amanda Waller is a very annoying guy.

All the secret activities of the crazy people under her command in Gotham in the past few years were not reported in advance at all, and as the commander of the secret department, she would not brief me, a small police chief, on the progress of the incident."

The old man blew out a smoke ring and said to Mason:

"But we are already thinking of a way. I trust Batman more than the Eye of the Sky."

"I also trust him, but his power alone is limited after all."

Mason frowned and said:

"By the time he comes up with a plan, I'm afraid zombie attacks have become normalized, which makes me feel very insecure living in this city. Gordon, maybe I should take Barbara to Blüdhaven to hide for a while.

hide."

"Don't worry, Batman is much more powerful than you think."

Gordon threw away the cigarette butt, patted the young man on the shoulder, and said in a low voice:

"Targeted drugs are being made, Batman enlists the help of his good friend Bruce Wayne, and the medical arm of Wayne Industries will soon begin mass production.

This news may allow you to research your wonderful potions with peace of mind.

But don't tell anyone else, lest it cause confusion."

"What?"

Mason showed a shocked expression, and he lost his voice and said:

"Bruce Wayne's playboy who changes girlfriends all day long is actually Batman's friend? How is this possible? They are completely different worlds!"

"You didn't expect that, kid?"

Gordon looked at Mason's shocked face, laughed suddenly, and said mysteriously:

"The water in this city is much deeper than you think. Young man, Bruce Wayne is a non-staff member of the Bat-family in a sense.

Well, this news cannot be leaked.

You know how important it is."

"Well, I understand, this shocking news is enough for me to digest for a while."

Mason shook his head and waved goodbye to Gordon. When he left the police station, a smile finally appeared on his lips. When he waved to stop the taxi, the young man sighed in his heart:

"As expected of you, sir, I know that no matter what trouble I encounter, I will never be disappointed if I place my hope on you. Then the next stop for the super villain, the Three-Headed Dog, is the Wayne Industries Medical Department.

Well, now that we've decided to go there, maybe we can stop by the technology research and development department that specially provides equipment for the master.

Maybe there will be an unexpected surprise?”