American comics: Only I know the plot

Chapter 34 Just Trial

Harvey's words turned Watts' face ashen, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

It seems that Harvey has found far more than he expected.

Harvey picked up the coin, his fingertips repeatedly tracing the black reverse side, his movements as devout as if performing some kind of sacred ritual.

"On the one hand, you're alive; on the other hand..." He paused, then suddenly looked up at Li Wei, his eyes sharp, "Do you think he should live?"

"This is not justice, Harvey!" Levi tried to continue forward, but was stopped by Batman.

He understood Batman's intentions; approaching rashly now would only further provoke Harvey and cause the situation to spiral out of control.

Perhaps in Batman's heart, Harvey hasn't completely fallen into depravity, and there's still a possibility that he might turn back from his misguided ways.

After all, no matter what, the other party was the beacon of Gotham that he had placed high hopes on.

"Not justice?" Harvey scoffed, his arm suddenly flailing, the coin tracing a silver arc in the air.

"So what is justice? Is it Batman wearing a mask to punish evil and promote good, or is it Gordon deceiving everyone with lies, saying 'Gotham has hope'?"

The coin spun a few times in the air before Harvey caught it.

Harvey slowly opened his palm, and by the light of the flashlight, everyone could see that it was facing up—the reverse side was up.

Without the slightest hesitation, Harvey raised his right hand and aimed the gun steadily at Watts' chest.

"Be a good person in your next life!"

"Bang!"

Watts, pale-faced, was tightly bound to the ground. Looking at Harvey's ferocious expression, he had given up struggling.

He screamed in agony as blood instantly soaked through his trousers, but was overjoyed to find that he had survived.

Just now, the batarang struck the barrel with pinpoint accuracy, causing the bullet to veer off course.

It grazed Watts' thigh and shot onto the tracks, sending up a string of blinding sparks.

"Batman, are you going to go against justice too?"

Harvey suddenly looked up, staring intently at Batman standing behind Levi, his eyes filled with a frenzied rage.

"You stinking bat, you think you're so righteous? You're just like the clown, a complete lunatic!"

He ignored Watts, who was lying on the ground groaning, and turned to run deeper into the platform.

Li Wei knew there was an abandoned maintenance passage there; he had noticed it when he checked the map before coming in.

"Chase!"

Batman flicked his cape and dashed out first, his figure disappearing instantly into the dark passage.

Watts, panting heavily, stared at Levi with trembling eyes, his voice barely audible: "He...he's not Harvey anymore...he's the devil..."

"He's a good man driven mad by the devil," Levi said, then crouched down to examine Watts's legs.

When he realized that the other person had only suffered a minor scratch and was not seriously injured, he stopped what he was doing.

"Hang in there, the ambulance will be here soon," he said simply, and then, to Watts' astonishment, he chased after the subway deep into the building.

"You...you're a devil too! You're all bastards! Assassins!"

Hearing the curses coming from the darkness behind him, Li Wei didn't seem to care.

He'd be lucky if he didn't shoot the guy who betrayed his colleagues; he wouldn't waste his time letting him out.

When Levi caught up with Batman, he found him standing outside a passageway.

"He jumped, and I wasn't familiar with the situation, so I didn't follow."

Li Wei strode to the entrance of the tunnel and looked down. He saw that the deep tunnel was pitch black and he could not see anything.

However, due to the airflow, a chill emanated from the tunnel.

"Okay, looks like we need to think about where to go next."

As Li Wei spoke, he took out his phone from his pocket and called Gordon.

Tell him briefly about the situation here, ask him to arrange for someone to come and rescue Watts, and also tell him to protect his family.

"Alright, Gordon, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

"Don't worry, buddy, I just got word... that Watts is under Maronny's influence..."

"Okay, I got it, buddy. Don't worry, I know everything."

Knowing what Gordon was going to say, Li Wei hung up the phone before the other person could finish speaking.

Gordon knew exactly what he was going to say, and he had originally intended to pretend he hadn't remembered it, to buy Harvey some time.

Now it seems impossible to do this.

Especially since, right behind him stood Gotham's nemesis.

"It seems there's another name on tonight's 'trial' list."

Levi shoved his phone into his pocket and shrugged at Batman. "Maroney... I think that officer named Watts mentioned that name before. Maybe we should go find this guy..."

As he spoke, all the information he had seen about Maroney during this period flashed through his mind.

—A core member of the Maroney family in Gotham City, one of Batman's main adversaries, and the second largest gang in Gotham after Carmine Falcone.

"Oh, where could this guy be...? This is so hard to guess, my brain can't keep up."

Li Wei feigned a headache, looking quite distressed.

In fact, Maroni could only possibly appear in a few places.

Given that it was nighttime, it was actually quite easy to find this guy.

However, Li Wei didn't have a good impression of this guy and wanted to give Harvey some more room to maneuver.

However, Batman didn't tolerate him at all, and raised his arm directly, where Levi noticed a small communicator.

"Find out Salvatore Maroni's exact location for me."

After saying that, Batman turned and left.

"A guy who's used to using money to his advantage won't be a good superhero."

Muttering to himself, Li Wei followed Batman.

...

An underground bar in Gotham City.

The air was filled with a strange smell of alcohol and cheap perfume.

Several gang members, fully armed, stood with their guns pointed at the door, cursing and venting their fear and anger.

Maroni sat behind the bar, his large frame sunk deep into the leather seat.

He clutched a gold-plated revolver in his hand, his face even more unpleasant than his silk shirt stained with cigarette ash.

"Shut up, all of you!" he roared, his voice trembling with fear. "Shut up, all of you, and stay alert!"

No one answered; fear spread rapidly through the crowd like a plague.

Everyone knows that the madman with half his face burned off has returned, and no one will have an easy time.

During this period, Maroni felt like nothing was going smoothly for him.

First, the Joker burned his money, and today he received a message from an inside source saying that Harvey is looking for him.

All Maroni could do was gather his followers.

Looking at his nervous underlings, Maroni, though appearing dignified, couldn't help but glance at them from his left rear.

That was a specially designed emergency exit, through which he could escape should he sense danger.

Inside the ventilation duct, Levi followed Batman, lying behind him.

Despite trying to slow his breathing, the water droplets condensing on the pipe walls still fell onto his neck, icy cold.

Looking down from the vent, the situation is completely clear.

Maroni's bodyguards were positioned in various corners, each holding a gun.

But everyone was distracted and their eyes were unfocused; they were clearly terrified.