บท 688: Chapter 471: The Three of Us (Part 3)_1
Just as Jonathan and Hugo were discussing the details of their plan, suddenly, they heard a faint noise from outside the door. Both of them immediately looked towards the door with alertness.
Hugo walked to the door, and as he opened it, he ducked backward. However, he saw a somewhat familiar man standing outside the door. The man extended his hand in greeting and even smiled, revealing eight teeth.
"Sorry, my room mate, I didn't mean to stalk you. Has anyone ever told you? Your acting is really poor, I have no choice but to notice."
Hugo's face immediately darkened.
With a 'thud', the dull sound of a silenced pistol rang out, but the shooter wasn't Hugo, it was Jonathan standing behind him.
Looking at Constantine lying in a pool of blood, Jonathan quite dissatisfiedly said to Hugo: "Did you actually bring a tail here?! You keep making me doubt your professionalism, Hugo, I think I should reconsider the necessity of cooperating with you."
Hugo furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Constantine's corpse. Just as he was about to say something, suddenly, there was a sound from behind Jonathan.
Both turned around together, and saw Constantine standing behind them saying, "Brother, your marksmanship is just as poor as his acting."
When Hugo turned back to look at the corpse, he realized that the body was slowly turning into ashes, even the blood had disappeared.
Before he could ask, Constantine spread his hands and said, "As you can see, I am a magician."
"You all know how much prejudice people have against magic. Once I say I can use magic, they treat me like a lunatic and locked me up here. I've heard that you guys want to escape? How about taking me along?"
Jonathan put down the pistol and looked at Constantine's smile. He lowered his eyelids and said, "It seems like you are a better partner than him."
"You plan to believe him just like that? Jonathan, do you really believe this guy with an unknown background?"
"Aren't you also of unknown origin?"
Jonathan put the pistol away and stood by the window saying, "We three are strangers of unknown origin. It's impossible for any one of us to truly trust each other."
"But we can temporarily cooperate, can't we?" Constantine walked forward and said to Jonathan, "What do I need to join your organization? Like, killing someone, maybe?"
"Have you killed someone before?" Jonathan looked at Constantine and asked.
"Of course not, I'm a law-abiding good person who likes making friends. But my friends always die in various accidents."
"I'm full of poetic inclination, wandering around the world. The journey is long and accidents are frequent. Sometimes, I feel like I've been cursed, but when I think about it, it's just bad luck."
He spoke erratically, but Jonathan's face relaxed slightly. He said, "I feel the same way. I once felt that I was cursed. But now I see, this curse is called talent and wisdom."
"I can see we're cut from the same cloth." Constantine folded his arms and said, "We treat this world with the greatest kindness, yet the world doesn't treat us the same way. If that's the case, what would be wrong with playing a little prank?"
"Is now the time to discuss this?" Hugo interrupted and said, "Our plan..."
Suddenly, a phantom exuding a faint glow appeared, laughing grotesquely in the center of the room. It extended both arms to grab Hugo, pushing him against the wall, then gripping his neck firmly.
"I think he's not part of us, what do you think?" Constantine turned around, looking at the struggling and screaming Hugo, he said: "He seems like an evil bad guy, I think I need to remove this threat for the people..."
Jonathan also turned his head and said, "A conceited psychologist who scares himself by seeing a few illusions, doesn't dare to escape from the general ward, a total fool and waste."
"But…" Jonathan changed the topic and said, "he still has a use. Let him go."
As soon as Jonathan finished speaking, Hugo was released, the ghost vanished, and Hugo fell to the ground, continuously coughing.
A look of satisfaction appeared on Jonathan's face. In his view, this newly appeared stranger seemed to get along better with him.
Scarecrow Jonathan, a poor guy who has been caught and put into Arkham Mental Hospital since Batman first debuted, missing all the big events.
Of course, he's not completely unlucky, after all, he is still safely holed up in Arkham Mental Hospital.
More fortunately, due to the fact that his room is on the top floor of Arkham Hospital, he has never met Evans, Cobblepot, and Jack, who lived on the lower floors. These guys didn't even know someone lived on the top floor. Otherwise, how safe he is would be a big question.
As a well-known villain in DC comics, Jonathan could not be satisfied with the status quo, he definitely wanted to escape. However, the security measures of this hospital, which really housed dangerous patients, was quite comprehensive.
Jonathan, as a college professor who just started his villainous career, did not possess a strong physique or the decisive action force to perfectly execute the plan in his mind. Therefore, it is difficult for him to escape on his own.
Just as he was still observing the situation, someone took the initiative to approach him, that was Hugo Strange.
Hugo was previously used as a tool by Shiller in the dream world but was kicked out when the Yellow Lantern and the Laughing Egg showed up. As a result of an overly rough exit, Hugo fainted in his clinic and was subsequently carried back to his room by Brand.
In the beginning, he was indeed a little crazy. The abrupt interruption of the dream connection damaged his mind. However, he recovered quickly but lacked the opportunity to escape due to Brand's selfless medical care.
After enduring for a while, Hugo gradually mapped out the nurses' and doctors' routines. Following that, he initiated his nightly endeavors. His major objective? The most strictly monitored patients positioned on the top floor.
Having worked in many mental hospitals, he knew too well that these wards often housed dangerous individuals. He figured that the pursuit of collaboration might be arduously strenuous and even prepared to treat them as cannon fodder. However, to his surprise, the first inmate he approached was quite communicative, and they easily struck a deal.
Even more unexpected was the appearance of Constantine halfway through. He seemed to be a more co-operative partner with the inmates, making Hugo feel somewhat extraneous.
However, such is the way of friendship among three individuals – it doesn't always follow the order of appearance.
Constantine stepped forward, propped Hugo up, and said, "Oh, I apologize. My pet can be quite temperamental."
Hugo glared at him fiercely, but eventually said nothing. It seemed Constantine might be a necessary show of force for them. Hugo took a deep breath and suppressed his rage.
"Keep going with your plan," Jonathan beckoned, turning his attention now to Hugo.
Hugo replied with an ominous tone: "If we charge out just like this, it's certain to attract Batman. Perhaps we could escape, but it would come at a great cost. Besides, Gotham is Batman's territory – we wouldn't get very far before being chased down."
"So, we should first create some chaos to distract him before implementing our plan."
"What's your plan?" Jonathan inquired.
"Quite simple, we release all the patients here."
Hugo began pacing around the room, explaining as he walked. "I have been in mental hospitals all over. Most patients aren't severely dangerous – they just can't take care of themselves and need to be institutionalized."
"However, there are exceptions. Some are born criminals, violent, apathetic, and brutal. They often end up in local mental hospitals – due to a history of criminal offenses and confirmed mental illnesses – guarded from imprisonment."
"Most of these inmates believe they are not ill; instead, they are full of anger and resentment toward society."
"Of course, even so, they won't be able to create much chaos once they're out. They're only mere mortals, with no special abilities." Hugo glanced at Constantine as he spoke.
"But Gotham is different, isn't it?" Jonathan acutely caught the crux, to which Hugo nodded. "The consistently high crime rate in Gotham is due to it being home to more – and more dangerous – madmen than anywhere else."
"I'm not sure why, but the inhabitants here are all somewhat unwell. Back in my days as a doctor, I reviewed medical records over the years that indicate a rate of mental illness among Gothamites nearly 1500% higher than in other cities. The incidence of violent behavior or direct development into antisocial personality disorder is nearly 100%."
Hugo glanced at the wall and continued, "The people held here should represent the most dangerous mental patients. If we let out these madmen, Batman would surely have a headache."
Constantine opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words spilled out. Despite his reason telling him that Hugo's plan made sense, his intuition was signaling impending disaster.
"Alright, then how do we execute?" Constantine asked, hands on his hips, his coat trailing behind him.
Hugo confidently answered, "This mental hospital was built a long time ago. The wards still use a lock and key mechanism."
"The fact I was able to get here was because I found where the keys were kept. To be safe, I only took one – the key to this room. But in reality, I could have taken all the keys…"
"So, are we going to open the doors one by one? And what if they attack us while we're doing that?" Jonathan asked.
"Originally, I had some other methods in mind. However, looking at it now, our new friend here should be able to help." Hugo turned to look at Constantine.
Constantine shrugged and said, "Alright, I can have my pet open the doors. It's fast and could open all the doors in no time. But are you sure the patients here will stir up enough chaos?"
Hugo confidently replied: "Don't worry, those most dangerous madmen will certainly rush out the moment they get the opportunity…"
"And then, they'll stoke the fires of chaos in this city."
Hugo turned his gaze back towards the window. The night in Gotham was still very dark, yet lights from the city center beamed brightly, like the sun in the night sky.
Amidst the flickering light and shadow, the wind howled, sweeping through the city streets. Two dark shadows flitted across the rooftop of a building. A few darts sliced through the air, followed by a grappling hook swiftly launched from the shadows, latching onto a fleeing man.
Batman tightened his grip on the grappling hook, flinging the man, who was ensnared at the waist, to the nearby ground. The Joker, his head bleeding profusely from the impact, lay there unconscious, his detonator flying out of his hand.
Batman walked up and grabbed the grappling hook still attached to Joker's waist. Picking him up, Batman began to fade into the night of Gotham.
Looking in the direction Batman had just went, three individuals stood in front of the only illuminated window in Arkham Mental Hospital, all with their own malicious agendas.
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