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Chapter 175: The Phantom of the Opera (1)

Gordon placed his coffee cup on the table, making a crisp sound as the bottom of the cup collided with the surface. He sighed and pulled out his chair, but as soon as he sat down, he heard the old TV next to him suddenly emit a loud noise, causing him to jump up from his chair in fright.

Originally, the TV was playing a regular TV drama, but suddenly the screen turned to static and a huge noise came from it. The screen flashed and a person with pale skin, green hair, and a terrifying clown makeup appeared on the screen.

The Joker's smiling face made him look like he was always laughing, but he was actually making a sobbing sound while wiping his eyes with his arm. He said in a hoarse voice, "This is a missing person announcement from Sad Jack, my good friend Batman is missing..."

His voice sounded like a piece of wood that had been burned by fire, dry and rough. Suddenly, he stopped performing and stared straight at the camera. His mouth curled down fiercely, but his makeup remained that strange smile, making him look very distorted.

"...I'll find him, even though he just insulted me." He said with a dark face. When he stopped smiling, a terrifying atmosphere filled the air.

Schiller was in a hospital room at Arkham Mental Hospital, watching the TV on the wall.

The Joker suddenly made a sad expression and said, "I'm a homeless and pitiful person. After the road cracked, the truck drivers lost their jobs, and I still have a bank loan to repay, sob..."

He suddenly covered his face and started crying. Then the sobbing sound became sharper and turned into a crazy laughter. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth, and the sharp laughter spread throughout every corner of Gotham.

"You thought I would say that?!!" He shouted frantically, "That doesn't matter!! What matters is the Bat! You idiots!!"

He hugged the camera, his pale face infinitely magnified in front of the lens. He seemed to be looking for something through the lens, constantly bringing his eyes closer.

"When did I first see him? Let me think, let me think..."

"Oh!" The Joker suddenly yelled, leaning back and then straightening up. His hair was thrown to his forehead, and his eyes were covered by the shadow of the hair. He randomly pushed aside his hair and slowly raised the corners of his mouth. His expression became gentle but even more strange.

"I smashed a thug to death with a hammer, and his head exploded like a watermelon, just like this - bang!"

"Then his companion shouted, 'The Bat will come! The Bat will come!'" The Joker puckered his lips and imitated the tone of a distressed cry.

"The Bat? Hahaha, a bat that doesn't kill people..."

"How could there be such a person? I think these gangsters actually believe that Gotham has a savior! Hahaha..."

"I deliberately blew up buildings, smashed other people's heads, or made them run out and call for help... but the Bat just wouldn't come! He refused to come and see me! My savior wouldn't come..."

The Joker covered his face with both hands, slowly sliding down, his fingers pulling his pale skin down, revealing the blood-red muscles under his eyelids.

"And now I know why..." He suddenly grabbed the camera like crazy and shouted, "Because he thinks I'm a killer trained by you idiots!! He thinks I'm no different from the crazies on the street! He... sob sob... thinks I'm just an ordinary madman... sob sob sob..."

"How can an ordinary person... sob... be friends with the great Batman..."

While crying and wiping his tears with his arms, the Joker said sadly, "When I went to save him... he actually thought I was a killer from the Court of Owls..."

Suddenly, he straightened his chest, took a deep breath, and let the air fill his lungs. He grabbed the camera and roared loudly, "He thinks I'm mediocre!!! Thinks I'm no different!!! It's all your fault!!"

"You created so many crazies!!! You made Batman think I'm just a mental patient like everyone else!! He can't see me! He won't join my game..."

He was almost hoarse, as if he was screaming. Everyone in front of the TV could feel his anger and sadness.

Suddenly, he calmed down and looked straight at the camera, saying, "You have a plan, and I have one too. I'll prove to you that I'm Batman's friend, that I'm different..."

"I call this plan..."

"The Owl's Misfortune! Hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha hahaha!"

Accompanied by a crazy laughter echoing in the sky, a lightning bolt streaked across the sky, and it started raining in Gotham again.

The TV turned into static again, and Schiller stood up, took out the remote control, turned off the TV on the hospital room wall, and threw the remote control down. He turned to Batman lying on the bed and asked, "How about it? Feeling better?"

Batman tightly pursed his lips and remained silent. Schiller gloated and said, "This is what happens when you don't listen to advice. I've told you not to use that ominous name. Now look, you're split in half, aren't you?"

Evans on the bedside shouted, "That has nothing to do with him!"

His voice was a little dry, but still full of energy. The factor of the wine god in his body healed all his injuries, even the scars left before were gone.

However, Batman next to him was not doing well, still hanging a drip, and obviously injured badly. He couldn't get up smoothly until now.

"Who is that madman?" Batman asked in confusion. "I was blown up and when I woke up, I saw him laughing at me in front of me."

"I thought he was a Claw sent by the Court of Owls, so I used the anesthetic spray on my arm on him, but he didn't react at all."

"I asked him if he was sent by the Court of Owls to kill me, and he started screaming and smashing things, then he squatted on the ground and cried."

"He punched me and I spit out two mouthfuls of blood. Then he apologized frantically and ran out, saying he would find a doctor for me."

"I saved you while he was out." Schiller shrugged.

"Did he just say that he had caused many cases before?" Batman frowned and said in a deep voice. "I always thought he was the same as those who went crazy because of the rain."

"But now I remember that a few weeks ago, I went out on patrol and encountered three explosions in one night. Even in Gotham, this frequency is abnormal."

"He just wanted to be friends with you, but you didn't see him at all."

"There are too many crazy people in Gotham." Batman's mouth turned down, looking indifferent and serious. "Why should I distinguish what's different about them? I have no interest in walking into the hearts of crazy people."

Schiller walked to the middle of the two beds, pulled up a chair, and turned to Evans, asking him, "I have explained everything to you before. That's what happened."

Evans' sadness was obvious, and he said, "I know nothing. I have been kept in the dark all along. I..."

He covered his eyes in pain and said, "I remember that my relationship with my brother was very good. I could even remember his smile. But when I try to remember carefully, I can't recall anything."

"Human memory has a protective mechanism. When your personality resurrects, too many memory gaps and inconsistencies may cause your personality to collapse again."

"At this time, the self-repair function of the mind will work, and it will embellish many important things to fill the gaps in your memory and spiritual trauma."

"I don't think he is like that. He is not..."

Suddenly, Schiller reached out and pressed Evans' forehead, causing his body to fall back onto the bed and his head to fall back on the pillow. Evans convulsed for a while, and when he woke up again, his eyes were different.

"You should be able to see Evans' performance, right? Alberto?"

He remained silent. Although he looked exactly like Evans, when Alberto appeared, all of his facial muscles seemed to be different.

"I told Evans before, and you should have heard it. You are actually the personality created by the Court of Owls brainwashing plan, the killer they trained."

Alberto sneered and said, "Did you really think I was loyal to them? If I didn't show fanaticism, how could they use me to complete that plan? How could I get the chance to live forever?"

"You only pursue eternal life?"

"Revenge... and revenge." Evans' nose twitched, making him look very fierce.

"If what you said is true, that I am the personality created by the Court of Owls, then they have made a huge mistake."

"They shouldn't have shaped me as another Godfather, shouldn't have made me so much like my father, shouldn't have turned me into a real Falcone. There is no Falcone in this world who is willing to be manipulated by anyone."

Schiller leaned his body to one side and leaned against the armrest of the chair. He said with great interest, "Actually, I also thought it was strange at the time. The behavior pattern they set for you and the thinking they set for you were conflicting."

"They want you to be loyal to the Court of Owls, but also to become the perfect successor to The Godfather, to become just like the old Godfather."

"But the old Godfather could never be a fanatic follower of some mysterious organization. He only believes in himself and the power he holds in his hands."

"So, were you pretending from the beginning?"

Alberto shook his head and said, "No, I did switch sides to the Court of Owls, but not because I worship them, but because I wanted to revenge against my father."

"I couldn't figure out the reason before, but when you told Evans truth, I understood."

"I understood why I couldn't feel any affection from him, why he didn't trust me."

"He never saw me as his son."

Alberto's voice became lower and lower. "Maybe it was to make me play the role of Falcone's successor well. The Court of Owls didn't give me any truth, so I thought I really was Falcone's son."

"But he wasn't a good father. He looked at me with malice in every glance and action..."

"...he wanted to kill me." Alberto's voice trembled.

"Can you imagine?" Alberto's voice began to sound crazy. "Your father sees you as a monster every moment, struggling every day whether to kill you or not..."

"I had no idea why." Alberto said in pain. "I thought I was his son. I didn't understand why he didn't trust me, even hated me. I was driven crazy by that hidden malice. I had to kill him! I had to take revenge on him!"

As Alberto spoke, Schiller seemed to see it. In a thunderous and rainy night in Falcone Manor, young Alberto faced the towering Falcone. Falcone held him, seeming to worry that he was frightened by the thunder. He held Alberto in his arms.

But his eyes, facing away from Alberto, were full of deep hatred and madness. Young Alberto was held in his father's arms, looking out at the rainy night, his eyes filled with fear and helplessness, but not because of the thunder that lasted all night.