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Chapter 485: Simple Folkways of Gotham City (2)

The car stopped on the road in front of Gotham University, and the tires made a squeaking, grating sound as Victor quickly pushed open the car door and emerged. When he saw the brightly lit dormitory building of Gotham University, he sighed in relief.

"I've said it before, Gotham City is so big that even if dozens of people fall, it wouldn't be so coincidental to land right in Gotham University," Harvey patted Victor on the shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Victor didn't relax but continued to walk briskly towards the university. He said, "No, we can't be sure yet. The laboratory is located quite far from the dormitory building..."

Harvey shook his head helplessly but still followed him. They briskly passed through the buildings of the university, including the academic buildings, administrative offices, and dormitories, until they finally reached the east-side laboratory building.

From the outside, the laboratory building appeared dark because it was now the early morning hours. There weren't students or teachers in Gotham University known for staying up late to conduct experiments, so the laboratory building was usually very quiet at night.

However, this environment stirred something in Victor, triggering thoughts of many unpleasant things. Perhaps, he had rehearsed this situation countless times in his mind. The paranoia was almost drowning him.

"Calm down, Victor... Victor! Come back!" Harvey shouted from behind, but Victor had already rushed into the laboratory building.

His heavy footsteps echoed in the staircase as Victor charged to the floor where the laboratory was located. As he stopped at the entrance of the staircase, he noticed a faint light seeping out from a door in the corridor.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, Victor walked straight toward that door. Upon pushing it open, he saw several children standing outside the cryogenic chamber, illuminated by its cold light. They looked up at him.

Hearing the commotion, the children turned around, and upon seeing Victor, they rushed over chattering. Victor was a bit overwhelmed by their noise. He held onto the head of one of the boys and said, "Everyone, quiet down. You, go ahead."

The boy, with a hint of pride, raised his head and cleared his throat, saying, "Well, we all live in the guard room of Gotham University, the one at the east gate. You know it, right? That's where the newsboys stay."

"About ten minutes ago, we received a call from Big Copperpot. He told us to get the key hidden above the door frame and wait for you in the laboratory."

"The door frame was quite high, so we stacked up to barely reach the key. He said that if someone invaded the laboratory, we should freeze them with the nearby cryo-gun."

"You're not done yet!" a little girl raised her voice and added, "Big Copperpot said that if the lights here go out and the switches don't work, we should go to the next room and turn on the generator."

"Yeah, that's right! He said to press some button!"

"We've been waiting here for so long. Nobody invaded, and the power didn't go out either. We were almost falling asleep waiting..."

These children were quite young, probably around seven or eight years old. They were a lively bunch, chattering like sparrows in the snow.

Victor lowered his head, and as he didn't say anything, they quieted down as well. Each of them looked up at him.

Victor slowly squatted down, embraced the leading boy, and patted his head, saying, "Thank you."

When Harvey entered, this was the scene he saw. After escorting the children back to sleep, they returned to Victor's laboratory.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, they looked at the blazing Gotham City. The changing lights outside the window cast their shadows intermittently. Harvey heard Victor say:

"Many people say this place is beyond saving. They say the darkness here is hopeless, endless..."

"People claim that the Gothamites themselves are what constitute this darkness, that chaos and madness are their deserved consequences. Do you think they're truly beyond redemption?"

Harvey turned his head to look at the buildings in the city and said, "I've always held one belief: there's no place in this world that's beyond redemption. That's why I came here."

"The environment shapes people, and people shape the environment. I don't know what initially gave rise to this darkness here, but I do know that when the long night of darkness falls, and there's no light left, humanity still manages to create fire and illuminate its own civilization."

"Did you hear what those people are shouting?" Victor looked at the scene outside the window and said, "They're saying they want to eradicate evil, maintain peace. They claim they're here to save this place..."

Harvey shook his head, saying, "If it were that simple to save Gotham, I wouldn't have been lurking all this time without achieving anything."

"Justice? What gives them the right to define Gotham's justice? If they've never lived in this city, never understood the people and events on this land, and can't empathize with the people here, then their so-called justice will turn into this..."

As they spoke, both of them turned their gazes to the city where chaos continued.

They both understood that this wasn't the pains of a supposed process of transformation. These self-proclaimed messengers of justice, descending from above, could achieve nothing beyond disrupting the peaceful dreams of the people of Gotham.

In the central roundabout of Gotham, there was a bustling scene. Thaal held the Green Lantern ring in his hand high and shouted, "Green Lantern, shine forever, unite the shield!"

All the Green Lanterns who had been driven to the central roundabout stood together. They used the remaining Green Lantern energy to form a shield. Hal, standing beside Thaal, shouted loudly, "Where's Carol? Why isn't she here?!"

"She was attacked by a magician earlier!" Thaal answered, "That magician seemed to have marked her through some curse. Her ring's energy was depleted, and she's unconscious!"

Hal extended his hand, concentrating hard. A rich green light radiated from his hand, causing even Thaal to take notice...

However, their situation was grim. Bat Wings above them continued to release bombs, the gangs relentlessly fired, and Clark watched vigilantly. The Green Lanterns had no room to escape.

"Concentrate your efforts! Bring down that aircraft!" Thaal began directing. The Green Lanterns focused their attention and continuously fired green energy waves, but the Bat Wing agilely evaded.

At this moment, Clark heard Batman's voice coming from a passing Bat Wing, "Attack!"

"No, I can't fight in the city center! It would ruin everything here," Clark hesitated.

"Fight. I can rebuild."

"No, it would affect many buildings!"

"I have money!"

Clark was speechless for a moment, but looking at the Green Lanterns organizing their attack, he knew it was time to act.

Clark spread his arms, and a snowstorm swirled around him, accompanied by a biting cold. He swooped down like a snow-feathered hawk. As he approached, Thaal shouted, "Concentrate defense! Stop him!"

Green energy converged toward the direction of Clark's descent, forming a more solid shield. However, upon contact with Clark, the shield shattered in an instant.

"Boom!"

Clark was like a human missile, his aura sending all the Green Lanterns flying.

Faced with his nearly unstoppable strength, many Green Lanterns couldn't even muster the strength to stand. Green Lanterns, who relied on their willpower to fight, lost virtually all combat ability once fear set in.

Even Corps leader Thaal had lost the courage to face Clark head-on. He slumped on the ground, slowly closing his eyes.

But at that moment, an even more intense green light ignited beside him.

Hal floated in mid-air, facing Clark. Thaal saw his ring blinking, indicating low energy. He wanted to remind him, but heard Hal say, "You can't hurt them. Back off!"

Clark's biofield grew stronger, Hal's figure wavered in the storm, and all the Green Lanterns on the ground felt intensely nervous, a sense of despair spreading.

Suddenly, the dense green light pierced through the storm like a sword. A somewhat ethereal green shark swam out of the clouds.

Thaal widened his eyes and said, "Green Lantern Beast Ion Shark?! How is this possible?!... Ion Man! Hal is the new Ion Man!"

The green shark slowly swam into Hal's body, and a green sun rose from amidst the snowstorm.

Clark refused to back down, emitting a powerful sun-like radiance around him. Just as the two colossal orbs of light were about to collide, a small black fighter jet maneuvered through the light.

From within the Bat Wing, a device was thrown out, and Batman said to Clark, "Keep going, there's a call for you!"

Clark's momentum faltered as he caught the device. He was momentarily stunned but soon the piercing ringtone of the device sounded. He instinctively raised the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?... Uh, Professor, I'm sorry! Something held me up!... Really? You've been waiting for me for a long time? Goodness! I'm truly sorry! I almost forgot why I came here!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming right over... Oh, please don't be angry. I'll explain later. I'm on my way!"

After ending the call, Clark suppressed the radiance around him and said to Hal, "I have urgent matters today. You'll have to wait for me next time!"

After speaking, he flew away. Hal hovered in mid-air, arms crossed, watching his departure. The Green Lanterns below were already cheering.

They chanted the name of Ion Man, and Hal slowly landed in the center of the roundabout. With sufficient Green Lantern energy, he waved his hand, bringing everyone back to headquarters.

Back at the headquarters' ground, Thaal let out a sigh of relief. Approaching Hal, he said, "Excellent recruit, your performance exceeded my expectations."

He glanced at Hal's chest, where the faint image of an Ion Shark was visible. He said, "It seems the Green Lantern Beast Ion Shark has chosen you. You've become a unique Ion Man."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "After former Green Lantern Corps leader Sinestro defected, I also assumed my position under dire circumstances, with inadequate forethought for various situations."

Surveying the Green Lanterns, he said, "Hal, without you, we would've suffered heavy losses there. You saved everyone and deserve a promotion. From today, you're an official Green Lantern."

Everyone cheered, but Thaal gestured for them to lower their voices, saying, "Furthermore, former officer Carol is seriously injured. She'll need some time to recover. I'd like to invite you to be my deputy to compensate for my shortcomings."

Hal was about to modestly decline, but Thaal said, "Please don't refuse. I have a feeling you have the potential to surpass your predecessors. Perhaps, you'll become the greatest Green Lantern in history..."

He extended his hand. Hal hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then went forward, shaking Thaal's hand. Their hands clasped firmly together, both sides' beliefs growing stronger.

Meanwhile, at Rodriguez Manor, Schiller leaned against the sofa's backrest. Batman, sitting across from him, asked, "So, you deliberately created so many coincidences, circled around in such a big loop. What exactly were you aiming to achieve?"

Schiller turned to the side, resting against the armrest of the sofa, and asked, "Remember that mysterious list the CIA agents scoured the entire East Coast for?"

"You mean the Philby List? What does this have to do with it?"

Schiller smiled, and when he looked up, Batman was certain he saw a light of wisdom in this Professor's eyes.

"Perhaps we're about to have a 'Hal List.'"

Within the Green Lantern Corps headquarters, the worn-out and exhausted Green Lanterns had dispersed. After completing the handover of duties with Corps leader Thaal, Hal was the only one left in the central core.

He sighed with mixed feelings, surveyed his surroundings, which were full of devices and screens he didn't understand. As he turned his head to the right, he suddenly noticed that one screen was lit up.

Approaching, he found it seemed to be an office interface Thaal had forgotten to close. Just as he was about to touch it, a line of text appeared on the screen: "Encrypted information, permissions confirming... Confirmation complete."

Hal didn't do anything, but his ring on his hand lit up briefly. Immediately afterward, the entire screen was filled with a densely packed array of information.

There were detailed defense plans for all sectors of the Green Lantern Corps and detailed personal information on all official Green Lanterns.

Hal's heart skipped a beat.

A series of images flashed before his eyes: the corridors of Mayor Manor Dark, Aisha and Dick's enlightening lessons, the mysterious and elderly butler...

He remembered that among the courses Alfred taught was a skill called... the self-cultivation of a spy.

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