Tonight's ritual wasn't a "game" for the_Bruce at all; it was simply an "execution."

Every year, he and his army would secretly arrest several people who opposed the Bat or were disloyal to the "faith." Then, with the help of Dr. Clipper's technology, they would transform them into super villains. Afterward, on the night of December 21st, he would release these people to carry out this so-called chase game.

On the surface, everyone had a chance to win. The "villains" could gain freedom as long as they killed the_Bruce, while the civilians could kill any of the villains to gain the opportunity to challenge and replace the King of Gotham.

But in reality... everything was under the_Bruce's control. The "villains'" vehicles were all tampered with; their brains were messed up by chips; their actions were constantly monitored; and the weapons issued to them all had only one bullet...

In the past years, no one had ever even been able to escape from the vehicles. The reason was simple: without tools or external help, they couldn't break free from their seat belts or other restraints at all. All they could do was drive wildly through the city in a state of mental confusion, eventually dying in a car accident or being hunted down by the_Bruce.

Only in very rare cases would the "villains" be killed by armed civilians. Once that happened, the_Bruce would keep his promise and fight the challenger head-on. But as for the outcome of the battle... as mentioned earlier, the civilians in this universe were just ordinary people through and through. And the_Bruce's body was a war machine that had been modified for many years. The outcome was self-evident.

So, to put it bluntly... the annual "ritual" was actually a blood sacrifice with strong religious overtones.

This ritual would continue in order to allow the people suffering under tyranny and poverty to vent their frustrations and strengthen their faith; to make them realize the power and benevolence of the Bat; to remind them of how terrifying life was without the Bat...

"Gordon, after I take out Two-Face, I'll take a fifteen-minute break. Have the 'Robins' locate Harley and Poison Ivy's coordinates to prepare for the next slaughter." The_Bruce was already planning his next move as he steered the plane toward Xiao Tan.

"Uh... about that." Gordon's voice sounded hesitant from the other side of the intercom, "Two minutes ago, Poison Ivy's tracking signal was also lost... Now her and the Joker's whereabouts are unknown." He paused. "Also... that Harley... she... she somehow got her hands on a melee weapon and used it to destroy all the mobile cameras that tried to approach her, and even blew up two of our hovercraft... I can only order all units to stay away from her for now."

"What did you say?" Bruce couldn't believe his ears (in this independent parallel universe, there was no Justice League). "Are you crazy? Is she an alien?" He shouted angrily, "Forget it... I'll deal with Two-Face and then come back to this." Bruce finished speaking and cut off the communication, because at this time, his Batplane had arrived near Two-Face's out-of-control aircraft.

"Do you have faith?" Bruce took the opportunity to turn on the plane's broadcast function, hovering in mid-air and shouting to the civilians below.

"We do!" "Praise the Bat!" "Loyal to the Bat!" "Long live the Bat God!" The crowd below erupted in a tsunami-like response.

"Good, then... I will give you—Two-Face!" Bruce said, maneuvering the Batplane and accelerating towards the spinning disc aircraft in the sky...

At this moment, Xiao Tan's hands and feet were still fixed to the aircraft. Even with the disc repeatedly spinning, he couldn't fall off. In the uncontrolled, repeated high-speed tilting, Xiao Tan was already dizzy and nauseous; it was good enough that he hadn't thrown up. Facing the oncoming plane, he was almost in despair.

"Hmph... easy." Two seconds before hitting the target, the_Bruce's mouth already revealed a triumphant sneer.

Unexpectedly...

Bang—a loud noise.

A scarlet figure descended from the sky, like a crimson missile, crashing straight into the nose of the Batplane.

"You've got to be kidding me..." A look of surprise rarely seen appeared on the_Bruce's face. Because through the glass of the canopy, he saw a person—the Joker.

Just a few days ago, this "Joker" was still lying in the Bat Castle's laboratory, undergoing the transformation surgery with a look of horror on his face. But at this moment, he seemed to have become another person... In the fierce wind, he stood heroically on the canopy, with a mad smile on his face.

However, the_Bruce's shock didn't last long. The emperor who could rule Gotham for so many years was no ordinary person. In less than two seconds, the_Bruce recovered, grabbed the control stick in front of him, stabilized the fuselage that had tilted due to the impact, and immediately activated the weapon system.

Squeak—squeak—Two machine guns emerged from the wings of the fuselage, locking onto the target at close range.

"Looks like I have to deal with you first..." The_Bruce was a calm and ruthless character. After this scientifically inexplicable mutation occurred, he didn't flinch at all. "Hmph... anyway, those rabble below have already been waiting impatiently."

He thought that as long as the machine guns fired, he could take care of the "Joker" in front of him, but...

Just as the_Bruce's finger was about to press the fire button, Feng Bujue punched through the Batplane's canopy and leaned his upper body into the cockpit.

"Cough—" The next second, a powerful hand grabbed the_Bruce's throat, and he only had time to shout a short syllable before he couldn't make a sound.

"Hi, Bat." Feng Bujue smiled like a mental patient. In every sense, he imitated the part very well. "The game has just begun, why be in such a hurry?" As he said that, he exerted his strength and pulled the_Bruce out of the cockpit.

"You... are... what..." Bruce raised his hands and grabbed Feng Bujue's wrist with all his might, barely relieving some of the pressure on his neck, and squeezed out these words.

"Hehehe... who knows?" Feng Bujue replied with a smile. Then, he raised his hand and threw the King of Gotham off the plane.

The crowd on the ground was silent. People looked up at the sky in stunned silence, watching the King of Gotham fall from the sky.

In the sky, a crazy laughter echoed...