What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 1007 Chen Tao's Voluntary Retirement Plan

In the dimension of death, time has no meaning.

Whether you refuse to leave or struggle desperately, death will not force you. You can struggle in the twists and turns of life, or even cling to death's leg and cry. Believe me, death has seen far more complex situations than this.

But they will all eventually meet their end.

For Chen Tao, he had done everything he could; the rest... was just waiting.

But that doesn’t mean he intends to do nothing.

Unlike other dead who directly witness death, each person who witnesses death means that they have been completely forgotten by the DC and the multiverse, and no one will ever receive their soul again, such as the Red of All Beings, the Green of All Things, or even other death gods like the Black Death Emperor or the Black Lightning.

When they witness death, it means their departure is inevitable, directly equivalent to those on Earth 15 who were taken away by death.

But Chen Tao's encounter with death is somewhat different from that of ordinary people.

Death was demanding a choice from him.

Choose a sacrifice from the DC multiverse to fulfill the sacrifice he just sent Papetua back to the Origin Wall.

Whether it's Chen Tao or death, both of them know perfectly well that the sacrifice could only be one person: Chen Tao himself.

But Chen Tao still had the value of buying time; he had to ensure that Papetua's last bit of counterattack was extinguished.

What's even more interesting is that even though Chen Tao has decided to follow death, he still prepared a backup plan for the DC multiverse to counter Papetua.

The Laughing Bat had already escaped, and Chen Tao knew very well just how terrifying the Laughing Bat was.

Whether it's the Emperor Joker or the Night Owl, the combined strength of the two of them might be able to barely contend with the Laughing Maniac for a short time, and might be able to temporarily control the Laughing Maniac's consciousness and corrupt his thinking. But when the Laughing Maniac frees up his hands and begins to show his almost omnipotent plans, no matter how terrifying the Night Owl and the Emperor Joker are, they can only suffer a complete defeat in the end.

Before leaving, Chen Tao did his best to scare away the maniacal laughter.

As he thought of this, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

But with his departure, regardless of whether the Bat of Laughter truly believed Chen Tao was the Bat of Laughter himself, the intimidation effect would completely fade.

The Batman Who Laughs will continue to manipulate the Manhattan Bat to carry out his plans. As for the future of the DC multiverse after his departure, it might be the Dark Knight of the Batman Who Laughs, or it might be a superhero alliance that defeats him—it's all possible that it will be beyond his control.

really?
You may have forgotten that Batman's most dangerous trait is his insatiable and perpetual desire for control over everything.

Chen Tao also prepared a gift for the Laughing Bat.

Superman Chen Tao.

(Chapter 992, The Laughing Bat sucks Superman Chen Tao into its body)
Superman Chen Tao's consciousness has never manifested within Kuang Xiao's body; it has always remained hidden deep within.

For a long time, the Batman Who Laughs has been fighting against the Emperor Joker, the Joker, Night Owl, and Foolish Owl within him, mixed with some of the bat family he formed from his memories.

Do you think that after seeing his entire Bat-family, the Batman Who Laughs might suspect that Batman Dragon actually secretly cultivated a Bruce Wayne inside him?

Of course, Chen Tao didn't say that it would be easy for the Batman Who Laughs to deal with the Emperor Joker and his gang, but it would definitely take some time.

The Emperor Joker, Night Owl, and Foolish Owl were, after all, once living beings, not personalities that grew out of the Batman Who Laughs.

Chen Tao was certain that when the Batman Who Laughs really pushed him too far, the Foolish Owl and his personalities, as well as the Emperor Joker, would try every means to escape from the Batman Who Laughs and find a body outside of him.

They are powerful, unlike the other personalities within the Batman Who Laughs, such as Nightwing and Robin... They are simply aggregates constructed from the Batman Who Laughs' memories of his former bat family.

They possess a complete consciousness, but their power is weak.

A weak personality cannot possibly contend with maniacal laughter for control.

This applies to Nightwing and his personality, as well as to the Bruce Wayne personality that emerged within The Laughing Maniac.

Chen Tao needs to find a sufficiently powerful entity to attach to Bruce Wayne's personality, powerful enough to help him fight against the Batman Who Laughs, while also preventing the Batman Who Laughs from making the difficult decision to eliminate both personalities.

Who can stand up to the Bat Who Laughs head-on?
Who can be fearless against the Bat of Laughter and truly pose a threat to him?

The core of a universe.

The core of the DC multiverse, Superman, would be a good fit, but unfortunately, the DC multiverse still needs this core, and Chen Tao cannot use him to fill the body of the Batman Who Laughs.

And the core of another universe... is Superman Chen Tao.

He is the core of the Infant Multiverse. If a multiverse is likened to a program, the creator of this multiverse undoubtedly has the highest authority. Later, he gave half of his highest authority to the core of the universe, Superman Chen Tao, and expected the other party to obey him.

but it is not the truth.

I started planning my story with Superman Chen Tao a long time ago; his name, and even the meaning behind his existence, are directly derived from me.

I am Chen Tao, and a long time ago, I left a backup plan for Superman Chen Tao.

(Please refer to Chapter 881 for details)
Maniacal laughter, Night Owl, Joker...

Even the self-generated personalities of Nightwing, Alfred, and others...

These are merely illusions, used to distract the Laughing Bat.

Soon, the Batman Who Laughs will spawn a Bruce Wayne, the Batman who was not yet corrupted by the Joker virus, and he will be resurrected.

And Superman Chen Tao will accept him; a Batman plus a Superman, the world's best partners.

After the Laughing Bruce personality is conceived, it leaves behind a fake embryo in its place. After the Laughing Bruce personality has driven out and suppressed all other personalities, it will find an "undeveloped Bruce" deep in its mind and crush it to pieces.

Look, you've torn apart all the blues I've carefully hidden. What else do you have to worry about?

Then the interesting part happened.

Superman Chen Tao and the true Bruce personality of Maniac Laughter will disappear from Maniac Laughter's sight and then quietly begin to develop.

They will appear at the most opportune time.

It was a way of laughing hysterically that I could never get rid of.

Superman Chen Tao will portray a personality that is completely intertwined with Bruce's.

Just like Bruce Wayne and Batman.

And then... Chen Tao's lie came true.

Chen Tao knew he had lied to the Bat of Laughter, and the Bat of Laughter would never be foolish enough to believe him once he realized what had happened.

But from the moment Superman Chen Tao and Bruce's personality connected, the maniac could no longer disbelieve it.

Because the madness of laughter will eventually lead to the discovery of a Chen Tao within one's own body.

That was his twin with his Bruce personality.

In every remaining day and night of his life filled with manic laughter, the name Chen Tao will become his curse.

Although Chen Tao himself has passed away and followed death, the work and projects he left behind will continue to be carried out. Chen Tao knew that someone would take over his plan because he left this plan to Bruce Wayne, the Batman of the main universe.

He had already envisioned his own death when he was planning with the main universe's Batman.

He always kept thorough records of his work, ensuring he wouldn't be the one who suddenly died and left everyone wondering what he had done. He was always so well-prepared.

Chen Tao chuckled softly.

Then he couldn't laugh anymore.

"I'd like to ask if I'm still eligible to take on the role of all the Batmen and Death."

Chen Tao asked in a low voice about death.

"No."

He received a loud rejection from death.

And that is indeed the case. Batman's God of Death? This position is awarded to the undead. Simply put, they are dead, but they still have their own will and move around in the DC multiverse on their own, belonging to a certain realm of death, similar to Black Lantern Corpses.

They are indeed dead, but they're jumping around more energetically than the living. Chen Tao, however, is in a situation where he has to confront death itself.

This is the final journey, the end of life. Once you die, you are gone forever, vanished into death.

Everything in the DC multiverse will end up like this. In the end, even the personification of death itself will die in the concept of death. It is the ultimate annihilation, leaving no room for negotiation.

Chen Tao once had the opportunity to play the role of Death in Batman, but he refused. Now, even if he wanted to, he no longer has the chance.

Chen Tao stamped his foot listlessly.

Okay, finally, this is the opportunity.

He could not imagine the world after death, because no one had ever come back after death to tell him what it was like; everything could only be imagined.

If the mother of Earth's 15 Calamities could emerge from death and tell him, "Hey, this is all so comfortable, it's just a permanent retirement!"

He would be so happy that he would plunge his head into death and then stuff his whole body inside.

But no, no one will come to tell him.

Even the Sandman, of course Chen Tao was referring to as the former Sandman Morpheus, as a member of the Infinity Family, after embracing death forever, was never seen by anyone again.

“You once said that after I embrace death, I will find eternal peace, a drink that can never be finished. I’ve vaguely recalled what you claimed. Are you sure… that will happen?”

Chen Tao raised questions.

He was trying to make mental preparations.

Although Chen Tao knew he was already prepared and had no other choice.

"It's true." Then he heard the gothic girl with the parasol listlessly tell him:

"I've told you this so many times."

"But what theory do you have to support all of this?" Chen Tao asked. "What makes you say that those things exist in the dead? Is there any video or graphic evidence to prove it?"

"I've already said it, I am death itself. What I say goes, and it will definitely happen, but I can't tell you these things. So, which one have you chosen? Have you come with me yet? Can you hurry up?"

"What will you do to me if I'm not happy?"

"...I'll wait for you to make a choice. I'm very patient, but if I really get impatient, listen."

Chen Tao felt a sense of being forced.

He looked at the gothic girl in front of him, and the gothic girl also seemed somewhat sad.

“I can’t go against my instincts. You can take your time choosing, you know, I’m very gentle, I would never rush any of the dead.”

But instinctively, I must ask you a question. If it comes to a point where there's absolutely no time to delay any longer, and I have to take someone with me, who should I take first?

Chen Tao knew he couldn't avoid answering the question.

The rules of death are forcing the girl who is dying, and also forcing her.

Chen Tao opened his mouth.

For a moment, he considered saying another name, but he quickly dismissed the thought, as cleanly as if he had swept away a pile of garbage, just like when he first became Batman and swept away the negative emotions associated with the Batmobile like garbage.

So precise and rational, like a cruel machine that strips away humanity.

"I."

He said.

"So, even death itself doesn't know what happens after entering the realm of death, right?"

Chen Tao took a deep breath: "You described those visions after death, which is just... a kind of end-of-life care? Because you don't even know what will happen after death, because death itself has never entered death. You are just the personification of death, but you have never died."

The girl who died did not answer Chen Tao's guess.

She remained silent, then struggled to say, "No, but I am death, I just know..."

"I see."

Chen Tao raised his chest: "I understand. There's nothing more to say, right now, right now."

He said, "Take me with you."

He felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and he finally said those words.

He found peace instead.

He never believed in a better world after death; when a person dies, they are simply dead.

Those words of comfort only made him feel worse. After experiencing so much hope and disappointment, constantly thinking that he could touch the edge of victory, only to fall into the abyss again, Chen Tao no longer believed that there was any beautiful world in this world.

If one harbors overly optimistic expectations about death and enters into eternal sleep with hope, then this kind of end-of-life care might be a gentle approach for others, but Chen Tao doesn't need it.

A person who has been lucid their whole life would rather die like it's a dream.

He would simply hold his head high, knowing full well that he was awaiting eternal annihilation.

But he did not experience the death he had imagined.

He heard Death say, "No, I don't need you anymore."

"what?"

“You can’t retire now, I think… Batman Dragon, you might need a plan for voluntary retirement.”

He heard Death say this.

He didn't even react.

(End of this chapter)