American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Chapter 253 Gathering Information

Although the Pornhub bloggers attracted a lot of traffic by leveraging the Joker's fame, they did not lie to the Joker. After completing the transaction, they readily handed over the personal information of the mercenary captain who led the kidnapping of Harley to the Joker.

The night in Gotham City was overcast, and an ominous atmosphere filled the air.

An ordinary car silently glided into an ordinary residential area. The door opened, and the clown slowly stepped out; his pale face looked particularly terrifying under the streetlights.

Following closely behind was a group of thugs dressed as clowns, wielding baseball bats and various weapons, their eyes revealing a bloodthirsty excitement.

Besides being Joker fans, their main occupations include, but are not limited to, gang members, butchers, rappers, etc. In Gotham, even an old lady selling vegetables can pull out two AKs from under her stall, let alone these fanatical fans who like supervillains.

The clown elegantly straightened his suit and strode briskly toward an ordinary apartment building. His target was clear: the door on the left side of the third floor.

"Tsk tsk tsk," the clown muttered to himself, "What a cozy little nest. What a pity, what a pity."

He raised his white-gloved hand and gently knocked on the door. The knocking echoed in the quiet corridor.

"My dear captain~" the Joker drawled, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery, "how about we make a deal? It's about my lovely Harley."

The room was deathly silent. The clown waited patiently, a sinister smile playing on his lips. Suddenly, a deep, wary voice came from inside the doorway:

"Get out of my way! I know it's you, Joker! If you don't leave, I'll detonate the bomb. I have enough explosives in my room to collapse the whole floor, and you won't be able to escape!"

The clown sighed dramatically, then turned to his henchmen behind him and gave them a helpless look. "It seems our friend doesn't quite know how to treat guests."

The words had barely left his mouth when a deafening gunshot rang out throughout the corridor. The bullet whizzed past the clown's cheek, leaving a bullet hole in the wall.

The clown's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling calmness and a hint of panic after narrowly escaping death.

Quickly suppressing his panic and to prevent his fans from noticing, the Joker slowly pulled out his phone, his long, slender fingers swiping rapidly across the screen.

"Perhaps, my dear captain," the Joker's voice was low and dangerous, "you should check your phone. I have a little surprise for you."

Inside the room, the mercenary captain gripped his pistol tightly, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He hesitated for a moment, then finally reached for his cell phone, which lay to the side.

When he saw the image on the screen, he was struck dumb. It was a photograph showing his daughter tied to a chair, tears streaming down her young face. Her eyes were filled with terror, as if she were silently calling for her father's rescue.

The captain's hand began to tremble, and the pistol fell to the floor with a "click".

Outside the door, the Joker's voice rang out again, this time tinged with triumphant smugness and a hint of threat: "Now, my dear captain, we can have a proper talk. About Harley... and your daughter's future. Open the door, let's sit down and talk like civilized people, shall we?"

A terrifying silence fell over the entire hallway, broken only by the captain's rapid breathing coming from inside the door. The Joker waited patiently, his signature, chilling smile returning to his face.

A minute later, slowly, the door lock clicked open.

The clown grinned widely, pushed open the door, and strode in. His men followed closely behind, quickly taking over every corner of the apartment.

"Ah, what a cozy little nest!" The clown exaggeratedly looked around, finally fixing his gaze on the captain. "Now, let's talk business."

The captain stood in the center of the room, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with a complex mix of anger and fear. "What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

The Joker settled gracefully onto the sofa, crossing his legs as if it were his own territory. "Oh, don't be so tense, dear Captain. I just wanted to know where Harley is. You know, I miss my sweetheart terribly."

The captain swallowed hard, trying to remain calm. "I don't know where she is. It was just a job. I was only responsible for the kidnapping part. After the kidnapping, I handed her over to the contact and that was it. I was just an employee; I really don't know anything."

"Looks like your memory needs a little...stimulation." The clown slowly stood up, pulled a small knife from his pocket, its blade gleaming coldly in the light. "Perhaps we should play a game. Guess which part of your daughter's body is the least important?"

The captain's face turned deathly pale. "No! Please tell me! I'll tell you everything! After the kidnapping, I sent someone to track the contact."

The clown raised an eyebrow, making an exaggerated expression of surprise. "Oh? Go on, I'm all ears."

The captain took a deep breath and continued, "We followed them across most of Gotham City. Finally, we saw the contact take Harley to Wayne Manor."

The room fell into a deathly silence. The clown's expression froze, a fleeting, unreadable emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Wayne Manor?" the Joker repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. If Bruce Wayne had targeted him before because he was going to switch to another company, now that he had signed a contract, why would Bruce Wayne still target him?

"What evidence do you have? I have reason to suspect that you're lying to me about going against Bruce, so you can use someone else to do your dirty work."

The captain lowered his head, his voice trembling slightly: "There's no substantial evidence. We've been very careful, leaving no trace."

The clown raised an eyebrow, making an exaggerated expression of disappointment. But the captain's next words reignited his interest.

"But..." the captain hesitated, then continued, "as far as I know, this isn't the first time Bruce Wayne has done something like this."

The clown's eyes lit up. "Oh? Go on, I'm interested."

The captain took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision. "Before this, my mercenary squad and I have already kidnapped more than one young girl for Bruce Wayne. Not just ordinary people, but even some female celebrities, wealthy women, and even a female headmistress have been kidnapped. You can try to investigate carefully yourself."

"Boss, I think he might be telling the truth," the Joker gang member with clown makeup said. "Before joining the Joker gang, I was a member of another gang. We...we did similar things for Bruce Wayne."

The clown slowly approached him and said, "Go on, tell me more details."

The subordinate took a deep breath and continued, "About two years ago, we received a high-paying job. The target was several beautiful girls from Gotham University. The requirements were very high: blonde hair, blue eyes, good figures, beautiful, and around 170cm tall. We successfully kidnapped three girls who met the criteria, and then..."

"And then?" the clown pressed.

"Then we handed them over to a contact. The contact gave us a large sum of money and warned us never to mention it again. I remember the contact had a tattoo on his arm that looked exactly like Alfred, the butler at Wayne Manor on TV."

(End of this chapter)