Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 382 DC Start: The Joker Dies

How did Xia Zuo survive?

Of course, someone provided him with help and protection.

It's not an orphanage!

Let me emphasize this: Gotham's orphanages are hell!!

Four-year-old Xia Zuo went in, and it almost ended his life, just a hair's breadth away.

That time, his genetic match was 2 percentage points lower than that of another child.

This is the only difference: Xia Zuo survived, while the other child "fell off the bed in the middle of the night and broke his neck."

Xia Zuo and that child lived in the same dormitory, and the records show that he was not at the orphanage on the day he fell to his death.

A few days later, when he returned as a corpse, Xia Zuo ran his hand through the wound on his chest and confirmed that he had no heart, no internal organs, and no eyeballs under his eyelids.

Terrified, Xia Zuo didn't even bother to wash his hands before escaping the orphanage and becoming a homeless child again.

After that, he desperately avoided people like the police and social welfare volunteers, but he was able to survive thanks to the help of ordinary people.

They are just ordinary people.

They are company employees, bakery workers, repairmen, construction workers, department store salespersons, and so on.

They are the underprivileged people of Gotham City, ordinary people whose consciences have not been completely extinguished, and the true producers of this dark city.

Xia Zuo smiled, a smile that was so gentle and warm.

"So, Gotham City isn't just pure hell after all. I knew it! How could pure hell possibly function?"

"Sigh, how could I forget these people who work so diligently and struggle so hard to survive?"

"It seems their spirits have been corrupted by the atmosphere of despair in Gotham City."

"Hehehehe, this can't go on. I can't be an ungrateful bastard."

"Oh dear, where should I begin—who should I kill—?"

Suddenly, a sharp ringing sound rang out. It turned out that the Joker Gang had received a message on the phone. The message was very simple, just a small part of a robbery plan.

Fei Xiazuo's assigned task is to rob a school bus tomorrow, then drive it into the bank at 14:20 PM to pick up the others.

No, to meet someone.

Xia Zuo tilted his head, looked at "a person" over and over again several times, and then suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha, who is it? It's you, Heath Ledger!"

"I've been hanging out with the Joker gang for a year now, and I've never seen the real Joker. I wonder which version it is. Turns out it's the craziest and most insane Joker ever."

"Let me think...the school bus driver got hit by it too, right? —Interesting!"

"This is so much fun!"

"Is this because I've been in the Joker's gang for too long, and they're going to take me seriously?"

"No wonder the Joker's gang doesn't have many traitors; it turns out they have a strict 'expiration date.'"

"Hahaha, this is hilarious!"

"You mad clown, can you withstand my power?"

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

The next afternoon.

14:00

Two guys wearing clown masks set up a zipline from the skyscraper opposite the bank and glided to the top of the building where the bank was located with great skill.

14:02

Three men wearing clown masks drove a black SUV toward the bank's main entrance.

Throughout the journey, the driver and the two people in the passenger seat kept complaining that there were just too many people involved.

They also complained that the clowns who planned the events were getting paid for just coming up with ideas, which was too much.

14:03

The two people on the rooftop began to tamper with the electrical distribution box, cutting off the alarm signal.

14:04

The three passengers got off the vehicle, carrying large suitcases and armed with automatic submachine guns and pistols, and rushed into the bank.

Two of them skillfully began the robbery process: firing shots to intimidate, knocking down guards, taking hostages, and verbally threatening them.

Pull the alarm off.

The third silent clown unfolds his duffel bag, appearing timid and shy.

The two skilled robbers took control of the bank lobby within a minute, but they overlooked the lobby manager's office.

Clearly, these two guys aren't locals; they're from out of town.

In Gotham, who doesn't know that the bank's lobby manager is a ruthless bank robber?

14:07

The professionals on the rooftop cut off all external communications to the bank, and then he was killed by his tall accomplice behind him.

"One less person means one more dollar."

14:08

One of the skilled robbers, carrying equipment, entered the bank's vault and began to target the security door.

Another robber used a rapid-fire, monologue-like approach to intimidate the bank employees and prevent them from making any rash moves.

The cowardly robber took out a grenade from his bag, forced the bank staff to hold it tightly, and then pulled the safety, scaring them so much that they couldn't do anything.

14:10

The bank lobby manager stepped in, using a shotgun with its barrel sawed off to take down the frantically intimidating robber who was trying to provide backup.

The manager then pushed the cowardly robber to the other end of the hall, but the tall robber who rushed down from the rooftop used him to kill him, injuring his right thigh and abdomen.

14:11

The tall robber was very dissatisfied, but time was of the essence. He could only head to the vault with his backpack, work with the guy who had been electrocuted once to break open the vault door, and then kill another professional.

14:19

The burly robber, his bag full of cash, returned to the bank lobby. He then raised his gun and aimed it at the cowardly robber: "I bet the Joker told me that once I've filled the bag with money, you can kill me."

The plan he received included three murders to increase his profits. As a professional robber, he couldn't help but suspect that his last accomplice was planning to kill him.

The cowardly robber replied, "No, no, no, I killed the bus driver."

The tall robber was dumbfounded: "What bus driver? There's a sixth person?"

14:20

Xia Zuo arrived on time, reversed his car and drove into the bank, knocking the tall robber flying.

[It's really interesting. The process of robbery is a process of constantly wearing down one's accomplices. Such a frenzied killing would terrify not only the bank employees, but even the lobby manager, who came from a gang, wouldn't be able to react for a moment.]

What a master manipulator!

After helping to move the money bag, Xia Zuo unsurprisingly took half a magazine of bullets. He let out an exaggerated scream and fell down next to the school bus.

The smug clown didn't even bother to check whether Xia Zuo was alive or dead, and threw the last bag of money, which was the bag of money that the skilled robber had scavenged from the lobby, into the school bus.

Then he was drawn in by the lobby manager's resentful questioning, and patiently walked over to him, whereupon he proclaimed his insane philosophy: "My principle is that what doesn't kill you makes you even more—weird."

Then he removed the clown's mask, revealing a clown's face painted with oil paint.

That twisted, insane aura, the maniacal scars on his cheeks from knife cuts—all of this proves one thing: this is the Joker himself.

Upon realizing this, the lobby manager's eyes widened, and he even forgot about the grenade shoved into his mouth. He stared at the clown in a daze of fear, his mind completely blank.

"No, no, no, that shouldn't be said." Xia Zuo was finally satisfied, especially after seeing the clown's true face, which made his heart tremble.

I'm so excited! This is the common idol of Gotham's psychopaths, the immortal, limitless criminal star, the supervillain without any superpowers—the Joker!

I'm going to kill you!

Xia Zuo stood up laughing, removed his clown mask, revealing a monkey mask, or more accurately, a mask of Sun Wukong.

He said to the clown who turned to look at him, "I should say: What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

"That's what Nietzsche said, right?"

The clown tilted his head, asking in confusion, "Bulletproof vest? Superpowers?"

Xia Zuo spread his arms and answered frankly, "Of course, it's superpowers."

The bullets that struck his body with a clang fell out from the tears in his clothes, each one bright and intact, showing no signs of impact.

The clown's pupils contracted, and he reached behind his back to pull out a pistol, firing repeatedly at Xia Zuo while simultaneously turning and running to the left.

The clown flipped over and grabbed a submachine gun from the fallen, skilled robber, snatched a grenade from a hostage, then turned and opened fire wildly, throwing grenades as well.

Rat-a-tat-tat—BOOM!

Xia Zuo didn't move at all, not even changing the way he spread his arms. He just turned his head to watch the clown react.

It's like watching a clown.

We should take more time to look at it, because if we don't, we might not be able to see it again.

It is said that as long as Batman lives, the Joker will continue to emerge, but by then, the new Joker will no longer be the purely insane Joker of today.

The clown dropped his gun because he saw all the bullets he had fired, as well as the shrapnel from the grenade explosion, hovering in front of Xia Zuo.

He tilted his head again and exclaimed, "It really is a superpower, and it even makes me immune to bullets."

The clown mimicked Xia Zuo, opening his arms wide: "You seem to be a member of my clown gang?"

Xia Zuo lowered his hands, and bullets and shrapnel fell to the ground: "Yes, I've been a member of the Joker Gang for a year now, and luckily I'm still alive."

The clown sighed, "A year, that's a long time."

"But for someone with such powerful superpowers as you, surviving is to be expected; it has nothing to do with luck."

"I don't understand, you could have killed me directly, why did it take you so long?"

Xia Zuo: "Can I say this is a coincidence?"

Joker: "A very good reason. The world is always full of coincidences."

"Only a coincidence could make you appear in front of me so suddenly, giving me no time to prepare and pushing me into a deadly situation."

He clapped with his outstretched hands, his elbows deliberately straightened, making the clapping very exaggerated: "Hahaha, well done! Finally, someone can kill me! Hahaha!"

"Ah~~, can I ask you why you killed me?"

Xia Zuo thought for a moment: "How should I put it? I'm an orphan. I've been wandering around Gotham since I was 4 years old. It was thanks to the kindness of many people who gave me food that I was able to live to the age where I can fight people."

"I owe Gotham a life, I owe those who earn their own living through work a life, I have to repay this city, I have to repay those kind people."

"Now that I've coincidentally gained power, I can finally do something, so I want to give it a try."

The clown asked in surprise, "Your solution is to kill me?"

Xia Zuo nodded: "Mm."

The Joker laughed loudly: "Killing people can solve Gotham's problems? That's hilarious! If Batman heard this, he'd laugh his head off."

Xia Zuo said, "Gotham is so rotten because of your recklessness, isn't it? Killing you might not eliminate the root cause and could even breed new evils, but at least we can have some peace and quiet before the next supervillain emerges."

The Joker nodded in agreement: "You're right. If we kill fast enough, most people can live a better life."

He pinched his right index finger and thumb together, leaving a tiny gap between the fingertips: "Just a little, no more."

Xia Zuo scoffed, "It's no better than nothing."

"Moreover, while you're alive, there are far too many self-destructive criminals you can incite. The improvement caused by killing you will not be just a little bit, but a hundred million times more."

"Hehehehe, the thought of taking down the Joker as my first step in changing Gotham is truly exciting."

The clown's eyes widened, as if he were caught in some kind of agitation: "You're a madman too, that's great."

"Come on! Kill me. Batman never dared to kill me, for fear of going insane. I never thought I'd die at the hands of another madman."

Xia Zuo roared, "Don't compare me to that idiot Batman—beep beep beep—beep—! He's a coward, an arrogant, suspicious, shameless, double-standard coward!"

"He doesn't even have the courage to kill, yet he wants to protect Gotham. He's just a spoiled brat who treats Gotham like a playground, playing a real-life game of morality and emotion."

"He's just playing around!!"

"But the Gothamites are willing to pay with their lives as the price for playing the game and protecting their sense of moral sanctity."

"Batman is a coward, the true source of evil!"

The Joker laughed, a hideous and terrifying laugh: "Hahahaha, well said! Batman is a coward! He's the true source of evil! Ahahaha!"

"Come on, kill me! Make Batman go crazy, make the game more fun!"

"I will die, but the Joker will not die. As long as Gotham exists, the Joker will not die."

"Next time, it'll be the Joker who murders you—"

Xia Zuo pushed Sun Wukong's mask up, revealing a smile even more exaggerated than the clown's: "As you wish, I look forward to the clown's return, I look forward to your assassination, I can't wait to experience the clown's conspiracy."

As he spoke, Xia Zuo clasped his hands together as if he were choking someone, and then suddenly twisted them. The clown's neck, several meters away, twisted 270 degrees in sync, breaking his cervical vertebrae.

The clown blinked, smiled one last time, and fixed that smile on his dying face, never to fade.

Then the Joker died.