American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

"Backup point number 3".

Bruce walked ahead, the lights on his gauntlets cutting through the years of darkness.

Xiu En followed behind him. This time, the metallic clanging sound came not only from the soles of his shoes, but more like from his own bones.

"Seriously, boss."

Xiu En reached out and wiped his hand on a dusty control panel, the faint silver sheen on his fingertips preventing the dust from sticking.

"Do all Batmen have hamster syndrome? Do they dig a few holes to store nuts every time they arrive at a new place?"

The spare room wasn't large; it contained only a simple control panel and a few servers that looked like they were designed for long-term hibernation.

Bruce skillfully activated the system. The screen flickered a few times before lighting up, the only source of light in this deathly silent space.

Green characters cascaded down like a waterfall; it was another Batman's life's combat record, including a psychological profile of Bane, a chemical analysis of Venom, and... his final words.

Copying encrypted logs.

Bruce's fingers typed on the keyboard so fast that they were just afterimages.

"These are not just data, Shuen. Every single byte represents a lesson he learned with his life. My world... cannot become like this."

This is one of the many "hidden burrows" Bruce has laid out in this world. Theoretically, as long as Bane doesn't tear the entire earth's crust upside down, this place is safe.

Everything here.

System architecture.

The logic of cryptography.

Even the backdoor program hidden under the gibberish was exactly the same as the settings in the original world.

"It feels like coming home, right?"

Xiu En didn't dare sit in that swivel chair that looked like it was going to collapse, so he leaned against the supporting pillar next to him.

[Data synchronization in progress... 25%... 45%...]

The green progress bar on the screen was jumping rapidly.

Although the Batman of this world has lost his back, the advanced technology blueprints he accumulated over the past decades, the analysis of the weaknesses of various supervillains, and even the confidential files about a certain energy reaction are all flowing into the black hard drive in Bruce's hands.

"What do you call this? Cross-dimensional academic exchange?"

Xiu En's gaze at the hard drive was a little strange, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"It contains knowledge that could either destroy or save the world."

Bruce didn't even turn his head; he was cracking the last firewall.

[Alert! Unauthorized intrusion detected!]

When the progress bar reached 99%, all the red lights in the base suddenly started flashing wildly, and a piercing buzzing sound echoed in the empty tunnel.

This is a self-destruct program originating from the Bat computer.

"It seems that my other self is also very stingy and doesn't like others touching his things."

Bruce calmly pulled out the hard drive and casually typed a command on the keyboard: [Overwrite: Silence Protocol].

Xiu En did not cause any trouble.

He leaned against the server rack, feeling the vibrations of the high-speed hard drive.

Strangely, he found the vibration quite familiar.

"Hey, that red port in the bottom left corner."

Xiu En suddenly spoke up.

"There's a logic lock that hasn't been opened yet; the password should be the reverse of that string of random characters."

Bruce tried it once, just as Shum had suggested.

Access Permission: Authorized

"You...understood the code?"

Bruce turned to look at Shum, his eyes full of inquiry.

"I didn't see it."

Xiu En pointed to his head.

"I heard it. They were screaming, like birds in a cage. I just pried open the cage door a little."

[System notification: Metal resonance triggered. You seem to find yourself able to understand these lifeless lumps of iron more intuitively.]

Xiu En shrugged and looked at his palm.

"It seems that this so-called Shaohao Golden Body is not just about making people thick-skinned."

"Copy complete."

Bruce removed a black storage disk and carefully placed it into a special slot in his armor belt.

He looked around the room again.

He knew that taking this was not just about intelligence, but also about a heavy responsibility.

Proving the failure of another universe is not meaningless.

"Let's go."

When the two returned to the Batmobile.

"Boss, that?"

Xiu En was sitting in the passenger seat when he accidentally crushed the metal buckle while fastening his seatbelt. He awkwardly let go of it.

"Actually... if you want to hear it, I feel like I can make up a couple of jokes about that Bane guy in our world. I think mental attacks are more effective than physical attacks."

Bruce didn't respond to his lame joke; he just gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"No."

The deep voice sounded particularly firm amidst the roar of the engine.

"There won't be any jokes. Before he destroys my Gotham, I'll teach him a lesson in real fear."

The waveform on the screen flickered in a glaring red, and the data stream slid rapidly across Bruce's goggles.

The cockpit of the Batmobile was filled with the hum of machinery as this steel beast carried travelers from three worlds as it raced through the cracks of space.

Bruce's fingers tapped on the virtual keyboard without turning around, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"Put it down, Shuen. I know you always eat some weird things, but I really don't recommend you eat this, even though you're usually quite... well, don't eat it unless you want your brain to grow as big as a walnut."

Hugh had previously placed a can of Venom in the Batmobile, and now it was being shaken like a swirling wine glass, the liquid clinging to the sides of the test tube and emitting a fluorescent glow.

"You mean this?"

Xiu En brought the jar to his nose and smelled it.

The system sent a notification about "highly corrosive energy".

Three months ago, Bain was the world's top strategist.

Bruce's voice was deep.

"This log shows that he pushed the limits of dosage in pursuit of ultimate power, at the cost of irreversible damage to his cerebral cortex. The muscle-bound guys we encounter are simply those who haven't evolved to the point where they need to use their brains, or who simply don't have the brains to use."

Xiu En's system pop-up appeared, the font conveying a sense of disappointment and frustration.

[It's tasteless to eat, and not a pity to throw away. I suggest using it to water flowers, huh? Even flowers won't do. If you dare swallow this filthy thing, you will tarnish the reputation of Shao Hao, and I will punish you by making you copy the *Huang Ting Jing* ten thousand times.]

"cut."

Xiu En disdainfully tossed the jar of miracle drug back into his tactical pocket.

"Don't worry, boss, I'm a very picky eater. And why would I waste my brain on this kind of contraband that's useless except for glowing?"

"pay close attention."

Bruce suddenly let out a low shout.

The view outside the car window stretched from those distorted Gotham buildings into mere lines in an instant.

The powerful dimensional anchoring of the Shadow House took effect, and the entire other world seemed to be rapidly pulled away by an invisible hand.

A strong feeling of weightlessness came over me instantly.

Xiu En's body, which had just been reinforced with half a metal weight, was fine, but the sunflower Ivy in his pocket clearly didn't have that much resistance to pressure.

A vibrant green vine suddenly sprouted out and, like a seatbelt, strangled Xiu En's neck.

Or rather, it was constricted by the metal trachea that didn't actually need to breathe much.

"Buzz—thump!"

The Batmobile returned to the Shadow House.

The Batmobile crashed heavily to the ground, its ghost tires even carving four shallow furrows in the earth.

"You're back?"

Xiu En forcefully ripped the plant-shaped safety belt around his neck. His voice was particularly penetrating in the basement, and the metallic friction was more pronounced than before.

"Phew, I have to say, the air outside Gotham smells sweeter..."

Bruce took off his helmet.

He glanced at the hard drive in his hand, then at his lively teammate beside him.

"This is just the beginning."

He said in a low voice.