Laughing American comics, I am becoming more and more like a clown

"Sorry, I'm late." Jenny hurried over after a while, her face pale and trembling.

Lucian turned a blind eye: "It doesn't matter. It would be unsafe if you were waiting for me."

Jenny bit her lip, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start. She walked to the nightclub in silence, changed into her work clothes, and continued working until the early hours of the morning. As the number of people gradually decreased, she finally uttered her second sentence after Lucian brought two more desserts from the kitchen.

"My mother believes in the Holy Bat."

Lucien:?

Chapter 102 "Resistance"

Saint Bat?

Even though I was mentally prepared that Batman = Batman = God, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I heard it suddenly.

"I just found out about this, too—she went to church." Jenny used a fork to break up the pastry. "...I told her that the cult would kill us sooner or later. I told her...that it wasn't Batman at all."

Jenny was around twenty years old, and Wayne died twenty-five years ago, so Lucien asked, "How do you know that wasn't Batman?"

"Batman doesn't kill people... and Batman is a human." Jenny bit her lip. "My father used to work for him, but he stopped being involved as far as I can remember. He told me and my mom... that wasn't Batman."

"So in this situation, your mother still believed in the Holy Bat?"

Jenny had already messed up the dessert in front of her with her fork: "I saw her go to church for worship with my own eyes."

Lucian poured her a glass of warm water and remained silent.

Jenny took a sip and said, "...Actually, my father was killed by the cult when I was ten years old."

That would have been fifteen years since Wayne's death.

"He participated in the rebellion against the Saint Bat... and was..." She paused, biting her lip, her facial muscles twitching involuntarily: "Then he was controlled by his voice... and his companions were tied to the cross and killed."

"Then cut off my own limbs... and died of blood loss." Jenny's expression gradually became withdrawn. This seemed to be her usual method of dealing with unbearable things:

"I still remember that he first clamped the knife between his legs and broke his arm, and then used his mouth to break his leg bit by bit... The Holy Bat didn't control him all the time; it was released after he did these things."

"I thought I would hear my father scream." Jenny's expression was cold enough. "But unfortunately, when he broke his leg, he also smashed his tongue... He could only writhe on the ground, but fortunately he died quickly."

"So... I don't understand why my mother would get involved and become a believer."

Lucien didn't try to get her a tissue. He paused for a moment and said, "Maybe you should ask her? You've been together for so long... maybe you can be honest with her?"

It's silence.

There was a sudden knock on the counter and both of them looked up.

It's Lilith.

"Sorry." She blinked and said playfully, "Are you guys plotting out loud? I've been pretending not to hear anything about the Saint Bat, the Order, or Batman... But you, my little girl, you can't expect me to only listen to Daddy or Mommy."

"I mean..." Lilith paused, then whispered, "Perhaps you two would like to join the resistance?"

……

As we all know, being Batman's enemy doesn't end well, let alone being a murderous Batman.

……

So Lucien said, "My pleasure."

Jenny pursed her lips, collected her emotions, and nodded.

……

Lucian worked in this nightclub for more than 20 days, but he never realized that it was actually a secret contact point for the rebels.

"Then what? No identity registration is required? Family census? Or loyalty test?" Lucien couldn't help asking as they were led into the basement.

"Dear, have you forgotten? These are the things you need to fill out on the job application form."

"As for loyalty..." Lilith smiled. "No one worries about that. No one wants to be controlled by that so-called god. They just gather together to resist in order to avoid kneeling... There's no need for a loyalty test. We're all loyal to ourselves."

……

Saint Bat has ruled Gotham for twenty-five years. As it stands, except for the brainwashed cult and the believers who follow his lead, the rest are enemies.

……

"Isn't he really Batman? Why is he also called Bat?"

As he approached the basement, Lucien first heard this question, followed by an old, hoarse voice explaining:

"That's just something he calls himself... How can he be compared to Batman?"

"Then who is he?"

"He was once the Angel of Death—Jean-Paul! This thief and robber took advantage of Bane attacking Batman and killing him when Batman was seriously injured!"

As they got closer, they saw the owner of the voice - his face was disfigured and it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman. Judging from the condition of his skin, they could tell that he was about forty years old.

"This is Selina Kyle, the former Catwoman." Lilith said, "Now we all call her the Disfigured Woman."

……

Catwoman has delicate facial features and a perfect figure, and is loved by people for her cunning, sexiness, elegance, wildness, and contradictions.

She is "Gotham's Cat" at night, "Nightcrawler", "Queen of Thieves"... and she is also Batman's lover.

……

Lucian found it difficult to match the person in front of him, who was indistinguishable as a man or woman, had a disfigured appearance, thinning hair, and even a lame leg, with the beautiful woman in his memory.

"And what about that thief? He's been trying to control Gotham for so long with that useless philosophy... He's almost broken, and he's now using Titan Venom to stay alive." Catwoman's voice was as hoarse as Batman's voice changer:

"And that thing is drugs. He will become addicted to it, his sanity will diminish... and he will eventually die."

……

As they walked past here and went to another room, Lucian noticed that one of Catwoman's eyes was dull, and the other eye did not move at their presence.

"She's crazy," said Lucien.

Lilith was a little surprised, but quickly nodded and admitted: "She has been crazy for a long time."

"You can ask her about Batman's past, she remembers it better than anyone else. You can also ask her for advice on raising a cat, and she can give you answers... but not much more."

"When did this happen?"

"When did she go crazy?" Lilith closed the door, poured them each a cup of coffee, and recalled carefully: "About twenty years ago... After the news of Batman's death came out, she organized an assassination against the Angel of Death."

"It failed... She disappeared for a long time afterwards. We found her among the dead bodies of many cats... She gradually went crazy after that."

"Remember not to call her by her name, and don't call her Catwoman... You can call her the Disfigured Woman or the Crazy Woman." Lilith's expression was slightly sad.

"That's what she asked for during one of the few times she regained her sanity."

Lucien pursed his lips, wanting to ask why he didn't kill her, but then felt that he shouldn't say that, so he remained silent.

"Let's get back to the topic." Lilith finally spoke.

Chapter 103 "The Truth"

The coffee is mixed with saccharin, which makes it not bitter but rather intoxicatingly sweet.

"Let me first explain the benefits..." Lilith pointed outside the door: "A fixed-point NPC who will answer Batman and the cat's questions."

"Some unlimited coffee, ice, saccharine, and the occasional cookie dessert."

She seemed to want to liven up the atmosphere, but after she finished speaking, she smiled and held her chin to look at the man in front of her who showed no emotion and the slightly nervous woman:

"I should talk about the brutal struggles of the resistance army, discuss their benefits and difficulties, or give an impassioned speech, condemn the crimes of the Saint Bat, have a heart-to-heart conversation... and then have a novice quest? Something like that."

"This is a tactic I've been repeating for a long time, but the two of you here are different from previous protesters... How about we have a game?" Lilith pulled a dice from under the table. "Truth or Dare?"

……

The snow-white dice spun on the table, making a ticking sound - and then were covered in the dice cup, casting a long shadow under the cold light of the incandescent lamp above.

"This is a completely normal, brand new dice, untouched. You two can examine it at will. As for the rules of the game..."

"The dice roll starts with me, and continues clockwise. The player who rolls the dice chooses the way to play. 2 and 4 are questions for the right-hand side, 3 and 5 are questions for the left-hand side, and 1 and 6 are skipped."

……

No one objected, so they played a few rounds of standard questions like "How many squats have you done?", "Have you ever been in a relationship?", "What's your favorite color?", etc. When the dice came to Lucian's hand again and he rolled a 4, Lilith suddenly spoke:

"Are you from out of town or a local?"

Lucien: “Local.”

From this moment on, the problem becomes acute.

……

Lilith asked Jenny, "How do you want to treat your mother?"

Jenny was silent for a long time. No one urged her. Only the second hand of the clock hanging in the room moved one by one.

She finally said, "...I'll try to convince her."

The dice rolled again, and Lilith rolled a 5. Lucian looked her in the eye: "Why did you choose to recruit me?"

Lilith smiled: "Someone recommended you."

Then Lucian and Jenny both rolled 1, and Lilith rolled 6, and they were silent for a round.

It was Lucien's turn again, and he rolled a 4, but Jenny just asked a random question.

They tacitly directed their attacks at Lilith, but Lilith didn't care. They exchanged questions and answers with each other.

……

Lucian asked Lilith, "Who recommended me?"

"Catwoman."

Catwoman?

This was beyond his expectations.

"What's the reason?"

"I don't know, but I believe her."