From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all. (Author: Lost and Unreturned)

Leo is a simple, pure, and easily satisfied person. Unlike those who like to save the world, he only pursues two small things in life—money and immortality.

But even such humble and harmless requests were obstructed by many "big shots," making him unhappy.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Saburo Arasaka, Batman, Iron Man, Black Panther... names like these were all written in his notebook, which was really—very—very annoying!

And that damn clown, he hates the clown!

He vowed that if he ever gained control of Arkham Asylum, he would enforce the policy of "removal of white matter upon imprisonment," so that those damned guys would spend their old age in the ward forever!

Finally, he wanted to specifically praise his dear V (Vivian), V (Vera), and V (Veronica).

They came from different backgrounds—the streets, the wilderness, and the company—but were equally gentle, virtuous, beautiful, and kind. Especially Vivian, who came from the streets; he loved her more than anything, and certainly not because of the cracking bones she squeaked behind his back…

　"Have you finished writing your suicide note?" Vivian smiled. "If you have, then go on your way—you scumbag."

Nobody: Chapter One - The Simple and Honest People of Gotham City

Gotham City, in an unnamed alley.

The afternoon sun lazily spilled across the ground, illuminating a patch of land.

A group of hooded thugs lurked in the shadows, making a ruckus.

"Put on your wig, new bride!"

"After we pull off this job today, we won't be nobody anymore. Imagine our backpacks overflowing with cash and our pictures on the front page."

The burly man stuffed the bottle into his mouth and drank heartily with each gulp.

"Wow, I'm getting into it! Listen up—I've got tons of money, ice in the sippy cups, we can open bottles all night long..."

After much effort, Leo managed to slap away the large hand that was grabbing and pulling at his hood, only to see the "boss" holding a bottle of liquor in one hand and patting his belly with the other, shaking his head and singing a high-energy song.

That hoarse, smoky voice almost made him vomit.

He dared to drink heavily before robbing a bank; if he succeeded, he would have eaten the whole bottle!

He closed his eyes and looked towards the upper right corner.

In what should have been complete darkness, a string of green information was displayed—"Traversing and charging"—[01:51:05]

After one breath, 05 became 00, which was undoubtedly a countdown.

Once the countdown ends, he should be able to travel back to his original world.

He vowed that he would never again be so impulsive as to click on those pop-up windows that suddenly appear.

In the sweltering summer heat, he was sitting in front of his computer coding, wearing only a pair of shorts. Then, with a blink of an eye, he suddenly found himself in a damp, dark alley.

His eyes welled up with tears whenever he recalled that scene.

Even more despairing was the headline on a newspaper pulled from a nearby trash can: "[Another breakout from Arkham Asylum! The most dangerous prisoner escapes. Why can't our guardians 'solve' the criminal problem once and for all?]"

The newspaper photo featured a grinning clown sitting in a cage, his lips curled into a wild smile, as if he were having a party.

When Leo saw this, his heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

After he had gone through every page of every newspaper, this premonition turned into a vivid nightmare.

He traveled to the DC universe, and right there in the most dangerous city in the world—Gotham!

The only things that accompanied him were his baggy shorts and the 24-hour countdown he could see when he closed his eyes.

Oh, wait, he also has glasses and slippers... Thank God, thank His ancestors for generations!

If there's anything worse than this, it's that when he finally managed to make an eco-friendly outfit out of newspapers, he suddenly encountered a group of lunatics.

The burly man at the head of the group, the beer-bellied guy in front of him, ripped his new clothes in half and then let out a cruel laugh: "Hahaha! Brothers, look! Here's a hapless guy who got kicked out for cheating!"

Leo tried his best to explain that he was just taking a walk and flipping through the newspaper to look for a job.

But such nonsense, which he himself doesn't believe, only invites more outrageous ridicule.

After the mockery, he faced two choices:

Or join a dynamic social group and rob a bank together.

He'll either be knocked unconscious and sold to a black market doctor or anyone willing to buy his ass.

As a 35-year-old programmer at a major company who was laid off, how could Leo, with his pride and arrogance, tolerate such humiliation!

He can!

He immediately recognized him as the leader and vowed to serve him faithfully until his dying breath!

The eldest brother was also very happy and comforted him, saying that when they went to jail together in the future, he would help protect his buttocks.

Leo was very touched. "Look how nice this boss is... I'll stab him in the back sooner or later and let him know how dangerous it is to be a boss."

After that, he acquired a set of casual clothes that smelled strongly of masculinity, originally white but now light yellow.

After putting it on, my body felt warm and cozy, but it smelled a bit...

He had planned to endure for 24 hours and then make a lightning-fast escape once the time was up.

Unexpectedly, these lunatics were incredibly efficient; the very next day, they planned to rob a bank.

Leo himself was strongly opposed to this action, but he lacked the power of equality, while everyone else did. Therefore, he was the younger brother and had no say.

Now, in another dark and narrow alley, they are waiting for the last member, the mysterious man who is said to be the ringleader. He is experienced and responsible for planning all the steps of the bank robbery.

After waiting for a full half hour, a gray van finally arrived and stopped in front of them. The group of unruly thugs were so drunk they could barely stand.

Bang——Dang——

The back door was kicked open, and a familiar-looking acquaintance jumped out of the car with flamboyant dance steps.

He was wearing a bright purple suit, his face painted with his signature pale makeup, and a strange smile playing on his lips.

"Good afternoon, everyone." He opened his arms and gave a graceful yet exaggerated bow. "It's a pleasure to see you all."

"Hahaha--!"

He seemed genuinely happy, and after greeting everyone, he burst into hysterical laughter.

The laughter was sharp and piercing, yet it possessed an irresistible magic, as if it could penetrate everyone's heart, making people involuntarily laugh and go crazy with him.

The drunken thugs instantly sobered up and joined him in laughter. But this laughter was not genuine, nor was it joy; rather, it was full of flattery and obsequiousness.

Leo could tell that these criminals, who were vicious when facing ordinary people, were afraid.

Their trembling legs, shifty eyes, and stiff, ridiculous smiles all revealed that they were afraid of clowns.

There's nothing shameful about it. How many people in Gotham City aren't afraid of the Joker?

Here, the gap between criminals and super criminals can sometimes be greater than the gap between humans and animals.

For a moment, almost everyone was awkwardly laughing, except for one person who really couldn't laugh.

This outlier is undoubtedly Leo himself.

He couldn't laugh at all; he even wanted to cry and scream.

Thank you for the generous gift!

A living, breathing clown!!

The person he least wanted to see in Gotham City, without a doubt.

He can disguise himself to protect himself from other supervillains by adapting to their personalities. But this is the Joker, the damn Joker!

Even Batman can't predict what crazy thing he'll do next!

Leo made eye contact with him for a second without realizing it, and his heart skipped a beat. He had to muster all his facial muscles to force out a smile that looked worse than a grimace.

A cunning glint flashed in the clown's eyes as he lingered on the man's face for a few seconds. "Oh-oh-oh—such clean and harmless eyes remind me of a lost fawn in the forest."

"Where did you find this guy? He looks like a fledgling."

Anonymous: Chapter Two: Why so serious?

Faced with the infamous clown, the henchmen were at a loss and all turned their gazes to their leader.

The obese man quickly threw away the bottle and tucked in his large belly, which was barely breaking his belt. "Uh... well... when we contacted each other before, didn't you say that we had a few people? So I found a way to find another new person."

"Don't worry, he's so poor he's even looking for clothes in the trash can, he can't possibly be an undercover police officer."

After hearing his explanation, the clown remained noncommittal, only frowning in confusion.

The other person at the center of the discussion was having a hard time keeping up.

But Leo dared not express his opinion, preferring to remain silent and unnoticed.

"Sure, it's all the same anyway."

After a brief exchange, the clown walked around the crowd, circling them again and again.

The tense atmosphere intensified as his silence dragged on. The terrorists, who were usually too intimidating for ordinary people to look at directly, cowered as if they were surrounded by him alone.

A few minutes later, as if confirming something, the clown clapped his hands twice.

popping.

The crisp applause broke the spell of silence that had enveloped everyone, and they dared to breathe again.

The clown turned and walked towards the van, half-closing the door behind him. He then turned and waved to the fat man, "Next, we'll assign tasks, one by one."

No one dared to object to his arrangements.

The eldest brother stepped forward, while the others stepped back a few paces.

About two minutes later, the leader walked out triumphantly, carrying a brand-new rifle and a travel bag slung over his waist.

He radiated confidence, as if he was full of assurance about what was to come.

Immediately afterwards, a second person was called over.

In just a quarter of an hour, all eight people except Leo had finished their private conversations with the Joker, and each of them had a unique look on their face.

They tacitly avoided asking each other about their jobs, silently familiarizing themselves with the new equipment the clown had given them.

Finally, under Leo's anxious gaze, the clown waved to him.

Leo quickly closed his eyes and looked at the countdown—[01:01:24]

Good news, he'll be able to go home in an hour.

Bad news: it's uncertain whether the bank robbery can be delayed that long.

If all else fails, try talking to the clown a bit more to buy some time?

Desperate and grasping at straws, Leo, with this unreliable idea in mind, stepped into the van.

As the light dimmed slightly, a whiff of gun oil wafted into my nostrils.

Once inside, the clown sat opposite him, leisurely crossing his legs.

"Hello... Mr. Clown."

Leo lowered his head, hesitated as he sat in the chair, and didn't even dare to look him in the eye.

There was no response from the other side, and the van was quiet.

Although he did want to stall for more time, the other side was a complete madman, and he dared not gamble on what would happen if the stalemate continued.

Left with no other choice, Leo could only look up at the clown.

Then he saw—

The clown made an exaggerated expression, his two hands, one facing forward and the other backward, forming a figure eight shape, together creating a rectangular "frame," and he was placed in the center of the frame for careful study.

Leo was speechless.

He's a madman after all; he really doesn't understand this move...

After "playing" like this for a full five minutes, the clown put his hands down and made a series of exclamations of amazement.

"I don't understand it, but it's very interesting. You're the kind of... very special person."