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

The clown's words made Leo's heart leap. Had he figured something out? Impossible, right?

His vigilance quickly rose to its highest level, but unexpectedly, the clown changed the subject and started talking about the bank robbery plan.

“You’re a newbie. I can tell from your eyes that you’ve never even touched a gun. I’ll give you the simplest job this time: watch over the passersby in the lobby.”

“Take this.” He pulled an AK from a wooden crate at his feet and tossed it to Leo. “If anyone makes a move, scare them. If anyone tries to pull out a gun to fight back… just pull the trigger all the way down!”

Leo frantically caught the AK, his scalp tingling at the words. He was just a programmer; though he'd killed countless people in the game, he'd never even killed a live fish in real life. And now he was being told to pull the trigger all the way down, against a group of innocent strangers…

If he had a choice, he would rather shoot the clown first.

Thinking this, he suddenly realized that the Joker was sitting casually opposite him, right in front of the AK gun. If he were to risk it now, wouldn't he be able to get the achievement of killing the Joker...?

Just as he was lost in thought, the clown suddenly stood up, sat down next to him, and affectionately put his left hand around his back and onto his shoulder.

A faint, indescribable scent of cosmetics wafted into my nose.

"Don't be afraid, newbie. Everyone has a first time. I'll teach you how to fire a gun~"

He clicked the safety off, guiding Leo's finger to the trigger.

"Three points in a straight line, you'll get the accuracy after a few tries. Now, fire—!"

The shout startled Leo. He could still control his body, but the clown's right hand covered his right hand, forcing him to pull the trigger.

boom--!

There was no muzzle flash, and the recoil was almost nonexistent.

Leo stared in disbelief at the Stars and Stripes being sprayed from the muzzle of the AK.

"Surprise!"

"Hahahaha-!"

The clown grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently, emitting a piercing and maniacal laugh.

Leo struggled to maintain his balance while battling the deafening sound.

Seeing his wide-open mouth and stunned expression, the clown laughed even harder: "Hahaha! I've wanted to say this since the first moment I saw you—why so serious?"

He put two fingers into Leo's mouth, pulling at the corners of his mouth to make it curve into a smile.

"Ahahahaha!"

“That’s it!” The clown grinned widely. “Let’s add a smile to this face!”

"Hahaha—haa—!"

He was laughing so hard he was almost out of breath, his pale cheeks buried in Leo's shoulder, providing some free whitewash for his old clothes.

The latter, besides suffering a painful throbbing pain in his mouth, also experienced a mental shock of ten thousand points.

Leo was convinced, truly convinced.

He knew the clown was crazy, but he never expected him to go berserk towards a stranger on their first meeting.

This unexpected incident significantly reduced his fear of the clown, transforming it into an impulse to smash him to death with the butt of a gun!

The clown laughed for a long time before taking out a handkerchief and wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.

"Ah~~ I hope you like my gift, my new bride."

"You know, keeping a smile is the key to turning life into a comedy, haha—"

"Hahaha..." Leo managed a couple of forced laughs along with him, afraid that he might cause some other trouble.

A moment later, the clown's smile faded, and he remained seated beside him. "Let's play a game, newbie. You have two choices now."

"First, you can take this toy gun on missions. The gun is very realistic, and as long as you don't fire it, no one will know it's fake. With this gun, you don't have to worry about hurting anyone, and even if the police arrest you, they will give you a lenient sentence."

But—this gun won't protect you either. If passersby or security guards resist, you'll be in big trouble.

"Second, of course I can replace it with a real gun, but the consequences... you can consider them yourself."

"How about it? Choose one of the two. Either way, you have a 50% chance of being right. Go ahead~"

The clown spread his hands, making a "please" gesture, his eyes full of expectation.

Nobody: Chapter Three There's a first time for everything, like robbing a bank…

Where is the 50% accuracy rate?

Leo put his mind to work, pondering this seemingly simple, yet actually not complicated, multiple-choice question.

By carrying a fake gun, he's betting that passersby won't dare resist, and that security guards won't risk their lives for his meager monthly salary. Also, the police shouldn't be too keen on taking administrative leave; they should just empty his magazine.

The advantage is that if this operation "luckily" encounters Batman, he, with his fake gun, should be the least criminal member of the robbery gang and shouldn't be sent to the talent hub—Arkham Asylum.

If you take a real gun... then anything is possible. If you get too nervous and the gun goes off accidentally, it's not impossible for you to become a murderer.

If his cheat-like abilities don't work out, he'll be stuck picking up soap in Arkham Asylum. And then there's the Joker...

He glanced furtively at the clown's profile.

Sooner or later, Batman will send this madman back to Arkham, and when that happens, he'll have to go to jail with the Joker... He really can't tell whether this ending or dying is slightly better.

He stalled for as long as possible, and when he saw the clown start shaking his leg, he quickly gave his answer: "I'll take this fake gun; I can't get over my conscience yet."

He chose to tell the truth because the Joker was the kind of madman who had a keen eye for human nature and amazing intuition.

“Tsk tsk tsk—an interesting choice.” The Joker stared into his eyes. “You still want to be a good person, and you still want to return to ‘normal’ society… I understand your choice, but that’s not very realistic.”

You are very special.

The clown drawled out the words, smacked his lips, and repeated them once more.

"Perhaps you haven't realized it yourself yet. But that's okay, time will reveal all the truth, and time will lead you to the right path."

The clown stood up and opened the carriage door for him. The afternoon sun shone lazily on his legs, but only illuminated a small section below his knees.

"Don't ask me what the answer is, I don't know either, and I'd love to know too."

"Hurry up and set off, fledgling. The late bird must fly even harder."

Leo was pushed out of the van by him, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Oh, by the way,” the clown leaned against the car door, giving him a sinister smile, “I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”

“I’m looking forward to it~”

"Hahaha—Hahahaha—!"

boom!

The car door closed.

Then, the van roared to life and sped off toward the alley exit.

'Madman, damn madman...'

Leo watched the departing vehicle, momentarily forgetting where he was and what he was supposed to do.

Fortunately, someone hasn't forgotten.

"Hey kid, what are you doing with the clown? You've wasted fifteen minutes already!"

The boss's smoky voice and forceful shove woke Leo up.

He turned around and said carefully, "The Joker thinks highly of me, and he even mentioned Arkham. He'll definitely protect me!"

Since the clown couldn't hear him anyway, he might as well use his position to intimidate these thugs and at least make them treat him more politely.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the boss immediately reduced the force of his push on the shoulder, and then turned it into a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Really? Hmm... Don't forget that I'm the one who discovered you. Let's look out for each other from now on."

The leader stopped asking about the previous conversation and turned to call out to the other underlings.

Leo breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to glance at the countdown.

【00:40:56】

Excellent, the "meeting" with the Joker has successfully delayed things by twenty minutes. Plan worked!

If we just buy another forty minutes, things will turn around!

What excuse should I make...?

Before he could come up with a brilliant plan, his other teammates started to exert their influence—because they had drunk too much beer, these people kept causing all sorts of problems, irritating their boss and wasting a lot of time.

By the time they were ready to rob the nearby bank, another twenty minutes had passed.

Unfortunately, the boss completely lost his temper and threatened his underlings that they were not allowed to delay any longer, even if they had to wet their pants.

"In fifteen minutes it will be time for primary and secondary schools to let out. We need to take advantage of the heavy traffic and the fact that the police can't get there quickly enough to carry out this operation. You guys better be smart; whether we make a name for ourselves depends on this!"

"Oh……"

"Long live the boss..."

The underlings shouted a few slogans all at once, but they didn't sound very sincere.

The boss was too lazy to care about these temporarily recruited underlings, and just kept urging them to get moving.

【00:17:11】

A dilapidated black van was parked in a temporary parking space next to the bank.

After everyone checked their weapons and equipment, they jogged towards the bank.

The group of hooded, armed thugs immediately caused a commotion.

Screams erupted, and nearby pedestrians sprang into action, skillfully taking cover behind various obstacles.

Two thugs armed with submachine guns remained at the entrance, closely monitoring the surrounding area.

The others rushed into the bank lobby.

Bang Bang Bang!

A series of gunshots shattered several overhead lights, and the falling debris caused a commotion.

Passersby who were conducting business lay on the ground in fear, adopting a harmless posture of not resisting.

The leader shouted, "Keep an eye on them!" and then rushed toward the bank counter without looking back.

Leo and another short thug exchanged a glance, then tacitly separated, aiming their guns at the passersby in the lobby.

Leo was both nervous and excited as he did this for the first time.

This is much more realistic than in the game; his excellent eyesight allows him to see even the slightest changes in the facial expressions of passersby.

A plump middle-aged woman's eyes twitched slightly, as if she was trying her best to hide her inner panic;

A young man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down; he was clearly extremely nervous but dared not utter a sound.

There was also a little girl, tightly gripping her mother's hand, her innocent eyes filled with fear and confusion, as if asking why the world had suddenly become so strange and terrifying.

These details were so realistic that they made his heart pound and his adrenaline surge.

Leo even felt a sliver of fear. Why was he so excited and so parched? Could it be that he actually enjoyed this kind of criminal behavior?

His mind was in a state of confusion, and he couldn't find the answer immediately.

But then he realized something else was wrong—why could he see so clearly?

Thirty-five years old, a programmer—these two factors already destined him to wear glasses. But his glasses had already shattered yesterday when he was "invited to join."

He hadn't thought of this before because he was in a panic, but now that he realized it, he hesitated as he approached the marble pillar beside him.

With his back to everyone, he used his arm to shield his view and secretly pulled up his hood for a quick peek.

The pure white marble tiles were so shiny they reflected the image of a young man, or rather, a boy.

He had strong, well-defined features, with a high, straight nose and thin, firm lips. His face still carried a hint of youthfulness, but more than anything, it exuded a vibrant, youthful energy.

His neat short hair fell casually over his forehead, adding to his carefree and unrestrained temperament.

It can be said that he is a very likable boy, full of the unique charm of a young man.

Leo recognized this person because he was himself around twenty years old... just like himself more than ten years ago.

Time travel comes with the perk of returning to youth!?

A thought struck him, and he released the gun handle with his right hand, reaching for his chin.