Chapter 58
Basketball Water Tank
Chapter 58 Basketball Water Tank
Gotham, the catacombs.
The dark, damp environment was filled with a deathly, eerie atmosphere. The dim light cast shadowy, indistinct halos, illuminating the moss and lichen that covered the walls.
A light mist hung in the air of the tomb, and the Riddler stood at the end of the passageway. Batman stood on the other side of the mist, facing a neatly paved floor with green bricks arranged in a giant "?" shape.
Batman found him. But the Riddler said this was just the beginning of the game.
The facility here has been modified by the Riddler and connected to the Gotham power grid. Batman must follow his rules, moving forward along the bricks arranged to form question marks, taking only one step at a time.
Each brick is connected to a deadly trap, and to advance smoothly without triggering them, Batman must follow the game's rules. The Riddler will pose questions to him, and Batman can move forward one step for each correct answer.
If he answers all the questions correctly, he can successfully escape all the death traps, and the riddle-solver will willingly give up his resistance and surrender.
However, if the rules are broken, all the death traps will activate instantly, and the entire Gotham power grid will collapse without warning. The damage to the city will be incalculable.
"Ha, that's right again, you can take another step forward."
The riddle-maker waved his cane and said with great pride.
"You've answered the third question correctly. You're really smart, Batman. I'm starting to feel more and more reluctant to let this game end."
"Shut up and keep asking, you riddle teller."
Batman took a step forward, and a green brick sank beneath his boot.
"Okay, okay, as you say. Let's have some fun."
The riddle-maker took off his top hat with the question mark on it, hung it on his cane, and spun it around and around.
"Next question. 'My greatest strength is that I know my own worth. I hug myself tightly every time I am born.'"
So, Batman, who am I?
Batman stared at him expressionlessly.
"A fine sword," he said indifferently.
The riddle solver showed delight.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong! Ha, you're finally wrong." The riddle teller raised both hands, as happy as a 200-pound child. "The answer is 'knot,' which is the famous unsolved puzzle in history, the 'Goldium Knot'!"
It was a rope that no one could untie, not even Alexander the Great could.
"Wait, what are you doing?!"
He was stunned to see Batman ignore his trap and stride straight towards it. Bricks sank one after another beneath his feet.
The riddle-solver's eyes widened: "How could our traps be connected?"
He clearly won; Batman was wrong. The death trap should have been activated by now, and Batman should be dead on the spot.
But he just walked up there, as if the Riddler's traps didn't exist at all. No, they really didn't exist. None of the traps he had carefully designed were activated.
"Just like I said, the answer is 'sword'. Just ten seconds ago, I hacked your system, and all your gadgets are useless now."
Batman walked straight up to him, grabbed the Riddler by the collar, and lifted him up.
"You're right, even Alexander couldn't untie the Gordian Knot. So the Great drew his sword."
Batman's powerful hook punch landed on the Riddler's face, splitting his cheek and causing him to spit blood.
"With a single sword stroke, the knot was cleaved."
The Riddler crashed to the ground, his mouth full of blood, his head spinning. But he still laughed: "So you did guess the answer to the riddle after all. Impressive, Batman."
I admire your skill, but you still cheated. You broke the rules and must be punished.
"We've been fighting for so long, I know you pretty well, and I guessed you wouldn't follow the rules obediently. So this time I deliberately held back."
He sat down on the ground and casually snapped his fingers.
"Come forth, my dark friends, and bring this cheater to justice!"
Batman tensed up.
He had already encountered supernatural phenomena in previous operations and knew that demons possessing criminals existed in Gotham. This situation now seemed strangely familiar.
He held his breath, bracing himself for danger, on high alert for any ghostly figures that might pounce from the darkness around him.
Then nothing happened.
The riddle teller stood there for a while, still in the snapping-finger pose, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
The riddle-maker pondered for a moment.
I must have opened it the wrong way.
So he changed his posture and snapped his fingers with the other hand.
He felt he hadn't hit the target well, so he did it again.
"Appear, dark spirit!"
silence.
A cold wind blew into the tomb from who-knows-where, bringing a biting chill along with a slightly awkward feeling.
The spirit you requested is not in the service area.JPG
Batman's gaze toward the Riddler became even stranger.
Just as we're considering adding a entry to the Riddler's file, this guy's mental problems seem to be trending towards delusions.
The riddle teller sighed softly, "Alas, I knew it! People still have to rely on themselves. The devil and all that stuff is unreliable; they have no integrity whatsoever."
Batman stepped forward and punched him again, this time cracking his nose bridge, causing the Riddler to bleed profusely.
But he was still grinning, seemingly unperturbed by the beating. As Batman pinned him to the ground, he laughed and said, "Oh well, I wasn't really expecting anything from those supernatural things anyway."
Fortunately, I still had a trump card up my sleeve, my last move, a game-changer.
boom!!!
Explosion sound.
A thunderous roar echoed above the confined space, causing the entire underground area to tremble violently. Cracks began to spread across the massive rock at the top, making the tomb appear as if it were about to collapse.
"What did you do!?"
Batman lifted the Riddler up and slammed him against the wall.
"I knew you'd cheat, so I prepared a backup plan beforehand," the Riddler smiled. "And the punishment for cheating is that Gotham will soon be playing 'Water Tank Basketball'."
Batman's pupils contracted.
He knew about "Water Tank Basketball," a mini-game. A person sits directly on top of a water tank, with a switch underneath that connects to a target next to them. If the player hits the target, the person on the tank falls into the water and gets soaked.
The player described in the riddle as using the "basketball tank" is from Gotham City.
The riddle-maker grinned, revealing a blood-soaked smile.
"I just blew up Gotham's most critical flood barrier. Now, the city is about to become part of the Atlantic Ocean."
(End of this chapter)