The golden light gradually dimmed, but because it had blown away all the clouds in the sky, the faint dawn finally appeared on the horizon of distant Gotham.
Looking at the small, red fireball floating on the sea, although this was not Su Ming's first time using the power of the Lantern Ring, it was the first time he felt the value of this power.
In the past, these powers were always regarded as weapons, as leverage to defeat enemies. But now, as he looked at Gotham bathed in sunlight, he felt the added value of the fighting force.
Sometimes changing the world happens so unintentionally, yet so naturally. Maybe someone can really benefit from one's actions, even though the warmth may be fleeting.
He wanted to fly into the sky to see this city, this city that rarely saw sunlight, but this impulse was overruled by his rationality.
The Laughing Bat was hidden in this city, not to mention the commotion just now, merely disrupting the opponent's plans was a reason to prevent the enemy from reacting out of desperation.
He turned to look at Diana and Arthur, and a faint smile appeared on their faces as well. If one had the chance to bask in the sun, who would want to be shrouded in darkness all the time?
"Let's leave here, I already know how to root out the Laughing Bat." Su Ming walked toward the other end of the alley.
"How do we do it?"
Diana followed next to him, while Arthur, like Sha Monk carrying luggage, shouldered the trident, listening indifferently to the conversation between the two.
Isn't it indifferent? As long as he knows where the enemy is and when to charge, that's all that matters. Why think about it so much?
"Since we've considered how they entered the Main World, whether they punched a hole in my protective magic array or transformed themselves into another form and were summoned, it's almost certain there is a higher plane backing them, and there's likely a demon involved. As long as that Madman Batman uses Hell power, I have a way to lock onto his position."
Su Ming had resolved the Laughing Bat's Final Smile; the most urgent crisis had now been greatly alleviated, and the satellite could function properly again. As long as technology and magic were fully combined, with the help of Old Batman and The Flash, it wasn't much of a problem to find some people in Gotham.
Even though the sewer system here was extremely complex, they were now submerged in Arthur's flood. Even if the Laughing Bat and his cohorts could survive in the water through some means, there were many things they couldn't accomplish underwater.
For example, how could they concoct a poison underwater? Or try to relieve themselves; it's no easy task in the water either.
Although the Laughing Bat was mad, he wasn't mad enough to swim in excrement. You know, after the city was flooded, those wastes in the sewer didn't listen to Arthur's control and could float anywhere.
Didn't you see that even someone as dark as Su Ming had no intention of swimming in the sewer?
The Laughing Bat went after the Penguin Man, stole the sewer map, and was probably planning to scrap the Owl Court's Final Smile, but Su Ming simply had Arthur bring a wave of flood to help him do just that.
Then the Laughing Bat turned around and used Su Ming to destroy Batman's Final Smile, leaving Gotham completely without a method of detoxification.
However, Su Ming retaliated just now, disrupting the Laughing Bat's setup. If he reacted quickly enough, a countermeasure might come soon.
Su Ming couldn't give him any more chances; having said he would flip him off the table, he needed to make it happen now.
After all, the threat of the Destruction Legion and Papetua was truly world-destroying. From the speed at which the Origin Wall outside began to devour the multiverse, nobody had many days left to live.
Diana asked him to take out the satellite terminal to take a look, and now that the weather had improved, the signal had gotten considerably better. At least it wasn't all guesswork anymore.
After observing it thoroughly in a seemingly serious manner for quite a while, Diana reluctantly handed the terminal back to Deathstroke.
"They might be hiding in some building; I didn't find any trace of them."
"Didn't I say, just find the demon? That's not our expertise; just let those skilled in magic do it." Su Ming stuffed the terminal back into his waist bag and opened the teleportation gate to meet up with Barry and the others outside the city.
"Planning to contact the Shadow Contract?" Diana asked. She knew that Bo Bo was now essentially working for Deathstroke, which meant the Shadow Contract Team was directly under Deathstroke's command.
Su Ming shook his head. The strongest in the Shadow Contract was undeniably Black Alice, but without a template for her to copy, she doesn't really count as a warlock.
She's like DC's Wood Leaf Technician, best at defeating enemies with their own tactics. But even if someone gave her homework to copy, she could only copy the ability, not the capability and memory. Her grasp of Hell Magic was indeed too shallow.
As for Night Shadow and the Fallen Witch, one specialized in Shadow Magic, and the other was possessed by an Ancient Evil Spirit, both were not suitable for the task at hand.
In the current situation, the most appropriate candidate would be Constantine. However, that guy disappeared after helping deal with the Seven Deadly Sins, and who knows what he's up to now.
And Miss Colorado also went missing, with no trace of her. It's speculated she might be with Lucifer.
"Let's forget about the Shadow Contract. The opponent is Batman, and if he intends to become a demon, he would surely be the strongest kind. The Shadow Contract is still too young."
Diana nodded. She was genuinely trying to help think of solutions, even though her suggestions were always dismissed by Deathstroke. Yet, she remained undeterred:
"In that case, let's find Zatanna. She's incredibly powerful now; her Reversed Speech Magic is almost like a Word Spirit. Some things can come true just by saying them."
Su Ming still shook his head; if just for magical power, having the Inverted Man would be enough.
And the opponent being able to avoid the Protective Array, Inverted Man's reconnaissance, Shadow Contract's monitoring, and Magic Floating Cloak's sensing definitely wouldn't be that simple.
"Zatanna is strong, but her mental resilience is not great. Last time she saw my cousin's face and was vomiting all over till she fainted. This weakness is too obvious."
Hearing Deathstroke speak so dismissively of her good friend Xiaozha, Diana angrily glared at him: "Who are you planning to ask for help then? The warlocks I'm familiar with got caught up in the fight between Hecate and Inverted Man last time, and almost all died. Don't tell me you're planning to find those people from Cold Flame Association or Pentagram."
Yes, there are indeed many powerful mages, but to Diana, they're all bad guys.
Unlike demons whose position is simply to want souls, human thoughts are sometimes the most complex and dark.
Su Ming looked at her strangely, it seemed she was indeed sparing no effort to prevent him from contacting those people: "Since we need to find a demon, why not find our own demon for help? There was a Lord of Hell who owed me a favor before."
The Teleportation Gate flashed, and Su Ming and the other three joined up with three others, then he opened a new Teleportation Gate again.
"Inverted Man, Main Street, Lucifer Hell Plane."
..................
Clark saw Ron as soon as he entered the base; the green-skinned Martian was quite noticeable, but unlike usual, Ron now looked troubled, sitting on a fire hydrant by the roadside, pondering something.
Because of the sudden construction of this building, roadside and public facilities were included.
The red fire hydrant paired with green skin somehow gave a strange sense of beauty. It turns out, not only are red and blue a good match, but red and green also look nice.
Superman thought optimistically; to him, a blue tight suit was the best clothing, Batman's all black attire did not fit his aesthetic.
"Hi, Ron." Superman landed beside him, loosening up his shoulders cramped from drilling through things.
Ron lifted his head, watching the red cape drape down beside him, seeing the big 'S' symbol flash in his red pupils, which stood for hope on Krypton.
"Superman, welcome back, is the family well?"
Superman showed off a perfect sunny smile, giving a thumbs-up: "Yes, thank you, they're all good. How about coming over to try Martha's pie next time?"
"I will." Ron looked down at his skin; even if he goes, he must transform into human form first. Though they are both aliens, Martians don't have the fortune of Kryptonians: "Batman is waiting for you over there in the sewer, go ahead."
"What? Why the sewer?" Superman showed a peculiar expression; he's known Batman for over a decade and had never seen Batman go into a sewer.
Could something have happened in Gotham to make him even darker?
Ron showed a look of helplessness; naturally, he found it odd too, but since Batman didn't say, he wouldn't pry into his companions' minds, as it was a moral boundary for a member of the Justice League.
"He said he got inspired by Deathstroke and recently discovered the advantages of the sewer; maybe that's one of the differences between us and Earthlings, I don't quite get what he means."
Clark gently patted Ron's shoulder: "No, we all live on Earth, there's no difference between Kryptonians and Martians, we're all intelligent beings with beautiful ideals becoming comrades; not understanding Batman's thinking is normal, it's unrelated to our identities."
Ron nodded, replying somewhat apologetically: "Yes, Clark, I know, I've just been... confused recently."
"It's alright, Ron. If you ever want to talk about living on Earth as an alien, I'm always willing to help."
Clark waved cheerfully, flew swiftly to the manhole cover, blew a gust to lift it, and the red-blue figure plunged straight down.
Batman was in the darkness fiddling with a device he had never seen before, its screen casting a white glow on his face.
"You're a bit late, but there probably wasn't any trouble on the way."
"No, there wasn't, just helped smooth out some traffic." Superman scratched his face, feeling slightly guilty facing Bruce, as if Batman could see through everything.
Batman was frantically typing on the keyboard, and the code on the screen quickly stretched at an astonishing speed: "I've discussed this with you and Barry before, sometimes helping others isn't the right choice."
Superman knew Batman was at it again; he understood what the Dark Knight meant: "We've talked about this before, haven't we?"
"Yes, but last time I couldn't finish as you both ran off, so today before we get down to business, I must clarify this first."
Batman's deep voice echoed in the sewer, like a whisper in a dream.