Dick and the others subconsciously took out their weapons and warily stared at the motionless Batmen.
Even when the elevator stopped, these Batmen just silently watched them, making no further moves.
Although they knew these were fakes, the familiar outfits and expressions still made the three brothers feel a chill in their hearts.
The Batmen slowly made way, their movements uniform, as if they were well-trained soldiers.
"The Young Master is waiting for you."
A low voice came from among the Batmen.
The few of them exchanged glances, gripped their weapons tightly, and carefully walked through the middle, arriving at the Batcave's central control area.
"You've arrived."
Dick and the others' pupils contracted; the one who appeared before them was Qinuo, whose head had been severed earlier.
Beside him stood Venom and Pamela, who had previously fallen to the ground.
"What's going on? Aren't you dead? I saw your head with my own eyes."
Dick cried out in disbelief, his voice full of shock and confusion.
"That was merely a decoy, used to attract the Court of Owls' attention, but you all ruined it."
Qinuo said calmly, with no trace of anger on his face.
"Who exactly are you? I never knew the Wayne Family had someone like you."
Tim asked warily, his eyes fixed on Qinuo. He had already checked related information on the way here, but found nothing.
"I am Bruce's cousin; you can call me Uncle, and these two are your Aunts."
Qinuo said, pointing to Pamela and Venom beside him.
"..." xN
The few of them looked at his young face, none of them believing him.
"What a joke!"
Jason didn't want to listen to this nonsense and decided to hijack this guy first.
"How rude, much worse than Damian."
Pamela watched Jason charge over, and several thick vines instantly appeared, quickly binding him and hoisting him high into the air.
"It's normal for this guy to die with hatred and then be soaked in unpurified Lazarus Pit."
Venom approached Jason, who was like a caterpillar, and became playful, grabbing the vines on him and giving a forceful swing.
As Dick and the others were about to rush over to save Jason, several Batmen instantly appeared, their strong hands grabbing their wrists, their cold gazes piercing them like ice blades.
"Alright, let them go; they are my nephews after all," Qinuo said.
The Batmen released them upon hearing this but still confiscated Oliver's weapon.
Oliver looked at Dick and Tim, who hadn't moved at all, feeling a bit depressed.
However, he somewhat believed that Qinuo had no ill intentions.
Dick tried to ignore Jason, who was spinning into a blur, took a deep breath, and asked, "Why did you have your subordinates impersonate Batman, and where is Bruce?"
"What are you saying? I'm old, I can't hear you," Qinuo said, tilting his head, pretending not to hear.
Dick's mouth twitched, and he reluctantly said, "Hello, Uncle."
"Ah, where are they?" Qinuo raised an eyebrow.
"Hello, Aunts," Dick obediently called out.
"Good children." x2
Qinuo then looked at Tim.
"Uncle." Tim, however, seemed indifferent.
"Hello, Aunts."
"Mm."
Qinuo nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Oliver.
"I'm not a Wayne... Uncle, hello, Aunts."
Oliver still cared about his reputation, but he felt dozens of icy stares from behind him.
He felt that if he didn't say it today, he might genuinely not be able to leave this place.
"All good children, except for this one in his rebellious phase."
Qinuo glanced at Jason, whose brain was about to be spun into a uniform paste.
"Uncle, please answer my previous question."
Dick spoke up to remind him.
"We didn't impersonate Batman; we received Batman's authorization. When Batman disappears, we will come out to replace him.
As for where Bruce is, I don't know either," Qinuo said, shaking his head, his face serene.
These contradictory statements made Tim frown. "Received Batman's authorization? Then you should have met Bruce. Why wouldn't you know where he is?"
"Do you know the history of the Wayne Family?" Qinuo's eyes deepened.
"Yes."
"I know a little."
"The Wayne Family can be traced back to the tribal period..." Qinuo began slowly, his voice echoing in the empty Batcave.
Dick and the others' attention was involuntarily drawn; the tribal period, that was too ancient.
"Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a large-scale Death among the Wayne Family members. The Family Head at the time, Allen Wayne, discovered something was wrong.
He began to investigate in secret, becoming Gotham's first Batman."
Qinuo paused here.
"What happened then?"
Dick asked impatiently, feeling as if he was unearthing a sealed historical secret, and his heart rate quickened involuntarily.
"Later... my shoulder is a bit sore."
Qinuo said, twisting his neck.
Tim immediately went behind Qinuo and began to massage him.
"Uncle, how is this pressure?"
"Good, just right."
Qinuo nodded with satisfaction, then continued, "Later, the dark source of Gotham was discovered."
"The Court of Owls," Dick blurted out.
"The Court of Owls has always been dedicated to manipulating Gotham, from cultivating assassins: Talon.
To controlling economic lifelines and political decisions to influence Gotham City's direction.
They control many industries in the city, secretly influencing policy-making, making Gotham's social structure increasingly distorted, widening the gap between rich and poor, and thus breeding more criminal behavior.
Allen Wayne at the time had been fighting against them.
Just as he was about to successfully destroy the Court of Owls, he discovered a behemoth behind them, an existence that the entirety of Gotham combined could not contend with."
Qinuo's voice abruptly stopped here, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.
Dick and the others couldn't help but hold their breath, staring at Qinuo without blinking, wanting to hear what would happen next.
Jason also endured the dizziness, listening intently, temporarily forgetting his physical discomfort.
Venom had stopped and, along with Pamela, watched Qinuo's performance, a faint smile playing on their lips.
"At that time, Allen Wayne made a decision to split the Wayne Family into two.
One half stayed to protect Gotham, while the other traveled far away, heading east, to investigate the existence behind the Court of Owls."
Qinuo's voice echoed in the silent Batcave.
"And according to years of investigation, the Court of Owls is merely a subordinate branch of the Owl Council."
"How is that possible? A subordinate branch can control the entire Gotham City?"
Oliver was also a billionaire and knew the difficulty of controlling a city from economics to policy.