Gotham City has simple folk customs, while Arkham is full of talented people.
This long-standing folk song alone captures the essence of Gotham City, a city of sin. Gotham's citizens are simple, so simple that theft and robbery are commonplace, and countless criminals are straightforward and will not hesitate to rob you. The renowned Arkham Hospital, a sanctuary for the mentally ill, is a haven for talented individuals.
Arkham is more of a super prison than a hospital, with all sorts of high-tech facilities incorporated into it. Every year, a large number of extremely vicious criminals are imprisoned here.
It is no exaggeration to say that any criminal who can control Arkham will be the king of Gotham.
Until today, a special visitor came to Arkham: a shareholder of Stark Corporation, a prestigious mutant, mechanic Donnie.
To be honest, when Donnie came to visit, the warden of Arkham Prison was still very surprised. What was this guy doing in Arkham? This kind of prison makes countless spoiled people shudder. Not to mention entering, just smelling the stench of sin can make them vomit.
No one knew what Donnie's purpose was, nor did anyone know what this mechanic, who knew nothing about business, was trying to do by joining Stark's team. Many speculations circulated secretly, but few were reliable, and Donnie never revealed any of them to the outside world.
But the warden was all smiles, bowing and scraping as he opened the door for Donnie and the others, his attitude extremely respectful. It was no wonder he acted this way; no matter who came, they had to greet Donnie, who offered money, with a smile. Who wouldn't want money these days?
Not to mention, Arkham Zone is notoriously poor in Gotham. Aside from the slums of Old Town, it considers itself the second poorest, with no one daring to challenge it. Dealing with this gang of criminals all day long puts a tremendous amount of pressure on public officials, and even worse, there's no real money to be made. It's truly deplorable. It's a rare opportunity to have a wealthy man like Donny. Anyone with the guts to stick with him should at least be prepared to make a nice side hustle.
"Wow, you're worthy of being the legendary mechanic. You don't follow the beaten path. You come to Arkham for sightseeing right away..."
The police officers who followed them whispered to each other. They didn't really know much about Downey; most of what they heard was hearsay. They only knew he seemed dangerous and powerful... but they didn't really care. Powerful? Could he be stronger than Batman? Batman had defeated the terrorists who nearly destroyed all of Gotham! The Mechanic was just a mutant, how could he be that powerful?
Arkham is a complex prison complex with tight surveillance and layers of guards patrolling with batons. Some areas are old and outdated, with flickering lights on the ceiling, adding a touch of eeriness.
Anderson Mouse looked around, sweat on his forehead, and he walked with trepidation. Arkham was a dangerous place because of its prestige.
When a prisoner saw someone coming in, he arrogantly challenged Donny and laughed wildly. Countless other prisoners followed suit, making noises and howling.
"There's a newcomer here, everyone, greet him well and give him a welcome ceremony!"
"Come on, little chick, here are the big bananas!"
The prisoners started to make noises.
"Mr. Downey, we have an agreement. You can look around, but when you see whoever you want to see, just leave. Don't do anything rash..." The warden was still muttering, and the next second he was helpless.
When passing by a prison, an arm suddenly stretched out of the cage and raised the middle finger to Donnie, accompanied by crazy laughter.
Then the middle finger was broken off.
Donnie pulled the screaming prisoner across the cage and stuffed a bloody severed finger into his mouth, pinching his cheek and forcing him to swallow. The prisoner's eyes were bloodshot, practically bulging out. Even from a distance, Donnie easily threw the prisoner against the wall. A thousand pounds of strength was no joke.
A huge pool of blood appeared on the wall and slowly spread.
The whole prison fell silent for a moment.
It was as if countless rebellious individuals were being strangled simultaneously, gurgling but unable to utter a word. The vicious criminals were dumbfounded, their curses hurled their way back into their stomachs, just like that severed finger. Where did this ruthless person come from? He could kill people right in front of the warden without blinking an eye? And that power...
"Mr. Downey... I will be in trouble if someone dies!" The warden's eyes flashed.
"Name your price. It's just one life. Aren't there enough deaths in this damn place called Arkham?" Tony had a blank expression on his face. His knife-like eyes swept across one prison after another, and the criminals inside were immediately silenced.
The warden smiled wryly. The old man sounded so easy. Human life was indeed worthless in Arkham, but that was a year ago. Ever since Batman's arrival, Arkham had become practically his backyard, throwing in a bunch of criminals every now and then, even chatting about life with a bunch of serious criminals. If this were ever discovered, he, the warden, would be the first to be questioned.
"I'm looking for Klein, Scarecrow Klein! Not this bunch of meaningless trash. Look at these guys, robbers? Rapists? They're useless! An old man with a kitchen knife is more useful than them!" Donnie suddenly raised his voice, his tone stern. "I offered you a large sum of money to open a backdoor for me. Do you really think my money is easy to take?"
Downey's tone became more and more serious. He wanted to meet Crane before Batman arrived and find a way to get him out.
The warden wiped the sweat from his forehead, the bitterness at the corners of his mouth growing even more intense. He didn't understand Klein's usefulness, but he just felt the money in his pocket was a bit hot. This mutant, under the banner of Stark Group, acted with such reckless abandon, completely disregarding the consequences. He knew Klein, a strange fellow recently thrown in by Batman, but was he worthy of Donny's attention?
The warden thinks he's going to get beaten to death by Batman.
The group quickened their pace and, led by the warden, entered the lowest level of Arkham Prison. Those imprisoned here were not extremely heinous criminals, but guys with extremely high IQs. If such people were released easily, the harm they would cause would be far beyond that of other criminals.
On the innermost part of the lowest level, the warden finally stopped and pointed at the handsome young man standing in a daze inside the prison. "He's Klein, a strange guy who was thrown in here not long ago by Batman."
Donnie stood at the doorway, looking through the thick iron gate and the glass window at the legendary scarecrow. His most important purpose in coming to this city was to find the Dionysus factor, and Klein was the most crucial clue he had access to.