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Chapter 32: My Friend, You Are the True White Dove
"Long time no see, Nygma. And—"
Nightwing offered a friendly greeting to the Riddler.
"Goodbye."
One minute later, Nightwing walked out of the warehouse, carrying the bruised and unconscious Riddler over his shoulder.
Outside, a sleek, pitch-black Batmobile was parked at the entrance.
He tied the Riddler up thoroughly, stuffed him into the trunk, and then drove toward Arkham Island.
"Nightwing, did you catch the Riddler?" Oracle's voice came over the comms during the drive.
"He's already on his way to Arkham Asylum," Nightwing replied. "But I didn't see Tim."
"Don't worry. He sent a location signal to the Batcave a little while ago. Alfred has already gone to pick him up."
"You guys really should have called me sooner. Batman isn't here, Tim isn't mature enough yet, and Azrael always works alone. You must have been under a lot of pressure lately," Nightwing said gently.
"Because I know you're busy. Didn't you settle down in Blüdhaven? It's not much more stable there than in Gotham, and you have your own team affairs to handle, don't you?"
There was no obvious emotional fluctuation in Oracle's voice. But Nightwing knew she wasn't happy. Especially at the mention of his team.
Nightwing's real name was Dick Grayson. He was the first Robin. Back when Barbara hadn't been paralyzed and become Oracle—when she was still active as Batgirl—they had fought side by side countless times. Dick had even delivered Barbara's first Batcycle to her personally.
It was only natural that a romance developed between them.
But that relationship didn't last long. Not long after, Dick, still Robin, formed the Teen Titans with several other young heroes. Within the Teen Titans, he developed new feelings for a Tamaranean princess over 1.9 meters tall, code-named Starfire.
In short, Dick and Barbara broke up amicably, and he began dating Starfire, even reaching the point of engagement.
Before that wedding, Dick found Barbara, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and they "caught up" in bed. Immediately after a night of passion, however, he told Barbara he was getting married and that what happened today was a mistake—he had been too impulsive.
Although various accidents prevented that wedding from happening, Dick's behavior that night caused Barbara to hold a grudge for a long time. Perhaps she had naively thought Dick had come to reconcile with her, only to find out...
To this day, Robin had become Nightwing, and the Teen Titans had dropped the "Teen" to become the Titans. His relationship with Starfire was relatively stable. Well... stable in the sense that they broke up and got back together regularly.
"Cough. The Titans' business isn't as frequent as the League's, and Blüdhaven isn't solely reliant on me. Besides, Gotham is my home. If you guys need help with anything, I'll be there immediately," Nightwing said with a light cough, smoothly changing the subject.
"By the way, what's the deal with this Phantom Thief Kid? He seems very active lately. I've even heard rumors about him in Blüdhaven—something about 'The Magician Under the Moonlight'?"
"Phantom Thief Kid... that is a long story..."
Gotham City, a building in the Old District.
Under the protection of two officers, Janice got into a police car to reunite with her father at the GCPD.
Shortly after the police car left, a figure stiffly crawled out of the bushes at the base of the building.
"Damn! This Silver Cat Ring says it grants immunity to fall damage, but no one told me it doesn't grant immunity to pain!"
Darren's face was twisted in agony.
A while ago, after leaving Janice on the roof, he had a sudden idea to use the Silver Cat Ring to shake off Gordon's pursuit. He released a dummy equipped with a hang glider to fly away, while he clumsily dropped to the ground.
The building had thirteen floors total. It wasn't a skyscraper, but a fall from this height was normally guaranteed death. Therefore, anyone would naturally assume the figure flying away was the real Kid. Gordon was no exception, so he chased the dummy without hesitation.
To maximize the Silver Cat Ring's ability, Darren landed feet first.
Normally, his legs would have snapped the instant he hit the ground. But because Darren did not die on impact, the Silver Cat Ring took effect, negating the damage he should have received. His legs remained perfectly intact.
Simultaneously, however, a pain that defied language shot from his knees through his entire body.
The sensation was bizarre. It didn't originate from his physical body—Darren wasn't injured, so his nerves shouldn't have been sending pain signals. The agony felt more like it stemmed from his very soul.
It lasted for several minutes before subsiding slightly. During that time, his entire body lay rigid on the ground; every twitch felt like being carved by knives.
"Hss, that was unbearable. I'll need to practice this often to adapt to the landing pain. If I have to lie on the ground for minutes to recover mobility every time, it's too easy for things to go wrong."
Darren moved his joints and silently formulated a training plan.
Pain in the consciousness had a distinct advantage over physical pain: no matter how much it hurt, his body remained functional. As long as he endured the pain, he could move freely without hindrance. Physical injuries were different; mere willpower couldn't prevent a drop in mobility. Furthermore, high-intensity activity with an injured body would only worsen the damage.
"The Silver Cat Ring only grants immunity to non-instant-death injuries. If the fall height is enough to turn me into a puddle of paste on impact, the ring probably won't work. However, falling from that height would give me enough time to take other measures to land safely."
With today's affairs concluded, Darren dusted himself off and started on the road home.
Just then, a voice completely unexpected to Darren rang in his ears.
[Congratulations, Host, for completing the objective: 'Steal Janice Lawson'!]
What?
Darren froze. He hadn't expected the System to issue a mission settlement at this time.
Although the System hadn't restricted what he could steal, and although the mission target was always decided by Darren himself... and although he did use the notice card to tell the Riddler he would steal the hostage... and although he did tell Janice she was the jewel he was stealing...
Darren genuinely hadn't thought the System would actually count saving Janice as completing a theft mission.
"In other words, as long as it's something I designate in a notice letter, any person, thing, or object can count as a mission target? If that's the case, the options are far richer..."
While Darren was lost in a brainstorming storm, the System broadcast continued.
[Completion Difficulty: Medium]
[Treasure Quality: Common]
[Style Index: Showy!]
[Comprehensive Evaluation: D]
[Random Reward Draw initiating...]
[Congratulations Host, obtained: Peace Aura LV1]
[Peace Aura LV1: Within a block's radius, moderately reduces the violent tendencies of all surrounding lifeforms. Effectiveness fluctuates based on individual mental state.]
[Comment: And you, my friend, you are the true white dove.]
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