Arkham Batman shouted out loud, to no avail, because the scene was truly terrifying.
A normal person, surrounded by enemies in an instant, would naturally try to find a breakthrough and then figure out a way to run outside; if there was really no breakthrough, they would at least assume a defensive posture. Who would just stand there foolishly and motionless?
Of course, some ordinary people might be scared stiff, but the individuals Arkham Batman picked were clearly not ordinary; each reaction was sharper than the last. Especially Constantine and Joker Jack, both known for their high inspiration, with a keen sense of danger.
The moment this scene unfolded before their eyes, they took to their heels, and Arkham Batman couldn't stop the two of them at all.
Among them, Constantine knew almost nothing about Shiller, only aware of some connection with Mephisto, but nothing else. Jack knew a bit more, at least aware that Shiller had a High Tower, but since Shiller seldom appeared in Gotham, he wasn't very familiar with the details. The Joker, who truly understood the structure of the High Tower, had already merged with Arrogance.
Arkham Batman wasn't very familiar either, but having encountered these unfortunates in Battleworld, he was well aware of their destructive power. Especially that "Hunting," who'd chased him across most of the mainland in a previous duo instance, forcing him to retreat to the snowy mountains. Even there, after both fell into an ice crack, he managed to strike himself. Just the thought of it infuriated Arkham Batman.
And that "Manipulation," though effective in Jason's rebooted healing, also scared Jason quite a bit.
Greed once mentioned that seemingly insane Shillers all fell under the "Morbid" category, with unfocused eyes as a major characteristic. So, even without encountering others, Arkham Batman realized he had likely plunged into a nest of morbid ones.
Seeing his two teammates flee, Arkham Batman knew waiting in place was pointless, as he understood: the madness of Hunting accumulates gradually. You can buy some time by not showing your back, but once he reaches the second stage, with knife drawn and music playing, it becomes indiscriminate attack. Fixing generators at that point would be too late.
Arkham Batman decisively chose to rescue his teammates. He first lunged at Constantine, pinning him to the ground, making him lie back down. Constantine looked at him in shock:
"What are you doing?!"
"Shut up!"
Sure enough, when the two lay on the ground together, Shiller, wearing a black shirt, shifted his gaze to Joker Jack. Jack had tried to run but, uncertain about what Arkham Batman and Constantine were doing, turned to look — a mistake.
A dark figure instantly flashed behind him, driving a knife with a thrust. Jack screamed and took off running, but the figure flashed behind him again. This time Jack barely dodged the knife by bending over but fell to the ground in an awkward manner.
Arkham Batman was also stunned, as Hunting had flashed there. He hadn't seen the movement path at all, as if he teleported right behind Jack — what a surprise, the Flash Shiller?!
"God! Look at the mess you've made!!!" Arkham Batman roared in his mind.
Arkham Batman realized this couldn't go on. If it was just the usual Hunting, Jack wouldn't be too afraid, as his super recovery meant a few slashes wouldn't matter. He could seize the moment when Hunting attacked Jack to subdue him.
But now, that was impossible. This was beyond a few slashes; at Hunting's speed, he'd mince Jack into paste. If he didn't lure him over now, they'd lose people right at the start.
Thus, Arkham Batman shouted at Jack: "Stay down on the ground!"
Already on the ground, Jack flipped himself supine; simultaneously, Arkham Batman turned his back to Hunting, saving Jack from a near-fatal thrust.
But the next second, Hunting was again behind Arkham Batman. Now Arkham Batman could confirm: it wasn't running but flashing over like the Flash.
As Hunting raised the knife, Arkham Batman spun around, grabbed his wrist, and flung him sideways. Suddenly, his hand released, and the person vanished in a flash.
Arkham Batman immediately realized: this wasn't the real Hunting, but a Phantom from the agent's nightmare, possessing some of Hunting's traits but with abilities the real one didn't have, like high-speed flashing and sudden disappearance.
Fortunately, it didn't reappear after vanishing. Just as Arkham Batman was about to relax, a scream came from Constantine's direction. Turning around, he saw a figure with shoulder-length hair, holding a Shark Knife, kneeling beside Constantine, and reaching into his chest to yank out a rib.
Arkham Batman hurried over, ready to intervene, when his mind buzzed, followed by a cascade of noise and scene after scene:
Joker talking in his head, Jason bound to a chair covered in wounds, Robins with exposed identities…
It seemed Arkham Batman simultaneously returned to many different nightmares, within which he kept seeing the same man with white sideburns, wearing a colorful suit, sometimes a doctor, sometimes a healer, sometimes just a passerby crossing the street…
Yet those dispersed gray eyes always focused on Arkham Batman, sending chills through his body, making him desperate to escape.
More details began to appear, shifting from life's critical events to trivial matters, even the time when he accidentally stained his father's clothes. Images started showing up in his mind, bringing a sense of guilt from nowhere.
Arkham Batman quickly shook his head, trying hard to rid himself of those images and focus, only to be met head-on with a slash that nearly cut him in half.
He saw a young man in a psychiatric outfit, wearing a mask, wielding a long knife. He charged again, and Arkham Batman relied on his metal arm armor, raising his arms to block, only to feel like he'd been hit by a train, being knocked away.
But before he even hit the ground, the attacker struck again in a series. Arkham Batman adjusted his landing position to narrowly avoid the last downward slash. Alright, it seems I too can be juggled in mid-air.
This guy's strength is abnormally large. Normally, someone of this build could never knock him flying, but considering everything in this nightmare is mutated, having one more anomaly doesn't matter.
Arkham Batman realized: The phantom in the nightmare might be stronger than reality because Shiller in reality has no superpowers. If anything, he possesses great strength triggered under stress, and what seems like a mind-reading psychoanalysis method.
But right now, each of these individuals clearly possesses superpowers: Hunting can flash, Manipulation can create mental disturbance, and the one with semi-long hair—whatever he's doing—can open a person's chest in seconds, which isn't normal at all. And the one in a patient's outfit has exceptionally great strength.
Arkham Batman got up from the ground, took a deep breath, and decided to deal with the one with just great strength first. Just then, as he clapped his hands, he suddenly felt a wave of weakness.
It was a long-lost pain. Arkham Batman recalled that when Jason first disappeared, he searched for him day and night, surviving on barely water for five or six days.
When he finally collapsed onto the bed, a terrible sensation came from within, as if his internal organs had suddenly come alive, squirming within the abdomen and chest cavity, causing sharp pain.
It was this same weakness, nearly engulfing him. Reflecting now, Arkham Batman realized it was one of those rare moments when his willpower nearly shattered.
Luckily, Alfred timely delivered small cakes. For the first time, Arkham Batman didn't care about manners in front of the old butler; he practically devoured them, one cake at a time, drank a pot of latte, rummaged through the downstairs fridge, and chewed on two frozen pizzas made by Alfred, cheese as hard as a stone, two avocados, and a whole artichoke.
Later, he understood that sensation was extreme hunger.
Now feeling the same, Arkham Batman again faced a moment where his willpower was about to crumble; only a few things in this world are beyond Batman's endurance—suffocation, dehydration, and hunger.
Quickly glancing over, Arkham Batman saw the one with a napkin, whose initially dull eyes were now gradually focusing.
Great, as a Tactical Master, Arkham Batman already knew what to do—forget fighting, run!
Arkham Batman hurriedly pulled Constantine from the ground, grabbed Jack with the other hand, and in the pitch-black, randomly picked a direction to escape. As he ran, the front began to lighten.
Arkham Batman abruptly halted, seeing himself standing atop a skyscraper; he'd reached the edge of the rooftop. Below, there was no street, only another identical grey skyscraper separated by less than a meter. Looking out, the whole world seemed filled with closely clustered grey towers, the gaps like an abyss, completely dark and indistinct.
Some buildings appeared destroyed, revealing unrenovated identical grey rooms inside. Amid collapsed walls, concrete rebars intertwined.
"Who are you?!" a shocked voice came from the side. Arkham Batman turned his head and saw an agent, seemingly quite surprised at the sudden appearance of so many people.
Arkham Batman was about to explain when a black figure appeared behind the agent, instantly changing his words to a warning: "Behind you! Watch out!"
The agent quickly bent down, evading Hunting's slash, and turned to trip him with a whip-leg, then hurriedly ran toward them.
"Damn it, you brought pursuers to me!" The agent roared at him, "Where the hell did you come from?!!"
Arkham Batman could hear how frantic he was from his tone, but there was still pursuit behind. While running, he said, "This isn't the real world; this is a dream."
"Of course, I know it's a damn dream!"
"How do you know?!"
"How else could I fly?!"
Turning around, Arkham Batman saw the agent indeed flying in the air.