The moment the soldiers burst into the Osborn Group lobby, Batman—down in the second basement level—picked up on their voices.
Peter Parker's Spider-Sense tingled with danger. These intruders were hostile and armed to the teeth.
Using his Spider-Sense and keen hearing, Batman analyzed the footsteps and faint metallic clinks he detected.
He didn't panic in the slightest. He even knew exactly who had sent these soldiers and what they were after—General Ross had chosen to seize the Osborn Group by force, just as Batman had predicted.
Though General Ross had acted swiftly, striking at night when the building was empty instead of waiting for daylight.
But Batman was one step ahead; he'd already wiped out all the Super Soldier Serum data and samples from every floor except the third basement.
Even as the soldiers sealed off the entire building, Batman continued his work methodically, heading straight for the third basement after clearing the second.
Click.
He pressed a button on his Batsuit and began dismantling the wrecked laboratory equipment on the third basement level, which now served as evidence of Norman Osborn's murders.
Three minutes later, all the data related to the Super Soldier Serum on the third basement level was completely erased.
Tap, tap, tap.
The soldiers' footsteps were closing in on the third basement. Batman pressed another button on his Batsuit and melted into the shadows.
The instant the soldiers entered the third basement, Batman slipped past them, his cape—shredded by Norman—fluttering behind him.
Batman controlled the force of his blows, knocking out the soldiers. Then, leveraging Peter Parker's speed, he turned into a shadow and raced toward the second basement.
Soldiers were already stationed there. The moment they spotted Batman's sudden appearance, they opened fire without hesitation, as if General Ross had already issued the order.
Relying on Peter's Spider-Sense and Batman's years of experience dodging gunfire in Gotham, he anticipated the bullets' trajectories the second the triggers were pulled.
Then, still drawing on Peter Parker's agility, he darted past the soldiers and kept charging toward the first basement area.
At the same time, the two buttons Batman had activated earlier began to take effect.
First, a massive swarm of bats descended on the Osborn Group building from across the city, rattling the soldiers blocking the perimeter on the ground.
Simultaneously, the rugged and ferocious Batmobile approached silently, then suddenly flared its crimson lights, glaring at the soldiers like the eyes of a demon. The Bat symbol integrated into the front bumper stood out even more starkly.
Riot Mode activated instantly. Armor plates on the Batmobile's surface shifted, and numerous guns extended from the hood, doors, tires, and other spots, transforming the entire vehicle into a porcupine.
These guns—a total of forty-two—had been confiscated during his first encounter with Black Cat and Joseph's arms deal. Batman had modified and installed them in various places on the car.
Dakka dakka dakka!
Rubber bullets poured out frantically in Riot Mode. Though non-lethal, they could still inflict pain on the human body at close range. For a moment, the soldiers could only hunker down behind their armored vehicles while grabbing their walkie-talkies to report to General Ross:
"General! The main entrance of the Osborn Building is under attack! Requesting backup!"
"Attack?"
General Ross was on the sixtieth floor, in Norman Osborn's private office, flipping through various contracts and files. Hearing the soldier's report, he couldn't help but frown:
"Didn't I order you to shoot on sight if anyone got in the way? Can you see who's attacking?"
The voice from the walkie-talkie crackled intermittently:
"It's... it's a group of bats driving a car!"
General Ross's brows furrowed even deeper. Just as he was about to say something, another voice came over the walkie-talkie:
"General, the second basement level is under attack... Bang!"
The reporting soldier seemed to have been struck, and the transmission cut off abruptly.
Then came the first basement level, also attacked before the report could finish.
"Calm down! Soldiers on the ground, listen up! Block all exits and aim your guns at the stairs and elevator on the first basement level!" General Ross shouted.
"But... General, that car is being driven by bats and it's charging through!"
The soldier on the walkie-talkie yelled in terror, followed by a loud bang, and the walkie-talkie system lost signal completely.
"What the hell do you mean, 'the car is being driven by bats and charging through'?"
General Ross slammed the walkie-talkie to the floor in fury, snatched the binoculars from the chest of a nearby subordinate, and strode to the window to look down.
Just as the soldiers had reported, General Ross spotted a massive swarm of bats surrounding a black armored muscle car, charging into the Osborn Building through his binoculars.
As it charged, the car's roof quickly slid open, revealing an empty cockpit inside.
From the soldiers' perspective, it truly looked like an unmanned vehicle being escorted by a swarm of flying bats into the building.
On the first floor of the Osborn Group, the soldiers—who had been ordered by General Ross to block the exit from the first basement level—were startled by the Batmobile violently crashing through the glass. The swarms of flying bats made them open fire instinctively.
Seizing the opportunity, Batman's figure leaped out from the first basement level.
At the same time, the Batmobile—which had crashed into the Osborn Building—executed a horizontal drift toward Batman's position, and the door on that side opened accordingly.
"Barbara, switch to manual driving."
Batman spoke rapidly, one hand on the steering wheel, the other shifting gears, while simultaneously—with Peter Parker's astonishing hand speed—he pressed several more buttons inside the car.
Bang!
The two glider devices installed at the rear of the car activated. Batman controlled the Batmobile to burn rubber sharply and accelerate on the first floor of the Osborn Building, rushing with a hum toward the shattered glass door.
"Chase him!" On the sixtieth floor, General Ross—watching through binoculars—roared. But the Batmobile was incredibly fast, reaching the end of the street almost instantly, so he quickly changed his order: "Don't chase him!"
General Ross hadn't forgotten the purpose of deploying troops to the Osborn Group. He wasn't there to tangle with this bat, but to seize control of the company during the power vacuum at the Osborn Group.
Although taking over a multinational corporation like this wasn't that simple, General Ross didn't care much about that. He only needed to occupy the Osborn Headquarters Building, and that would be enough.
"A company that started with biotechnology—I wonder how many surprises it will bring me?" General Ross muttered to himself, watching the Batmobile disappear completely.
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