Chapter 49: Clues Converge, Strategic Mastery
Kneeling on one knee atop the pickup's roof, Batman's black figure resembled a statue. No matter how Scorpion Mac inside swerved the vehicle, he remained immovable.
"Where are they? West 39th Street direction—shoot Dracula down for me!"
In Scorpion's eyes, the elusive Batman was practically equivalent to a vampire. He simply called him by Dracula's name outright.
TAT-TAT-TAT!
Actually, Scorpion didn't need to say anything—Kingpin's men had already driven their vehicles closer, brandishing submachine guns or handguns, desperately firing at Batman.
"Oracle, activate anti-ballistic mode."
Atop the pickup, Batman spoke in a low voice.
As his words fell, the Batmobile locked onto the pickup's tail—six modified firearms rose from its hood, three left and three right, roaring into action!
Under Oracle AI's aim, these non-lethal bullets precisely and frantically poured onto every vehicle except the pickup, shooting weapons from gang members' hands out car windows, tearing skin.
Intense pain made gang members unable to suppress their screams as they clutched wounded areas. Batman ignored them, one hand using Peter's adhesion and his glove's dual absorption to firmly stick to the roof.
His other hand formed a fist, smashing into the pickup's windshield.
Just once—the windshield's surface filled with dense cracks and a deep crater caved inward. Where it connected to the roof, it rose high.
Batman grabbed the windshield's raised section, tearing the entire glass panel from the vehicle body.
Just as Batman leaned forward again, extending his hand to grab the pickup's steering wheel and pull out Scorpion Mac and Walker hiding inside—
BANG!
A bullet grazed past Batman's palm.
With trained spider-sense, Batman predicted its trajectory before the bullet left the barrel. He chose not to dodge.
But he also didn't plan to continue forcibly extracting Walker and Scorpion. In less than a second, he changed tactics.
"Oracle, fire grappling hook. Force braking." Batman said.
His words fell—the Batmobile-mounted Oracle AI immediately responded.
Below the bat symbol at the front of the hood, a palm-sized grappling claw shot out with a bang, firmly embedding into the pickup's body.
The next second, the Batmobile braked hard. Massive friction instantly transformed the vehicle from high-speed motion to stillness, simultaneously forcing the pickup to stop as well.
The vehicle stopped, but inertia's existence made Scorpion and Mac unavoidably fly forward, tumbling through the windshield-less driver's seat toward the front.
Before they even hit the ground, Batman had already fired his grappling hook to catch them both, knocking each unconscious with one punch.
In Hell's Kitchen, that sixteen-story building with a dilapidated exterior and luxurious interior—atop the massive rooftop office, Kingpin's usually gentle, fatherly face now twisted.
Around him crowded a full ten muscular men. Some had thick calluses covering both hands, others had legs with muscles coiled like steel wire. Some even held knives.
Though clearly superior in numbers and weapons, this group surrounding Kingpin had flickering eyes. Some even had trembling calves.
Someone shouted—ten fighters from around the world charged Kingpin from all directions.
Kingpin's face contorted. He now resembled a brutal tyrant with a face full of savage flesh.
Besides necessary turns, Kingpin didn't retreat a single step. His fists—comparable in size to ordinary people's heads—clenched with audible creaks.
BANG BANG BANG!
A series of booms like punching sandbags—these fighters' figures were sent flying backward one by one by Kingpin's fists.
Ten people took only ten punches. Kingpin's white suit wasn't damaged in the slightest, but those flying men each clutched chests or abdomens, coughing blood, unable to stand.
THUD!
Several couldn't withstand it, fainting on the spot.
Black Cat, Bullseye, and Turk stood aside. Only after Kingpin wiped his hands with a handkerchief did they approach.
"Kingpin, according to subordinates' reports, it's confirmed Walker and Mac were arrested by Batman. We haven't yet determined their exact location."
"Turk" spoke first.
Kingpin looked at Turk without speaking, only staring fixedly at his eyes until Turk was drenched in sweat before shifting his gaze.
"With Walker and Mac both missing, my plan must advance."
Kingpin seemed to be trying to level his voice, but tonight not only was Walker not recovered—another trusted aide Mac also disappeared. His words practically ground between clenched teeth:
"Tomorrow I will officially join Oscorp's board of directors, uniting other shareholders to vote Norman Osborn out, gaining absolute controlling interest at maximum speed."
"Then I will control all of New York's—even the entire world's—criminal forces."
Simultaneously, in Manhattan's subway tracks, the Batmobile silently traveled through tunnels, arriving at the abandoned City Hall station.
Before converting this place into the Batcave, it remained a suitable area for parking the Batmobile.
Though this Batmobile was hastily modified and somewhat crude, it still possessed stealth mode like his Gotham Batmobiles—lowering emitted noise to avoid detection.
Avoiding everyone, Oracle AI connected to the city subway system, mastering optimal routes. Batman looked at the portable computer on his forearm.
It currently displayed Hell's Kitchen's map. At the map's center in a sixteen-story building, a red light blinked.
"From last night until now, Black Cat has stopped at this location four times, totaling twenty-five minutes."
"Excluding other locations, there's a ninety percent possibility this is Kingpin's whereabouts."
The tracker hidden in Black Cat's white fur collar last night had continuously sent Batman her position.
Batman also eliminated locations one by one based on Black Cat's movement trajectory, marking the position currently displayed on the map as where Kingpin most likely was.
Returning the forearm-mounted portable computer into his gauntlet armor, Batman turned his gaze to the unconscious Mac and Walker.
"Monday night, the gang member Anthony who forced the Zagan gang to join Kingpin gave me one piece of information..."
"People responsible for issuing Kingpin's orders, occupying territory, and illegal transactions have one commonality: they all wear suits."
And right now, the unconscious Walker and Mac both wore nearly identical black suits.
"After Oscorp's sublevel three murder case was exposed, Black Cat told me Kingpin was threatening other shareholders to forcibly acquire shares."
"From tonight's commotion searching for Walker, Walker and Mac's disappearance will inevitably make Kingpin uneasy. He'll accelerate joining Oscorp's board, even voting Norman Osborn out to gain absolute control."
"As soon as tomorrow, possibly."
"Time to have Silver Sable contact that lawyer willing to take Kingpin's prosecution case."
Thread after thread converged together. Batman had nearly grasped all of Kingpin's movements.