Chapter 177 The Phantom of the Opera (Part 2)

When you think something is abnormal but everyone says it is, do you think you are crazy?

Batman is in this state now. Batman has just debuted, and his opponents are only some gangsters or robbers. The most powerful ones are just talented thieves like Catwoman, or... A powerful gangster like Maroney.

Today's Gotham has not yet reached the level of Gotham's big stage. Therefore, the current Batman is still a vigilante with relatively normal thinking.

But suddenly one day, that night, he suddenly found that he seemed to be surrounded by madmen.

A madman shot a host on a TV station, and then made crazy claims that he was going to hold a show at the Gotham Theater. Everyone around him thought this was normal, and they even bought tickets according to the procedure. Including his ordinary psychology professor, the Godfather of Gotham, Father Gordon...

No one seems to question this ridiculous thing, which makes Batman wonder, could he be crazy?

Human beings all have a herd mentality. When everyone else's attitude is contrary to yours, few people can choose to stick to themselves. Although Batman has not wavered, the weird feeling in his heart is gradually weakening.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, this is not ridiculous, because this is Gotham, Gotham has been crazy for a long time, and now it is just a little crazier.

After checking the tickets and receiving the popcorn, the three of them officially went to the performance hall. There was only one main performance hall at the Gotham Grand Theater. When Schiller and the others walked in, the rest of the people were already seated, except for a few of Schiller's acquaintances. There were actually quite a few onlookers.

Under the stage were a group of television cameramen. Schiller lit a cigarette and went to chat with their boss.

"What? Why am I here? Of course it's because someone hired me. In fact, even if he doesn't pay me, I'm still happy to come and help because he killed the most annoying host."

The leader of the group of cameramen was a bearded man. He took the cigarette from Schiller and said, "You don't know how annoying he is. He has so many things to do every day, so we can't even get off work on time."

"The green-haired guy is a little crazy, but he doesn't seem to be very interested in money. Many people who wanted to buy tickets put money in the TV station's mailbox. That's hundreds of dollars, which is enough for us to pay for it." A trip to foreign affairs."

Schiller thought, it seems that this clown is not completely irrational, or that he understands people's hearts best.

The photographer pointed to the backstage and said, "We're not the only ones. He got a whole theater troupe's support staff from somewhere. I heard they seemed to be from this old theater. He told them that the Gotham Grand Theater was about to be revived. There will be countless people watching here tonight, so they will help him prepare for the performance. Look over there, there is a band there..."

Schiller looked in the direction of his finger and found that someone was actually rehearsing.

Schiller wasn't too surprised because he knew something about the Joker, but Batman was different. Now he really began to suspect that he might be crazy.

Why in such a ridiculous situation, everyone behaved step by step, completely normal, and no one raised any objections?

Schiller returned to his seat and found Batman deep in thought. He said, "I told you a long time ago that Gotham is an endless book. There are new discoveries every day. Gotham is different every day."

"Recently, there have been many natural and man-made disasters. Roads have cracked and buildings have collapsed. Many people have nothing to do. During the logistics renovation, almost everyone earned a lot of money. If not squandering it, what else can it be used for?"

"I think it would be nice to hold a show. It's better than a strip club party, right? Evans?"

Evans sat stiffly in his seat and said, "Professor! Why didn't you tell me that my father would also be coming? If I had known he was coming, I wouldn't have come! If he saw me holding a popcorn bucket, I would He’s dead!”

"Don't worry, your father will probably forgive you for this little mistake. After all, it's good enough that you are still alive."

Having said that, when Falcone turned back and glanced at his son, Evans hurriedly gave Batman the popcorn bucket in his arms.

Suddenly, there was a violent sound on the stage. A man in a purple tuxedo limped onto the stage. He was holding a loudspeaker in his hand and shouted: "Ladies! Gentlemen! Look at me." ! Look at my new suit!”

As if he had lice on his body, he moved his shoulders vigorously, twisted his waist left and right, and said: "Damn, this collar is a bit tight, I shouldn't have listened to that clerk, I should have bought a larger size..." "

"Okay, that's not important, I'm just a host, you can call me MR. Jack!"

"Let me see...Oh my god! There are so many people! You all came to praise me. I am so touched. Wait! Who is that? It's Batman!! It's Gotham's big star Batman. ! Let’s cheer for him!”

As he waved his arms vigorously, the orchestra made a noise, and the people below were also cheered. Batman still sat in the audience without saying a word.

"You should stand up, bow left and right, and nod in greeting." Schiller told him: "This is a necessary part of the interaction between the host and the special audience."

Tomato free reading

Batman turned his head left and right and found that everyone seemed to be looking at him expectantly, but while he was hesitating, the Joker on the stage shouted: "Okay, who else? Oh my God! The Godfather of Gotham Your Excellency is here too!”

The godfather did not stand up, but he stretched out his hand and waved it from side to side.

"as well as……"

The clown seemed to be choked suddenly. He said: "How do you pronounce that word? Wait, uh..."

He rummaged around in his pocket, took out a small piece of paper, looked at it and said, "Professor Rod...Riggs!"

Schiller stood up, nodded to the left and right, and then waved.

"I hate this name, it's such a mouthful," the clown muttered.

Then he regained his interest and said, "Welcome to the opening act of the great comedian Jack!"

"What did I say before? What did I call this plan?...'Owl's Bad Luck'? No, no, no! I changed my mind. This name is too vulgar and does not suit me!"

"Now I'm going to call it - Death of the Owl!"

Along with his high-pitched tone, the orchestra played the opening song. In an instant, the curtain behind him opened with a bang, and several lights focused on the center of the stage.

There were several hemp ropes hanging from the ceiling, with people tied from head to toe hanging at the end. They were men and women, old and young, but they all had the same characteristic, that is, they were wearing white bird-shaped masks.

The clown took a strip of cloth and tied the loudspeaker to himself, which made his suit full of wrinkles and looked a little funny, but he didn't care at all.

He happily rushed to the band, took a triangle, banged it hard, and then said loudly: "General, general, general! The actors are on stage! Our protagonist is here!!!"

"Hey, have you got the camera over there? You have to make sure that the entire Gotham audience can see it clearly!"

The bearded man made an OK gesture.

The clown turned around and faced the group of victims who were tied up and hung in the air by hemp ropes. He said, "I guess you must be particularly confused, how did I find you?"

"Do you still remember the charity dinner you held on Elizabeth Street a few days ago? I drove to deliver the ingredients that day..."

"What other day? Oh... It must have been more than ten days ago. I don't remember. Which restaurant is it? That's me too. I'm a hard-working driver. I often go to the places you frequent most. !”

"You think you are hiding very well." The owl without feathers is full of ugliness, you can't hide it anymore, hahahahahaha, your feathers are all plucked, you are as ugly as a newborn duck, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Hahahahaha! ! "

One of the tied people, who had no tape on his mouth, said loudly: "It's impossible, we are clearly pretending..."

"You are heartbroken!" The clown interrupted him and said, "You put on an indifferent attitude and think that you are no different from normal, but your hearts are bleeding, and I can smell the smell of blood."

"What have you lost? What makes you confused and heartbroken? Could it be..." The clown snickered and said: "Could it be money, hahahahaha!!"

"Hahahahaha, I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but I really can't help it, you actually... you actually do it!!! Hahahahaha, it's all about money!!!"

The clown laughed so hard that he was out of breath. He bent down and covered his stomach, as if he was about to suffocate from laughter in the next second.

Laughter also came from the audience. Batman looked at Schiller. Schiller seemed to have suddenly reacted. He covered his mouth and said, "Oh, it's okay, I just couldn't hold it in because it's really funny, especially yes……"

Schiller looked around and whispered to Batman: "...especially when you think that all that money is in my pocket now."

The clown gradually recovered from his wild laughter. He found that the owl members he tied were silent. His smile had not disappeared. He asked: "Why are you so serious?"

"Isn't this funny enough?"

After speaking, he asked the audience: "An organization that claims to be the controller of Gotham! Actually lost money because of it... Hahahahaha! A secret society that claims to be a great dark existence was exposed because of money. This Could it be...hahahahaha!"

Many people in the audience also laughed, and then it gradually turned into a roar of laughter.

The only ones who were silent were Batman and the members of the Court of Owls on the stage.

Now the members of the Court of Owls feel the same as Batman. Are they crazy, or is the world crazy?

"Why can't we... you poor country bumpkins! Do you know how much that is? It's a trap, we're being blackmailed, we..."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The clown rushed up and hit the member's head crazily with the small iron rod used to knock the triangle. He said: "The person who explains the joke is the failure of the perfect joke! Shut up!" Mouth!"

After a while, the clown panted and walked to the stage again and said, "Okay, the opening ceremony has passed, and we are about to officially start the show!"

After saying that, he walked to the group of people who were hanging, tore off the tape on their mouths, and then said to them: "You should have seen that you are hanging at different heights..."

"And now..." The clown stomped his feet and said, "There is a big surprise under the floor, just like the one I gave you before."

"From now on, the ropes that bind you will slowly fall down. If one of you touches the ground, then... Boom! Hahahaha!"

"Of course, you also have a way to save yourself. When a person dies, his rope will stop falling."

"You should have felt it. You have a button in your hands tied behind your back. When you press this button, someone among you will die randomly."

"And my audience!" The clown turned around, raised his hands and said, "Take out your tickets, there are clues on them!"

He said to the tied people, "Each of you can choose an audience member to ask questions to guess who the button in your hand corresponds to, Or who has the button in his hand that corresponds to you. "

"Then!" The Joker raised his voice and said, "Consider whether to press the button in your hand..."

He turned around and bowed, standing in the center of the stage. The spotlight cast a dark shadow on his hair. The smile on his face became a little scary. His voice echoed in the empty theater and became rhythmic:

"When I heard that a savior named Batman appeared in Gotham, I almost thought I was crazy."

"But I'm not crazy, so he is certainly not the savior."

"But this damn lunatic disguised as a bat, he rejected me, ignored me, and even humiliated me as a killer mass-produced by others..."

"Now, I have proved that I am not, then, it's your turn... Batman."

-------Digression-------

Writing about the Joker requires a drink, good night everyone.