Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

In Bruce's psychic battlefield, the vacancy left by Arrogant's departure was soon filled by a new guest. Greed threw himself into a soft sofa, lighting up a cigar meticulously cut by Arrogant, took a deep drag, then slowly exhaled the smoke.

Lucifer looked at him and said, "I didn't think you'd be the first one out. In fact, we just made a bet, and I was backing you to win."

"Thanks, where did that confidence come from?" Greed turned and asked him.

"I thought you were strong, and the background story you designed was really good, giving you an advantage over the others."

"So here I am now."

Lucifer paused because he detected an undertone in Greed's words. Greed rolled his eyes and said, "Haven't you figured it out yet? Batman definitely colluded with the detective."

Lucifer also reached for a cigar. Lighting it, he said, "Are you saying they deliberately set you up?"

"Exactly, that damn Batman!" Greed was grinding his teeth. "It's obvious that Batman and the detective set this up, aiming to eliminate me and Night Owl first."

"But when did they have the time… oh, wait, on your way here, you didn't have time to watch the surveillance, so you didn't know what they were talking about."

Greed propped his head with his hand and sighed, "I really shouldn't have made my background story so good. A regionally dominant medical insurance company deeply rooted in the strange field for years, having captured two monsters and owning a high-tech laboratory here—the advantage was so great that they had to team up to eliminate me first."

"Too much of a good thing," Lucifer said with a smile.

"The analysis about Joker that Batman and the detective conducted was actually intended to lead to the conclusion that I wasn't a danger, but it wasn't meant for the detective. It was meant for me."

"To lull you into a false sense of security?"

"Pretty much. Batman was actually being ironic. He kept emphasizing my non-threatening nature, which made it easy to realize that the key to winning the game was not the players' logical actions, but the actual resources they had."

"Did the detective understand that?"

"You could say he was the only one who could, because he's a very pragmatic person, as pragmatic as Batman, not interested in understanding fanciful personality analyses, just looking at what you actually possess."

Lucifer shook his head and said, "That hits you where it hurts. You're best at using various means to distract people and then take the opportunity to amass substantial tangible resources."

"Yes, blame Arrogant. He must have planned this in advance to bring the detective over. I've always had little I could do about that guy."

"He's in sync with Batman, then," Lucifer softly sighed. "Those two are cut from the same cloth, hard to distract, always maintaining a clear understanding of the situation, and accurate judgement of who they truly need to confront."

Greed nodded, not too resentful. He twirled the cigar in his hand and said, "I seldom meet opponents like Batman, alarmingly perceptive."

"I have to say, it was the right move," Walter chimed in. "From a resource standpoint, you had too much of an edge, and you clearly weren't planning on sharing a victory with anyone. You've been laying a trap for a long time, haven't you?"

"Isn't that expected?" Greed said. "Since the players are allowed to fight among themselves, there can only be one winner in the end. If I don't start preparing in advance, it would be hard to maintain the advantage until the last."

"And yet you got eliminated."

"You could say that from the moment I finished spinning my backstory, I was already marked by everyone as a target for elimination. So I had to keep diverting attention, exposing as few of my resources as possible."

"Pity Batman wasn't fooled by your act," the Transcendent commented, swinging his leg. "It might have been okay if it were just him, but the other one being quite special did you in."

"I've already given them the most critical information. If they can't get through even with that, I won't let them off the hook even as a ghost," Greed said irritably.

"What about Night Owl?" Lucifer said, looking toward the light of the fireplace. "Although he's well-concealed, his chances of winning don't look great."

Greed shook his head and said, "Batman will definitely go after him, not really because of their conflict between good and evil but mainly because Batman doesn't understand Night Owl well enough, and Night Owl always sides with Bruce."

"I see, it's also about balance," Walter said. "The dynamics of this game are such that the players have to unite to take on strange events but cannot commit fully because they must be on guard against each other, preparing for later conflicts."

"This leads to most people cooperating only superficially, probing each other more often than genuinely helping. Everyone is holding back, operating independently."

"But if someone staunchly stands by another due to external factors, then those two have a much greater chance of winning. Especially towards the end when everyone is in bad shape, having an ally who is willing to go all out can almost clinch the victory."

"Yet would Night Owl really genuinely help Bruce?" Lucifer raised a doubt.

"Why not?" Greed replied. "Whether it's a malevolent or righteous Batman, they are both pragmatic. The outcome of a subgame is trivial to them, but if they can secure Bruce's trust with this victory, it would be a sure win for them."

Lucifer scoffed. Night Owl and Bruce, playing brothers on the surface, were really interesting. One pretends to be genuine in enticement, the other falls for it as if it's genuine, putting on a play from the moment they wake up must be utterly exhausting.

"The main reason, I think, is that Batman doesn't know Night Owl well enough," Greed said. "If there was no Joker in this game, maybe Batman would take the opportunity to gather information about Night Owl. But with Joker present, it's safer to just take out this aberrant Batman."

"Do you think Night Owl would side with Joker?"

Greed shook his head and said, "He probably doesn't want the Joker to understand more of Universe Batman's thought process through Night Owl. After all, an evil Batman is still Batman."

"I see," the Transcendent nodded in understanding, "Batman must have seen that this Joker is new to the game, still green. If he were to grow too quickly, the Batman of that universe would be in big trouble."

"His worries are somewhat superfluous," Lucifer said as he glanced at Greed. "The Batman corresponding to this Joker has already evolved, thanks in no small part to someone."

At that moment, the Transcendent asked another question, "How could they dare to bet that Bruce would definitely save Batman? If Bruce saved you, wouldn't Batman be dead for sure?"

"Why didn't you consider why the Joker would suddenly appear?" replied Greed. He continued, "The Joker has the skill of dice-shaking. A normal first aid skill combined with a great success could bring Batman back."

"Would the Joker really save Batman?"

"When he arrives and sees the situation now, does he have any other choice but to save Batman?"

"I hold the most resources right now, and Batman possesses the strongest abilities. We are a balance for each other. If we were to act against others at this moment, we would be at a disadvantage when facing each other later. Therefore, it's inevitable that we would both hold back."

"If I were alive and Batman were dead, I wouldn't have to consider how to deal with Batman later. I could use all of my resources to crush the Joker to death."

"The Joker is not a madman. His ability to judge situations is no less than Batman's. Thus, if he arrives and finds that one of us might die, he will definitely try to save someone."

"Then why didn't he save you?"

"Because he was too late," Greed reasoned aloud. "I'm wondering why he was so late. He shouldn't have been delayed by much."

"Do you know what he was doing?"

"Of course, he must have guessed that Doug is the Wandering. His main purpose for returning to the cabin was to check if Doug's body was still there. If it's gone, that confirms I really teamed up with Batman."

"Since he knows you've teamed up with Batman, why would he dare go to the Lighthouse?"

"Obviously because the Lighthouse must also be an important location in his story," Greed explained, sorting out his thoughts. "Don't forget, the Joker chose to be born at the docks. He was the first to arrive at the Lighthouse, and he must have left something there."

"But he knows Batman is at the Lighthouse."

"Yes, he knows, but he wouldn't be walking into a trap. He dares to go there because he has a way to do so. That's why the agent rushed off so hastily. Batman holds off the Joker while he figures out what the Joker's trump card is."

The Transcendent rubbed his temples and said, "I should never have brought you all together – each with a mind full of tricks. It gives me a headache."

Greed gazed toward the glow of the fireplace.

In the hallway, tension was about to break. Bruce instinctively startled at the sight of that smiling face, which brought back his first encounter with Jack; the oppressive feeling of the Joker was still so strong.

Then he heard the voice of the Primary Universe Batman behind him.

"You have committed a horrific crime here, Joker – your misdeeds are too numerous to document..."

Bruce was about to question if this was the right time for such a talk, but then he recalled the conversation with Greed and felt indeed it was. This kind of topic could most attract the Joker, and talking about judgments of justice was best for stalling time.

Bruce couldn't help but look toward the Primary Universe Batman. Wasn't this guy a bit too calm and collected? Do you even remember being stabbed through the heart with a kitchen knife two minutes ago?

Hearing Greed's analysis, Bruce felt even more aware of the absurdity of Batman. He had only met the agent a few times, with their total exchanges not exceeding half an hour, and yet Batman managed to persuade the agent in the most suitable way, right under everyone's noses, to cooperate.

Moreover, Batman definitely didn't expect the agent's method of cooperation to be stabbing him, but he understood everything in an instant and acted perfectly in response.

What seemed most incredible was that Batman almost arrogantly believed in his judgment of a person, firmly convinced that the other's reaction was the result of his own effort, not because the other party didn't understand or it was merely a coincidence.

Where did all that confidence come from?

The Primary Universe Batman eerily felt a burning gaze upon his back.

What's going on? Clark again?

Batman felt despondent towards this world filled with "Supermen." He needed the real Clark Kent, not a bunch of imposters who shouldn't have such a gaze, tormenting him by pretending to be Clark.

Trying hard to ignore the tangible gaze at his back, the Primary Universe Batman focused on debating with the Joker, while at that moment, Shiller had reached the top of the Lighthouse.

As he burst into the tool room, cursing under his breath, Shiller hoped the Joker wouldn't let him catch him, or not even Batman could save him.

Shiller found a roll of rope in the tool room, then stepped into the hallway and glanced out the window.

Beyond the window was a vast snowscape, with faint lights spotted on the distant docks, signaling ships returning to harbor.