hotmtlnovel Chapter 159, Section 56: The Claws Schemed Against Again
Chapter 159, Section 56: The Claws Schemed Against Again
Chapter 159, Section 56: The Claws That Were Calculated Again (Third update, the final update is still being written and will be available in about half an hour)
Not all the claws were sent to capture Qin Wei; some were still carrying out their original missions: destroying clues and assassinating Joseph, the "clown" who challenged the court.
The leader of this Claw Force is William Cobb.
Compared to the young Claws who are deeply brainwashed and have an almost perverse loyalty to the court, older Claws like him often have their own set of standards for doing things.
Prioritizing the task above all else and efficiency above all else, loyalty to the court would probably rank outside the top ten.
So when he received a court summons demanding that the Claws return to Wayne Tower immediately, he simply ignored it.
After all, those who swore allegiance were put in their coffins decades ago, and their bones are probably almost completely rotten by now. As for the Owl members who succeeded their fathers, William has never liked them, since they are also deeply wary of him.
When things are going well, they lock these old claws in frozen coffins. When something happens, they give them a chemical injection to wake them up and send them on missions without explaining the cause or consequences.
No one would be happy to be treated like a tool like this, and William, who kept his complaints to himself, was considered to have a good temper.
You ask me why Lao Li didn't defect?
Because of the highly addictive nature of amber gold, and having been corrupted by this stuff for nearly a century, the claws led by William Cobb have long been inseparable from it.
Getting back to the main point, William also solved the Joker's three-letter puzzle, only it took him a little longer.
So when he chased after him menacingly to Robinson Park, his target, the Joker, had already left, and the underground tunnel seemed to still echo with a creepy, neurotic laugh.
But it doesn't matter, Qin Wei is still here.
Before the aftershocks of the explosion had subsided, William Cobb and Qin Wei's eyes met in the shadows.
This is the first meeting between William Claw and V Bat. The former is unaware that the other is the court's most wanted criminal and initially thinks he is a gang member who has come to this place to find treasure.
But William's sixth sense told him that things might not be so simple. He was clearly hiding in the shadows, suppressing his breathing and heartbeat according to the training methods of Claw, but the other party's gaze was fixed on him like a hawk locking onto its prey.
When carrying out missions, he usually lurks in the shadows, spying on his targets, just like now. Because of the chilling killing intent in his eyes, he often unintentionally gives his targets a feeling of unease, as if they are being pricked by thorns.
For a fleeting moment, William even thought he was the prey.
"So this is how I stare at people? This spine-chilling feeling is absolutely maddening."
William muttered to himself, then swung his left-hand hidden blade and stepped out of the shadows.
Qin Wei's current physical condition is characterized by disordered breathing, rapid heartbeat, and multiple fractures throughout his body, including in his ribs, elbows, and shinbones.
William could roughly tell the extent of the prey's injuries just by observing its prone position. Although the prey's eyes still held a menacing look, it was not a cause for concern.
He planned to extract information about the clown from his prey before, as was customary, slit his throat.
Before the thirty-odd children could escape the tunnel, William blocked their way. They could only cower in a corner, trembling with fear. This ominous man wearing a strange mask might become a nightmare that haunts them for the rest of their lives.
Have you ever seen a clown?
William squatted down in front of Qin Wei and patted the latter's face with his hidden sword.
"If you had come five minutes earlier, you could have met him, but now, who knows?"
"So you found the treasure he was talking about?"
"Do I look like it?"
Not getting a satisfactory answer, William was not annoyed and placed the hidden sword against the back of Qin Wei's neck.
But just as he was about to execute the witness as usual, his panting prey let out a low laugh.
"What exactly are you afraid of?"
When did you sense that I was afraid?
William was somewhat curious about this man and couldn't help but say a few more words.
But Qin Wei's next answer sent chills down his spine.
"I'm not just talking about you, but the entire Court of Justice. The Court of Owls, a mysterious organization that controls Gotham. These glamorous socialites by day hide behind masks at night, plotting murder and conspiracy. What are you all afraid of?"
The blades of the claws trembled.
This man is indeed extraordinary!
"Who are you? How do you know about the court—"
Before he could finish speaking, a plume of white smoke suddenly obscured William's vision. The biting cold that seeped into his mask made him instinctively back away.
Qin Wei had been wasting so much time talking for this opportunity, so how could he let the other party slip away so easily? He endured the excruciating pain, rolled over to his feet, and slammed the small medical liquid nitrogen gun in his hand onto William's head.
Sorry, bats are always prepared.
After analyzing that the Joker likely also had the same comic book, Qin Wei easily concluded that the other party wanted to drag the Court of Owls into their scheme against him.
In other words, the underground playground is not Joseph's final test; he will most likely still have to face Claw.
So Qin Wei asked Selena, who was taking care of Harvey at the hospital, to steal a few canisters of liquid nitrogen guns for treating skin tumors. Although these guns didn't have the large capacity of liquid nitrogen bomb disposal devices, they were convenient to carry around and could be hidden in a coat or tucked into a belt, making them relatively inconspicuous.
After all, he couldn't exactly carry around a big metal canister to rescue people. By the way, when liquid nitrogen comes into contact with exposed human skin, the Leidenfrost phenomenon occurs (when a liquid comes into contact with an object at a temperature far above its boiling point, it will evaporate directly and leave a layer of insulating vapor on the surface), so Qin Wei's hands were not frostbitten.
William, on the other hand, actually suffered the full damage from a can of liquid nitrogen.
The mask with claws, however, became a medium for transmitting the cold; almost instantly, a layer of frost covered half of the opponent's head.
"Ah, one!"
Old Claw groaned, clutching his frostbitten head. Remember? The pain perception of Claws was greatly weakened due to the effects of the amber gold synthesis. The excruciating pain of broken tendons and bones was no different from a scraped hand to them. However, once the effects of cold slowed down the amber gold, both the self-healing speed and the tolerance to pain would be greatly reduced.
At that moment, William felt as if Hannibal had sawed open his skull and scooped out a spoonful of his brain, the pain so intense that he could barely think.
Without hesitation, Qin Wei aimed at the opponent's frozen skull and delivered a high kick that shattered the skull.
With a crisp snap, fragments of William's skull, along with bursting blood, splattered all over his face.
This kick was both lethal and impactful; whether the claws felt good or not, Qin Wei certainly enjoyed it. The only regret was that they didn't have any sticky bombs in stock; otherwise, they could have shoved one inside William—whoosh!
But he had no time to savor the moment; he quickly urged the rescued children to move out.
Gotham's law enforcement system is currently nearly paralyzed, and he's the only one who can help.