"Zombies are appearing again?"

On the dimly lit street, Mason frowned.

After hesitating for a few seconds and looking around, he whispered to Batman:

"To be honest, since I saw those monsters in Blackgate Prison last time, I have been studying their characteristics privately. Do you need me to give you some advice?

I mean, I can approach it from the perspective of an alchemist, which may bring you different ideas."

"Oh?"

Batman squinted and said:

"What have you found?"

"Too much."

The newly emerged super villain "Cerberus," disguised as "Mason Cooper," solemnly took out a small notebook from his pocket like a research notebook and waved it in front of Batman.

After flipping through a few pages, he read it out methodically:

"I found that these guys are driven by the desire to kill and hunger. Their vision has completely degenerated, they fear light but are more active in the dark.

They hunt by relying on hearing and smell.

Their body fat dissolves, leaving only atrophied muscle tissue and bones. They move slowly, but once stimulated by flesh and blood, they will immediately enter a 'frenzy' mode.

All their body fluids are poisonous, and their claws and teeth are rich in toxins. Even after the second death, their decay will contaminate the surrounding land.

Their internal organs are highly mutated.

All organs except the digestive system are self-dissolving, and their highly toxic stomach acid can almost digest anything and convert it into energy to support their actions."

Mason talked a lot, and then rubbed his chin somewhat uncertainly and said:

"In fact, the more I study, the more I suspect that these zombies are a kind of 'weapon' designed to quickly transform ordinary life into ruthless killing machines after infection."

"Where did you find so much information?"

After a few seconds of silence, Batman suddenly said softly:

"You have only seen zombies once, right? Mason, have you... hidden something from me?"

"Uh..."

Mason seemed to be caught off guard.

The young man lowered his head and pursed his lips, hesitated for a long time before he made up his mind to reveal a secret that had been hidden for a long time.

He raised his head, looked at Batman, summoned up his courage and said:

"In fact, I dissected them and collected some samples for private research, in the sewers of Blackgate Prison.

I didn't tell you about this because I didn't want you to think that I was interested in monsters and... well, you know, I have had very few friends since I was young."

"The sewers of Blackgate Prison? You really didn't mention this."

Batman's heart moved.

Another doubt about Mason seemed to be resolved, but for the cautious master, one-sided words were not enough to clear suspicion.

However, the fact that Mason took the initiative to mention this matter may indicate that he really wants to maintain "friendship" with the Batman family and cares about his impression in the minds of the Batman family members.

"Very good, the information you provided is quite useful."

Although the information Mason provided was already known to Batman, the master still encouraged him before this young man was about to leave.

But the next moment, Mason spoke again:

"Batman, wait! I haven't finished yet, the last and most important conclusion of my research."

Find the original at " pa𝑤read.com ".

He tore off a page from his research notebook and handed it to Batman, who took a glance at it.Above were some drawings and feature descriptions of zombie organs, and very clear alchemy transformation formulas, which looked very systematic.

But this thing had indeed entered Batman's blind spot of knowledge.

He could only infer from those obscure "professional terms" that Mason might have come to some seemingly mysterious conclusions.

"I know you want to save everyone, but I advise you not to bother. I have observed in Blackgate Prison and conducted experiments with guinea pigs. This zombie virus does not have a process of illness or infection after entering a living organism.

It's not just "poisoning."

In alchemy terms, it is a transformation of life form."

Mason patiently explained to Batman in a professional academic tone:

"Once a life form is scratched or in contact with the virus, this transformation cannot be stopped and will be completed in a short period of time. So, the best way to keep ordinary people away from disaster is to provide them with some preventive measures in advance.

Like a vaccine.

Unfortunately, my alchemy level is too low to make a special preventive potion for this virus, and the antidote I can make is useless against it.

But I am trying to make a cream that can effectively kill them.

If you need it, I can speed up the research and provide it for free."

"You have done enough, Mason. In fact, your research results are beyond my imagination and have really inspired me."

Batman nodded and replied:

"Now go home. If the Cerberus targets you again, contact me immediately!"

"Okay."

The young man nodded and quickly took out a folded letter from his pocket and handed it to Batman, saying:

"I found this at the door of my cabin when I went out to buy something this afternoon. It should be for you."

"Hmm?"

Batman took the letter.

At a glance at the familiar font on the envelope, he immediately knew that this was a letter sent by the missing Catwoman, which made Master Wayne relax a lot.

That cat-like woman is still alive.

One less thing he needs to worry about from the bottom of his heart, it's great.

The sound of a taxi came from the front street. Mason turned around and waved. When he turned around to say goodbye again, there was nothing in the shadow behind him.

Mason was shocked by the skill of fast movement and breath concealment.

If Batman was an assassin...

Tsk, it's unimaginable.

Mason got into the taxi and left. Above the highest building in the entire block, in the cockpit of the Batplane in optical camouflage mode, Master Wayne stared at the departing taxi.

After a few seconds, he said:

"Barbara, check Mason's activity trajectory tonight through the Batphone's positioning."

"Bruce, why have you been suspicious of Mason?"

Barbara complained while typing on the keyboard:

"And installing physical positioning in the phone you gave him is really despicable. Have you ever thought about how angry Mason would be once he discovered the truth?

He admires you so much."

"Tracking him does not mean that I do not trust him."

Master Wayne's tone remained unchanged:

"This is just a cautious concern. I have enough reason to suspect that Cerberus has the goal of recapturing Mason in Gotham.

He must be protected until the event is over."

"Okay, there is no problem with Mason's activity trajectory."After a few seconds of silence, Barbara Gordon looked at the path tracking map on the computer and replied, "Other than spending a long time at the Iceberg Lounge taken over by the Kite Man and the magic shop earlier, it's almost a straight line. He didn't go anywhere else, let alone get close to those places where the zombies appeared."

The Batplane took off silently at this moment.

"Very well, continue to monitor the entire city."

Master looked at the Gotham City with countless lights under the night sky, opened the letter in his hand, and said softly, "I have a feeling that tonight's event may just be the beginning."

"Okay."

There was a response in the communicator, followed by silence, and Batman, who had set the Batplane on autopilot, looked at the letter in his hand. It contained some ordinary greetings and said that he was dealing with some personal affairs and would return to Gotham soon. However, for Batman, the world's number one detective, the hidden meaning in this letter could not be hidden from him.

This immediately made Master alert.

What happened to Selina that made her need to use code words to pass on a message?

Did she encounter danger?

On the way back to the Batcave, Batman took five minutes to find all the code words and used the format agreed upon between him and Catwoman to combine these code words into two sentences:

"Bruce, be careful."

The first sentence made Master's heart skip a beat, and he immediately looked at the second sentence:

"When I get back, you playboy are done! I'm really angry about what your other lover did for you!"

"Huh?"

Master thought there would be some kind of distress signal or shocking secret in this letter, but he was stunned at this moment. He frowned and began to think about his relationship with Selina in the past.

Did he do anything wrong?

Why is she so angry?

And what's with the playboy comment? That's just his disguise!

And those models and celebrities were just fleeting encounters. This cat-like woman really had a temper that was hard to understand.

The man with the Bat helmet leaned against the cockpit, watching the city passing by below. When he was alone, this almost omnipotent man finally showed a troubled expression like an ordinary man.

Alas, there was nothing he could do.

Who made him fall in love with a cool girl who wore leather and carried a whip?

But Master was still Master. His melancholy disappeared in a flash, and he quickly entered work mode. He called the butler and asked, "Alfred, how far has Lucius's research on the zombie virus progressed?"

"His team has extracted the virus gene sequence and made several targeted drugs, and is conducting the first round of experiments."

The butler sighed and said, "That project is like water flowing out of a broken jar. They have spent the money of ten Batplanes in less than half a month! Last month's stock earnings were all spent on it. Also, young master, I'm on vacation in Italy now! Please don't disturb an old man enjoying his leisure time. In fact, I'm preparing to attend a banquet with some charming ladies."

"Afuo, ask Lucius to speed up! Don't worry about the money. It's meaningless in the face of crisis."

Batman paused and said in a deep voice, "The zombies have reappeared in Gotham tonight, and there is a tendency to spread. The worst speculation about this matter has come true. Whether Lucius can come up with results is related to whether we can safely get through this crisis."The voice on the other end of the line was silent for a moment. The old butler spoke in a short tone, "I'll book a ticket to return to Gotham immediately."

"No need. The private plane of the estate has already departed an hour ago to pick you up."

The old master spoke in a melancholic tone, "It's too much for an old man like you to sit in economy class and suffer. Also, Afuo..."

"Happy birthday."

---

"This potion was made by me last night. It's a destructive potion that's effective against undead creatures, found in the alchemy book."

The next morning, a guest arrived in the office of the Gotham Police Department's chief. Gordon, who had stayed up all night, drank thick coffee and watched Mason demonstrate a white potion in front of him.

Mason held the "Primary Black Blood" potion in his hand and spoke like a salesman.

This potion was a combat potion specifically for witchers, recorded in Old K's alchemy book, with enhanced damage and weakening effects against undead creatures.

Witchers usually drink it directly.

But if an ordinary person drinks it, they will immediately go to meet God. So Mason modified the formula slightly to make it into an ointment that can be applied to weapons.

This successful modification of the formula gave Mason a 40-fold increase in skill proficiency, making him more determined that "the essence of alchemy is change" in practical thinking.

"You can dilute it ten times and soak the bullets in it. Even if you can't hit the zombie's head, it will cause greater damage and greatly reduce their reaction speed."

The young man demonstrated how to use the Primary Black Blood potion to the chief, and then picked up the potion bottle and made a throwing motion, saying to Gordon, who was yawning, "If you are surrounded by zombies, just throw it out. Undead creatures hate this smell, and if you pour it on yourself, it looks like a moving poop to the zombies. They will naturally ignore and stay away from you."

"It's a great thing, Mason. We really need it."

Gordon, who had not slept for a night and had been shooting zombies with a gun until three hours ago, thanked him with black circles under his eyes. He looked at the small box of potion that Mason had provided for free and got up to express his gratitude to himself as the "ward" under the law.

Mason glanced at him, took out a bottle of vitality potion and dripped it into Gordon's coffee. As a result, the chief quickly regained his energy and became full of vitality.

"Gordon, maybe it's not my place to say this, but I think you can't be led by the nose by the super villains who manipulate zombie attacks."

Before leaving, Mason suggested to the chief, "The speed at which they create zombies will always be faster than your police response. Even with the support of the Bat Family, you will soon become exhausted. I said this to Batman last night, and he thought it made sense. Maybe you should contact the government's medical department and see if they can produce some immunity drugs to distribute to the public. This way, at least they don't have to worry about accidentally being scratched or infected by filthy things."

"I contacted them after the incident at Blackgate Prison, Mason."

The chief Gordon escorted Mason to the door of the police station.

The old man who was always under a lot of pressure lit a cigarette and said to Mason with a hint of helplessness and anxiety, "But there was no response from above. I contacted some old friends of mine, and they told me that this matter was taken over by the Eye of Heaven. They are fully responsible for the response measures. Amanda Waller is a very annoying person."Over the past few years, her group of lunatics has been secretly active in Gotham without prior notice. As the commander of the secret department, she wouldn't inform me, a mere police chief, about the progress of the events."

The old man blew a smoke ring and said to Mason:

"But we're already working on it. I trust Batman more than the Eye of Heaven."

"I trust him too, but his power is limited after all."

Mason frowned and said:

"By the time he comes up with a solution, the zombie attacks might have become a regular occurrence, making me feel insecure living in this city. Gordon, maybe I should take Barbara and hide in Bludhaven."

"Don't worry, Batman's power is much greater than you think."

Gordon threw away his cigarette butt, patted the young man on the shoulder, and said in a low voice:

"The targeted drug is being developed. Batman has asked his good friend Bruce Wayne to help, and Wayne Industries' medical department will soon start mass production.

This news might help you feel at ease to research your wonderful potions.

But don't tell anyone else, to avoid causing chaos."

"What?"

Mason showed a shocked expression and exclaimed:

"Bruce Wayne, the playboy who changes girlfriends all the time, is actually friends with Batman? How is that possible? They're from two completely different worlds!"

"Surprised, aren't you, kid?"

Gordon looked at Mason's shocked face and chuckled, saying mysteriously:

"The waters of this city are much deeper than you think, young man. In a way, Bruce Wayne is also an unofficial member of the Bat family.

Hmm, this news can't be leaked either.

You know how important it is."

"Yeah, I understand. This shocking news is enough for me to digest for a while."

Mason shook his head, waved goodbye to Gordon, and finally showed a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth as he left the police station. As he hailed a taxi, the young man sighed in his heart:

"It's no wonder you're the master. I knew that no matter what trouble we faced, putting my hope in you would never result in disappointment. So, the next stop for the super villain Cerberus is Wayne Industries' medical department.

Well, since I've decided to go there, maybe I can also visit the technology research department that specifically provides equipment for the master.

There might be some unexpected surprises."