Shadow of the Beautiful World

Merlin:

I promised you that I will find out the truth about the murders of Richard and Mary. So far, I have not found much information. The activities of that group are very low-key and secretive. They are a very difficult opponent.

But they still made some mistakes. I have found the channel through which Richard and Mary's whereabouts were leaked. But I can't be sure whether the clues I found are true, or those people deliberately left us to mislead us, but I think, Regardless of its truth, it is worth our time to investigate.

According to my investigation, all the remaining clues point to an ancient organization. An organization called 'Assassin Alliance' or 'Shadow Warrior Alliance'.

Hill should have told you about the Batmen that appeared in Philadelphia and Chicago. Those Batmen were manipulated to attack certain targets. Natasha brought back a lot of useful information. Organize it for you.

First of all, the places where the Batman attacked were all strongholds of large local gangsters. They used a 'airborne' method to brutally kill everyone in those strongholds.

Secondly, those Batmen didn't disappear. After hitting Philadelphia and Chicago, their third target was Gotham City on the East Coast, but they seemed to suffer some unexplained failures there.

In the end, after those local gangs were destroyed, another force quickly took over the vacancy left by them. I suspected at first that it was the work of the Ten Rings, but later discovered that there was also a shadow of the League of Assassins behind this incident.

That's the most obvious thing we've been able to find about the League of Assassins in the last few years. So if you're going after the League of Assassins, maybe you can start with Gotham, but be careful, that's from a dozen Years ago, it was already a place of right and wrong.”

The content of Frisson was tumbling in Merlin's mind.

It seems that these batmen have no direct connection with Hydra at present, but if they are related to the death of Richard and Mary, it means that Merlin must end the matter himself.

He opened his eyes and swiveled his office chair to the back. On the wall behind him was a map of the East Coast.

Looking at a city on the northern coast of the map, he said:

Gotham, Bruce, seems to be born there.

I don't know how he is now.

A few seconds later, Merlin sent an email to Fury's mailbox, stating that he would take his annual leave early in the next half month and go on a trip to the Maldives.

In less than 10 seconds, Fury's reply came.

There is only one very simple answer.

agree.

Seeing the answer, Merlin smiled. He took out his phone and dialed Coulson's number:

Hey, Coulson, I'm going to be on vacation for the next half month, and the command of the department is temporarily handed over to you, the same as before. Also, help me book a ticket to leave New York tonight.

After finishing the phone call, Merlin looked at the time, it was 6 o'clock in the afternoon, well, it was time to get off work.

He turned off the computer, stood up, stretched his body in the office, and then returned home with the Displacement Charm, changed into a more formal set of clothes, and drove to Mick's Restaurant.

This afternoon, he and Agent Hill will have a meal together.

Speaking of Hill

Merlin didn't dislike this girl, but S.H.I.E.L.D. employees were not allowed to fall in love, so this dinner was more about thanking Hill for bringing him back from Afghanistan.

Facts have proved that when Merlin needs help, his friend Hill will be a very qualified helper.

—

One day later, a cargo ship stopped at the dock area of ​​Gotham City. When the dock workers were busy preparing to unload the cargo, Merlin slowly walked down the gangway from the cargo ship.

He walked among the crowd, but no one noticed him.

Like an invisible ghost.

Merlin observed the pier in front of him, it was noon, people were coming and going on the pier, it looked lively and bustling. But the dilapidated warehouses around the pier and the gloomy weather in the sky cast a gloomy color on the city before Merlin's eyes.

This is his first time in Gotham.

To be honest, his first impression of the city was bad.

At the corner of the pier, Merlin transformed into a black raven, flapping its wings, flying over the gloomy city. From the pier area to the urban area, in just ten minutes, Merlin witnessed five robberies.

Hell, is this in broad daylight, are the criminals in this city so rampant?

This made Merlin frown.

But it's none of his business, he's in Gotham for bigger things.

Woohoo

With a sharp cry, Merlin folded his wings, and according to the address Fury gave him, he lightly landed on the top of an abandoned building on the edge of the city.

The building had been burned, and the outer walls had become pitch black, and the interior was filled with the unpleasant smell of the flames. The scope of the fire seems to be very large, and the surrounding houses of this building were burned down horribly. The disaster that happened a few months ago has prevented this block from being restored to life. Everywhere you look, everything is withered .

This is where those Batmen ended up in Gotham.

Merlin tilted his head. In the bird's vision, he scanned the surrounding environment. After confirming that there was no one else, Merlin raised his wings and fell into the burned building. In the miserable darkness, he transformed The light of the mantra shone, and he regained his human form.

Woohoo

The dark red spirit raven Victor appeared on Merlin's arm, and Merlin said to his pet:

Go and look around, and let me know if anyone comes over.

Woohoo

With a scream, Victor spread his wings and flew into the sky.

After doing all this, Merlin pushed his glasses and began to search for the clues he needed in the destroyed building.

But to be honest, the results were disappointing.

This building has obviously been cleaned up. Merlin found some traces left by the battle under the floor. On the burnt blackened walls, there were obvious bullet holes and claw marks similar to those left by animals. There are some notches from sharp edges.

Merlin squatted on the ground, he stretched out his hand, and brushed away the remaining ashes on the ground. In the vision of the spirit vision, Merlin could detect the remains of some living creatures in the ashes after being burned.

But relying solely on these wreckages, there is no way to find the information he needs.

So, who killed those batmen that day?

Merlin was thinking among the ruins.

There was obviously a big battle here, and more than one person participated in the battle. This should be a stronghold of gangsters. If you can find those surviving guys, or some witnesses that night, maybe you can find something interesting.

He looked left and right, and there was nothing to see in the ashes-strewn building.

Merlin walked to the window, he identified the direction, and then in the light of the Transfiguration Curse, a black raven flew silently into the gloomy sky of Gotham City.

A few minutes later, Merlin landed in the alley behind the Gotham Police Station.

To investigate such an attack in a city, it is a good choice to start with the police file.

He spread the shadow over his body, and then used an unlocking spell to open the back door of the police station. Surrounded by hundreds of busy police officers, Merlin was like a wanderer, walking slowly and unhindered. Strolled to the reference room of the police station.

It should be a matter of the month.

Merlin looked at the iron cabinet in front of him where the materials were stored, and he found all the case files of that month in chronological order. But what makes Merlin feel strange is that on the day when the Batman attack happened, in addition to some common information about petty theft and robbery, about the battle that night, except for a few fire records, There is no trace at all.

It's as if it doesn't exist at all.

It's not right.

Merlin looked at the file in front of him, and said softly:

Unless the policemen in this city are all blind and deaf, or, there are other forces interfering with this matter?

He picked up the fire report and looked at it.

This surreptitious recording method seems to be a cover-up method that the authorities have always used. Merlin glanced at the submitter of the fire report.

Sheriff James Gordon?

Merlin waved his hand and threw the files back into the filing cabinet. He stretched his fingers and felt that it was necessary for him to chat with that Sergeant Gordon.

Gotham is a terrible place.

On the surface, it is a bustling big city, but under the glamorous appearance, the city has already exuded a foul and rotten smell.

Hell really exists, and it's in the slums and slums of Gotham.

Unbearable poverty and hopeless life will prompt many people to take risks, and for Gotham, this is a normal way of life. The people who steal in this city don't do it to get rich, a lot of them do it to live and have to live in the worst possible way.

What's more terrible is that the bureaucratic system originally used to maintain the city's order has fallen under the golden bullet offensive of those guys who have a lot of wealth but can be called rich and unkind.

No one in the upper class pays attention to the sufferings of the lower class. In the night of feasting and feasting, there is a real crime city hidden.

From this aspect, it is difficult to find a hell on earth like Gotham in this world.

And in such a place, it is really difficult to be an honest policeman, it can be said to be quite difficult.

But where there is darkness, there must be a group of people yearning for light.

James Gordon is one of them. He was born in Gotham, grew up in Gotham, and became a policeman here. He did not accept bribes, did not fear threats, and relied on courage and ability to reach the position of sheriff step by step.

But that was the end of his career.

In a system rife with corruption, it is difficult for an honest person to be a partner to others, and being excluded by colleagues is already the simplest challenge.

In the afternoon, Sergeant James Gordon dragged his exhausted body back to his apartment. The recent period was no different from the previous ten years. Sergeant Gordon's daily work, and because of the inaction of his colleagues, Sergeant Gordon has maintained a high-intensity work all year round.

This made him have gray hair and a vicissitudes of life early in his 40s, when he was in the prime of life.

He carried a box of pizza, opened the door of the room, and heard his daughter's cheerful laughter, which brought a smile to Director Gordon's tired face.

Barbara is his only daughter, who is 15 years old this year. He also has a younger son, James Gordon Jr., who is boarded at the school.

These two people are the most important pillars in Gordon's life. In a sense, Gordon fought in the hell of Gotham, trying to maintain the last ray of light in the city, but also for his children.

But just as Gordon put down the pizza and was about to call his daughter for dinner, he suddenly heard a strange voice from a man.

swish

Gordon's face changed drastically. He drew his pistol and rushed into his daughter's room.

In the hell of Gotham, never underestimate the lower limit of criminals, they have no such thing at all.

boom

The door of Barbara's room was knocked open. Sitting on the bed, the 15-year-old young girl who was listening to the story with great interest was startled. Merlin on the chair, after a while, she said to Merlin:

Look, my dad is back.

Yes, I saw it.

Merlin pointed at his pistol indifferently, and with a slight movement of his fingers, a mind-affecting Yaxi sign was thrown out invisible. Sergeant Gordon, who was originally nervous, lost his sanity at this moment, and put down the pistol in his hand.

Mr. Gordon, I want to ask you something

Merlin stood up and smiled at Barbara behind him. He looked back at Gordon again, with a strange gleam in his eyes:

Please answer me honestly.

Sergeant Gordon is undoubtedly a strong-willed person, but facing the double influence of the Aksi Sign and the Soul Spell, after resisting for a few seconds, he was finally broken through the defense line of will.

Merlin quickly found what happened that night a few months ago in Gordon's memory.

Those batmen with knives flying screaming in the dark night, a group of heavily armed black-clothed soldiers, a female agent with a stern tone and commanding, and a strange figure jumping up and down in a burning building in the dark night, and finally a A secrecy order directly from a high-level government organization.

In less than 3 seconds, Merlin got what he needed.

He stretched out his hand and cast two oblivion spells on Gordon and Barbara. He walked out of the room, opened the pizza that Gordon brought back, took a slice from it, and ate it while pushing open the door of Gordon's apartment. With the sound of the elevator opening and closing, he left this place.

He already has a direction to follow.

Sky Eye will meet Amanda Waller.

And that vigilante Batman dressed like a comedian? What a weird name.

Most importantly, why would you dress up as a bat?

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