The track of dawn in the world of American manga

Chapter 57 9. Gordon's heart skipped a beat again

"Zombies appear again?"

On the dark street, Mason frowned tightly.

He hesitated for a few seconds, looked left and right, and whispered to Batman:

"To tell you the truth, I've been privately studying the characteristics of those monsters since I saw them in Blackgate Prison last time. Need me to give you some advice?

I mean, I can start from the perspective of an alchemist, which may give you a different way of thinking. "

"Oh?"

Batman narrowed his eyes and said:
"What did you find?"

"That's too much."

The newly promoted super villain "Three-headed Dog" disguised as "Mason Cooper" took out a small notebook that looked like a research note from his arms and waved it in front of Batman.

Turned over a few pages, and read one by one:

"I found that these guys are driven by bloodlust and hunger, their vision has completely degraded, they are sensitive to light, but they are more active in the dark.

They hunt by hearing and smell.

The fat in the body is dissolved and only the atrophied muscle tissue and bones are kept. It looks like it is moving slowly, but once it is stimulated by the flesh and blood, it will immediately enter the 'furious' mode.

All their bodily fluids are poisonous, their claws and teeth are rich in toxins, and even the decay after a second death can pollute the nearby land.

Its internal organs are highly alienated.

All organs except the digestive system are self-dissolving, and the highly toxic gastric juice can digest almost anything and convert it into energy to support action. "

Mason babbled a lot, and finally rubbed his chin and said with some uncertainty:

"Actually, the more I research, the more I suspect that these zombies are like a designed 'weapon' that can quickly transform ordinary life into a ruthless killing machine after infection."

"Where did you find so much information?"

After a few seconds of silence, Batman suddenly said quietly:
"You should have only seen a zombie once? Mason, are you hiding something from me?"

"Uh"

Mason seemed stunned.

The young man lowered his head and pursed his lips with some guilt. He hesitated for a long time before making up his mind. It seemed that he really wanted to reveal a secret that had been concealed all along.

He looked up, watched Batman gather courage and said:

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

I didn't tell you guys about it because I didn't want you guys to think I was interested in monsters so that uh, you know, I grew up with very few friends. "

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

Batman's heart skipped a beat.

Another suspicious point about Mason, a young man, seems to have been solved, but for the prudent master, one-sided words are not enough to clear up the suspicion.

However, Mason's ability to speak out about this matter may mean that he really wants to maintain "friendship" with the Bat Family, and he cares about his impression in the minds of the Bat Family members.

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

Although the information Mason said was already known to Batman, the master still encouraged the young man and planned to leave.

But the next moment, Mason spoke again:

"Batman, wait! I'm not done yet, about the last and most important conclusion of my research."

He tore out a page from his research notes and handed it to Batman, who held it in his hand and glanced at it.

There are some drawings and characteristic descriptions of the zombie's organs marked on it, and a very clear alchemical transformation formula is recorded, which looks decent.

But this thing really entered the blind spot of Batman's knowledge.

He could only infer from those obscure "professional words" that Mason might have drawn some seemingly unclear conclusions.

"I know you want to save everyone, but I advise you not to bother. I have observed in the Black Gate Prison, and I have also done experiments with mice. This zombie virus has no disease or infection process after entering the living body. .

It's not as simple as 'poisoning'.

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

Mason patiently explained to Batman in a low voice with a professional academic tone:

"Once the living body is scratched or comes into contact with the virus itself, the transformation cannot be stopped and will be completed in a short period of time. Therefore, the best way to keep ordinary people away from disasters is to provide them with some kind of preventive means in advance.

Similar to vaccines.

Alas, my alchemy level is too low to make a special preventive potion for this virus, and the antidote I can make has no effect on it.

But I'm trying to make a salve that will kill them effectively.

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

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

Batman nodded and replied:
"Go home now. If the three-headed dog is eyeing you again, contact me immediately!"

"Ok."

The young man also nodded, and he quickly took out a folded letter from his arms, handed it to Batman, and said:

"I found this at the door of the hut when I went shopping this afternoon. It should be for you."

"Ok?"

Batman took the letter.

Glancing at the familiar font on the envelope, he immediately knew that it was a letter from the missing catwoman, which made the master feel a lot more relaxed.

The cat-like woman is still alive.

It was nice to have one less thing to worry about from the bottom of his heart.

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

This kind of fast movement and breath-shielding skills made Mason terrified.

If Batman was an assassin.
Tsk, I can't even imagine it.

Mason got into a taxi and left here. Above the tallest building in the entire block, in the cockpit of the Bat fighter in optical camouflage, the master stared at the taxi that was leaving.

After a few seconds, he said:
"Barbara, take a look at Mason's activity track tonight through the location of the bat phone."

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

Barbara complained while typing on the keyboard:

"And it's such a nasty thing that you put physical location on the phone you gave him, did you ever think how angry Mason would be if he found out?

He adores you so much. "

"Just because I followed him doesn't mean I don't trust him."

The old man said without changing his tone:

"It's just a cautious concern, and I have every reason to suspect that recapturing Mason was among the goals of the Three-Headed Dogs' campaign in Gotham.

He must be secured until the event is over. "

"Well, there is no problem with Mason's trajectory."

After a few seconds of silence, Barbara Gordon looked at the path tracing diagram on the computer and replied:
"Except for the relatively long stay at the Iceberg Bar that the Kiteman took over and the magic supply store just now, it's almost a straight line. I haven't been to other places, and I haven't been close to those zombie haunts."

The bat fighter took off silently at this moment.

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

The master looked at the Gotham City lit up by thousands of lights at night, and while opening the letter in his hand, he said softly:

"I have a hunch that what happened tonight may just be the beginning."

"Ah."

The communicator responded with a sound and then fell silent, while Batman, who had set up the autopilot, leaned on the seat and looked at the letter in his hand, all of which were some very ordinary greetings and said that he was dealing with some private matters and would return soon to Gotham.

But for the world's number one detective like Batman, the code words hidden in this letter cannot be hidden from him at all.

This made the master immediately vigilant.

What happened to Selena that made her need to use code words to send herself a message?
Is she in danger?

On the way back to the Batcave, it took Batman 5 minutes to find all the code words, and combined them into two sentences in the format agreed between him and Catwoman:

"Bruce, be careful."

The first sentence made the master's heart jump, and he immediately looked at the second sentence:

"It's over for you playboy when I get back! I'm really angry about what your other lover did for you!"

"what?"

Originally thinking that there would be some distress message or shocking secret hidden in this letter, the master was stunned for a moment. He frowned and began to think about his time with Selena in the past.

You didn't do anything wrong, did you?
Why is she so angry?

What about a playboy, that's just his disguised identity!

It's just a joke with those models and celebrities. This cat-like woman really has a cat-like temper, which is really elusive.

The man wearing the bat helmet leaned against the side of the cockpit, looking at the city flying past below. When he was alone, this almost omnipotent man finally had the same troubled expression as an ordinary man.

Alas, no way.

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

But the master is a master after all, his melancholy was only fleeting and he quickly entered the working state. He connected the old butler's phone and asked:

"Alfred, how far has Lucius's research on the zombie virus progressed?"

"His team has completed the extraction of the virus gene sequence and produced several targeted drugs, which are in the first round of trials."

The old butler sighed and said:

"That project was a waste of money. In less than half a month, they had already spent the money of ten Bat fighters! Last month's stock income was all thrown into it.

And, master, I'm on vacation in Italy now!

Please don't disturb a poor old man's leisure at this hour, in fact, I am going to dinner with some very attractive ladies. "

"Ah Fu, let Lucius speed up! Don't care about money, that thing is meaningless in the face of a crisis."

Batman paused, and said in a deep voice:

"Zombies reappeared in Gotham, just tonight, and there is a tendency to spread. The worst guess about this matter has come true. Whether Lucius can produce results is related to whether we can survive safely. this crisis."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call, and the old butler said in a short tone:
"I'll book a flight back to Gotham immediately."

"No, the manor's private plane has already set off to pick you up an hour ago."

The old man said in a low tone:

"It's too much for an old man like you to take a bumpy first-class flight, and besides, Ah Fu"

"Happy birthday."
-
"I made this potion last night. It is a destructive potion that works against undead creatures that I found in an alchemy book."

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

Mason was pinching the "Primary Black Blood" potion in his hand like a salesman with lotuses in his mouth.

This potion is a special battle potion for demon hunters recorded in Old K's Alchemy Book, which has the effect of increasing damage and weakening of undead creatures.

Demon hunters usually drink it directly.

But ordinary people drink this stuff and go to see God immediately, so Mason modified its formula slightly to make it a salve that can be applied to weapons.

This successful formula revision gave Mason a 40-fold increase in skill proficiency, and made him more firm in his practical thinking that "the essence of alchemy is change".

"You can dilute it ten times and use it to soak bullets. Even if you can't hit the zombie's head, it will cause more damage to them and slow down their reaction speed a lot."

The young man demonstrated to the director how to use the primary black blood potion, picked up the medicine bottle and made a throwing motion, and said to the yawning Gordon:

"If you are surrounded by zombies, throw it out, the undead creatures hate this smell, and if you pour it on your body, it looks like a lump of moving poop to the zombies.

They will also naturally ignore and move away from you. "

"Great stuff, Mason, we really need it."

Gordon, who hadn't slept all night and was still shooting zombies with a gun until three hours ago, thanked him with dark circles under his eyes. He looked at the small box of potion provided by Mason free of charge, and stood up to express his gratitude to his legal "ward" grateful.

Mason glanced at him, took out a bottle of vitality potion and dripped it in Gordon's coffee, and the director quickly regained his vitality, and suddenly became full of vitality.

"Gordon, it may not be my turn to say these words, but I don't think you can be led by the nose by the super villain who manipulates zombies to attack villains."

Before leaving, Mason suggested to the chief:

"People will always create zombies faster than you can dispatch the police, 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 medical department.

See if you can make some immune drugs and distribute them to citizens, so that at least they don't have to worry about being accidentally scratched or infected by contact with filth. "

"I've been in touch since what happened at Blackgate Prison, Mason."

Chief Gordon sent Mason to the gate of the police station.

The old man who was always under great pressure lit a cigarette and said to Mason with a hint of helplessness and anxiety:

"But the higher-ups didn't give me a response. I contacted some old friends of mine, and they told me that this matter was taken over by the Sky Eye Society, and they were solely responsible for the countermeasures.

Amanda Waller is a very annoying guy.

All the secret activities of the lunatics under her command in Gotham in the past few years have not been reported in advance, and as the commander of the secret department, she will not report the progress of the incident to me, a small police chief. "

The old man exhaled the smoke ring and said to Mason:
"But we are already thinking of a way. I trust Batman more than the Sky Eye Society."

"I also trust him, but his strength alone is limited after all."

Mason frowned and said:
"When he comes up with a plan, I'm afraid zombie attacks have become normalized, which makes me feel very insecure living in this city. Gordon, maybe I should take Barbara to Bludhaven to hide for a while hide."

"Don't worry, Batman is much more powerful than you think."

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

"Targeted drugs are being made, Batman has enlisted the help of his good friend Bruce Wayne, and the medical division of Wayne Industries will soon begin mass production.

This news may give you peace of mind as you research your wondrous potions.

But don't tell anyone else, lest it cause confusion. "

"what?"

Mason showed a shocked expression, he lost his voice and said:
"Bruce Wayne's young girl who changes girlfriends all day is actually Batman's friend? How is this possible? They are people from two worlds!"

"Didn't expect that, kid?"

Gordon looked at Mason's shocked face, and suddenly he laughed, and said mysteriously:

"The water in this city is much deeper than you think, young man, Bruce Wayne is also a non-staff member of the Bat-family in a sense.

Well, this news cannot be leaked either.

You know how important it is. "

"Well, I understand, this shocking news is enough for me to digest for a while."

Mason shook his head and waved goodbye to Gordon. A smile finally appeared on the corner of his mouth when he left the police station. When he waved to stop the taxi, the young man sighed in his heart:

"As expected of you, master, I knew that no matter what troubles I encountered, I would never be disappointed if I pinned my hopes on you. Then the next stop of the super villain Your Excellency the Three-Headed Dog is Wayne Industrial Medical Department.

Well, now that we have decided to go there, maybe we can drop by the technology research and development department that provides equipment for the master.

Maybe there will be surprises? "

(End of this chapter)