In an instant, Batman gathered his cloak, stopping in front of Dick. Under the streetlight reflected by the glass curtain wall of the building, he looked at Dick and said, "Go back, Dick."
Dick pursed his lips, staring at Batman, showing no intention of backing down. His face was full of stubborn expressions. Soon, his eyes revealed a touch of sadness. He looked at Batman and said, "I am not just learning combat skills from you. I also want to help you, help you accomplish your great cause. Why do you always reject me?"
"I didn't." Batman looked at Dick and said, "But you should know how dangerous this city is."
"I am not afraid!"
"But I am."
The sadness in Dick's eyes turned into shock. He was not expecting Batman to say that. His psychological defense, which took him an entire afternoon to build, collapsed in an instant. He looked at Batman with a sense of grievance and said with a voice filled with choked sobs:
"You take good care of Jason, simply because he's more like you and he can be adopted by you. He could become your capable assistant. Then why don't you consider me? I am not old enough, haven't completed school either! Isn't Jason the same?"
"Dick..." Batman called his name softly, without looking at him. He just told the ground at his oblique front, "Everybody who gets involved in the whirlpool of darkness cannot come out unscathed. This city no longer needs another orphan."
Dick clenched his fists tightly, shouting out loud, "I am not your burden, I don't need your protection, I will prove it to you!"
With that, he turned and ran off. Batman moved to chase after him and saw that Dick's emotions were already uncontrolled. If Batman were to chase him like a hunter after its prey, it would definitely add more pressure.
If Batman had learned anything from the mutual torment with Shiller over the years, it was how to exert maximum pressure on others, like the professor did, and how to reverse it and avoid pressuring others.
But very quickly, Batman had to chase in the direction where Dick ran because just two or three blocks away, a scream was heard.
Upon hearing the scream, Dick didn't think twice and turned to run there. Batman, who followed him, reached the scene almost simultaneously. As soon as Batman landed, he saw a figure raising its dagger against a man in the alley.
With a whoosh, two Batman darts tore through the air at an extremely fast speed, striking the figure. However, there was no bloody scene as expected.
The lights on Batman's belt illuminated the figure for a moment, Dick made a terrified shout, briskly backpedalled two steps before falling to the ground.
Even Batman was taken aback because the figure was too terrifying.
It was not a man, but a life-size puppet, like a realistic articulated doll.
What was even more horrifying was that the doll's limbs, separated and connected again by ball joints, were not made of plastic or metal, but human limbs.
Moreover, this monstrous doll's limbs didn't come from one person.
The legs were obviously female, fair and slender, even wearing high heels. The bulging left arm bore a tattoo, undoubtedly belonging to a mob member, and the right arm was much shorter than the rest, probably from a child.
The doll's head belonged to a young man, wearing glasses, only his face is painted with a terrible doll's makeup, and he wore a crooked wig.
His lips were completely removed, replaced with Barbie-like plastic lips sewed together with iron wires. One eyeball was replaced with a doll's false eye, and the other revealed deep terror and plea.
The moment Batman appeared, the doll, seemingly out of control, collapsed on the ground. But Batman didn't check on him immediately but instead led Dick to the wall, patting on his back who was constantly retching, and sprayed him with some calm spray.
Dick was pale because the earlier sight was too shocking. He saw all the details of this monster with no preparations.
It was a living person made into a puppet, with dried blood, broken skin and terror evident.
Perhaps many people who have seen accident scenes know that the most impactful is not the image but the strong smell accompanying the image. Some people can even hear the subtle sound of blood spurting.
The scenario surrounded by various senses will involuntarily evoke one's imagination, about how terrifying the tragedy would be if it happened to oneself.
This kind of association will directly penetrate people's psychological defenses, causing great fear and nausea. Dick was in this state now.
Dick was in a state of shock, even the calm spray didn't work. After the shock, he became angry, then violent. He tried to break free from Batman. All Batman could do was to stretch out his arms and hold him.
He kept patting Dick's back, telling him, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid... I'm with you."