There are about a dozen people in the cage, a few of whom stand out among the crowd.
One is a business suit man clad in polished shoes. His hair is neatly combed. The presence of a Wall Street Financial Institutions logo on the right bottom corner of the briefcase he is holding marks him as a typical successful financier.
There's also a wild-looking hippie girl who is now furiously rattling the cage and shouting with a loudness that rivals that of the business suit man.
There's also a mother who is tearfully holding her seven or eight-year-old son tighter than ever, while the boy is crying out for help.
A couple is seemingly trying to call the police on their phone, however, this is not the real world where you can have signal access. Upon pressing their phone several times, they start crying out loud.
Natasha steps forward at once and yells in front of the crowd, "Quiet! Everybody stay quiet! You are not in danger…."
It's a classic way for an agent to handle the situation; however, it obviously doesn't work. As soon as Natasha took two steps forward, she almost got hit by a mobile phone thrown by one of the couple.
"Let us out, you damn demon!" The hippie girl starts shouting.
"Everybody, stay quiet." Batman steps forward as well; however, it looks like he is trying to protect Shiller. His voice is not loud but penetrating, which calms the crowd down a bit.
"If you refuse to cooperate, you will all end up dead here. Now, keep quiet so we can figure out what's going on." he continues.
Reacting to the sudden shock, the startled crowd couldn't quite find its bearings. But humans are highly adaptive. After being doused with cold water by Batman, they start recalling what the strange voice had said.
One of them turns around at this moment, only to meet the sparkling gem-like eyes of the giant Gem Man, instigating another wave of panic. Batman can hear Shiller's heart beating faster and faster.
"Quick, start asking." says Beihan, sharing a meaningful glance with Batman.
"Okay then, Batman. Answer me, how many people of the..."
"I refuse to answer."
The arena falls into silence.
"Have you gone mad?! You damn tight-clothed freak! Which terrorist organization did you come from?! Didn't you hear? If you refuse to answer, we would all be hanged to death!" The business suit man yells.
"Answer him!" the woman from the couple screams.
"Everybody calm down, let's calm down." a woman, who appears to be a teacher, steps forward and says, "We need to figure out what to do."
"Can't you see?! They want us dead!"
"Are you sure you want to refuse to answer?" Gem Man narrows his eyes, seemingly unhappy with this outcome.
"I'm sure." Batman is silently counting Shiller's heart rate and repeats, "I definitely won't answer!"
The cage starts to rise slowly. The sound of the metal chains rubbing against each other feels like a death knell.
"Quick, ask the second question!" Beihan yells immediately.
"Alright, then my second question is…"
"I refuse to answer." Natasha is rotating her gaze rapidly, looking back first before she speaks.
"I haven't even…"
"I refuse to answer!"
"I didn't ask you!"
"I refuse to answer." Beihan jumps in.
"I…"
"I also refuse to answer." Batman speaks.
Gem Man slaps his forehead.
"Are you really superheroes?!! Or are you mentally challenged, can't understand the rules of the game?! I told you, if you refuse to answer, the cage will rise, and they will fall to their deaths!!!"
"We understand the rules, and we're well aware of the consequences. Lift the cage up now!" Batman roars out almost furiously.
"No! I want an answer from Shiller!" Gem Man roars back, "Shiller, answer me, how many people have you killed?!"
"I have never killed anyone."
"You're lying!!!"
"I only kill pigs."
Gem Man is left speechless.
"Ask the third question." Natasha raises her voice," Hurry up!"
"You guys are in a hurry?! Don't rush me! Let me think!"
The cage is now about a meter above the ground, and Natasha, somewhat anxious, stamps her feet and looks back. She roars at Gem Man, "It's just a question, do you have to think till next year?! Is your brain the size of a walnut?! Or is it as small and invisible like your 'something'?!"
"You…"
"Quick! Damn it! Ask!!!"
"Natasha, how many men have you…"
"I refuse to answer! Only someone with an empty-gun brain like you would bother to keep count on how many hands of the opposite sex you've shaken in your lifetime! Next!!!"
The cage keeps ascending, but the people inside don't even have time to get frightened - everything is happening too quickly.
Both parties were in a screaming match, one side asking hastily and the other side answering even more hastily. The whole Q&A process sounded like a machine gun, with mentions of men, women, murder, as well as urgencies. No one could make sense of what was being said.
"Ahhhhh!" Gem Man roars in frustration. The script he wrote wasn't supposed to turn out this way!!
"Hurry up and continue asking!" Beihan said, staring at the cage suspended about two meters above the ground.
"You can't refuse to answer any longer, do you want us dead?!" The man in the suit desperately reached his hand out of the cage, as if trying to grab Natasha, who was standing at the front.
Natasha deftly stepped back, avoiding his grasp. However, just as she did so, the little boy behind the man in the suit threw his hat out. Both Natasha and Batman instinctively dodged aside, causing the hat to land on Shiller.
The boy didn't throw the hat with much force, so it wasn't so much a hit as it was a gentle drop on Shiller. Yet, it ignited a flame in him much like the last stick in a woodpile.
Shiller's breathing suddenly sped up, his heart rate nearly doubling. Natasha instantly remembered a story Shiller had once told her and screamed, "Hold him down!!!"
Even before the echo of her words could fade, Batman, moving faster than sound itself, had tackled Shiller, using his own weight to pin him down.
In the next second, with a 'thud,' Batman was thrown off. He quickly rose, grabbed Shiller from behind and threw him aside. Beihan rushed forward, with Natasha following closely behind.
Gem Man was befuddled.
The discord was supposed to be their third-round task, why had a fight broken out? What on earth was happening?!
What was even more outrageous was how Batman was using his size advantage to either pin down Shiller or toss him aside.
Beihan too had grasped Batman's strategy, but having never personally witnessed Shiller's strength, he underestimated the threat Shiller posed. He was new to the field and had a tender heart.
Seeing Batman toss Shiller his way, Beihan felt confident that he could pin Shiller down with his own strength. However, Shiller had landed on his side. If Beihan were to press him down now, he might risk breaking Shiller's ribs.
This hesitation lasted only half a second. Shiller quickly rolled over in front of Beihan and fled from his side. As Beihan reached out, his hand only grabbed at thin air.
Natasha, who had been further away, nearly managed to grab Shiller, but one step too late dictated the difference between heaven and hell.
Like a bullet, Shiller shot towards the cage, reaching out to grab the arm of the man in the suit that was hanging outside.
The three quickly rushed over to pull Shiller away, but his grip on the man in the suit's arm was so tight it didn't loosen. As Batman tugged, the man screamed in agony.
"Let go! Shiller! Let go now!!"
While shouting, Natasha pulled, the man screamed and Shiller continued to pull.
The man's shoulder and neck were trapped against the cage bars. Seeing that the bars were about to break his collarbone, a hippie girl swiftly hugged his neck and pulled him back.
But the force exerted worked both ways. As they pulled in different directions, the man was not a tug-of-war rope. His body looked like it was going to be split in two, and from his mouth came garbled cries for help: "Don't pull! Don't pull! Save me!!"
When they couldn't pull him free, Shiller decided to use the man's arm like a rope, hoping to climb up towards the edge of the bars.
Furious, Batman roared, "Ask the questions now!!!"
"You guys...."
"Ask NOW!!!!!!!!"
"Suka!" Natasha, stepping onto Shiller's shoulder, quickly climbed onto the cage, kicking the man in the suit's shoulders.
This fierce and fast kick took Shiller by surprise, causing him to shoot forward. His wrist hit the cage's edge, his grip lessened, and the hippie girl made one final pull, freeing the man from Shiller's clutch.
Shiller and the two attempting to restrain him fell to the ground due to their own momentum. The swaying cage tipped Natasha onto the ground nearby.
The hippie girl and the man in the suit inside the cage also fell into the crowd due to their backward force. An elbow accidentally landed on a little boy's stomach, causing him to cry out.
In a moment, everyone ended up in a chaotic heap with cries of agony echoing in the air.
Gem Man was stunned.
Owen was rendered silent.
The spectators too fell into an eerie silence.
Yet, it wasn't over. Shiller, who'd just fallen, was up in an instant and charging towards the cage again. Quick as lightning, Batman grabbed his leg and pulled him down, with Beihan immediately jumping on top of him.
"How is he this strong?!!" exclaimed Beihan.
"Quickly raise the cage! Hurry up!!" yelled Batman.
"Quickly pull us up, quickly pull us up, hurry!!!"
"No, you can't..."
Natasha glanced at Shiller, then at the people bouncing around inside the cage. Her mind flashed back to the sight of Shiller killing fish.
All the fish were slaughtered alive and kicking.
Natasha clearly remembered one of the fish Shiller had caught put up such a struggle that it hit the hole in the ice and died on the spot. However, Shiller hadn't given that fish a second glance.
Natasha turned and sprinted, her hands gripping the cage's bars. Her core muscles strained as she swung a leg through a gap and climbed again onto the side of the cage.
Then, pushing off with both legs, she swung the cage like a giant pendulum. The unfastened passengers inside were tossed around like clothes in a washing machine drum, beaten senseless before getting a chance to grab onto anything.
Natasha put in all her effort for four to five swings. The cage, precariously hanging in the air, moved like a giant swing. The ordinary people inside, without any quick reaction or resilience abilities, crashed and ended up with cuts and bruises. In no time at all, they were all knocked unconscious.
Natasha jumped down and observed Shiller's reaction.
The good news was that Shiller seemed to have lost interest in the cage.
The bad news was that Shiller had now turned his attention to the few remaining 'live fish.'
Natasha retreated a couple of steps while keeping her eyes on Shiller. Her exasperated yell echoed in the gladiator arena:
"Run!!!!!!!!"