At these words, the others were stunned.
Ever since Batman had arrived, he had been emphasizing that now was not the time to catch the traitor.
Batman's logic was simple, if a vampire wanted to plant a mole in the Justice League, it was to disrupt their ranks and prevent them from dedicating the time and energy needed to contain the growth of the vampires outside.
Operating under the principle that one must do the opposite of what the enemy wants, spending a significant amount of time and energy to catch the traitor was less advantageous than systematically destroying vampire bases and eliminating their organized manpower in the way the Justice League was adept at doing.
In other words, there was not a single weak player in the Justice League, the damage a traitor could cause was far less than the damage the League's powerhouses could inflict on other vampires, making it a worthwhile trade-off.
Superman and Wonder Woman were used to following Batman's lead, so although they were also concerned about the traitor issue, they ultimately decided to heed Batman's advice.
However, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman had differing opinions. Some felt that ignoring the traitor hurt their comrades, others believed that not capturing the traitor would interfere with future operations, and there were those who thought setting aside the safety of allies for maximum damage was rather too heartless.
The members debated for a long time without reaching a unified answer, but surprisingly, Batman, who had insisted on business as usual, softened his stance and agreed to find the traitor first.
He stood directly in front of the meeting room table and said, "If you do not wish to work in an atmosphere filled with doubt and anxiety, I can understand that. However, if we are to investigate, it must be done my way. I believe you all trust me."
With these words, the others really had nothing to refute. In terms of investigative experience, who was more skilled than Batman, the world's greatest detective? He was the expert at catching traitors.
Batman looked at Wonder Woman and said, "Send out another message to the others, have them come to the meeting room immediately. I expect everyone to be here within 10 minutes."
Wonder Woman nodded and began operating the communicator. Seated The Flash rubbed his still intact arm against his nose, while Superman sat down in silence, looking a bit guilty.
They could all see that Batman was angry. While Batman's mood was secondary, if he decided to get serious, none would have an easy time.
Soon, the Magic Twins arrived, greeting everyone else. Jenna smiled at Batman and said, "My brother just came back from patrol, so we're a bit late, please don't mind."
"No problem, go take a seat."
About five minutes later, everyone had arrived.
Batman walked to the front of the table, his heavy footsteps echoing in the room; no one dared to speak.
"If we are to investigate, we must adopt a professional attitude to do professional work. Only in a sufficiently enclosed space can we eliminate all interruptions. Therefore, I propose that Superman, completely seal off the meeting room. Until we have a result from the investigation, no one is to leave here."
"You want to imprison us?!" Aquaman said.
"Of course not. Once we identify who the betrayer is, everything can return to normal. This is the decisive action you wanted, is it not?"
Despite some reservations, Wonder Woman tried to persuade him, "I think there's no need to be that extreme."
"No, ma'am. A fish can only bite one hook. If we are both stopping the expansion of vampires outside and investigating the traitor internally, we won't do either task well."
"Since most think we should find the betrayer first, we should commit all our efforts to quickly identify the suspects. We can't afford distractions until then."
Wonder Woman understood the reasoning; she thought this might even be the traitor's goal, trying to disorient the Justice League and ultimately defeat them one by one.
"That's better," Superman endorsed the proposal. He said, "Staying together might ensure our safety. At least we won't be attacked when alone. As long as we are here, those vampires outside can't cause any serious trouble."
"I disagree," Hal spoke up. "The vampires' expansionary trend is now affecting ordinary people. The more we delay, the more people will be harmed."
"But didn't you just agree we should find the traitor first?"
"I think these two tasks can be done simultaneously," Hal said. "Superman is clearly above suspicion; can't he be the one to deal with the urban crisis?"
At that, the others found his point valid. Among those present, anyone could be a suspect except Superman, as biting him would be no different from biting the sun.
And he was also powerful enough to take care of all the vampires by himself. So, it would be the best outcome for the others to stay and find the traitor while he took care of the situation outside.
But Batman shook his head again and said, "I need Superman to stay here. It's not that I don't want him to save people, but he needs to stay to deter the traitor."
At this, the others had a moment of realization. Indeed, if it turned out to be someone like Batman, that would be one thing. But what if Wonder Woman turned into a vampire? Who could defeat her?
By the time they finish their investigation and uncover their opponent, who then gets angry out of embarrassment, and without an absolutely strong force not afraid of vampires to restrain the traitor, the spy escapes or even ends up injuring the good guys. Then isn't all their effort for naught?
Superman was also somewhat conflicted. Going out would indeed save more ordinary people, but he didn't want to see his comrades suffer either.
At that moment, Batman's gaze fell upon the injured Flash.
Indeed, the unlucky victim of the attack was Flash Barry. Coincidentally, he wasn't hurt by someone else but was shot in the arm by a defense machine gun that malfunctioned.
He could have dodged it, but as he said, he felt as if something was clinging to his feet at the time, which slowed him down by a step. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and twisted his body to avoid a fatal shot to the heart; otherwise, he would have been meeting God by now.
It was because of this that Superman and Wonder Woman defined the incident as an attack. However, Cyborg thought they were making a big deal out of nothing. They had upgraded the Defense System just last month, and there were still some calibration issues. A notice had already been issued to remind everyone to be careful. The Flash was just a bit careless.
But since the cameras indeed didn't capture anything and the Flash couldn't refute it, he could only consider himself unlucky.
Smelling that faint whiff of blood, Superman sighed and said, "I've decided to stay. No matter what, I cannot tolerate a traitor harming my friends and comrades."
Having said that, he raised his hand, and all the doors and windows in the conference room locked at once, with the Biological Field covering the walls around them. Anything touching the walls, even a mosquito or an ant, would be sensed by Superman.
Batman then spoke, "While we want to find the traitor, suspicion among ourselves is unacceptable. So, I hope you can all do something for me: under no circumstances should anyone accuse anyone else without definitive evidence."
"But then won't we never find the traitor?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"What I mean is, you can rationally express your suspicions about someone and provide reasons and evidence, but you cannot speak recklessly without any evidence, claiming someone is a vampire," Batman said, bracing his hands on the table.
"Everyone here knows what I'm capable of, so from now on, every word you say will be remembered and analyzed by me. Any unusual behaviors or speech will be recorded," Batman warned.
"So if you want to vent, consider whether it might deepen your suspicions. After all, there's an old saying, 'Those who have done no wrong fear no ghost at the door.'"
The atmosphere in the room fell silent at once.
One had to admit that Batman in serious mode exerted an unparalleled pressure. Everyone present believed in what he had just said and was also convinced that as long as they continued talking here, Batman would surely find out who the traitor was.
They became extraordinarily cautious, fearing their emotions might betray them and make Batman suspect them of guilt, including Aquaman, who was already somewhat impatient but still restrained himself and spoke.
"I understand you don't want to cause a dispute, and I also think we don't need to fight amongst ourselves, but investigating a traitor is inherently filled with mutual suspicion. It's better to speak up than to keep it bottled up."
Wonder Woman tapped on the table and said, "I think you're overlooking something. We are not ordinary people; there are many ways to determine if a person is lying."
After saying that, she stretched out the Lasso of Truth in her hand and glanced at Martian Manhunter. Martian Manhunter hesitated slightly and then said, "I promised not to read minds without your consent. Given the special circumstances, I'm not opposed to compromising, but I must say, this ability cannot be precisely controlled. It's all or nothing."
Their words stirred up some commotion. Everyone had complaints, and Jenna spoke up warily, "Are you planning on tying us up like criminals? I can't accept that!"
"I don't want to be mind-read either," Zan said. "It's incredibly inhumane. Despite the traitor's despicability, the rest of us are innocent; it's unfair for others to be treated this way just because of one person's betrayal."
Batman glanced over in surprise. Although the siblings seemed to have brought the conflict out into the open, it allowed Batman to smoothly transition and explain.
"No one is treating you like criminals. I emphasized the prohibition on baseless accusations to prevent you from preconceiving your battle-tested teammates as traitors."
Batman coughed twice, drawing everyone's attention before saying, "I believe there is only one traitor among us, meaning everyone else is innocent. So, there's no need for worry. If there were three or four of them, they would have acted against us long ago. The fact that the traitor hasn't stepped forward isn't about wanting to; it's about daring to."
Indeed, in serious matters, Batman was quite reassuring, and his words eased everyone's minds.
Also, considering that there were over a dozen superheroes present and at most only one traitor, that meant it would be one against ten, plus Superman as a super ally. The mole, no matter how crafty, couldn't turn the tide.
Batman moved slightly to the side, passing the focus to Superman, who graciously stepped forward and said, "Batman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter have made valid points. We don't need to choose only one method; we can use all of them."
"Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth as a last resort. If, after elimination, there are only two or three suspects left, would you be willing to be tied by the Lasso to prove your innocence?"
Facing this question, everyone expressed no opposition. Once it came down to two or three suspects, debates over personal dignity and human rights could wait—survival took precedence to prove their innocence.
Everyone but the traitor felt no guilt and figured being tied up wasn't a big deal. They'd been tied up in fights before. Reluctance now was about saving face; when push came to shove, being willing to be tied up would actually be the graceful thing.