The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping, and the dark clouds overhead grew even denser. Surrounded by numerous lifeless bodies, Eugene felt an indescribable sensation. It was a mix of excitement and liberation, as if he had broken free from shackles. He wanted to talk to Cindy, to share in the joy, but she was focused on the task at hand and didn't respond to his jokes.
Just as the clown had once said, it only took a slight push from behind for a person or a city to descend into chaos and madness. Eugene had pushed Hali, pushed Two-Face, and now he was the one being pushed.
After the frenzy of slaughter, he felt strangely good, as if he had just downed a bottle of ice-cold beer on a scorching day, with every cell in his body rejoicing. He turned to look at the numerous lifeless bodies behind him, but Cindy didn't notice his unusual demeanor; she was focused on finding the entrance to the building.
The building where Hali resided was also filled with eccentric style. The door facing the street was painted with paint to resemble a door, but it was actually a wall made of thick red bricks.
"Well, no door. Looks like we'll have to climb the wall," Cindy said, unhooking the rope and grappling hook from her belt. Originally, she had only come to talk to Hali, so she didn't want to make things too serious. Breaking through a window or something similar didn't seem very guest-like.
Eugene snapped out of it, looking at the building in front of him. His experience immediately told him that there was more than just Hali inside.
"Let's go, but be careful. You never know what crazies have in their homes."
Both of them threw out their grappling hooks simultaneously, securely hanging onto the roof. Their powerful upper body strength allowed them to climb quickly.
The building, previously unknown in its purpose, had its ground and second-floor windows all blocked off. Only on the third floor was there a shabby platform resembling an observation post, likely used by the circus lunatics for shooting pedestrians or each other.
With a twist, Eugene landed steadily on top. The rain made everything noisy, but their footsteps on landing made no sound.
Cindy also arrived simultaneously. The two masked faces looked at each other, nodding slightly.
"Whoosh..."
Eugene kicked open the window beside him with a powerful force. The window frame and glass flew in, and the two entered one after the other, guns at the ready, surveying the surroundings.
"Clear," Eugene said, shrugging his shoulders. There were lights in the building, so the situation was clear. They were now like in a basic college dormitory, a long corridor with small rooms on both sides. The floor was covered in dust and garbage, untouched for God knows how long. The rainwater on Eugene and Cindy's bodies quickly turned into small puddles.
"Do these crazies ever bathe?" Cindy shook her head, seeming displeased with the surrounding smell. The helmet of her uniform had a built-in gas mask function, but it didn't block out the stench.
Eugene certainly smelled it too. It was like the smell of spoiled garbage, but he was more concerned about the staircase not far away.
"Forget about that. Let's go upstairs and find Hali."
"Hold on, there's a trap."
Cindy nodded her chin, indicating for him to check. At the corner of the staircase, there was a slightly glowing fishing line.
He walked over, flipping aside the trash connected to the other end of the fishing line. It turned out the fishing line was connected to a grenade.
This grenade looked custom-made, entirely red instead of the common green of military grenades, with a big smiley face painted on it in white paint. It was undoubtedly the work of the Joker's gang.
Yes, these were the entertainment games of those lunatics: competitions of self-mutilation or killing. The one in front of them was the infamous game where they blew up friends with joke bombs and then laughed like crazy, a favorite of theirs.
"Uh-oh! Take cover!"
Eugene immediately reacted. When you pull a prank, of course, you want to see how the person nearby reacts when they fall for it.
Since there was a grenade considered a prank here, the circus folks must not be far away.
Sure enough, as soon as he said that, a stream of strange people poured out from the rooms on both sides of the corridor. These lunatics, with their twisted makeup, laughed harshly, arms outstretched, bounding toward the two.
Cindy and Eugene certainly didn't consider this a friendly welcome, as along with their rush, a dense barrage of bullets and explosives flew towards them.
Eugene took cover around the corner of the stairs, while Cindy jumped out of the window again, taking cover on a wooden platform outside the wall.
Then, a series of explosions ensued. It felt like being locked inside a pot of popcorn, with deafening noises assaulting their ears.
Strong air currents swept everything around the blast area, and the intense heat made Eugene hold onto the staircase railing tightly to prevent being blown away. He could even see fragments of the bomb, with exaggerated white painted smiley faces, sparking as they flew far away on his shoulder armor.
The circus people were still approaching, but the explosions just now also killed some of their own. However, they didn't care at all; instead, they laughed even more cheerfully.
They were like cars or some other internal combustion engine, except their fuel was blood. Whether it was others' blood or their own, they were driven by the engine called madness.
Eugene shook his head, his helmet still covered in stones and debris from earlier. The corridor was now densely packed with the clown gang, all of them making strange and exaggerated movements as they ran towards them.
"There are probably around forty of them, armed with light firearms and cold weapons. It seems like they've run out of explosives..." he peeked out and scanned the situation. The battlefield appeared in his mind like a picture, each enemy's position, movement direction, speed, and equipment, all firmly remembered, and almost simultaneously, a plan emerged in his mind.
He took a smoke grenade from his uniform and tossed it out, simultaneously taking cover.
The smoke obscured everything, and the black shadows cast by the lights in the corridor made the clown gang disoriented.
They couldn't see the walls, let alone the people around them. Colliding and tripping over each other, they emitted strange cries and curses.
This was Eugene's chance. He quickly unslung his shotgun from behind and also dove into the smoke.
Cindy, outside the window behind him, was surrounded by enemies in the smoke.
Already relieved of his burden, he no longer hesitated. With the heavy sound of gunfire, flashes of fire dyed the thick smoke red.
...
"Not bad, 42 people in 6 seconds. I'm truly another world's me," Cindy jumped in through the window from outside, sitting on the windowsill and striking a pose as if checking a watch, though she didn't need to look at a watch since her superbrain accurately remembered every passing second.
At this moment, Eugene was reloading his shotgun, looking bloodier than before, with visceral remains and blood splattering all over him. Close combat always led to such results. The surrounding area was littered with corpses; not a single one of those lunatics had survived, either with their heads blown open or their bodies torn apart. In the narrow space, the shotgun had proven incredibly effective; just a pull of the trigger sent several people flying.
"You have time to count over there, why not shoot and help me out sooner?" Eugene hung his gun back on his back and bent down to pick up a colorful piece of cloth to wipe off the blood on himself.
"Just a bunch of small fries. It's a waste of manpower for both of us to take action," Cindy said insincerely, heading upstairs alone.
"Well, at least throw me a cigarette afterward, or ask about my condition," Eugene retorted.
Eugene reluctantly followed her upstairs. This was his first time bathing in human blood, and despite feeling oddly satisfied, he wanted to ask her if she had felt the same way the first time.
"Fine, since we're teammates now, I guess I have to. How about you?" Cindy asked casually, as if placating a child, while tossing him a cigar.
"I'm fine, thanks," Eugene replied sarcastically as he took the cigar and placed it in his pocket. Cindy seemed to have some gender bias;"Other than someone's brain matter spilling into my neck and my chest being all sticky, I'm just peachy."
Cindy chuckled mockingly,"You men are all the same, so obsessed with looking good and cleanliness. I thought your world was a patriarchy?"
Eugene shrugged. Wasn't this about cleanliness?
"The patriarchy is real, but not everyone indulges in blood baths... But I find myself enjoying the sight of blood and gore. How about you?" he asked.
Cindy continued upstairs with her gun, and the fourth floor was now eerily calm. While Eugene had been busy exchanging gunfire, she had been vigilant about any movements on the fourth floor, guarding against a surprise attack from above.
"We're essentially the same person from different worlds. I don't need to explain the parallel universe theory to you, right? Though there may be differences in minor details, I like what you like," Cindy replied, puzzled by why her other self would ask such a question. To her, enjoying warm blood and watching others die wasn't a big deal; that was just how life was in Gotham.
"Then how do you deal with these bloodthirsty urges?" Eugene could accept killing, but he didn't want to kill just for the sake of it. Killing without reason would turn him into a beast, not a human.
"Ask Hali when we see her later. She's a famous psychologist in Gotham, or she was before she went mad," Cindy suggested as she ascended the stairs, the construction of the fourth floor resembling that of the others."For me, though, I prefer green over red."
With that, she extended her hand, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together in front of Eugene.
Well, in psychology, this was called displacement. She redirected her desire for blood onto money. That's probably why everyone in every parallel world chose to be mercenaries and assassins.
Doing this job allowed them to make money quickly while indulging in bloodshed.
Eugene had come to see Hali to inquire about the Bat, not for medical treatment. Besides, getting treated by Hali would probably make him even crazier.
"No need. I'll take a rest once it's daylight... Fourth floor is secure," Eugene said as he followed her into the corridor of the fourth floor. The rooms on either side were empty, but everywhere were painted with the Joker's emblem: a pale smiling face with Xs for eyes. The walls were painted in various colors, resembling a labyrinth.
"Let's go up. Since we're already here, asking won't hurt," Cindy said, leading the way in the direction of the music through the long corridor until they reached a closed door.
They exchanged a glance before pushing it open.
Behind the door was a room resembling a circus-themed nightclub, with colorful lights spinning wildly to the music. Various circus props and miscellaneous items were piled in the corners, such as inflatable dumbbells, tall funhouse mirrors, large balls and hoops used for animal performances.
But in the center of the huge dance floor was only one person: the clown girl, Hali Quinn. She gripped a steel pole, flipping up and down, performing various extremely flexible moves.
Spotlights converged on her, and her crystalline sweat fluttered as she spun rapidly, while her red and blue pigtails bloomed in the air like flowers.
She wasn't wearing her usual black and red uniform; instead, she wore a short-sleeved T-shirt and denim shorts, showing off her beautiful figure and delicate skin. She closed her eyes, enjoying the joy brought by the dance, her face filled with happiness, as if she owned the whole world.
She danced like a butterfly, but Cindy was disdainful of this tomboyish performance. Why would a woman want to learn pole dancing like a man? It was insane.
She nudged Eugene, who seemed to be in a daze, and leaned over to whisper,"There's someone else on the sofa in the four o'clock direction of the dance floor."
Eugene had noticed too and was about to tell her that there was someone sitting there with their back to them, their head bobbing along with the music. It seemed like an audience invited by Hali.