socalfunplaces Chapter 256 Black Manta Rays Are Bats Too!
Chapter 256 Black Manta Rays Are Bats Too!
Chapter 256 Black Manta Rays Are Bats Too! (A 6000-word chapter, I'm so awesome!)
"You..." Mentioning his father, the actor who had just been performing on stage flashed a fierce light in his eyes, but only for half a second before a blank expression appeared on his face.
Chen Tao hadn't expected that even after provoking the playboy so severely, he would still be pretending. He had deliberately said things that would anger the playboy in order to induce him to reveal himself, just to prevent the playboy from feigning ignorance.
But it was obvious that Aquaman saw through this, and still tried to fool Chen Tao and the others into believing that he was wrong—or that he thought he was bluffing him?
Chen Tao turned to the Supergirl: "Ma'am, do you know what to do?"
"Yeah. I know." Supergirl nodded, and then the next second...
boom!
Tavern.
Blasted.
"No! Aren't you superheroes? Look at what you've protected! Why am I the one who's injured?"
The bar owner was devastated. He lunged forward to grab a decorative statue in his shop, but then he saw the Supergirl fly to another angle, her heat vision bypassing his palm and burning the statue to ashes.
"No!!!"
The tavern owner wept bitterly, asking, "What on earth happened?"
Everything was fine before, how did it suddenly...?
"Stop! That's my favorite drink!"
Finally, Aquaman Arthur, who had been pretending to be himself performing as a tuna on stage, could no longer keep up the act.
He hurriedly swung his trident, intercepting a supergirl's intense gaze aimed at the wine cabinet in mid-air. Then he realized he'd been exposed and could only manage a wry smile:
"I really didn't expect you guys to be like this..."
He couldn't continue. He turned his head, and the blond, bearded man looked at him in surprise, then a look of sudden realization crossed his face:
"God, you...you...you are the one who...you made me work as a security guard at the tavern, and then you implied to others that you were Aquaman, and that your name was Arthur..."
All of this was to cover for you. You...you are the legendary water knight of the fishermen..."
"You...you even told me to follow your orders, to deliberately make some smart people who discover I'm a fake suspect you, and then suddenly reveal that we're both fake, in order to clear your name and hide your true identity...You're too clever. Once people confirm that I'm the fake Aquaman, they'll subconsciously assume you're fake too...and that's exactly what you wanted!"
"Yes, it's me. Sorry." The real Aquaman, the one with no long hair or beard, looking like a young man in his early twenties, who had just played himself as the Japanese tuna Arthur on stage, pointed apologetically at Chen Tao and his group, and said:
"They've been tracking my movements, and in order to maintain my communication channels on land, I had to pull this stunt to deceive you. I'm truly sorry."
The blond, bearded man was still muttering to himself, "I really didn't expect this... I really didn't expect this! I had some guesses, like you never need to take off your gold contact lenses... but when I thought about how Aquaman would actually agree to act in that Aquaman Day tuna comedy sketch, I felt like that wasn't you, but I never expected this... who could have imagined this?"
Aquaman Arthur's face darkened upon hearing this.
Connor was completely baffled. Supergirl Kara couldn't stand it anymore and whispered an explanation: "The real Aquaman is that actor who was playing Aquaman on stage just now. He hired a bearded blond guy who calls himself Arthur to play Aquaman, and claimed it was all an act, understand?"
The tavern owner was still wailing and lamenting nearby, "My tavern! Waaah!"
Aquaman Arthur helped him up from the ground and then put him in a chair.
He then turned his head.
A completely different aura emanated from him compared to when he was hidden among the crowd:
"So...now that you've dealt with me and my friend, it's your turn. Even if you want to find me, you shouldn't do it at the expense of the tavern owner. That's not heroic."
"The loss of this tavern will be handled by a designated person, and the compensation will be enough for you to build 10 new taverns."
Chen Tao walked up to the tavern owner: "This town has internet and signal. You can check your bank account now; the money has already been deposited into your account."
"!"
The tavern owner took out his phone, glanced at it, and was immediately overjoyed. He then put on a dramatic performance, turning sorrow into joy, like a Sichuan opera face-changing act.
He kicked the glass of the bar counter in front of him, shattering it: "Burn! Burn as much as you want! Burn well, burn brilliantly! Burn it like crazy! Yay! I'm rich!!! This incredible fortune has finally fallen on my head!"
Then, in front of everyone, he actually started wiggling his fat belly and dancing a lively belly dance with abandon.
A customer in the tavern leaned over and glanced at the amount transferred to the owner, then froze in place.
"..." Aquaman stood next to the dancing tavern owner, feeling like an idiot. He took a deep breath and stammered, "Uh... but even so, this isn't something a hero would do. You shouldn't have smashed up the place first, and then..."
Then the tavern owner, who was halfway through his dance, grabbed his arm:
"No! It should be! Absolutely! I wish something like this happened every month! Wow, I'm a millionaire! Wow!!"
The tavern owner, ignoring the playboy, excitedly pulled out his phone and called his family: "Bro, we're rich now!"
"It's time we talked," Chen Tao said, turning to Aquaman Arthur.
They went outside the pub, and Superboy Connor tried to stop the curious pub patrons, but the somewhat drunken drinkers completely ignored Connor's attempts to stop them.
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, they scaled the railing and tried to get close to Aquaman Arthur and Chen Tao, who were discussing something. After Connor pulled them back, they dared to do it again, forcing Connor to use his super speed to move the loitering people back to their original positions like a porter.
"Useless."
Supergirl Kara, standing to the side, pouted and said.
"?"
Connor, who was diligently practicing and doing the hard work, got a little angry when he heard this: "What can you do about it?"
"Watch this." The supergirl flew directly above the group of incorrigible people, and then her golden hair flew around in the bio-field:
"You all stay in the back!!! Or I'll laser-shoo you all to death!!! Damn it!!! You bunch of scoundrels!!! I'll laser-shoo you all to death!!!"
Superboy Connor stared dumbfounded at Supergirl Kara, who was descending gracefully from the sky, and the silent crowd behind her.
"..."
"You know that." Kara held up a finger and twirled it on her forehead:
"Sometimes, you have to think like a bat."
"But...but this will damage your reputation..."
Then he saw the supermodel, looking like a girl next door, awkwardly walk to the edge of the crowd: "Sorry everyone, I'm here to maintain order..."
Then, in front of everyone, she pulled out a book with the following words written on it:
From Arkham to the Batcave: How to Become Batman's Favorite Robin
The following subtitle is:
Basso Caro's Youthful Diary: Robin's Diary - A Life of Justice Needs No Explanation!
(Note: Basso Carlo is Clayface's real name. This book first appeared in Chapter 79 and has now been passed down to Kara.)
Kara said in a soft voice:
"I only scared you because the manual said to take the necessary measures! Please don't be angry, sob."
"Huh?" Connor said, "You think this will make you..."
"It's okay, it's okay..."
"We were wrong too. We shouldn't have ignored our advice and kept thinking about the past... I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."
"Fierce yet incredibly cute girl."
It's been mailed. Connor stared blankly at the group of drunkards and idlers in the tavern.
Why? Someone put me back in the petri dish, hurry up!
Meanwhile, on Chen Tao's side...
"...We have nothing to talk about. I don't have time to deal with any alien visitors for you right now," Aquaman Arthur said honestly. "I already have enough to worry about regarding Atlantis."
He stretched out his fingers, which were somewhat rough like a fisherman's. Chen Tao noticed that there were many calluses on his palms from years of holding weapons.
Although the dock boy wasn't a well-trained warrior like Wonder Woman Diana Prince, he was still a self-taught master of polearms.
Many people often overlook Aquaman Arthur's personal fighting ability because of his status as the King of Atlantis, and even take jokes and short plays seriously, which is absolutely a complete mistake.
Not everyone is capable of sending Superman flying dozens of meters with a single punch (Aquaman V8) or going head-to-head with Wonder Woman Diana.
Most people who tried to fight Clark and Diana would only end up with sparks flying or broken bones. The fact that Aquaman is among the Seven Greats of the Justice League and has contributed a top-tier Aquaman-like villain like Black Manta speaks volumes about his strength.
Aquaman Arthur stretched out his fingers and pried them off one by one:
"The Atlantean opposition group, the Flood Beasts—I wonder if they were responsible for the attack, and... Black Manta."
He said, "Black Manta came to me in a big way, telling me that he wanted me to witness him destroy Atlantis."
He said:
"He's a madman who takes his personal grudge against me and the entire city-state where millions of Atlanteans live. He's a threat to all of Atlantis."
Arthur said, "I must guard Atlantis in case any problems arise."
"Wrong," Chen Taorui commented.
"That's why you always fail. We need more groundbreaking ideas, more imaginative and creative plans. Get straight to the point, kill the bullet."
Before Aquaman Arthur could say anything more, Chen Tao continued, "I'm here to ask you for something called the Mother Box... In exchange, I'll help you solve these problems without hesitation."
"I don't need your help, I can..."
"Oh, poor Aquaman Arthur," Chen Tao said.
"Your mother was a member of the royal family of Atlantis, while your father was a surface dweller, a lighthouse keeper."
What's it like when a person's origin story sounds like a sailor's chant? You come from both worlds, yet belong to neither, and therefore are not accepted by either.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"But despite being misunderstood, ridiculed, and ignored, you persevered, shuttling between the land and the sea, like a lighthouse for your father in his later years. You watched over the coastline, protecting the dry land from the raging sea and keeping the sea away from the green land."
Aquaman Arthur remained silent. He would never tell anyone these things, but everything he had done was told to him by Batman, whom he was meeting for the first time.
"I have very, very sympathy for you and your unfinished work," Chen Tao said.
"You are convinced that you are striving for a better and safer world. You are undoubtedly a superhuman, one of the greatest heroes, a king ruling a country, but those on land see you as a joke or a threat."
"Most Atlanteans hate your rules. You fight every day to maintain the interests of both your parents' worlds."
"When war and all the struggles surround you, there is no doubt that you believe in peace, and even the fish won't talk to you."
"I'm losing patience..." said Aquaman Arthur. "Revealing what I've done won't change anything."
He fell silent for a moment: "The tradition of hatred towards land dwellers within Atlantis predates the founding of the United States. And I am well aware of the government's fear of Atlantis."
He forced a smile and said, "Let's get straight to the point. If I understand correctly, you're Batman, and those enemies from another world are going to conquer Earth. You need something called the Mother Box, which is protected by us Atlanteans?"
Although he knew the other person was simply stating the facts of what he had done, Arthur still felt somewhat gratified. This conversation had brought them much closer.
For a long time, everything he did was misunderstood and disliked by both sides.
The members of the Flood Beasts called him the False King, and although he had never told anyone... not even his beloved wife Mera, it still stung him.
And Batman...
Perhaps he is one of the few people who will give a fair assessment of his actions.
"I will give you what you need, but in return, I am indeed unable to be in two places at once and cannot be part of your team."
Aquaman Arthur said, "So I'm sorry, I..."
"I plan to build an embassy for Atlantis and then establish full diplomatic relations with the United States."
"?"
"You've been trying so hard to bring Atlantis to the world stage, and at the same time, you want that world that breathes air to accept this ocean kingdom that it fundamentally fears, don't you?"
"I can help you with these things."
Aquaman's eyes lit up.
"I can also help you resolve the troubles you're currently facing, clarify all the misunderstandings between you and the government, and promote the normalization and regularization of exchanges between the two countries. And..."
"You mean that Atlantean opposition group called the Flood Beasts?"
"Yes, they are a group of separatists who have been in seclusion for many years, but today they launched an attack," Aquaman said. "A time of great turmoil."
He paused, then said, "This is very unusual. While it could be their own doing, it could also be driven by a third force. I have more enemies than friends."
"The interrogation will tell us the truth," Chen Tao said. "Then it's a pleasant decision."
"I will act as your assistant to help you solve the problems Atlantis is currently facing, and then push forward the establishment of the embassy."
He said, "And you, you will give me the Mother Box, then join my team and work with us to save the world."
He held out his hand to Aquaman: "So, deal?"
In the slightly damp and chilly air by the sea, under the warm sunshine, Haiwang grasped Chen Tao's hand.
"make a deal!"
……
……
……
The NEMO organization's meeting hall.
Black manta rays are fighting fiercely.
There were already seven or eight corpses lying at his feet, and a dozen soldiers in high-tech armor were attacking him, but they were no match for him.
Black Manta's figure kept jumping out of the golden spatial vortex he created, and then jumping back in and disappearing without a trace.
It seems that Black Manta has found a new power... or rather, a new piece of equipment.
"Ugh!!!"
Black Manta gripped the harpoon in his backhand, pulled it out of one soldier's chest, then plunged it into another's chest. A short distance away, he saw a soldier raise his gun at him.
"You bastard..." (Italian)
A cold glint appeared in Black Manta's eyes as a blazing, deep red laser beam condensed at the nozzle on his helmet.
boom!
A gunshot rang out, and Black Manta turned around to see Blackjack holding up a gun that was still emitting blue smoke.
"Your laser will turn this place into ruins," she said to Black Manta. "Let me do it."
A few minutes later, Black Manta sat in the main seat, surrounded by people from the NEMO Group.
All those who dared to resist, along with their soldiers, have just been killed.
"Is there anything else?"
"So... have you taken over the NEMO Group now?" someone asked, raising their hand at the conference table.
"NEMO has existed as a secret society for over a century. The management has risen to their positions based on their own skills and abilities, just like a group of pirates where only the strong survive."
Black Manta tapped his ten fingers together, leaning slightly forward to reveal his streamlined biceps and pectoral muscles. Even without any deliberate posing, his appearance was still full of powerful beauty.
The tubes that connect the backpack on his back to the helmet for conducting energy flutter like wings on the back of his head.
"I killed your fisherman, now I am the fisherman. Black Jack is your second-in-command, and she has realized that following me is the right and wise choice."
"Sometimes recognizing the situation comes at a price," Blackjack added from the side.
"Therefore...unless you have any further objections."
Black Manta Ray said, "Why don't we start working?"
He turned to ask one of the leaders in the hall.
"Can anyone tell me how far along NEMO Corporation's plan to deal with Aquaman Arthur Curry has progressed?"
"I...we impersonated Atlanteans and attacked the USS Pontchartrain Causeway in the South Atlantic. It had only been commissioned into the Navy this March. Soon, we, the impersonators of Atlantis, will announce to the United States that Atlantis was responsible for this."
"At that time, we will release a monster called the Hairy Man, which is given to us by a cooperative ally called the Outsider."
"We will use it as a vanguard, leading us, disguised as American soldiers, to attack Atlantis, and then cause as many casualties as possible to incite the militant faction within Atlantis that hates land people to start a war."
The leader flipped through the documents in his hand.
"Very good, very good. You know what? You guys are doing a great job, which is one of the reasons why I went through all the trouble to join you: such a good thing can't be left out of my hands."
The black manta ray nodded in satisfaction.
"These plans will cause Aquaman pain, so how far along are they at now?"
"The plan was carried out simultaneously, and it started a few hours ago."
"So what were you originally planning to do?"
"We want to provoke the US government into war with the Atlanteans."
"Simply put, once we seize the aircraft carrier, we'll use it to launch nuclear missiles. Then the United States will strike first, and we'll send troops to attack Atlantis. Atlantis will then join the war, and then..."
"Then if the Justice League doesn't intervene, will Atlantis and the United States fight to the death? No, no, no..."
Black manta vetoed:
"That won't happen; this plan is completely unworkable."
"So what should we do?"
“It’s simple,” Black Manta said. “We’ll fight fast and fast. Don’t think about letting Atlantis and the United States have a protracted war that will leave both sides exhausted. I bet Batman will use methods like kidnapping hostages to force a ceasefire, like bringing the US president to the Atlanteans to clear up misunderstandings or something.”
"Kidnapping...kidnapping a hostage? Batman?" The NEMO leader almost didn't understand who the villain was: "I...we wouldn't do something so crazy. Are you sure he really would?"
"So you guys are the third-rate villains and the third-rate villain organization," Black Manta quipped.
He then continued:
"We need more groundbreaking ideas, more imaginative and creative plans. Get straight to the point, strike decisively. Only a bat-like mindset can defeat a bat-like mindset!"
Then he said, "We need to finish this before Batman even realizes what's happening. America's war response is much faster than Atlantis'. We'll first make the Americans believe they've been attacked, then cut off the President of the United States and all departments, and then help the United States launch a rapid attack on Atlantis before Atlantis can react. We'll break their energy shield with a nuclear bomb and kill at least 70% of the Atlantean civilians while leaving Atlantis' most elite war troops alive."
Then he asked the NEMO organization leader next to him, "Did you understand?"
"?" The poor leader was on the verge of tears: "I...I..."
"How stupid."
Black Manta Ray said:
"What I mean is to turn your original plan of a protracted war of attrition into a decapitation strike against Atlantis, which we help and lead, to kill in one blow."
"Did you understand?"
The leader cursed inwardly upon hearing this.
Damn it.
"It doesn't matter whether you understand or not, as long as I do," Black Manta said.
"No one understands Batman better than me!"
(End of this chapter)