socalfunplaces Chapter 99 Tracking
Chapter 99 Tracking
It's actually quite simple. This time, they didn't alert the enemy; instead, they followed the clues to find the source.
However, only Batman, the master of tracking, could complete this plan.
When Levi revealed his plan, Batman's eyes lit up.
"Dude, you mean the person pulling the strings behind the scenes will definitely come out and meet with them?"
Batman was somewhat puzzled, after all, he didn't know anything about the players, and naturally he couldn't understand why Levi was so certain.
"Of course, I think the guy behind these people must have some ulterior motive."
In that case, he definitely needs to make contact with these guys in order to carry out his conspiracy.
Regardless, we haven't been able to truly solve these problems despite all these attempts.
Even if we let them escape this time, the losses wouldn't actually be greater, would they?
After Li Wei finished speaking, Batman frowned and pondered for a while, then slowly nodded.
"Buddy, trust your judgment, I'll go track them down."
After Batman finished speaking, he flicked his hook gun and disappeared into the darkness.
...
Batman's hook gun grazed the rain, its metal tip precisely gripping the eaves of a distant building.
A force pulled the black figure into the air, its cloak drawing a sharp arc in the rainy night before disappearing into the deep darkness of Gotham.
Only a faint afterimage remained, which was quickly swallowed up by the rain.
Levi stood beside the broken glass of the Tiffany jewelry store, raindrops sliding down his hair.
The rain soaked his collar, clinging tightly to his neck and bringing a chilling sensation.
Gordon was yelling into the walkie-talkie, his rough voice booming through the rainy night.
He ordered police officers to cordon off the surrounding streets and count the number of casualties at the scene.
The blood on the ground flowed over the uneven surface, pooling into puddles and spreading out in a glaring crimson, like a flower blooming wildly in the water.
"Batman caught up with them."
A young officer walked up to Gordon, lowered his voice to report, and unconsciously rubbed his sidearm at his waist.
"I didn't see his car, so he must have followed him on foot. Judging from the footprints of the man in the red hood, he was heading towards the back alley."
Gordon wiped the rain off his face, leaving a dirty trail of liquid mixed with sweat or blood.
He turned to look at Li Wei, his eyes filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
"Is your strategy of following the clues really going to work? Those guys are really cunning; don't let Batman get caught out."
Li Wei kicked away a piece of jewelry countertop at his feet, the cold metal edge brushing against the sole of his shoe, bringing a harsh touch.
He looked up in the direction where Batman had disappeared. The night was as thick as ink, with only a few streetlights casting a dim yellow light in the rain.
"He's the best tracker in all of Gotham."
Li Wei raised his hand and glanced at the watch on his wrist. The dial was wet with rain, and the glass was covered with a layer of water mist.
He wiped it and saw that the clock hand was pointing to one o'clock in the morning. "If even he can't do it, then this matter is simply unsolvable."
Don't overthink it, let's just wait for news.
The police turned on the emergency lights in the jewelry store, their stark white light piercing the rainy night and shining directly onto the mess on the ground.
Overturned display cases, scattered jewelry, walls riddled with bullet holes.
The bodies of the hostages lying on the ground were all covered with white shrouds.
Several police officers carried the body out, and a corner of the cloth accidentally fell down, revealing a clenched hand.
His knuckles were white, and his nails were deeply embedded in his palms, as if he was still making a final struggle.
Levi walked to the office where Marcus had previously worked, where a tear stain remained on the floor.
The water had long since washed away, leaving faint watermarks that seeped into the cracks in the floorboards.
He bent down and picked up a fragment of a fallen red hood, holding it in his hand.
The rough fabric rubbed against his fingertips, still stained with undried blood, and the sticky sensation made his fingertips feel slightly heavy.
The police work continued into the early hours of the morning, as the rain gradually subsided.
The torrential rain turned into fine, dense raindrops, drifting obliquely in the air like an endless net.
Levi and Gordon leaned against the pickup truck and each lit a cigarette.
The flame flickered slightly in the rain, and could go out at any moment.
The smoke was exhaled from his mouth, dissipating quickly in the rain and disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
The only sounds in the alley were the footsteps of police officers walking back and forth, the patter of raindrops on the ground, and the faint sound of police sirens in the distance.
No one mentioned Batman anymore, and no one followed the direction he disappeared in, as if it were a solo dance belonging to the night.
"Hopefully we can take them all down this time."
Gordon took his last drag of his cigarette and stubbed it out on the wheel.
He ground it repeatedly until the sparks were completely extinguished, leaving only a dark, crumbly mess.
His voice carried a hint of weariness and anticipation; for the past month, the Red Hood case had been suffocating the entire police station.
Li Wei put the fragments of the red hood into an evidence bag, then handed it to the officer next to him without saying a word, only nodding.
He opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, the leather seat was wet from the rain, and the cold touch came through his trousers.
"I'm going to visit Hope Home. There are children there, and we can't let anything happen to them."
Li Wei fastened his seatbelt, turned to Gordon, and said, "Call me immediately if you have any news, no matter how late."
The pickup truck's engine roared hoarsely, its sound particularly jarring in the quiet alley.
The wheels rolled over the puddle, splashing up two arcs of water as they drove toward Hope Home.
Gordon remained standing by the police line, staring in the direction Batman had disappeared, motionless for a long time.
His shadow was stretched long under the dim streetlights, making him appear particularly lonely.
Batman's figure is hidden in the shadows of Gotham, like ink blending into the night, becoming one with the surrounding darkness.
He followed the footprints of six Red Hood members all the way to a dead end in the back alley of the jewelry store.
The footprints underfoot were messy and disorderly, finally stopping next to an open manhole cover.
The edges of the manhole cover were stained with mud and dark red blood. The dried bloodstains mixed with the wet mud to form an eerie brownish-black color.
From the sewers below, came the sound of hurried footsteps.
There was also the clanging sound of metal clashing echoing in the empty sewers.
He pulled his black cloak tighter against his body to prevent the wet fabric from making noise and revealing his location.
His fingertips hooked the grappling hook, the tip of the gun gleaming with a cold light.
He slightly bent his knees, leaped, and gently jumped off the manhole cover, landing on the slippery sewer floor.
The sewage from the sewer reached above his ankles, and the icy water seeped into his boots, bringing a bone-chilling cold.
He paid no attention to this, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's as he locked onto the six figures in the dim light ahead.
His footsteps were as light as a cat's, barely making a sound as he stepped into the puddles.
The six Red Hood members walked quickly, their steps hurried, and they looked back every now and then.
Their eyes were filled with fear and unease, and their whispers were drowned out by the sound of the flowing water.
Their conversation could be heard intermittently, with only words like "outpost," "instructions," and "the boss is about to get angry" faintly audible.
Batman followed a hundred meters behind them, constantly dodging using the shadows of the thick pipes and walls.
With the help of the headgear's night vision function, he managed to spot the footprints of the Red Hood gang.
The sewer channels meander and twist, like a lurking giant snake.
It bypasses Gotham's old town and bustling commercial streets, eventually extending towards the slums.
The walls along the way were covered with dark green moss, making them slippery.
The water pipes were old and in disrepair, and water was constantly dripping from them.
The "tick-tock, tick-tock" sound echoed clearly in the narrow passage.
Batman's glove scraped against the rough wall, leaving fine scratches.
His breathing remained steady, with his chest rising and falling slightly.
The movement only pauses slightly when occasionally avoiding puddles or protruding rocks.
Yet it maintained an extremely fast speed, closely following the six people.
As night gradually faded, a faint, fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.
Raindrops drifted in through the sewer vents and landed on Batman's cape.
The water droplets condensed into tiny beads, sliding down the fabric's texture, dripping onto the ground, and dissolving into the sewage.
He had been tracking them all night, and the soles of his boots were covered in thick mud.
The heavy touch slowed his pace slightly, and his arms, having been in a defensive posture for a long time, felt slightly sore and even a little stiff.
But his gaze remained cold and sharp, like an icy blade, fixed intently on the six figures ahead, without the slightest relaxation.
I don't know how many winding side roads we took, or how many narrow corners we passed.
Finally, a glimmer of light appeared ahead—the exit of the sewer.
The six Red Hood members seemed to see a glimmer of hope, quickening their pace and rushing toward the light.
They crawled out one by one, their heavy footsteps making a "tap-tap" sound on the solid ground.
The voice was very clear, and Batman keenly detected a hint of panic and urgency in it.
Batman slowly approached the exit, cautiously peeking out.
Outside was a slum in ruins, with broken walls and rubble everywhere.
The abandoned shipping containers were piled up crookedly, covered with rust and bullet holes.
Not far away stood an abandoned steel factory, its rusty iron gate ajar, creaking in the wind.
The factory walls were pitted and riddled with bullet holes and scratches, clearly indicating that a fierce gunfight had taken place there.
He flipped and leaped out of the sewer, using the surrounding abandoned containers and broken walls to conceal himself, his movements as light as a night owl.
Using his agility, he finally landed behind a sturdy steel frame on the west side of the factory.
Rust dust from the steel frame fell onto his cloak, leaving a hazy, gray residue.
He raised his hand and gently brushed it away, his fingertips resting on the hook gun, the gun barrel pointing towards the factory.
All muscles in his body were taut like a bow, ready to strike at any moment.
The iron gate of the factory was pushed open with a piercing creak, and six members of the Red Hoods walked in with their heads down.
Soon, soft voices could be heard coming from inside the factory, their tones filled with fear and obedience.
Like a child who has made a mistake and faces a strict parent, not daring to resist in the slightest.
Batman tilted his head slightly and peered into the factory through the gaps in the steel frame.
In the morning light filtering through the broken roof, six members of the Red Hoods could be clearly seen standing obediently in a row.
They had their backs to the door, their hands hanging at their sides, and their heads bowed low.
The six people in the row looked like a flock of lambs to the slaughter, not daring to even breathe loudly.
This stark contrast convinced Batman of Levi's judgment.
These red-hooded people were indeed just targets pushed out by others!
But behind them, there are guys hiding even deeper.
With this thought in mind, Batman looked up into the factory, his eyes fixed intently, as if afraid of missing any important details.
Two figures emerged from the shadows deep within the factory and slowly walked up to the six Red Hood members.
The leader was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old high school student. He was tall and thin and wore a shiny white suit.
He wore a top hat, which was tightly fastened on his head, covering most of his face, leaving only a slit in his chin visible.
His facial features were stiff, and he held a black submachine gun in his hand.
The gun barrel was pointed downwards, yet it exuded a chilling aura, as if it would spew flames at any moment.
The other was a thin, white man with a hunched back and prominent cheekbones.
His eyes were narrowed to slits, and his face had a lewd look.
He had a cigarette dangling from his lips and was fiddling with a silver pistol in his hand, his finger repeatedly rubbing the trigger.
He Mang walked up to the six members of the Red Hood group and stopped.
His gaze swept over the crowd, carrying a hint of contempt and cruelty.
He spat the cigarette butt out of his mouth onto the ground, then crushed it with his foot, the sparks flashing briefly on the ground.
Without any warning, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three gunshots rang out in the silent slum, sounding particularly jarring and breaking the tranquility of the early morning.
The first three members of the Red Hood group fell to the ground, their red hoods instantly stained crimson with blood, like a red plum blossom suddenly blooming.
The three bodies twitched a few times on the ground, then fell silent.
Their fingers remained slightly curled until they died, never opening again.
Upon hearing the gunshot, the boy, who looked like a high school student, also moved.
He raised his submachine gun expressionlessly, and a dazzling flame shot from the muzzle.
Bullets rained down on the remaining three Red Hood members, and blood splattered all over their bodies, staining their black clothes red.
The six men fell to the ground one after another, none of them resisting.
Batman didn't even notice that anyone was dodging; they just stood there, letting the bullets pierce their bodies.
These guys are like domesticated livestock, as if they had already accepted this fate.
Six gunshots rang out, six bodies were found.
The two killed each other without hesitation, not even blinking.
It was as if the lives beneath their feet were not living human beings, but merely ants on the roadside.
He Mang blew away the gunpowder smoke from the muzzle, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with smugness and madness.
Gao Le remained expressionless, raising his hand to wipe the blood splattered on his sleeve.
His movements were cold and mechanical, as if it were just an insignificant stain.
Batman's body tensed up suddenly, and every hair on his body stood on end.
The hook gun shot out instantly, its metal tip whistling through the air as it aimed straight at the skinny white man's face.
The skinny white man reacted extremely quickly; years of criminal experience had honed his keen intuition.
He jerked his head to the side, and the hook gun grazed his ear before embedding itself in the wall behind him.
The alloy hook gun collided with the wall, sending sparks flying and leaving a deep scratch on the wall.
"Someone's there!"
He Mang roared, his voice tinged with panic.
He then raised his hand and fired in Batman's direction, bullets flying like hail.
It hit the steel frame, scattering countless iron filings, which landed on the ground with a crisp sound.