Chapter 92
"How did the weapon tests go? Nobody spotted you, right?"
Inside a residential building that appeared pitch-black from outside but blazed with light within, a man wearing a yellow quilted jacket with red trim—Schulman—addressed three men returning from outside.
He stood before a semicircular workbench cluttered with various tools, alongside a pair of metal gauntlets designed to cover fists and entire forearms.
"The weapons tested fine... but we think we saw a ghost." One of them spoke up.
"Are you three from the Middle Ages?" Schulman frowned at them. "Or are you religious?"
"Neither..." The man Batman had gripped by the shoulder—the one who'd screamed "Oh God"—replied. "We definitely saw something... I don't know if it was even human. I can't describe it."
"It appeared suddenly and vanished just as fast. Like the Egyptian ghosts from 'Gods and Ghosts.'" Another added.
"Don't know if it's human? Appears and disappears suddenly?" Schulman felt he'd heard similar descriptions before. His expression shifted. "Did it have any distinctive features? Like two pointed ears?"
All three nodded frantically. Batman's sharply pointed ear cowl had left an indelible impression.
"Yes! Yes! And an exposed chin!"
"Fuck!" Schulman bit out the curse through clenched teeth.
Such obvious characteristics left no doubt—this was the same individual who'd captured Walker and Scorpion, then taken down Kingpin. Batman.
Without wasting another word on these three, Schulman quickly reached back, pulling the hood of his yellow quilted jacket over his entire face.
"Shocker, what are you—" The three stared uncertainly at "Shocker" Schulman, confused by his sudden sensitivity.
"Get back!"
Schulman shoved the three obstructing men aside, thrusting both hands into the metal gauntlets resting on the semicircular workbench.
The metal gauntlets slid onto Schulman's hands, encasing his forearms completely.
He casually swung his fists experimentally. The air immediately erupted with a buzzing hum.
Looking closely, one could see the air itself distorting at the gauntlets' tips, with a flash of interwoven black and white light flickering past.
Clearly these gauntlets weren't designed for weapons research—they were weapons Schulman had created for himself.
Named "Shocker," the gauntlets also served as his public moniker.
When "Shocker's" fists clenched, the tips generated ultra-high frequencies that violently vibrated the air, creating shockwaves.
The vibration intensity had five power levels. Level one could send multiple grown men flying nearly thirty feet. Level three at close range could pulverize bones inside a human body.
As for the maximum level five, Schulman had never tested it since creating these gauntlets.
The yellow quilted jacket Schulman wore was also specially designed—capable of absorbing significant impact, preventing the reciprocal force from turning him into pulp before the gauntlets could harm his enemies.
"Hah... Batman. I figured you'd come eventually. Didn't expect it this soon."
"Hope this works."
Schulman exhaled deeply, shifting his gaze from the Shocker gauntlets to the bewildered trio as he donned his combat gear.
"You three grab weapons. Shoot anything that moves!"
"Uh, Shocker, you said before not to test guns inside the building..." The trio responded hesitantly.
Before they could finish, Shocker cut them off through gritted teeth.
"That was before! Now you've led Batman right here. Think this building can stay hidden?"
"Arm yourselves. Don't point those guns at me—"
Shocker Schulman's words died mid-sentence.
Click.
A distant light suddenly extinguished. Schulman immediately raised his fist to his lips in a silencing gesture.
"Quiet!"
"Shocker, maybe it's just a circuit breaker..." One of the trio whispered.
Shocker Schulman wanted to pulverize these three idiots, but he forcibly suppressed his rage.
These three wouldn't even qualify as muscle in Kingpin's former organization—just bottom-tier small fry.
But they were disposable assets provided by "Mr. Negative." According to the original plan, Schulman should have killed them immediately after they tested the weapons.
Getting angry at them was pointless. Besides, Schulman currently needed backup. Most importantly... his ears detected a faint rustling sound, as if someone was walking across the ceiling above.
Schulman didn't give himself time to think. He raised his fist and punched directly upward.
Bzzzzt—
An air-vibration hum erupted. Black and white light rippled from the Shocker gauntlets' tips, flashing briefly as the shockwave rapidly expanded upward.
Crash! Despite the air and distance, Schulman's level-one shockwave punch didn't penetrate the floor above—instead it brought down chunks of plaster and paint.
Debris and dust rained down. Schulman instinctively squinted to protect his eyes.
But then—
Thud. Thud...
This time both Schulman and the trio heard it clearly—definitely footsteps from some living creature!
The sound was heavy, not remotely human-like. More like some massive monster!
"Who's there?!" Shocker Schulman shouted, black and white light glowing faintly from his fists. He shot a glance at the trio, hissing, "Prepare to evacuate. I'm bringing this building down!"
"Oh? Oh! Right!" The trio hastily moved to leave, still clutching the energy weapons Schulman had manufactured.
Fwip!
A faint whistle cut through the air. The trio's wrists suddenly erupted in pain as three batarangs flew from nowhere, embedding in their wrists. Their weapons clattered to the floor.
As Schulman's nerves tensed, three strands of pitch-black webbing shot from the distance, precisely adhering to the fallen weapons before retracting.
This time Schulman finally glimpsed the webbing's origin point—precisely where that first light had been extinguished.
As he focused to look closer, the building's interior lights began dying one by one. Not tripping breakers—systematically, starting from the corridor's end.
Click. Click. Click...
Darkness surged toward Schulman like a tide.
The footsteps had vanished at some unknown moment.
Schulman's hands and feet went ice-cold. In this moment he completely forgot the disarmed trio beside him, instead choosing a random direction and bolting.
The Shocker gauntlets on his hands provided minimal reassurance. This invisible, intangible yet omnipresent pressure and terror made him desperate to escape.
This building had been his chosen sanctuary, his hideout. Now it felt like a tomb about to swallow him whole.
While running, Schulman alternately used his Shocker gauntlets to blast massive holes through walls blocking his path.
He had no intention of fighting Batman inside—instead he wanted to escape, then collapse the entire building and bury Batman beneath the rubble.
But Schulman hadn't gotten far when he punched through another wall and stepped through—only to see in the pitch-black room the same black-and-white energy glow emanating from his Shocker gauntlets.
Schulman instinctively raised both fists defensively before his body. The light in the room also raised up to match his position.
"Hah... just a mirror."
Schulman exhaled in relief. As he prepared to circle past the mirror and continue fleeing, by the faint glow from his gauntlets, he saw something move in the reflection.
His body went rigid.
Schulman held his breath, eyes straining toward the mirror's corner while his neck felt like a rusted bearing—he didn't dare turn it even slightly.
He stared fixedly at that shadowy area, praying it was a hallucination born from excessive stress. But Schulman quickly realized it was no illusion.
In the mirror, Schulman saw a black silhouette with pointed ears hanging inverted in the ceiling corner behind him, white eyes staring at him without emotion.