Seeing the Gotham Lord ask the question.
Ian subconsciously went to pick up the phone and chew it up. Teeth were humanity's most primitive and formidable built-in weapons. Even if he broke them, it wouldn't affect him since he had self-healing abilities—for Ian, breaking a few teeth every now and then could save the family money on dental visits for teenage cavities.
"I advise you not to do that."
The voice on the other end was low and husky. "I added a small bomb to this phone. If it undergoes severe crushing, it will release the odor of human feces in your mouth."
With those words.
Ian's action immediately came to a halt.
"The smell of shit!?"
The boy's eyes were full of shock.
It was clear he was genuinely afraid.
"Want to bet? It's also possible I added a fragrance like that of gorse flowers?" The authentic Batman's composed voice sounded like a demon's in the boy's ears.
The gorse flowers themselves were fine.
But the fragrance like that of gorse flowers.
Ian truly couldn't bring himself to bite down.
Even the Metropolis Gambler had moments when he dared not place a bet—it had to be said that Batman was indeed Batman. Ian felt as lost at this moment as those Gotham villains.
"Actually, the signal here isn't very good... Wait for me, let me move somewhere else." Ian brazenly tried to pretend he couldn't hear, but the Batman on the other end seemed to have already anticipated his little trick.
"The communication satellite is directly above you. The spot you are standing on has the best signal on Earth." It had to be admitted that Batman was much harder to deal with than Bruce Wayne.
"If you intend to say that you are the Metropolis Batman, and have no relation to the Gotham Batman, I want to inform you beforehand that every combination of titles and homonyms you can think of."
"The copyrights for all of them belong to me."
He really... Ian truly wanted to cry. How could he feel so completely cornered only twenty or thirty hours after their last meeting?
"I actually have a hero's dream, honestly... I've admired Batman since before I was born, and that's precisely why I was corrupted and controlled by a demon."
Fortunately, Ian also had a habit of making backup plans.
"A demon?"
A light chuckle came from the other end, as if he had heard something amusing. Just then, Ian hurriedly leaped back from the edge of the building to the part of the rooftop that the reporters couldn't film.
"The demon is right here. Can you see it? Does this phone have a perverted camera for spying on minors?" Ian lifted his cloak, aiming the phone's front camera at the rear end that had been covered by his cloak.
There.
A bull-headed demon with its mouth stuffed was hanging behind Ian's butt, heavily made up with clown makeup, as if to prove that the boy also had a Joker of his own.
How could this not be proof that Ian was also Batman?
"..."
Perhaps Batman was genuinely spying using the phone camera.
He fell into a prolonged silence.
Truly silent.
Ian could only hear heavy breathing from the other end of the phone.
"Batman is a spirit. Inheriting the Bat-spirit starts with me, starts young... You can be Batman, I can be Batman, everyone can be Batman! The world never had a Batman, or rather, everyone is Batman!" The silence in the air made Ian feel awkward, so he chose to offer a round of flattery.
However.
On the other end of the phone.
Batman's breathing became heavier.
A moment later.
"If that were the case, I think the world would be doomed." Batman's tone, surprisingly, remained steady when he spoke, only offering a low-voiced critique of Ian's flattery. He completely dismissed the question of Batman identity. The demon bull's makeup almost made him lose control of his blood pressure.
"Hypothetically, and I only say hypothetically, if I re-assert that Green Arrow visited me in a dream and told me to do this, would you be willing to pretend to believe me and go tear up, no, tear down Green Arrow?"
Ian still wanted to be a child skilled at rationalizing.
Unexpectedly, Batman didn't seem to intend to pursue the responsibility of this imposter.
"With great power comes great responsibility—for that one line, I'll save your life. Get in the car." Instead, he suggested this to Ian with a slightly reflective tone.
"Save my life?"
Ian was still confused.
"Your father arrives at your location in three minutes... And I have done my best." Batman's voice was very calm, but Ian's face flushed instantly.
"Damn it! You were doing your best to stall me for him!"
He was furious.
And slightly panicked.
After looking around, he chose not to take the Batmobile. He still dared not gamble on Batman's magnanimity, so he opted for a sprint and jumped off the building on the spot.
In the stunned gaze of everyone, Ian performed a free fall.
"Ah! Where's his grappling hook?"
"My God! Batman jumped!"
"Quick, take pictures! 'The Death of Batman'! Absolute headline!"
...
The reporters descended into chaos, their cameras frantically aiming at the descending figure. However, the anticipated tragedy did not happen—the black figure merely landed and lay motionless on the ground for about ten seconds.
Just as the reporters were hesitating whether to approach and snap precious photos of Batman flattened into Bat-man, the black figure on the ground suddenly scrambled forward using both hands and feet.
Shock!
Unbelievable!
The minds of a crowd of Metropolis citizens seemed to have been violently assaulted.
A moment later.
A more insightful reporter finally realized something.
"This! Is this the source of the Batman name? Most bats crawl in this contorted way after landing!" This reporter's realization led to a subsequent realization among the other citizens and journalists.
It made sense.
Everyone felt it made sense.
The camera flashes lit up again. In the live television broadcast, the black figure first crawled along the ground like a bat for a dozen meters, then suddenly stood up and sprinted away at an astonishing speed.
Surely, many viewers saw this scene on the live broadcast as well.
They understood.
"This is the real Batman!"
All recognition and praise arise from understanding.
She understood.
He understood.
They all understood.
Ian's job change quest naturally coincided with this moment, unexpectedly and coincidentally being completed.
[Ding! Job Change Quest Complete!]
[New Profession: Savage Tyrant has been recorded!]
[Obtained Talent Skill—Perfect Divinity!]
Successfully completing the job change quest was definitely a cause for joy, but Ian couldn't be happy right now. He didn't even have time to check his newly acquired ability.
The reason was simple.
The reporters were already exclaiming that Superman had appeared.
They saw Superman flying in the sky.
Only Ian knew that was his father chasing him from behind.