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Chapter 303: Three Detectives (7)

Under the nightfall, a faint light emanated from the office of the Gotham Police Station. Gordon stood by the window, lighting a cigarette.

Behind him was Batman, organizing his equipment at the desk. Gordon exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and said, "To be honest, I've seen all sorts of scum in Gotham—robbers, murderers, drug addicts, people who betray their friends and family... But someone like Constantine, that's a first for me."

"I admit it's difficult to save him, but we can't just let him be. I can't stand by and watch someone destroy themselves..."

"Even if you didn't say it, I would still keep an eye on him."

Gordon turned his head, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Batman. "Indeed, you seem to be closely watching him. Why? Just because he's a probationary criminal?"

"Do you know why Schiller let him go?" Batman lowered his head, wiping the blade of his batarang.

"Actually, he had the ability to trap Constantine in a dream. Even if he didn't do that, he could have knocked out Constantine and handed him over to you, then let him stand trial."

"Stand trial? Forgive me for being blunt, but even if he receives a very fair trial, the end result would still be confinement in a mental hospital. Look at his state, do you honestly think he's not mentally ill?"

"But I find it strange too. I feel like Schiller isn't the kind of person who likes to invite trouble. By letting such a big trouble enter Gotham City, didn't he consider the chaos it would cause?" Gordon said, puzzled.

"Well... he probably said most of it, right? At least the part about Lawrence is true. As for the part with him and the Dream God... well, let's just say I'll treat him as a madman..."

Batman's voice was as deep as the night outside the window, and his hand paused for a moment while wiping the batarang. He said, "His words make some logical sense. Mrs. Sanchez sacrificed Cooper to the demon because she couldn't fulfill Cooper's demands, and he created a doppelgänger, who then staged another murder at the school, leading us there..."

"But he must have concealed some important facts. Perhaps Schiller is waiting for him to expose his own vulnerability."

Gordon took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaling the smoke. He looked at the dark night of Gotham and said, "With magic and demons appearing, what will come next? Angels and gods?"

"Oh God!" Jason exclaimed, "What's going on? Where's Dick???"

He quickly jumped down from the cellar door and looked at the chaotic floor of his base. The lab table across was overturned, its surface and miscellaneous items scattered on the ground. The new toolbox on the side workbench had also fallen to the ground, with all the tools scattered. More importantly, in the center of the floor, there were two pools of blood.

Jason turned to the others who had just come down. "Someone broke in here! Dick has been kidnapped, we have to save him!!!"

Jason was so anxious that his eyes turned red. Over these days, he had become good friends with Dick and the kids from the vocational school. Now his friend was kidnapped in his own base, and Jason was on the verge of losing control...

At this moment, the rest of the group, who had been waiting outside, also jumped down one by one, all astonished by the gruesome scene. Rocket Launcher spoke first, "It seems like a kidnapping indeed, and

Dick is bleeding. We need to find him as soon as possible."

Wheelman surveyed the room and said, "No, we're not good at this. Let's call Copperpot and have him come. In situations like this, he can handle it all by himself!"

"I know his home phone number. I'll call him!" Rocket Launcher said, crawling out of the cellar entrance and riding his motorcycle to find a phone.

Meanwhile, as the night descended, Copperpot's old mansion appeared surprisingly calm. Ever since Mrs. Copperpot was hospitalized, Copperpot had been living alone in the old mansion. Although the new apartment had a better environment, the old mansion was closer to the downtown area, making it more convenient for Copperpot to travel between several locations.

Copperpot was sound asleep in his bed when suddenly the shrill sound of the telephone rang, waking him up. He was a bit dazed because the phone here hadn't rung for a long time. Since his father's death, no one had called this number to contact them.

But Copperpot wiped his face and walked downstairs to answer the call. Jason's anxious voice came from the other end, "Copperpot! Come quickly! Dick has been kidnapped!"

"Dick? Wasn't he supposed to be at boarding school? How could he be kidnapped?"

"Anyway, just come over first. It's an urgent situation!!"

When Copperpot arrived at Jason's underground base and saw the chaotic scene, he frowned. Jason said to him, "Earlier, there was an incident at the boarding school where Dick was staying. We encountered danger when we went to find him, but luckily reinforcements arrived in time, and we're all okay."

"Originally, Batman was supposed to take us back to one of his hideouts, but we felt uncomfortable there, so we ran out. However, we expended a lot of energy at that time and felt tired. Dick didn't go back to his mansion in the southern wealthy district but stayed here with us and slept for a while."

"After waking up, it was already late in the day, and we decided to get something to eat. Since Dick wasn't familiar with the area, we asked him to stay and watch over the place while Sliphead and I went to buy food."

"When we went to our usual shop, we happened to run into them, who were also there for a late-night snack. So we bought the food and planned to come back and eat together. But when we returned, Dick was missing, and the place was in this state with blood on the floor..."

Copperpot carefully examined the scene and then climbed out of the basement through the ladder. After looking around, he said, "Your footprints have made this place a bit messy, but it seems there's a stranger's footprints here."

"Here, he should have gone that way, into that alley..."

The children ran to the alley Copperpot pointed at. It was a narrow alley that extended from the back of the alley and led directly to the main street on the other side. Copperpot also walked over, but when he reached halfway through the alley, he said, "The footprints have disappeared..."

Copperpot looked around, with a building on the left side of this position and a high wall on the right side. He climbed the ladder with rocket propellers onto the top of the high wall and looked to the other side, saying, "No traces, he shouldn't have escaped by climbing over the wall."

The footprints vanished into thin air in the middle of the alley. Copperpot returned to the basement entrance and checked again, examining all the possible routes, but there were still no clues. This sudden disappearance was troublesome for any detective.

Copperpot shook his head and said, "I'm helpless. You should seek help from someone more capable."

Jason became anxious and said to Copperpot, "Did he just disappear out of thin air? How is that possible??"

"At least for now, that seems to be the fact. And don't talk to me in that tone. I'm here to help you, but I expect that you might be able to help me in the future..."

Sliphead also advised, "Copperpot did his best. After all, we all saw it. The footprints just vanished, and there were no traces on any of the roads nearby."

As Jason impatiently ran his hand through his hair, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to Copperpot and said, "The flashlight we can use for communication, it should still work, right? Let's find Batman!"

Saying that, he pulled Sliphead and ran towards the underground base. The others were about to follow, but Copperpot stopped them, saying, "Batman should be able to handle this. Isn't he Gotham's most formidable vigilante?"

"Besides, do you know what happened with the investigation they conducted last time?"

"What's the matter?"

Copperpot said helplessly, "It's about them investigating the big boss who controls the kids."

Red Truck scratched his hair and said, "Jason told me that when he went undercover on that street, he overheard the boss's superior telling him to raise funds quickly..."

"Anything else?"

They all shook their heads, but Rocket Launcher said, "If I have to mention something, didn't Dick go with Jason? One night, he came back with some candies and said the little boss gave them to him."

"Candies?" Copperpot frowned and said, "Would those vampires buy candies for the kids under their command?"

Copperpot continued, "I used to be a cigarette boy in Living Hell. I know what kind of people those moms and dads are. If they could, they would make their kids work for them day and night without rest or food. Even if they did a good job, it would never be enough..."

"Not surprising. We don't have this in Living Hell, but from here to the Mosley Street area, the moms and dads buy candies for their children. I even heard my friend say he envies the kids in this area."

Copperpot sighed and asked, "Where are the candies Dick brought back?"

"He should have taken them home."

Wheelman looked at Copperpot's expression and asked, "You seem very interested in these moms and dads. They have been around for a while. Why suddenly investigate them?"

"You guys don't have to worry about it. I have my reasons. If you have any new information, be sure to let me know in time."

After saying that, Copperpot left, leaving the other three staring at his back, a little confused. But Copperpot was always mysterious like this. The remaining three glanced at each other, shook their heads, and left as well.

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