r18novel Chapter 163, Section 60: Claws vs. Bats
Chapter 163, Section 60: Claws vs. Bats
Chapter 163, Section 60: Claws vs. Bats (Part 3)
This was followed by a new round of remote harassment.
He leaped, rolled, and ducked, bullets whizzing past William's scalp. When he looked up, he instinctively reached for the throwing knife pocket at his waist, only to realize that he had already used up all his throwing knives.
How could he possibly have forgotten this under normal circumstances? It was purely because Qin Wei's blood-grinding attack had disrupted his mind.
But this may not necessarily be a bad thing.
The empty knife pocket reminded him.
The enemy's arsenal will eventually run out of ammunition. At that point, what you need to do is keep harassing them and bait out their bullets and grenades.
The clarity of his thinking quickly translated into action. William no longer charged blindly, but instead advanced and retreated, left and right, while waiting for his body to recover and circling around Qin Wei.
This is not good news for Qin Wei. He still has a grenade and 18 bullets. Without a good environment to fire, his gun is no different from a stick.
So he tried to distract the other person.
This is also the first conversation between the two so far.
"What, scared? You retreated without a fight when facing two against one, and you don't even dare to put up a fight in a one-on-one situation?"
William couldn't be bothered with such provocation, but he did glean some information from his opponent's words—Qin Wei and Jason Dick were in cahoots.
William felt a headache coming on when he thought of Dick. It was ironic that a descendant of the Claws had joined the Assassin Brotherhood.
"You're too afraid to fight, and too afraid to even speak?"
Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, Qin Wei intensified his offensive.
"Compared to those three colleagues, you're a coward! You're going to die anyway, so why don't you fight me fair and square?"
You despicable fellow, do you even deserve to use the word "upright and honorable"?
William couldn't help but roll his eyes, preparing to give Qin Wei a good scolding for his shameless remarks, when he suddenly shivered.
It wasn't until now that he realized what was happening.
"Mary and the others—are they all dead?"
Claw finally couldn't help but speak, and that was exactly the effect Qin Wei wanted.
"Ah, yes! But that might not be entirely accurate. Two of them are probably indeed dead. As for that lady, she has a long time to play the role of 'Princess Elsa' before I smash her to pieces with this one blow."
Although he hadn't seen Frozen, William could roughly guess Mary's fate.
"Damn it—who are you?!"
The fact that William could ask this question means that Qin Wei had once again influenced William's heart.
"I am judgment, I am the night, I am—your deepest nightmare."
Qin Wei hesitated for a moment, but ultimately changed his mind.
After gradually understanding the meaning of the word "Batman," he felt that he was not yet qualified to inherit it.
"Judge... what right do you have to judge her?!"
A roar suddenly erupted in the silent night. William Cobb's indifferent expression vanished, replaced by a face contorted with rage.
"Mary has never killed anyone, what right do you have to judge her!"
He repeated it again, his head lowered, his burning gaze seemingly trying to pierce through Qin Wei's body.
Beneath the Tower of Wayne lies a vast underground space, a limestone labyrinth built by the court to cultivate claws.
In the once-a-decade selection season, each newcomer will be paired with a Claw who has failed a mission. The two will enter the maze together, with no restrictions on the method or time. The one who comes out alive will be able to receive the exclusive Claw's amber gold token.
Of course, such a deadly battle often needs a witness.
William, a veteran of the Claw, served as a witness for five terms, with the 1952 appointment marking his third time in the position.
It was around that time that he met Mary Turner, a child who always liked to huddle in the back of others and rarely looked up.
Mary had lived in Hawaii, but her parents died in incendiary bombs dropped by Japanese warplanes. Disfigured and with damaged vocal cords, she had nowhere to go and came to Gotham to stay with distant relatives after World War II. Children who have lost both parents have always been prime targets for the courts; they are often seen as morally corrupt and dark-hearted, making them easy targets for brainwashing.
Thus, Mary naturally came into the court's view.
The court abducted her and, over the next five years, intensified her brainwashing efforts, attempting to link Mary's family's plight with the world's depravity and decay. But the results were ultimately less than satisfactory.
Mary's exceptional skills made her stand out among her peers, but while everyone else went out to train in preparation for the challenges of the Pure White Maze, she alone was imprisoned by the court for refusing to kill.
When the pure white maze opens, Mary, who has not eaten or drunk anything for five days, will face the seasoned veteran Kelvin Roth, who is also William Cobb's only close friend in court.
William, who was a witness, thought his old friend would easily kill his opponent and return to the Claws, but to his surprise, it was Mary, who was exhausted, who had the last laugh.
Seventeen-year-old Mary's fighting experience and skills impressed William greatly.
But Mary did not kill Kelvin as the court ordered, instead pleading with William to spare him.
William was more than happy to help his old friend escape death.
The two then worked together to throw the injured Kelvin down the sewer in the center of the maze.
To be honest, William didn't know if Kelvin would survive, but this was the best possible outcome.
Because of this secret, William and Mary met and spent a long and arduous life together as claws, until this day.
In William's mind, Mary was just like his daughter Mary Turner, whose skills were no less than William's, and who had an extraordinary adaptability to amber gold synthesis. This allowed her to collect amber gold from her teammates to further strengthen herself in times of crisis. That's why William felt at ease entrusting the task of dealing with Jason and Dick to his "daughter".
So far, it seems that the soft-hearted Mary hasn't been able to bring herself to kill them. Otherwise, with the help of the two henchmen, she could have easily taken down Jason and Dick, and there wouldn't have been the dramatic rescue scene involving Qin Wei.
William picked up the hidden blade that Qin Wei had knocked away and, right in front of Qin Wei, plunged it into his lower right side.
Qin Wei offered no comment, his brow furrowed as he raised his gun in a defensive stance. He didn't believe Claw would go insane over the death of his companion; William's inexplicable actions must have a deeper meaning.
For example, are they about to unleash a powerful attack?
His guess was absolutely right; William's amber-gold token was hidden below his right rib.
Unlike the young Claw who relies entirely on synthetic materials to fight, his body has been corrupted by amber gold over a century of erosion. In other words, his speed, strength, and abnormal self-healing abilities all originate from his original body.
His amber gold was always encased in iron, separating it from his flesh and blood.
"The game has begun, and this time—."
William looked up, his eyes gleaming with an eerie green light.
"I am the judge!!!"
A roar.
A flash of light.
A severed limb.
Qin Wei stared blankly at the neat wound on his elbow, which was gushing blood, and realized that the plot was rapidly heading in a complex and unpredictable direction.