There is no Batman in Gotham City comics.

Chapter 70: Dignity

Jason stopped the bombing at the right moment, opened the cockpit, and jumped out of the car by stepping on the edge of the window.

He grabbed a fallen young man by the collar and roared in a low voice:

"Where is Dave!"

The young man, his face covered in blood, kept begging for mercy with his eyes tightly shut. Amidst the screams around him, he was grabbed by a thug wearing a red hood, and at this moment he had completely given up thinking.

However, his answer was not important. Dave was lying behind the flower bed next to the young man. After hearing this, he realized that Red Hood had come to find him, and he was so frightened that he ran into the house.

My father’s hunting rifle hangs on the wall at the end of the stairs. If he gets his hands on that thing, he’ll have a way to save his life.

But now many people are rushing into the house like headless flies, and the door is so crowded that it's impossible to get through.

As the red-hooded figure approached him step by step, Dave anxiously tried to pry open the gaps between the people.

"Let me through, all of you get out of my way!"

But in the face of the people trying to survive, no one was willing to make way.

Desperate, Dave went berserk, wildly swinging his fists and knocking down the girl who was crowding in front of him.

The girl was hit on the back of the head, let out a muffled groan, and collapsed to the ground, where she was then overwhelmed by the swarming footsteps.

By relentlessly and ruthlessly pushing his way in, Dave managed to squeeze into the house.

The room was in complete disarray. The collapsed champagne tower had shattered glass all over the floor, and the people who had fallen were covered in blood and screaming on the spilled floor.

Dave didn't care about any of that, stepping over the bodies of these people as he made his way up the stairs.

Several wine cabinets on the second floor had been overturned on the stairs, with expensive spirits cascading down the steps like a waterfall.

Dave was already panting heavily as he climbed the slippery steps to the second floor.

He regretted it, because he was afraid that these guys would get too high and cause trouble, so guns were prohibited at the party. But who knew that halfway through the party, a weirdo would come and cause trouble in a weird car.

Dave knew about the Red Hood gang, but he couldn't fathom how a small gang made up of East End scum could find out the address of this party, or why they would go to such lengths to hunt him down across the entire city.

"Could it be that son of a bitch Jason Todd? He sent men to kill me!"

After much thought, Dave could only come to this conclusion.

He took the hunting rifle off the wall, pried open the barrel, loaded two shotgun pellets, and huddled against the wall with the rifle on his shoulder.

As he listened to the approaching footsteps trudging through the puddles, he sent a message to his father.

"Father! If I die, go find Jason; he's the one who killed me!"

After giving his last words, Dave felt he had regained his courage and swallowed the last half packet of pills in his pocket. The scene before him gradually distorted and changed.

The chandelier overhead became a flickering incandescent bulb, the magnificent villa became a dirty and dilapidated basement, and he imagined himself as a modified soldier played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, being chased and intercepted by enemy troops.

"I have no reason, I have no emotions, I am a killing machine!"

Dave's eyes have developed hematomas due to the effects of the medication.

Listening to the approaching footsteps, he stepped out from behind the wall and fired a shot at the person making the sound.

The lead bullet's terrifying destructive power instantly ripped a large hole in the man's chest. The poor fellow was pushed against the railing and tumbled down the stairs.

Minced meat and large pieces of lead covered the wall at the corner of the staircase, adding a vibrant "human touch" to the hazy picture of "Impression, Sunrise" hanging on the wall.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Jason who came.

But this did not stop Dave from going on a killing spree. In his eyes, the guys downstairs who should have been called his comrades had all put on red hoods.

After smashing another girl's skull with his gun, Dave, drooling as he reloaded his ammunition, had a lewd grin on his face that was reflected in the terrified eyes of everyone present.

The young people at the gathering then realized that the danger was not Red Hood, but Dave, who had lost his mind.

At this moment, Dave had already put Jean-Claude Van Damme's illusions behind him. What flashed before his eyes was a dark and deep space, as if he had been squeezed into the smallest dust in the world, and a huge black shadow as big as a mountain was swirling in the black mist above his head.

He had heard from his buddies that taking too many drugs could cause hallucinations, and that the ultimate answer to the world lay hidden within those ethereal hallucinations.

And now it seems he has seen Him.

"The world is going to end... the world is going to end!"

He opened his arms, attempting to embrace His greatness with his tiny stature.

But the next second, a fist slammed into his face, and his thoughts were pulled out of the dark space.

Dave shook his head. Standing in front of him was Red Hood, his fists clenched tightly.

The absurd things he had just done flashed through his mind, and he realized that he had accidentally killed two friends. But none of that mattered now; what he needed to think about was how to save his life from Red Hood's clutches.

As the effects of the medication gradually subsided and adrenaline levels dropped, fear once again took hold of his mind.

Dave knelt down, stumbling and scraping against the shards of glass scattered on the ground, and grabbed Red Hood's leg.

"Don't kill me! I...I know you were sent by Jason. Whatever he pays, I'll pay double...no, triple! Go kill Jason for me!"

Killing oneself, that's truly laughable.

Jason ignored the madman's words, pulled his arm away, and punched Dave hard again.

The cola spilled on his head; the torn book; the unwarranted bullying; the prejudice etched into his bones—he would get his revenge today for all the insults and injustices he had suffered over the years.

The fist made intimate contact with Dave's nose.

With a sharp crack, a front tooth flew out, dripping with blood. Dave rolled on the ground, clutching his face. Tears mixed with blood made his already distorted face look even more grotesque.

"Why...why...why won't you agree...what did that bastard Jason give you in return! If you're afraid I'll renege on my promise...I can give you the money right now, any amount...please let me go."

The stronger Dave's malice towards Jason became, the more violent the beating became. The answer was so obvious, yet Dave still didn't realize where the problem lay.

Red Hood cracked his knuckles, and shards of glass shattered on the soles of his Doc Martens, making a crisp sound.

"Stop daydreaming. What Jason gave me, you can't give me."

"I don't believe it... What can't I give that poor bastard... Name your price!"

Dave mistakenly thought Jason was negotiating with him, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.

But that hope was quickly extinguished.

Jason pulled off the red hood, revealing his true face.

"This thing is called dignity."