Attracting the Villains’ Attention

Chapter 182: Attracting the Villains’ Attention

Seeing the Villain Alliance’s strongest member fall, everyone sank into silence.

After a long while, Pietro broke the silence.

"She may have been disgusting, but she was right about one thing. This has had too great an impact. We can’t stay hidden any longer. Before long, everyone else will have their eyes on us."

As he spoke, Pietro and Kara both looked toward Zhang Ye, hoping he could make the decision and lay out their next course of action.

"It was only magical energy, and most of it was Lorelei’s divine power. They won’t know what happened here. I should be able to erase our traces," Zhang Ye said slowly after thinking it over.

"But Osborn and the others are dead. Anyone can tell there was something unusual here. If they can’t find us, they’ll spare no effort in uncovering the truth about this place. That will affect our next moves too, won’t it?" Kara asked worriedly.

"That’s true. So next, we need to find a scapegoat—or rather, something capable of drawing their attention. As long as Red Skull and the others are too busy to concern themselves with us, we’ll have achieved our goal." Zhang Ye rubbed his chin.

"But where are we supposed to find someone like that? To attract the attention of every criminal, they would have to be an incredibly powerful existence. If someone like that really existed in this world, he would have shown himself long ago. Why would we need to go looking for him?" Pietro frowned.

At that, the corners of Zhang Ye’s mouth curled up slightly, and he smiled.

"You’re right. Such people don’t exist in this world. But we can ‘create’ a group like that."

"Create?!"

Pietro and Kara were both stunned, then looked at Zhang Ye in confusion, seemingly unable to understand what he meant.

"This world needs ‘heroes.’ The villains need ‘heroes’ too. Since that’s the case, we’ll grant their wish."

Zhang Ye slowly pulled out the Batarang from his clothes and placed it before Pietro and Kara.

"Do you remember this? I don’t know whether the person who used this is still alive, but if we can build a ‘Justice League’ in this world, that person will definitely come searching for us without hesitation. Two birds with one stone."

"The Justice League? The superhero team my brother and Batman established?" Kara’s eyes flickered.

Hearing the idea, Pietro’s eyes widened as well, and he could not help nodding.

"That makes sense. Then everything that happened in Osborn City can be pinned on an organization that doesn’t even exist. Everyone’s attention will be focused on the Justice League, while we can retreat into the shadows. And it might even make travelers from other worlds reveal themselves, saving us from having to search the whole world for them."

The idea was good, but how to make it happen immediately became a difficult question. Kara raised her head and looked at Zhang Ye.

"But it won’t be easy to pull that off, right? Red Skull and the others aren’t idiots. They won’t be easy to fool. What if they see through the illusions you create with magic?"

Zhang Ye smiled faintly. "I understand what you mean. But simply making up a lie would indeed be meaningless. The key is mixing truth with falsehood. A superhero team suddenly appearing in this world would be suspicious in itself, so I need help from another world."

"You mean…" Pietro immediately grasped the crucial point.

Zhang Ye nodded and continued.

"I still have spare versions of the suits you wore in the Flashpoint Universe. Bruce’s materials were top-tier. There are major differences between the two universes, and Kara’s Kryptonian suit is an alien creation to begin with. Use these as bait, and they won’t be able to resist taking the hook."

As he explained the plan, Zhang Ye took out the suit Pietro had modified using the Batcave’s resources from his magical space. It still bore faint traces of Batman’s classic suit design, one that Batman had long since retired.

A ghostly green light flickered and danced, covering the suit in an instant and restoring it to its original appearance with lightning speed—the Batsuit.

However, since it was a long-obsolete product, the entire suit looked extremely retro and lacked even the most basic bulletproof protection. Essentially, it was no different from cosplay worn at conventions.

But for Zhang Ye, that was enough. He did not want to use magic to modify the suit, because Doctor Doom would definitely notice something suspicious. If he merely restored it, though, no unusual magical traces would be left behind.

And with Doctor Doom’s abilities, discovering that the suit did not originate from this universe would not be difficult either.

After resolving those issues, the ownership of Osborn City became another problem.

Now that the Villain Alliance had collapsed, the city had become ownerless. If Zhang Ye and the others did not handle this properly, other forces would soon carve up the city. By then, the people living here might suffer even more than before.

Zhang Ye had no desire to follow Wolverine’s old path. Since they had already conquered a city, they had to keep it firmly in their grasp.

At that thought, the three exchanged looks, then turned at the same time toward Blood Baron, who was clinging to Absorbing Man’s neck and drinking deeply.

Because Absorbing Man had been struck by Lorelei’s enchantment magic earlier, he had fallen into an unconscious state. If he had been younger, he might have broken free of the effect quickly, but he was too old now, and that gave Blood Baron a perfect opportunity.

In the past, Blood Baron might not have been able to bite through Absorbing Man’s skin even if his teeth shattered. But now, with Absorbing Man out of his mind, he had truly become a sumptuous feast.

Blood Baron, who had no idea how long he had gone hungry, was ravenous. He rushed over without hesitation and claimed the third kill of the team battle.

Feeling Zhang Ye and the others watching him, Blood Baron immediately shuddered. He turned his head, thinking Zhang Ye and the others disapproved of him drinking blood, and spread his hands innocently.

". . . Don’t look at me. They’re villains, aren’t they? Those people have done who knows how many disgusting things. They all deserved to die. You said so yourselves!"

"Relax, John. I don’t care that your idea of food differs from ordinary people’s, especially after I just ‘ate’ a serving of monster sashimi." Zhang Ye smiled.

"Then what do you mean?" John licked the blood from his teeth.

"Do you remember our agreement? You were to work for me, and now I need you to help me handle something important."

For some reason, looking at Zhang Ye’s smile, John felt cold sweat break out all over his body.