The Next Step

As one of DC’s most tragic heroes, Red Hood’s journey had been exceptionally tortuous.

Perhaps that was the Bat-Family’s fate. Anyone gathered around Batman would eventually embark on a path of constant struggle in the darkness.

Among them, Jason, the second Robin, was absolutely in a class of his own. Though Zhang Ye did not know what he had experienced here, one look at his current state was enough to tell him that Red Skull had certainly not treated him kindly.

Zhang Ye remembered seeing an Easter egg videotape while playing games in his previous life. It showed Jason being beaten over a long period of time. The haggard, miserable image was almost no different from what Red Skull was displaying now.

He wondered whether Jason had seen Joker’s shadow in Red Skull.

Zhang Ye believed there had to be an inevitable connection between the two universes. Whether it was the wasteland world or Jason’s world, there had to be some hidden secret within these two timelines that had both marched toward destruction.

It was precisely because of this that Zhang Ye guessed Red Hood must have had some sort of "purpose" in coming to this universe, though perhaps even Jason himself did not know what that purpose was.

But no matter what, everything would have to wait until he met Jason to be confirmed.

In a sense, two parallel universes filled with despair were holding hands as they rushed toward annihilation.

Seen that way, it was rather poetic.

Zhang Ye frowned slightly. He always felt that things had been going too smoothly for him here, which meant some major spectacle was likely waiting for him ahead.

Suddenly, Zhang Ye felt a tingling sensation in his arm. It did not stem from his physical body, but from a deeper, peculiar reaction between spirit and matter.

Rolling up his sleeve, Zhang Ye saw an ink-black raven tattoo on his wrist flashing with a strange light.

This was an exotic witchcraft spell Zhang Ye had specifically used to communicate with others over long distances. As long as someone possessed this tattoo, they could contact Zhang Ye at any time. Its range was immense; they could communicate even across planets.

Green flames rose up, and soon, a man’s face appeared within them.

"Pietro," Zhang Ye spoke first.

"Zhang Ye, there’s some intelligence you need to know about." Pietro sounded somewhat excited. At the same time, the noise on his end was chaotic. Zhang Ye could hear many people talking, and the loudest voice among them belonged to Old Barton.

Rubbing his temples, Zhang Ye said, "Go on."

"Baron Zemo’s side has been dealt with perfectly, and Kara and I didn’t even need to make a move." Pietro first reported on the situation over there. Zhang Ye could hear the surprise in his voice.

Perhaps Pietro had always looked down on ordinary people. When he discovered that Old Barton had dragged his aged body into a Hydra base and wiped it out, he was genuinely shocked and impressed.

"That’s good news. Didn’t Barton and the others say anything about their next plan?" Zhang Ye asked calmly.

"Speaking of that… what I’m about to say is the important part."

Pietro paused, then looked seriously at Zhang Ye in the flames and said solemnly,

"We found some very interesting intelligence in Baron Zemo’s base. It included not only the Super Soldier Serum, but also Red Skull’s judgment of a hero from another world. I suspect that person is Batman, whom we’ve been searching for."

"I saw that too. We can confirm that the other party is indeed a hero from another universe." Zhang Ye nodded, confirming Pietro’s words.

At this point, Pietro continued. "That’s what I wanted to tell you. There may be more than one person who came here. Just now, a woman contacted Old Barton. She called herself Laurel Lance and said she was from another universe."

"Laurel Lance, Black Canary?!" Zhang Ye raised an eyebrow.

"You know her?"

Pietro’s side was startled as well, but they quickly recovered. Having experienced so many Multiverses, they had yet to encounter anything Zhang Ye could not handle. It was nothing strange for Zhang Ye to know the other party’s identity.

Zhang Ye did not answer Pietro. He slowly stroked his chin, his gaze constantly shifting around.

Honestly, Zhang Ye had not expected Pietro’s side to obtain such important intelligence. What surprised him even more was that Red Hood was not the only superhero to arrive in this universe. Even the famed Black Canary had come.

The second Black Canary, Dinah Laurel Lance, was the daughter of the first Black Canary and the wife of Green Arrow, Oliver Queen.

She possessed sonic abilities similar to a songbird’s cry, and her reflexes and fighting skills were exceptionally formidable as well.

According to the setting, her combat ability ranked among the top three. In pure hand-to-hand combat, she was evenly matched with Batman. Thus, she had also become a combat instructor for the younger generation of superheroes.

But settings were ultimately just settings. Individual people in every universe could differ greatly, so Zhang Ye was not sure how formidable this so-called Black Canary was.

However, judging by how she had immediately contacted Old Barton after seeing the information about Red Hood, the two of them most likely came from the same universe and knew each other fairly well.

Thinking of this, Zhang Ye could not help asking, "Where did she get Barton’s contact information?"

"She got it from Kate Bishop. Old Barton has already verified the code phrase with her. She’s definitely one of us," Pietro said seriously. "She hopes we can help her find the Justice League and rescue her friend."

"This is getting interesting."

Originally, Zhang Ye had envisioned the Justice League as nothing more than a smokescreen aimed at the wasteland villains. Their primary purpose was to attract the villains’ attention so he could better gather resources from the wasteland.

At the same time, if he could use this method to lure out that person who used Batarangs and was suspected of being Batman, that would be even better.

Now this was perfect. Batman had not appeared, but Black Canary had. She clearly believed wholeheartedly in the Justice League. This lie was starting to sound more and more real.

"She doesn’t know about the Justice League, does she?" Zhang Ye asked.

"Old Barton and the others don’t know the details about the Justice League either," Pietro replied quietly.

Upon hearing that, Zhang Ye pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said,

"Alright, let’s do that for now. There are still ten days until Red Skull’s Judgment Day. You should contact Black Canary first."

"What about you? And Red Skull’s move is clearly a trap, isn’t it?" Pietro frowned.

"I still need to deal with Baron Mordo. The Darkhold in his hands will be very helpful to me, and I can’t let it fall into Doom’s hands."

Zhang Ye said slowly, "As for Red Skull, this is an open scheme from the start. But there’s no helping it—he has hostages, and Hydra holds the initiative. When the time comes, all we can do is respond to whatever comes our way."