"Joker, surrender now! The police have been notified, and this pce will be surrounded shortly." Sarah said sharply to Reid.

  However, the handkerchief tightly c her mouth and nose, along with her furrowed brow, made it clear that she was in no position of strength.

  ‘Gordon, please hurry…’

  Today was Sarah's day off, so she wasn't carrying any ons. She had inally po have a date with Gordon at this fanbsp;restaurant, but the sudden appearance of the Jang and their chaos had forced Gordon to work overtime.

  Sarah uood her husband well, as she, too, valued justice deeply.

  But now that the Joker had shown up, she desperately hoped that Gordon could put down his work and e here immediately.

  Though she was itted to justice, she wasn’t naive. She khat, alone, she didn’t have the ability to hahe Joker. All she could do was help evacuate the civilians.

  Although she hadn't wit firsthand, based on the police department's iigation into the Joker so far, she knew enough.

  This madmae his frail appearance, could unleash strength and bat skills beyond that of an average person. Even without the influence of ughing gas, she knew she was no match for him.

  The restaurant's guests, though affected by the ughing gas and ughing untrolbly, still had the ability to think. When they saw someoanding up to the Joker, they felt as if they had been granted amy. They scrambled, rolling and running out of the restaurant as quickly as they could.

  Reid didn't stop the as of the people around him because, at this moment, he was thinking about something else.

  He wasn't ed about Earle esg. From the very beginning, he hadn't pnned to kill him here.

  As Earle had predicted, if Reid killed someone in a restaurant owned by the Wayne family, it would certainly lower Alfred's role-pying score.

  Although Reid didn’t see the role-pying score as something particurly valuable, pleting the character's mission was what mattered most to him.

  However, if the Wayne family's business were affected, it would also harm Reid himself.

  He wasn’t worried about Earle dying. What he was focused on now was how to deal with the female cop in front of him.

  Reid khat the woman before him was someone filled with a strong sense of justice, and she backed it up with a. Broadly speaking, she was what one would call a "good person."

  But whether she was a good person or not had no impa Reid. In this dangerous world, it didn’t matter if someone was good or evil. What mattered was whether they were useful to him.

  For now, Reid was sidering whether he should follow the course of the id, as the Joker, kill Sarah, allowing Gotham City to tinue desding into darkness.

  He hadn't fotten for a moment that the Joker's character mission was to "subvert this world."

  Reid had always had a feeling that, from the moment he allowed the Joker's soul to be born from Alfred's card, his future as would likely be tied to the Joker in some way.

  The Joker’s character might be the key to everything.

  So, when it came to Sarah, a character ected to the Joker, Reid didn’t want to let her go just because of a fleeting moment of mercy.

  However, Sarah saw Reid’s momentary distra as an opportunity. She wouldn’t let it slip by. With a quick twist of her body, she aimed an sweep at him.

  The poioe of her high heel shot straight toward Reid's temple.

  Clearly, Sarah wasn’t holding back. If the kided, and if there was no Dionesium within the Joker’s body, even if he didn’t die—he’d be paralyzed for life.

  Reid finally reacted, slightly tilting his head. He still caught the edge of her kick, which struck his neck. He was sent flying, crashing through several tables.

  “Damn it…”

  At this moment, a surge of anger rose within Reid.

  He wasn't unfamiliar with pain. In order to better embody the Joker and portray his madness, Reid had willingly endured injury on numerous occasions. He had taken a beating wheing Solomon, and while trying to subdue Killer Croc, he had even lost a hand.

  But all these injuries had been part of Reid’s pn. He had chosen to hurt himself.

  This time, however, he had been distracted—and this time, he had truly been hit. For the first time in a long while, he was injured without any preparation.

  Reid reached up and touched his cheek, feeling the sting where the poioe of Sarah's high heel had pierced his skin. Blood streamed down his face, but thanks to the influence of the Dionesium, the wound was already healing rapidly.

  It wasn’t serious. No bones were broken, and there was no cussion.

  But when he looked up again, his eyes locked onto Sarah’s, burning with fury.

  "What...?"

  Sarah, who had intended to take down the Joker ond for all, froze at the iy of the look in Reid's eyes. Her foot seemed to lose all trol, ing to an abrupt halt as she stood motionless.

  The police reports described the Joker as a madman—one who wouldn’t be angered by pain or humiliation. He only cared about whether the final oute aligned with his desires.

  The angry Joker—this was the first time Sarah had entered him like this.

  But soon, Sarah steadied herself. However, in the process, she also lost the best opportunity for a follow-up attack.

  "Fet it... doesn't matter. Si's possible, the's do it." Reid muttered to himself.

  It was hard to tell if it was the anger from the ued turn of events that had thrown him off bance, or if it was simply because he had already made a decision.

  In any case, Reid had made up his mind.

  He didn’t know what sequences sparing Sarah would bring, but he did know what killing her would cause.

  Gordon would lose everything he cherished, and it would only strengthen his resolve to fight against crime. This more single-minded version of Gordon would be easier to trol than the family-loving Gordon. Plus, oman's card was drawn, Reid could make use of Gordon’s power.

  As long as he could stabilize Wayerprises, everything in Gotham could eventually fall under his trol.

  If both the Joker and Batman were his to and, trolling Gotham wouldn't be that difficult. There were things Batman couldn't do, but the Joker could do them freely.

  Moreover, the Batman, pyed by Reid, had no moral boundaries. If necessary, a killing spree was certainly not off the table.

  "Don't e any closer!"

  The Joker's presence made Sarah feel the danger more keenly. As Reid approached step by step, Sarah took a step back, her heart praying that Gordon would arrive in time.

  "My beautiful dy, I’m sorry, but I’ve decided to make you a gift for one of my acquaintances."

  Ohe decision was made, Reid no longer held on to his anger, his face transf into the Joker's signature manic grin.

  "I told you! Stay away from me!"

  Sarah frantically searched the area and grabbed a table knife from a nearby table. Without hesitation, she luoward Reid, aiming the on at the Joker’s heart.

  Boom!!

  But before Sarah could nd her blow, it was Reid's fist that found its target first.

  He struck her in the abdomen with full force. The impact forced Sarah to take a deep breath, and that was when the ughing gas that had already entered her system took full effect.

  "Hahaha... cough cough... Hahahaha!!!"

  Uo trol her body, the bination of Reid's pund the ughing gas quickly drained Sarah of all her strength. She colpsed to her knees, clutg her stoma pain while untrolble, shrill ughter poured out of her.

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