CHAPTER 35

The perspective returns to Gotham once more.

At the main gate of Wayne Manor, Max was bidding farewell to Alfred.

He felt that he now possessed sufficient ability to protect himself, and it was time to go out and explore, to temporarily leave this cursed place called Gotham.

Moreover, even if Max left Gotham, there was no need to fear problems arising in Gotham. With Jason's current strength, he was capable enough to deal with most of Gotham's villains! (Excluding those few "bug-level" characters in Gotham.)

Alfred wanted to persuade him to stay, but Max refused with the universal reason: the world is vast, and he wanted to see it.

Jason, on the other hand, was indifferent. He and Max made an agreement that the next time they met, they would have a serious fight! Max readily agreed to this small request.

Alfred knew he couldn't dissuade him. He handed Max a black card, saying it was a token of gratitude for his help to Master Bruce.

Max accepted it gladly. It was impossible to be without money when traveling, and with this card, his daily travel could be a bit more comfortable.

After bidding them farewell, Max walked towards the civilian district of Gotham City.

Due to the appearance of bounty hunters, Gotham, originally rampant with crime, had become much cleaner. At the very least, one didn't have to worry about being robbed while walking down the street.

The bored Commissioner Gordon spent his days watching surveillance monitors and practicing his boxing, feeling as if he had entered retirement prematurely.

Those police officers who had previously taken leave and were then delayed by the Joker incident were all given holidays during this rare period of stability.

Max, leaping across rooftops in broad daylight, successfully found Selina feeding cats on a rooftop. After exchanging pleasantries, Max advised her to give up on getting involved with the Court of Owls.

Catwoman verbally agreed, but whether she would heed his advice was beyond Max's control.

"Alright, little brat. Even if you've grown taller and more handsome, in my eyes, you're still a little brat!

My affairs are none of your concern. When your big sister was navigating Gotham, you hadn't even been born yet! I know where the dangers are in Gotham much better than you do!"

Selina was getting a bit annoyed. She believed that in Gotham, as long as she wanted to leave, no one could keep her, not even the Court of Owls!

Max also knew that persuading her was useless. He handed her a magic amulet and said with a smile:

"Alright, Aunt Selina, take this. It's a protective item I created with my superpowers. It can withstand one fatal attack. I'll ask Batman to take extra care of you!"

Selina snatched it away, then gave him a flick on the forehead: "You should call me big sister, you little rascal!"

Max nimbly dodged and said to her with a smile, "Hehe, Aunt Selina, I'm planning to leave Gotham. I'll probably be gone for a long time, at least over a year. If anything happens, find Batman. He owes me a favor!"

Selina remained silent, her emotions quite complex. Although this rascal had demolished her safe house, that house was later repaired at Bruce Wayne's expense. When she asked Bruce the reason, he said it was Max's request.

After knowing that Max was with Bruce, she had felt relieved. But this guy was actually leaving Gotham? However, leaving was also good…

"Leaving Gotham is good too. Go and see other cities… When are you leaving?"

..."Today, I think. I'll leave after saying goodbye to you. Don't worry, I'm very strong!" Max shook the alien watch on his left hand!

Selina smiled faintly, waved her hand, and left the rooftop.

Max then went to the Gotham Orphanage, transferred a large sum of money to the old director, and explained that he had made money, so they didn't need to worry.

Just as the director and the others were about to ask him to stay, Max said he was leaving Gotham for a business trip, that the journey was quite far and would take a long time, so he had come to reminisce.

When he left, everyone from the Gotham Orphanage came out to see him off.

………………

After leaving Gotham City, Max ran at full speed, recalling the location of the empty base he had previously dug out. He was going to tidy it up!

In the DC world, whether good or bad, whether heroes or villains, they all needed a secret base. This place had to be hidden and safe; only such a place could allow them to escape the紛擾 (troubles/disturbances) of the world.

A place that allowed them to remove their worldly masks, be themselves, and relax their minds. Such a secret base could be aptly called a—cozy home.

Running at full speed with Electric Current Propulsion, a place that originally would have taken half a day to reach, Max found in just half an hour.

The mound of earth he had previously piled up was now overgrown with green weeds, looking very much like a grave mound.

The secret base, "Tomb of the Living Dead," truly lived up to its name.

Within a twenty-meter radius around the "Tomb of the Living Dead," there was no cover from large trees; those trees had all been cleared by MC Steve. The originally remaining tree canopies were now just bare branches.

This area had undergone natural recovery over these days. Many new saplings had already sprouted on the ground, and weeds were also growing rampantly here, competing with those saplings for sunlight.

The entire forest had only this one patch of lush lawn, which was vastly different from the primeval forest further away.

Max walked to the entrance of the "Tomb of the Living Dead." Several small black shadows darted into the cave. Seeing the rat droppings at the entrance again, a bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart!

Why did he have the feeling of a dungeon exploration!

To be on the safe side, Max used Reverse Speech Magic: "Pool, appear!"

Ten meters from the entrance, under the transformation by the great power of magic, the ground full of lawn began to collapse, and a 3×3×3 small pool appeared in the muddy ground.

"Then, transform!"

Bang!

The long-unseen green light erupted!

"I've become smaller... Huh? I can talk? My hands have turned into scythes? My feet... these are mantis feet, right! Have I turned into a mantis?"

The small and delicate green body walked a few awkward steps. The feeling of walking on four legs was strange; each leg seemed to have a mind of its own!

When it approached the water surface and saw its reflection, Max finally knew who he had become!

Mantis!

It was one of the Furious Five from "Kung Fu Panda." Despite its small and mini size, it possessed astonishing strength and speed.

Max turned in a circle again, examining himself. He found the Omnitrix symbol on the back of his head. As long as he wanted to deactivate the transformation, he could.

With no worries left, Max began to think about how to utilize this character.

"Damn, I don't even know Mantis Kung Fu. And Mantis's speed is its advantage, but... in my case... has it become a disadvantage?"

...It couldn't truly become a disadvantage! Perhaps the learning experience now could help with the next insect transformation.

Mantis walked stiffly and unsteadily on the lawn, wanting to adapt to its new body as quickly as possible!

At this moment, one had to say, Electric Current Propulsion was truly great!

While adapting to its body, it instinctively used Electric Current Propulsion. Although the current was very weak at first, Mantis was a martial arts prodigy. In just a few seconds, the current within its body gradually grew stronger!

Golden electric current began to flow throughout Mantis's entire body. The current, in turn, sent various bodily feedbacks more directly into its small brain.

Its movements became more and more like a mantis, its four small, slender legs becoming increasingly flexible during training!

It began to learn to jump. When it jumped, its wings would instinctively pop out, serving a gliding function. This allowed it to move across all terrains, and very quickly!

It transformed into a golden-green bolt of lightning, practicing its mantis arms in this patch of lawn!

Electric Current Propulsion, Unrivaled Mowing!

Wherever its figure passed, everything except the grassroots was cut into grass clippings by it.

"Woohoo~~~, what a soaring feeling!

Light body, immense strength, gliding! No wonder it's called Mantis! Truly fast enough! Fierce enough! Powerful enough!"

Once it had completely adapted to this body, it rushed into the "Tomb of the Living Dead" with a serious expression!

Since rats were already appearing here, then snakes, wild cats, and the like that prey on rats, who knew how many would be hidden inside!

As soon as it entered, it saw dozens of rats in a corner of the passage, looking like a whole nest.

Mantis ignored them. With a flash of electric light, it continued to advance along the wall.

After making a round, it basically understood the situation within this 420-square-meter space.

A large group of rats, at least several hundred, plus dozens of pythons, and countless spiders and various other innumerable insects.

"Tsk, good thing I wasn't foolish enough to barge in directly earlier. It'll be a bit troublesome to drive all these out!"

Seeing so many, such densely packed insects, made Mantis feel a bit nauseous.

Because the quantity was simply too large. With its small frame, if it had to drag them out one by one, how long would that take!

While it was dazed, several large spiders had already crawled towards it.

"Truly courting death!"

Mantis's twin scythes flashed with electric light, and those few spiders were completely minced by it!

The scythe-like forelimbs that could easily cut metal made slicing these insects a piece of cake.

However, looking at the bodily fluids remaining on the mantis scythes, Mantis muttered with disgust, "Clean anew!"

Magic surged, and its twin scythes became clean again. Along with them, the surrounding cobwebs were also cleaned by magic!

The suddenly fresh air cleared its head a bit: "Magic! Oh, my little brain must have overheated! I can obviously use magic to clear them out!"

Although there wasn't any high-risk magic in the spellbook left by Zatanna, the household magic was very comprehensive!

Mantis frantically waved its scythes, carving magic arrays on all the walls!

...Carving hexagram arrays, with runes inscribed inside the arrays:

【Gale】, 【Blazing Flame】, 【Flash】, 【Clean】, 【Repair】.

These five runes were carved on all the walls, using interconnected magic arrays as a conduit.

After Mantis ran out of the "Tomb of the Living Dead," it immediately activated all the runes inside!

Boom!

Whoosh~~~

From the entrance of the "Tomb of the Living Dead," after the firelight burst out, a foul smell of burnt protein wafted out!

Immediately followed by a gale like a ghostly howl, which swept everything out of the "Tomb of the Living Dead"!

Those charred ashes and remains stuck in the corners and crevices, under the effect of 【Clean】, everything became spotlessly clean.

The 【Repair】 rune then restored the damaged areas within the "Tomb of the Living Dead"!

Mantis tapped the back of its head and transformed back into Max.

He quickly walked into the "Tomb of the Living Dead" and, using Reverse Speech Magic, began to modify this secret base!

Activating 【Flash】, the magic arrays on the walls lit up like fluorescent lights, illuminating this dark place.

【Gale】 was also activated simultaneously, allowing the air here to circulate, making the environment here suitable for living.

He walked out, cleared up the remaining branches and such from before, and using transformation magic, turned them into wooden beds, wooden chairs, and wooden benches, moving them all into the "Tomb of the Living Dead."

The place to sleep at night was settled. Next was to set up some rather troublesome runes.

Max pushed Electric Current Propulsion to its extreme, concentrating all his strength into one finger, enduring the pain brought by the finger's overload.

At the entrance, he carved 【Raging Fire】, 【Frost】, 【Teleport】, 【Dangerous Illusion】.

【Raging Fire】, in winter, could heat the air, commonly known as heating.

【Frost】, in summer, could be used as air conditioning.

【Teleport】, when out and about, one always needed an escape route and a safe location!

【Dangerous Illusion】, this was very simple. It was to confuse others' perception, making them unable to approach this place.

(Ahem, these four magic arrays are common magic tricks used by Zatanna, so her spellbook also has super detailed records of them.)

Now, Max's secret base was basically complete. It just lacked a magic source that could keep these things running continuously!

After all, he was going out and couldn't keep supplying magic to this base indefinitely.

So, sleep first. Everything else could wait until tomorrow…