Terrified screams of innocent people echoed from the hospital entrance, as countless nightmares unfolded inside. Doctors, nurses, and patients writhed in agony.
"Call the police!" Liu A'dou shouted hoarsely. Before he came to this world, he had only seen Gotham's madness in movies—he never imagined the real thing could be this insane. Just a drug dealer, and he dared to storm a public hospital in broad daylight? This was absolute madness.
But then again, it made sense. These deranged criminals never faced real punishment. At most, they were thrown into Arkham Asylum, which for them was more like a playground.
Liu A'dou pulled out his phone immediately. He needed to call Iselin's phone, hoping she still had it on her. Whether it was Iselin or Anthony, someone needed to pick up fast. Scarecrow was coming for them.
Waiting anxiously, Liu A'dou felt the rising panic as the screams intensified. A few terrified, poisoned victims staggered out of the building, collapsing on the street, convulsing, their blood and bodily fluids mixing on the pavement.
Hurry, hurry—Scarecrow would reach their room any second.
"Hello? Who is this?" Finally, someone picked up.
"Get out now! Scarecrow's here!" Liu A'dou didn't care who answered—he just shouted the warning.
Click—
Anthony didn't doubt it for a second. Compared to Scarecrow, he, the boss of the Maya Gang, was practically a saint. Hanging up, he placed Iselin into a wheelchair. Now he could hear the chaos outside too.
"Where, where? Anthony, my little darling, where are you hiding?" Scarecrow's voice floated closer, carried by a trail of toxic mist, inching toward the father and daughter's hiding place.
Police had arrived, sealing off the scene. Liu A'dou was stuck behind the barricade, but as a cameraman—even without a camera—he had a job to do. Holding up his phone, he began filming. Even with just a phone, his footage was smooth, no shaking, easy to watch.
"This is Gotham Central Hospital. August twenty-sixth, eleven a.m. The notorious Scarecrow is releasing poison gas inside. Many victims have already been exposed. Police have sealed off the building. Reporting for Channel 3, Liu A'dou."
He recorded just enough to submit later, but a sudden idea hit him—he had to act.
Dashing across the street, Liu A'dou could see the toxic gas thickening. The hospital was about to be wiped out.
He wasn't a superhero—just a phantom thief. No costume, no gear, just his magic playing card gun. But he could help. His plan? Shoot out the hospital windows from across the street to ventilate the gas.
The building opposite the hospital was still under construction, nearly empty. Perfect.
Racing against time, Liu A'dou adjusted the pressure on his card gun while running, then started firing at the hospital's windows without hesitation. Even the new glass of the unfinished building wasn't spared. He didn't care. Not now.
He had to be faster than the cops still struggling with hazmat suits. He had to thin out the poison first.
A hundred meters separated the buildings, but even while moving, Liu A'dou didn't miss. Glass shattered, pane after pane. People turned, noticing the opposite building, but all they saw was a shadow flitting past windows—then more glass shattered, the shooter unseen.
More and more hospital windows broke, and wind rushed inside, diluting the gas.
Captain Gordon made a quick decision, sending in a vanguard team immediately. Soon, gunfire echoed from inside. This was Gotham—now Liu A'dou truly understood it—a city where cops and criminals exchanged bullets like clockwork.
Having destroyed public property, Liu A'dou quietly slipped back into the crowd, no longer filming, just watching nervously. He hoped the police could get Iselin out.
But the gunfire quickly died down. No officers came out.
So, even guns didn't work on Scarecrow?
Scarecrow, despite his frail, branch-like frame, had terrifying explosive power. He could fight, though he rarely needed to. His unpredictable combat style often caught Batman off guard. Scarecrow fought in his own twisted way—whatever worked, however brutal, just to win.
The cops didn't stand a chance. Gordon had no better options.
"Think Batman works daytime shifts?" one officer muttered.
"Shut up!" Gordon barked. How could they always rely on Batman? The criminal was right in front of them—weren't they the ones who should stop him? Gordon felt his face flush with shame. "Second squad, enter from the upper floors. Third squad, with me." He grabbed a gas mask and snapped it on. "Let's go!"
Liu A'dou clenched his fists—Captain Gordon really was something. Inspired, he couldn't just stand there. His friend was still inside.
What now? Liu A'dou glanced around and spotted a rookie cop trembling in a corner, fumbling with his mask. A spark of inspiration lit up in his mind.
Liu A'dou squeezed his way forward. "Let me help you."
"Th-thanks!"
But the young officer thanked the wrong person—because Liu A'dou knocked him out cold and dragged him into a police car, stripping him of his uniform. It all happened in a flash. No one noticed an officer had just been taken out.
Liu A'dou slipped into Captain Gordon's third squad. Though he wasn't in disguise, the thick poison gas and his gas mask meant no one could recognize anyone anyway. No one knew he had taken someone's place.
"Stay close, watch the gas," Gordon's voice buzzed through the mask, muffled like his nose was pinched shut.
The last squad to make contact had been on the fourth floor. Gordon led them straight there. Along the way, they passed moaning, poisoned victims—barely conscious, their lives hanging by a thread without urgent care.
Climbing quickly to the fourth floor, Gordon grew even more cautious. The green fog here was thicker than anywhere else, visibility down to nothing. Scarecrow was likely hidden right in this choking haze.
Step by step, they moved forward, finding fallen officers. Their gas masks had been smashed, faces twisted in pure terror.
This kind of toxin created horrifying hallucinations, making victims see their deepest fears.
"Careful. Scarecrow's close," Gordon warned.
"Gordon, Gordon, Gordon... my old friend. Where's your Batman now?" Scarecrow's voice slithered through the mist like a venomous snake. Once a petty, cowardly man, he was now a ruthless, fully-fledged drug lord.
"Ahh—!" A cop screamed as he was attacked and fell.
Everyone tensed up, hands gripping their guns in panic.
"I can smell your fear..." Scarecrow hissed from within the green fog. "So much fear."
Gordon didn't know where to aim. Suddenly, something darted past his feet, and another officer dropped. One by one, they fell. Soon, only Liu A'dou was left standing beside Gordon.
Nervous cops fired blindly—but hit nothing. No doubt the earlier squad had done the same.
"Careful," Gordon warned again, but it was no use.
Scarecrow was right here, and Gordon couldn't find him.
But Liu A'dou had. Scarecrow was crouched under a bench, waiting to strike.
If he attacked again, Liu A'dou would strike back. With just Gordon left, it'd be easy to disappear afterward.
Scarecrow, however, was also ready to retreat. He hadn't found Anthony in the hospital room. After toying with a few officers, he'd had his fun. Staying longer would be foolish.
One last attack—he was going for Gordon.
Not me? Liu A'dou smirked. Even better. His finger rested on the trigger. Breathing slowed. Hand raised—
Gordon saw Scarecrow's terrifying mask now, right in front of him. Scarecrow raised his withered hands, fingers like blades, ready to tear Gordon's mask off.
Bang!
The gunshot lit up the fog.
The bullet shot between them, and Gordon thought he was hallucinating—he saw the blast tear through Scarecrow's mask, revealing cracked, pale lips. Scarecrow was still laughing, yellow teeth bared to the poisonous air.
Liu A'dou knew Scarecrow's mask was his gas filter—he wasn't immune to his own poison. Batman had turned his toxins against him many times before.
Sure enough, Scarecrow clutched his throat, stumbling back, biting his lip. Panic made him lose control, blood dripping from his mouth. He staggered, slamming into the wall.
Liu A'dou seized the chance, snapping handcuffs onto Scarecrow's wrists. Then he grabbed another pair from a fallen cop, cuffing his ankles too, and chained him to the bench.
The swift, precise moves left Gordon stunned. But Liu A'dou's hands moved like magic—he was, after all, a master illusionist.
Do I have anyone this fast on my team? "What's your name?" Gordon asked. A cop this brave deserved recognition—he could be promoted to Major Crimes.
Liu A'dou didn't answer. Without a word, he vanished into the thinning fog, leaving Gordon staring after him, puzzled.
He had already seen the hospital room was empty—Scarecrow hadn't found them. Now that Scarecrow was caught, Liu A'dou could finally leave, quietly taking credit in his heart.
When Gordon brought Scarecrow out, he discovered a stripped officer in a patrol car. That agile, sharp-shooting "cop" had been an impostor. Gordon's first thought was Batman—maybe he'd disguised himself as a cop for a daytime mission. But when his men found a playing card inside the hospital, he realized he was wrong.
The fake cop who saved him might have been Kaitou Kid.
Gordon found it harder and harder to judge Kaitou Kid. Was he just a thief—or a good man with a sense of justice?
But Liu A'dou always believed that being a phantom thief and having a sense of justice weren't at odds. He never stole from the poor. A phantom thief wasn't some lowly crook who'd harm others for money.