Rachel gasped, her hard-won composure vanishing instantly.
On her lap lay a bomb…
A bomb!
Bai Ye took out wires from the cake box, looped them around Rachel's neck, and then pulled out two more to encircle her wrists, carefully connecting the wires.
"Miss Rachel, I don't mean any harm, really," Bai Ye said with a smile. "I just want to use this to test how much your boyfriend loves you."
Rachel's face turned pale. "What do you mean?"
Bai Ye smiled, picked up Rachel's bag, opened it, and took out her phone. He quickly found the number he was looking for in the contacts and dialed.
"Hello? Rachel, what's up calling me at this hour?"
A deep voice boomed, entirely different from the hoarse voice he had heard last night. As expected, the voice had been processed by a machine inside the Bat-suit.
"Mr. Bruce Wayne?" Bai Ye asked with a smile. "This is Bai Ye. You should be familiar with me, shouldn't you?"
On the other end of the line, Batman was instantly startled. He almost blurted out a question about why Bai Ye had Rachel's phone, but his reason kept him from speaking.
"Bai Ye?" Batman replied. "I'm afraid we're not acquainted. I don't seem to know you?"
"You don't know me? That's fine," Bai Ye said. "Because I didn't sleep well last night, I'm very angry. When I'm angry, I like to give gifts to people, like our beautiful Miss Rachel. Oh, by the way, do you know it's her birthday today?"
Rachel looked up and said, "My birthday two months ago was spent with him."
"It doesn't matter, we can celebrate it again," Bai Ye shrugged at Rachel, then continued. "Mr. Bruce, can you guess what my gift is? Here's a hint, it's the same type as what I gave Commissioner Gordon."
Batman clenched his fist, knowing Bai Ye was deliberately provoking him. He took a deep breath. "Sir, this joke isn't funny."
Bai Ye chuckled. "Of course, you can consider this a joke."
As Bai Ye spoke, he connected the last wire. Immediately, the bomb's electronic timer began to tick.
Bai Ye continued, "Did you hear that? It's started timing. The bomb will explode in an hour and a half."
Batman sounded extremely agitated and stood up. "Sir, do you know you're committing a crime?"
Bai Ye nodded. "I do."
This left Batman speechless. He had seen many criminals, but never one so brazen. Even the Joker liked to talk in riddles to beautify his crimes.
Bai Ye said, "I've added a leveling device to the bomb, so normally Miss Rachel can't leave the bomb. To disarm it, she'd have to hold it while it's being disarmed. If it fails, can you guess the outcome? Of course, there's a more reliable, 100% guaranteed way to disarm the bomb."
Batman asked, "What do you want? For me to stop pursuing you?"
"So now you admit you're the guy who wore tights and showed off his muscles like crazy last night?"
Bai Ye burst into laughter. "I saw the Joker declaring war on you, and I found it very interesting. If you're willing to take off your mask and announce to the world that you are Batman, I guarantee that bomb won't explode. Of course, the reason the Dark Knight is the Dark Knight is because he operates only at night. If you appear openly in daylight, you'll be a challenger of order. What do you think will happen then? You should know. So, take your time and consider it. You have an hour and a half."
After speaking, Bai Ye hung up the phone without waiting for Batman's reply.
"Miss Rachel," Bai Ye leaned down. "If you don't want the bomb to explode, remember not to stand up or move around carelessly. See the transparent tubes on both sides? The ones with the small balls inside. Try your best to keep the balls in the center, because if they touch the sides, it will...
But at that very moment…
The woman suddenly opened her mouth, her tongue flicking out a blade, which she held in her mouth. With a sudden jerk of her head, she sent it flying forward.
Bai Ye instinctively turned his head. With a clang, the blade grazed his cheek and flew out, hitting the elevator door with a sharp sound.
Bai Ye grinned. "Quite a few tricks up your sleeve."
Bai Ye grabbed the woman's arm and lifted her, then slammed her to the side.
…