Chapter 157: Black Beauty vs. The Tumblers
"Do you know Ra's al Ghul?"
This question completely stunned Miranda Tate, despite her exceptional acting skills.
This secret was known to absolutely no one except Bane himself!
The rest was up to Bruce.
The Dark Knight, shrouded in his black cape, lunged forward, grabbed Miranda Tate firmly, and rushed out of the office. Interrogation was inevitable—and with Batman's exceptional detective skills and intelligence, he would quickly see through her deception once he became suspicious of her true identity.
"What should we do now?" Mia asked, pulling up her large tactical goggles so they resembled cat ears on top of her head.
She tossed her hair back, exuding a lazy yet dangerous aura—like a predatory feline.
"Simple—we go kill Bane," Jake replied.
That masked terrorist was probably already transporting the weaponized reactor through the city.
"How exactly?" she asked, nodding in agreement.
"Knowing Bruce's personality, he definitely won't abandon the citizens of this city. You don't want that outcome either, do you?" Jake turned to meet Mia's gaze, knowing he was right. "The entire city is trapped right now, and all the routes leading outside are blocked by debris. Go clear those passages—blow them open if you have to."
"What about you?"
"Me?" Jake straightened his tie with a confident smirk. "I'm going to confront them head-on, of course!"
After dividing up their responsibilities, Jake touched Mia's arm, and both vanished instantly. When they reappeared moments later, they were beside a black vintage sedan and an extremely sleek monster of a motorcycle.
The car window rolled down, and Jake—sitting in the driver's seat—nodded to the striking Catwoman crouched on the motorcycle beside him, then pressed a button on the dashboard.
WHIRRR—
Two heavy machine guns rose smoothly from concealed compartments in the Black Beauty's hood!
Flames erupted from the muzzles.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
The office windows shattered instantly under the barrage!
The next moment, the black monster motorcycle shot forward through the opening!
VROOOOM!
An instant later, Batman's Batpod roared to life and charged forward. Black Beauty, not to be outdone, followed closely behind, launching itself through the shattered glass in a spray of glittering fragments!
Both Black Beauty and the Batpod were top-of-the-line vehicles, capable of reaching maximum velocity in under a second!
At Wayne Tower plaza, after receiving intelligence about Batman's appearance, Bane had already deployed substantial reinforcements. Armored tactical vehicles—Tumblers—were steadily approaching the building.
This was because Bane had successfully tunneled into Wayne Enterprises' secret basement armory and stolen all of Batman's military-grade equipment and vehicles.
In other words, these armored vehicles were the exact same models Batman himself used!
Each Tumbler was equipped with large-caliber autocannons and heavy armor plating!
Five Tumblers approached in formation, accompanied by numerous armed mercenaries wielding assault rifles, slowly advancing on the building!
Suddenly, the sound of machine gun fire erupted from overhead.
The mercenaries instinctively looked up, only to discover that on the fifth floor, the glass curtain wall had completely shattered, and through the cascade of broken glass, a black motorcycle with massive all-terrain tires burst forth from the gap!
CRASH—!
The motorcycle was traveling at incredible speed, arcing through the air before landing on a distant rooftop with a thunderous impact. Only then did people clearly see a strikingly beautiful woman in a skin-tight tactical suit riding it!
The wheels skidded sideways twice before stabilizing. The woman then tilted her head back playfully, waved mockingly at the crowd on the ground below, and roared off into the city!
Enraged, the mercenaries on the ground raised their weapons and opened fire on her retreating form!
The distance was too great, and their poorly aimed bullets didn't come within thirty feet of her position.
Just as they were organizing to give chase, they heard another powerful engine roar from overhead.
Could there be another one?
The crowd instinctively raised their weapons while looking up.
All they could see was the undercarriage of a car.
This vehicle was even more reckless than the motorcycle—instead of landing on any adjacent rooftop, it was plummeting directly from the fifth floor straight toward the plaza!
At that height, the chassis would certainly break apart, and both car and driver would be destroyed.
The mercenaries were already anticipating a spectacular crash and fireball.
However, things took an unexpected turn. The trunk suddenly popped open, and a compact reinforced parachute rapidly deployed, dramatically slowing the vehicle's descent.
Before everyone's astonished eyes, the decelerated car touched down on the pavement, immediately executing a perfect drift. When it came to a stop, the front of the car was pointed directly at the armed formation.
The attackers had escaped the encirclement by literally falling from the sky!
Two heavy machine guns rose menacingly from the hood, their barrels spinning up to full speed.
They opened fire at a devastating rate of one thousand rounds per minute!
In a single brutal exchange, everyone except those inside the armored Tumblers or taking cover behind them was instantly cut down!
Two seconds later, the machine guns ceased firing, leaving the ground stained crimson with blood.
The scene was absolutely gruesome.
The surviving terrorists screamed and returned fire sporadically.
Bullets struck the Black Beauty's armored body, failing to even scratch the reinforced paint job.
Suddenly, Jake slammed the accelerator and jerked the steering wheel hard. The car lurched violently to the side just as a heavy artillery shell blasted into the spot where the left tire had been, creating a massive crater in the pavement.
The shockwave from the explosion slammed into the vehicle, shaking it violently and nearly causing it to flip over.
Just as Black Beauty's tires touched down again, the heavy autocannons mounted on the four remaining Tumblers ahead began glowing with charging energy...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Jake calmly shifted into reverse, simultaneously spinning the steering wheel and backing up at high speed...
Explosive shells pounded into the pavement ahead of the car, creating impact craters!
The four armored Tumblers, like four mechanical behemoths, rolled forward on their massive tires, crushing everything in their path with overwhelming force.
The elegant Black Beauty, like a nimble dancer, faced down four heavily armored tanks head-on!
It looked like a classic case of a mantis trying to stop a war chariot.
The size and weight difference between the two sides was simply enormous—a complete mismatch in terms of raw power!
Black Beauty was a four-wheel drive vehicle, and thanks to Kato's extensive modifications, its reverse speed was no slower than its forward velocity.
Amidst the continuous barrage, Black Beauty kept retreating at maximum speed!
In the blink of an eye, the car had traveled over six hundred feet backward!
Having dodged another devastating volley, Jake sharply cranked the steering wheel to the left, finally reaching an intersection!
He spun the car around to face the four approaching Tumblers head-on.
Just as these four armored vehicles assumed the small, fragile-looking sedan would turn tail and flee—
FWOOOOSH—
A compact missile launched from Black Beauty's rear compartment, streaking through the air and striking the center Tumbler with pinpoint accuracy!
Even heavy armor plating several inches thick couldn't withstand the concentrated explosive force. The Tumbler was instantly breached, billowing thick black smoke, and ground to a complete halt!
In the initial engagement against the heavily armored tactical vehicles, the uniquely equipped Black Beauty had gained the upper hand.
In a straightforward clash of armor and firepower, the Tumblers would normally be superior. Jake's advantage came from Black Beauty's versatility, unconventional features, and of course, the sheer variety of weapons systems Kato had integrated into the vehicle. With such overwhelming and unexpected firepower, no matter how strong the defensive plating, it could be penetrated!
This missile strike completely stunned the operators of the other three Tumblers. They clearly couldn't comprehend how this relatively small vintage car could function as a mobile weapons platform!
Heavy machine guns, precision missiles, emergency parachutes... what other surprises might this thing have?
Just then, Black Beauty launched itself into the air once again!
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