193. Chapter 193 Past and Present

"Can I understand that Argos still has some sense of honor?"

Robin read the text displayed on the Batcomputer and said to Batman, "Or did he show us this conversation deliberately because he wanted us to think he was this kind of person?"

Batman's side face is as condensed as a sculpture under the light of the screen: "He can have many purposes, but anyone can see that he is not sure of victory."

The Gotham vigilante opened the Justice League's communication and asked: "Green Lantern, how is Beach City?"

"...Not good." The voice of Hal gritting his teeth came from the other side, and the alien laughed wildly, "I'm trapped here, Batman, Mongo was sent by Argos to disperse the fighting force. ”

That's right. Darkseid is not controllable enough, and Mongo is another story. He is cruel, powerful, and ambitious, but he is not someone who is difficult to defeat even if superheroes unite. In the Strange Universe, he was eventually defeated by the Justice League.

Batman said, "Superman or Wonder Woman will go over and help if necessary."

Hal didn't refuse. He couldn't bear the destruction of Beach City.

A few seconds later, another member of the communication, Wonder Woman, spoke: "Everything is normal here. Where is Hercule? How is he?"

"Argos opened a one-on-one fair bet with him." Batman didn't intend to hide it. "The loser will be killed by the winner."

Diana was tying the mantra lasso around her waist. When she heard this, she asked suspiciously: "No cheating?"

Batman flipped through the transcript again: "I'm afraid it's not as simple as it seems. Argos said this was 'which of the two eras has the necessary criteria to survive?' He insisted that the detective's betrayal was Such arrogance, 'When life and death are on the line, who among us will change our stance.'"

"God," Diana asked in disbelief, "does he want to retain Hercule?"

Robin shuddered and looked at Batman: "You think so too? Argos... isn't he that delicate?"

Batman didn't answer right away.

He dug out the file of the brother who had almost memorized it and read it again, and then said: "Maybe, or maybe he just wants his past comrades and today's enemies to admit that he was wrong in the face of death."

"Even if the Strange Universe loses?"

"How do you know that if Hercule Hugo goes back on his word, things will not turn around in the Lost Universe? He is the only person who knows where all the negative forces of the Dark Multiverse are located."

Wonder Woman asked, "Didn't he even tell you, Batman?"

The Dark Knight said gloomily: "Not all secrets are suitable to be shared with others."

Tried, but to no avail, investigated, but to no avail.

Diana smiled and said: "Well, I have to go to the African continent to take a look. Argos has suppressed the power of the Egyptian gods in some way, and the news from the Nine Pillars Council has not been received at all. Maybe their agents Will give me some information to destroy that pyramid."

Batman suddenly said: "You may need to do a small favor for the detective at a critical moment."

The Diana has already flown into the air, and this will give rise to a bad premonition because of the words of his companion: "Isn't there the blessing of immortality on him?"

"Listen to Argos, there is a time when the power is exhausted." Batman said, "Argos is well prepared. He has Arkham records in his database... I mean, he Know how to shake a strong-willed person. Also, you should have heard about Hercule's obsessive-compulsive disorder, which affected his chess playing."

"I understand." Diana said coldly, "It seems fair, but it's actually a trap."

There is no absolute fairness in Gotham.

Brother Eyes was a creation of Batman in another universe. Now it seems like the turbidest mud that the city used to support its knight's bones after his death.

Batman felt the chill. Argos seemed to be the sin extending from the road he walked on, an echo coming from the depths of Gotham: No one can escape the swamp under their feet. Gotham shaped you, everything you do If you persist in giving back to her, she will eventually become like this.

After Diana stopped speaking, he looked at the Batcomputer for a rare moment, his dark blue eyes reflecting the constantly updated text. In fact, he was not thinking about anything too specific in his mind. His mind wandered, and he thought for a moment that if Argos really instigated the detective, or worse, Hercule Hugo died in that pyramid...

He had to be prepared for all unimaginable outcomes.

Of course, Diana wouldn't understand his worries at the moment.

But Diana did not really see the strange universe, and saw Argos and Hugo walking together in suspicion, confrontation and wild instinct. They were bound together by the exile carriage called Doomsday. While helping each other, they hated and even hated each other because of their completely opposite natures. If given the chance, Hercule would definitely take out Argos at all costs just like Holmes took the initiative to go to the Reichenbach Falls.

In this high-pressure environment, Batman has no doubt that the detective has some psychological or mental illness. The amnesia only made him forget the reasons for the birth of the obsessive behavior, but it would not change the current situation, and those minor problems that were usually trivial would become more serious due to the conversation with Argos.

——He still remembered that one time when he was hospitalized, Hercule almost shot his companions in the ward after waking up.

So even if Hercule showed a calm and unhurried attitude at this moment, and even had a guaranteed victory, Batman had to leave some backup, such as Wonder Woman.

The above are all considerations based on the overall situation. On the other hand...if his friend was killed by an AI created by his future self, Bruce Wayne would never forgive himself.

"Bruce?" Dick's voice brought him back to consciousness slightly.

After focusing his eyes, Batman's gaze became sharp again. He didn't ask Robin what happened, but quickly glanced at the screen.

It reads:

[Hercule Hugo: I actually talked to your maker. 】

This obviously does not refer to Batman in the 21st century.

**

Before Hercule started the chess game, he evenly distributed the five skill points rewarded by the system's main mission. Now his knowledge, knowledge, and logical reasoning were both upgraded to the full level, and his absolute rationality reached lv.3. But in fact, by doing this At the time, he wasn't sure what the use was.

If the attribute points with an intelligence of 90 and the remaining disabilities correspond to his body being a brain, then what do the skill points and sanity values ​​represent?

No matter what, there is definitely no harm in having higher skill points, Hercule can still be sure of this.

While performing this very dramatic act, he said to Argos: "You use my loss of memory as an argument to argue that my position on the side of the 21st century is a castle in the air. However, in fact, I am not the same as your maker. Even though we talked, he never expressed his approval to you.”

Argos suddenly said: "You succeeded? - I never thought about it."

They both played a riddle that no one understood (except maybe Morgan), and then Hercule lifted up his coat and sat down in a chair.

The system prompt sounded in his ears:

【Chapter ▇ Section ▇: Chess Game

Mission description: Before the pendulum of fate stops, the chessboard in front of you determines the life and death of you and Argos, and also interferes with the survival of the two timelines.

'We all want you to win, Hercule. ’

Mission reward: x6 random skill points from the intelligence branch, achieve the HE/BE ending ▇▇]

[Negative status description: The Pyramid of Argos is a cage used to suppress the gods of ancient Egypt. Every time you turn your mind, you will hear their cries and curses of resentment. Your inspiration will gradually increase over time, and conversely, the upper limit of sanity will gradually decrease. Your opponent will be affected in the same way - maybe he will go crazy. 】

"Have you heard? The prayers and cries of those above?"

Argos asked abruptly.

Hercule, who had just seen the system prompt, couldn't help but listen carefully. For a moment, the sense of crisis, as if being watched and cursed by the apocalypse when using a pipe, hung on his forehead. Countless overlapping murmurs broke into his eardrums, and burning pain extended along his right leg bone to his right fingers. Suddenly, Hercule shuddered.

He calmed down, flexed his fingers and said, "You will be punished."

Argos: "You are right, but I will not be alone. You go first, detective, as my apology."

Hercule's fingertips were still trembling under the aftertaste of pain. He made a fist with his right hand, picked up the white chess piece with his left hand and pushed it forward steadily, and then said: "I won't give in. And you don't seem to be very focused. Is there anything annoying in the universe, Al?" Goss?"

"There are some." Argos moved the chess pieces slowly with one hand on his chin, his scarlet eyes staring straight at the chessboard. Even though he was wearing a brand new white robe, he still gave the impression that he had just crawled out of a pool of blood. The feeling, "Several battlefields are finishing, and some are still anxious. It doesn't matter if I tell you-I want to kill Darkseid."

The Dark Lord cast a bloody haze over the Golden Age, and Hercule was not surprised: "You will waste a lot of energy."

Argos did not mention a word about the Darkseid war in the Lost Universe that killed many heroes. He only said: "Yes, but he is always a terrifying threat."

"As far as I know," Hercule tapped his fingers, "Darkseid has a special place in the universe."

This is vaguely realized through the system. Anyway, the Dark Lord of Apokolips is something like a pillar of the universe. Even the end of the Strange Universe begins with his death.

"It doesn't matter. It was Doomsday that caused his death, not his death. No one in the universe is indispensable. After killing Darkseid, I plan to use Apokolips as an energy filter."

Hercule heard his subtext: "Do you still want to use those negative energies?"

"Of course." Argos said solemnly, "Who can refuse after experiencing the power to control all things? It was you who sent them to me in the first place, but now you want to persuade me to stop."

Hercule had heard about this a long time ago and had no reaction at first, but the continuous curses in his ears suddenly increased in volume at this moment, causing his brain to buzz, and he almost failed to hear Argos clearly. say what. He covered his head and interrupted the chess game again. Argos was not in a hurry and looked over with a little pity in his eyes:

"Honestly, I never thought you'd care."

"The problem with your right hand has been going on for a long time. Was it caused by the accident ten years ago, or was it another accident later?":,,.