Bai Ye, 'scared' by the Scarecrow, was enduring the educational guidance of Song Yin, a female doctor whose image as a beauty was gradually fading.

The reason for this guidance was simply that Bai Ye wasn't answering her calls, and eventually, he even switched off his phone.

The shop remained closed for more than a whole day. Bai Ye entered Gotham City at night and stayed there for a full 48 hours before returning. His shop remained closed for two days.

Regarding his phone, it had poor battery life and automatically shut down. It wasn't deliberately switched off by Bai Ye.

Fortunately, Song Yin realized her aim wasn't to mold Bai Ye into a prodigy, so her demands on him diminished as long as he didn't cause any trouble.

For a former autistic boy who had spent a day or two in his own world, it wasn't a big deal.

Of course, Song Yin set three rules for Bai Ye, such as having to talk at least once every two to three days to maintain smooth communication.

Bai Ye casually agreed. It wouldn't hurt to give Song Yin a call before his next trip to Gotham City; she wouldn't barge into his home.

After Song Yin left, Bai Jincheng called, saying he had returned and would visit Bai Ye the next day.

Bai Ye readily agreed, knowing he couldn't go to Gotham City the next day.

Early the next morning, Bai Jincheng arrived at the "Universe's No. 1 Interdimensional Trading Pavilion," with a twitch in his mouth upon seeing the shop's name.

As it was Saturday, there weren't many pedestrians or vehicles on the road.

Bai Jincheng's luxury car was parked by the roadside, and a black-clad bodyguard stood beside it, observing Bai Jincheng. It was quite an attractive sight.

Some recognized the man standing in front of the "convenience store" as the head of the Jincheng Group.

Bai Jincheng neither deliberately made a big show of himself nor kept a low profile. His position demanded a certain level of exposure.

In the business world, he could be considered a celebrity, so it was normal for those interested in "current affairs" to recognize him.

Entering the store, Bai Ye behind the counter looked up from a book as Bai Jincheng's expression soured, causing him to look rather unpleasant.

"Uncle, you don't seem very happy," Bai Ye said, standing up.

"Hmm?" Bai Jincheng asked. "How did you figure that out?"

"Your hairline seems to have receded a bit," Bai Ye said.

"Can we not talk about my hairline?" Bai Jincheng felt helpless.

"I plan to research a hair growth formula. Then I can solve your hairline problem," Bai Ye said earnestly.

"Well, thank you," Bai Jincheng said somewhat wearily, surveying the environment in the shop and nodding his approval.

His mood and mental state were indeed not great.

However, it wasn't due to business matters, nor did it have much to do with the hairline problem Bai Ye mentioned—maybe just a bit.

It was due to family matters.

His family, including his wife and son, displayed a clear rejection of Bai Ye.

Originally, Bai Jincheng had intended to bring his wife, son, and daughter to meet Bai Ye today, but in the end, only he came alone.

This made Bai Jincheng feel awful.

Could it be that his wife still thought the Bai Ye was going to compete with him for control of the Jincheng Group?

It was simply groundless worry.

In any case, Bai Jincheng's family had a clear aversion to Bai Ye, as if he wasn't Bai Jin's son but Bai Jincheng's illegitimate child.

Yet Bai Jincheng couldn't truly break ties with his family for Bai Ye's sake, so he had to go along with them.

This added another layer of guilt in Bai Jincheng's heart towards Bai Ye.

"Have you been comfortable these days? If you need anything, let Uncle know," Bai Jincheng said to Bai Ye.

"Yes," Bai Ye nodded, taking out his ID and saying, "Uncle, help me register a company."

"Huh?" Bai Jincheng was taken aback.

"...a pharmaceutical company, one that can sell drugs," Bai Ye said.

"Okay, okay," Bai Jincheng looked at the serious Bai Ye, nodding helplessly, and took the documents from him.

Of course, he wasn't actually going to help Bai Ye start a pharmaceutical company. Registering such a company was a trivial task for Bai Jincheng.

It was just a shell company for Bai Ye to play with, costlier than the expenses of this shop.

Due to his guilt towards Bai Ye, Bai Jincheng was willing to compensate in other ways.

"Thank you, Uncle. When the hair growth formula is developed, you'll be the first to use it," Bai Ye said grandiosely.

Bai Jincheng wanted to say something, but a black-clad man resembling a bodyguard approached and lightly tapped the shop's glass door, "Mr. Bai, there's a meeting later."

"Ah..." Bai Jincheng sighed heavily, feeling quite exhausted. He gave Bai Ye a few more instructions and then left the shop.

Bai Ye watched Bai Jincheng depart, then shifted his gaze back to the book, continuing to read with his head lowered.

Time passed slowly like this.

It had been a full month since the Bai Ye left the hospital.

During this time, he shuttled back and forth between Gotham City and the main world.

He spent 500 points of authority wealth to stabilize the transport between worlds. So far, Bai Ye still had four chances to go to Gotham City.

Unfortunately, when he asked Black if the stabilization could continue, the answer was negative.

This meant that after these remaining four times, the next world Bai Ye would be sent to likely wouldn't be the one where Gotham City existed.

"Transport."

Closing the shop, Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to go upstairs, so he directly activated the transport.

He appeared in "Adrian's Pharmaceutical Research Center"—in the restroom. Over this month, he had hardly left the research center.

Even when in Gotham, he hadn't moved far from the research center's range.

...

"Ah, Mr. Adrian," one of Bane's subordinates saw the sudden appearance of Adrian and greeted him immediately.

With his teleportation abilities surpassing Batman's, Adrian had earned the respect of Bane's subordinates through his several appearances.

It didn't require much; maintaining an outwardly respectful demeanor was sufficient.

"Adrian, we've succeeded," Bane, with a scruffy beard, said to Adrian as they entered the lab. His eyes were filled with numerous blood vessels, and his cheeks had sunken, appearing as if he hadn't slept in a month.

Of course, the reality wasn't much different. For this past month, Bane had probably slept for no more than an hour each day.

If not for his superhuman physical resilience, he wouldn't have been able to endure it.

Finally, after a month of hard work, Bane had achieved success—or rather, reached near-perfect success.

Taking out a USB drive from the computer, Bane handed it to Adrian, saying, "All the data on the Titan Formula, the manufacturing process, and the required ingredients are stored here."

Adrian took the USB drive and casually ran it across his lips before stowing it away in his personal space.

"I'll go rest for a while. All the information is on the computer; take your time going through it," Bane patted Adrian's shoulder and said.

"Okay," Adrian nodded, sitting in front of the computer, and started to review the results of this month.

Several researchers in the lab were already fast asleep on the ground. The original Scarecrow and the Killer Croc had been "thrown" out two days ago.

Scarecrow had handed over all the relevant information about the fear gas. After a brief study by Adrian, he confirmed that there were sufficient conditions to manufacture it, so there was no need to keep him around.

As for the Killer Croc, having served as an experimental subject for some time, he was no longer needed in the final stages of the research.

Bane had no intention of killing him and generously set him free, following Adrian's advice. Using a bit of the Lazarus Pit's spring water, Bane conducted facial surgery on the Killer Croc—just on his face.

At least it transformed the Killer Croc from a monster into an ugly person, removing the non-human aspect to some extent.

This made the Killer Croc completely abandon any hatred towards Adrian and Bane. Before leaving, he even expressed gratitude, saying if Adrian needed help, he could find him in a Gotham City sewer or somewhere similar. He would help Adrian with certain tasks.

It couldn't be called a trade, but if Adrian needed it, he would have an extra thug.

The data on the USB drive Bane gave Adrian was copied from the computer. Inside, there was detailed information about Bane's research success over the past month.

Firstly, there was the initial Titan Formula Type II - Rampage, also called Rage.

Its effect was a short-term "swelling" of the body, significantly enhancing strength, among other things. The side effect, without needing to be said, was a three to five-minute boost followed by permanent wisdom—the person's death.

Among the test subjects, only the Joker didn't die.

Yes, although the Joker was currently lying in bed and could only drink nutrient solution, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed for three months. But the Joker didn't die; he had withstood the side effects of the Titan Formula Type II - Rampage.

As for Batman, since he had used an unfinished antidote, he barely counted as half.

Moreover, the Joker had managed to surpass the rampage's effects, according to the "sample" obtained from him.

Bane had developed Titan Type II - Annihilation.

Annihilation's effect was similar to Rampage, but it aimed for greater strength and ferocity. Those who used Annihilation would gain even stronger power than with Rampage.

The duration was similar, but the side effect wasn't death; it was "explosion."

Yes, during the process, the body continuously expanded, undergoing a "burst and disintegration" until there was nothing left but bones. Hence, Bane named it Annihilation.

Bane had tested it on mice, and while human experiments weren't possible for now, the results wouldn't have much deviation.

Unless faced with a special case like the Joker.

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