084. Speak of the clown, and the clown appears.

Kido Mitsumasa is, in "Saint Seiya," the godfather of Athena's incarnation, Saori Kido, and the biological father of the Five Bronze Saints. Thirteen years before the story begins, Gemini Saga betrayed the Sanctuary, prompting Sagittarius Aiolos to flee with the newborn Athena. Before dying, Aiolos entrusted Athena to Kido Mitsumasa for her upbringing.

From then on, Kido Mitsumasa launched his grand plan of sacrificing a hundred children. Seiya and his fellow Bronze Saints, along with the weaker ones and those who died during Saint training—children whose names were never even recorded—numbered over a hundred, and all were Mitsumasa's offspring. These children, the oldest and youngest among them, differed in age by no more than three years, and their mothers hailed from over a hundred countries worldwide.

An old man, over the course of three years, had women from every corner of the globe become pregnant one after another, and when Mitsumasa retrieved these children, they were all presented as orphans. The implications of this are left for readers to ponder.

Regarding Dr. Fox's well-intentioned offer, Suyeno could only feel a bitter gratitude. He needed no medicine; alone with a gun, he could conquer mountains and explore abysses. The roar of a dragon echoed his ambition, and nothing could impede him. Now, he only sought a method to completely conceal his own scent.

According to Suyeno's understanding, mutual attraction between men and women, aside from the visual sparks—what people call love at first sight—should be greatly influenced by scent. Especially for someone like him and Gwen, whose spider genes made their sense of smell exceptionally keen, this factor could not be ignored.

Many animals, after all, use scent to identify each other and select mates. However, after discussing with Dr. Fox, Suyeno realized he might have fallen into a misconception. While spider genes enhanced his hearing and vision, spiders themselves do not possess particularly acute eyesight or sense of smell. Most of their sensory input comes from the fine hairs on their legs and specific receptors on their bodies.

Humans, however, lack these features. Thus, for Suyeno and Gwen, what manifested was the Spider Sense—a mystical, sixth-sense-like intuition capable of foreseeing danger, yet not limited solely to sensing threats.

"So, according to your analysis, Doctor, the mutual attraction between Gwen and me is emitted and received through Spider Sense?"

Suyeno furrowed his brows. If this were true, then even if he wrapped himself in Durex head to toe, it would not stop the other's perception. Unless, like Magneto donning a helmet to block Professor X's psychic powers, he could craft a special suit from some unique material to fully cover himself and attempt to shield the Spider Sense.

"I can try adding an electromagnetic field to Batman's suit. It might block the perception between you two, but I must warn you: such a field will also affect your awareness of the environment and diminish your Spider Sense," Dr. Fox finally suggested.

Suyeno nodded; this would have to suffice for now. The field could be set to switch on and off: normally, it would remain inactive, but if proximity to Gwen became unavoidable, he could activate it. As for the exact workings of the electromagnetic field, Suyeno had no need to know.

While Suyeno was busy devising ways to block Spider Sense interactions with Gwen, the major crime bosses of New York gathered for a conference. The bank that Joker robbed was no ordinary institution—it was a mob bank, and the sixty-eight million dollars stolen belonged to these crime lords.

Such a massive theft naturally incited fury among the mobsters. Yet recovering the stolen money was no longer the top priority; instead, they needed to protect what remained. The robbed bank was just one among many, and several other mob banks had come under police scrutiny.

Suddenly, they faced three problems at once: the police, the bank-robbing thieves, and the Emerald Knight.

During the time Suyeno had left New York to bond with the martial artists, Harry had not been idle; he continued his campaign against the mob, effectively doing the work of both Spider-Man and Batman. Thus, all the mobsters' animosity was directed at the Emerald Knight—even Joker himself.

Suyeno had no idea that, after playing the "girlfriend card," his supposed girlfriend was not only absent, perhaps not yet born or still in kindergarten, but simply refused to appear for reasons unknown.

"Achoo!" Somewhere, an eighteen-year-old girl training with a burly middle-aged man suddenly sneezed.

"Selina, are you all right? Catching a cold?" The man wiped sweat from his brow and asked with concern.

The girl shook her head. "I'm fine, Dad. Let's keep going."

"Good!" The man nodded and pointed to a nearby wooden post. "Practice your kicks—five hundred times. Remember, legs are longer and stronger than arms, so whenever a problem can be solved with a kick, don't use your hands. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Dad!" The girl replied firmly.

Back with Suyeno, his "girlfriend card" had yielded a two-billion-dollar fortune and a net worth of one billion, yet the enemies that followed were all drawn away by Harry—a surprising outcome. Wasn't it said that spearmen have notoriously bad luck? Could Suyeno's seven-shot revolver grant him such good fortune?

As the mobsters nervously discussed how to respond to the imminent police operation against their banks, a man wearing a purple suit and heavy makeup strode in. His grotesque white face paint and exaggerated red lips immediately drew attention.

"Aren't you all terrified of the Emerald Knight—and hate him to the bone? Let's cooperate. I'll help you kill the Emerald Knight, and then you split the money in your banks with me, fifty-fifty!"

Such a deranged proposal would never be accepted by any sane person, let alone mobsters. After years of struggle, how could they agree to hand over half their hard-earned wealth? Did he think he was Captain America, demanding a fifty-fifty split from everyone?

The result was a quick falling out. Joker, festooned with grenades beneath his coat, forced everyone to retreat and escaped unscathed. One of the crime bosses—a black kingpin—immediately issued a bounty: fifty thousand dollars dead, one hundred thousand alive.

Yet, this bounty sounded more like a futile bark in the night.

Suyeno paid no mind to Joker's affairs; Harry had not reached out either. After a busy day in the Batcave, Suyeno arrived at the Muse Bar at dusk for a drink and some relaxation. The moment he entered, he saw a grotesque man with a face painted white, red lips curled in an exaggerated grin.

"Is that... the Joker?"