meanwhile, the police are besieging a flat where several gangsters, including hardy and bredow, are staying. after a shootout, hardy commits suicide while the other gangsters surrender. as bredow testifies that they assassinated dr. kramm in the vicinity of the asylum, lohmann arranges a confrontation between the gangsters and the professor, which proves inconclusive. on kent and lilli's arrival, baum's shocked reaction to kent makes lohmann suspicious. lohmann and kent visit the asylum, where they discover that baum is the mastermind and has planned an attack on a chemical plant that night. lohmann and kent go to the exploding plant, where they discover baum watching from afar. baum flees to the asylum with lohmann and kent pursuing. mabuse's spirit leads baum to hofmeister in his cell where he introduces himself as dr. mabuse, ending hofmeister's shock. baum tries to kill hofmeister but is stopped by guards, just as lohmann and kent arrive. the final scene shows the insane baum in the cell, tearing mabuse's writings to shreds.