PFC Chapter 4499 The Darkest Night (27)
Chapter 4499 The Darkest Night (27)
Chapter 4499 The Darkest Night (Twenty-Seven)
Looking at the red-haired woman again, Schiller could still see many familiar traces on her face. Before, she leaned more towards the cold and austere temperament of the Black Widow, but now, she resembled Pamela more, appearing much gentler.
Brainiac—who had no physical form, but who, according to him, had meticulously disguised his code—spoke out: “Welcome, madam. I’m sorry to invite you here under these circumstances. Such a mess is quite unusual, isn’t it?”
A glint flashed in Superbody's eyes; she seemed to be exchanging data with Brainiac. After a moment, she sighed softly and said, "He really is... audacious."
“What do you mean?” Brainiac asked.
“He shouldn’t have gone near Gotham.” A glint of wisdom flashed in Super’s eyes. Schiller observed her and found that she was indeed different from electronic lifeforms like Brainiac, but also different from Jarvis. She wasn’t “humanoid,” but rather like a completely new kind of life, possessing a mysterious and ethereal quality that humans lacked, like a “sage” from some mythology.
“He wields the power of death, so he shouldn’t have come to Gotham,” Lucy said. “Here, he can’t define death.”
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
“Why doesn’t the Joker die?” Lucy asked, but she didn’t seem to expect anyone to answer, so she answered herself, “Because his death has been deconstructed into an absurd performance, like an actor on stage who gets shot, then laughs and gets up to take a bow. Everything is confined within the scope of artistic conception and philosophical discussion, so life and death can be treated as a play. Compared to the madness of Gotham, death is really too light.”
“A very novel perspective, madam,” Schiller said, opening the door for her. “This is the first time I’ve heard it interpreted this way. Would you like to elaborate?”
The superhuman seemed to think about it seriously for a moment, then said, "I'm not interpreting anything; I'm just seeing it all. That's what the soul of this city says."
Then she looked at Schiller and said, “Just as you can read the human spirit, I can see the spirit and temperament of these abstract concepts. Just as I can hear the earth saying she’s a little cold.”
Schiller paused slightly. He now understood why many people thought he had mind-reading abilities; after all, it was easier to understand as a superpower than as a scientific discipline.
He certainly couldn't understand Lutis, at least not in his universe's Gotham, which lacked a city spirit; otherwise, the gray fog would have told him long ago. But Lutis's interpretation of Gotham was unique and accurate, unlike his first visit.
The question of why the Joker never dies has been discussed countless times. But Lucy's perspective is still quite novel. She believes that in Gotham, the concept of death has been changed from "real death" to "story death."
Rather than a human being without any attributes, the Joker becomes more like an actor because of the important role he plays in the play. An actor never truly dies; they die in one story but quickly reappear in another.
To some extent, this can be seen as a way of breaking the fourth wall. The main reason the Joker doesn't die is that Batman's comic book story needs a villain, so no matter how many times he dies in the story, as long as the comic book needs him to appear, he will come back up.
This was the closest the characters in the comic book could come to understanding the truth; it was a very insightful observation. Schiller had a feeling that Brainiac's chances of catching up with Lucy were slim.
“Let me see the corpse,” said the superbody. “I can use the power of death to understand the meaning of the abstract concepts behind it.”
“There are many bodies,” Brainiac said. “Mutilated, unmutilated, and there should even be some that are still moving. Which kind would you like to see?”
"There should be more living remnants," Superbody said.
"The problem is that I can't tell which one it is. Can you tell?"
“I’ll give it a try.” Superbody nodded. “Take me to the largest shelter. I think I can manage.”
When Super went to Metropolis, Schiller didn't go with them. He knew that while Super could offer help elsewhere, Gotham's mess couldn't be untangled by superpowers like mind-reading.
“My God, have you heard?” Victor walked into the office, took off his coat, exhaled a breath of cold air, and said, “Thirty murders in total. Scotland Yard is swamped.”
“Most of them are pretty boring,” Schiller said, staring at the tablet. Victor leaned over for a look, but it was just an ordinary recipe.
"Why are you looking at this? Are you trying to cultivate a food connoisseur persona for yourself?"
“‘Moriarti’s’ challenge,” Schiller replied without looking up.
"what?"
"This is a community that communicates using ciphertext, and its main members are serial killers and prey who think they are serial killers. Just now, 'Moriarty' extended an invitation to everyone."
"What invitation?"
“Hunting detectives.” Schiller put his tablet aside, picked up his phone, and said, “Don’t forget what he does. Aren’t crime consultants just people who hide behind the scenes, instigating others to cause trouble for detectives?”
"There really is such a person," Victor exclaimed. "I thought you were just trying to fool me by saying that detectives can't be murderers or something."
"Isn't your impression of me a little too...?"
Victor looked at him and held out a hand to stop him from speaking: "If you want to say that this is stereotyped prejudice, at least think about why such stereotypes exist, okay?"
"You are the most sarcastic Watson in the world."
“That’s to match the world’s most acerbic Sherlock Holmes,” Victor retorted without backing down. “You just broadcast my innermost thoughts to the whole world, and you have the nerve to accuse me of being prejudiced against you?”
Schiller put down what he was holding and went to the kitchen. Brainiac had already prepared food, just some simple sandwiches, but that couldn't be more than that. He quickly heated up the sandwiches and brought them over. Victor looked up at him and asked, "So, what are you planning to do?"
"How do you do it?"
"He has already challenged you to a duel."
What do you think I should do?
Victor thought for a moment, then said, "Of course, we should deal with the small fry who pop up first, and then strike hard against the criminal consultants hiding behind the scenes."
"Then drag him off the cliff with you?"
“I’m serious,” Victor said, raising his voice. “There are at least a dozen serial killers active in Gotham right now, and once that ‘Moriarty’ points the finger at you…”
"You think he sent those people to kill me?" Schiller chuckled. "He's not stupid; he wouldn't do that."
"You're the one who said he would cause you trouble."
"He will have those serial killers imitate my crimes."
"Cough cough cough cough!" Victor almost choked to death on the sandwich.
“There are many obvious benefits to this.” Schiller picked up a sandwich and said, “From your perspective, it’s a showdown between a detective and a criminal, but in reality, it’s still a showdown between criminals. Like you said, the stereotypes stemming from some of my past actions are not so easy to erase.”
“If I am convicted in any case, Brainiac can prosecute me. If Brainiac protects me, his principles of fairness will be questioned, and it will be easier to cause chaos. Although I don’t think he will protect me, no matter what, the mastermind behind it will not lose out.”
“That’s too insidious,” Victor said. “Could he even imitate that?”
"It's hard to say. I've had direct contact with him, and he's also a master of psychology."
"Wait, could it be..."
"It is very likely that it is Hugo Strange after his resurrection."
“My God.” Victor took another bite of his sandwich. “But he died many years ago. He knew you back then. Don’t tell me that after all these years, your methods haven’t improved at all…”
“This isn’t science or technology,” Schiller said helplessly. “A person’s core spirit cannot be easily changed. This extends to the art and philosophy he expresses, and there are consistent characteristics, which are as conspicuous as a business card.”
“But Brainiac won’t convict you based on artistic or philosophical style,” Victor said dismissively. “You need some physical evidence, right? I’ve been following you the whole time; I can give you an alibi. He has no chance…”
Before he could finish speaking, Victor's phone rang. When he answered, Jenna sounded a little anxious on the other end.
"Professor Frith, are you back?"
"Yes, I'm at Gotham University. What's up?"
"You'll probably have to come to the dock."
Victor stood up and asked, "What's wrong? Is there some problem on your end?"
"Well, it's hard to explain, you really need to come over."
Schiller put down his half-eaten sandwich. Victor turned and picked up his coat, shaking his head. "It's never a moment's peace," he said. "Just hope I don't catch that 'Moriarty,' or I'll show him my marksmanship."
“It seems someone has already witnessed your marksmanship.” In a house on the edge of the dock area, Schiller stood in front of an ice sculpture and turned to look at Victor.
Victor covered his eyes forcefully, roaring almost hysterically, "Who froze her here?!"
“I’m sorry, Professor, but it looks… like it’s you,” Jenna said, looking embarrassed.
“This is what it was like when we arrived,” Tim said. “This man is Mrs. Gerrita. We learned from Alberto about Gerrita, the victim of the first murder, and that he had a wife who might be an important witness, so we rushed to their place. But all we found here was this ice sculpture.”
Schiller looked the ice sculpture up and down. It depicted a middle-aged woman, around 50 years old, who wasn't well-preserved and therefore appeared somewhat aged. There were signs of heavy physical labor on her body, and her fingertips seemed to have needle marks, suggesting she worked as a seamstress.
Her body leaned back slightly, her expression one of terror. It was impossible to tell how long she had been frozen in the ice, but she was certainly dead.
This ice isn't dense ice, otherwise it wouldn't have been fatal. But it is indeed Victor's technology; to be precise, it's the ice-making technology used when the cold storage was built.
Back then, Gotham was heavily investing in its logistics industry, and because of the previous ice age, many natural ice cellars had formed underground. The mob seized the opportunity to build cold storage facilities, causing Victor's net worth to skyrocket, and all the Gotham gangs were vying for his attention.
The cold storage technology used back then wasn't very advanced, because it was primarily for commercial use and cost had to be considered. Gotham's cultural level at that time was still largely based on prenatal education, so the machines had to be simple and easy to use, not too complex, and maintenance couldn't be too frequent, otherwise, it would attract trouble from the mob. Therefore, the cryogenic machines Victor designed during that period were mostly high-capacity, robust, and durable.
Victor stepped forward to examine it, then rubbed his temples and said, "It looks like a quick-freezing device installed in the cold storage. I modified a commercially available quick-freezing device to create this. I really don't remember how many versions there were or how they worked. How did she get frozen by this thing?"
Suddenly, Victor remembered his earlier discussion with Schiller: as long as Schiller stayed with him, he would have an alibi, rendering the copycat crimes useless. But what if he himself was also a suspected accomplice in the murder?
“Tell me that my assistant can’t be the murderer either,” Victor said, looking at Schiller.
"Sorry, there's no such rule. Actually, it's quite novel. Aren't you really considering adding it?"