PFC Chapter 4491 The Darkest Night (9)
Chapter 4491 The Darkest Night (9)
Chapter 4491 The Darkest Night (19)
"Wait, what brings you here again?" Victor finally realized what was going on. He said, "Weren't you going to deal with that mastermind who's hiding somewhere?"
“The mastermind has been watching me for a long time. This means that no matter where I am, he will find a way to find me,” Schiller said, standing by the door. “This means that I may be in danger, so it will be safer for me to stay with my sharpshooting assistant.”
"Okay. But this time is different. I need to concentrate, so you'd better keep your mouth shut."
"This is the first time I've heard Watson tell Holmes to shut up."
"Please, there's no case here that you're investigating. Or should I have Mrs. Brainiac find you something to eat to shut you up?"
It seemed Victor was trying to quiet Schiller down. But in reality, the two chatted idly for over an hour. Feeling it was about time, Schiller glanced at his watch, got up, and prepared to leave.
"Why are you leaving again?" Victor asked. "Aren't you afraid he'll really come after you?"
“I set a trap for him. Now we should be able to see the results when we get back.” Schiller shrugged lightly and left without looking back.
He returned to his office and saw an ice sculpture in front of the newly installed cutting board. It wasn't Hugo Strange, of course; he wasn't that reckless. Schiller went over to take a look and found it appeared to be a lower-year student, dressed in a Christmas ball rehearsal outfit. The face looked unfamiliar; it probably wasn't a psychology or physics student.
Schiller's trap had absolutely no psychological elements. He simply bought a rough cutting board, haphazardly stapled some photos together—photos he even got from the Gotham Police Department—the same ones Gordon had taken as evidence. He didn't even bother with photo processing; instead, he printed them out on paper, grouped similar clues together like in detective movies, and then strung them together with some thread, making it look quite convincing.
But actually, this wasn't meant to mislead anyone or guide their investigation in any particular direction. Schiller simply stole the cryogenic trap box Victor had kept in the storage room. The box was placed under a felt board, with a stack of photographs on top; anyone who touched it would be frozen solid. This was a blatant attempt to answer a psychology question with cryogenic physics.
But it must be admitted that this method is simple and effective. Because Hugo Strange was somehow keeping an eye on him, and also on Gotham University, any movement there would be detected. So Schiller's commotion in the office did not escape his notice. Perhaps suspecting that Schiller intended to become a detective, he almost immediately sent someone to see how far Schiller had gotten. Then came the much-anticipated "freeze-the-way" maneuver.
Ten minutes later, Gordon stood in front of the ice sculpture with his hands on his hips and said, "So you asked me for those photos of the evidence so he could steal them? And now you're calling the police because he attempted to steal police files?"
Schiller nodded and said, “Don’t worry about where those documents were stolen. But the point is he wanted to take these physical evidence photos, otherwise they wouldn’t have been frozen. I think this meets the criteria for obstruction of official business and theft of secrets under Brainiac law. Any questions?”
“Is there a problem? The biggest problem isn’t that you asked me for these photos?” Gordon rolled his eyes and said, “You’re not a member of the Gotham Police Department. If I gave you the photos privately, we’d both be considered to have stolen classified information. This charge can’t stand.”
"What other charges are there? Unlawful entry?"
“He’s a student at Gotham University, and you’re a professor there. He could easily claim he came to see you, even if he left through the window; it’s not entirely inexplicable. Besides, Gotham University has had too many problems lately, and President Sivana has already contacted me…”
Before he could finish speaking, Schiller's phone rang. He answered it, and Sivana's voice came through: "Professor Rodriguez, I heard you detained a student who broke into your office?"
"Yes, there are some more complicated reasons."
"But you can't deny that so many students getting into trouble in succession will seriously damage Gotham University's reputation. I hope this matter can be put on hold for a while. What do you think?"
“Sure. But I need your help.” Schiller switched the phone to his other hand and said, “My student provided a location linked to several previous cases—a shared villa area in Gotham’s South. I need you to send some people to keep an eye on that area. You know, people who can protect themselves.”
“Okay. I’ll find a few good ones among this year’s graduates from the magic academy. But are you sure it’s necessary to go to such lengths? What exactly is there?”
“If you can spot something unusual, you’ll naturally find out.” Schiller hung up the phone.
He waved to Gordon, signaling him to take the man away. Gordon seemed surprised by his leniency, looking him up and down as if he didn't recognize him. Schiller lowered his voice and said, "He's just a manipulated little wretch. Hugo Strange might be back."
"What?!" Gordon nearly jumped up. "Are you kidding me? He's been dead for ages!"
"Perlotta died too, but she still came back to life, didn't she?"
“My God,” Gordon opened his mouth, “I mean… God, how is this possible?”
“This is just the beginning.” Schiller patted him on the shoulder and said, “You’re right about one thing: I’m not with the police. Even if I wanted to help you with your investigation, I wouldn’t have the proper authority.”
“My God, after all these years, you finally realized this,” Gordon said, raising his hand. “What do you want me to do?”
"Is it possible..."
“No way,” Gordon said. “It was a bit of a possibility before Brainiac came. But electronic records are too sophisticated now. Your resume indicates a history of mental illness, so there’s absolutely no way it will pass the screening of a police officer or consultant’s file. There’s no use coming to me about this.”
“Looks like it’s a bit late.” Schiller shook his head and sighed, “I should have asked for an advisor position earlier.”
“It’s no use asking sooner,” Brainiac said. “The global policing system has been completely overhauled. Anyone who used false or inaccurate information to maintain their officer status has been removed. Law enforcement officers now have qualified resumes.”
“I know you’re something else,” Gordon said with a hint of exasperation. “If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Sometimes, you need someone with a criminal mind to deal with criminals. This is a perfect example.”
After Gordon left, Schiller tidied up his office. With Sivana keeping an eye on the South End and Brand keeping an eye on Arkham Asylum, Hugo Strange couldn't completely hide his whereabouts.
But Brainiac's excessive fairness wasn't entirely a good thing. He placed greater emphasis on physical evidence than previous judicial systems and disallowed baseless accusations. This meticulous approach to the judicial process significantly diminished the jury's influence. Consequently, it became far more difficult to convict someone.
While framing and falsely accusing someone has indeed become more difficult, it also leads to many suspects receiving lenient sentences due to incomplete chains of evidence and insufficient physical evidence. Furthermore, Brainiac's research on human mental states was not in-depth enough, and his identification of mentally ill patients was not so accurate, so some people have taken advantage of this to escape punishment.
If Hugo Strange discovers this, he will undoubtedly use it. As long as he is careful and doesn't fabricate physical evidence, Brainiac will have a hard time catching him.
Not creating physical evidence sounds difficult, but Hugo could do it perfectly well because he was a master of psychology, specializing in brainwashing and manipulating others. He could easily remain behind the scenes forever, sending only lowly soldiers like that freshman to their deaths.
If Brainiac cannot accurately determine the extent to which a person's mind has been affected, then he cannot grasp Hugo's essence.
In fact, this was the main reason why Brainiac was unwilling to provoke Schiller. All abilities related to the human spiritual world were outside his knowledge. He understood the theory, but lacked practical experience, and could not possibly have any psychoanalytic talent, so his attitude was always "respect for the supernatural, but keeping a distance."
He didn't deny the talent of people like Schiller, but all he could do was try his best not to provoke them and keep them away from ordinary people. As for actively researching and utilizing them, that was still too advanced for electronic life.
As for why he didn't use Schiller to capture Hugo, this is also one of the weaknesses of cybernetic life. He is relatively fair and unbiased. In his view, Schiller and Hugo are equally dangerous. Hugo committed crimes, but didn't Schiller? Hugo can mind control, but Schiller can't? Given their highly overlapping backgrounds and dangerousness, and the fact that neither can be controlled, it would be unwise to use either of them to capture the other.
The key to their current struggle lies in who can gain Brainiac's trust and obtain official status first, so that they can find a way to accuse the other of a crime.
The breakthrough Schiller could think of now was proving Hugo Strange's death. If he could prove he was resurrected, it would link him to Perrotta's resurrection, forcibly connecting him to the previous cases. This would significantly affect Brainiac's assessment of him.
The problem is that Hugo died in the spiritual realm, melted by the immense energy of Superman's spirit. Although his physical body also died later, there was no clear image or witness testimony like with Perrotta. Furthermore, too much time has passed, making it difficult to prove resurrection.
Perhaps we need to think of another way, to break through from another direction. While it's hard to say whether Hugo thought of this approach, Schiller was confident that he probably couldn't have done it any better than he could.
Schiller glanced out the window at the pitch-black sky. The Black Death Emperor would never have imagined that while the darkest night brought nightmares to ordinary people, it also created a long-awaited stage for another group. The wild beasts, long confined in nature reserves, were stirring restlessly, and Brainiac would soon understand that escape was not the solution, and isolation policies could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
Schiller stood up, put on his overcoat, took his umbrella from the umbrella stand, and walked into the Gotham night, just as he had done more than a decade ago.