PFC Chapter 4140 When the Pumpkin Ripens (22)
Chapter 4140 When the Pumpkin Ripens (22)
Chapter 4140 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Twenty-Two)
"You said you found a box under the tree roots, can I see it?" Greed asked.
Pamela handed over the box and said, "Be careful, this thing emits radiation. It might not harm you, but it might affect the plants in the yard..."
Greed immediately showed a shocked expression as soon as he took it. Pamela tensed up and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this?"
"This is the Mother Box, the thing Cyborg has in other universes. How did it get here?"
Pamela was also stunned. She knew who Cyborg was, of course, and that he was a powerful member of the Justice League, but she didn't know the specifics. So she asked, "Is this thing very powerful?"
"Of course. Both New Genesis and Apokolips are looking for this. It must have been left behind on Earth during the last great war. But how could it have been buried under a big tree? Brainiac, Brainiac!"
“First, I want to ask, how do you know this is the mother box?” Brainiac asked.
“I’ve come into contact with Cyborg from other universes. I mean, Gray Fog has, so of course he’d recognize it. If I remember correctly, you came to Earth to find this, right?”
“Yes and no,” Brainiac said. “I’m looking for this because I want to change my life form, to break through from electronic life forms. Because it contains primordial energy, which may be what you call radiation.”
"Can it do that?"
“I initially thought it could, but if you’re saying this box is the mother box, I’m not so sure.”
"why?"
"Because this energy isn't actually anything special. I didn't feel any change. It's also possible that we're using it incorrectly, or that it's never truly activated."
"So you can't do anything about this?"
"Origin energy is a kind of energy that I don't understand. If I had a way, I wouldn't need it to help me break through."
Greed sighed and said, "I also feel that this thing is useless. It can help you become stronger, but changing your life form is not so easy. However, I still suggest that you find someone to study it."
“Okay, I’ll go find Batman,” Brainiac said. “The main universe Batman should have more experience with this. But what I’m more concerned about right now is why it ended up under that big tree in your neighbor’s yard. And if the tree is badly affected, it means this thing was buried years ago. What’s going on?”
"Has the FBI's investigation yielded no results?"
“Jason and Barry went to the East Side this morning. I’m waiting for their findings,” Brainiac replied.
Then he fell silent, seemingly diverting his energy to other tasks. Considering the Mother Box was indeed a major discovery, and in order to break through the limitations of his life form, Brainiac would inevitably need to conduct a comprehensive study of it. Relying solely on Batman from the main universe wouldn't suffice; he would likely have to assemble a global research team.
But Greed knew very well that this thing was one of the treasures of the new primordial planet. Even for a technologically advanced planet like the new primordial planet, creating such a thing would be extremely difficult. With humanity's current level of technology, deciphering it would likely be a long and arduous process.
“Do you think it’s possible?” Pamela asked, looking at Greed. “The other party doesn’t actually know what this is or how important it is. They only know some of its properties.”
"You mean the Origin Energy?"
"Yes. Plants that have been removed from the source energy radiation have shown obvious abnormalities. If plants had also shown similar abnormalities when they dug this thing out, they might have thought that the box had the effect of driving plants crazy, so they used it in this way."
“It’s not impossible,” Greed said. “But back then, we suspected these guys might be Darkseid’s men. Didn’t they ever think to investigate?”
“They’re supposed to be Darkseid’s men, but they could never have actually met Darkseid, and Darkseid would never bother with them,” Pamela shook her head and said. “It’s probably just a series of outsourcing layers, and then it’s done by interns.”
After finishing their discussion about the box, the two began tidying up the yard. Thankfully, Pamela was there, and the work was completed quickly. The front yard was soon spotless. Two large trees stood on either side, like guardians protecting the house. Occasionally, fallen leaves would drift down, bathing the house in a golden light.
“Bad news,” Arrogance said as he stepped out of the house. “The ingredients for the menu we’ve drafted can’t be found in the neighborhood store, and the nearest store where we can buy them is in the East End.”
“It seems we have to go there,” Greed said. “I have a feeling that Jason’s investigation won’t go very smoothly either.”
The group quickly packed their things and got into the car. After closing the car door, Pamela sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Big Beast. I really didn't expect that transplanting a tree would cause such a mess."
“I didn’t mean any harm to you before you called me a large beast, madam.”
Pamela laughed, but still said, "Brainiac's classification method is unique but accurate. If a city doesn't have its own nature reserve, then there's no such thing as urban safety."
"It sounds like you'd also like to have your own nature reserve."
"Of course. I'd love to build a forest and live in it myself. But unfortunately, I can't. Even if I caused a natural disaster in the city, it would only add a few more vegetables to the Gotham people's tables."
"Poison Ivy from other universes uses poison, don't you?" Greed asked.
Pamela shook her head and said, "What kind of plant power I can use depends on what I think plants are. Those Poison Ivy women who can use plant toxins believe they should use the power of plants to protect them, so they have many more aggressive methods. I, on the other hand, would prefer that plants can protect themselves, instead of standing there dumbly waiting to be persecuted, or hoping for a savior. Humans don't even have a savior, let alone plants?"
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," said Greed.
"That's right. So I'll create a lot of plants that can hit people, so that the plants can move on their own to protect themselves. But after Brainiac comes, I think we can improve plant welfare by promoting environmental regulations for plant protection. And the prerequisite for Brainiac to pass these regulations is that I work for him."
Greed nodded. Brainiac could be described as a ruler who had mastered every aspect. He had a way of turning environmental regulations into genuine environmental regulations, rather than pockets of corruption or blades of deindustrialization, and then implementing these regulations to ensure that everyone would comply.
In this situation, it would be faster and more effective for him to protect the plants than for Pamela alone. Brainiac would also be happy to do so because it's undeniable that plants are the cornerstone of life on Earth. Every species living on this planet cannot exist without its green companions. Therefore, even without Pamela, Brainiac would protect the plants.
If Pamela can provide more value, such as developing larger and better food, then in return, even if it's just to make Pamela's job easier, Brainiac will be more proactive in promoting environmental regulations to ensure that plants are well protected and that Pamela doesn't have to worry about them.
"How is that chestnut tree?" Arrogantly asked.
"It's fine. I told you it's healthy, it's just been affected by some energy and become a little disordered. I can assure you that something like this will never happen again."
"That would be best," said Greed.
The car stopped in the dock area. The East Port is Gotham's largest logistics hub. To be precise, it's the logistics center for the entire East Coast. After Brainiac arrived on Earth, it was transformed into a fully automated logistics port.
To address the employment issues of the original dockworkers, Brainiac opened numerous warehouse clubs here. A portion of the goods shipped here are directly sold in these clubs. Essentially, you can buy all sorts of goods from across the US and even the world here. It has now surpassed downtown to become Gotham's busiest area.
Besides locals replenishing their daily necessities, there are also various buyers from different small towns, tourists visiting the area as a tourist attraction, and other people from other places.
Most daily necessities still require points, but for some cash-only items that are not subject to purchase restrictions, this place is the cheapest, generally 20% cheaper than the community store.
Pride and greed were looking for the largest Chinese warehouse supermarket in the area, which had all sorts of ingredients and seasonings.
Upon entering the port area, the first thing you see is a huge parking lot. The concrete expanse seems endless, and if it weren't for the many trees planted in the middle, just walking from here into the supermarket area would be enough to make you feel like you're half-dead from the heat.
However, it was obvious that this parking lot was very presciently built, because it was only the first day of the Halloween holiday, and the parking spaces outside were already full. Arrogance circled around several times before finally finding a decent parking spot.
“Gasoline and carbon emission controls make sense,” Pamela said. “Without controls, this parking lot wouldn’t be able to accommodate everyone, even if it were twice the size.”
“Many people save their gas for holidays,” Arrogant said. “I heard this parking lot has a second underground level, but it’s not open to the public on weekdays.”
“Because it’s very cold down there,” Pamela said. “Although Brainiac and Victor have already started clearing the ice underground, they are also considering the impact on the climate and environment, so progress seems slow and it may take several years to clear it out.”
Then Pamela, suppressing a laugh, said, "Brainiac investigated for a long time why there was so much ice underground in Gotham, and then he traced it back to Victor Frith, and then designated his area as a nature reserve."
He laughed arrogantly and said, "A cold-climate nature reserve, right?"
“Yes. Bruce told me that Brainiac’s logbook marked that place as ‘Arctic’, and Victor’s codename was ‘Yeti’.”
Do all large, ferocious beasts have code names?
"Of course. Brainiac is very good at giving people code names."
“No, it’s just that the system logs needed a label,” Brainiac’s voice came through Pamela’s phone. “I think you would strongly object to purely numerical labels because you would feel that it objectifies you. So I specifically named you based on your characteristics. In human social culture, this is a sign of respect.”
"So you're also a large beast?" Greed looked at Pamela.
“Yes. My codename is ‘Man-Eating Flower’,” Pamela said excitedly, far from being angry. “My territory is called ‘Tropical Rainforest.’ I think that’s a stereotype. While tropical rainforests do have a rich variety of flora and fauna, temperate ecosystems are actually the healthiest…”
"And what about me? What's my name?" Greed asked.
"Didn't you just arrive? And are you planning to stay here permanently?"
I was talking about arrogance.
"Ouroboros, his territory is called Loch Ness."
"What the hell?" said Arrogance. "Loch Ness is a real place name, and it's much bigger than the lake in front of my house. And why is it ouroboros?"
“Because of ‘infinity.’ It seems like there’s only one Schiller there, but who knows how many there actually are?” Pamela pointed at Greed and said, “Doesn’t this just multiply one?”