mtl008 Chapter 4488 The Darkest Night (6)
Chapter 4488 The Darkest Night (6)
Chapter 4488 The Darkest Night (Sixteen)
“Fries was nervous, and he knew perfectly well that this wasn’t the right emotion for him. He was a master in his field, and his pounding heart was mostly because I was trying to broadcast his mental state live. Being seen through is never a good thing, especially since Rodriguez had always been a half-madman in his mind, someone who needed to be checked on at any time. Having someone like that open the windows of his soul and stare into his every thought was more dangerous than ever. ‘I’m still a little regretful.’ Yes, I caught that fleeting line. Don’t try to fool me, Fries. You started this game, and you haven’t figured out a less awkward way to end it. This contest is destined to last all night. Considering our sun won’t rise again, it’s destined to be a long night. ‘Schiller, shut up!’ I’m not sure if he thought it or said it, but I’ll emphasize it again—calling each other by our given names is too intimate.”
"Schiller, go and get me that box on the left shelf in the storage room." Victor looked up from a pile of experimental equipment.
“I’m not going,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “That thing is a freeze trap. I’ll freeze the moment I touch the box.”
“If I shoot you, you’ll freeze too,” Victor said coldly, staring at him.
"So, Mr. Freeze has finally revealed his true colors?" Schiller chuckled. "It's my pleasure to serve you, Mr. Mad Scientist."
Schiller walked out the door. Victor leaned weakly against the nearby cabinet. A student beside him said, "Professor, even we know not to mess with Professor Rodriguez in the psychology department. I've only been in university for two years. And I've heard you've been teaching here for over a decade..."
"Alright, Fabin. Go do your work, or I'll freeze you in the ice too."
"No problem, Dr. Mr. Freeze."
When Nora arrived at the lab, she only saw chaos. She stood at the doorway, opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She wasn't even sure if the man buried in the lab equipment was her husband. He looked like he was in a hurry to freeze something. These symptoms had been rare since she woke up.
“Oh, Nora, you’re here.” Victor’s eyes lit up, like a dog whose automatic feeder had broken and who had just seen its owner come home from get off work. He rushed over and hugged Nora. This hug, which felt like a scene from an apocalyptic finale, left Nora momentarily bewildered. Until she saw Schiller walk in.
She didn't understand why Victor acted as if he were facing a formidable enemy when he saw Schiller. They had never had such a moment together, not even when Schiller lost six consecutive hands to Victor in a game of cards.
"An indescribable fervor welled up within Frith, making him even more emboldened to display his affection dramatically in front of his colleagues and students. He wouldn't normally do this, as he always considered himself a rather reserved and polite gentleman, possessing an ice-sculpted demeanor befitting his talent. Most of the time he did well, but now there was clearly a flaw. I must say, it wasn't entirely because I tried to broadcast his thoughts to everyone. Rather, he deeply regretted that while constantly referring to me as a 'psychic,' he had forgotten this on a larger scale, pouring his fervor for detective novels onto a 'clumsy' detective who could 'read minds.' Unfortunately, the more astonishing this psychic ability was when applied to murderers, the more incisive it was when applied to him. Now, the whole world knows what a foolish thing dear Mr. Frith has done."
"Schiller!!!!!"
The FBI's Gotham office. Amanda listened with a frown to Jenna's account. She thought for a moment, then said, "If we weren't in Gotham, I'd send you to sleep to end this illogical hallucination. But considering we're in Gotham, and it's still dark, I think you need to tell me the details, especially about the previous cases. What did you see?"
Jenna frowned, looking somewhat tired. Amanda poured her a cup of coffee and said, “I hired you because of your exceptional empathy. As a law enforcement officer, that’s an extremely rare talent. It shouldn’t be wasted on ordinary student assignments, but should be used right now. Don’t you think so?”
"Okay, I'm thinking about it." Jenna's tone wasn't very friendly.
Don't talk to me like that.
“Sorry, boss,” Jenna said, rubbing her temples. “For the sake of the generous salary and my internship certificate, please be quiet for a few minutes. I need to get into the swing of things.”
After a long pause, Jenna said, "I feel like something is always with me. Chick's death, Fanny's death, Perrotta's death. The connection between these three cases goes far beyond what's on the surface. Gotham University, the place that connects the three parties, is just a smokescreen. The core of the link is someone else. He's lurking in the shadows, only striking at the crucial moment. He's very well hidden."
"A student from Gotham University?"
"No, the case doesn't have an immature feel to it; rather, it's quite sophisticated."
"A mentally ill person?"
"No, there's no uncontrollable part to it, and the sense of confusion is almost nonexistent."
"A shrewd antisocial personality?"
“It’s very close, but not the kind of thing we’ve seen before; it’s more typical.”
"More typical?"
“Yes, a textbook example. Not a typical Gotham City example.” Jenna frowned, breathing heavily, her breathing becoming faster and faster. “He has a purpose, a very real self-interest.”
"Not from Gotham?"
“That’s the problem. His style doesn’t seem like that of a Gothamite, but if he weren’t, he couldn’t have pulled off a case like this. He has to know Gotham. I guess he… was influenced.”
"Affected? Affected in what way?"
“I don’t know. But he must have been affected by some kind of interference. He’s a strange combination. But we can’t deduce anything from that alone. There must be some unique connection.”
Amanda frowned deeply. She said, "Can't you be more specific? All this guessing just doesn't get to the point."
“This is not a prophecy,” Jenna emphasized. “You need to give me something so I can glean any insights. If there’s nothing, I naturally can’t guess anything.”
"Aren't those three cases enough?"
Jenna shook her head: "He's very careful, trying his best not to reveal himself. There's very little we can discern about his demeanor; we can only wait for him to make his move again."
“That would be another murder!” Amanda roared. “Brainiac will skin us all alive!”
“And,” Amanda said, looking at Jenna, “I must emphasize to you again that we do not allow office romances.”
"It's not like you're in charge of the FBI's offices," Jenna retorted irritably.
“Listen, I’m not saying you can’t date. I understand perfectly well that girls your age are too easily smitten. But Barry Allen isn’t a good match. He’ll only hold you back.”
Jenna stood up and said, "You're like the kind of woman who's been divorced three times and never won an inheritance. Don't mention Barry to me, or I'll quit!"
Jenna stormed out of the door. She slowed her pace and pushed open the coffee shop door. After buying a few coffees, she went to the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Science Division office.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
“Oh, it’s you, Jenna.” The blonde woman, who was fiddling with the printer, smiled at her and said, “Come in. Where’s Barry? Hasn’t he arrived yet?”
"I'm here to ask for leave on his behalf; he's run into some trouble."
"A traffic accident?"
“No, it’s the kind of trouble that even Brainiac can’t solve. So he might need to leave for a while.” Jenna sighed.
“My God, look at yourself,” the Asian woman said, arms crossed, looking her up and down. “You look like you haven’t slept for several nights. Aren’t you going to get some rest?”
"No, I have to find a way to help him out. You know about the murder at Gotham University, right?"
"Yes, we are investigating. Brainiac believes there are still many questions surrounding these cases, so we are analyzing the information as thoroughly as possible."
"Any results?"
“There are some.” The Asian man took a document from the side and handed it to Jenna, then said, “The main suspicion still centers on Chick. His death is too suspicious. If he was just trying to commit suicide and it happened by accident, it’s a bit too coincidental, isn’t it?”
"You mean someone is interfering?"
The blonde woman walked over, picked up her coffee, and said, "Our people carefully examined the crime scene. There's something slightly off about the window frame where Chick hanged himself."
She turned and sat on the edge of the table, demonstrating the position, and then said, "Logically, this thin window frame should have gotten stuck on his gluteus maximus, making it not so easy for him to fall. But we did see that the window frame was tilted to one side. It's not certain whether he squeezed the window frame like this when he slid down, or whether the window frame suddenly tilted like this, causing him to slide down."
"A question of cause and effect?"
"Yes. Both are possible. We lean towards the latter. We collected samples from sixteen different window frames in this area. This particular window frame is very old, ranking probably second or third. Our research suggests that the degree of aging may be related to the type of items hanging above it. However, we couldn't discern anything special about the items hanging above this window frame."
"The two are not positively correlated?"
"No. That's the strange thing. The items hanging up there are basically the same as those downstairs, but the quality of the window frames downstairs is much better. But this is obviously not conclusive evidence, just a possible hypothesis."
"Someone tampered with the window frame, causing Cheek to slip and fall while sitting on the window sill."
“That’s right,” the Asian man nodded and said, “but that’s just a guess. We’ll analyze and compare sample data of the window frame materials again, hoping to get a more reasonable explanation, but in reality, the chances are slim.”
“It certainly doesn’t sound like the right approach, but at least it’s a direction,” Jenna said, rubbing her forehead. “There’s a key point I’ve missed. It’s very close, but I’m really a little worried about Barry.”
"Could you tell me what trouble he's encountered?"
Jenna shook her head and said, "Actually, I don't know either. It's related to his superpowers."
“Then there’s nothing we can do to help.” Everyone shook their heads. “In fact, none of us can figure out what his superpowers are, including Brainiac.”
“I don’t need to figure out what his superpowers are, I just need to figure out what’s interfering with him,” Jenna murmured to herself, looking at the document in front of her. Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
"The South District!" Jenna practically jumped up. "The problem lies in the South District! The root of the chaos, the overlap in the cases, the crucial connection... I've found it!"