Not long after, Harley also came out of the interrogation room. Evidently, the blame for these two cases had been pinned on the Brainiac Support Society. However, things were clearly not that simple.
Standing at the entrance of the police station, Shiller looked at Harley and asked, "Was the police officer's body found on Diamond Street?"
Harley nodded and said, "That's right, but it wasn't the original crime scene. They killed someone near the old campus area—I mean another person—the officer found them, and that's when they acted."
"Though the old campus isn't as far from Diamond Street as the new campus, there is still a certain distance. Why would they dump the body there?"
It seemed like Shiller was asking Harley, but in fact, that wasn't the question. He knew it was likely Harley who moved the officer's body to implicate those people on Diamond Street.
"Diamond Street isn't entirely innocent either," Harley said, "I learned from Lina that they've been sponsoring the Brainiac Support Society, funding their activities, and inciting students. But they're doing it covertly, and without a spark, it's hard to bring the fire to them."
"I see." Shiller narrowed his eyes slightly,
The emergence of the Brainiac Support Society was indeed suspicious. Pop culture may spread quickly among young college students, but spotting business opportunities and capturing markets isn't the forte of these inexperienced youths.
And for an organization like the Brainiac Support Society, resembling a cult or pyramid scheme, to emerge so swiftly, it undoubtedly involved the instigation of those people on Diamond Street.
"Has Gordon acted?"
"Diamond Street has been sealed off now, and the protesters must take another route, or Gordon will make them pay."
"I think we need to take some measures," Shiller looked back at the police station. From inside, warm light shone through the windows, and countless figures were busy and bustling, making it another sleepless night.
"Against whom? Diamond Street or Brainiac?" Harley sighed and said, "If Brainiac does pose any real threat, someone will naturally block this software without us intervening."
"The problem is, this guy is cunning. He's merely providing a tool. How it's used is up to the human race; he can't be blamed. So far, he hasn't shown any loopholes; rather, he's been very cautious, advancing step by step."
"Humans are either insecure or arrogant. External intervention merely accelerates the swing, but either way, it's part of being human, and we can't deny that. The disputes Brainiac incites among humans aren't significantly more than those humans would have without his presence."
"It's just that such things used to happen in areas perceived as wild and chaotic, and now they're in the cities. These panics are temporary, and soon people will realize that these disruptions are insignificant compared to the benefits he brings."
"So you support him ruling the Earth?"
"Not that. Creating chaos is just his means, not his end. The goal of creating chaos is to disrupt the existing order, and after the original order is disrupted, a new order must be established. What will give us trouble is this new order he's going to establish."
Harley thought for a moment and said, "What kind of new order do you think he'll establish?"
"If there are no surprises, he should soon take the next step. We need to think of a countermeasure before the new order arrives, ideally preparing in advance to avoid being caught off guard."
"I'll go back and discuss with the others. Are you coming to tonight's meeting?"
"No, the workload has been too heavy lately; I need to go back to sleep."
After saying goodbye to Harley, Shiller returned to the school office. He had been staying at the school these past few days not just because Barry's parents were staying at his house, but because it was more convenient to enter the inner world from the school. Occasionally, he would visit to check on the business situation.
After returning to the office, Shiller entered the inner world, then drove to the store for a round.
Due to the new policy from the pale knight, the inner world had become much more prosperous than before. Many who had already bought houses began renovating. The street where Shiller's shop was located had indeed become a hot spot, with many starting to set up stores copying his model.
Shiller's store had seized the opportunity early, and business had been quite good lately. It had only been open for a few days and had already made tens of thousands of US Dollars. After deducting various costs, the profit was about a few thousand.
When Shiller arrived, Merkel was wiping the shelves. Seeing Shiller enter, he waved and smiled, "Good evening, boss."
"You're your own boss," Shiller said, "How was today?"
"The foot traffic has increased quite a bit," Merkel said happily, "The two new products are quite popular; we've sold a lot of each, and it looks like we might break the sales record."
"A lot more customers?"
"That's right." Merkel nodded, "It feels like there's a 50% increase. I even saw some regular customers' family members today, even kids. It seems a lot of people are planning to settle here."
"Isn't it a bit early to settle down?" Shiller said, "The infrastructure isn't complete, and energy and network are major issues."
"Who knows, perhaps they're just here to visit," Merkel shrugged.
After staying there for a while, Shiller returned. He wasn't there to supervise Merkel but to gather some other information.
After returning to the office, Shiller lay on the bed and began to think. The rich have the keenest senses, possessing information channels inaccessible to the civilian class. Their actions are the most telling.
Recently, the shop's turnover had been tepid, with average customer flow, but today it suddenly increased by 50%. This is clearly not due to Merkel's hard work but indicates some other change.
Previously, when the wealthy came to look at properties, at most one or two people would visit, often just hiring someone to take a look. But now, they're suddenly entering the inner world with their whole families. There must be a reason for this.
Thinking about these things, Shiller slowly fell asleep. Just as he drifted into a dream, he saw a flash of golden light, and then Barry appeared before him.
"Professor, thank you for protecting my parents earlier." Barry clasped his hands, thanking Shiller, and then said, "Some things might happen soon, but please believe that everything is still on track and under control. If you have any questions, feel free to call me."
Barry spoke these unclear words and then left in a hurry. Shiller didn't have the chance to speak to him. But in fact, Shiller had nothing to say; he had long guessed that the Justice League was prepared. Since they claimed to have confidence, Shiller was too lazy to inquire about the details. He still needed to save some Sanity Points to look at papers.
The next morning, Shiller was awakened by a knock on the door. He took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed for a while before coming to his senses. When he opened the door, he felt like he was hallucinating.
Standing outside were a bunch of people: Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Penguin Man, Two-Face, Scarecrow…
Shiller wondered if he had traveled through time again.
Once his brain rebooted, he looked at the crowd flooding into his bedroom and asked, "Why are all of you here?"
"Oh my God, Professor, I really don't know how to comment on your sleep quality," Harley said. "I called you at least 50 times. I was worried Brainiac had kidnapped you!"
Shiller grabbed his phone from the bedside and remembered he forgot to charge it yesterday. It was off, and naturally, he hadn't received any calls. He looked at his watch again, realizing that the gloomy weather outside had obscured his sense of time. It wasn't morning at all; it was already 1 PM.
"What's going on?" Shiller asked, taking off his sleep cap.
"The 'Brainiac Act'!"
"What?"
Harley held her forehead, saying, "Brainiac persuaded most of the members of Congress and the State Council to pass a new Brainiac Act within a week."
"What's it mainly for?"
"It allows Brainiac to establish a Brainiac Center on Earth to house servers and take over all internet and electronic services in All America. From now on, there is no internet, only the Brainiac Network."
"That's quite a big move." Shiller leaned against the bed, recalling the information he learned from the inner world yesterday, then added, "I fear there's more to it, right?"
"All major electronic device manufacturers worldwide have chosen to join the Brainiac Network and store all their user information on Brainiac Network servers. Electronic devices include personal computers, mobile phones, game consoles, or smart home appliances, as well as office computers, factory assembly line control systems, railway and airplane electronic transportation systems..."
"I really don't know how he did it!" Jonathan said, sitting at the windowsill, crossing a leg. "Such sensitive user information, they're willing to give it all, and at the same time without exception..."
"Do you really think they gave it?" Harvey sneered, "I fear he got it himself, then turned around and threatened the companies: 'If you don't pretend to give it to me voluntarily, I'll directly disclose the user information.'"
"That's the most likely possibility," Cobblepot said. "Human race's electronic security technology means nothing to him. By cooperating, at least it can be prettified as creating a beautiful future for humanity together. If you don't cooperate, you lose both your wife and your soldiers."
Harley sighed and said, "Professor, you were right. He creates chaos to establish a new order. Now public opinion almost unanimously says Brainiac did a good job."
"Is that really from the human race?" Shiller said. "He's omnipotent on the internet, so he'll only let you see what he wants you to see. No matter how many websites you change, how many new user comments you read, it's all a cocoon of information he weaves for you."
"Of course, I knew that too. The key is, how many people can withstand such an information barrage? I fear most people have already been brainwashed, thinking Brainiac will really bring them a beautiful tomorrow."
"I wouldn't be surprised for ordinary civilians to be like that. They mainly get their information from the internet, so naturally, they're more likely to agree when they see it widely talked about online. But why are those politicians also unanimously helping Brainiac?" Harvey said, frowning.
"No one has information security in front of Brainiac. Those politicians have so many dirty deeds; if they don't help Brainiac, it's likely their scandals will be exposed immediately, ending their political careers," Jonathan said, curling his lips.
Jack scratched his face and said, "This isn't even the worst news."
Shiller looked at him.
"Brainiac seems to be planning to build the Brainiac Center in Gotham."
"Oh God." Shiller pressed his temples forcefully, somewhat exasperatedly, "Where does he want to build it? Don't tell me it's in the city center. Gotham is already congested enough and doesn't need more landmark buildings."
"Unfortunately, it's right beside Diamond Street, where the old Devor Building used to be. Construction has already begun."
Shiller let out a long sigh, then shouted at his phone, "Brainiac, help me update my car's satellite navigation system, blacklisting all roads within ten miles of Diamond Street, thank you."