Looking at the Chinese characters on the paper, Shiller slowly stood up from the desk. Natasha couldn't hear the response from the other side, so she called out to him:
"Shiller? Shiller, are you still listening?"
"He's coming for me." Shiller's voice sounded particularly deep, he said, "These are clues specifically for me to see."
After a pause, Natasha asked, "Why?"
"I am thinking." Shiller lightly tapped his earphones and said, "Among all the Shillers, very few display Chinese characteristics. It's definitely not Arrogant, because he looks like a vampire living in a medieval castle. So, it must be Greed—his origin story and dining habits most easily expose that Shiller is a native Chinese speaker."
"Are you saying he's the mastermind?"
"No, just that the other party learned some information about me through him, which is why they are passing hints this way."
"What did he tell you?"
"That's not important." Shiller gently shook his head, not telling Natasha about the name Brainiac, he just said, "These clues might not be accurate, they may be very misleading, but undoubtedly they are telling me that he has set his sights on me."
"Tell me what it is." Natasha's tone grew colder, seemingly unwilling to accept Shiller's concealment.
"Go check the copycat killers," Shiller continued as if he didn't hear her, "Go investigate the victims killed by the copycat. They must have something in common."
"You think this case was done by a copycat killer?"
"I don't know, which is why I need you to check. The sample size is already sufficient; if Antonio has the same common point as all the previous ones, the identity of the killer can be determined."
Even during a cross-universe communication, Natasha could sense a certain danger signal from Shiller's tone. From her contact with the agents during this time, if Natasha had to compare him to an animal, it wouldn't be a lion, a grey wolf, a large predator with sharp claws and teeth, or a poisonous insect. Instead, he was like an eagle.
He hovered for a long time, searched aimlessly, hovering in place until the wind caused his wings to flap loudly, accurately distinguishing whether what was rolling on the deep green grass was a lump of dirt blown by the wind or his prey. Then, when he swooped down, no one could escape his talons.
Sitting at a computer in the office searching the web isn't a sign of hunting, and even taking a sniper shot at Luther wasn't. But now, amidst the electronic noises of the communication, Natasha heard the roar of the wind, certain he had begun his dive. And soon his prey will understand—the eagle is God's bullet.
The intense danger signal completely overshadowed the original dialogue's content. In that moment of hazy association, it was enough for Natasha to tense her muscles. She heard herself say, "I will investigate. What do you plan to do?"
"He has a weakness." Shiller's voice seemed to come from a far-off place, "He cannot hide forever. The rabbit will soon come out of the hole."
The communication was cut off. As the busy signal sounded in Natasha's ear, she realized they both had the same association. This wasn't outlandish, and could even be considered very rational, as the mastermind is like a rabbit digging holes everywhere.
First, he tried every means possible in the Arkham Knight Universe to weaken Batman, and then continued to commit murders in the Prime Universe. These actions were not aimless. As the saying goes, a crafty rabbit has three burrows; the more rabbit holes he digs, the less likely he is to be found.
Look at the tense Penguin Man and Gordon now. If Natasha were to tell them the mastermind might be a virtual ghost, they would surely think she was speaking nonsense.
The chaotic situation can result in misjudgment: the anger of damaged interests, sympathy for innocent victims, despair at the collapsing situation where one feels powerless... all these things can blind people, making even the keenest hunters lose sight of that cunning rabbit.
Natasha took a deep breath. Well, at least now she had a lead on a rabbit hole. But she needed to clear the weeds at the entrance first—the argument between Penguin Man and Gordon had started again.
Natasha drew her pistol from her waist.
"Bang!"
The two immediately separated, one ducking behind the sofa, the other diving under the coffee table. Armed bodyguards burst in, with at least twenty guns aimed at the female agent's head.
"I really don't have time to play along with you guys." Natasha said, "Antonio didn't commit suicide, this is very likely the work of an Eden Killer copycat. Now, I need to conduct an investigation, and you must cooperate. Understand?"
"Does the CIA have the right to point fingers here?!" Penguin Man shouted, "Are you saying that damn killer could easily break into my estate and kill?! You're completely talking nonsense! Bitch!"
Before the last word was even fully out of his mouth, he saw the red-haired figure appear behind the nearest armed bodyguard like an arrow released from its string, and then, "crack!" a very crisp sound, the neck of the opponent twisted to an unnatural angle.
Immediately followed by the Widow Sting Bullet being launched, three people behind him fell to the ground. The wounds turned unnaturally black, and the neurotoxin would claim their lives in ten seconds.
"Bang!" One shot, leaving a blood hole on the black bodyguard's forehead. Immediately followed by an elbow strike and over-the-shoulder throw, the sound of the shoulder blade shattering upon impact was terrifying. Before a full scream could escape, Black Widow's pale hand was around the bodyguard's own gun shoved into his mouth—"Bang!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Someone fired at her. But the female agent deftly rolled and ended up behind the sofa where Penguin Man was hiding. The umbrella gun on the other side hadn't even aimed before Natasha snatched it away, striking Penguin Man's arm with a "whoosh!"
"Ow!" Penguin Man let out a painful scream.
In the moment he was distracted, Natasha held a dagger to his neck. Penguin Man screamed loudly, "James Gordon! Where the hell did you find this Medusa?!"
Gordon was clearly also stunned by Natasha's skills. The last time he saw someone achieve a crushing victory against multiple opponents was Batman, but he knew that Batman wasn't always successful; sometimes even he stumbled in encounters.
"I'll say it again; I don't have time to waste on this!" Natasha said coldly. "Hand over Anthony's documents immediately! And you, James Gordon—I'm willing to talk to you nicely because you're the police chief, but if you don't understand me, I'll say it another way—" Her voice suddenly rose, "Give me the damn victims' information!"
"Calm down, Natasha. Even if you're a CIA agent, we should..."
"I said—give me the victims' information. Do you understand (in Russian)?!"
"Oh, God." Gordon and Penguin Man gasped in unison. They both raised their hands, "Understood!"
Natasha put away her gun and gave Penguin Man a push. He got up from the ground, rolling and crawling, then waved at the bodyguards to deal with the corpse. Gordon, still in shock, slowly crawled out from under the coffee table, his hands still raised in the air.
"Are you really with the CIA?" Gordon couldn't help asking.
"Do you really think the CIA would hire someone named Natasha Romanoff?" Natasha countered.
"Usually they wouldn't... but they're usually not very 'usual'." Gordon wiped his sweat, "In fact, when I heard the name, I had my suspicions."
"You were right to be suspicious." Natasha didn't want to explain further. She said, "Batman arranged for me to be here. Give me the information."
"Batman?! You're saying he... oh, God... this isn't real, is it? He... oh, God..."
While Gordon was still marveling, Natasha took Anthony's biography and the confession he recently gave under interrogation from Penguin Man's subordinate.
"Back to the Gotham Police Department." Natasha said to Gordon, "I need to find out what connects these copycat killers' victims. There has to be some connection."
The police car quickly drove back to the Gotham Police Department. Gordon had to sift through a pile of documents to find useful case information for Natasha. He couldn't help but mock himself, "Never thought I'd commit treason in this way one day."
"As long as the killer isn't Russian, or I'm an accomplice to the murderer, you're not committing treason." Natasha replied without looking up, "Is this all the information you have on the mayor?"
"Of course not. It's because there's so much information that I don't know what to give you." Gordon sighed, "There's a lot that the police department doesn't have. You might have to go to the municipal office or the press center to find it."
"Have your people fetch it for me." Natasha sat down in front of the table and then said, "I need an assistant, intelligent, quick to respond, with experience in paperwork. Preferably a girl."
Then she said nothing more and began reviewing the files. Gordon had no choice, as the police department couldn't handle the current situation. Whether the original Eden Killer or his copycats, the police couldn't catch them or even identify who they were. Now, someone willing to stand up and do something, or at least show an effort to do something, was God's blessing.
Gordon called Shiller.
"Yes, Professor. Now, whenever officers appear, it causes a commotion, and those damn hyenas with sensitive noses are bound to spread rumors that another death occurred. So, I must trouble you to go to the municipal building. Oh, and send Nemocine to the police department; the agent lady might need her help."
Soon, a girl with messy auburn hair appeared in Gordon's office with the information Shiller found at the municipal building. Upon seeing the office filled with paper records, she couldn't help but complain, "When are you guys planning to bring the police station into the modern age? What's wrong with electronic paperwork?"
"The primary issue is it's not secure enough." Gordon stuck to his old rhetoric.
"Yeah, especially when your daughter is a top hacker." Nemocine said without looking up. She walked over and sat opposite Natasha, with just a quick glance she knew which stage Natasha's investigation was at. She didn't say a word, just picked up nearby files and started reading.
She flipped through them incredibly quickly, so fast that Gordon felt she wasn't even reading properly. The files beside her disappeared at an odd speed. About half an hour later, Nemocine said, "I think I understand what's going on."
Natasha looked up, the two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously pushed a document from their respective sides forward. Gordon stepped up and saw that both documents bore the same title:
"'Draft Resolution on Motalin Natural Plant Reserve Development'?"
"So far, all the victims of the copycats have more or less been involved in drafting and promoting this resolution, including the mayor and the judge. Anthony had also commented, in not a friendly tone, on his show about those protesting the stop of this resolution's promotion."
Gordon's eyes flashed, as if he knew who the copycat was. He immediately took out his phone and shouted to the other side, "Go find Poison Ivy, Pamela Isley immediately!"