The car stopped in front of the Schiller's house. It was nearing evening, and the wind was getting stronger. The two people pressed the doorbell against the wind. However, the person who answered the door was not the professor they were familiar with. Although the two looked exactly alike, it was still discernible.
"Doctor, why are you here?"
Greed opened the door for them, then said, "I'm here to spend Halloween with him. Come in."
They walked into the room together. Alberto looked around the very tasteful living room, finding the decorations much more abundant than he had imagined, completely unlike the previous dreary estate of Shiller's.
Arrogant walked in from the backyard, and the two froze because he was wearing rain boots and holding an axe in his hand.
"How are the neighbors?" Bruce asked.
"I went to chop wood."
"I know, how's the firewood?"
"Thanks to you, it's not bad." Arrogant brought in a few pieces of wood from the back door again. Seeing it was real wood, they both sighed in relief.
"How could I forget, everyone seems to be short of wood lately. Even Ron came to ask me for firewood, can you believe it? He can split a forest with one X-ray beam, yet he still came to ask me for wood."
"Cutting down a whole forest would result in a hefty fine. He has to set a good example for his daughter, so he can't do that." Arrogant added the wood into the stove.
"Can this really burn?" Alberto asked curiously. Those pieces of wood looked too wet, even wetter than ordinary trees, with their surfaces covered with moisture.
"As long as the fire is big enough, if you throw these on top, they can quickly dry out and then catch fire." Arrogant sighed and said, "This method is only for emergencies because you need to keep a big fire the whole time, so it consumes a lot of wood."
"I'll bring some over to you later," Bruce said, "Alfred prepared a warehouse of firewood for me before he went back to Moscow, it should be enough for the whole winter."
Arrogant, however, shook his head and said, "You have too many places that need heating at your estate, better make sure the lab has enough. After all, your current project is too important."
"What project?" Alberto asked curiously. He wasn't interested in scientific research, but if it was something the professor deemed very important, it must be some earth-shattering matter.
"After the war ended, Brainiac proposed the 'Ten-Year Plan for Solving the Human Race Famine Problem'. He intends to completely eliminate the problem of human hunger by 2010, achieving an enormous abundance of food, while absolutely eliminating hunger."
"...Can it be achieved?" Alberto felt somewhat incredulous.
"I don't know about the others, but the cultivation project we're responsible for is progressing well. Pamela further researched the previously enlarged plants and came up with pumpkins, potatoes, and corn of considerable size. Clark is assisting the project team on Krypton to study radiation wheat that's extremely heat- and cold-resistant. Over at Atlantis, they've also developed a gigantic large-leaf algae that can extract many of the nutrients necessary for human survival..."
"Not bad. Maybe we should study the big lemons of Sicily," Alberto said with a serious face, "Big lemons are very easy to preserve and high in vitamin C."
"That's not a bad idea, do you have any lemons or seeds? Maybe Pamela could take a look."
"I don't have any right now, but I can have some shipped over." Alberto took out his phone and started contacting people.
Meanwhile, Arrogant looked at Bruce and asked, "I heard the first batch of corn developed from research is about to go into production in Mexico."
"Yes, that corn is very good. The stalks can grow up to four or five meters high, the corn itself is as long as a forearm, and the kernels have gotten much larger. They taste rich and juicy. A batch just harvested from the experimental field, and it's planned to be served at the Halloween banquet."
"No wonder Harley is so eager to host a banquet," Arrogant added another piece of wood to the fireplace and said.
"That's another matter," Bruce shook his head and said, "She is researching dense ice cans at a food processing plant, and has launched several very popular flavors, looking to show off."
"Dense ice cans?"
"Yes. Victor has developed a kind of dense ice specifically for food preservation, which can ensure that a small area of food doesn't participate in heat exchange. That way, whatever the kitchen makes, it will remain the same when sent to Krypton. This can greatly benefit the employees on Krypton, even Brainiac commended her."
"That's not bad." Shiller nodded and said, "How's Jason in England?"
"Besides not getting used to the food there, everything else is okay." Bruce sighed and said, "But he really can't get used to the food there. I'm planning to have Harley send him some canned food."
"He really shouldn't have chosen to study abroad in England; it would have been much better to go to France." Shiller sighed. Jason had found an internship before, but after working for a while, he felt it wasn't quite suitable for him. So he went to England to study classical literature again, and it's not even a one-year master's program; he's going to be there for three years. It's hard to imagine how this unfortunate kid could starve himself.
"Oh, by the way." Bruce took out some tickets from his pocket and then said, "These are from Dick, tickets to the Halloween appreciation performance at the theater. All the star actors of the Grayson Troupe will be performing, and Selina will go as well. There will also be an awards ceremony for Pamela and Harley. If you have time, you should take a look."
Arrogant took the tickets from his hand, looked at them, and found that there were indeed performances of Shakespeare's plays that he often watched, as well as stars like Selina, who performed popular dramas and musicals; most politicians would attend.
"The Grayson Troupe is also very popular in Europe," Alberto said after taking a glance, "especially Lady Kael. Her performances of the war trilogy are a hit in the old world. If she ever gets married, many people will be heartbroken."
"Oh, you've reminded me of bad memories." Bruce laughed, wiping his face, "When I went to Brussels to see Selina's performance, the customs found out I was her fiancé and almost punched a hole in my passport with a stamp. He just slammed the stamp down on my passport with a 'bang,' and that sound was like a gunshot directed at me."
Alberto laughed heartily, then said, "Then you mustn't go to Rome to see his performance. The customs officers there are always looking for something to do; be careful not to get locked in a small black room."
They chatted like this, and Arrogant increasingly felt he should buy some chestnuts from the neighbors; chatting while eating chestnuts might be nice.
As it got later, the two took their leave. By this time, the wind had died down a bit, and Arrogant saw them off to the car. For a fleeting moment, he again saw the light of a flashlight in the woods opposite.
Bruce, who was driving, noticed as well. Alberto, somewhat wary, kept glancing over there, but Bruce said, "In this weather, everyone's short of firewood; it's likely they're chopping wood."
"But didn't you say this is a mental health area?"
"Mental patients can suffer from hypothermia too. And since you know there are lots of mental patients here, are you brave enough to join in the fray? They've got axes in hand."
Alberto immediately shook his head like a rattle. He's no Godfather now; these madmen should be Brainiac's headache, and he has no intention of getting close.
"I feel something's off." As Arrogant pushed open the door, Greed, sitting on the sofa, said, "While we were chopping wood, the person with the flashlight was chopping wood. We have enough firewood to burn through the night, yet they're still chopping."
"Maybe they're just stocking up on firewood for the winter."
"What I mean is, their chopping is already beyond a reasonable amount for personal use and has reached the point of natural woodland destruction, which warrants an arrest. Shouldn't we call the police?"
Arrogant was momentarily speechless. New Yorkers and Gothamites indeed think differently, although both felt something was off. Arrogant thought they would come eventually, and there was no need to venture out in such a windstorm; Greed, on the other hand, wanted to call the police and have them investigate in this windy weather. After staying here for two days, he would at least wear out three Gordons.
But Arrogant didn't stop him, just watched as Greed went to make the call. After a while, police lights started flashing. Greed stood by the window on one side of the living room, looking out, then seemed to notice something and kept staring in one direction.
A group of police officers entered the woods to catch those alleged destroyers of the natural forest, while another group came looking for Shiller.
Arrogant couldn't be bothered dealing with the police, so he went to the backyard to chop wood. Greed went over to open the door for the police, shook hands with them with a smile, and said, "As a resident of this community, it's my duty to protect the natural forest. There's no need to thank me too much."
The police who rushed over looked rather sheepish. Although the wind wasn't quite as strong as a typhoon now, it still whipped dust in their faces. Although the rain had stopped now, it was still getting blown around, drenching them. And under Brainiac's supervision, as long as someone called the police, they had to respond and just had to hold their noses and come.
In fact, everyone knew that with the rapid drop in temperature, a lot of areas without heating needed a lot of firewood, and if they couldn't buy it, they'd have to chop it in the woods, or else they couldn't just all freeze to death together, right?
Even Brainiac would turn a blind eye to this, as long as you didn't engage in large-scale felling, chopping for personal use, he typically wouldn't bother. After all, with Pamela around, cutting a few trees wouldn't damage the natural environment.
Unexpectedly, there was someone here who took things seriously; the police were somewhat helpless and could only exchange pleasantries with Greed. But soon, a subordinate came running over to whisper something in his ear, making his face turn somewhat grave.
"What's wrong?" Greed asked, pretending to know nothing.
"Sorry, sir. The issue you reported about the destruction of the natural forest is very important. Could you tell us roughly when you saw someone active in the woods? Around how many people? Could you tell what they were doing?"
Greed made a show of recalling and then truthfully informed them. The more the police listened, the more solemn their faces became, and finally said, "We suspect this might be related to a recent child abduction case on the East Coast. There are clues suggesting that the kidnapper has hidden in Gotham, probably even in this area. Do you have any children at home?"
"Well, I don't. But since Halloween is coming up, there might be kids coming around for candy. It's best if you catch the culprit soon; it would be good for everyone."
The police nodded. Since Greed was just the informant and had provided all the information he knew, they didn't linger. The police quickly returned to search around the woods.
They did find some footprints in the woods; more importantly, half a footprint didn't seem like it belonged to an adult. It's just that due to the strong wind and heavy rain, the footprints weren't very complete, so they couldn't be certain.
Just as the police set up barricades, cordoning off the entire forest, a car with FBI markings stopped by the roadside. Barry got out of the car and sighed. He looked at the house the police pointed out as belonging to the informant, praying the culprit hadn't been stuffed into a fireplace yet.