It was another night of howling winds. Those hiding in their warm homes only remembered the piercing sound of the wind that night. It wasn't until waking up in the morning that they realized, those sharp cries weren't just the wind, but also police sirens drifting through the night.
When Arrogant woke up, he saw from his bedroom window the bright yellow of the caution tape slicing through the dust mist rising from the lake, glaring like something from another world.
When he got up, Greed had already added wood to the fireplace. As he walked downstairs, he asked, "What happened last night?"
"You just woke up?" Greed said with some surprise, "The police came in the middle of the night. I heard the kidnappers were hiding in that house with the chestnut tree. The children have been rescued. However, of the three culprits involved in the kidnapping, only one remains here, and the other two are missing. They're bound to commit crimes again."
Arrogant walked over to the phone and said, "I need to call Victor and Ron; both have kids at home. We've got to be extra careful."
"That might be difficult, especially since Halloween is just around the corner. The kids have been looking forward to this day for a long time. You can't stop them from going out for candy."
"Then send some people to follow them. We can't just let them walk into streets that might be hiding kidnappers. Many kids today don't even know what crime is."
Arrogant sighed helplessly, "Brainiac has pretty much eradicated global crime. While this does provide a safe environment for the kids, it inevitably makes them lose their sense of vigilance."
It's hard to imagine that in a city like Gotham, children would feel there's nothing wrong with wandering the streets at night. Yet within just one year, they dare to dress up in strange costumes, go in groups to knock on strangers' doors, and ask for candy. Even more bizarre, the people whose doors are knocked on dare to open them, and they even have candy ready.
As Arrogant called, he couldn't help but give a few more warnings. Although Victor and Ron understood the importance of the matter, one of their children is overly active, and the other is too introverted. It would be troublesome if any of them encountered danger.
Arrogant put on his coat and walked to the door, intending to fetch the morning newspaper from the mailbox. The strong wind from the night had blown away all the clouds, and the sky was clear without a trace. The sun was just rising, and the distant sky looked like a whole piece of pastel blue jelly, transparent, cool, with some sweetness flowing through.
The nearby street was bustling, and the police seemed to be turning that house upside down. Watching for a moment, Arrogant chose to walk over and happened to see Gordon leaning against a patrol car, drinking coffee.
"Professor, good morning." Gordon smiled at him, then said, "It's a nice morning. The kids made it home safely. You should be going to tonight's thank-you performance, right?"
"Yes. Bruce gave me tickets. We're planning to have dinner first at a restaurant near the theater before watching the show."
"Barbara and I are also planning to go."
"How is little Barbara? I heard she had a fever recently?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, she caught the flu, but it's not serious. She's currently staying with her grandparents in Chicago. They sent me a video of her playing ball; she runs like a tornado."
"Kids always grow up fast. Hearing that the victims got home safely is the best news I've heard lately. Is there any other news about the perpetrators?"
Gordon shook his head and said, "From what we know, they hid here because it's sparsely populated. And that house just happens to have two underground basements. They hid at the very bottom, making it difficult for anyone to notice any noise."
"Do you think they just happened upon this place?"
"Wouldn't you say so?"
Arrogant shook his head and said, "That chestnut tree didn't grow to its size overnight."
"You think they planned this in advance?" Gordon asked tentatively.
"Possibly earlier than you think. Using chestnuts to attract small animals and then using their calls to cover the unusual sounds from the house; even in Gotham, this method can be considered clever."
Gordon thought about it and then asked, "Was the chestnut tree there before you moved in?"
"I think there was. This means their idea was good, just unlucky enough to have me move in, becoming their neighbor."
"Are you not denying that the case's resolution has something to do with you?"
"I can only say it has nothing to do with the person standing before you," Arrogant shook his head and said, "If I hadn't happened to move here, this place would become their perfect crime base. With the cover of animal noises, it's almost impossible for anyone to notice they hid kidnapped children in the basement."
"But that's seasonal. What about when it's winter and there are no animals?"
"Winter's too cold; the animals hide, so what about humans?"
Gordon patted his head. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it for a moment. Indeed, this tactic only needed to be effective outside of winter. Because once winter came, even though the animals hid, humans wouldn't go out much either, making it even less likely to discover anything.
"Moreover, if this was their plan, that means their original target was children, especially those who haven't gone through a voice change yet," Arrogant continued, "Before voice change, both boys and girls have sharper voices, making them harder to notice."
Gordon found that reasonable, so he nodded but still said, "We didn't find any tools of the crime in the basement. The children have been sent to the hospital for medical check-ups, and their injury reports haven't come in yet. But from my observation, they don't seem to have suffered any abuse, so why would they scream?"
"It could be psychological abuse," Arrogant thought for a moment and said, "If you can find the mastermind, maybe you'll understand what they intended to use the children for."
"The only captured perpetrator has been sent for interrogation. Frankly speaking, he doesn't seem like a perpetrator. If he were walking down the street, I wouldn't believe he could kidnap three kids."
"What kind of person is he?"
"Looks just like an ordinary office worker. He has a friendly face. His specific identity information is still being verified and investigated. However, if we can't get more clues from him, we might have to ask for your help again."
"This time, it might not be so simple. But in any case, we must swiftly capture the escaped perpetrators. The kids still want to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. By the way, whose house is this?"
"The room where you say the killer is hiding? It originally belonged to a real estate businessman from the West Coast. However, he moved to the inner world. This house is now under Brainiac's management. There are no surveillance cameras inside the house. But from now on, the entire community should have a monitoring system installed."
Arrogant nodded and then asked, "What about this tree?"
Gordon turned to look at the huge chestnut tree in the yard. He said, "This should have been bought and planted in the yard by that real estate businessman. I'm not sure if he was in cahoots with the killer. If he was, then this tree counts as evidence."
"Would you take it away?"
"Yes, it's an invasive species and not on the local tree protection list. It'll probably be cut down."
"I think that's a bit of a pity. If possible, I'd like to transplant this tree into my yard."
Gordon raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "You want this tree?"
"Yes. The chestnuts from this tree are quite productive, aren't they?"
"Indeed. When I was a kid, my grandmother had a chestnut tree in her yard. Every time I visited, she would bake chestnut cake for me. But chestnut trees on the East Coast are becoming fewer. This one growing so large is a rare thing. I'll submit a report to Brainiac."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Gordon, Arrogant returned to his own doorstep, pulled a newspaper out of the mailbox. As he opened the door, a strong aroma wafted in from the kitchen.
"There's some good news." Arrogant took off his gloves, put them on a cabinet nearby, and said, "The house with the chestnut tree doesn't belong to any private owner, it's managed by Brainiac, and currently has no surveillance equipment."
"You're not planning to steal chestnuts, are you?"
"Not me, but us. Gray mist is following you. Just make a round and gather the chestnuts from the tree."
"That would be like fleecing Brainiac. I don't want to get caught."
"Don't worry, you won't. He's busy catching the killer. Plus, uncovering the killer was partly thanks to you. He probably wouldn't mind you having a few chestnuts."
"Alright, I'll take a peek later. Are you baking a cake?"
"Yes. You wouldn't want to go to the appreciation event empty-handed, would you?"
"I'll bring some red tea and wine."
"An old-fashioned choice." Greed adjusted the oven temperature, grabbed a measuring ruler, and then said, "Communities on the East Coast have always valued community and family friendliness. In occasions that are formal but not exclusive to the upper-class, some little sweet snacks to enjoy during the performance are perfect."
"Then you should definitely get some chestnuts. I think chestnut cake would be good. What are you making now?"
"White chocolate shell with lemon ganache, cream cheese, and crunchy wafer."
"I asked for the name, not the ingredients."
"That is the name. Western desserts are often named by the ingredients, aren't they?" Greed paused for a moment and then said, "But you've got a point. Maybe I can stuff some chestnut puree into it. This dessert indeed lacks some solid texture. I was originally going for nut brownies."
"Alright. Maybe I can help you fold the wrapping paper."
"The final product will be shaped like chocolate balls. There are ready-made paper holders, but I do need a paperboard to secure the holders and a basket to put things in. The material package is by the coffee table."
Arrogant went over to the sofa, sat down, and glanced at the materials package. It seemed completely self-supplied by Greed, as the local community store surely couldn't sell such comprehensive supplies.
Arrogant first took out a sturdy cardboard, then found the paper holders in the kitchen. He poked round holes in the cardboard according to the size of the holders, so he could set them into it.
"How many are you planning to make?"
"Maybe over a hundred or so. I bet most people will bring kids along. They'd easily finish these, maybe even not enough."
Greed had already started packing up. He placed the utensils properly, then transformed into his gray mist form and flew out from behind the window. A few dozen seconds later, Arrogant's phone rang.
"Reminder, please do not steal public property. Repeating, please do not steal..."
Without even looking, Arrogant turned the phone face down.
A minute later, Greed flew back, found a large box from the backyard, and poured the chestnuts into it with a rustle.
"Did you gather all the chestnuts?"
"Not quite, I left some for the little animals."
"What about Brainiac?"
"He doesn't eat chestnuts. Who cares about him then."