The thank-you performance ended without any danger. When Arrogant and Greed returned home, it was already close to midnight. Arrogant was still typing on his phone asking, "There is surveillance in the theater, didn't you capture anything unusual?"
"That's the problem, they didn't simply block the surveillance signal, but have a way to make the surveillance show nothing unusual."
"What do you mean?"
"In the footage captured by the surveillance, the little girl walked out on her own and disappeared after reaching a blind spot. But it's impossible for her to have walked out on her own. This child is very timid and has never exhibited any behavior of running around, whether at school or at home. During the performance, she was clinging tightly to her mother."
"You mean someone tampered with the surveillance footage? Who could do that?"
"Currently, the only person I've encountered capable of this is Batman."
"You know that's impossible."
"Yes, the case happened before the Primary Universe Batman arrived. If it's not him, then it must be someone of similar caliber."
"Who do you think it could be?"
"Do you think after you drove off the enemies that invaded Earth, they would just give up?"
"You mean aliens?"
"Only they have such technological prowess. Although I've been striving to upgrade Earth's electronic equipment, the gap can't be closed overnight. Take the Blue Beetle, for example. He can use holographic simulation technology to create realistic images that interfere with surveillance systems, and I currently have no way to crack it."
"Who do you suspect more?"
"Darkseid. According to the information Bruce uploaded from the Multiverse war, Darkseid has been promoted, meaning that all Darkseids in the Multiverse have become one. And this Darkseid suffered a big loss at Batman's hands, so it's only natural for him to make some moves across the Multiverse."
"But all evidence suggests that this guy was premeditated and might have acted years ago."
"It's not surprising. If he didn't have plans for Earth long ago, you wouldn't have been able to lure him here. I suspect he already has arrangements on Earth, and I'm working hard to uncover his hidden forces here."
"Is it that difficult?"
"He has the technological advantage, and I must also ensure no harm comes to ordinary people. Moreover, if we investigate too quickly and corner him, he might resort to terrorist attacks."
"Would you consider seeking Batman's help?"
"When necessary, I will."
It was another busy night for the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The lights from the police cars flashed all night, and the entire neighborhood was turned upside down. The Behavioral Science Analysis Unit also examined every inch of the theater walls. The audience who came for the thank-you performance welcomed Halloween with anxiety.
Shiller slept particularly well that night. Without the sound of the wind howling all night, the entire community was very quiet. Only a little rain fell in the morning when he woke up. The cold seeped in through the window crevices, and the world was cold and damp.
When Arrogant came downstairs, Greed had just returned with the newspaper from the mailbox, along with freshly baked bread, seemingly bought from the community restaurant.
Today's breakfast was still pumpkin, but simply pumpkin mustard salty sauce spread on bread. While spreading the bread, Greed opened the newspaper and quickly saw the news about the theater child kidnapping from the day before.
The news wasn't exaggerated, even somewhat reserved, perhaps to avoid causing panic. Brainiac merely described it as an accidental incident.
"What do you think?" Greed asked.
"The key now is whether those two captured can reveal anything. If they are Darkseid's lackeys, it might not be easy to extract information."
"Even the most advanced technology requires someone to operate it. If they didn't carry those devices with them, how did they interfere with the cameras? Remote signal transmission?"
"That's what Batman is investigating." Arrogant shook his head and said, "I heard that the labs over at Wayne Manor have stopped work. It seems Brainiac is determined to catch the culprit first."
As they were talking, a noise was heard at the door. Greed went over to open the gate, and Gordon appeared, looking travel-worn.
When he came in, Arrogant handed him a cup of hot coffee. Gordon finished it in one gulp, steam rising from his mouth, then said, "Good news."
"The culprit confessed?"
"Uh, no." Gordon said somewhat awkwardly, "Your transplant approval report for the chestnut tree has come through. However, Brainiac's transplant suggestions have some items that you should review carefully. I've left the documents here."
He took out an envelope from his coat and put it on the coffee table, then said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave first."
Gordon came in a flurry and left in a flurry, not even having time for breakfast. Arrogant picked up the envelope he delivered and was surprised to find it contained over 100 pages.
He picked up a few pages and glanced at them, "Jesus."
"What's wrong?"
"It says here that if I want to transplant such a precious tree, I need to comply with about 200 environmental regulations to modify my existing land, garden, and house property."
"To accommodate a squirrel?"
"Squirrels aren't this troublesome." Arrogant sat down, flipping through the regulations page by page, then said, "So Brainiac's point is that if I want this chestnut tree, I must take good care of it, even if it means sacrificing my living environment."
"Includes what?"
"Testing soil quality, groundwater quality, lawn nutrient absorption, air quality, sunlight duration, and I even have to fertilize periodically to ensure the trees produce enough fruits for rare animals to eat."
"Just these?"
"Isn't this enough?" Arrogant asked Greed.
"That's already very little," Greed said, "When my nursing home was relocating, the environmental regulations the district council sent had about 2000 items. I even have to be responsible for the shape of the curbstones a mile away."
"And you agreed?"
"How could I possibly? I skipped about 1600 unnecessary ones and focused on those truly beneficial to environmental protection. For example, I really have to ensure the mentally ill in the nursing home don't shoot birds with slingshots."
"So which ones in the regulations I received are useful?"
"The ones you mentioned are all useful. You really need to do tests on soil, water quality, air quality, and so on."
"But this tree used to live less than two miles from me."
"Doing these tests isn't to protect the tree, but to protect you. If the protected tree dies in your yard after being transplanted, these test results can help you avoid lawsuits."
Arrogant opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Greed put down the documents and said, "Considering how many plants you've probably managed to kill, this is a necessary step. Gotham is becoming more normal, so you've got to adapt to civilized society."
"Okay, so how do I do these tests?"
"Hire a professional agency. But firstly, inform the forest police. Although this tree doesn't belong to the trees of the natural forest land, because your home is close to the natural forest, you need to let them know you didn't dig it up from there." Greed paused, then continued, "Then send an email to the local council, requesting them to dispatch experts for testing. Before they come, we need to tidy up the yard to prevent them from rejecting the application due to a lack of care conditions."
"I think Brainiac is taking personal revenge."
"I'm not," Brainiac reminded, "I've already fulfilled my responsibility to remind you not to steal chestnuts. But you totally ignored me."
"What does this have to do with transplanting a chestnut tree?"
"You now need to prove to me that you're not someone who gets things without effort because only hardworking people can take good care of protected trees. Considering you previously stole chestnuts, I need some solid written evidence to prove that you are willing to make efforts for environmental protection."
"It was just a chestnut tree!"
"A North American Chestnut tree, as you mentioned—a precious tree species that once covered the East Coast but is now nearly extinct. Cutting it down would be too regrettable."
Arrogant couldn't help but cover his eyes. Greed didn't mind, he said, "Brainiac is still quite efficient; at least he's willing to tell you the reason. Whereas 80% of the over 100 inspections my nursing home received in a year were without any reason. The council won't tell you why they need to inspect."
"To appear like they have work to do."
"Actually, sitting in the office, they can also prove they have work to do. They might not even do it for money, maybe they just enjoy causing trouble for others. By comparison, Brainiac is quite pragmatic."
Greed took out the document and then said, "This provides very detailed advice. For instance, now the fence of the house is too high, I bet you haven't done any fence repair for over half a year. There's also a missing patch of turf in the southeast corner, I wanted to mention it when I first arrived. And regarding your backyard vegetable garden, no matter what you plant, you need to make it look like you're nurturing it carefully and watering it every day."
"But Merkel used to water most of the plants in the garden to death by watering every day."
"Don't water at noon, and a vegetable garden is different from a flowerbed. If possible, I suggest you set up a drip irrigation system, which can also provide water for birds and rodents, enriching the ecology of your backyard."
"That's the problem. Firstly, I don't have that much money. Secondly, you can't buy such things here even if you have money. Where am I supposed to get a drip irrigation system?"
"You'll have to ask Brainiac. If he can't provide you with these conditions, then these regulations are unreasonable, and you can refuse to comply."
"Then shall we dig up the chestnut tree tonight?"
"Of course not. Putting aside the vegetable garden, you haven't even tested the soil. If heavy metal levels exceed the limit and it kills the protected tree, you'll definitely end up in court."
"I suddenly lost my appetite for chestnuts," Arrogant sighed.
"You can't always give up," Greed shrugged, "You've got to truly own something."
"Okay, so where do we start?"
"First, let's patch up the southeast corner of the front lawn. Even if you don't transplant the chestnut tree, if this is seen by your neighbors or the people from the church, you'll receive complaints. This will severely affect the community's image. You might want to ask Brainiac where to buy turf."
"Rather than where to buy the turf, I'd like to know how that part of the turf disappeared." Arrogant said while opening Brainiac's software to inquire.
Greed went for a stroll and then said, "Your fence is built too high, and fences in two directions are overlapping, so that corner never gets sunlight. And you didn't use pre-grown sod but grass seed, which won't germinate without sunlight."
"God. Gotham never had sunshine all year round before."
"Fun fact, cloudy days don't mean there's no UV. Moreover, plants react faster than people to changes in the natural environment. With sunlight inflation, they'll demand a pay rise too."
"I found it, we need to go to a gardening market six miles away to buy grass seed. Let's go."