Jason leaned in with interest, lowering his voice, "What do you mean?"
"If it's true that Darkseid is behind this, and their team is progressing so poorly, Darkseid should know by now. If he finds there's something he wants more on Earth, wouldn't he make a move to steal it?"
"Not necessarily," Jason replied, "It would depend on how important it is to him. Otherwise, he might not risk exposing Earth's power just to get it."
"We know what matters most to him. Every universe's Darkseid is after the Anti-Life Equation. If we tell him there's a chance to get the Anti-Life Equation here, he's very likely to act. If he does, it proves it's him. After all, not many deeply understand the Anti-Life Equation—it certainly wouldn't be Batman, right?"
Jason nodded and said, "That's a pretty good idea. But precisely because he knows a lot about the Anti-Life Equation, it would be hard for us to fool him. How do we make him believe we really have the Anti-Life Equation?"
"We don't have to trick him, because the Anti-Life Equation is indeed with us." Tim glanced at the arrogant umbrella at the door. Jason also glanced at that umbrella, and the two exchanged a look, shouting in unison, "Professor—!!!"
"No way." The Arrogant one, who was cutting vegetables, didn't even blink, "Don't mess with my umbrella."
"Oh, dear Professor," Tim twirled like a ballet dancer, floating to the island platform, lying on it, "We won't touch your umbrella, we just need the graffiti on it..."
"No." Arrogant refused decisively, then said, "If you're so idle, go and turn over the ground in the backyard."
Tim and Jason exchanged another glance. Tim gave Jason a look, and the two went to the backyard together.
At that moment, Arrogant's phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Good afternoon, Batman. What's up? ... Yes, he's a fairly reliable magician. I think this will help your research. Yes. Okay, see you tonight."
"How's it going?" Greed asked.
Arrogant shook his head and said, "Haven't figured anything out. Maybe it's too short a time, and there's not enough professional equipment here. No idea what Brainiac plans to do."
"It'll be figured out eventually," Greed said.
Night quickly fell. Guests began arriving one after another. Dick and Raven arrived quite early as well. Arrogant went out to greet them. Raven, however, was frowning, looking around.
"What's the matter, ma'am?"
Raven pursed her lips, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Dick nudged her arm gently and said, "Not feeling well? It's okay, maybe you can go upstairs and rest for a while."
"No. I feel like there's some kind of special force nearby, but it's very faint. Maybe it's just my illusion," Raven said, unsure.
"Oh, that makes sense. Earlier today, the principal came by because of an unusual energy fluctuation," Arrogant said, "Maybe you felt that same fluctuation."
Raven breathed a sigh of relief, "Scared me for a moment. I thought today's main course was some special elk again."
Hearing this, Dick got a bit worried. He looked at Arrogant and said, "It's not, right, Professor?"
"Don't worry, it's not," Arrogant said helplessly.
Hearing his assurance, the two also breathed a sigh of relief. As they were heading to the backyard, Raven whispered, "I just thought that force was quite peaceful, didn't feel any resentment or anger. I even thought the Professor's method today was a bit humanitarian..."
Then there were the Victor couple and Billy. Billy seemed to sense something too, but being a kid, he didn't care much. Seeing someone turning over soil in the yard, he ran over shouting.
Bruce and Selina arrived together, bringing Aisha with them. Arrogant and Selina hugged briefly, then he said, "How are you feeling now, ma'am?"
"Much better," Selina sighed with relief, "Since Aisha moved up a grade, the parents' quality improved a lot. I finally don't have to deal with that pile of troublesome matters."
Arrogant smiled at her. Bruce peered around the back door, then asked, "Is Tim here too? Is he done with his work?"
"I heard Drake Industries has been fully automated, so he should be free for a while. Aren't you considering suggesting he get a degree or something?"
"I have thought about it. But even if he does, I bet he'll choose to accompany Jason and study in a European university. In that case, Alfred would surely choose to take care of them, and then insist I send Dick and Aisha as well. We might as well just immigrate to Europe altogether."
"No way!" Selina immediately objected vehemently. If she were a cat, she'd have her back arched by now. She shouted at Bruce, "Don't you dare make me adapt to England's gloomy weather after finally getting away from Gotham's!"
"I thought you'd miss those days," Bruce caressed her as they walked towards the back door.
"Hell no, who would miss overcast days? I go to the garden to bask in the sun every day now. If you want to go to England, go yourself. Aisha stays with me."
"I never said I wanted to go..."
Then the Primary Universe Batman arrived. He began discussing his research on the Mother Box and said, "So far, there isn't anything particularly special about it, just a very unique energy fluctuation. It's precisely because of this energy that the internal structure is shielded, making it somewhat difficult to probe without damaging the box. Brainiac and I are looking for a solution."
"After all, it's Origin Power, not easy to deal with," Arrogant said, "Take it slow. But I heard you made a system to score Brainiac?"
"Oh, yes. The biggest flaw of entities governing Earth is actually the lack of external oversight. If it's impossible to scrutinize from a third-party perspective, then if any problems arise, those enveloped within it may not be able to react swiftly, or might even indulge in the lapse due to inertia, accelerating the downfall. Hence, having an external perspective is very important. You are also part of the Multiverse; I believe I have the responsibility to help you."
Arrogant nodded and said, "That's indeed the best way. After all, there's not just one universe where individuals govern Earth. All these universes need oversight, and you're probably the only one they all trust."
"I'm happy to help them," Primary Universe Batman said, "Not just Brainiac, but every ruler of Earth, I will assess. If they encounter any issues, I will use the power of the Multiverse to correct and resolve them."
"Every individual governing Earth must have some redeeming quality accepted by the public. This merit likely overshadows their flaws. I always believe that the Human race is not merely lambs to be slaughtered, not something that any random entity can become the king of Earth. If the counterpart is truly a scoundrel through and through, naturally someone will put them in their place. Any stable regime must have its merits. I also don't think that the regime evolved from the universe I inhabit is necessarily better than theirs. Both have their pros and cons and should complement each other's strengths. My so-called oversight is merely because I am not part of it; I can provide a clearer and more prudent perspective, not because I am superior to them in capability or morals."
A round of applause came from the kitchen. While Greed was stewing the dish, he still found the time to clap. As he stirred the pot, he said, "Batman, I advise you not to talk about these things so often in front of me..."
"Why?"
"...If you don't want me to become a Multiverse kidnapper," Greed completed.
Primary Universe Batman laughed.
Then Pamela arrived. Before entering, she checked the two trees at the door and nodded, saying, "There shouldn't be any problem now."
"I apologize once again for the loss of control over the chestnut tree, Professor. I brought some Sri Lanka tea."
"Please, come in, ma'am."
People trickled in one after another. Then the dishes started being served. Actually, even before they hit the table, the aroma was so tantalizing that everyone roared, pounded the table, and silently screamed.
Greed and Arrogant teamed up to make over a dozen dishes. Some are quite authentic Chinese cuisine, like spicy boiled fish, stir-fried pork, white-cut chicken, etc. Some are modified, like the sweet-and-sour enhanced Kung Pao chicken, roast goose with plum sauce, fried lamb chops, and lamb soup, etc.
"In the far East, there's a tradition of eating lamb to warm up," Greed said, "Eastern people consider lamb to be a nourishing meat, well-suited for autumn. This lamb soup has been simmering for several hours. Help yourselves with the seasonings and see how it tastes."
Everyone started adding vinegar, salt, MSG, and pepper to their bowls. Indeed, they hadn't self-seasoned before, so initially, they were a bit flustered; some couldn't pour the salt, some added too much vinegar. But fortunately, they managed.
"And then, this." Greed brought over a basket containing some not-so-common Western pastries. He said, "This is baked sesame flatbread, meant to go with the lamb soup. This is a steamed bun, this is a gluten pancake..."
"My goodness, are you sure this was all prepared in one day?" Jason couldn't help but marvel, "Do you have eight hands?"
"Haha, it's not unrelated to your laziness that white people's meal has developed into such an appalling state today. We had nearly 12 hours of preparation time; why couldn't we make it?" Greed said with slight disdain.
Jason was at a loss for words. Then Greed continued, "I know you haven't cooked much, but who told you to study abroad in England? If you study there for another year, you might become a better cook than me."
"No... no way." Jason was genuinely a bit anxious.
Arrogant gave Greed a look to stop scaring the kid. Who knew Greed would continue, "Oh, how could I forget, you grew up on white people's food, you should be able to adapt."
"That sounds even more desperate," Jason said, "I grew up on white people's food, and I still need to adapt. How on Earth did the Brits create those anti-human foods?"
"I should rethink the idea of having you as a companion," Tim said with a smirk, "If I go, I'd rather go to Italy and Spain, where the sun is bright, the food is plentiful, and the people are pretty friendly."
And Dick grinned, saying, "Luckily, I learned French in advance; I'm definitely going to France. There's plenty of French food too."
"Oh, dear, why did I ever think it was a good idea to choose Oxford," Jason downed a large gulp of soup, his gesture resembling someone taking a swig of hard liquor. Then he lamented, "Not only are the prices high, the weather is bad, there's no good food, the teaching quality is so-so, and the people are especially peculiar... save me."
"I advised you," Bruce said, "It was you who said nothing could be wrong with Alfred's homeland. But why didn't you think, if it were indeed so good, why would he leave it?"
Everyone burst out laughing. Jason's face was a sign of distress. And Tim delivered the final blow, "Back then, we all suggested you go for a one-year program, but out of your love for classical literature, you resolutely chose the three-year program. If you had chosen the one-year, you'd almost be graduating by now."
A burst of merry laughter erupted at the table again, with Jason lifting his soup bowl to conceal his face, resembling a sorrowful albatross.