As the doorbell chimed softly, Barry walked into the café. The previous shop assistant seemed to be taking inventory of the store's supplies, and seeing someone enter, he was startled.
"Isn't it a curfew now? Oh, right, you're an agent, you should have a special permit, right? Can I see it?"
Barry immediately opened Brainiac's software and showed him the permit interface. This was Brainiac's requirement for everyone: as soon as someone visits, their permit must be checked first. Because at the beginning of the lockdown, many people tried to sneak out or wanted to go to their relatives. If the inspection wasn't strict enough, it would be like there was no lockdown at all.
Seeing the permit, the shop assistant breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled at Barry and said, "My previous shift said someone came to buy coffee, I thought it was the police, but it turned out to be you. Can I ask what happened?"
Actually, Barry wouldn't be able to disclose it, but Brainiac didn't seem to care in the slightest, so Barry went ahead and said it.
"Ah, yes, some important stuff went missing. But it's actually not dangerous goods, just research materials, but there's evidence that maybe aliens did it."
"Oh, God, aliens again. Do aliens have nothing better to do every day? Why do they always have their sights set on Earth?"
"Of course, it's because this place is a treasure land," Barry laughed and said, "Earth's natural environment is pretty good, naturally someone would want to have a go here. More importantly, there are many ancient treasures left behind here, for many, it feels like easy-pickings."
"Is the research material one of them?"
"I'm not really sure about that, after all, I'm not a researcher. But since it got stolen by aliens, it must be something important," Barry nodded and said, "By the way, I smelled a strong pumpkin scent, did you launch something new?"
"Oh, yes," the other person said, "Pumpkin milkshake. But it's not available to the public yet, just for internal staff tasting. The cup I just made hasn't been drunk, do you want to try it?"
"Is it made from a newly cultivated pumpkin variety?"
"Yes, that big pumpkin type. Its fiber is a bit heavy, if not smashed, the texture won't be great, but the pumpkin fragrance is strong, very suitable for making desserts and drinks. Brainiac encourages all dessert shops to try pumpkin-flavored desserts, so far, customer feedback is very positive."
"I also like pumpkin," Barry said with a smile, "Could you make me two pumpkin milkshakes? I'll pay as usual."
The shop assistant quickly placed two large cups of drinks on the counter and said, "This is an undeveloped version, I can't charge you. Please write a review on the software after you drink it, thank you so much."
"Okay, no problem, I will definitely give an honest review. Also, pack me a donut, and one of those pretzels too..."
Barry purchased everything again. In a flash of golden light, he was back in the office. Jenna waved him over, saying, "Take a look at this."
"What is this?" Barry leaned in to ask.
"Notes from one of the eyewitnesses, Principal Xi Wana. He said before they left, he suggested to Brainiac, reminded him not to casually leave precious research material there. But Batman said it was fine."
"That's not normal." Barry furrowed his brows and said, "Batman is always extra cautious with security, as if it were firmer than the earth's crust; how could he say something like that?"
"Unless he knew something in advance." Jenna lowered her head to look at the photos and said, "These photos look odd too."
"What's odd?" Barry leaned over for a look, he hadn't really examined them closely before. But now seeing them, he also felt something wasn't right.
"Too typical," Barry said.
"Exactly. This is a typical theft crime scene: the traces on the windowsill, the footprints on the ground, the disordered files, and the missing stolen items. Even someone with no forensic experience could see what happened here."
"Yeah. But the issue is, Brainiac said this might be the work of superpower users. Where do the superpowers manifest? And why would aliens use such a typical method for theft?"
"So I suspect this scene is fake." Jenna pointed at the picture and said, "They want everyone to know loudly and clearly, this is a theft, someone stole something from here, simple and straightforward enough for anyone to see."
The two exchanged a look, both confirming their suspicions. Then, they stopped discussing the staged crime scene and started analyzing the stolen items instead.
However, they didn't know much about the Mother Box, their conversation just circled the same points. Barry's keen hearing caught several noises from the staircase, and every time they heard something, they would knowingly glance at each other, sharing a mysterious smile.
At Wayne Manor, Jason found the Primary Universe Batman in the underground laboratory. He was a bit surprised and said, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the original lab?"
"Ah? Some equipment is only available here," Primary Universe Batman replied vaguely. Jason didn't ask more questions, placing the prepared risotto on the table beside him and said, "No matter how busy research gets, you still need to eat on time."
"Thank you, Jason," the Primary Universe Batman said sincerely. "Your cooking is really good. Yesterday's burger might be the best cheese burger I've ever had."
"You say that as if you've eaten a lot of burgers," Jason laughed, "This should be junk food for you, right?"
The Primary Universe Batman shook his head and said, "I said, when I need to replenish high-calorie food, I'll do it. But I also admit, when such times come, I'm mostly not in the mood to savor the food carefully. Yesterday was an exception."
"I'm glad you put so much effort into finding a reasonable excuse for your compliments to me. I'm very pleased, thank you."
After Jason left, the Primary Universe Batman watched his back in a daze. Then, as if possessed, he opened his phone and searched "British Classical Literature Major" on Brainiac's software.
"Stop searching," Brainiac timely reminded him, "It's evident that it wasn't this major that changed Jason. Don't hold unrealistic fantasies, Batman. I don't think I need to remind you to focus on work."
"You don't need to remind me of anything," the Primary Universe Batman said, "Of course, I know it wasn't just this major that changed Jason, but if I search Schiller Rodriguez here, you won't be happy."
Brainiac simply remained silent. Regarding anything about Schiller, he displayed a kind of passive resistance. Rather than resistance, it was more of an evasion, though he usually couldn't avoid it.
After failing to make Greed spit out those three medical packs, Brainiac chose not to continue replenishing because it's likely that however much he sends, Greed will swallow it. Anyway, if something really happens, Greed will spit them out.
Now a new problem was troubling Brainiac, which is that the agent insisted on leaving. He tried reasoning and emotional appeal, to no avail.
Although it was unclear why this agent gentleman was adamant about not living with his counterpart, Brainiac also understood that he seemed unable to force him to stay here. So, he had to move the agent to the Federation Shield's office.
When Barry saw the agent, he wasn't surprised. Although he didn't know what kind of scheme Brainiac was up to, if they truly had any enemy to deal with, the agent would undoubtedly be the best ally.
It's not that others aren't good allies, but undoubtedly, the cost of requesting the agent's help is the lowest, and he's always willing to help, acts decisively, has precise gun skills, and is a good ally in any matter.
However, Jenna seemed to see such a young Schiller for the first time and was a bit surprised, circling around the agent a few times but saw no abnormalities. So she continued discussing the class content with Barry.
Before they spoke a few sentences, the agent sighed deeply, "I thought that leaving Arrogant's house and coming here, I could escape those dreadful psychoanalysis theories. It turns out you are also Arrogant's pupils. What has this world come to?"
"You don't know the Psychoanalysis Method?!" The two of them seemed to have discovered a new continent, and they crowded around the agent, staring intently at him.
"I thought it was an advantage for a person not to talk in their sleep."
"Oh—" The two called out in unison and then scattered. The agent reached for the photos, carefully looked through them, shook his head, and said, "What's Greed up to?"
The two "whooshed" back over, then said, "Greed? You're saying this is Doctor Schiller's doing? How do you know?"
The agent chuckled, extended two fingers, and then said, "Even if you study the Psychoanalysis Method, you must remember two points: first, anything strange that happens where Greed is present can't be unrelated to him; second, in any matters involving Greed, if there's any place that confuses you, just think of him."
Barry and Jenna exchanged a glance, seemingly finding this way of judgment too hasty. But the agent threw the pile of photos and said, "If you don't believe it, let's make a bet and see if this theft case is related to Greed."
Barry licked his lips and said, "If it's related, hearing or expressing opinions also counts as related."
"Then let's bet whether this matter is primarily orchestrated by Greed, with Brainiac merely a secondary player."
"Okay," Barry nodded and said, "But how are we going to verify?"
"Of course, we'll ask him directly," the agent said. "Greed never has secret plans. If you want to know what he's planning, it's best to ask him directly. That way, you can prevent him from saying, 'It's not that I didn't say, but you never asked me in the first place.'"
"That's too rash," Barry couldn't help but say, "Aren't these behind-the-scenes manipulators all like Riddler? They never reveal their plans until the last minute, and even if the plan is completed, they'll hide it for decades before revealing it."
"Of course not, at least Greed isn't," the agent shook his head, stood up, and said, "He doesn't need to hide his plans because, regardless of who he hides them from, the outcome is irreversible. If you don't believe it, try it."
Barry hesitated slightly, but he still decided to make the run. Because although they were ready to relax due to Brainiac's many oddities, they weren't entirely at ease. If they could learn the truth from Greed, they wouldn't need to go against their conscience.
And he, with the Divine Speed, was clearly the best choice for this run. With a "whoosh," he disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was at Schiller's house.
Arrogant and Greed weren't indoors but were gardening in the backyard. When Barry found Greed and asked this question, Greed showed a reminiscent expression and then said, "Oh, so it's this matter. I was just about to tell you my plan."