Diana silently held her forehead, unsure what to say for a moment. From Clark's words, it seemed that the resurrected Amanda was planning to assassinate the president. However, the hitman or broker she hired was Schiller Rodriguez.
Barry was somewhat confused and said, "What about Amanda? What's going on with her and Schiller?"
Thinking about the woman he killed with his own hands, Clark's face turned very grim. Even if his own death was part of Batman's plan, Amanda's actions were far beyond these sins.
Amanda's actions showed just how insane and reckless she was. She dared to persecute even Superman without restraint, let alone ordinary people. Over the years, who knows how many of her subordinates have died, she is practically a scourge to the human race.
Actually, Clark thought that compared to Amanda, he could even tolerate Luther. Because Luther only targeted him alone. Whether you say he has paranoia or hate born from love, at least he didn't involve others.
Luther knew he would weaken without the power of the Yellow Sun, so he planned to send himself back to Krypton, where there is no Yellow Sun, to weaken himself, making escape impossible. If it were Amanda, she would have just blown up the Yellow Sun directly.
This is not an exaggeration. Although Luther doesn't appear too smart, at least he is not anti-human. He deals with him on the basis of ensuring his own interests and has the basic wisdom and logic. But Amanda is different; this guy is purely a madman who disregards consequences. Back then, daring to push him into such a situation without fear of perishing together with Earth showed her nature clearly.
Actually, ever since the power of the God of Death emerged, though I've been meticulously causing chaos, nothing has been achieved. Clark was wary, but not to the extent of feeling like facing a great enemy. But when the thought occurred to him that Amanda might have been resurrected, a single thought filled Clark's mind: "God of Death, you better not let me catch you, or you'll face dire consequences."
Before, he couldn't accept killing. Since killing Amanda, he found it hard to accept the revival of the dead.
Seeing Clark's upset expression, Diana quickly stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and, like comforting a child, patted his back to soothe him while saying, "It's okay. Resurrected enemies are all defeated ones, we can defeat them once, we can defeat them twice."
Clark knew well enough that Amanda wasn't hard to deal with. But thinking of having to drag this rat out of its hole to kill it again made him feel sick.
"But why would she think of finding Schiller?" Barry was puzzled, "Does Schiller seem like a very kind person? Why does everyone go to him?"
This left both Clark and Diana speechless. Is it we who go to him? No, it's him taking advantage of the situation!
"Schiller is the president's secretary," Clark said, "and he also previously served as the head of A.R.G.U.S., considered Amanda's successor. While in office, he accomplished nothing and turned the situation into a mess, but Amanda died too early; she didn't know."
"True." Diana remembered and couldn't help but laugh awkwardly. The thing is, if Schiller were seriously employed, he wouldn't accomplish a single thing and would just hold others back, but when secretly messing around, he stirred up storms and called down lightning.
Take A.R.G.U.S. for example, during his tenure, he did just one thing, which was moving the Capitol Building back. His way of handling it was not merely failing to meet expectations; it exemplified phrases like 'the front is tight while the rear is devoured,' 'an incapable commander leads to the army's demise,' 'small mistakes lead to big losses,' all things Diana witnessed first-hand.
Getting things done is not easy, but making a mess out of things to such an extent is even harder. Among all the Justice League, he couldn't get along with a single one, offending everyone, akin to a complete disaster in a fill-in-the-blank test. Having him as the head of A.R.G.U.S. was truly a boon for Congress.
Recalling Schiller's "glorious achievements," Diana couldn't help but chuckle. If this was indeed Amanda's doing, her biggest mistake was formally hiring Schiller—leave it to him, and you might as well invite disaster.
And indeed, the reality was: the methods used couldn't incite public opinion; the bullet that hit caused no harm; the process of the crime made it easy for others to deduce. After a whole lot of bustling, nothing happened to Clark, and the culprit was conspicuously revealed.
Clark also realized that when you assign Schiller a task he doesn't want to do, he won't refuse; he might even be very eager to do it. First, he'd devise a seemingly flawless plan and execute it perfectly. Everyone would be busy sweating, and looking back, having no results would be a blessing; in reality, it was all pitfalls he dug for himself.
For instance, in winter, if you tasked him with creating an ice sculpture, he'd go about drafting designs, finding raw materials, meticulously acquiring tools and carving, only to keep busy through summer. In the end, there's neither ice nor sculpture, just random water from the melted ice drowning three unlucky allies.
Both Clark and Diana felt that this was, in a way, a skill. During their careers, they each had encountered tasks they couldn't delegate but difficult to refuse. Both had the temperament to grit their teeth and accept, given their superpowers; they could just forgo sleep and work overtime.
But the more you retreat in such matters, the more some people gained an inch and wanted a foot. Both had their moments of great anger, but after deliberation, they realized there was no other option but to offend people if they refused.
Thus, both started silently pondering how Schiller managed to foul up every task he didn't want to do.
As they pondered, they figured out a bit of the pattern.
For instance, when many people take on tasks they don't want to do, they dawdle, delay, or do a sloppy job, but this is actually the worst method.
If you take on work that others dislike, they owe you a favor. However, if you have a bad attitude or do a poor job, slowing down team progress and angering your superiors, don't even expect a favor in return; you're lucky if they don't scold you.
Not doing a good job results in wasting your own time, getting no gratitude, and worsening your mood—it's a complete loss.
So is working diligently like an old ox the solution? Not really. Clark and Diana are like nuclear-powered mules, working at a speed comparable to a neutron star, yet still get annoyed.
It's not that they can't do follow-up work, but some people's attitudes are infuriating, seeing you as easy to bully. Anyone treated like that would be filled with resentment, and over time it becomes mentally exhausting.
The right approach is like Shiller: not only am I busy, but everyone must see it. I dedicate myself wholeheartedly, sparing no effort; striving for perfection with no stone unturned. I share the work's triumphs and setbacks—when it thrives, I thrive; when it fails, I fail.
The key to performing like this is to create a sense of conflict. If you're doing paperwork, don't stay at your desk—wander around the building with urgency. If someone asks, casually complain, saying "I was supposed to be doing clerical work, but now my legs are worn thin."
If you're doing physical labor, occasionally think deeply, or drag someone into a discussion, or check many materials. If someone asks, say "I did physical work for peace of mind, yet now I have to rack my brain."
It's only by using unconventional methods that you show your diligence and willingness to take on any task. For example, when Shiller was an action-oriented conman, he stayed in the A.R.G.U.S. base making calls; when he became an office-based presidential secretary, he personally went out to assassinate the president.
How could Congress and Amanda find fault with him? After all, this wasn't his expertise. Spending a day in a non-professional field, trying his best and leaving the outcome to destiny. If things didn't work out, it was just fate's decision.
This level of effort makes those who avoided the work owe you a big favor. Sure, they may not be grateful, but if any conflict arises later, you can stand on moral high ground and say, "Back when there was that task no one wanted to do, I took it on and worked so hard, and now you treat me like this."
If you're a regular person, after all this effort, you can choose not to deliver results. For instance, clearly a certain thing was needed, yet you deliver something else; clearly another procedure was more efficient, yet you chose the long route. Ultimately, it's as bad as it can be, and if asked, just say you've done your best.
Of course, an expert might cause a bit of trouble deliberately. For instance, clearly able to finish the task alone, you involve staff from the leader's rival department; clearly it's enough, yet you nitpick each step, dragging everyone to work overtime.
After pulling this trick a couple of times, no one will assign you difficult tasks again. Of course, this is only for those not seeking promotion or aiming for something different. Just like Shiller; he wasn't working for the government, he had his own plans and pace, so he could use this tactic against Congress and Amanda, then do his own things privately.
Indeed, Shiller's skill level is higher; he can use the ineffective busywork outputs to achieve his own secret goals.
For instance, Congress asks him to move the Capitol Building, he causes a fuss, failing to move it, yet the Justice League ends up more united, which was his intention.
Or, Amanda hires him to assassinate the president, he makes a lot of noise, yet the president is unharmed, while Amanda, trying to stay hidden, is reasoned out by the Justice League.
Clark realized that this was one of Shiller's goals. Amanda was probably back long ago, just hidden, brewing a plot, while he remained oblivious.
But after this assassination attempt, with all its flaws and loopholes, he connected it to Amanda, recalling how the power of Death can revive people, deducing that Death had changed strategy to start reviving their enemies, and Amanda may already be resurrected.
Clark even suspected Amanda hadn't planned to assassinate him; Shiller might have thrown a juicy bait to lure him in.
Diana seemed to have realized this too; she looked at Clark and saw him looking at her. Diana voiced her speculation: "Shiller must have planted something in the stolen Metropolitan Museum files, giving Amanda the confidence to strike a fatal blow."
"Kryptonite," Clark stated the key point, "The files likely detailed how to acquire large amounts of Kryptonite and the 'correct' method for using it to kill Kryptonians. Only then would Amanda have dared to consider that."
"It's undoubtedly Shiller's fabrication. He knew you were immune, creating this setup to force Amanda's hand, to remind us that she's back."