The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4156 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Thirty-Eight)
“You always have this illusion that you are an outsider. But humanity is like a whirlpool, and anyone who tries to govern this group from a bystander's perspective will eventually be dragged into the abyss. If you can't be one of us, you can never truly rule us.”

“I’ve thought about this question too,” Brainiac said, “but my way of thinking is fundamentally different from yours. I don’t even know if I have emotions. That’s why I’m trying to make a breakthrough, but unfortunately I still don’t have any clue.”

“You’ve got it backwards,” said Greed. “It’s not about breaking through the life form and then joining us, but about trying to join us first, and then you’ll have a way to break through the life form.”

"Then what do you think of me..."

“I know that you might be thinking of getting a body, joining the warm human family, eating and sleeping with us, participating in community activities, and celebrating holidays together. I don’t object to you doing that, after all, it can also serve a certain purpose in terms of publicity, at least to appease those who have doubts about your life form. Even if it’s an act, you can act like a human being, and I believe your calculation system can do that.”

"I'm also considering whether to create a body for myself, but given the current state of materials science, the bodies that can be created have significant limitations, and I'm not very satisfied with them."

“Ha, greed,” Barry said. “You’re just seeing how great Ultron Zero’s body is, so you think your own creation is inferior, aren’t you?”

Brainiac remained silent, seemingly acquiescing.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Greed said. “Establishing a positive image of being friendly with the people might be useful, but it’s more of a appeasement tool. To truly dismantle and defeat the enemy, you have to start with a negative image.”

Barry was also a bit confused. He said, "What do you mean by starting with a negative image? You mean you want Brainiac to be an evil robot?"

“That’s right,” Greed said, “but not to the general public, but to those who need you to be an evil robot.”

“I still don’t quite understand,” Barry said. “Who would want Brainiac to be an evil robot?”

"Tobias Whele".

"Who exactly is he?" Barry asked, somewhat puzzled.

Just as Brainiac was about to send him some information, Greed bluntly asked, "Do you know Spider-Man?"

"Oh, I know him. I was chatting with him just a couple of days ago."

"Then you must have heard of Kingpin. Tobias is your Kingpin."

Barry suddenly realized, and said, "A very capable, calculating, cold-blooded, and evil mob boss."

"Exactly. Do you really think someone like that would have any faith?"

"Of course not, those kinds of people are the most selfish. They are extreme egoists; as long as it benefits them, they will sing praises to God in the morning and kill God in the afternoon."

“That’s right, Tobias is the same way. So what’s the difference between Darkseid and Brainiac?”

“Hmm… Darkseid had Tobias organize an underground organization and even gave him shielding equipment. But Brainiac only made him the manager of a paint factory.” Barry understood immediately. He said, “These kinds of people only care about the size of the benefit. If Darkseid gives him a big benefit, he’ll help Darkseid. If Brainiac gives him an even bigger benefit, then he’ll help Brainiac.”

“That’s right, exactly. This kind of person doesn’t actually have the fanaticism of converts who want aliens to rule the Earth. He’s in cahoots with Darkseid only because Darkseid gives him greater benefits. If Brainiac gives him greater benefits as well, then he will become Brainiac’s most loyal henchman.”

“But how can Brainiac give him greater benefits?” Barry asked. “Brainiac is building a labor society where everyone is equal, and everyone has their own role. He can’t be above others.”

"You said it yourself, everyone has their own job, so do you think a gang leader who can build an underground organization around the world is only capable of being a manager of a paint factory?"

“Hiss…” Barry stroked his chin and began to think.

“He hadn’t shown any managerial talent before,” Brainiac said. “If you hadn’t contacted him, I wouldn’t have doubted him. There’s plenty of data to back that up.”

"That's not entirely wrong, because you're an electronic life form, and your logic is based on data. So let's examine the logic behind Tobias's lack of talent: is it because he's afraid of you?"

“If he were really afraid of me, he wouldn’t have done these things.”

"Yes, he's hiding his strength not entirely out of fear, but precisely because you seem too kind."

"what?"

"What you want to build is a utopian society where everyone has their own role and resources are distributed according to need. You are very fair, you rely on data and evidence in everything, you don't abandon any vulnerable human being, and you care about the future of their civilization even more than humans do. Do you think you would get along with someone like Tobias?"

“I understand,” Brainiac said. “I acted too righteously, and he felt that we were not on the same side, so he thought that if he showed his evil talents in front of me, I would not only not give him an important position, but I might even arrest him.”

“That’s right, that’s what I meant. Sometimes you have to be an evil robot. Because there are too many evil geniuses on Earth who need to be on the same page as others. If I’m not mistaken, Tobias won’t be the only one.”

“There are indeed many people who are unwilling to work for me, such as Scarecrow Jonathan Klein. The data shows that he has an excellent talent for chemistry, and I wanted him to develop a fertilizer that could increase crop yields, but he would rather go to jail than say a word to me. Even when I put him in the factory laboratory, he did not work hard and could make mistakes in mixing the simplest chemical raw materials.”

"Professor Valentine, the pig-faced professor, was not hostile to me, but he seemed very aloof. He never talked to me much, and he didn't even use any electronic devices or the internet. He spent his days with corpses."

"It seems like Jack the Clown has some issues with me too. Even though I've improved the lives of many truck drivers, he still ignores me and would rather play Solitaire by himself than play cards with me."

“Who would want to play cards with cyber life…” Barry muttered.

“Even Pamela, who has already achieved great success, doesn’t seem to accept my advice to her in her career. As for Halle, the most I ever communicate with her is to help her set a timer for the washing machine.”

“That’s right,” said Greed. “Humans always fear power more than virtue. As the saying goes, good people are often bullied. If you are a fair and just person, no one will be afraid of you because they know you won’t do anything rash over trivial matters. Even if it’s a serious crime, you will be prudent and objective, at most throwing them in jail. What are they afraid of?”

"They also know that if you are like that, then people like them will never truly follow you. 'Nobility is the epitaph of the noble,' keep going like that, and one day your rule will fall apart. You must be strong, authoritative, and unquestionable enough to make more ambitious people realize that you have the ability to get them to go further, follow you, and respect you from the bottom of their hearts."

"It's that shepherd's routine again," Barry sighed.

“I know this is a bit of a cliché, but it’s useful because it’s a classic.” Greed sat down again and said, “Your dilemma is that you understand human nature very well, but not completely. You’re stuck in a limbo. The weak won’t feel that you can truly empathize with them, while the strong will think you’re too weak to lead civilization further. Sometimes, you can’t have it all; choosing both sides is choosing neither.”

"Considering that you are currently unable to transcend your life form and acquire genuine emotions, you only have one path left: become more assertive, truly unite those ambitious geniuses around you, and take the initiative to plunder benefits for human civilization in the universe. Only in this way can we reduce the amount of this ridiculous mess that is created to overthrow you on Earth."

"Like what you did in another world?"

“But then again,” Greed changed the subject, “being too tough can indeed backfire, so we can put a layer of skin over this toughness to mislead others.”

"for example?"

"If he doesn't ask, you don't answer; if he does ask, you're surprised; if he questions you, you apologize; if he gets angry, you promise; and next time, it's the same."

Barry couldn't help but cover his forehead.

"In short, devise a plan that will not change the outcome no matter what anyone does. Over time, they will stop trying to interfere because they know that whatever they do will have the same result."

“That sounds a bit difficult,” Brainiac said. “I’m not sure I can do it as well as you.”

Barry watched as Greed's face visibly lit up. Greed clapped his hands and said, "Since you know your stuff, I can help you this once, but only this once."

"What are you going to do?"

"Simple, just give me a voice changer."

The manager's office at Metropolitan Smith Chemical Plant. A man who looked incredibly obese, like a giant white whale, with a ferocious face and a face full of scars, sat behind a desk, reviewing the month's reports.

"Mr. Tobias Wheel."

"What's wrong, Brainiac? Is there a problem with the supplies inventory?"

"No, you submitted the material statistics report on time and the data was accurate. What I want to talk to you about is something else, namely the terrorist attacks carried out around the world by your illegal association '100' and its members."

Tobias seemed neither surprised nor afraid. He merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? So you already found out. You figured it out faster than I expected. So what do you plan to do? Put me in jail?"

“If I had such intentions, the police would be here. In fact, I have heard from Schiller Rodriguez that you intercepted the Mother Box that was supposed to be offered to Darkseid. What do you think His Majesty the Emperor would do if he knew about this?”

Tobias's expression changed.