The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4433 Dark Prelude (18)

Bruce had learned through the Battle Channel that Batmen in other universes were all developing magic, and each one was progressing faster and more rapidly than the last. His own universe was already facing disaster, and if he didn't take a shortcut, he would never catch up.

Perhaps in an effort to help a less developed universe, the main universe's Batman subtly revealed to him who the biggest easy target to exploit in any single universe was. Bruce, naturally, readily accepted this offer and set his sights on Mount Olympus.

So far, every Batman who has targeted Mount Olympus has succeeded. It's truly a fat sheep that anyone can fleece. However, the older Batman is indeed more particular; he wants a legitimate reason, a justifiable cause.

Never mind who caused the explosion, and never mind why the Justice League was on Mount Olympus. The point is, a Justice League member was near a massive explosion capable of destroying an entire temple. This happened on your turf, so you, Zeus, are responsible. Humanity is currently facing many challenges and doesn't have time for you. But once Batman is free, you'll have to make some contributions to humanity's magical defense network.

In short, this was a three-pronged strategy. First, it resolved Diana's emotional distress, allowing her to at least see her sisters one more time.

Then, Victor was able to conveniently acquire the Mother Box from the Amazon Queen. This was not easy; it would have been difficult to achieve through ordinary means, since it was someone else's property, not something that could be obtained simply by asking.

Although Diana was the one who carried out the attack, the Amazonian queen didn't lose out. After all, the previous casualties were indeed heavy, a major blow to the Amazons. Now that the warriors have been resurrected, the queen's prestige can rise to another level.

Another very important point is that this time, Hera was severely humiliated. The Amazon queen and Hera have never gotten along, and with such a major incident on Mount Olympus, Hera's face was ashen, and the Amazon queen was quite pleased.

Finally, and most importantly for Batman, it gave him a legitimate excuse to storm Mount Olympus. The answer was simple: to avenge the Justice League and borrow your head for a purpose.

Of course, there was also an unexpected surprise that Bruce hadn't anticipated. Just as he and Schiller were planning their next move, Arthur suddenly appeared, carrying the cube in his hand.

Bruce went to greet him, and Arthur immediately shoved the cube into Bruce's arms. This was also the first time Schiller had ever seen this cunning and treacherous bat, and he was genuinely frightened.

Bruce froze, holding the cube, unsure whether to pick it up or throw it away, fearing that it would explode if he moved it even slightly.

Arthur, however, was quite pleased with his prank. He laughed heartily, then clapped his hands and said, "I can't handle it, so you can have it."

Bruce snapped out of his daze, carefully placed the cube on the lab table beside him, and asked, "What's wrong?"

“Atlantis can’t keep such a treasure,” Arthur shook his head and said. “Greed is the root of all evil. And Atlantis can’t withstand any more shocks. Anyway, no one will use it if it’s in our hands, and it’ll only attract unwanted attention. We might as well just give it to you and see what you do with it.”

“You’re very smart, Arthur,” Bruce said sincerely.

"I can't keep up with you, Batman. There's no need to send Victor here; Atlantis can't withstand a bombing."

Upon hearing this, Bruce knew that Arthur had seen through the whole affair on Mount Olympus, and that he was also dissatisfied. Bruce thought for a moment, then said, "One hundred billion."

"What?" Arthur asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Over the next three years, Wayne Enterprises will invest $100 billion in marine conservation and waste removal, striving to do its part for the healthy development of the Earth's oceans."

"Cough cough cough cough cough cough cough!!!" Arthur nearly choked to death. This wasn't just ordinary money power; this was the ultimate money-powered individual. He could casually utter a hundred billion; even a printing press would have to print that much money for a while!

Bruce, however, seemed completely oblivious. He said, "It's up to you how to use this money. After all, no one knows the ocean better than Aquaman. Of course, there are also many professionals within the group at your disposal. If you feel that's not enough, I can persuade Alexander Luther. After all, the Luther Group is also part of the Coastline Group. If you're willing to show off your skills, the estimated investment might rise to two hundred billion."

"No, no, no! That's enough! That's enough!!" Arthur quickly waved his hands and said, "That's enough, you alone are enough. If this continues, I can't guarantee that I'll still be a good person whose soul won't be corrupted by money. In fact, I can't really guarantee that anymore."

“I don’t quite understand what you mean,” Bruce shook his head and said, “The Atlanteans are part of the ocean, and you are their leader. Protecting you is protecting the sea people, and protecting the sea people is protecting the ocean. These terms will be written into the project and foundation’s treaty. You can absolutely…”

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop!" Arthur's hands were already flashing, his beard was standing on end, and he was in a state of complete agitation. In the end, he didn't even have time to say anything more and simply fled in panic.

Schiller smiled as he watched him walk away, then said, "You really know how to do things."

"The Justice League revolves around me. I can naturally help them in my own way. I'm going to personally deliver this to Dr. Stone. You keep an eye on the Presidential Palace."

“Don’t worry,” Schiller said, “I’m coming right now.”

The presidential palace was originally located in Washington, D.C., but Clark disliked the location and found it too far from the Justice League, making communication inconvenient. So he simply went back to his old ways and moved the presidential palace to the Metropolitan Government—a physical relocation.

Now, the White House and Wayne Tower stand facing each other, just a ten-minute drive from Justice Hall. Security is certainly far worse than in Washington, but the president doesn't really need security anymore.

This made things convenient for Schiller. He was just in the Batcave, working on plans with Batman, and now he could be at the Presidential Palace without missing a beat.

Back at the presidential palace, Clark was still working diligently. Schiller handed him the documents and then said, "The people keeping watch discovered that someone has returned to Dr. O'Dr.'s lab in Colorado in the last few days. It looks like they went to retrieve some equipment."

"They didn't catch them?"

"They haven't made a move yet; they're playing the long game. The agents following those people report that they're heading towards the east coast. This proves that Dr. O'De shouldn't be far from us."

“We need to find him as soon as possible, or he might explode at any time,” Clark said with some worry. “Can Dr. O’Dr’s equipment observe Mars?”

"It used to be possible."

"Then now..."

“It’s normal for equipment to be out of commission due to aging,” Schiller said. “Besides, Dr. O’De destroyed a lot of data before he died. NASA has also lost track of this technology. It’s unlikely that the machine can be restored, but they might choose to give it a try.”

"Keep an eye on the space agency and the production lines for all kinds of usable parts; that should be enough to catch them red-handed."

“This is good news for us,” Schiller continued. “The fact that they still need equipment, instead of just releasing information and stirring up public opinion, proves that they feel they don’t have enough evidence, or that it’s not detailed enough.”

“It might just be Dr. Oed’s opinion,” Clark said. “After all, we really did catch a bunch of imposters. Experts from all fields have studied them. Barry’s parents died a long time ago, but now there are two people who look exactly like them. That’s irrefutable proof that Martians exist. Dr. Oed is an expert, and he’ll believe the scientists’ findings more than others. That’s why he wants to investigate further.”

“I think it’s another reason,” Schiller said. “Perhaps his research data is more inclined to believe that the current situation is true.”

Clark narrowed his eyes, and Schiller continued, "Remember Colonel Jones? Did you initially realize he was Martian?"

Clark was taken aback, then suddenly realized, and said, "So Martians really do have the ability to disguise themselves? This isn't something you guys made up?!"

"That's Bruce's brilliance. His lie was nine-tenths false, but that one-tenth of it was true, making it impossible for anyone to refute. Martians can disguise themselves to be exactly like humans."

Schiller took a breath and continued, "I don't know much about Martians either, but I've heard that they don't simply disguise themselves, but rather undergo molecular-level recombination. That is to say, if they become human, then their molecular composition is human. No one can detect it."

“No wonder I couldn’t tell,” Clark said.

“Dr. Ode, having had close contact with Martians, must know about their abilities. Ron must have told him, or even demonstrated them to him. So, even if he knows that Martians are extinct, he can't guarantee that no other Martians have come to Earth like Ron. He can't determine whether they exist or how many. Therefore, his assessment of the current situation must be conservative.”

Clark nodded, agreeing with Schiller. If Dr. Oder had retained his research expertise and spirit, he wouldn't have asserted that the current situation was entirely fabricated; he would have simply felt that time had passed and circumstances had changed.

However, those who are manipulating him behind the scenes don't see it that way. Whether it's the person who resurrected him or the person who took him away, their goal is to overturn the current situation.

The Martian invasion has heightened people's vigilance against the resurrected, which is clearly not what the so-called Grim Reaper wanted. Confirming the lie would greatly benefit him. And those scheming opponents, naturally, also wanted to use this to bring Clark down.

That's why they rushed to the lab to get the original equipment back and force Dr. O'De to study it, so that he could produce more conclusive evidence to prove that the Martians were extinct and that the Martian invasion was a complete lie.

It wasn't that they didn't want to fabricate something out of thin air. The problem was that experts worldwide had already confirmed that Barry's parents were dead, and the resurrected couple were imposters—this was substantial enough evidence. Dr. O'De's evidence alone wasn't enough, nor were his previous research findings. More conclusive evidence was needed to overturn the verdict.

“Waiting like this isn’t a solution.” Clark thought for a moment, then looked at Schiller and said, “Aren’t you the best at fishing? Try casting a line and catching them all.”

Schiller looked at him and smiled: "Yes, Mr. President."

Happy New Year everyone!!!