Ron turned around, his gaze sweeping over the laboratory as memories in his mind began to gradually resurface. After Dr. Erdel's death, Ron was heartbroken and left this place in a daze, never returning. It was precisely to avoid disappointing the doctor that he strove to overcome the shadows of the past, avoiding always recalling the past tragedies. Hence, his memory of the laboratory had become somewhat blurred.
But standing here at this moment, he realized that he had never forgotten. Every bit of his interactions with the doctor emerged little by little in the familiar scene. While the doctor conducted experiments, Ron would lean against the lab table and chat with him; in the mornings and evenings, he would sneak out to make coffee for both of them using the machine in the break room. He would add six packets of sugar to his own cup of coffee. It was also here that he first tasted the Oreo cookies that the doctor brought him, the sweetest and most delicious cookies he had ever had.
In his memory, the doctor was always sitting in front of various machines or standing before a computer analyzing data... Wait a minute. Ron looked towards that familiar spot—where's the computer???
Back in those days, the laboratory still used those old bulky computers, the kind with a big bulging back, originally placed in the corner at the end of the room. But at this moment, there was nothing there.
Ron quickly walked over and inspected it thoroughly, but apart from the dust-covered desk, there were no electronic products left. He distinctly remembered that besides the computer, there were floppy disks in the drawer and data storage devices underneath, along with countless tangled wires. Where did they all go?
Ron crouched there, inspecting carefully, and then discovered that some unusual traces were hidden beneath the thick dust—someone had been here, and not just one person.
The dust covered the footprints but couldn't completely obscure them, leaving slight marks at the bottom of the dust. Ron took a deep breath, exhaling a gust of wind that nearly blew away all the dust, exposing more traces left in the laboratory to his eyes.
Judging from the footprints alone, at least five people had broken in here, and they did so not long after the laboratory was abandoned. They first lingered by the door, then started searching near the lab table, and eventually reached the computer area, circling around several times and then taking away all the electronic devices.
Their actions weren't rough, meaning it wasn't a robbery but a relocation. They meticulously dismantled all the wires without breaking any; when moving the computer, they were very careful, leaving no signs of violent damage. Moreover, each of them wore gloves, leaving no fingerprints.
Ron just needed a glance to understand that this group was definitely professional, not some thieves who had stumbled in or cleaners. They were well-trained agents, and the computer was their target.
The reason for this assumption was because nothing else on the lab table was touched, and those large instruments and devices remained in their places. Logically, those items would be the most valuable, yet they were left untouched for decades until today, but the computer and all data disks were taken away.
Ron kept combing through his memories, starting to analyze frame by frame the anomalies before Dr. Erdel's death. Suddenly, he recalled that the doctor received a phone call, and after hanging up, he looked troubled. Ron asked who called, and he said it was an old classmate.
Dr. Erdel graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ron didn't know his specific major, but it should be related to astronomy, or he wouldn't have been researching Mars. Since it was his old classmate, they should also be from MIT.
Ron flew directly to MIT and began a lengthy search. He didn't believe that Dr. Erdel would leave no trace at all; surely, some clues could be found deep in the archives.
Sure enough, after spending two whole days and nights combing through records in a phased-out state, he actually found a clue. It was a printed research proposal. Since the research group had over twenty people, Dr. Erdel's name was mixed in, so it might have been overlooked by those clearing the materials.
The title of the research proposal was very complex, and Ron couldn't understand it at all. However, the report indicated that this was a research group focused on cosmic medicine.
Cosmic medicine essentially studies the physiological changes of humans in space environments, essentially an interdisciplinary field encompassing astronomy, aerospace, biology, medicine, and chemistry, in which Dr. Erdel was responsible for providing expertise in cosmology.
Upon seeing the word "medicine," Ron narrowed his eyes. He realized that this research group was no ordinary team. Due to Dr. Erdel being a very reclusive person who didn't follow the trend of the time by studying the Moon and instead focused solely on Mars, never married, had no family or friends, and was rather distant from the academic community, he maintained an independent laboratory based solely on his rock-solid research capabilities, without relying on social networking.
This could have been Dr. Erdel's only opportunity to interact with researchers related to medicine. If he was indeed killed by a new drug, the murderer might be hidden within the list of researchers.
Ron began investigating everyone on the list one by one, eventually determining that three people on the list were medical students. Now, he just needed to ascertain where these three students ended up.
But by now, his own efforts were insufficient. To track the whereabouts of these three individuals, the system to be investigated was too complex, requiring access to employment records from major hospitals at the very least. Ron was not skilled in hacking, and he didn't have the time to manually search one by one. So, he brought the list to Wayne Manor for a visit.
However, the old housekeeper Alfred, who had already returned, informed him that Bruce Wayne was away and might not be back until the next day. Ron also knew that this matter couldn't be rushed, so he stayed at Wayne Manor.
At this moment, while he wasn't at the manor, Bruce was actually in Central City's downtown, helping Barry move.
Barry placed a large box of miscellaneous items into the Batmobile's trunk. Bruce watched him, slightly frowning. Barry seemed to realize he might have gone too far, saying, "This is the last box, really."
"You said that half an hour ago. Sir, I can understand posters or figures. And six different colors of the same baseball cap, but can you tell me what this is for?"
Bruce reached into that box and pulled out a small object, an aroma candle that had burnt out, leaving only the glass casing.
"Oh, this? This is a creative aromatic candle. After it burns out, the logo of Central City University's football team appears under it. It's amazing, right? I spent three days burning them at home to get this thing."
Seeing Bruce's expression of disbelief, Barry said, "These things are expensive. Just these six small candles cost 120 US dollars. I have to keep it to prove my money didn't just vanish into thin air."
Bruce seemed resigned to his fate, he said, "We are already half a day past the expected time, my butler will be very worried about me."
"Alright, coming right up." Barry flashed away again. After running back and forth three or four more times, he finally stuffed everything into the Batmobile—well, not exactly into the Batmobile, since two large boxes were strapped on top of it.
When they were about to leave, Barry also felt a bit out of sorts, he said, "How about this, you put those two boxes in the front passenger seat, and I'll just run behind you. This way... it does affect the city's image a bit."
"It's fine, come in." Bruce said.
"No, I'm serious. Central City places a high value on city appearance. You might get stopped by the police like this."
"Just get in."
Barry had no choice but to sit in the passenger seat. The car drove out of the underground garage and boldly headed out of the city. Nearly every driver and pedestrian they passed gave them a stare, because it's not every day you see a car expensive enough to buy the whole block with two shabby boxes on top.
Sure enough, not even 20 miles had passed before two Dodge Challengers followed behind the car. The police lights flashed, signaling the car ahead to pull over.
Bruce was not flustered at all, and continued driving a little further into a less crowded area before slowly pulling over. As the window rolled down and the police officer met Bruce Wayne's gaze, the officer immediately straightened up.
"What's the matter?" Bruce asked.
"Nothing, Mr. Wayne. If you have too much cargo, we can help you transport it." The police officer flashed a broad smile.
"No need, my plane is just outside the city."
"Then have a pleasant journey, goodbye."
The window rolled up, and Barry was left speechless. He waved his hands in the air for a bit and then said, "Why didn't they...?"
"I have a lot of money." Bruce nodded at him.
As the car hit the highway, Bruce turned on his phone and called Lois, saying, "I've picked him up, we're heading to Wayne Manor."
Lois let out a sigh of relief, then said, "That's good."
A few hours earlier, Barry had been in Lois's hospital room, when he hung up a call from A.R.G.U.S., angrily smashing his phone on the ground and even wanting to stomp on it, only to be stopped by Lois.
"Calm down, anger won't solve anything. Plus, compared to big issues like saving the world, the first thing you need to do is save yourself. You don't think you can storm the Capitol Building with your face exposed and face no consequences, do you?"
Barry froze, as if splashed with a bucket of cold water, suddenly feeling cold all over. Only now did he realize what a reckless thing he had done.
He wasn't the kind of delinquent or hooligan who had never done anything illegal in his life. And in America, breaking into a restricted area is one of the most severe categories of violent crime, let alone if the place is the Capitol Building. Those demonstrators who broke in were escorted out by security immediately, with a list of charges potentially two meters long, not to mention Barry darted around there for several dozen minutes.
At this moment, Lois's phone rang. She opened it, sighed helplessly, and said, "My colleagues have already gotten the news. The opposition party plans to use this incident as one of the evidences of the audit results not being fair. Over 80 media outlets have received the news release, and more than half of them don't plan to blur your face."
"Then the pictures on your computer..."
"Those will definitely be censored." Lois shook her head and said, "And based on the content of their draft, they'll focus on showcasing your superpowers, to tell the public you have the ability to alter the vote count results..."
"Oh God!!!" Barry started screaming. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Why are they... why..."
"So now, your priority is to take care of yourself. I know you might not have that kind of ability, which is why I suggest you go find someone."
"Who?"
"Batman."