"Mr. Freeze is feeling nervous, and he clearly knows this is not the emotion he should be experiencing right now. He is well-versed in his professional field, yet the pounding heart is probably because I am trying to broadcast his mental state. Being seen through is never a good thing, especially since Rodriguez has always been half a madman in his mind, someone who could be going back to the psychiatric hospital for a check-up at any moment. Having such a person push open the window to his mind and stare at every thought inside is more dangerous than ever. 'I'm somewhat regretful.' Yes, I caught this fleeting line. You can't hide from me, Mr. Freeze, you started this game and haven't figured out a less awkward way to end it, meaning this contest is destined to last all night. Considering our sun will no longer shine, this is destined to be a long night. 'Shiller, shut up!' I'm not sure whether he thought it or said it, but I still need to emphasize—calling each other by first names is overly intimate."
"Shiller, go get the box from the left shelf in the storeroom for me." Victor looked up from a pile of experimental equipment.
"I'm not going," Shiller shook his head, saying, "that thing is a quick-freeze trap. The moment I touch the box, I'll be frozen instantly."
"If I fire a shot at you, you'll freeze too," Victor stared at him coldly.
"Finally revealing Mr. Freeze's true colors?" Shiller chuckled, "Happy to serve you, mad scientist."
Shiller walked out the door. Victor leaned weakly against the cabinet nearby. A student next to him said, "Professor, even we know not to provoke Professor Rodriguez from the Psychology Department. I've only been in college for two years, and I hear you've been teaching here for over a decade."
"Enough, Fabien. Go do your work, or I'll freeze you in ice too."
"No problem, Mr. Freeze."
When Nora arrived at the lab, she only saw chaos. She stood at the door of the lab, opened her mouth but said nothing. She was even somewhat unsure if the man buried in experimental equipment was her husband. He looked like he was eager to freeze something. This symptom has been rare since he woke up.
"Oh, Nora, you're here." Victor's eyes lit up, almost like a dog with a broken automatic feeder seeing the owner return from work. He lunged forward to hug Nora. This apocalyptic embrace left Nora momentarily dazed—until she saw Shiller walk in.
She didn't understand why Victor seemed to be on high alert when seeing Shiller. They've never had a moment like this, not even when Shiller lost six hands in a row to Victor at cards.
"Mr. Freeze's heart surged with an indescribable fervor, causing him not to shy away from expressing his affection theatrically before his colleagues and students. He usually wouldn't do this, as he always considered himself a rather reserved and polite gentleman, who should possess a charisma comparable to an ice sculpture. Most of the time he does well, but now there are evidently some flaws. I must say, this is not entirely because I am attempting to broadcast his thoughts to everyone. Rather, he is quite regretful that although he keeps calling me a 'spiritual ability user', he forgets about this on a larger scale, pouring his passion for detective novels entirely on a 'mind reading' 'mediocre' detective. Unfortunately, while this spiritual ability might be astonishing when targeting a criminal, its precision is equally evident when targeting him. Now, the whole world knows what ridiculous thing dear Mr. Fries just did."
"Shiller!!!!!!"
The Gotham office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Amanda frowned, having listened to Jenna's narrative. She thought for a moment then said, "If we weren't in Gotham right now, I would tell you to hurry up and go to sleep, to put an end to your illogical illusion. But considering we're in Gotham and it's still dark, I think you need to tell me the details, especially about the previous cases. What did you see?"
Jenna furrowed her brow, looking somewhat fatigued. Amanda poured her a cup of coffee and then said, "I hired you because of your unique empathetic talent. As a law enforcer, this is an extremely rare gift. It really shouldn't be wasted on ordinary student assignments when it should be used precisely in a moment like this. Don't you agree?"
"Got it, I'm thinking." Jenna's tone was not very good.
"Don't speak to me like that."
"Sorry, boss." Jenna rubbed her temples, saying, "For the sake of the generous salary and my internship certificate, please be quiet for a few minutes. I need to get into the state."
After a while, Jenna said, "I feel there's something following me like a shadow. Chick's death, Fanny's death, Pelota's death. The connection between these three cases is far more than superficial. Gotham University being the place that connects the three is just a guise. The core of the linkage is someone else. He lurks in the shadows, only acting at key moments. Hidden very deeply."
"A student from Gotham University?"
"No, the case's essence is not youthful; rather, it's quite sophisticated."
"A mad mental patient?"
"No, there's none of that uncontrollable part; the sense of confusion is almost absent."
"A clever antisocial personality?"
"That's very close, but it's not the usual kind, more typical."
"More typical?"
"Yes, textbook typical. Not typical of Gotham City." Jenna frowned, breathing lightly, her breath getting faster, "He has some kind of aim, driven by real interests."
"Not a Gothamite?"
"That's where the problem lies; the style seems not like a Gothamite, but if he's not, he could never have committed such cases. He must have some understanding of Gotham. I guess he... is influenced."
"Influenced, influenced by what?"
"I don't know. But he must be under some kind of disturbance. He is an odd combination. But we can't deduce anything just from this. There must be some unique connection."
Amanda also frowned deeply. She said, "Can't you be more specific? Guessing really doesn't give us much."
"This is not a prediction." Jenna stressed, "You need to give me something, then I can have a glimpse. If there's nothing, naturally I can't guess anything."
"Aren't those three cases enough?"
Jenna shook her head, "He's very careful, doing his best not to reveal his presence. There are too few parts from which to discern his demeanor. We'll have to wait for him to strike again."
"Then it's going to be another murder case!" Amanda yelled, "Brainiac will skin all of us alive!"
"Also," Amanda looked at Jenna and said, "I must stress again, office romances are not permitted."
"You talk as if the FBI office is under your jurisdiction." Jenna retorted irritably.
"Listen, it's not that I'm forbidding you from dating. I totally understand how girls your age are easily infatuated with someone. But Barry Allen isn't a good match. He'll only hold you back."
Jenna stood up and said, "You sound like a woman who's been divorced three times and never got any inheritance. Don't bring up Barry to me or I'll resign!"
Jenna stormed out the door. She slowed her pace, pushed open the door of the coffee shop, and after purchasing a few cups of coffee, headed to the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit office.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."
"Oh, it's you, little Jenna." The blonde fiddling with the printer smiled at her and then said, "Come on in. Barry? He's not here yet?"
"I'm actually here to ask leave for him; he's run into some trouble."
"Traffic accident?"
"No, it's the kind of trouble even Brainiac can't solve. So he might need to be away for a while." Jenna sighed deeply.
"My goodness, look at yourself." The Asian person folded their arms and studied her, "You look like you haven't slept in nights. Aren't you going to rest for a bit?"
"No, I have to find a way to help him solve the trouble. You guys know about the murder case at Gotham University, right?"
"Yes, we're working on the investigation. Brainiac thinks there are still many peculiarities in these cases, so we're analyzing the data as thoroughly as we can."
"Any findings?"
"A few." The Asian person took a document from the side and handed it to Jenna and said, "The main suspicions still revolve around Chick; his death is too bizarre. If he just intended suicide and met an accident, it's too coincidental, isn't it?"
"Are you suggesting interference?"
The blonde walked over, picked up her coffee, and said, "Our people fully inspected the crime scene; the window frame Chick hanged from is somewhat off."
She turned, sat at the table's edge, demonstrated the posture, and said, "Normally, this thin window frame would catch on his gluteus maximus, not so easy to fall off. But we indeed saw marks showing the frame tilted to one side. This can't confirm whether he squeezed the frame when sliding down, or the frame just tilted and caused him to slide."
"Cause and effect issue?"
"Yes, both are possible. We lean towards the latter. Because we've examined sixteen different window frames from this area. The frame of this window is seriously aged, ranking second or third. Research shows aging could be related to the type of items hung above. But we didn't see anything special about the items hung over this window frame."
"No direct correlation?"
"None. That's the odd part. The items hung above are somewhat similar to downstairs, yet the quality of downstairs frames is much better. But this is far from conclusive evidence, just a possible assumption."
"Someone tampered with the frame, causing Chick to slip while sitting at the window."
"Exactly," the Asian nodded and said, "But it's just a guess. We'll analyze and compare material samples of the frame, hoping for a more reasonable explanation, though hopes are slim."
"Sounds like not a correct method, but at least it's a direction." Jenna rubbed her forehead and said, "There's a crucial point I can't grasp. It's so close to me, but I really worry about Barry."
"Can you tell us what trouble he's facing?"
Jenna shook her head saying, "Actually, I don't know either. It's related to his superpowers."
"Then it's beyond help." Everyone shook their heads, "In fact, none of us can really understand what his superpower is, including Brainiac."
"I don't need to understand his superpower; I just need to know what's interfering with him." Jenna mumbled to herself, looking at the document in front of her. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit.
"South District." Jenna practically leapt up, "The problem lies in the South District! The root of chaos, the convergence point of cases, the crucial connection... I've found it!"