Tim went to pour Jenna a cup of hot water. They sat down on the sofa nearby. Tim said, "I heard there's some trouble with Barry. What's going on with him?"
"Something is chasing him," Jenna replied. "I'm not very familiar with Divine Speed, so I don't know what it is. I'm investigating the resurrection of Pelota, but it's not easy."
Tim raised an eyebrow and said, "Can you really come back to life?"
"For an enemy capable of extinguishing the Sun, resurrection is not a difficult task," Jenna said with her eyes downcast.
"You just said you couldn't go deeper."
"Yes. My investigations rely entirely on Empathy. The deeper the empathy, the more you know. But..."
"You should know who it is by now, right?" Tim asked, looking into her eyes.
Jenna appeared a bit puzzled. She said, "The situation is strange. I feel like maybe it is, but then..."
"But what?"
Jenna pressed her lips tightly to the edge of the cup and said, "I'm not sure. I can't even convince myself."
"You have suspects, but something about the killer's presentation makes you unsure," Tim reasoned. "What's different about them?"
"Theology," Jenna said. "My initial analysis, regarding the motives of desecrating corpses and death, is reasonable. But this theological ritualism..."
Jenna shook her head and said, "It doesn't seem right, it contradicts the image I have in mind."
"Tell me your suspect," Brainiac suddenly said.
"I can't say because I can't take responsibility for my own words," Jenna said, looking at her phone. "To you, everything is merely an illusion I experienced at the crime scene, without any solid evidence."
"Someone else died," Brainiac said. "Two bodies, at the dock and the South District."
Tim sighed and said, "The night makes monsters active. Brainiac, the age of darkness isn't as simple as you think."
"Only Gotham is unique," Brainiac sounded as if he was complaining, but his tone was extremely flat. "There are too many things in this city I can't control. Once night falls, everything starts derailing."
"Gotham is indeed unique," Jenna stood up and said, "Your methods work anywhere in the world, except here. Admit it, you need the strength of the madmen. Excluding them from society will only make you struggle."
She stood up and walked towards the police car, Tim following behind her. They got in the car and headed to another crime scene. Jenna tilted her head, somewhat absentmindedly looking out the window.
"You think..." Jenna hesitated.
"Don't say it," Tim looked at her and said, "Things might not be that simple. On this issue, I stand by you."
Jenna nodded, reluctantly pulling herself together.
"Where are you going?" Shiller was leaving the house when Brainiac asked, "If you're planning to act on your inner suspect, I advise you not to. If it goes to court, a history of mental illness could help you escape imprisonment, but you'll have to enter an institution for mandatory treatment."
"Why should I take you with me?"
"Because if you don't take me, I'll immediately know you're going to cause trouble and will watch you even more closely."
"You're saying I'm playing hard to get?"
"You could say that," Brainiac said. "I admit, Gotham's situation has indeed surprised me. These murders are very peculiar, definitely linked to the Behind-the-scenes Manipulator who can extinguish the Sun. I'm also investigating."
"When will you have the investigation results?"
"No matter when I complete the investigation, your involvement will only complicate things and impair my judgment."
"What do you think I'm going to do?"
"As long as you cause enough trouble, for stability, I must comply with your desires. If you intend to use the serial murders to gain the position of a police consultant, I advise against it."
"Why?" Shiller sat in the car, placing his umbrella beside him as he asked.
"The harm this would cause to social stability might be greater than allowing the killer to roam free."
"You could outright say my destructive power is stronger than the killer's."
"Precisely." Brainiac admitted frankly, "So if you need to do this step for the investigation, I'd rather not pursue it."
"Are you saying if I act, you'll start slacking off?"
"I'd just abandon Gotham. Because I truly can't suppress all the madmen here. If they insist on returning to the age of darkness, I can only ensure that no one escapes."
"A very sensible decision," Shiller wasn't mocking but genuinely complimenting, "If only you could see it this way earlier, the trouble might have been resolved long ago."
Shiller could understand what Brainiac meant. Now, neither Shiller nor madmen like Shiller have done anything, and the situation is still under control for now. If Shiller gets involved, the mental patients will soon take turns appearing, each coming up with their own tricks, spinning on this long-lost dark stage until dawn.
In such a situation, it wouldn't be wise to divert a great deal of energy and resources to control this city. Because the current circumstances aren't good. Although Earth won't be destroyed temporarily, that's all there is—it won't be destroyed. They still have no way to reignite the Sun. Brainiac has too many urgent issues to resolve.
So if the madmen want to return to the stage, Brainiac can only choose to withdraw. Because even if he doesn't withdraw, he still can't control it and ends up wasting time. It's better to let go of controlling Gotham and let the madmen have a go at it.
This is also another version of "letting go of the savior complex and respecting others' destinies."
In reality, Shiller believes Brainiac has done his utmost. Whether it's his isolation policy or natural reserves, he has done everything to protect ordinary people's safety. However, he made one mistake, which is that there are no ordinary people in Gotham.
Or rather, the madmen and the ordinary people of Gotham are like the two root systems of a plant, forever entangled with each other, indistinguishable from one another, unable to do without one another.
For example, the police department would leverage madmen like Shiller to handle cases; it's been like this for the past decade or so. And Shiller did indeed have a role, solving many cases and resolving numerous troubles.
But he also constantly created trouble himself. Then the police would find other madmen to resolve the troubles. This creates a perfect cycle. Everyone in Gotham is using their madness and wit to create trouble, but at the same time, also to resolve them.
The isolation measures Brainiac has taken are on the brink of collapse. Gotham can't designate any more nature reserves. If they continue, there will be no place for ordinary people to stand.
The advent of eternal night accelerated the collapse of this policy. Murders without clues occurred; Brainiac couldn't find anything yet was still unwilling to leverage the power of the madmen. This forced Shiller to find solutions himself. Once he starts, the city would be truly beyond redemption.
Brainiac originally thought Shiller would drive to the South District or East District, as there were many suitable targets there. However, he drove to the Gotham Dock instead. There, Victor was loading materials intended to freeze Earth onto a ship.
Freezing Earth couldn't be executed on land but had to be done in the Central Atlantic. Victor, looking at Shiller approaching, was somewhat surprised and said, "What's the matter?"
"You seem quite surprised to see me here."
"Of course, why are you acting so quickly this time?"
"What action?"
"Setting up a crime scene," Victor said. "Knowing you juggle multiple roles and have to find time to play Moriarty, I didn't follow you. A book detailing the process of serial murders can't be published; I assumed you knew."
"Why would you think I'd play Moriarty?" Shiller said disdainfully. "A detective being the killer is too cliché."
"You really didn't go?" Victor was skeptical and shouted, "Mrs. Brainiac! Are you sure he didn't leave your sight from the office to here?"
"I'm not Mrs. Brainiac, but I'm sure." Brainiac's tone also carried a hint of doubt, "Shiller, why didn't you go?"
"Because a detective can't be the killer." Shiller smiled at Victor, "Otherwise, don't think you can profit from detective stories."
Victor walked over, gave Shiller a hug, and said, "I knew you'd support me. Come aboard, let's save Earth together."
Victor and Shiller's figures disappeared onto the ship. Brainiac watched them leave through the dock's surveillance camera and, for the first time, felt what a "sigh of relief" was. The next second, a message arrived at the emergency center: "A murder occurred on Mosen Street. The deceased is a 49-year-old male resident named Jerryta."
Brainiac nearly crashed.
Not long after, there were two more murders. Then came the third one in quick succession. This made Brainiac realize that Shiller might not be the biggest problem in Gotham and that the dark times might be far scarier than anyone imagined.
"Did you see anything?" Brainiac asked, looking at Jenna and Tim standing at the scene of the second murder.
"Jonathan Crane," Jenna said, "The next one."
"...how did you know?" On the way to the next scene, Brainiac couldn't help but ask.
"The scent of fear is too intense," Jenna said, wrinkling her nose. "The fear surrounding the deceased is clearly not natural; it must have been enhanced with chemical components. Industrial fear smells sharply inorganic, like menthol."
"I didn't smell anything," Tim said. "If it truly was Jonathan Crane, he must have precisely controlled the time the fear gas dissipated. He has that capability. Miss Jenna is describing the spiritual level, meaning there's no physical evidence."
Then came the third case. This time, Jenna didn't need to talk; Tim looked and straightforwardly said, "A longstanding grudge masked as a serial killer's act. The killer is the neighbor next door."
The fourth case didn't arrive late; but this could hardly be called a murder. Jack, hugging his arms, sat to the side, looking like a victim, saying, "I don't know why he suddenly rushed out when I was making a U-turn; the truck's blind spot is too big."
Tim examined the scene carefully, then said, "It certainly was deliberate fraud. What's this guy up to? Keep an eye on him, Jack."
"If Brainiac compensates me enough for missed work," Jack sniffled.
As for the fifth case, although by now the time was nearing evening, because it had never been daylight, it felt like the first night. Jenna and Tim, upon seeing the scene, simultaneously showed interest.
"An imitator," Jenna said, "Undoubtedly. And an impressive one at that. Even managed to capture the essence to some degree; it's incredible."
"Even more so than the first case." Tim said, "Honestly, I almost thought it was him."
Jenna clicked her tongue in wonder around the body: "Now I'm certain, the two of them are indeed peers. Their representation of the human psychic battlefield and the utterly unique academic atmosphere are recreated identically."
"...Then how are you sure it wasn't Professor Rodriguez?"
Both said in unison, "Didn't you say he left?"