Most cities were shrouded in darkness, but the skyline of Gotham remained sharp, as if it was about to pierce the night. Snow continued to fall, with large chimneys spewing smoke incessantly, swirling in the sky and lingering for a long time, smearing the night sky like a blackened canvas with furnace ash, filthy yet resembling another form of art.
Suddenly, the penetrating lead-grey tone became increasingly intense, dissolving even the dense blackness, and the night sky was coated with a faint silver-blue sheen. The global temperature drop came to a halt.
Brainiac immediately broadcasted to everyone worldwide the news that the "Dense Ice Shield has been successfully established." This was over an hour later than planned, and the rate at which the temperature fell was faster than expected, causing temperatures near the equator to drop to around 10 degrees, making many extreme cold regions unsuitable for human survival.
Thanks to the separate protective shield, Gotham's temperature remained around minus 10 degrees. However, other areas on the East Coast were less fortunate, most reaching tens of degrees below zero. For Canada and regions further north, the situation was even worse, with most people confined to city shelters, unable to leave.
The scenario Jonathan predicted arrived as expected. With temperatures in most parts of the world no longer suitable for humans to venture outside, Gotham became the last remaining Utopia. After all, in an environment of minus 50 degrees or more, committing murder was somewhat excessive.
Just as England is the country where suspense novels flourish, with many detective novel masters being British, because the country's atmosphere is very suitable for writing detective novels. The gloominess of the atmosphere, the isolation of the environment, and the dense population, when a murder occurs, everyone can be enclosed to perform deductions.
In Russia, it wouldn't work as well. There are fewer people, and it is colder. Without modern industry, snow cannot be cleared. If someone dies in a snowdrift, it might not be discovered until the following spring, leaving no room for any deduction.
Currently, the situation is such that most regions of the world have become like Siberia, venturing outside is risking death. But only in Gotham, which has activated its shield, the climate remains barely normal, allowing people to move freely outdoors. There indeed is still room for death and murder here.
And Gothamites did not disappoint; in such a short time, the city already faced twelve murder cases. Only two cases had identifiable perpetrators, while the rest were unsolved mysteries, barely attributable to a few serial killers.
Among them, the Resume Killer had committed four murders, the copycat murderer two, Jonathan one, and the remaining five were likely done by two individuals. However, these numbers keep rising.
Initially, Brainiac attempted to stop the killings, but later he realized that none of the deceased were innocent.
This was a readily understandable logic. Except for essential industries that ensured people's livelihood, Gotham was at a standstill. In this weather and scenario, those who ventured out to roam the streets, especially in tricky areas, thought of themselves as hunters. It was practically a large-scale serial killer ranking contest, and any death greatly improved local security.
Upon realizing this situation, Brainiac decided not to interfere much. After all, the behind-the-scenes manipulator clearly had more than one plan. In the neighboring Metropolis, a crime occurred in a citizens' shelter, indicating that zombies were hidden among the ordinary people, taking advantage of the crowds flocking towards the shelters. This kind of case was more crucial as it could potentially lead to a widespread outbreak of zombies. Hence, Brainiac focused on scrutinizing each shelter. As for Gotham, whether or not God blessed it was unknown, but Brainiac was unable to.
Brainiac's decision to abandon his efforts was not solely because the deceased were not innocent, but also due to his limited influence. Gotham's serial murders reverted entirely to the old version, prioritizing artistry and philosophical thought. Behavioral analysis, though not entirely useless, was too strenuous, requiring a large sample size for comparison, yielding limited progress. And since Brainiac lacked knowledge in spiritual analysis, he figured it was better to temporarily give up and resolve other regions' chaos first.
Shiller stood on the deck, looking up at the dense ice covering the sky. Though labeled as dense ice, it could be described as an Earth Defense Network, not existing in a magical form but a triumph of physics.
Because it stemmed from physics, it could only counter physical threats. It could, for instance, insulate heat, helping to keep Earth warm, and block radiation, preventing the Sun from suddenly recovering or expanding excessively, frying the Earth.
But that was all it could do. The biggest issue with this shield was its inability to serve daily use, as equipping it would prevent solar heat from entering, transforming Victor into the indisputable number one terrorist of the 21st century.
Nonetheless, its utility was perfect for now. After all, external heat couldn't enter, and internal heat couldn't escape, essentially adding a super-atmosphere for Earth.
Originally, the Dense Ice Shield was supposed to be established an hour earlier. However, Victor delayed it slightly, causing roughly an hour of delay, as per Shiller's suggestion.
"If the climate isn't cold enough to prevent living at home, people won't choose to go to shelters. In such a case, an isolated social environment might offer behind-the-scenes manipulators more opportunities. Killing isolated individuals and reviving them isn't difficult. Once it spreads, it might become hard to control."
"You mean we should deliberately delay for a while?"
"Exactly. Ensuring that temperatures in most global regions have reached a disaster level will prompt people to enter shelters, managed collectively by Brainiac. The sooner people gather, the fewer chances for behind-the-scenes manipulators to act."
"What if the manipulators have already acted, taking advantage of the dense population in shelters?"
"That would be perfect," Schiller said, "An early outbreak is better than a late one. Once such a case emerges, Brainiac would inevitably elevate surveillance to extreme levels. The number of victims will only decrease."
Victor nodded, agreeing with Schiller's logic. Previously, during wartime, collective management was the norm, just everyone was at the factories. In crisis management, humanity was better suited for collective management, rather than laissez-faire. At least for Brainiac, opting for freedom over life was not feasible.
So, Victor acted accordingly. He overturned the original timeline, intentionally delaying for a short while. Brainiac might have noticed but didn't interfere, perhaps using this opportunity to have people flock to the shelters. And when the shield was finally established, the temperature indeed was much lower than initially predicted.
In most of the global subtropical regions and some temperate areas, there are no centralized heating measures. After the temperature plummeted, both indoor and outdoor temperatures dropped below zero, making it impossible for people to stay in their homes. They had to go to the shelters, as previously rehearsed in emergency drills.
In another part of the temperate, subarctic, and arctic zones, even with centralized heating, it was difficult to withstand temperatures of minus forty or fifty degrees, so people also chose to go to the shelters.
Because the temperature didn't drop suddenly to this extent but decreased at a rate of 5 to 10 degrees per hour, there was some reaction time. Most people, unable to bear the cold, naturally ran to the shelters. By the time the shield was set up, very few people were left outside the shelters.
Even though the shield was successfully set up, they wouldn't choose to go out. Because even at the current temperature, it's tough to endure. If it doesn't rise, they can only stay inside the shelters.
Fortunately, the shelters built by Brainiac were quite good. Though not hotel-level, at least at the standard of a B&B. Moreover, how to allocate housing and how to live in the shelters had also been rehearsed many times before. The residents had experienced it during wartime, and moving in and the like went smoothly. Except for live corpses taking advantage to attack, no major trouble occurred.
It was apparent that the live corpses wanted to fish in troubled waters during the initial chaos. But with Brainiac's war having just ended not long ago, people hadn't completely shaken off the wartime state. The previous cosmic coalition had tried several times to make a move on the surface, so the human race had seen big waves before. Although it caused some ripples, there was no large-scale panic or loss of control, and the shelter's move-in was smoothly completed.
And by the time Victor and Shiller returned to Gotham, the number of murder cases had reached 22. This was an astonishing number, because not only was the perpetrator a serial killer, but the victims might have been as well. Without a ranking tournament, no one would have known how many tiger sharks were still left in the pool.
Victor and Shiller both sat on a single armchair in Shiller's office, drinking a cup of hot coffee. Victor surveyed the hairy chopping board, nodded, and said, "This looks more pleasing."
"Aren't you going to rest for a while?" Shiller asked.
"No, I need to video call Billy later to remind him not to run around recklessly."
Shiller nodded and said, "Now is not the time to show off superpowers."
"I am discussing with Brainiac to let the two of them go through a teleportation portal to Krypton, it's safer there. Anyway, don't stay in Gotham, this place could write ten detective novels in an hour."
Victor went out to make a call. Shiller took a nap on the chair while consulting Brainiac about the current situation.
"Has the chaos in the shelters been resolved?"
"More or less," Brainiac replied, "I am now certain that this revival ability is practically flawless. None of my current technological means can distinguish the live corpses. It's really strange."
"What's strange about it?"
"It shouldn't be like this," Brainiac shook his head, "How can the dead be the same as the living? Even with magic, there should be some abnormal energy. But there's nothing."
Shiller detected Brainiac's confusion and said, "Never thought about seeking external help? Or are you really planning to wait until Christmas Eve to invite Super Body to the Christmas ball?"
"I was just saying," Brainiac said, "I don't have time for romance now, I have to battle the live corpses for three hundred rounds."
"I never knew when you had this thing called pride." Shiller sighed, sipping his coffee.
"This has nothing to do with pride," Brainiac emphasized, "The current situation doesn't need another super life to step in, it's completely under my control."
"But you can't fight live corpses and date at the same time, which just proves you're not that at ease."
"Don't try to provoke me."
"Suit yourself," Shiller shrugged, stood up, and said, "Remember, the chaos at the shelter is just a temporary escape from Gotham's utopia, but you will eventually need to return here."
"...Should I dress up before picking up the Super Body?"