amaotonovel Chapter 4612 The Day of Brightest Day (71)
Chapter 4612 The Day of Brightest Day (71)
Chapter 4612 The Day of Brightest Light (Seventy-One)
Schiller turned to Constantine and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to enter the Dream Kingdom by conventional means. The only way to find out what's going on in the Dream Kingdom is to find out what's happening there."
“But where can we find the Sleep Demon?” Constantine asked.
“The key is you,” Schiller said. “I don’t think the Sandman would have come to you when you were a child for no reason. He must have said something to you.”
Constantine thought for a moment and said, "If he was trying to tell me something, why did I forget it all after I woke up?"
"Dreams occur in a person's subconscious. And those dreams that you think you've forgotten are actually just hidden in your subconscious. Perhaps we still need to go there and explore."
Constantine hesitated. Schiller asked him directly, "Don't you want to get up?"
“I’m just… worried about what the consequences might be if I find out,” Constantine said. “Some things you can pretend don’t exist if you don’t know them. But once you know, there’s a responsibility you have to take.”
Do you feel you can't take responsibility?
“I don’t want to cause myself any trouble,” Constantine said.
"If those memories from back then really have any impact on you, I can help you erase them. I can do it."
“Yes, you have such a towering structure, and your control over your mind is unparalleled. I have no doubt about that.” Constantine hesitated only for a moment before nodding and saying, “Alright, let’s begin.”
The agent wasn't skilled at hypnosis, nor did he have the time for other techniques. However, Constantine was gifted in this area; with just a little guidance from Schiller, he could process his own subconscious.
To reiterate, hypnosis is almost impossible to succeed without patient cooperation. Conversely, if the patient is consciously cooperative and possesses a certain aptitude, they can even hypnotize themselves. Constantine is clearly a prime example of this.
He lay on the chaise lounge in the middle of the living room, letting his subconscious wander. After making sure he wouldn't get lost, Schiller prepared some food—simple sandwiches. When he brought the food to the table, Constantine suddenly awoke, letting out a long sigh.
He stared at the ceiling for a while, then said, "He considers me one of the candidates to succeed the God of Dreams."
Schiller took a bite of his sandwich, thought for a moment, and said, "It seems he did start looking for a successor quite some time ago. It wouldn't be surprising if you were one of them."
Constantine sighed softly: "I'm not sure if becoming the master of the dream realm would be better than mingling among angels and demons. But it's too late to say anything now."
Did he tell you how to contact him?
“I…I’m not so sure,” Constantine said. “He didn’t tell me directly, he just pulled me into a dream. A dream with lots of…cats?”
Schiller paused, then understood: "The Dream of a Thousand Cats."
Then he started to think: In which universe is the Bat Cat?
Normally, it should be on the Kent family farm in Schiller's universe. However, Batcat belongs to Batman, and he can also enter the Fighting World. Moreover, he has formed the Animal Alliance with Rocket Raccoon and the others, so he might not necessarily be on Earth.
Schiller thought for a moment and then sent a message to Star-Lord.
"Where's the rocket?"
"What's up with him?"
"I need to talk to him about something."
Star-Lord called very quickly: "If you need to talk to Rocket, just call him directly. Why are you calling me?"
“Don’t you two always spend time together?” Schiller said. “Besides, he doesn’t like to check the news, and he’s always in the lab so he doesn’t hear the phone ringing…”
"You really think he can't hear me? In the Battle Realm, the phone rings directly in your head." Star-Lord's tone was a bit disdainful. "He just doesn't want to answer."
"Can you get in touch with him?" Schiller asked.
“I’m in Southern Cross right now, running errands for the Marauders,” Star-Lord said. “Rocket’s probably gone back to Centaur. I’ll call Gamora and have her go find him.”
Schiller waited a while. Soon Star-Lord called back, saying, "Damn it, that hairy monster's having a blast at the Grandmaster's casino! Are you sure you want to call him now?"
Schiller sighed and said, "I have something very important to say. Could you please have him find a quiet place to take the call?"
Clearly, this wasn't working. When Schiller contacted Rocket Raccoon, the noise in his microphone sounded like he was at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion.
"Hey!! What are you doing!!!"
"Rocket, are you still at the gambling table?"
"What gambling table!" Rocket yelled. "It's that stinking piece of shit Peter spreading rumors about me again! I'm a casino security guard, I catch cheaters! I just caught two!"
"Okay, can you get in touch with Batcat?"
"Who?!"
"Batcat, that's the cat that calls itself Batman. Didn't you guys form some kind of animal alliance?!"
"Then why don't you go ask Pikachu?!" Rocket yelled. "He acts out two hundred episodes of Tom and Jerry with that cat every day, you should go find him!"
“The problem is he’s a mouse,” Schiller said. “How am I supposed to convince a mouse to help me find a cat?”
"He's a rat that only knows how to generate electricity! That damn bastard! Well, I bet that black-haired monster's licking his fur in the base. I'll call him for you!"
After several twists and turns, Schiller finally made contact with Batcat. He wasn't with the main universe's Batman, nor was he on Earth; he seemed to be in a dungeon when the incident occurred, and is now investigating what exactly happened.
Not long after, the black cat jumped in through the window. Schiller looked him over and said, "You've definitely lost weight since leaving Kent Farm. If you had stayed there any longer, you could have been a contender for the fattest Batman in the entire multiverse."
The bat-cat licked its paw and said, "You know, Mrs. Kent's enthusiasm is irresistible. Now tell me what's going on. It seems like things are in chaos in the multiverse, and my connection with Cat City has been severed."
Schiller immediately picked up on the key information: "Your connection with Cat City Gotham has been cut off?"
Batcat nodded and said, "Whenever I'm asleep, I can vaguely sense Cat City Gotham. But lately, nothing has happened. I suspect something might have happened to the Dream Kingdom."
"That's true, we can't get in either. Do you have any shortcuts?"
“Yes, you can go through the Dream of a Thousand Cats. But going in like this would be extremely dangerous.” The bat-cat narrowed its eyes. “Are you really planning to recklessly barge in?”
“Of course not, we need to bring some help,” Schiller suggested. Actually, he had originally planned for just him and Constantine to go in alone. However, if something went wrong in the Dream Kingdom, going in with just the two of them would likely be suicide, and he wouldn't take that risk.
"Who are you planning to bring?" the bat-cat asked.
“Of course, it has to be psychics,” Schiller said. “They only have enough offensive power and the ability to withstand danger in the dream realm. I’m looking for a Charles Xavier.”
“That’s what I think too, but you need to be prepared. The Dream Kingdom is a special dimension of our world, and Charles’s brainwaves may not be able to adapt to it, and he may not be able to unleash his full power. We’ll need to find a local.”
Schiller's mind raced through a multitude of candidates. Superman, who could overcome skill with brute force; Ron, who excelled in this area; or even Batman from another universe. But these individuals presented a problem: they were Anatoly's men, and Schiller's prestige and credibility across the multiverse might not necessarily rival that of the newly unearthed Anatoly.
It's important to understand that Anatoly is the original Lantern that the main universe's Batman and other Batmen have been searching for. The fact that the main universe's Batman has invested so much effort in him has already shown the Justice League members just how powerful Calamity truly is. If he were willing to unite the Justice League across the multiverse, they would be even more willing to work with him.
As for himself, Batman's approach is, "If you run into one Schiller causing trouble, find another." You can't say that's not a good thing; it's just a bit too good, to the point that the Justice League might not be willing to work with him.
While the plan to directly save Batman's spirit sounds tempting, there's no evidence that Batman has entered the Dream Kingdom. The Justice League, however, has likely already spotted the string of candied haws hanging on the Origin Wall. Therefore, from any perspective, competing with Anatoly for manpower is unwise.
If they couldn't mobilize the Justice League members, they'd have to settle for second best. Robins were a decent option, but Schiller was hesitant to take them. Aside from their lack of psychic powers, if anything happened to any of them, Batman, already in a bad state, would likely go insane from such a shock.
Besides, the East Coast in the real world also needs someone to maintain order, so it would be better to let Robin stay and watch the house.
“Joseph,” Schiller said, “is the son of the death knell. He also possesses great mental abilities. If Charles’ strength lies in breadth, then his prowess lies in depth.”
Schiller knew that if Charles was a master of group attacks, then Joseph's strength lay in single-target strikes. The fact that he himself had turned away to avoid Joseph's direct confrontation upon their first meeting proved that eye contact with him was indeed dangerous. This was a morbidly confirmed fact, so it couldn't be wrong.
“I’ll go find Charles,” said Batcat. “You go find Mr. Wilson. Get everything you need ready, and we’ll set off once everyone is here.”
Schiller was even a little touched. Batcat wasn't even part of the family drama; there was no intention for him to mediate the conflict between the Robin cats. There are still more normal people in this world.
It was Charles from the Greedy Universe who arrived. Bat-Cat had already briefed him on the way. Charles stepped forward, shook hands with Schiller, and said, "Long time no see, Agent. I'm so sorry this happened. I couldn't bring the brainwave amplifier with me; will that have a significant impact?"
“Something might have happened in the Dreamland, but it shouldn’t be serious enough to require you to use that largest brainwave amplifier,” Schiller said truthfully. “If that’s the case, we’d better not go.”
“I brought a small one.” Charles took out his helmet—which looked like a classic comic book design and made him look like an alien when worn—and handed it to Schiller.
Schiller looked somewhat bewildered. Charles said, "This is the universal version. I've heard there's another psychic who can use it. It should work even better on a local."
Schiller couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. As expected of Professor X, he even considered this. If Charles didn't perform well, Joseph, wearing a helmet, could take over as the main attacker.
Joseph arrived quickly. When he saw Charles, he visibly froze, his face showing unprecedented terror, his breathing rapid, and his pupils dilated. Schiller rushed over and supported him.