amaotonovel Chapter 4142 When the Pumpkin Ripens (24)
Chapter 4142 When the Pumpkin Ripens (24)
Chapter 4142 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Twenty-Four)
Everyone laughed. Brainiac, however, chose to defend himself, saying, "Actually, there's a path below the cliff that he just didn't see. And I warned him not to use the Speed Force to crash around here. He never listened to me."
"So you're using your position to settle personal scores?"
"I told you I pointed you to the right destination..."
The food arrived quickly. The cuisine here is authentic Gotham local food. Because the East Side is a bit too complicated, most tourists can't find this place. It retains a very strong local flavor. Chili fish pie, Wickbeck braised beef shank, Live Hell seafood fried rice, Gotham's signature Hokkien shrimp noodles…
In short, whether it's white food, black food, or Chinese food, they all blended together and made unique modifications to create the distinctive cuisine of Gotham.
Barry and Jason were exhausted. They ate their meal in silence until they were full. Then they ordered dessert and coffee before discussing their findings.
"Paul Austin's father used to be a finance professional."
Everyone was somewhat surprised. Greed leaned forward and asked, "Wasn't he supposed to be an alcoholic gambler?"
"That's true. Since Brainiac banned the financial industry, most financial professionals have changed careers. But it depends on what kind of financial professionals they are. Skilled people, such as accountants, financial product managers, drafters, software engineers, etc., are basically transferred to factories to take on their original positions."
"There are even some professions with rather vague definitions, such as venture capitalists, trust managers, and stock traders. As long as you're not an apprentice who knows nothing, you can generally go back to your old profession and work in an office in a factory in the real economy. After all, most of them are graduates of prestigious universities, so doing some financial work shouldn't be a problem for them."
"But there is indeed a group of people who know nothing, or who are prone to leverage and short selling, or who are just trying to fool investors. You know, it's the old tricks of Diamond Street. And they are very dissatisfied with Brainiac, and their resistance is too strong. Brainiac doesn't dare to give them important production positions, so he can only make them do manual labor."
"Paul's father was one of them?"
"Actually, he's not bad. Although he was very dissatisfied inside, he pretended very well. He was also quite efficient at his work, so at first, we assigned him to an accounting job at a factory."
"And then the problem arose, right?"
"That's right. He wanted to manipulate the books by controlling the production line to lower the product shipment rate."
“Isn’t this courting death?” Pamela asked.
"At that time, people didn't understand Brainiac enough. Or rather, they didn't understand what a real super artificial intelligence was like. They thought there was room for manipulation."
Arrogance nodded. He could understand. This year was the millennium, and while American society was indeed more developed, it hadn't truly entered the internet age. Even though computers were no longer a rarity, it was far from the true information age of the 2020s.
Most offices on Diamond Street still operate on a paper-based system. Better-off companies might be able to check stock market data on computers; less well-off companies still have to go to the stock exchange to monitor the market. For people of this generation, the extent of artificial intelligence's capabilities is unimaginable.
They thought Brainiac could only look at the cameras or do some superficial data comparisons, but little did they know that all their operations on all the devices were under Brainiac's control.
"And then he got fired?"
"More than that, he was imprisoned for about three months."
"But you say he gambles. Didn't Brainiac shut down all the casinos?"
"Yes. But he was a gambler back on Diamond Street. He should thank Brainiac for saving him, because his last investment before Brainiac came along completely failed. It's estimated that it could have left him with around $150 million in debt."
Pamela gasped. In Brainiac's time, this was an absolute fortune. It was $150 million in 1999.
Even so, he didn't stop gambling; instead, he continued to increase his leverage. If it weren't for Brainiac, Diamond Street would definitely have another frisbee.
“No way,” Barry said. “The kind of person he is wouldn’t die on his own. He would rather drain everyone around him, even sell them off, just to satisfy his own desires.”
“Okay, I think I know what kind of person he is,” Greed said. “What does this have to do with Paul’s kidnapping?”
"He's the one who sold Paul out."
“Sold? How can there still be human trafficking cases under Brainiac’s supervision?” Arrogance was quite puzzled.
"It's not the kind of blatant transaction. You can think of it as them having an underground, secret resistance organization with a device that can block Brainiac's monitoring. The organization is somewhat similar to a cult."
"Oh, I see, you mean that sacrificial ritual?"
“That’s right. Paul’s father had a severe alcohol addiction. This was a problem that existed before Brainiac came.”
"He probably got it during the time his investments failed, right?"
"Yes. And the situation is very serious; alcohol has fundamentally altered his brain. His alcohol dependence has been recurring since he quit drinking."
"I understand. The underground organization promised to provide him with alcohol, right?"
“We suspect it has already been provided. After all, they have ways to cover up surveillance, and brewing wine isn’t a difficult thing to do.”
“This reminds me of the Prohibition era,” Pamela said. “Global prohibition was a truly bold move. I dare say that no human being could have done it without Brainiac.”
“Indeed. While nicotine addiction is very harmful, it makes sense that alcohol dependence is classified as a mental illness,” Greed said. “Alcohol fundamentally alters your brain, causing people to do many irrational things. The damage is permanent and incurable.”
"So, in order to get alcohol, he sold his own son?"
Jason nodded and said, "Yes. When we went to his house to investigate, we couldn't tell at all. He seemed fairly lucid. Perhaps that's why Paul's situation wasn't taken seriously."
“I had been thinking before, if Paul’s father was abusive, why didn’t Brainiac take away his custody? Now it seems that he has probably been abusing him behind Brainiac’s back.”
“Yes, we’ve learned a lot on this trip,” Barry said. “We’ve now tentatively determined that there should be a passageway in his house that obscures Brainiac’s view, leading to a gathering place that also has no surveillance equipment. That’s their headquarters.”
Where could it be?
Barry shook his head and said, "He lives on the first floor. The passageway might be underground. We don't have a good excuse to search his house yet. After all, Paul is a victim, and we don't want to cause panic."
Did you bring in any cameras?
"Yes, but we didn't go into the other rooms, we just put a few in the living room. I don't think the entrance is there."
“Perhaps we could start with the neighbors,” Greed said. Then he looked at Pamela and said, “Wasn’t Brainiac supposed to be clearing the underground ice?”
"Yes, but this is a long-term plan. It hasn't been extended to the East District yet."
“It’s alright, having this plan is enough. Brainiac, I think you can announce this plan, mention it a few times in the morning news or the morning paper recently, so that people know about it. Have Victor draw up a route map, mark a few key areas, one of which happens to be near Paul’s house. Then you can legitimately check the neighbors’ houses, and maybe you can find out if Paul’s house has an underground passage.”
“This is a good plan,” Barry said. “As long as we have a legitimate reason, we can search with peace of mind. They will eventually slip up.”
Then Pamela told them about the Mother Box. Barry was taken aback, then said, "Brainiac came to Earth to find the Mother Box, didn't he?"
"Yes, but now he says that this alone doesn't seem to be enough for him to break through the limitations of life forms. They still need to study this."
"So, that means there won't be any Cyborg in our universe?"
"Not necessarily. The Cyborgs in other universes probably weren't formed by chance either. If only a specific person can use the Origin Power in the Mother Box, then there probably will be some."
“My God. I can’t imagine a person and a box fused together,” Jason said, shaking his head. “I’m not targeting Iron Man, but I would think anyone who puts a big bomb in their chest is crazy.”
“I think so too,” Greed said, “but it’s cool enough. You have to understand, there are some people in this world who are willing to risk their lives for fashion.”
“Perhaps we can come up with a better way to use it,” Arrogance said. “Even if it were embedded in the chest, there would be a safer and more secure way, unlike in other universes where there are too many unexpected factors involved.”
Then they started talking about the dinner party. Barry shrank back and said, "I was just talking to Harley and the others in the group chat about maybe we should go later tonight."
"Why?" the arrogant man asked.
“Because those who arrive early might become food,” Jason interjected. “But I think the person spreading this rumor is probably unhappy that you were too picky at her party.”
“That’s not exactly a rumor,” Barry said. “Harley told me she once saw eight pairs of moose hooves in your fridge. Could you really eat them all?”
Arrogance was momentarily at a loss for words, because it couldn't really be considered a rumor. There had indeed been eight moose in his refrigerator at one time, but he hadn't eaten them all by himself.
“Brainiac is right to call you Ouroboros,” Pamela said. “You’re the first person to have a meal with himself and eat eight moose.”
"That wasn't eaten by me alone..." The arrogant explanation seemed rather weak and unconvincing.
“Based on our weight, we can’t possibly weigh as much as eight moose,” Jason continued, “meaning that whether we go early or late, we’re bound to become food. So we don’t need to worry about that.”
“If Brainiac had a body, I’d be happy to let him tour my refrigerator,” Greed said. “I wonder what it would taste like to stew circuit boards with wires.”
“We’ve already drawn up the menu!” he arrogantly emphasized. “There’s no meat on it that shouldn’t be eaten. We have fish, lamb, chicken, and duck. See? All regular meats.”
"Okay, Professor, may I ask you a question?"
"what?"
How many ribs does a fish have?
"Perhaps it's 8... Where do fish get ribs?"
How many legs does a sheep have?
"All four, all on the ground!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"