"The Power of Death has returned!" the Super Body exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible?!"
"Damn it, let me in!" Victor said, "Quick, go find Jack. We must hurry in to rescue Shiller!"
"In my judgment, Shiller might have done it intentionally," Brainiac said, "I don't think he doesn't have a trump card. Maybe he went to find the behind-the-scenes manipulator on purpose."
"Shut up!!!!" Victor fired a shot, freezing the whole room.
The Super Body hurriedly stopped him: "Don't do that. Let's find someone to take us into the Spirit Domain. There's still time."
Only then did Victor unfreeze the room, and the group hurriedly ran out, intent on finding Jack. But just as they dashed out the door, they saw Jack walking toward them.
"Jack!" Victor shouted, "How's Shiller?!"
"Who knows what he's up to now," Jack said, "He was able to leave but suddenly didn't. I guess that Skull Head got on his nerves."
Victor urgently stopped in his tracks. Brainiac said somewhat helplessly, "I told you before, Professor Fries, just how strong of a filter do you have on Shiller?"
"Uh..." Victor felt a bit awkward and explained, "It's different. Previous enemies weren't that formidable. But this one can bring people back to life. It's normal to worry about Shiller."
"I applaud your friendship," Jack said, "But it's not important; I have something to give you. Follow me."
The group followed Jack outside. Jack's truck was parked right in front of the door. He opened the truck compartment, inside which they saw a corpse.
"Isn't this the person you hit that day?" Brainiac said.
"He wasn't killed by me." Jack shook his head, "When I hit him, he was already dead. Just a moving corpse. He seemed to want to frame me by this method, to get you to lock me up."
"Then he clearly doesn't understand the human race's traffic accident liability scheme," Brainiac said, "He deliberately stepped into the truck's blind spot and didn't move after you warned him, which constitutes deliberate traffic accident fraud. You won't be convicted, and you won't need to provide humanitarian compensation either."
"Yes, I know. You're much fairer than those money-grabbing judges before. People in our line of work need some righteousness..."
Brainiac listened to this familiar rhetoric and said, "You don't want to repay me too, do you?"
Jack nodded vigorously, pointing at the corpse, and then said, "I can control it."
"What?!!!" Before Brainiac could say anything, Jonathan squeezed over. He first sized up Jack and then looked at the corpse, "How is this possible??? I tried everything and couldn't make it move..."
"What did you two research?!" Now it was Victor's turn to be astonished.
Suddenly, the corpse twitched, startling everyone, including Brainiac. This went a bit beyond what Brainiac had expected because they all realized it wasn't the living corpse moving by itself.
The corpse wobbled and stood up, trying hard to move its facial muscles, showing them a Joker-like grin. Everyone took a few steps back all together.
"How did you do it?!" Jonathan asked.
"I gave it some of my blood," Jack said concisely, "The Joker virus conflicted with the Power of Death. I infiltrated through the Kingdom of Dreams and successfully seized control of its Spirit Domain."
They all looked at each other, none understanding the principle behind it. Jack didn't seem inclined to explain either. Brainiac asked, "Can this be mass-produced?"
"No," Jack shook his head, "but this proves the principle is feasible."
"What principle?"
"Using the Joker virus to counteract the Power of Death." Jack thought for a moment and then explained a bit, saying, "The Joker is immortal. And if a person can't die, the Power of Death can't revive him, so it can't turn him into a living corpse..."
"Wait a minute," Victor said, "Are you saying that to prevent people from becoming living corpses, we should turn them into Jokers first?"
Jack nodded and said, "That's the fastest way. As long as nobody can die, the guy controlling death will surely kick us aside and never come back."
"He's gone, but what about the remaining Jokers?" Victor asked with his arms crossed.
"No worries, aren't there plenty of Batmen in the Multiverse?" Jack shook his head, "Leave it to them."
"You should get back to delivering goods!" Victor pushed him away and then looked at the silent Brainiac, "...You're not seriously considering it?!"
"Turning into Jokers is definitely not an option," Brainiac said, "Earth doesn't have that many natural reserves to designate. But the Joker virus being able to counteract the Power of Death is indeed a major discovery."
"Jack," Brainiac called out, "Have Professor Crane draw a tube of blood. Professor Fries, you are responsible for taking him to Crane's chemical laboratory, then sealing it off with dense ice."
Victor's eyes widened, "You're asking Jonathan Crane to research the Joker's blood?! Fear gas plus Joker virus, who's the behind-the-scenes manipulator after all???"
"I suggest you follow my arrangement. Otherwise, I'll inform Mrs. Friss about Shiller's current situation..."
"Oh my god, no, no, no. If she finds out I didn't stop Shiller, she'll be furious enough to want to kill me." Victor immediately chickened out and said, "Before Shiller returns safely, don't tell her!"
So, Victor had to pinch his nose and drive Jonathan Crane back to his laboratory. Jack followed in another car. Upon arrival, Jonathan drew a vial of blood from Jack, who then left.
Victor was utterly disgusted, refusing to go near Jonathan's laboratory. Once Jonathan was inside, Victor shot from a distance to seal the entire laboratory. For safety, he thoroughly checked it over, repeatedly confirming it was sealed tight.
In his view, in the coming period, every molecule drifting out of that laboratory could potentially destroy Earth. Compared to this, Victor would rather coexist harmoniously with the living dead.
But the more it was like this, the less he dared to leave. Because he couldn't be sure if any other mysterious power could break through the dense ice defenses. If a mysterious entity went in and a scarecrow Joker came out, this Earth would truly be doomed.
Victor could only endure his disgust, standing guard at the door, cursing Brainiac for being brain-dead while paying attention to any movement in his surroundings.
Suddenly, he saw a mass of fog flying toward him. Victor immediately stood up in surprise and exclaimed, "Shiller!"
Yet to his astonishment, when the fog dispersed, it wasn't Shiller who appeared, but a gray ring.
The ring stopped in front of Victor. Victor was stunned, something seemed off with this scene. Where did this ring come from?
Suddenly, he heard a voice in his heart:
"Gray as the mist, shrouded in fog,
Where does reality lead, where do dreams head,
A pillar of thought, a hall of spirit,
A thousand stars shine, ten thousand blooms of light!"
"Wise being identified, Victor Fries from Earth, you hold the power of dream creation in storytelling. Welcome to the Gray Lantern Corps!"
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!!" Victor nearly choked to death on his own breath. "What the hell?!"
Wait. Victor seemed to recall something. He remembered hearing this phrase a long time ago, at least over a decade back. Back then, they were fighting a monster in the Psychic_Battlefield, and almost everyone summoned the power of the Lantern Corps.
That time, he summoned the power of the Purple Lantern Corps, which represents love. Victor didn't find it strange; he loved his wife so much, of course he could wield the power of the Purple Lantern. But what was going on today?
Although he suspected Shiller was behind this, what was this power of dream creation in storytelling? Did he really possess this ability?
Suddenly, Victor froze. He slapped his forehead hard. No wonder Shiller was willing to play detective and assistant role-play games with him, and wasn't against him publishing a detective collection. He was waiting for him here!
The so-called power of dream creation in storytelling was nothing other than writing novels, right? Though his work might be considered a biography, the actual recording of real events was minimal, with most parts being pure fabrication, not much different from a novel.
Victor initially intended to touch the ring, but as soon as he did, the ring immediately slid onto his finger. Victor helplessly covered his eyes; how was this any different from coercive sales?
Suddenly, Victor felt a vibration at his waist. He picked up his Freeze Gun and was taken aback.
His Freeze Gun could hold 21 bullets in total. After several days of battles, only 10 were left. When he checked just now, there were still 10 bullets, but now there were suddenly 11.
Victor almost screamed. He hadn't reloaded, so there shouldn't have been more bullets. If someone else reloaded for him, it would mean they mastered the material of dense ice. How was that possible?!
Considering this anomaly appeared after putting on the ring, Victor scrutinized it from every angle but couldn't discern anything. Just then, another figure emerged from the fog.
Victor originally thought it was Shiller this time, but when the fog cleared, it turned out to be Constantine, dressed unusually sharp.
Victor sized up Constantine, feeling something was off. Normally disheveled, even after being rescued by Shiller, he looked slightly healthier, but he still embodied a kind of dilapidated vibe.
However, this time, he was dressed in attire from the 1920s-30s, with lace-cuffed sleeves and a high hat reminiscent of those Victor had only seen in movies. He wore shiny leather shoes, held a black leather book in one hand, and a pen in the other.
"What on earth are you doing?" Victor asked.
"Where's your book?" Constantine asked in return.
"Book? What book?" Victor was momentarily confused.
"The book you wrote," said Constantine. "How did you get the ring without writing one?"
Victor slapped his forehead again. He quickly took out his writings. He had already stapled them together in his office. As he flipped through them, he noticed one section glowing — "I noticed Rodriguez seemed preoccupied. I knew he wasn't as indifferent as he appeared..."
This was the "friendly" interaction scene he had penned after freezing Shiller. Victor stared at the passage, bewildered. What was wrong with this segment?
All of a sudden, he was hit with a chilling realization — his Freeze Gun had gained an extra bullet!
This meant that he hadn't frozen Shiller at that time, but actually served him a cup of hot tea, engaging in the friendly exchange depicted in the book. Thus, an extra bullet appeared in the gun!
Victor looked at the ring on his finger in shock. What was this? A novel invading the real world???