The Long Easter (IV)

At the Gotham Police Department, Gordon flicked his trench coat, pushed open the door, and strode into his office, where he found Schiller and Batman already waiting for him. Gordon said with a headache, "Judging from my colleagues' reports, the situation is not optimistic."

He walked to his desk and sat down, saying, "To be honest, your approach was very effective, but the problem is that the damage was too great. Gotham's entire underground water system was destroyed, and a lot of the building foundations were also damaged."

"Of course, we expected this." Schiller nodded. At that moment, Victor walked in with a document, and Gordon stood up and poured everyone a cup of hot coffee.

The others went to the table and sat down, drinking hot coffee and chatting, while Batman stood alone in the corner of the room.

"The damage is indeed significant, but it did not exceed our expectations." Victor pointed to a few lines in the report and said, "We anticipated that the freezing process from water to ice would cause volume expansion, so the extent of the damage to the sewage system was within our estimated range."

"Approximately how much?" Gordon asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"It's all of them."

Gordon spat out a mouthful of water and said, "I know the damage is huge, but you're telling me now that Gotham's entire underground water system is destroyed?"

Batman's voice came from the side. "Actually, it's more serious than that. It's not just the underground buildings; many buildings on the surface of Gotham have foundations that can't withstand low temperatures, and many buildings have cracked. They all need to be rebuilt."

"This loss is too great. Didn't you consider this before you made this plan?" Gordon asked, puzzled. "Our logistics system was finally taking shape, and now we have to start from scratch again."

"We anticipated this, but as the saying goes, you can't build something new without destroying it."

Schiller sighed and said, "Detective Gordon, you should know that although Gotham has made some progress thanks to the development of the logistics system, it is still far from enough."

"We may have some advantages here, but not absolute advantages. We don't have any flagship industries, nor do we have anything that can't be replaced by other cities."

"What we need to do now is to artificially give Gotham an advantage that no other city in the world can imitate."

"I understand what you mean, but I don't understand what this has to do with the losses caused by freezing Gotham."

Schiller gave Victor a look, signaling him to explain. Victor said to Gordon, "I think you should also know that a cryogenic generator capable of freezing the entire Gotham in an instant cannot be an ordinary ice maker."

"The reason why the low-temperature generator can achieve this effect is because its 'ice' is different."

"Ice? What's different about ice?"

Have you heard of 'Super Ice'?

Gordon shook his head. Victor said, "You don't need to know how it works. Anyway, I'm using a newly developed super ice in the cryogenic generator."

"After contact with water, it crystallizes at a rate exceeding 1,000 kilometers per hour and can still exist at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius. If further improved, I think I might be able to freeze all of Earth's oceans in a single day."

Hearing this, Gordon gasped. He looked Victor over again. This scholarly professor always seemed gentle and refined, but his words carried the air of a final villain.

"This is not the kind of small ice cubes we usually add to drinks. Its hardness and stability are no less than that of metal. You can think of it as a kind of artificial diamond structure, only it is slightly less hard and has the low-temperature properties of ice."

"So..." Schiller concluded, "The reconstruction problem you are worried about does exist, but it is not an ordinary reconstruction problem, and it will bring an unexpected benefit."

"This ice is indeed very difficult to process, but once we utilize it, the entire underground of Gotham will become a huge natural cold storage facility."

Schiller then revealed to Gordon the entire Gotham reconstruction plan.

The reconstruction of Gotham City did not involve melting all the ice blocks. In fact, that was very difficult. The ice blocks created by Mr. Freeze Victor were not ordinary edible ice. This Dense Ice was extremely hard and required extremely high temperatures to melt. It was more like a solid material than ice blocks used for cooling.

This ice has replaced the rock layers beneath Gotham, meaning the entire city now sits on a single, massive block of Dense Ice.

Therefore, there was no need to melt the ice during reconstruction. Instead, passageways were directly carved out of the ice, transforming the entire Gotham underground into a giant natural cold storage facility.

This type of ice is difficult to process, and the construction progress will be slow, but fortunately it can be used as needed and the construction can be carried out in stages.

For example, to build a cold storage facility, you choose a good location, build the buildings on the ground, and then start digging. Once you dig out a room, you can put the products in to freeze them first, and then slowly dig out other rooms.

Although the process is slow and requires a lot of manpower and resources, once completed, it will provide a natural cold storage facility with almost no maintenance costs and ample space to fully meet the storage needs of bulk commodities.

More importantly, Victor's freezing technique has unparalleled preservation capabilities. In the comics, he has frozen Batman into an ice cube on several occasions and then chatted with him.

Batman emerged from the ice completely unharmed and was even able to beat up Mr. Freeze. Besides Batman's protagonist aura, Victor's superb freezing technology's ability to preserve freshness was also a crucial factor.

The Gotham villains' genius technology is just that absurd, but if used for good, it's an unparalleled and powerful productive force.

When the cost of cold chain storage in a city is reduced to a minimum, it will be impossible for it not to become a logistics hub. Producers looking to reduce logistics costs will flock there.

Gordon looked thoughtful, then said, "You mean, instead of fixing the sewers, we'll just use this ice as a natural cold storage?"

"The sewers will still be there, but we can rebuild a sewer system. And these Dense Ice that can exist at room temperature will become Gotham's Assassin card for development."

"This massive underground cold storage facility will be able to store cold chain products from the entire East Coast, making Gotham an indispensable location for cold chain transportation across the country."

Gordon looked at Batman, Batman was silent for a moment before saying, "According to my calculations, it is indeed possible. Although there are still many technical problems and the reconstruction will take a lot of time, once successful, Gotham will become a world-class logistics hub."

"Other cities would find it difficult to replicate this success, even if they had Victor's cryogenic technology, they would still find it difficult to have such a cooperative Court of Owls."

"Their artificial rainmaking technology is indeed impressive. It lasts a long time, produces a large amount of rain, and can gather enough water to create a stable ice layer in a very short time, which is quite remarkable," Schiller commented.

Gordon almost felt sorry for the Court of Owls; they were being sold out and were even helping the seller count the money.

"I was initially quite interested in the Court of Owls's artificial rainmaking technology," Schiller continued. "After all, as you've seen, their technology works quite well."

"But after thinking about it, even if we could get the technology, we would have to spend a lot of money to implement it, and the Federal Government would not agree to flooding Gotham just to build an underground natural cold storage facility."

"So it's best to let the Court of Owls do the work for us."

"They've done a great job so far, creating a flood that has built the world's largest underground cold storage facility, making an outstanding contribution to the future development of Gotham City. I think they deserve an award for outstanding contribution or something."

"However, there's a problem," Gordon said hesitantly. "I don't mean to discourage you, but as you just said, dealing with this kind of ice is extremely difficult and a huge undertaking, likely very expensive. And rebuilding the drainage system will also cost money..."

Schiller placed his hands on the table and suddenly changed the subject, saying to Gordon, "Detective Gordon, have you ever handled a kidnapping case?"

"Kidnapping? I did encounter a few when I was in Chicago, but since I came to Gotham, there have only been murders, not kidnappings."

"Even in a kidnapping case, if the hostage is already dead before the police arrive at the scene, then it can't be considered a kidnapping."

"It's okay, you just need to understand the principle behind it."

"Principle? What are you trying to say?"

Schiller took a sip of hot coffee, and after the warmth entered his stomach, he let out a satisfied sigh. Then he said, "No rush, let's analyze the current situation first."

"Gotham was at risk of flooding due to several days of continuous heavy rain. We implemented a series of emergency measures, which, although causing huge losses, saved the lives and property of countless citizens."

"Now, our investigation has concluded that this flood was a man-made conspiracy. A group of terrorists used a weather-related disaster weapon against Gotham, and now..."

Schiller trailed off, then continued, "The culprit is frozen inside a huge block of ice beneath Gotham. Detective Gordon, what do you think is the most important element in this kidnapping case?"

Gordon and asked, "What is it? To persuade the kidnappers? To protect the hostages?"

"That's how the police see it, but right now, we're the kidnappers."

Schiller tapped the table and emphasized, "It's a ransom demand."

"Obviously, now that we have the hostage, we can start talking about money, can't we?"

Gordon's mouth dropped open. He glanced at Schiller, Batman, and Victor, and said, "So this is your ultimate goal: to use the flood caused by the Court of Owls themselves to freeze them all underground, and then... demand a ransom???"

Schiller gestured to Victor, holding the stack of documents, said, "The location of the cryogenic generator is meticulously designed to ensure that all rooms and passageways connected to the surface within Gotham's underground area are completely filled with solid ice, without any omissions."

"In other words, if people trapped here want to leave Gotham's underground, they only have two options."

"Or, dig down into the rock layers, and in a place where the cryogenic emitters can't reach, dig a tunnel out of Gotham City."

"Either we dig upwards, break through the hard ice layer, and then we can leave the underground."

"But actually, they shouldn't have that ability, right?" Gordon understood Victor's implication.

"I'm not being arrogant," Victor said, putting down the documents. "But digging upwards is absolutely impossible; they can't possibly break the ice layer I created. And digging downwards..."

Schiller continued, "Given the size of Gotham City, it would take at least a year to dig it out."

"Ultimately, these people make a living through intrigue. When it comes to physical strength, they're probably no match for street thugs who fight all the time."

"The gang of 'claws' they raise are Assassin, not excavators. Even if there were ten times that number, it would be impossible to dig them out by manpower alone."

"So, we kidnapped the Court of Owls?" Gordon gave a strange look and said, "I thought they were some kind of formidable organization. Well, look what happened, we're completely trapped."

"So..." Gordon paused, seemingly still a little unaccustomed to his role, and said, "We're now the kidnappers, demanding ransom from them?"

Schiller shook his head and said, "It's just a metaphor, detective. You haven't grasped the essence. We're not kidnappers; we were just acting in self-defense."

"This group of terrorists called the Court of Owls, yes, they are terrorists."

"They used a large-scale weather disaster weapon, threatening the safety of all citizens and causing such great losses. Shouldn't we legally and reasonably seek compensation from them?"

Gordon glanced at Batman, who remained silent and showed no surprise at the statement. Clearly, this was part of their plan, and Batman was one of the insiders.

"By the way, Detective, what are the Police Department's losses?"

"Uh... the Police Department didn't suffer any losses. This wasn't a gang shootout. We just helped evacuate the citizens and adjusted the traffic routes for the construction crew..."

"Really? But these terrorists are so vicious, didn't they send Assassin to attack you?"

Gordon looked at Schiller and asked tentatively, "Hmm... did they send them out? Oh, yes, they did... two teams of Assassin?"

"No, no, no, at least a battalion."

Gordon covered his forehead and said, "This is outrageous!"

"They've been operating in Gotham for hundreds of years. If they didn't even have this kind of manpower, how could they be considered Gotham's largest and oldest terrorist organization?"

"Okay, but..."

Schiller raised his voice, his tone rising and falling. "The brave warriors of the Gotham Police Department fought them all night, forging Gotham's immortal glory with their blood! 3,000 police officers risked their lives, and after a night of bloody fighting, more than half were killed, and the remaining half were all seriously wounded. Their greatness deserves to be remembered..."

"But... the entire Gotham Police Department doesn't even have 300 people..." Gordon touched his chest, seemingly feeling a pang of conscience.

"It's okay, Sheriff Gordon. We are the victims. We'll tell you how much we have."

Schiller suddenly changed the subject, asking, "What about the upscale apartments on Gamo Street?"

"Of course it's great. It's top-notch on the outskirts of the Affluent Area. Back then..."

Gordon suddenly seemed to choke, his face flushing slightly. He looked at Schiller and said, "I'm not that kind of person. You can't bribe me like this. I'm a police officer with a conscience..."

"Let conscience be reserved for those who need it."

Just then, Mayor Roy burst in, a walkie-talkie in hand, his boots covered in mud, clearly having just walked through the street. He exclaimed, "Guys! Good news! Very minor casualties..."

Roy said incredulously, "Gotham City have incredible emergency evacuation capabilities. We issued a danger warning three hours in advance, and within three hours, almost all the citizens had evacuated to safe high-rise buildings. Even Metropolis can't match this kind of mobilization ability, can it?"

Roy remarked with considerable emotion, "In such a massive disaster, fewer than 20 people died. Most of them were drunkards who had lost their senses or addicts who were high on drugs. Although several thousand people were injured, most of them did not suffer serious injuries and did not even need to be hospitalized. First Aid Kit were sufficient."

"You don't even know how many gang shootouts happen in Gotham every day," Gordon whispered. "Those who are slow to run are already dead."

Schiller tapped the table, quite displeased, and said, "Mayor Roy, you've come at a very inopportune time. We're discussing the losses to Gotham City."

"What's wrong? Isn't it a good thing if the loss is small?" Roy asked, his eyes wide.

"Mayor Roy ..." Schiller smiled at Roy, then asked, "...Are you aware of the kidnapping case?"

Gordon covered his face with his hands.

Ten minutes later, Roy picked up a tissue and blew his nose hard. The table in front of him was piled high with tissues used for wiping snot and tears. He said with great sorrow, "... This horrific disaster has filled me with grief! Hundreds and thousands of lives have been lost, and the great achievements of human civilization have been destroyed!"

"These inhuman terrorists! They carried out a Carnage in Gotham City, killing over ten thousand of our civilians. All of Gotham's hospitals are overflowing, and countless others are going without treatment due to lack of medical care. God, save us..."

Roy blew his nose hard again, crying as he said, "This is the largest terrorist attack in the history of the Federation! The souls of hundreds of thousands of victims will forever nail the name of this terrorist organization to the pillar of shame, Court of Owls!"

Gordon stared at Roy, seemingly surprised by his superb acting skills.

"Do you think it's better for me to grieve gradually, or to have a strong outburst from the start?" Roy grabbed another tissue, wiped his tears, and said, "I think the latter would be more impactful."

"That's settled then. You'll open the press conference tomorrow. The reporters have already been contacted. The largest newspapers and media outlets on the entire East Coast will be there. You'll have about 30 minutes to express your feelings."

Then Schiller slammed his hand on the table, drawing everyone's attention, and said, "Alright, next, let's contact the victim... I mean, the culprit."

After saying that, he looked at Batman and said, "They should have a unique signal transmitter to communicate with ground surveillance. If you could intercept that signal..."

Before Schiller could finish speaking, Batman said, "In fact, I've already intercepted it and locked their location. I can send communications to them."

Batman looked at Schiller and said, "Do you have anything to say to them?"

Schiller smiled, sending a chill down the spines of the remaining men.

In the dark underground conference room of Gotham, people wearing white bird-shaped masks were still gathered around the huge long table, but they had long lost their former composure.

Just then, a radio placed on the nearby cabinet, used for communication, suddenly emitted a few crackling sounds. Everyone turned their heads, and when their eyes fell on the radio, a slightly hoarse voice came from it:

"I want to play a game with you guys."