The Long Easter (VIII)

Inside the Gotham City Police Department, Schiller stared thoughtfully at two lists. Gordon walked over and saw several rows of names with a few circled in red.

"These are the students who fell ill?"

"That's right."

"So which batch of Easter eggs had the problem? Were they bought from outside or distributed by the Gotham University Principal?"

"The problem is that the batch of Easter eggs that my colleague purchased from outside had issues. More than 70% of the students who received these Easter eggs suddenly fell ill."

"In other words..." Gordon picked up the phone and said into the other end, "Check how many Easter eggs are currently circulating in Gotham City's markets. Tell them to find a way to recall these eggs as soon as possible. They could very well be a batch of biological weapons that could drive people insane."

Gordon's tone was serious; the thought of hundreds or even thousands of insane biological weapons circulating in Gotham's markets gave him a headache.

"There might be a connection." Gordon took a breath to calm himself down, then said, "A batch of Easter eggs that are driving people crazy has appeared on the market, while at this time, the president of Gotham University is distributing ordinary Easter eggs and asking professors to make them themselves. What does this mean? Did he know in advance that the Easter eggs sold outside might be problematic?"

"Perhaps, but you should first mobilize people to collect these Easter eggs from the market." Schiller yawned, looking somewhat sleepy. "I need to go back and rest for a while. I haven't slept for two nights because of those crazy students."

"If you suspect me of murdering Sheldon, then arrest me only after you have solid evidence."

After saying that, Schiller turned and left, and Gordon did not stop him. Clearly, there were more important things to do now than the murder of the Gotham University Principal.

If this Easter egg were to spread, it would be a terrorist attack far more terrifying than flooding Gotham. Who knows how many lunatics would take to the streets and kill people? Gordon thought he had to stop it all.

After Schiller returned to the manor, he intended to take a bath and then go to sleep. However, as soon as he came out of the bathroom, he heard the bell ringing in the mailbox downstairs. He went downstairs and found that someone had left something in the mailbox.

He opened the mailbox and found a box inside. Inside the box was a colorful Easter egg.

He had just taken the Easter egg out of the box when it exploded with a "bang," scattering spent cartridge cases all around and releasing an unknown gas. Schiller asked the Gray Mist, "Is this the same substance as in the patient's blood?"

"It's the same," the Gray Mist replied.

Then Schiller discovered that not only the eggshell had exploded, but also a small piece of paper slowly drifting down. He reached out and caught the paper, which was floating in mid-air. After opening it, he found a string of words written on it:

"Happy Easter— the Holiday Killer."

Schiller narrowed his eyes. Holiday Killer? Isn't that a character from the comic book "The Long Halloween"?

But this guy is a Halloween Assassin, so why is this Holiday Killer appearing at Easter?

Besides, Assassin is supposed to kill, so what's the point of delivering Easter eggs that make someone go crazy? More importantly, they were delivered right to his doorstep.

When Batman arrived at Schiller's manor, he found Schiller painting a goose egg. Schiller was so engrossed in his painting that he didn't even notice when Batman deliberately made a little noise.

Batman had to cough before Schiller realized what was happening. He turned around, glanced at him, and said, "Do you need something? If not, don't disturb my work."

Batman glanced at the Easter egg Schiller was drawing. In the center of the egg was a large black smiley face, but the brushstrokes were rough, so the smile looked a bit strange.

Clearly, setting aside the practically nonexistent technique and the utterly unartistic subject matter, this process of haphazardly sketching with a pen cannot be called creation.

"Did you receive the Easter egg from that guy who calls himself the Holiday Killer?"

"It's because I received his Easter egg that I decided to return the favor." Schiller picked up the Easter egg he was painting, examined it for a moment, and then said, "I think mine is much better than the one he gave me."

"Some Gotham mob bosses and high society figures received that Easter egg, went crazy, were then subdued, and sent to mental hospitals."

Did you receive it too?

"Bruce Wayne received it."

Aren't you going to give him a gift in return?

"More than that, I want to know what that insane substance is."

"It seems you've already made some guesses."

"I think it's somewhat similar to the previous Fear Gas."

Schiller shook his head and said, "The symptoms are indeed very similar, but there are also differences."

"You don't think they're the same thing?"

"That's right. Just because the external symptoms are similar doesn't mean that they are caused by the same disease. At least in my opinion, it shouldn't be caused by Fear Gas."

Schiller didn't tell Batman was that he had long ruled out the possibility of Fear Gas, because he was the one who used Fear Gas the most, even more than its inventor Scarecrow.

He had previously used Fear Gas on many people in Hell's Kitchen, and he was very familiar with the symptoms that Fear Gas could cause.

Although the symptoms of this case are somewhat similar to those of people who inhaled Fear Gas, they are not exactly the same, and no components of Fear Gas were found in their bodies in the Gray Mist.

"We can't rule out the Court of Owls as a suspect; they haven't been completely wiped out," Batman concluded.

"What do you plan to do?" Schiller asked, turning to him.

"He must have had a purpose in doing these things. If he wanted to kill them, there would have been better ways."

"Many people haven't fallen for it," Batman continued. "Those mob bosses aren't that wary. They won't open unfamiliar packages, and many of them don't have the leisure to buy Easter eggs. If you want to kill someone this way, it's the least efficient method."

"This is more like a teaser, isn't it? It's like he's saying, 'I'm going to start causing trouble,' which is in three days for Easter."

"He'll probably kill someone on Easter, otherwise he wouldn't call himself Holiday Killer. The One question now is, who is his target, and what is his purpose?"

"Perhaps many seemingly unrelated things can provide some clues."

"For example?"

"For example, you know better Gordon that Sheldon's death was not my doing. If he had really offended someone or knew some important information that he was to be silenced, it shouldn't have happened at this critical juncture."

"The entire Gotham City is undergoing a major reconstruction." Schiller sighed and said, "No matter how much hatred the gangs have against him, they won't make a move at this time. Besides the lack of manpower, carrying out an assassination at this time is likely to offend other people who are focused on construction, making people feel uneasy."

Schiller pulled a list from the other side of the table and handed it to Batman, saying, "This is an important clue. Before Easter, Sheldon distributed materials to many professors to make Easter eggs, instructing them to make the eggs themselves and give them to their students, instead of buying them from the market."

"Subsequent events proved that the Easter eggs circulating in the market were problematic, so it is very likely that Sheldon knew about this problem in advance."

"Perhaps because it involved his own interests, Sheldon stopped the logistics department from purchasing ready-made Easter eggs from the market and instead wanted the professors to make them themselves. He wanted to avoid those problematic Easter eggs."

"So how did he find out about it in advance? Could this be related to his death?"

"I thought you wouldn't get involved in this," Batman said, looking at Schiller.

"Regardless, the Easter egg that the Holiday Killer sent me was the first gift I received for Easter, and I want to return the favor."

"I think this clue should be enough for you to find out something. If you find out where the Holiday Killer is hiding, then help me take my gift there."

Schiller picked up the Easter egg and handed it to Batman, Batman squinted at the rough-looking smiling face.

At the same time, Evans and Cobblepot were chatting in the hospital room. Evans sighed and said, "Gotham Cathedral had been repaired, but now the foundation has cracked, and the whole thing may have to be rebuilt. Even the Old Priest who had been stationed there has left, and I have nowhere to go this weekend."

"I didn't realize you were such a devout believer," Cobblepot said, looking at Evans.

"Of course," Evans said with a hint of distress. "Originally, I thought it was good that our principal moved the Easter arrangements forward, so I could go to church to pray on the evening of the holiday. You know, Easter is to celebrate the new life of Jesus, and prayer and sacrifice are very important."

"And now look what's happened." Evans spread his hands helplessly and said, "First it rained all day long, then floods broke out, and Gotham was hit by an ice storm, causing various roads to crack and buildings to be destroyed."

"Just when things were getting a little better, another murder occurred at Gotham University. The case is still under investigation, and then this unknown Holiday Killer appeared, driving several gang leaders insane..."

"This year's Easter is going to be really long..." Evans sighed.

"Anyway, Easter is in three days," Cobblepot said, lying in his hospital bed. "I have to go back to take care of my mother. When I got home yesterday, I wanted to take her to the hospital too, but she refused and insisted on going back to the old house instead of living in the new apartment."

"That's how elders are," Evans said with great empathy. "My father is the same. Sometimes I feel he's very good to me, but other times I feel he's too old-fashioned and serious."

"It's already quite good that the Godfather tolerated you learning all that nonsense," Cobblepot said to Evans. "What mob heir would spend all day singing and dancing, without even practicing marksmanship?"

Evans shrugged and said, "I can actually sense that my father is unhappy about my lack of ambition, but he still indulges me, and I don't know why..."

Then he opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I remember that my father and my brother had a very bad relationship, probably because my father was too strict with him."

"I was young then, but I vaguely remember that they argued, and it was very heated."

"Later, my brother died, and my father no longer allowed anyone to mention his name."

Evans sighed and said, "Many people don't even Taoism has an eldest son named Alberto Falcone."

A 10,000-word article is delivered today! Please vote and give a reward!

Stop raising them, stop raising them! They've failed their exams and gone crazy.