Failed Zero-Cost Shopping Plan

"For this class assignment, I want to give special commendation to Mr. Robert. His argument on the analysis of emotional decomposition aligns perfectly with the theories I presented in class. Of course, Miss Hoff wrote the most this time, but I must say, word count doesn't equate to quality. I would be even happier if you could clearly articulate your points within 3,000 words."

"And as expected, there's still one person who didn't submit their assignment. Mr. Wayne, please come to my office after class. If you still don't intend to complete the assignment, then I don't think you need to attend the final exam. After all, without any homework points, even if you take the exam, you absolutely won't receive credit for the semester."

Schiller closed the textbook in front of him and said, "Class dismissed."

Gotham University is located on the East Coast of the United States. As everyone knows, almost all of America's famous universities are on the East Coast, including Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and so on.

Gotham University is not a competitor to these schools. Although it is a nationally recognized public university, it is not an Ivy League school. Moreover, Gotham City is a notoriously bad place in terms of public safety, and very few American students apply to this university. Even those who can attend university in Gotham City could easily apply to good universities nearby.

This results in students who remain at Gotham University being either those who couldn't get into other schools or international students.

It's hard to expect these students to have very good grades. More than half of them complete their assignments on time only because of Schiller's formidable reputation.

However, this is not the biggest reason for Gotham University's low ranking. After all, Gotham University has the extremely powerful backing of the Wayne Family. Even if they were to throw money at it, they could hire many top professors. With top professors and top laboratory equipment, it wouldn't be difficult to attract high-end talent. If we talk about safety issues, as long as one doesn't leave the Gotham University campus, it's quite safe here.

The problem lies in the fact that the president of Gotham University has always been unwilling to allow the Wayne Family to have too much control over the school. Don't think he's some kind of purist; Gotham University is his bargaining chip for advancing in politics, and he's unwilling to give this prize to the Wayne Family.

As a result, Gotham University has remained in a state of semi-dormancy, which Schiller is very dissatisfied with. He doesn't want his perfect resume to include teaching experience at a bottom-ranked school.

So, no matter how chaotic Gotham is, Schiller only wants to "farm" at Gotham University. He set a small goal for himself: to make Gotham University a member of the Ivy League first.

They are all Northeastern universities, and Gotham University's football team also has good results. It's not unreasonable to join the Ivy League, right?

And before that, even if Batman and other criminals were beating each other's brains out, he wouldn't want to get involved.

In the afternoon, after Bruce arrived at Schiller's office, he explained, "Professor, it's not that I haven't written the paper. I'll have my butler send the USB drive over later..."

"Not bringing it means you didn't write it," Schiller said fiercely.

He knocked on his desk and said, "If I can't do anything about Bruce not doing his homework, then others won't be affected. That's what you're thinking, right? After all, it's normal for people from the Wayne Family to have some privileges."

"But the hundreds of millions of dollars you funded the school with didn't end up in my pocket. So if you don't do your homework, I'll still deduct all your credits, and you won't get your diploma."

Bruce said softly, "Actually, I've already received my diploma. The factory that prints diplomas is also mine."

Schiller rubbed his forehead and said, "Why am I wasting my breath with you damned rich second-generation heirs... How is your investigation going?"

"Miss Christine indeed never left Gotham University. She disappeared within the school. However, this matter truly has nothing to do with Jonathan, because he disappeared after Jonathan was arrested."

"Do you have any suspects?" Schiller asked.

"In fact, the president of Gotham University is highly suspicious."

Before Schiller could question him, Bruce said, "I don't have any evidence to prove that he kidnapped Christine, but the three jurors who actively worked to acquit Jonathan, as well as Jonathan's defense lawyer, are all from a very famous gang in eastern Gotham, the Red Crow Gang."

"And the president of Gotham University is friends with the boss of this gang. They once attended a dinner party with the mayor together. And most importantly, his daughter is married to the head of smuggling logistics for the Red Crow Gang."

"But what role does Christine play in this story? As far as I know, she's just an ordinary girl, albeit a very beautiful one."

"I suspect Miss Christine might have overheard some of the president's schemes regarding Jonathan."

Bruce placed his arms on the desk, frowning. "You know, the football league is about to start, and the cheerleading squad has a lot to deal with. Their new season's dance costumes haven't been approved yet, and Christine was very anxious about it. She chose to go to the president, perhaps that's when she heard something she shouldn't have."

"Do you have any evidence?" Schiller asked.

"I think I'll stop dwelling on evidence. Of course, I won't rashly go to the president like this, because it might alert him."

Schiller said, "I suspect Miss Christine is not dead. You know, if the person who did it is indeed the president, then he's unlikely to kill Christine directly. This is because the cheerleading squad wouldn't be able to replace a captain in such a short time. And if the cheerleading squad has problems, it will affect the football team's performance, which is the only thing Gotham University has to show for itself, and it's part of the president's personal resume."

Bruce sighed and said, "Regardless, Miss Christine is innocent."

"Have you seen Gordon recently? How is his progress?"

"It's not going well. I think if I can find Miss Christine and have her testify to accuse these people of deliberately acquitting, then perhaps Jonathan can go to jail."

"Have you ever considered? Jonathan going to jail doesn't necessarily have to be in Gotham Prison."

"You want me to build a private prison?"

Schiller remained silent. He just stood up and said, "From now on, every criminal you catch, are you going to go through this entire process for them?"

"Or do you think it's interesting to mess around with them in these unfair judicial trial procedures?"

"With this time, you could pacify not only the Morsen District but also the gangs in two or three surrounding blocks."

"You know better than I do what Batman should be doing, Bruce."

Bruce left again, his mind full of worries.

Schiller had another problem to solve: if Jonathan went to prison, no matter which prison he was in, the source of the Fear Gas would become unstable. The supply he had would eventually run out, and he himself didn't have the formula nor the ability to mix it. It would be a shame for such a useful weapon to disappear.

Schiller was more cunning than the current reckless Batman. He knew that the best approach now was not to find Jonathan and force the formula for the Fear Gas out of him, nor to get him out of jail and control him to work for him. That would be troublesome and dangerous.

What he needed to do was to find a downstream buyer for Jonathan, let those people force out the formula, control Jonathan to work, and then Schiller would continue to reap the benefits by stealing the finished Fear Gas.

Those people wouldn't do anything good with the Fear Gas, so as long as they didn't get it, wouldn't that be enough?

Ask me, and it's all free shopping. You produce it on your end, and I'll steal it on mine. I'll steal as much as you produce. With the Gray Mist as a sharp tool, how could you possibly catch me?

Jonathan was still too naive. Schiller estimated that he had probably already handed over the formula for the Fear Gas. Once those people got the formula, they would have plenty of ways to produce it.

Schiller knew that since these people intended to do something big, the quantity of Fear Gas wouldn't be like Jonathan's small-scale operations. And to mass-produce this gas, a factory production line would be necessary.

There are many chemical plants in Gotham, but most of them are not very professional. There is only one place that has a production line for high-end chemical agents, and that is the Wayne Chemical Plant.

No matter how those people tried to cover up and operate, they would definitely need the production line of the Wayne Chemical Plant to achieve their goals.

With the Gray Mist ability, Schiller could travel further at night.

As he expected, it was another rainy night. Schiller stood outside the fence of the Wayne Chemical Plant and watched a car with a license plate ending in 676 drive into the facility.

Over the next few days, trucks shuttled back and forth between the Wayne Chemical Plant, seemingly transporting large equipment. Schiller didn't intend to stop them; instead, he tracked the trucks and discovered their destination for the stolen production line.

Predictably, it was in the eastern part of Gotham City, the territory of the Red Crow Gang. There was another chemical plant there, though not as large as the Wayne Chemical Plant. The production line equipment stolen from Wayne Chemical Plant was all being moved to this smaller facility.

However, things didn't go as planned. As soon as the production line started up, problems arose. Firstly, they were missing several machines. After all, the Wayne Chemical Plant's production line wasn't originally set up to manufacture Fear Gas, and some machines still needed to be purchased.

Secondly, the chemists they hired didn't seem as capable as Jonathan. The experiments before the production line started were not going smoothly. The replicated Fear Gas wasn't as potent as Jonathan's, nor was it as concentrated.

Thus, all the problems circled back to the issue of getting Jonathan out. Although Jonathan, the Scarecrow criminal, was new to the scene, his professional skills were formidable. The Red Crow Gang couldn't simply discard him and had to find a way to help him escape legal trouble.

Schiller hadn't expected this group of gangsters to be so incompetent. They had the formula but still couldn't produce the gas. He had even planned to stake out the production line's shipping dock and simply swallow whatever they produced.

Schiller's zero-dollar shopping plan failed, but he wasn't ready to give up. Since the Red Crow Gang couldn't pull it off, he needed to find a more capable buyer for Jonathan's product, perhaps Sal Maroney.