"That forest land had actually been contaminated long ago. A chemical plant had been illegally discharging waste there for about five years."
Schiller sifted through a stack of documents, selected one and set it aside before speaking.
"Did that chemical plant own the land?"
"No, but you've grasped the key point." Schiller flipped through the document in his hand and said, "In a city like Gotham, the value of Natural Forest Land goes without saying. The land belonged to a real estate developer, who had planned to turn the forest into a park and then develop an upscale residential community."
"But the forest was contaminated."
"Yes. In fact, there hadn't been many trees left there even three years ago. Soil pollution had made it impossible for most plants to survive, so his dream of building a park naturally fell apart. It was a complete investment failure."
If it had already become worthless three years ago, why sell it only now?
"Of course, because no one would buy it then. Even at a very low price, no one was willing to take it over, since they could buy better-located land for the same price. That developer was unwilling to sell, too, because he had already lost far too much. If he lost the land as well, it would all have been for nothing."
"Then why was he willing to sell it now?"
"Because they found a common enemy." Schiller set down the file and looked at Bruce. "The factory that had been illegally discharging waste didn't want anyone to know about it, but the dead trees and the severely excessive pollutants in the forest were evidence. If the land fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would be like the factory boss having his weakness seized."
"The real