The next morning, the rain had stopped. Though the wind was still fierce, the East Coast had finally entered the dry stretch of late autumn. Dry, bitterly cold air kept descending until it drove the thermometer's needle down to an unimaginable low. The temperature swiftly fell into the single digits, yet beneath the autumn leaves, the whole sky was an almost unreal blue.
The weather was so fine that the moment one stepped outside, everything seemed veiled in a hazy halo. The dazzling sunlight made it impossible to keep one's eyes open, and eyelashes had never felt so conspicuous. The wind was too strong for a trench coat to be of any use, so Greed wore a windbreaker and opened the courtyard gate with a slight shiver.
Pride had just stepped out of the house. Looking at Pamela, who held a device in each hand, he said speechlessly, "So you're this so-called inspection expert?"
"I have to correct you," Pamela raised her voice so it would not be swallowed by the wind. "I'm not Gotham's only inspection expert, but I am the only expert who can safely enter this dangerous Nature Reserve and deal with a beast like you!"
Pride turned away with a sigh, walked down the porch steps, and followed Pamela and her assistant to the front yard on the east side.
Pamela set down the instruments, then looked up at the enormous beech tree. She hesitated for quite a while before asking, "You mean that since you successfully raised this beech tree, you have the conditions to raise that Chestnut Tree too?"
Greed nodded. "I heard they're the same kind of plant, or from the same family."
"That isn't the point. The point is, you said this tree was raised in your yard?"
"That depends on how