Kapitel 247: Chapter 161: The Long Easter (Part 1)_1

Thunder clapped in the sky above the East Coast as a torrential downpour ensued. Puddles on suburban streets reflected pockets of daylight from the cracks in the thunderous clouds. The incessant patter of countless raindrops on lush leaves echoed through the window. Outside, the spring shower was frigid, while the ambiance inside was warm and inviting.

Shiller delicately turned the pages of the textbook in his hands, the friction of paper overshadowed by the song of the rain. Clearing his throat, he was forced to raise his voice, saying, "Easter is just a week away. The Psychology Club's dinner will begin at seven o'clock sharp on Easter evening. Those wishing to attend should arrive before half-past six."

Taking a pause, Shiller glanced at the heavy rain outside the window before adding, "The whole city's been experiencing thunderstorms lately. So, make sure to carry umbrellas. According to predictions, if the rainfall continues to increase, there could be a risk of flooding. Remember to keep an eye out for evacuation notices…"

After wrapping up his announcement, as he prepared to leave, Evans from the first row walked up to him, speaking in a hushed tone, "Professor, the rains have been so heavy lately, many students can't attend class on time, so the assignments…"

"Submit them later. Remind everyone to inform their parents. If the rainfall persists, a citywide evacuation could be necessary at any time. They should be aware of mob movements…"

Evans pulled out a timetable, saying, "Traditionally, the Easter feast would be held in the evening. But this year, our new principal scheduled the feast two days in advance, coincidentally avoiding clashing with the club's dinner. For the dinner, we plan…"

Mid-discussion about the event's organization, they were interjected by Bruce. Evans glanced at him, Shiller turned to Evans, stating, "Let's stick with this plan for now, we can confirm later."

Once Evans departed, Bruce began, "The rainfall has been increasingly heavy lately. Gotham's drainage system isn't cope equipped. I'm heading back to the Wayne Building to monitor the situation and prevent flooding."

"Granted, and also, it seems they've breached the defenses."

"We'll discuss that later." Bruce cautiously glanced around, seemingly weary of the bustling environment.

When Shiller returned to his office, Victor was holding a goose egg, sizing it up with a paintbrush in hand. Shiller approached him, examining the egg, questioning, "Where did you get this? You didn't swipe a swan's nest from the lake, did you?"

"Of course not. Do I look like the type who'd be that bored?" Victor dipped his brush in blue paint, sketching a star on the egg shell. Engrossed in painting, he explained, "The admin has provided each professor with five eggs for the Easter egg painting activity. We are to finish painting them before the holiday and then give them to the students."

"That's peculiar," Shiller chuckled, "Shouldn't it be the other way around? They should be the ones painting eggs for us. God knows how exhausting it is to teach them."

"They will be giving us eggs too, but probably the painted ones since there aren't many who can paint."

"In all honesty, I quite enjoy this activity. I always wanted to be a painter when I was a child." Victor was engrossed in adding nuances to his painted star with a smaller brush in hand.

Shiller shrugged, moving back to his seat, his eyes fell on a few goose eggs on his table. Holding an egg, he commented, "The amount of rainfall lately has been absurd, have you checked the weather forecast?"

Anna, from the next table was also engrossed in coloring an egg. Looking up at Shiller, she cynically remarked, "We barely get a few sunny days in this damned place throughout the year, but this time, the rain is excessive. My rain boots barely survive."

"I just heard from my students that the Easter feast's timing is moved up?" Shiller settled in his chair, fiddling with the paintbrushes and color palettes.

"Yes. Our principal, in a bid to organize more activities, decided to host the feast earlier. Consequently, the dance event has also been moved up."

"Why did he decide to do that? Are there that many activities to host?" Victor asked, puzzled.

"It's his first significant holiday since taking up the position. The new principal probably wants to impress us. Besides the feast, dance, and dinner, I heard he's also planned Bible exchanges, prayers, and hymn sessions."

"He doesn't exactly strike me as a devoted believer. I wonder why he's suddenly so interested in Easter."

All three shook their heads. Shiller studied the eggs on the table as he held a paintbrush. Just as he was about to start painting, Victor, holding a freshly painted egg, triumphantly exclaimed, "Look at this! Look at what I've painted."

The egg he held was adorned in multiple stars painted in a mix of red and blue hues. The design resembled the Stars and Stripes, although many of the stars were distorted due to the egg's oval shape. Additionally, the color wasn't evenly applied in some areas.

Anna teasingly said, "Who would've thought you were such a patriot? The designer of our national flag would weep with joy seeing your work."

"Give me a break," grumbled Victor. "I struggle to paint on a flat surface, let alone a round egg. This is pretty good, okay?"

Anna examined her own work, realizing it was worse than Victor's, and tossed her brush in frustration, ranting, "This wretched rain is clogging my mental faculties. My thesis isn't progressing, and the bunch of assignments by the students are barely readable…"

"I've been noticing for two weeks, the continuous rain is causing their brains to fill up with water."

"Don't be kidding, their brains are always filled with water even without the rain."

All three of them sighed. Evidently, the student quality at Gotham University was quite worrying. Victor looked at the Easter egg in his hand and said, "I don't think they would be interested in this. They prefer bullets, or stuffing some flammable plants here."

"Let it be, I plan to buy some ready ones from the store. Anyway, no one will find out." Anna stood up and said, then Shiller stopped her, saying: "Could you get me several too? Thank you."

After Anna left, Victor and Shiller looked at each other. Shiller said, "What do you plan to do? Don't tell me you're really going to stuff something into a goose egg..."

"I'm going to paint them and randomly give them to some bad luck individuals. If they dare to dislike my painting, I will fail them."

"By the way." Victor stood up and said, "About the blueprint of the Freeze Gun you gave me last time, I studied it and it seems not suitable for ordinary people to use."

"Really? Why do you say that?"

"Just to remove the magazine it needs a lot of strength, and when replacing it, if the thrust is not enough, there will be a risk of leakage."

"The gun seems to be designed for well-trained soldiers or strongmen to use. If it were me, before I even fired, the leak would be enough to freeze my arm."

What Shiller gave to Victor was the blueprint of the Freeze Gun developed by Peter.

After hearing what Victor said, Shiller understood. The Freeze Gun was developed by the powerful Spider Man, and the people who used it, apart from superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America, were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and at the worst, they were well-trained armed police.

Of course, these people can ignore the strength or recoil, but researchers like Victor can't. Shiller said to Victor, "So how do you plan to improve it? Do you have an idea?"

"Of course. In fact, I came to invite you to the lab with me. I need a test subject. I think our two body sizes and strengths are not much different. I would like you to help me test the sample I have."

Shiller shrugged: "Fine, I hope you can get the data you want."

When the two of them left, the thunderstorm had basically subsided, but the puddles on the road were too much. Victor shook the wet tip of his shoes, complaining: "The drainage system in the school is really poor. The rain stopped more than an hour ago, but the water on the ground hasn't been drained."

Shiller looked around and didn't see a drainage ditch or canal appearing on the ground. He recalled and found that all of Gotham seemed to be like this, with a stubborn drainage system. When it rains lightly, it's not too bad. But once it's like today, with a short-term, large-scale precipitation, the entire city seems to be flooded, and one can see the sea without leaving the house.

Like the immunity to the fear gas, Shiller was immune to this kind of rainwater. At least the symbiotic gray mist in his body didn't detect any abnormalities.

When he reached the lab with Victor, after chatting for a while, Shiller began to help Victor test the Freeze Gun.

After Victor recorded a few batches of experimental data, Shiller asked him, "What about that low-temperature generator? What do you think of it?"

"That's actually not a problem, it's very powerful. If the power supply is sufficient, it can freeze a large area."

"Can the power be increased? What's the maximum?"

Victor looked at Shiller a bit surprised, saying: "There's no upper limit to this, but what do you need such a huge power for?"

"Can you please build a few more for me? I may need them later." Shiller said thoughtfully.

Victor didn't ask further, but agreed to his request.

Shiller noticed that Victor seemed a bit absentminded, and asked: "Have you not been sleeping well lately?"

"No, but I've been a bit dazed recently." Victor shook his head, saying, "Usually, even if I soak in the lab all night, I can still concentrate. But recently, I start to feel tired before midnight."

"It might be due to the frequent rainy days lately. The rainy weather can make people feel depressed, and the humid air is also bad for the body. Try to stay indoors as much as possible."

Shiller turned his head to look out the window, and sometime without his noticing, the rain that had stopped began to fall intermittently, and it became more and more urgent.

Shiller thought, looking at the unusually heavy rainfall in Gotham recently, he knew, the Court of Owls was growing desperate.

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