Chapter 2954: When the Night Falls (36)

This was unlike Mind Reading Technique, resembling more of an empathetic emotional exchange that couldn't transmit any actual information; yet Shiller could understand what Jenna was puzzled about.

Shiller wasn't accustomed to this way of communicating, but he still repeated his answer in his mind as much as possible, hoping Jenna would understand.

It seemed that Jenna really did understand.

"Time."

Jenna repeated the word, her face suddenly turning pale as she seemed to realize the biggest flaw in her plan.

That was the silver coin.

The moment Jenna looked up at Batman, she found that Batman was also looking at her. The girl's expression became resolute; she had to find a way to pinpoint the betrayer and save her brother.

A loud bang pulled Jenna out of her thoughts; Green Lantern had collapsed onto the table, causing everyone to turn in that direction.

The Flash walked over and patted Green Lantern on the back, but Green Lantern did not react, causing everyone to become somewhat panicked. The Flash then looked towards Batman and said, "He might need emergency care…"

Batman remained immovable.

"I think we can't afford to waste more time here," said The Flash, a statement that most people agreed with. "Most of the topics we've been discussing are useless in resolving the vampire disaster. Since Green Lantern is the biggest suspect, let's examine him then let us out, it's better than staying in here."

"When did I say that Green Lantern was the biggest suspect?"

Batman's question silenced everyone; they truly couldn't understand why Batman wasn't targeting Green Lantern, the most abnormal behaving among them—it was almost as though he was ignoring the elephant in the room.

Batman still sat motionless, his hands flat on his legs, posture impeccable; everyone awaited his response, but he remained silent.

"I agree too, we can't go on like this," Superman finally broke the silence. "Let's end this, Batman, take Hal for an examination."

"What if Hal isn't the betrayer?" Batman asked.

"Then at least we've eliminated one suspect."

"But that plays right into the betrayer's hands because many of the vampire-related examinations can't be carried out in this room without breaking the room's seal."

"Then break it; he isn't going anywhere, is he?"

"I said, reasoning needs as little interference as possible, once the room is opened, the conclusion could be contaminated."

"Stop with your reasoning," Aquaman said. "We've been here for two days and you haven't deduced anything. I think we should just get on with it. If we must, I'll bring in the army from Atlantis; could those rats really revolt against us?"

"I have already found that silver coin."

Batman's statement brought silence to the room.

"You mean you know who the betrayer is?" Wonder Woman asked urgently.

"Yes," Batman nodded and said.

"Who is it?" Superman asked, scanning the others, seemingly ready to strike with his laser the moment Batman uttered the name.

"I can't say." Batman said, "The moment I reveal the truth, I will die."

Now everyone was not just silent but frozen.

"Impossible," Superman said. "I will protect you, absolutely no one can kill you while I stand beside you."

"Someone can."

The group found themselves at a loss for words, desperately trying to figure out who among them could possibly kill Batman even under Superman's protection; but no matter how they thought about it, Superman was invincible.

Jenna's lips moved faintly, drawing everyone's attention, but she quickly displayed a terrified expression and then vigorously shook her head.

"What's wrong, Jenna?" Wonder Woman asked.

"I can't say," Jenna said, her eyes reddening as she looked at the heroine. "I know who it is, but I can't say."

"What the hell is going on here?!" Aquaman stood up and roared. "What are you all hiding?!"

"Could there be some kind of curse?" Wonder Woman, who was more knowledgeable about magic, speculated. "You can't speak the betrayer's name? But I didn't see any sign of a curse on you, what kind of curse could elude my eyes?"

The situation had reached an impasse.

It was evident that something threatened Batman and Jenna, yet they seemed unable to speak the truth. Superman and Wonder Woman were present; no matter the type of attack, physical or magical, they could block it. What were they afraid of?

Martian Manhunter, with his sharp awareness, realized they must have overlooked something, some unseen and not sensed element at play here that truly threatened Batman.

"If it's a curse, I can speak for them through mind reading," Martian Manhunter said. "I know Batman won't allow me to read his mind, but what about you, Jenna?"

Jenna nodded, but her look was clearly devoid of hope. Martian Manhunter closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he seemed startled, and he tightly shut his mouth.

"What did you read?"

"I can't say."

This response drove the others to despair. Superman said, "Could that name itself be a curse, causing death to all who know it?"

"Stop joking, we're not in a movie; there's no such curse," Wonder Woman said. "There are plenty of ways to circumvent not using names; code names, descriptions, or a common detail known to us all—the methods are endless; how could such a curse exist?"

"What if just thinking about this person would trigger the curse?" Aquaman posed a possibility.

"If the betrayer had that power, could we still be standing here talking?" Wonder Woman countered.

Aquaman had nothing more to say, indeed, if merely thinking of his identity would curse someone, the Justice League would have been annihilated long ago, since everyone present had suspected each other at some point—if merely thinking it caused death, they would have all perished already.

Wonder Woman also realized that there must have been something unknown happening, but the ones capable of reasoning out the truth were all trapped, cutting off all clues.

At that moment, Green Lantern suddenly woke up.

As he propped himself up, his face was already so pale that it was void of any blood, and strangely, it seemed like some blood had flowed out from under his arm, with the Green Lantern energy morphing this blood into the shapes of letters.

With a whoosh, Green Lantern disappeared.

This sudden change stunned everyone present, and they all looked towards Superman. Superman shook his head and said, "No, no one has left, I can assure you."

"Did he initiate a teleport? Or was it some special rapid movement ability unique to Green Lantern?" The Flash said.

Wonder Woman, however, was stunned for she saw the letters coalesced from Green Lantern's blood. Although the blood on the table also disappeared with his disappearance, she clearly saw the words—"time".

"Time." Wonder Woman didn't say it aloud, she mulled over the word in her mind, suddenly showing a look of realization.

Then, under Superman's astonished gaze, Wonder Woman's expression also froze, and she shook her head at Superman.

The implication from Wonder Woman was that he couldn't speak either.

"What on earth is going on?!" Superman could practically be termed frantic, was this some sort of haunting?

Just then, an unexpected person suddenly stood up—it was Zan.

His gaze blanked for a moment, but after regaining his composure, he didn't show a trace of fear.

"The Flash." He said casually, then continued, "You all must have seen him in the Divine Speed Force, right?"

Jenna looked desperately towards her brother, saying, "No, he might…"

"He wasn't affected by hunger because he can enter the Divine Speed Force, where he could drink Hal's blood whilst time is frozen; Hal can't speak his name, or he could enter the Divine Speed Force any time and kill him, or kill any of the others."

"That's how he's threatening you too; if you say his name, he can kill Batman, who is a mere mortal, in the blink of a time freeze."

"The moment you realized the traitor was The Flash, you knew he could do it, so none of you dared to speak out."

Shiller looked at The Flash, wearing a somber expression, with a smile then said, "Your plan was perfect, pretending to be attacked first, gathering everyone together and vigorously promoting the plan to lock everyone up because you know spatial confinement is meaningless to you in the Divine Speed Force where you have infinite time."

"The first night, you entered the Divine Speed Force and dragged Hal in too, you drank his blood but left him alive because you still needed a suspect."

"The next night, you did the same, and threatened Hal to draw other people's attention; Hal's pale complexion and low body temperature were due to excessive blood loss."

"But what you didn't expect was that Batman had already suspected you because he is a real detective—not only wouldn't he eliminate a victim from suspicion, he'd suspect them first."

"Your behavior of using injury to cover up all abnormal behavior to create opportunities, in Batman's eyes, was like showing off one's slight skill before an expert, as naive as the answer to an elementary school homework."

"Upon discovering exposure, you could only repeat the trick, enter the Divine Speed Force, appear before each person who figured out the truth, and threaten them that if they dared to speak your name, you'd kill the person most important to them."

"But you made a fatal mistake…"

Shiller said to The Flash with a smile.

"You're not the only one who can manipulate time."

Inside Mysterious House, Constantine, who had changed into new clothes, closed the door and asked Shiller, "So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Do you have a way to traverse through time?"

Constantine paused and said, "I don't."

"Then you must know someone who can."

Constantine sighed, came to the table, sat down, and said, "This person is far away yet close at hand; Doctor Destiny has a way, but what do you intend to do with time travel?"

"Of course, to prepare for the worst-case scenario."

Being a clever man, Constantine quickly grasped the truth and ventured, "You mean someone within the vampire camp can travel through time?... It couldn't be The Flash, could it?!"

"Honestly, I don't know, but what if?"

Constantine's expression immediately turned serious as Shiller said, "If it really is The Flash, Batman surely wouldn't fail to notice; he'd definitely find a way to lure The Flash back to the past."

"What way?"

"If everything The Flash did from the moment he transformed into a vampire was flawless, Batman naturally wouldn't be able to do anything to him, but do you think Barry could really manage that?"

Constantine shook his head, saying, "The Flash is too young and lacks experience; even if he became a vampire, magic can't improve wisdom; likely, he'll make no small number of mistakes."

"Batman will pinpoint the most critical one," Shiller sighed, "The endless expansion of vampires is self-destructive; once he makes The Flash realize this, The Flash will definitely try to return to the past, warning the King of Vampires to change his ways."

"He has another reason he must go back," Shiller continued, "The other me inside Zan's body wouldn't be intimidated by him; once I expose his true nature in front of everyone, leading the Justice League to unite against him, he wouldn't stand a chance."

"But he won't give up; he'll want to go back to the past and try again, thinking he can do better this time; that's the fool's perennial mistake."

"The Flash isn't that foolish..."

"If he isn't foolish, how did he become a vampire?"

Constantine was at a loss for words; the fastest man in the world actually getting bitten by a vampire was indeed foolish beyond measure.