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The Robins had returned from their journey, and Shiller felt it was necessary to play host and throw a feast, but the old housekeeper clearly missed his children more and must've prepared a whole table of dishes long ago. So Shiller decided to take the New Warriors Team's youngsters to Wayne Manor for the banquet.

It was a banquet, but really, just a casual gathering, so there was no need to dress too formally. Robert never wore a uniform, just changed into a set of clean sportswear. Helen dressed up a little, ditching shorts and a tee for a cute blue sundress, topped off with a butterfly knot on her ponytail.

Robert looked at her with some disdain and said, "You're trying to be cute again."

"Mind your own business," Helen rolled her eyes and said, "No matter where, a housekeeper who can independently manage a huge manor must be an impressive person. If we can get on his good side, trouble will say goodbye to us."

Squirrel Girl was using a comb to tidy her bushy tail, worried about shedding during the visit. Nightingale was polishing his shoes; he dressed more formally in slacks and a shirt. Fungi Man and Robert were similar, both in loose-fitting and clean sportswear.

Shiller went upstairs to change his clothes—it was effectively the same, still that black suit.

Without the Gray mist, Shiller couldn't adjust the temperature as he pleased. The weather was very hot, and he didn't actually want to wear the suit, but Gotham University had a dress code for staff. No matter the temperature, dark suits, ties, and leather shoes were required, so Shiller had no choice but to dress that way.

It wasn't evening yet; everyone got ready because Shiller had an afternoon class, and the others wanted to check out Gotham University. So, they planned to go to the university together and then head to Wayne Manor in the evening without returning to change.

Shiller opened the garage door. After getting in the car, he immediately turned the air conditioning to the lowest setting. Helen climbed into the passenger seat and shivered from the blast of cold air.

As he started the car, Shiller said, "There are blankets in the back seat. You'd better wrap yourself up quickly, or you'll become the Multiverse's first victim of a cold on Doomsday."

Squirrel Girl handed a blanket to Helen, who wrapped herself up tightly. As the garage door opened, everyone was momentarily blinded by the overly bright midday sun, as if hit by a flashbang.

Shiller put down the sun visor and gradually drove out of the neighborhood. Helen found everything new and exciting, now and then asking about one thing or another.

But clearly, there were no fairy tales in this city. Shiller's introduction to each building began with them being destroyed by some disaster and ended with their reconstruction after another catastrophe. It was enough to make listeners sad and those hearing about it for the first time cry.

When Helen asked him to talk about something else, the ghost stories were even more plentiful. The history of each landmark building could be a highlight reel of major cases, with serial killers often operating in museums, churches, galleries. Every bank had experienced dozens of robberies, every mall had been hit by terrorist attacks, and every street bore the scars of mob shootouts...

By the time they arrived at Gotham University, they all carefully considered the possibility of getting into trouble with Williams.

While waiting for the elevator in the underground garage, Shiller said, "You don't need to worry too much. Williams isn't local, and even if he were, there are very few locals who can directly confront that many superpower users..."

"So, there are some?"

Shiller didn't deny it, and after entering the elevator, he said, "There are some, and they're mainly concentrated in Gotham University. So, you'd better behave. I don't want to see you hung in the lobby."

"When does your class start?" asked Robert. "Which year level are you teaching? What's the main topic? Can we sit in?"

"I have a basic course at two o'clock for the juniors, discussing crime psychology. From three to five, I have a group meeting with the graduate students, and after five, I'll be preparing lessons in my office until around seven o'clock."

"You can sit in on the basic course. There's no need to join the group meeting; you're not writing any papers anyway. The school has recently built quite a few labs, and there's also a technology museum you can visit."

The elevator stopped, and as Shiller walked out, Victor approached and said, "You're finally here. Are you busy this afternoon?"

"I'm free after five, but I need to prepare next week's lessons and review a few graduate students' papers. What's up?"

"I've adjusted the formula for dense ice and am planning to make a small, portable cooling device. I want you to help me test it."

"Where's Nora? Isn't she around?"

"She got heatstroke," Victor said somewhat helplessly. "I've said it before, you can't dry clothes outside in this weather. She thought a few minutes out would be fine, but then she came back with heatstroke. She had to take the day off."

"Is she okay?" Shiller asked with concern. "I find it hard to believe that the wife of a cryogenic scientist would get heatstroke at home."

"Speaking of which gives me a headache. I've repeated to countless people numerous times that cryogenic scientists don't control the weather, but nobody believes me," Victor sighed. "That's why I decided to go beyond myself and do something about this damn weather!"

At this moment, he noticed Helen and squatted down with delight, touching Helen's cheek and saying, "So this is the little girl from your relative's place you told me about? How old are you this year? Where are you from?"

"Seven years old, from Asgard."

"Don't listen to her nonsense. She was also seven last year," Robert said mercilessly. "In ten years, she'll still be seven."

"What? Do you have an issue with how Asgardians record age?" Helen shot back, glancing at him.

Professor Shearer told them, "My class is in room A213. You go ahead, I need to go to my office to fetch some things."

The group nodded and left. Professor Shearer and Victor walked towards the office together, their conversation still revolving around the recent hot topics—the absurdly high temperatures and Roy's condition.

"Everyone knows he's due for a promotion, so they're all eyeing the mayor's seat. We advised him to stay one more term, but this issue needs to be resolved eventually."

"What does Cobblepot have to say?"

"He only told James that he's powerless over the current situation in Gotham, so even if he takes over, all he could do is maintain the status quo. Everything else has to wait until Bruce gets back."

"Managing a city isn't that simple," sighed Shearer. "Especially a city as troublesome as Gotham, with its myriad of problems. Cobblepot's mother has lung issues; we can't expect too much from him."

Victor nodded and said, "Indeed. Has Bruce mentioned when he'll be back?"

"I think it'll be soon," Professor Shearer said, frowning slightly.

"Let's hope he brings us some good news."

Professor Shearer had much more on his mind than he voiced. Gotham is a fictitious city set in the comics, well-known for its boundless imagination. So, the setting of Gotham has been cobbled together according to different eras, having undergone numerous reforms, and most of the time the official maps count for nothing.

It would be odd if such a virtual city didn't have issues when translated to reality, especially since Shearer and others did not continue the dark setting from the comics but rather forcefully saved the city, exposing all kinds of contradictions and conflicts arising from the fictional setup.

For example, due to the Gotham rain problem set in the comics, which affects plants more than animals, to make sense, the editors had no choice but to say there's little greenery in Gotham.

Yet after Gotham saw the sunlight again, the lack of greenery became a significant issue, severely affecting the city's temperature and causing inconvenience to people's lives.

But the real world is not like the comics, where a scene jump can lead to lush greenery and bursting life. The impact of ordinary shrubbery and vine-like plants is far less than that of green areas and trees, and potted plants are even less useful.

To plant trees, you need land, otherwise even if The Green arrives, it's no use. But due to Gotham's setting of skyscrapers and cyberpunk aesthetic, there's simply no spare land for tree planting, creating an insoluble dilemma.

The only solution for now is to adopt more comical methods, such as during the time Gotham was frozen over, by installing air conditioning throughout the city. Back then, dense ice could decrease the city temperature by more than ten degrees. Although the cryogenic ice has been upgraded, it's not impossible to use some old versions buried underground as Gotham's "geocooling."

This requires complex design and precise manufacturing to ensure the city's temperature can be accurately adjusted. Shearer had no doubt about Victor's technical abilities, but all the above problems boiled down to one word—money.

Everyone is waiting for Bruce's return, not because they really expect him to come up with some amazing technology. The technology exists, the personnel are there, and solutions are not so difficult to come up with; the biggest problem is the lack of money.

With Roy in place, the city government has no money. If Cobblepot takes over, the city government still has no money. If you switch to any Tom, Dick, or Harry sent by the State Council, it's not just that the city government will have no money—it might even go bankrupt.

That's why everyone, including James Gordon, is indirectly probing Shearer about Bruce's whereabouts, because all the challenges Gotham is facing right now are essentially financial. If there's money, everything can be solved. The new cryogenic factory in the West District operating at full capacity can even use dense ice to lay down a layer of flooring for Gotham, naturally solving the temperature issue.

But at the moment, the money issue troubles not just Gotham but also America and the entire world. The whole world lacks money, except for Batman—who else could have a solution?

Shearer wasn't very optimistic; the world is in a period of global economic crisis. Even if the government gets some money, there are more pressing issues to be addressed than the temperature. This summer is bound to be a long one.

And as for relying on Bruce's return, that might be a bit of a stretch. Bruce has many things to attend to, simply preparing for external threats is enough to keep him busy. By the time he's done, the economic crisis might already be over.

Shearer arrived at his office, quickly grabbed his things, and went to the classroom. By the time he got there, the classroom was already fully seated. The New Warriors Team sat at the back and stopped whispering among themselves when they saw Shearer enter, sitting up straight and looking at him expectantly.

Unfortunately, they were bound to be disappointed. Shearer thought that the basics of psychology were extremely dull and boring, and he couldn't make them interesting.

Moreover, the nearly daily occurrence of not being able to collect homework, or collecting homework that was poorly written, infuriated him more than the 40+ degree weather.

Helen and the others watched helplessly as a storm swept through the classroom; she had to take back her impression that Professor Shearer was good-tempered. It was also the first time she realized there were so many words to describe someone's stupidity.