Chapter 2481: The Strange and Eccentric Bat Family (End)

And clearly, this time Mad Laugh has failed spectacularly.

If one were to analyze the reasons for his failure, Shiller believed that firstly, insufficient intelligence led to the failure, and secondly, it was because Mad Laugh overvalued prediction upon prediction of a person's behavior; he placed too much emphasis on anticipation.

The first point needs no further discussion, as this plan appeared to be merely an attempt by Mad Laugh, since everyone could see that the intelligence he possessed was insufficient, whether it was about Shiller or the Marvel universe. His knowledge was limited and at best, this was a shot in the dark.

The second point was something Shiller gradually realized after arriving in this universe, as the real existence of both the trajectory of fate and the flow of time, as well as magic and prophecy, proved that anchoring future events in predictions was not impossible.

However, all the characters Shiller had encountered who were supposed to have predefined future-predicting powers, or were simply visitors from the future, exhibited a rather ambiguous attitude towards this ability.

Firstly, Barry from the future, who used the Divine Speed to return to the present, seemed very familiar with Shiller, and it was even possible that he owed Shiller a thesis at some point in time.

But Barry did not start off by telling Shiller what the future held; even if someone curiously asked, his answers were vague, revealing only the general direction of things.

The Time Management Bureau and Supreme Kang did the same, especially Kang; working alongside Shiller in the Holy Sanctuary, their interactions were numerous. Each time the future was brought up, Kang would shake his head and speak in uncertainties.

What made Shiller feel the most strongly about this were David and Franklin, who he met this time. Both clearly had their future-predicting abilities spelled out on paper, but neither of them ever firmly stated what the future would be like.

This led Shiller to believe that a predetermined future indeed existed, but it could also change due to various choices and accidents, leading to different branches, and it was uncertain which branch would become the main one.

So, this led to the existence of those like Mad Laugh at the forefront, who actually had no predefined ability to predict the future on paper, but relied on bizarre reasoning and prediction, trusting in the future they conjectured more than those who truly could see the future.

Because those with the true vision might perceive the complex branches of the future from another perspective, but without such ability, those who instead rely on reasoning lack this God-like perspective. Their understanding is confined to their own viewpoint; one is one, two is two, and the more rigorous the logic, the less uncertainty there is.

This is also one of Batman's characteristics. If you tell him there is only one murderer, he will nod in agreement. If you tell him the future is unclear and constantly changing, even if you can persuade him with facts, he will not like it. He cannot feel secure from such uncertain facts.

Mad Laugh's greatest weakness was that his predictions were always correct.

One might say, he effortlessly solved all multiple-choice questions, always picking the right option without understanding the underlying principles, giving him a consistent inner logic that there must be a correct answer to the question, because only then can he make the correct choice.

But if you suddenly tell him that the answer to the question actually fluctuates quantumly among three choices, that before a certain moment, or even at every moment before, the result is entirely uncertain, and it's even possible for both the question and the answer to collapse and disappear together, his response would not be resignation. Instead, he would start discussing probabilities and precise data, striving to select the correct answer.

His previous successes made him too superstitious about making the right choices. He believed that as long as all the choices he made along the way were correct, he could achieve the best outcome in the sense of probability theory. This was the main reason for the failure of his plan this time.

Firstly, the plan by Mad Laugh this time involved at least three layers of deception; the Laughing Egg within Bruce was used to paralyze Shiller and the Dark Knights, the egg inside Batman aimed to divert Batman's attention, and the aggressiveness of the Godspeed Reaper was to shield the ears and eyes of the Marvel folks. The true killer move was the egg he intended to throw into the Marvel Universe, hidden beneath all these layers.

In all of these matryoshka-like plans, Mad Laugh had done his best, because even Shiller and the Batman of the Prime Universe failed to truly trace anything substantial through these clues. He left no trace and tied up loose ends very neatly.

The failure of the first layer was due to arrogance becoming deeply intertwined with Joker and Batman, which led to prematurely focusing on Batman's anomaly and digging out the egg too soon. This didn't quite reflect Mad Laugh's problem of trusting too much in predictions and predetermined futures.

But the failure of the second layer of shell was quite telling, as the discovery and rescue process of these Batmen was a total mess. Shiller had no set plan and did just about anything randomly. Bruce ran around with his street rat instincts, and the only certainty was the Batman of the Prime Universe; then Iron Man came along and reset the chances back to square one.

Too many uncertain factors brought about greater randomness. Everyone was in chaos, lacking a clear plan or accurate purpose; the whole process emphasized wandering about.

You could imagine that, according to Mad Laugh's design, the original process should have been following the trail of a cosmic meteor, gradually finding the mysterious contaminants traveling through various universes, and then rescuing the Dark Batmen from each universe.

But what actually happened was akin to a group of blind cats racking up their WeChat steps, each stumbling upon their own predestined dead rats.

The entire Dark Knights were assembled before they were able to deduce the complete backstory. It was a case of the cause following the effect, a reversal of the natural order.

This led to Mad Laugh's carefully designed backstory, those mysterious brain waves and dark energy, as well as the mysterious blood that were intended to scatter attention, never becoming the main storyline. Instead, they turned into side quests, optional courses chosen according to one's interests and hobbies, without hindering their unexpected discovery of the Laughing Egg.

And the third layer, the threat of the Godspeed Reaper itself, was actually a major concern for Nick and others. But there was such an unexpected occurrence with David, who just happened to harbor a personality within his super-mutant body that could perfectly manipulate time and capture the Godspeed Reaper alive, naturally allowing the Marvel folks a glimpse into its nature.

Shiller actually suspected this might not be an accident, after all. The suggestion from Franklin, who had come from the future, was really a message for a doctor in the future. This doctor was either Anatoli or Shiller himself, possibly part of their plan.

If David hadn't erupted at that time, it's unlikely to have been easy to secure his help just by offering some mechanical clone bodies—and David's loss of control and eruption could indeed be called an accident.

So, after everything concluded, from the perspective of overseeing the entire strategy, Mad Laugh seemed more like the protagonist, a master of plans and strategies, setting up all the roles and guiding events towards a path favorable for him. On the other hand, Shiller's side seemed chaotic and disorganized, apparently only achieving success by sheer luck as if they were the villains.

But the truth remains the same: he who trusts too much in his choices, anchoring on a future deemed most reasonable without leaving room for the myriad bizarre accidents of this world, is almost certainly doomed to fail.

And many organizations that seem like ragtag teams, where everyone is shattered and clueless, randomly sliding and bumping around, may end up creating a spark of wisdom and possibly emerge as the final victors. This is because this is how the human race has come this far.

It does sound pessimistic and hopeless, but up to now, the trajectory of the human race's development cannot be said to have been steady and rule-abiding. Instead, it could only be described as a horde of blind cats that have run into enough dead rats.

Everyone knows what's right and what's good, but they can't achieve it because some people don't want to benefit themselves or others, some are hopeful but unluckily unable to do it, some want to do it and yet their efforts are shattered by unexpected collisions, and some do not want to do any of it but are pushed against their will by some inexplicable forces.

Think about it, if the majority of people who want to do something can do it and actually succeed, would the world still be in its current dire state?

A person who is destined to never fail has his greatest weakness: he cannot accept success that comes unexpectedly, whether it's his own or someone else's. Once this success has nothing to do with him, coming from some inexplicable timing, he is prone to inexplicable breakdowns.

Just as Shiller finally dealt with Robin's recent psychological issues and began discussing camping plans with Alfred, he received a call from Batman.

"Doctor, sorry, I can't come back for now, my universe is under invasion. I have sent the coordinates. Please inform them, the Batman Family needs to assemble," Batman said in a rather serious tone, and Shiller frowned.

When all the Batmans at Wayne Manor converged in the Batcave, they saw a photograph on the screen: the Capitol Building, destroyed.

"Oh my God!" Nightwing exclaimed. "Is this another terrorist attack? What the heck is going on with that universe?"

"Look there, in the background of the photo!" Red Robin suddenly screamed.

As everyone looked in the direction he pointed, they saw Superman, falling from the sky behind the exploded Capitol Building.

Wonder Woman, who stayed with the God of War Batman, took a few steps back and said, "This can't be happening, Superman..."

"Call Batwoman," Lightning Batman immediately said. "Have her bring Clark back, now!"

Turning to the Robins, Nightwing said, "I think we have big trouble on our hands, get ready to gear up."

Red Hood, looking at the motley crew of Batmans, said, "I think this might be the strangest sortie the Batman Family has ever made."

"Don't worry," Shiller said. "Sometimes, being odd isn't a trouble but a strength. Get ready to move out."