Chapter 3553: Edge of Tomorrow (Part 10)

The car drove along the highway in Cat Getan, with melodic, upbeat jazz music drifting from the radio. Shiler pressed a button on the radio, and after a brief moment of static, the news anchor's voice came on:

"The protests on Diamond Street are still ongoing, with over 2,000 employees from 18 companies now participating. Calls for the Justice League to appear and fulfill their responsibilities as superheroes are growing stronger, though there is still no word from any members of the Justice League. For further details, please stay tuned for our follow-up reports..."

Shiler frowned slightly and pressed the button again, switching to another channel.

"Recently, software named 'Super Butler Brainiac' has taken major mobile app markets and browsers by storm. Users claim it helps people in all walks of life complete their work perfectly, calling it a masterpiece of cross-generational software. Next, let's hear the opinions of relevant professionals..."

Shiler pressed the button again. "Click."

"Welcome to Brainiac's Emotional Radio. Are you heartbroken over a breakup? Are you distressed by an inability to handle family conflicts? Do you lack someone to confide your feelings in? Please send a text to Brainiac; the super artificial intelligence will be by your side at all times..."

"Click."

"Brainiac Smart Home, your best butler for life, allowing you to enjoy a perfect smart home experience without spending a fortune. Call now to order!"

"Click."

"Want a brand new personal image? Want to know the best shopping plan for you? Want to evaluate your child's talents? Please visit the Brainiac official website, where we provide tens of thousands of convenient life consultations. Quick questions and answers, all on the Brainiac official website!"

"Click."

"Brainiac..."

Shiler turned off the radio.

The car stopped in front of a mansion on the left bank of the Cat Getan River. Shiler looked up and saw the traces of erased surnames on the wall. This seemed to be a legacy of the Twelve Families; with the end of the gang era, even their names had vanished without a trace.

He stepped inside, not expecting that everyone had already arrived.

To be honest, even though the Arkham team in this universe had mostly returned to their homes and no longer engaged in illegal criminal activities, seeing so many villains gathered in one place was truly visually striking.

Mr. Freeze, Penguin, and Two-Face sat at a nearby table, flipping through thick legal codes; Killer Croc, Deathstroke, and Poison Ivy were playing pool around the billiard table; Harley Quinn was mixing drinks; and Joker was dozing off at the bar in front.

When Shiler entered, everyone looked at him in unison.

"You finally made it!" Harley put down the shaker and ran out from behind the bar. Shiler looked her over and noticed her style of dress was different from usual; she looked more like Harley Quinn.

Although Harley came from the streets, she hadn't spent much time there before quickly heading off to school. Her style of dress leaned more toward the collegiate look—most of the time she wore a shirt with a long skirt, paired with thick-soled Mary Jane shoes, carrying a crossbody bag or a handbag, and occasionally wearing glasses, looking very much like a good girl.

Today, she was wearing a sweatshirt with the Cat Getan University football team logo, a black leather jacket, jeans, and high-top boots. All that was missing was dyeing her hair two colors and tying it into pigtails, and she would be the spitting image of Harley Quinn.

Moreover, she usually didn't wear makeup, at most just a bit of lip balm. Today, however, not only did she have heavy Western-style makeup on, but she also had a bunch of things hanging from her ears and a fake lip ring under her lip.

Although it was different from her usual style, one had to admit that Harley's features were indeed suited for such heavy makeup, immediately drawing everyone's gaze to her.

Then Shiler looked at Jack, who was leaning against the bar. His attire today was also quite different.

In the past, he would either wear work clothes or just throw on a random sweatshirt and jacket. Today, he had finally put on the classic Joker skin—a purple suit—and his hair had been bleached again, finally green from root to tip. If nothing else, he had even styled it.

The most bizarre thing was that the makeup on his face had also been redone.

The Joker in their universe didn't have his mouth cut open; the Joker makeup was just lipstick. However, his face had indeed been bleached by some chemical agent, but because he didn't maintain it, from a distance it just looked a bit strange, not that terrifying.

Now, however, in addition to the original bleaching, he must have reapplied the pigment, reapplied the lipstick, and even extended the lipstick to the roots of his ears based on the original foundation, making it look like a huge blood-red smile from afar.

Shiler turned his head to look at the other side. Pamela had finally put on a uniform, but perhaps to avoid looking like a head of broccoli, her uniform was different from the Poison Ivy of other universes; it didn't look like a superhero uniform, but rather like a gown that would appear on a red carpet.

The upper part was a deep V-neck style, with fabric woven from deep green vines and leaves growing gradually upward from the hips to the waist. By the chest, thicker branches and larger leaves spread out, covering the necessary parts, and the part near the collarbone featured curled vine patterns.

The branches on the lower half were deep brown woody plants, with a total of nine main trunks spiraling clockwise downward from the waist, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, tapering into a fishtail shape, and blooming outward again near the ankles. There weren't many leaves on the upper part, and the tips were layered leaves. The design of the entire lower half looked like a tree reflected on the surface of the water.

Pamela had also rarely worn makeup today, but it looked rather sloppy—just some randomly smeared green eyeshadow and glitter, with her hair let down. She seemed to want to imitate the Poison Ivy of other universes, but because her emotions were too stable and she lacked elements of madness and danger, she didn't quite succeed.

Deathstroke was still the same old thing: black and yellow armor, with weapons covering his back and waist. However, Shiler could tell that he must have just maintained his armor; the metal parts were gleaming, and there were no wrinkles in the fabric.

Killer Croc wore a relatively tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt, revealing his scale-covered arms. Judging by the luster of the scales, they must have just been waxed.

As for the trio of Penguin, Two-Face, and Mr. Freeze, they were all wearing suits: Penguin in dark green, Two-Face in dark brown stripes, and Mr. Freeze in dark blue. At first glance, they looked like real estate agents having a meeting.

Seeing this, Shiler had a bad premonition. It seemed that this 500,000 wasn't easy to earn.

"Professor! Come over here! You're the only one who hasn't undergone an image makeover yet!" Harley's eyes shone.

"What? What makeover?"

"Villains, of course, must look like villains," Harley said. "We must have our own unique image, and it must be stylish! Come over quickly and let me see what you need to change!"

Shiler sighed inwardly, but looking at the light in Harley's eyes, he couldn't say no, so he walked over and sat down on the sofa.

If his guess was correct, everyone present must have sat here. Shiler could already imagine the chaos before he arrived.

Harley circled the single sofa Shiler was sitting on several times, her brows furrowed, her expression changing unpredictably.

"I really don't think there's anything about me worth changing. Besides, I'm a professor, and school rules dictate that I must wear a suit, otherwise I'll not only be fined but possibly fired."

"Then you must have some unique feature." Harley said.

Shiler actually thought about it carefully, then said: "You all have your own unique features, only I am plain and ordinary. How is that not a feature in itself?"

"That actually makes some sense..."

"What sense does that make!" Victor said quite dissatisfied. "I said I didn't like blue, but you insisted that Mr. Freeze should wear blue! How come it makes sense for him?"

"Because his code name is Professor," Pamela said. "You can't exactly have a professor wear a doll costume, can you?"

"Hmm, then shouldn't the Professor also have a unique prop?" Cobblepot raised the umbrella in his hand.

The Cobblepot in this universe didn't have the habit of carrying an umbrella; it must have been Harley borrowing from the Penguin of other universes—most Penguins' weapons were umbrellas, so she just shoved one into Cobblepot's hand.

"Shiler seems to be the one who carries an umbrella often, right?" Harvey spoke up. "I remember he had a black umbrella before..."

"No way, if the Professor carries an umbrella, then what does the Penguin carry?"

"Can't I just not carry one?"

"No! You've already taken it, you're not allowed to give it back!"

After thinking for a moment, Harley said: "Ah, right, Professor, I remember you had a globe head before, right?"

"That was in a dream," Shiler said. "Only in a dream can that effect be achieved. In the real world, I can't exactly block my head with a globe."

"But that was really cool! Professor—"

Shiler sighed helplessly. Taking someone's money meant helping them solve their problems, and besides, he really didn't want to reveal his true face. So, he had no choice but to contact Charles through the Battleworld system.

The brainwave from last time had already been erased by H'El, so he could only ask Charles for another one. However, it was clear that this request left Charles a bit confused as well.

"You mean you want a brainwave that can automatically interfere with people's vision, making everyone who sees you think you have a globe for a head?"

"Yes, but only when I need it."

"Alright, that's not difficult. Let me see..."

After a while, the others were surprised to find that Shiler's head had turned into a globe, and when you stared at him, the globe would even slowly rotate.

"That's awesome!" Harley shouted excitedly. "That's really cool! By the way, can you make him turn my head into..."

"No." Shiler refused flatly, fearing that Harley's little brain would come up with some other shocking idea.

"How come..." Harley said, somewhat dejected. "I wanted to turn my head into Elvis; that would definitely scare a lot of people! Or turn it into a pumpkin head for Halloween..."

However, she quickly became excited again and said: "Alright, now everyone has their own unique image. We are the coolest villain organization in this universe!"

"From now on, everyone must only call each other by their code names; you cannot call each other by your real names, otherwise you'll be fined."

"Next, we need to discuss what to change our base into. Everyone, speak up! You can buy whatever equipment you want, and it's all on the company!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3554 =====