Chapter 954

On the other side, the Netherworld Ship carrying Shi Ler, tracking the aura of the Cursed Soul, arrived at a palace constructed entirely of vines; the massive vessel showed no intention of stopping until it was blocked by endless thick vines.

“Green of All Things, I am not here to negotiate terms,” Marvel Shi Ler jumped down from the bow of the ship and said, “You should not have entered Gotham to find an agent, and more importantly, you should not have entered Gotham University.”

“Do you know? The plants under your control mutated and turned my estate and flowerbeds into a mess. With gardeners in short supply, repairs will cost a fortune—you must pay.”

A cold snort echoed from midair, and countless vines surged toward him—but in May Queen’s vision, a large number of people suddenly poured out from the relatively small ship.

Many Shi Lers leapt from the ship and began attacking the vines with all manner of methods.

May Queen was indeed part of the Green of All Things, but only a part; she was not as powerful as the full Green of All Things. Seeing a whole cart of Bread People disembark, she felt some pressure.

More importantly, she found it utterly baffling—she had no idea why this madman was her enemy? From start to finish, she had no idea what Shi Ler was talking about.

“Are you insane?” May Queen spoke with a tone of confusion. “Why are you chasing me?”

“You know exactly what you did,” Marvel Shi Ler said. “Just because your invasion of Gotham failed doesn’t mean you don’t owe a price. Otherwise, anyone could enter here at will, and my buildings and gardens would be destroyed—they are my property.”

“But I did not invade Gotham,” May Queen said, deflecting the onslaught of Shi Lers with vines. “I was only looking for an agent.”

“But you invaded Gotham to find an agent.”

“I did not invade Gotham.”

Both sides were trapped in a logical loop. May Queen was not human—she was more like a product of collective consciousness awakening. Her thinking differed from humans’, so she did not understand the concept of explanation. From her level of existence, she had no need to explain herself to any human.

But the more she refused to explain, the more her repeated denials looked like evasion. The more she evaded, the more Shi Ler became convinced his theory was correct—that the Green of All Things had orchestrated a conspiracy to find an agent.

As both sides were about to truly lose control, a voice suddenly appeared in the green space: Morpheus, the Dream King, descended. He spoke: “Stop! This may be a misunderstanding.”

“Morpheus, how did you get here?” May Queen asked.

“To clear up your misunderstanding,” Morpheus shook his head. “Catwoman came to me and explained the situation. As soon as I heard it, I knew you two had misinterpreted each other.”

“Shi Ler, put your blade down. The Green of All Things is not like this,” Morpheus said to the Moonlight Shi Ler leading the charge. “Have you forgotten? The Green of All Things is the voice of plants. Its duty is to protect them.”

“He would never use a madness virus to harm plants—just as a human would never randomly self-harm. His role is to protect all plants, not destroy them. So it cannot be him causing the mutations.”

Then he turned to May Queen’s vines and said: “As part of the Green of All Things, you should not invade the human realm like this. You know it’s against the rules. Even for an agent, creating such a commotion will only cause more plants to die…”

Shi Ler fell silent for a moment, then said: “The plants may not have truly mutated. Perhaps she’s merely controlling them to pretend they’re mutated.”

Morpheus shook his head. “Shi Ler, the May Queen controlling the vines is only a fragment of the Green of All Things. Even if she could make vines appear mutated, she couldn’t control trees, flowers, or other factions—they wouldn’t allow it.”

“I did not control plants to invade Gotham,” May Queen repeated. “I merely noticed unusual changes in Gotham’s plants and came to investigate. That is my duty.”

“Then how do you explain Pamela’s case?” Shi Ler asked.

“When I arrived in Gotham, I found her in danger. She was a candidate for an agent, so I had to rescue her. During the rescue, I realized she was an ideal candidate, and I wished for her to sign a contract with me,” May Queen replied, her tone utterly calm.

“Shi Ler, the Green of All Things has no reason to invade Gotham,” Morpheus landed on the ground and looked at Shi Ler. “Your massive attack on the Green of All Things does nothing to help Gotham’s current situation—it only wastes time.”

“If he’s not the culprit, then at least he should know what’s happening in Gotham now,” Shi Ler turned to the vines. “Don’t tell me she hasn’t noticed anything. Plants are the first victims.”

“Rain,” May Queen gave a single, brief word. “The vines sensed an unusual aura in the rain. If you wish to find the perpetrator of this anomaly, I can assist you.”

“If someone interferes with the natural cycle of rain, all plants may be endangered. The Green of All Things does not wish for this. If you can stop it, I will offer you a reward,” May Queen’s tone remained unchanged.

Such beings prioritize collective interest above all else; there is no issue of face. When collective interest is threatened, they prefer proactive measures to resolve problems.

“Enough, Shi Ler. First, lift the curse you’ve placed on May Queen. Otherwise, prolonged exposure may harm plants worldwide—and that would be a disaster,” Morpheus continued.

“I can withdraw the curse, but before that, you must give me more information. I won’t waste time chasing a vague goal. The curse came from water—so where did the rain come from?”

“The sea,” May Queen answered. “If you wish to investigate, you must turn your attention to the vast oceans. Water in nature’s cycle—the moisture plants and animals depend on—is tied to the sea. This case is no different.”

Perhaps because May Queen was so straightforward, with no intention of deception, Shi Ler withdrew the Cursed Soul. He said: “Then let’s discuss the reward.”

Under Morpheus’s witness, they reached an agreement. After Shi Ler and Morpheus departed, May Queen prepared to leave—but unexpectedly, she felt someone summoning her.

Sensing the familiar aura, May Queen wanted to turn and walk away—but Constantine’s voice came: “May Queen, I wish to make a deal with you…”

May Queen hesitated. She knew that Shi Ler alone might not be enough to confront the possible mastermind. Constantine had a bad reputation, but his power was undeniable. So she controlled her vines to respond to his call.

To her surprise, there was no trap. Constantine spoke sincerely: “Your Grace, May Queen, I have a task that requires your completion. In return, I will investigate the perpetrator harming the plants…”

“What task?” May Queen asked.

Constantine gave a vile grin and whispered a few words to the vines sent by May Queen.

After the vines departed, Constantine said cheerfully: “Ha! Remember when you hit me with that umbrella? Hmm…”

Marvel Shi Ler returned to the Hall of Mind aboard the Netherworld Ship, only to find no one controlling the surface consciousness. He didn’t know where DC Shi Ler had gone, so he went to his room.

Upon entering DC Shi Ler’s room, he found him lying motionless on the bed. Seeing his pale face, Marvel Shi Ler said: “Did your allergy flare up again?”

But then he added, slightly pleased: “Never mind. Rest here—I can take your place…”

DC Shi Ler immediately sat up, sighed, and said: “No, thank you. I’m going to work now.”

He left the room, took the elevator, ascended to the surface consciousness, and found Pamela and Catwoman crouched there watching him. When Catwoman saw Shi Ler awake, she jumped in fright, then patted her chest. “You scared me to death! You’re finally awake.”

The group was still in the lab of Gotham University’s experimental building. Shi Ler waved at them, found the lab phone, and called Batman: “We’ve figured it out. The cause of the citizens’ and plants’ mutations is the rainclouds over Gotham. Even if we can’t catch the mastermind, temporarily dispersing or blocking the rain should help.”

Batman frowned. “Is this reliable? Just blocking the rain will solve the madness and mutations?”

“No. Blocking the rain only stops new cases. I’m planning to address the root cause—but first, you must make Gotham quiet.”

“I just got diagnosed with severe sleep deprivation from an extremely professional doctor. Don’t let those mad citizens bang on my windows again.”

After hanging up, Shi Ler turned to Pamela: “I made a deal with the Green of All Things. Now it’s your choice. If you agree to become his agent, he’ll lend you power—but he won’t control your actions. Your duty is to protect plants and prevent anything that could destroy all plant life on Earth.”

Pamela frowned. “Even without him, I’ll protect plants. My dream is to become a plant scientist, contributing to their survival and reproduction.”

“Plants don’t speak. They don’t deceive. They simply grow as hard as they can, reaching for the sun. Humans think photosynthesis saved them—but plants don’t care about saving anyone.”

“A collective consciousness of plants that deceives me? That would be the true shame of plants,” Pamela said coldly.

“Of course, no one will force you. If you only want to be a plant scientist, focus on your studies. Now isn’t the time for you to solve these problems.”

But Pamela shook her head. “No. I’ll accept his power. This incident made me realize textbook knowledge won’t protect my plants.”

Pamela looked around and said: “Look at this mess. These events are beyond what ordinary people can handle.”

Seeing the plants soaked in nutrient solution now severed at the roots, Pamela’s face darkened with sorrow.

Shi Ler expected an environmental speech—but Pamela walked to the plants, picked them up, and said with heart-wrenching grief: “These two sets of growth samples took my mentor and me two full months. We were only three days away from results. Now it’s all ruined…”

Instantly, Shi Ler felt her sorrow as if it were his own.

After parting with Pamela and Catwoman, Shi Ler didn’t delay. He planned to leave the experimental building, return to his estate, then begin hunting the mastermind.

He descended as usual and opened the door—only to freeze in shock at the sight outside.

With Zatanna’s power spent, the thick fog enveloping Gotham dissipated, revealing a clearer landscape. Beneath faint sunlight, Gotham was lush with green.

This wasn’t surprising—May Queen’s arrival had triggered a tidal wave of vines, sweeping across the entire city, even pinning the mad citizens in place.

But what stunned Shi Ler was this: as far as he could see, every vine, every tree, every green plant in Gotham had turned into broccoli.

The entire city was drowned in broccoli.