The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4624 Aftermath (Part 2)

Chapter 4624 Aftermath (Part 2)

"So, your plan is to walk into the abyss below the tower?" Strange looked at Charles and asked, "Are you even thinking straight?"

Charles calmly explained, "It's not impossible. There's no one in the abyss right now; it's actually very quiet. Even if you go down, you won't be hunted down. Jormungandr can testify to that."

"Furthermore, Schiller has experience in opening channels to the Dream Realm. In fact, the channel beneath his subconscious was one he created, a fact that Jack can attest to. Although the channel is now sealed, a new one can still be opened, can't it?"

The Batmen exchanged hesitant glances. The main universe Batman spoke up, "But Schiller is injured, and he's still recovering. Isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate...?"

"He's recuperating in a tower, not in an abyss. The commotion below won't affect him."

"What I mean is, if you're going to work there, there will definitely be a lot of people coming and going, so it probably won't be very quiet. That might not be good for the patient's recovery."

“It’s just not good for the recuperation of ordinary patients, but Schiller is obviously not an ordinary person.” Charles looked somewhat helpless. “There’s no excitement to watch; he’s just too noisy. That’s the main reason I proposed this plan.”

The main universe's Batman opened his mouth. He suddenly remembered that Schiller had a peculiar characteristic—the worse his condition, the better he performed; the more serious his injury, the more excited he became.

Now, the tower is cracked, and he must be seriously injured—that's when he's feeling excited. Even Charles probably couldn't keep him quietly in his room to recover. If you don't give him something to do, he'll have to give the multiverse something to do.

People like Arrogance and the agents are alright, but Greed is probably already plotting something big. As for the pathological ones... the fact that they're allowed to stay in the tower under these circumstances means everyone who comes will have to say that Charles is invincible.

The Batmen exchanged glances, seemingly discussing the matter, but they were really out of ideas. The main universe Batman said, "Alright, let Jack give it a try. Hopefully, it'll bring good news."

Strange's first reaction upon hearing the plan was to object, but he was quickly met with Eric's death stare. Charles was visibly tired after only a short time watching Schiller. Even a super-psychic couldn't withstand such a distraction.

Strange wasn't involved in clearing the passage, so he decided to visit Schiller and make sure he wasn't affected. But upon entering the tower, he found Schiller neatly arranged in a circle in the second-floor atrium, all staring intently down. The sight was terrifying; even Batman wouldn't dare linger.

"Uh, are you guys alright?" Strange asked.

“I feel fine,” Greed replied. “Charles is overreacting. We’re actually fully recovered.”

Strange couldn't help but look up. The crack in the tower was still there, showing no sign of disappearing. He pointed to it and said, "What about that? Aren't you going to fix it?"

“Charles fixed it for us, let’s make do for now,” Greed continued. “Obviously, resolving the multiverse crisis is more important. Talk to Charles and ask him to let us go down. The Black Lantern’s power won’t cause any trouble.”

“Yes, compared to the tsunami you created, the power of the Black Lantern is nothing,” Strange said. “You can’t do anything about me. Like you said, I’m a surgeon, I don’t have prescription privileges.”

He left after saying that. Greed sighed deeply, "Really, you can't count on any of them when it matters."

So they could only watch the spectacle from upstairs. Fortunately, it was indeed quite a spectacle. First, Jack came over to investigate the possibility of building another tunnel; then Batman discussed the plan; and the Justice League went down to begin construction. This back-and-forth happened many times, finally keeping Schiller from getting too bored.

Of course, the addition of the "After-get off work Alliance" during work hours made things even more fun. Because they were still vehemently criticizing Bruce, and Bruce, being an East Coast figure, was engaging in a verbal battle against a group of people, holding his own against them and even managing to get Batman involved in the insults. Meanwhile, the Schillers had been squatting on the second floor watching countless concerts.

After a period of frantic activity, the passage was finally cleared. But this was just the beginning, because splitting up to enter different dreamscapes to deal with the power of the Black Lantern was an even bigger challenge—a massive raid replay and public execution.

It's not that they don't want to go back to the real world and argue, they just can't hold it in any longer. Basically, as soon as they surface and get back to the tower, they start blaming their teammates.

If they had teamed up like the Justice League, or even as a group of counterparts, things wouldn't have turned out this way. But in reality, it's completely impossible. Finding a way to awaken the Sandman requires Charles, who is bound to Eric, and Eric has a difficult temperament; and awakening him requires a sorcerer, and Strange is clearly not very understanding.

These two are clearly stubborn, and having been team leaders before, they're obviously not quite used to being teammates. And because Batman doesn't have enough members, they can't be present in every team to mediate their relationships, leading to a disastrous start to their teamwork.

"How many times have I told you, mages, don't stray from the group!" Superman from the main universe raised his voice. "I know you're strong, and I know you want to check out some dream core. But that area is teeming with zombies. Can't you wait until I clear out the monsters first?!"

"Then why don't you reflect on why you were so slow in clearing it?" Strange retorted. "The power leaked from the core of the dream is fleeting. If we don't seize the opportunity, our trip to that dream will have been a waste. Do you think I have the time to waste here with you guys?"

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman was earnestly admonishing him: "Mr. Lansheer, and you, Miss Lansheer... well, you're not Lansheer, so Miss Polaris. When you two are fighting, can you at least look at your teammates? One magnetic storm from you and your teammates are flying all the way to the middle of the Atlantic!"

Batman was also emphasizing, "Get out of there immediately after completing the mission. Don't linger. There's no point in fighting those controlled zombies. We need to conserve our strength..."

Although Schiller hadn't witnessed their operation firsthand, he could roughly piece together their plan: to infiltrate the dreams, search, attack, and retreat. They would jump into each dream in small teams, locate the dream's core, and then have mages interact with it to gather information and pinpoint the location of the Sleep Demon.

But like any game of search, attack, and retreat, the problems of not being able to find the target, being unable to defeat the enemy, and being unable to retreat are constant. Actually, the first two are not too bad; with Charles and the mage around, there are basically no issues with not being able to find the target or being unable to defeat the enemy. But most of the time, the problems lie in the inability to retreat in time and the excessive expenditure of resources.

After this round of searching, everyone was exhausted, and it was uncertain whether a second round could be launched. The Batmen didn't even have time to return to the real world to rest; they stayed in the tower discussing strategy.

“Hey, I’m telling you,” Schiller’s voice came from upstairs, “I don’t think your method is very reliable.”

Batman looked up. The number of Schillers upstairs had decreased; they seemed to have gone to repair the tower, but the crowd was still large. However, many were on higher floors, making it difficult to hear each other clearly, so it was relatively quiet.

"Your method of finding people is completely wrong!" Greed practically shouted. "I have a suggestion, do you want to hear it?"

The main universe's Batman stared at him without saying a word, seemingly trying to determine whether he was genuinely offering advice or just trying to pull off another big stunt.

“Lucifer and Morpheus don’t get along,” Greed said, leaning against the railing. “To be precise, they’ve fought before. Lucifer should know where Morpheus is.”

Batman then remembered that Schiller seemed unaware that there was a hole in the Origin Wall, and that Lucifer and Anatoly had stayed there to plug it.

“Lucifer is busy,” the main universe Batman said. “Even if he were free, he might not help us.”

“Constantine slept with Morpheus. He should have a way to contact Morpheus too,” Greed said.

“Constantine is undergoing treatment,” the main universe Batman says. “It’s unethical to involve a mentally ill person in the work.”

Greed understood his implication, but he still said, "I've also dealt with Morpheus..."

“No.” Batman flatly refused, not even intending to acknowledge him. Greed had no choice but to say, “Alright, the Serpent of Frini.”

Two Wonder Women in the crowd suddenly looked up.

Clearly, both of them were under the Pharaoh's curse, and it's unknown whether it has been lifted. Judging from their expressions, the curse is still in effect.

“Go find Dr. Hall,” Greed said. “He will tell you the story of the sand.”

The main universe's Batman frowned slightly. Greed, while capable of causing trouble, wouldn't act without reason. How did Sandman get involved in these things? The basis for this likely stemmed from Schiller's prophetic abilities once again.

The main universe's Batman decides to trust Schiller, after all, the Dream Kingdom is just too vast, and if they continue searching like this, it will never end.

It wasn't that they didn't want to find a more efficient method, but the Sandman was simply too mysterious. Furthermore, judging by the timeline, he likely went into seclusion over a decade ago, without contacting anyone since, including Lucifer and Constantine. Whether those two could even reach him remained unknown.

"How could this be related to Dr. Hall?" Wonder Woman from the main universe frowned. "Aren't the Halls researchers of ancient Egyptian history and culture?"

"Are you talking about the manager of the Midway City Museum?" the main universe Batman asked.

Wonder Woman from the main universe nodded. Batman from the main universe, however, looked knowing and said, "Hawkman and Hawkgirl are ancient Egyptians. Of course, they are indeed excellent researchers."

The main universe's Wonder Woman seemed quite shocked, but she immediately searched her memory for clues. "No wonder Dr. Hall mentioned ancient Egyptian artifacts like they were his own furniture..."

"But what does this have to do with ancient Egypt?"

"We'll have to ask them about that."

The main universe's Batman quickly located the Hall couple, as they were at the Justice League's base in the main universe. Upon hearing Batman's purpose for visiting, Dr. Hall was somewhat bewildered.

You see, he was the one who created the Serpent of Frigan. How could he not know if there were any clues about the Sandman on it?

(End of this chapter)