Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4473: After Modification - 357 - Research on Cats and Dogs (68)

Chapter 4473 - After Modification: Chapter 357 - Research on Cats and Dogs (68)

"A few days ago, someone placed an order on the Black Island website on the dark web, offering the equivalent of 3 million US Dollars in gold for Professor Schiller Rodriguez's life. Many people joked that the behaviorism school has finally made a move," said Deathstroke.

Shiller sighed lightly and said, "So why didn't you take the job?"

"Don't kid yourself. We all know who you are," Deathstroke said. "At least the hitmen in Gotham won't take the job. We're broke, but we're not that stupid."

"However, I'm smarter than them. I have some personal ties with you, so I can sell you this intel. How much are you willing to pay?"

"Absolutely not 3 million." Shiller shook his head and said, "If you want, you can take the stuff from the other office upstairs, that's all I can offer."

"Alright. I heard from Waylon that the furniture is quite new, might even cover my insurance for the year."

Then he went upstairs to look at the furniture.

Shiller watched his back, feeling a bit helpless. It seemed this old father figure was really short on money.

But it made sense. There were hardly any full-time hitmen in this world. If you only depended on killing for a living, you'd probably starve to death long ago.

Most so-called hitmen were mercenaries. Besides killing, they also took jobs like delivering messages, passing on information, or causing trouble for people.

With the current economic downturn, almost no one would spend money on this kind of thing. To survive, most people found steady jobs and occasionally did some petty theft to make ends meet.

Shiller knew that the Deathstroke from this universe was quite old. Even if he mastered all the skills a hitman should have, finding work probably wasn't that easy either. Practically on the verge of starving, professional ethics naturally went out the window.

"The situation on Black Island is not good," Killer Croc said while examining the first floor's decor. "Mercenaries earn their money easily but constantly live on the edge of life and death, so they spend without restraint—almost no one saves money."

"After the Great Depression hit, their income is far less than before, and with high expenses on Black Island, most chose to leave. The majority found jobs in the city; some even went back to their hometowns to farm."

"Although these guys are not exactly good people, they do have some strength. I opened a branch over there and recruited a lot of capable men. My next step is to start a security company, specifically for the newly opened factories in the West District."

"You're quite the businessman." Pamela gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Before long, among us, there'll be another monopoly."

Waylon grinned, showing sharp crocodile teeth that gleamed coldly. But in this context, it looked more like the glimmer of wealth.

"How's Jack been lately?" Shiller asked again.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

"He's been doing long-haul trips. The transportation industry is also in a slump; only long-distance runs can make some money." Waylon shook his head and said, "Everyone's having a hard time. I heard our new mayor has set up a subsidy policy, but who knows when it'll be implemented."

"It should be soon," Shiller thought aloud, knowing the Pale Knight. If it wasn't certain, he wouldn't announce it. Since it's been mentioned, they must have a plan.

Quickly, Waylon started loading the truck. The upstairs had office desks, chairs, cabinets, and nothing particularly hard to move. With Deathstroke and Pamela helping, they finished in no time.

Shiller gave Waylon an address to pick up the pre-ordered new furniture. Although the vendor offered delivery service, the freight cost was high, so Shiller asked Waylon for help.

Meanwhile, Shiller, Pamela, and Merkel went to the inner world market, looking for new supply channels.

On the way to the market, Shiller shared his ideas, receiving unanimous agreement from Pamela and Merkel.

"Although not many people travel now, those who do have the time and money to do so. These people love buying quirky items to decorate their big houses," Pamela said.

"I'm not worried about business, but the inner world isn't exactly a secret. What if someone envies our success and imitates us?" Merkel asked.

"They don't have the money to buy such good stores," Pamela said. "There aren't many buildings suitable for this kind of store in the city center, and most are old and worn out. Renovating them could cost as much as the land. In these times, if someone had that much money, they wouldn't choose to open such a store."

"True," Merkel nodded, "but I think we should diversify our inventory to make ourselves irreplaceable."

Shiller seemed to remember something. He said, "Victor mentioned he could cut dense ice into rings; so he might be able to make other gemstones too. Perhaps we can sell those in the store."

"I can also get some plants to sell... Oh, come on, Professor, what's with that look? I promise they won't attack anyone!"

Shiller still looked skeptically at Pamela.

"Alright, how about I make some dried flowers?" Pamela said. "Dead plants shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Are you sure they won't be haunted?"

"Of course not!" Pamela said confidently. "I have a drying box in my lab. I'll make a batch; you can try selling them. They'll be different from other dried flowers."

"Hopefully, in a good way," Shiller said, crossing himself.

Then they entered the market. Pamela and Merkel had never been here and were amazed.

Merkel stared at a glittering little elf flying past him and said, "Are we really not allowed to sell these in the store?"

"Stop dreaming," Shiller said. "Even Zatanna would have a hard time dealing with this thing. You'd better not mess with any living magical creatures; they're not to be trifled with."

Merkel sighed in disappointment.

The group strolled casually. Merkel began getting into the role of store manager, asking about the purchase prices of handmade products, or approaching any magical creature he saw on the road holding something interesting to inquire about it.

Pamela was purely sightseeing, and he thought he could also pretend to be a magical creature and sell some of his plants here. Many of the plants he cultivated were quite suitable for the magic realm, mainly because magical creatures found it easier to handle these aggressive plants.

Meanwhile, Shiller was contemplating the news brought by Deathstroke. Who would pay to have him killed?

It's actually not hard to guess. Just answer two questions, and the answer becomes clear.

First, who's been going against the professor lately?

Second, who can afford to pay the equivalent of 3 million US Dollars in gold? Or rather, why is it gold?

The answer to the first question is obviously the aliens invading Earth, who think they've found the Justice League's weakness and won't stop until they see some results.

The answer to the second question is also aliens. Everyone knows "antiques in times of peace, gold in times of chaos." The gold price isn't high right now; using gold instead of US Dollars is a losing deal. Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't do that. The reason for using equivalent gold is probably because they don't have any human currency other than gold.

It's normal for aliens to use gold as a general equivalent because gold is a relatively rare element throughout the cosmos. In some lower-level civilizations, it's considered a universal currency. Many Green Lanterns are also allocated a gold quota for ease of movement on a planet's surface when they go on missions.

So, apart from Malafax, the other alien, Zod, is the main suspect.

He likely didn't guess that Shiller is the professor; it's more likely that Malafax communicated the information to him somehow.

Malafax first encountered Shiller at Gotham University, and later saw him again at Middleton Town. Anyone with a bit of brains could figure out that Shiller is not simple.

Since the plan against Jonathan didn't work, they might as well try targeting Shiller. What if they get lucky?

Zod is very smart. He didn't show up personally like Malafax did to abduct Jonathan but instead placed an order on the dark web, using a more human method to deal with Shiller.

This way, he doesn't have to expend his own energy and can judge Shiller's true strength through the harassment of assassins.

If the assassins fail, it would indicate that Shiller being the professor is highly likely, and then he could go all out against him later.

It could be said that Zod is several levels smarter than Malafax. Or rather, this general is different from the antisocial Malafax; he doesn't have evil desires that could drive him insane, making him appear more rational and wise.

Unknown to Shiller, this is indeed a smart move. Unfortunately, Zod underestimated the survival pressure brought about by the Great Depression. Even the top assassin, Deathstroke, has to work hard to make a living, and selling intelligence about an unachievable task to the target yields the most profit.

Since he already knew Zod's plan, it was no big deal for Shiller.

Although he knew that great rewards attract the brave, the people of Gotham must know he's not to be messed with, but the outsiders might not. Surely, quite a few people would choose to take the risk.

Unfortunately, he was also busy managing the shop during this period. If someone came every other day, just dealing with the bodies would be troublesome enough.

But Shiller had a solution. On the way back to the new shop, he called Amanda. Wasn't this the perfect time to boost her performance?

"Hello? It's me... Yes. You've heard about this too? Seems like a lot of people are selling information... That's right. This is a great opportunity to prove the importance of the Federation Shield to Congress. Alright, I'll wait for you at the Gotham University Office."

After returning to the new shop, Waylon had already obtained new furniture. It was nothing much, just a bed, a bedside table, and a wardrobe.

The house itself was already well-furnished, and there was no need for more decoration. After Waylon directed the workers to place the furniture in the designated spots, Shiller gave them some tips and started cleaning.

The mechanical lab at Gotham University had introduced the latest cleaning robots, which were selling quite well. They were as good as, if not better than, the later smart cleaning robots.

To avoid dealing with the vacuum cleaner, Shiller had ordered one; it had just been shipped and hadn't arrived yet. So, he just did a simple dusting for now, and the rest of the cleaning in the shop would wait until the robot arrived.

"I ordered some goods," Merkel knocked on the door and said. "About 6,000 US dollars. Professor, should I send the invoice directly to your office?"

"Send it to my home," Shiller said. "I'll write down the new address for you... You can send it here."

Shiller wrote down an address for Merkel and also gave him the mailbox key. Then Pamela and Merkel busied themselves in the shop, deciding where to place those items.

Shiller drove back to Gotham University because he knew Amanda wouldn't make him wait long. Sure enough, after being stuck in traffic for half an hour and driving back to Gotham University for another half hour, Amanda was already there when he arrived at the office.

Shiller guessed that he must be in a nearby city between Gotham and Metropolis, always keeping an eye on Metropolis.

It's no secret that Metropolis is under a state of emergency. Many people are watching.

As soon as Amanda came in, she got straight to the point, saying, "That guy has posted the highest dark web bounty this quarter, and a lot of good hands are heading this way. Many of them are international criminals. If we work together to take them down, there'll be no shortage of benefits for you, professor."