Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Shiller was feeling rather down.

That damned demon Eitregan, instead of staying put in Hell, insists on meddling in the affairs of the World.

It's bad enough that he can't seem to do his job, but he also comes here to interfere with mine, trying to get psychological therapy without paying a dime.

I've worked diligently here for so long, yet I still reside in the municipal building's office. And this worthless demon has such a nice house!

I've made my points so clear, yet the other side completely fails to understand. That's the downside of demons taking jobs without any examinations! His emotional intelligence level should join Batman at a table!

Thinking of Batman only made Shiller more frustrated.

Yesterday, he woke Jason up to keep an eye on Batman. Shiller's original intention was for Jason to find out what Batman had discovered under the reservoir and whether there was any connection to the forest next to it and the previously polluted natural forest land.

But Jason told him that Batman might have found out about his feigned madness, which led to a huge argument. Now Jason has run away from Wayne Manor.

Shiller then began to wonder, is this world going to perish without Batman? Why does everyone's core logic revolve around Batman?

Right after, Shiller received even more distressing news. After the Pale Knight woke up, Batman went to see him again.

Shiller also believed that the Pale Knight might be hiding other secrets. Be it sending Jason to Brude Haven or detaining Penguin Man there, it proved that he might have set other arrangements in that seaside town. These schemes might have been in place since he was still Joker.

If Batman brought up his investigation findings to the Pale Knight, perhaps he could extract more clues.

After all, in the plot, Brad got the diary from Joker's hands. This proves that Joker had been paying attention to Gotham's history early on. If the Pale Knight was prepared, he might know some critical information.

And then, when the two met again, it ended up in another big argument.

According to Rose's report, the content of the argument, unsurprisingly, involved a heap of philosophical pondering. The two extensively explored issues related to family, children, education, responsibilities, and so forth, spending two whole hours in the hospital room without addressing the real issues.

Shiller realized that somewhere in this cosmos, everyone's panel attributes are quite high. One moment it's the world's greatest detective, the next it's the Pale Knight who surpasses the greatest detective, then the strongest Robin, and then a Robin even stronger than the strongest Robin.

But panel attributes do not represent real strength. Or rather, if they had infinite time to ponder thoroughly and debate, to express their philosophical talents, to exchange and collide ideas with others, and then get to the real work, the outcomes might actually be quite decent.

But the problem is, Shiller simply does not have that much time. The water they pour into their talents seriously reduces Shiller's efficiency.

And most importantly, to Shiller, those philosophical problems they ponder and discuss seem meaningless. Their emotions towards each other are too distorted; there's love but not love, hate but not hate, not only awkward but also mute. To Shiller, it's merely a question of whether it's a chocolate-tasting poop or poop-tasting chocolate.

If he had known it would be like this, Shiller would rather be drinking with Nya.

But since he's already here, Shiller can only bite the bullet and do the research himself, focusing mainly on the events that occurred in Gotham Valley back in the day.

Doing research in itself is a tiresome affair, and Shiller was quite impatient. Brad kept calling him, wasting his time.

This isn't something that can be resolved with just a house anymore. Whatever demon you are, give me the house, give me the cat, give me the money, and fry up a couple dishes before you go.

Shiller's eyes flickered with an idea for a good plan.

But first, he had to finish his current work. Just then, Catwoman came to see him.

When Catwoman entered, she surveyed the vast and luxurious office and clicked her tongue, "You where there complaining about not having enough money, I thought you were really short on cash. Turns out it was all an act, you're rich too."

Shiller waved his hand and asked, "Where did that car end up? What cargo did it unload?"

"It went to a scrapyard near the south dock." Catwoman sat across the table, looking at the heavily marked Gotham map with curiosity, "What are you doing? Studying urban planning or something?"

"Investigating some historical issues, damned history." Shiller put down the book he was holding, then asked, "What cargo did the driver unload from the car?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you." said Catwoman. "Two pieces of equipment that looked very new and intact, definitely very expensive at first glance. I was worried they might have some high-tech detection methods, so I didn't dare get too close. But those things are definitely valuable!"

"How did the scrapyard handle it?"

"They just threw that stuff straight into the shredder." Catwoman covered her chest and said, "I swear, those could have been sold for at least a million if resold. And they just shredded them!"

"It seems the scrapyard was in cahoots with them." Shiller pondered and asked, "After the scrapyard, where did the car go next?"

"Oh, this is rather odd. They should have returned the same way they came, but for some reason, they diverted to the east."

"What's in the east?"

Catwoman thought for a moment and then said, "Nothing too special, but if you go further east, there's the Charabang Chemical Factory that had a big explosion before. Could they be wanting to check that out?"

Shiller immediately connected the clues in his mind and said, "Do you know about the Gotham Reservoir?"

"Gotham Reservoir?" Catwoman recalled seriously before saying, "I do have a bit of an impression. It was about a dozen years ago, I was still a little girl at that time. The Gotham Mayor who had just taken office declared the old dam abandoned and decided to build a new one."

"At that time, the proposal was met with a lot of opposition. People felt that the original dam was functioning fine, and there was no need to waste tax money to build a new one. Moreover, people believed that the old dam held significant commemorative value and should not be demolished."

"The dispute dragged on for a long time, with ongoing protests. The Mayor, perhaps to preserve his own popularity, finally decided not to use the old dam anymore, but also not to demolish it; instead, they turned it into a tourist spot."

"Near the anniversary of Gotham's foundation, many citizens spontaneously went to the dam to hold commemoration events. However, not long afterwards, news broke out that the Gotham Reservoir was contaminated. I remember at that time, I didn't dare drink tap water, preferring to spend more on bottled water."

Catwoman shared many things about that time in a fragmented manner, though all from the perspective of an ordinary Gotham resident, with no inside information. However, Shiller was able to hear many clues from her words.

Catwoman took another careful look at the map on the table, and she immediately recognized the key points marked by Shiller. She said, "Isn't this Gotham Reservoir?... Wait, you're not planning on targeting the reservoir, are you?"

"It's not me who's targeting the reservoir." Shiller stood up, took a book from the shelf behind him and said, "Did you know that the original Gotham Village was deep under the reservoir?"

"Gotham Village? Do you mean that small village established in the earliest days?" Catwoman stroked her chin and said, "Isn't that something from hundreds of years ago? What are you researching this for?"

Shiller tapped on the map and said, "If Gotham Village is here, then why is the center of Gotham over here?"

"Oh, you mean, you want to figure out why the people who founded Gotham didn't build the city on the foundations of Gotham Village but chose another location, right?"

Shiller nodded.

Catwoman suddenly spoke in a secretive tone, "Do you know what Wayne Enterprises made their fortune from?"

Shiller leaned in interestedly and asked, "What?"

Catwoman looked around and lowered her voice, "Smuggling! They were the largest partners of the British East India Company on the East Coast of the United States. Whether it was black slaves, spices, textiles, or opium, it all flowed into America through Gotham port with the Wayne Family's tacit approval."

"What does this have to do with what I'm studying?"

Catwoman pointed at the book in Shiller's hand and said, "The book says, Edmund Wayne defeated General Arkham and saved Gotham from the clutches of the wicked warlords, right?"

"But if the Wayne Family's ancestors did these things, forcing disorganized pirates and smugglers away only to bring in the world's largest smuggling corporation, that's essentially just a case of the pot calling the kettle black."

"That's quite a novel perspective." Shiller paused before saying, "And indeed, the colonial strategies of the East India Company were not very friendly. They conducted a far bigger business than those pirates."

"That's right," said Catwoman. "If it wasn't for cooperation with the East India Company, how could a down-and-out British noble hold onto such a strategically important port? I heard Edmund Wayne was just an ordinary baron. Aren't there other nobles in England?"

Shiller thought deeper than Catwoman.

In that era, the East India Company was a colossal entity. To say the least, this company almost ruled the world. At its peak, it had an army of 260,000 men, with trade routes all over the globe, even the British Emperor had to toast to them.

It was also this company that, using opium, opened up the Chinese market and earned astounding profits from such trades, leading to the Opium War.

In the process of exploiting the New World, the East India Company was notably involved. They established colonies on the American coasts, continually plundering the New World's wealth, inciting events like the Boston Tea Party, which led to increasingly severe British oppression of America, ultimately sparking the North American War of Independence.

It was explicitly mentioned in the comics that Edmund Wayne collaborated with the East India Company to expel the pirates and smugglers of Gotham.

Shiller initially overlooked this point because he saw Edmund Wayne as an American. But in reality, Edmund Wayne was a British colonialist.

General Arkham was also British. The conflict between them was really a dispute between colonizers over interests, not about saving Gotham from one another.

If anything, Wayne might be considered the more sinister party.

The East India Company did things like starving millions for the sake of cultivating opium; they were so devilish that even demons might bow to them. How could one expect Wayne, who cooperated with such an organization, to be the savior of Gotham?

From this perspective, did Edmund Wayne not want the original Gotham Village and instead established a new city somewhere else, submerging the village under water, truly out of his own volition?

Or perhaps, the East India Company, which once ruled the world for a century, also played a significant role in this?