Chapter 6247 Chicago Stories (16)

Various clues lingered in Bruce’s mind: Brian’s strange attitude towards God, the mysterious man who appeared in his room, and Brian’s parents risking public opinion to enter the school chapel at this time. This series of events hinted that there were clues Bruce didn’t know about.

Bruce didn’t dare to break in. After all, he’s just a helpless poor student now and can’t afford to offend Brian’s parents. It’s daytime, and he can’t openly climb the walls. Unfortunately, the greenery around Rockefeller Chapel isn’t dense, the campus is busy with people, and eavesdropping by the wall would be easily seen, leaving evidence.

Bruce planned to wait until Brian’s parents left before taking a look inside, as the place is public and students can enter. Perhaps someone inside would play an important role in the case, and the person wouldn’t be able to run away immediately; he could attempt to make contact.

It’s not that he necessarily had to be involved in the case, but he knew that after the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped in, it wouldn’t be so easy for him to extricate himself. Even if Brainiac could create a plausible backstory for him, the peculiarities of the party were too many, and everyone who attended would be repeatedly questioned, with any slight mistake potentially leading to blame; without finding the key clues, he couldn’t escape.

Thinking this, Bruce returned to the dormitory building, and as soon as he returned, he heard voices coming from the telephone area.

“Bruce Wayne? Someone just called looking for you; he said his name is Eric…”

“Bruce Wayne! Bruce!” A shout came from the door. Bruce turned his head and saw Eric shivering in the cold wind. Bruce quickly went outside and asked, “Why are you out here?”

“I’m finished,” Eric said desperately, “now everyone thinks I did it. Because I was chosen as the party prince, I was supposed to wear the costume, but I don’t know anything…”

Bruce frowned deeply; that feeling of annoyance returned. He knew clearly that Eric coming to him at this time only had one purpose, which was to drag him down with him. He might have learned from other party participants about Brian’s plan to use him as a sacrifice, so he would know that he would be taken to the basement by Brian, making it suspicious that he’s still alive.

But in the entire situation, Eric was the biggest suspect. Because the rabbit costume was supposed to be worn by him. He said he was drugged and knew nothing, yet there was no injury on him. If the dosage was controlled well, anesthetic substances might not be detectable in his body. Or Eric might have been drugged to begin with, rendering any tests useless; anyway, he was undoubtedly the prime suspect.

At this moment, Eric escaped from the police and reporters to find him, either to threaten or to shift the suspicion onto him.

“Are there any survivors in the basement?” Bruce didn’t want to waste words with him, so he went straight to the point.

“Yes, Brian is still alive,” Eric said, “besides him, there are three newcomers, but they’re all alcohol poisoned.”

It turned out there were survivors in the basement, which was indeed surprising, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected to Bruce. He suspected the Pink Rabbit wouldn’t kill everyone in the basement, which is a common killer logic.

If everyone died, then all the forces behind them and the police would unite to investigate the killer. But if some survived, they’d attack each other, like Eric and Bruce. The survivors would want to shift the suspicion onto others, which could greatly confuse the police.

Moreover, most newcomers brought to the basement by Brian were powerless and intended as sacrifices, so these people probably weren’t Shiller’s enemies. Letting them go to confuse the trail was normal.

Keeping Eric alive also followed this principle. Without Eric, all eyes would focus on survivor Brian. But if Eric wasn’t dead, both their suspicions were equal, and they’d surely attack each other. Bruce suspected Eric came to him, perhaps to persuade him to frame Brian, or rather, to threaten him to take his side.

“We all know what you did,” Eric said, “one of the survivors, now out of critical condition, told me you shot yourself five times in the head and almost shot Brian. You’re not just some small-town boy, why are you hiding your identity?”

“It has nothing to do with you,” Bruce no longer wanted to pretend, he said, “Don’t you wonder why, as the only one taken down but then found upstairs as a survivor, I could leave the hospital smoothly, unlike you and Brian who are watched?”

Bruce knew this might be because Brian hadn’t exposed him, possibly for some reason related to God. But Eric didn’t know; he only assumed Bruce had some other background.

“But in this situation, if you don’t stand with me, Brian will certainly frame us both, and you won’t get away unscathed.”

“I’m an agent,” Bruce lied effortlessly, “I came undercover to investigate the Brotherhood’s missing persons case. That’s why they don’t suspect me, and Brian didn’t drag me down.”

Eric’s expression crumbled; he was visibly falling apart. Bruce seized the moment to say, “Even if you’re currently the main suspect in the carnage, it doesn’t erase Brian’s previous misdeeds. If you can find evidence of his past abuses of other students, there might be a glimmer of hope.”

Eric was stunned, then latched onto this lifeline, saying, “Did you come to investigate this case? You can help me, right?”

“Only you can help yourself.” Bruce appeared merciless, “As long as there’s enough evidence to prove Brian’s an evil person, people will be more willing to believe he’s the rabbit killer, won’t they?”

“Yes… yes.” Eric nodded somewhat nervously, he said, “I’ll have my dad investigate right now. Those people’s deaths must be connected to him, and I wasn’t in Chicago back then; he can’t frame me.”

After saying that, he dashed away. Bruce stood silently by the door for a while. It seemed Eric wasn’t an ordinary person; he likely had some family influence, possibly enough to rival Brian’s family. Their mutual framing and attacks were exactly the situation the killer wanted.

Actually, this situation should have involved himself, as long as Brian described his anomalies to the police, he wouldn’t easily escape. But for some reason, Brian chose to remain silent, not turning him in at all. It likely wasn’t because Brian really considered him an agent; there might be other reasons.

Bruce couldn’t let go of Brian’s expression when he heard him say “God bless me.” There was certainly something fishy about it, possibly related to the chapel. What could it be?

Bruce kept pondering, and when he returned to the dorm, he found Stark fiddling with a fishing rod. He slightly regained focus and asked, “What are you doing?”

“A friend gave me a fishing rod.” Stark shrugged, “It’s a nice piece. I’m joining tomorrow’s fishing contest, and if I win, there’s a five thousand dollar prize; I won’t have to worry about living expenses. Do you want to come with me?”

Bruce wanted to say he had to investigate, but he thought about it and realized there wasn’t much left to investigate. The hospital was certainly off-limits, and the dean’s office wouldn’t let him near it. At most, he could spare some time to circle around the chapel. Now with the school on break, what else could he do but fish?

Moreover, with the Brotherhood in such trouble, the dorms were locked down, and he couldn’t benefit from their free perks; expenses would rise, and he was already short on cash. If he could win the prize money, it would loosen things up a bit.

“Alright.” Bruce said, “But I don’t have a fishing rod, so I’ll help you with other things. Tomorrow, I’ll be in charge of driving the boat. Haven’t you made a fish-finding radar? Show me how to use it. Tomorrow, we’ll surely catch the biggest fish together.”

Then, the two started researching the radar and the engine. Stark kept tinkering while saying, “Actually, the radars I sold them aren’t very powerful, but we can’t use such common stuff. I got us a decent speedboat motor; we’ll install it on the boat early tomorrow. As for the fish-finding radar, it’s not that useful; it can’t see too deep. If you want to catch big fish, you have to rely on skill.”

Bruce nodded and then asked, “Didn’t you make a high-power radar?”

“Material limitations.” Stark sighed, “Unless I get a decent laboratory to manufacture basic components from scratch, I can’t produce anything decent with what I can salvage from junkyards and buy off the market.”

“What about the laboratory…”

“They won’t let freshmen in.” Stark had been busy these days; he said, “I not only showcased some of my work to them but also found someone to introduce me, yet I still couldn’t get in. You understand.”

Bruce also sighed. Unless Stark could produce something genuine, he’d never get prioritized. But if he really did produce something genuine, it could easily be snatched away or attract government attention. They couldn’t compete with the Federal Government right now; they had to keep a low profile and accumulate strength.

“I actually have plans to make a mecha.” Stark said, “A mecha doesn’t have to be made in a laboratory. I have a good relationship with the old gatekeeper at the scrapyard I often visit; I’m planning to build a prototype there.”

“To what extent?” Bruce asked curiously. He knew there were sure to be people causing trouble for him soon, Eric maybe, Brian maybe, even Arkham Batman might not be friendly, and he couldn’t go unarmed.

Many might think they should be making guns in times like these, but it’s entirely unnecessary. It’s very easy to get guns in Chicago; any model can be found in the illicit market, with the cheapest going for as low as a few dozen US Dollars, though parts and ammunition are expensive. But as long as it’s not a very niche model, and you’re not picky about ammo quality, you can get a fully equipped gun for as low as a couple hundred dollars.

These guns are unreliable in quality and might get you wanted, so people rarely use them, making them cheap. But this is no issue for Stark; he can modify them himself when he gets them back, so he doesn’t need to craft from scratch.

America doesn’t ban guns but does ban body armor. This is why mecha is more important; mecha can be bulletproof, and why they must be secretly made. Because some bulletproof materials are also contraband; getting caught with them spells trouble, and they can only be sourced from the black market, with a risk of being scammed. If not for the man before him being Iron Man, Bruce wouldn’t advocate for him making armor.

“It’s definitely better than that Vietnamese set.” Stark said, “Energy is a major issue. Without a professional laboratory, I wouldn’t dare to make a reactor; an explosion would be disastrous. We’ll have to start from within the school.”

“I’ll think of something.” Bruce said.