In order to allow Bruce to properly write his thesis, Shiller came to the Wayne Building with his umbrella that night.
However, he did not plan to act like Superman, beating up a villain as soon as he nabbed one. That would cause too much commotion and also be very tiring.
He had some guesses about the identity of the villain. After all, previous scenarios had provided a lot of clues. Shiller knew that brute force would not be suitable against this opponent tonight. Therefore, he had no intention of summoning Moonlight Shiller. Instead, he planned to handle it himself.
After leaving the school, he turned into a cloud of gray mist, like a breeze passing through the streets, and didn't cause a ripple.
At this time, no one was left in the Wayne Building. The lights in the windows were extinguished one by one. In the end, the building, which should have been the most brightly lit in the whole of Gotham, was plunged into darkness, blending into the rainy night.
A gust of wind skimmed past the streets, stopping in front of the entrance of the Wayne Building, where a notice was blown up by the wind. It clearly read: "Today, the entire building's electrical circuit is under inspection. Power will be cut off after six in the evening."
With no power, naturally no work could be done. The employees all went home early. But, an uninvited guest visited earlier.
In the hallway of the 13th floor of the Wayne Building, a figure was slowly advancing. From his steps, it was clear that he was somewhat hesitant; today's situation seemed a bit different than before.
Usually, the lights in the Wayne Building wouldn't be turned off this early. Many rooms would stay lit all night, although there might be fewer people at night, there were still some.
But today, there was no one. The only company he had was the howling cold wind outside the window and the increasingly heavy rainfall.
The pressure brought by the typhoon was quite different from the usual sea breeze. Once the storm swept in from the sea, it showed no sign of reducing its momentum. It seemed the iron jungle built by humans could not withstand a single blow against it.
Fierce winds swept across the steel building, creating a howling sound. When the first lightning struck, the sneaky figure jumped in fright.
The white light illuminated the night sky in an instant, as well as the figure's silhouette.
It was a young man in a tight suit. From the outside, there was nothing special about him, but he was holding a strangely shaped gun in his hand.
As the lightning struck, he instinctively fired a shot into the void. Instantly, a piece of shiny shard appeared in the room. He rushed into the shard in just two strides.
After a while, seemingly having realized that there was no danger, the figure reappeared. He heaved a sigh of relief, shook his head, and continued rummaging in Wayne Building's office.
If anyone had read The Flash comic series, they would've recognized him by now. The villain, who sneaked into Wayne Building and gave Batman a headache, was called Master Mirror.
As the name suggests, Master Mirror had the ability to travel through mirrors, or any reflective objects. He also had a Mirror Gun, which could create mirrors for him to travel through spaces.
Furthermore, he could divide himself into multiple copies to confuse his opponents. In the early comics, he could even create strong flashes of light to catch The Flash off guard.
At this time, Master Mirror was rummaging through the office of the Wayne Building. He had already searched the archives which he thought could potentially hold important documents, but there were no significant documents. In order to avoid missing any clues, he was conducting a thorough search.
He had no intention of finishing it quickly because he could leave at any time. No one could stop him, so what if Bruce Wayne got involved? Bruce was merely a rich man. Master Mirror could trap him in the mirror space at any time. As long as the mirror was broken, Bruce would die.
While Master Mirror was engrossed in examining documents, he suddenly caught sight of a shadow out of the corner of his eye.
Master Mirror turned his head but saw nothing. He thought it might just be a phantom caused by the wind moving the curtains.
However, this made him slightly tense because the ambiance within Wayne Building was indeed eerie.
With the whole building out of electricity, there was no light. Under normal circumstances, even if the lights were off in a glass-fronted building, the moonlight could still shine in, barely illuminating everything inside. But, Gotham was different.
Gotham was a city where the sun and moon were rarely seen. Its sky was mostly overcast, blocking all light, even more so when it was raining.
The 13th floor, where Master Mirror was, was an awkward story. It was far from the ground, and the street lamps couldn't illuminate it. The floor wasn't high enough to have a distant view of the lighthouse either. Unluckily, the room that Master Mirror was in faced east, and not too far away was another building, almost entirely blocking any light.
In an almost completely dark environment, people's senses would be highly concentrated. The degree of sensitivity would increase as well, easily magnifying certain movements, leading to illusions.
Master Mirror's gaze wasn't as focused as before. He picked up a document, and while scanning it, glanced sideways as if observing the condition of the curtains.
Suddenly, a noise came from his left in the dark room, sounding exceptionally clear. Master Mirror immediately dropped the document, taking a defensive position. He looked closely and saw that a paper cup had fallen from the table.
He walked over, picked up the cup, bringing it closer to his face, to see clearly. There seemed to be a stain on the cup.
Master Mirror initially thought it was a coffee stain left from drinking coffee. But when the cup was brought closer, he sniffed a strong smell of blood.
There was a soft "pop" sound as the cup he tossed hit the glass. Master Mirror swallowed, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.
But right then, an eerie "squeak" sound was heard, and a breeze blew in from the open window. The cold wind made Master Mirror shiver, and only then did he notice that he was covered in cold sweat.
Investigating in the dark required not only superpowers but also a strong will and courage to face all kinds of unexpected situations.
Not everyone is Batman, who only haunts the lightless nights of Gotham. Master Mirror hails from Central City, where the sun shines brilliantly and the weather is pleasant. Because of this, he has never spent a horrifying night like this alone in a pitch-dark room amidst a storm.
When people start to feel fear, they lose their nerve. Master Mirror is no different. He only wants to escape this room as quickly as possible. As he backs up, he fails to notice a ballpoint pen lying on the floor.
As he steps on it, his center of gravity shifts forward and the pen rolls away like a rolling bead. With a "thud", Master Mirror falls to the ground.
He hurriedly scrambles up. Drawing his gun, he waves it in the air, yelling, "Show yourself! I can see you! Come out! Don't make me shoot!"
Only the chilling winds of the night answer him.
With trembling lips, after what feels like an eternity, he fires another shot into the mirror world.
After calming down a bit, he thinks he might have overreacted. Perhaps the window was not closed tightly, allowing the wind to blow in. The scent on his paper cup could also just have been his imagination. If he fled now, it would undoubtedly be humiliating.
People in a safe environment always overestimate their bravery. As an example, those who swear fervently to enter the haunted house.
Master Mirror peers out again, finds everything has returned to calm, and decides to leave this office. But just then, he hears a "whoosh whoosh" sound.
Whirling around, he sees the curtain draw itself shut, covering all the windows.
In his field of vision, a light breeze sweeps through the office space, bringing a thin mist with it.
Suddenly, a stack of A4 papers on a distant desk is blown into the air.
Master Mirror lifts his gaze to see these sheets of paper, flying haphazardly like a spectacle of specters, towards their target.
Sheets of paper cover the glass partitions between office desks. Every reflective stainless steel cup is encased in paper.
The A4 sheets move forward as though inhabited by eerie machine feet, flying towards the glass walls and door of the office space. Sheet by sheet, every inch of the glass is covered.
Barely raises his arm, Master Mirror feels a jolt of pain, and his Mirror Gun is knocked from his hand with a smack.
His panic deepens. He turns and tries to run, but a sheet of A4 sticks itself to his face. As he frantically peels it off.
But soon he sees eerie smiles starting to form on the sheets covering the glass.
In the near-total darkness of the office, Master Mirror sees countless spooky smiles spreading towards him. A pungent odor of blood assails his nostrils, he realizes he has no way out.
He runs to the door, but it's locked. His Mirror Gun is on the other side of the office, covered by smile-draped sheets.
All reflective objects are covered, rendering his abilities useless. Furthermore, fear has robbed him of his judgement.
He slumps to the ground, pressing against the locked door. As the flurry of papers fly towards him, he shields his body with his arms and screams in terror.
Next, he sees the pointed end of an umbrella knife centimeters from his forehead. A man, holding an umbrella, stands before him. Master Mirror slowly raises his hands in surrender.
Panting heavily, he stares at the man, asking, "Who... who are you? How did you get in here?"
"That's the question I should be asking you," Shiller answers, "In here, you're the intruder."
"Are you Wayne? No, you can't be Wayne. Who the hell are you?! Aren't you an intruder too?!" Master Mirror shouts in alarm.
Shiller keeps his eyes closed, for he knows that Master Mirror can blind his victims temporarily by reflecting light off their eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Shiller threatens, pushing the knife closer to Master Mirror, even deliberately wiggling it in front of his eyes.
Feeling the fast-approaching doom, Master Mirror desperately wants to escape but there's nothing reflective left in the room, except for the knife in front of him.
The blade of the umbrella knife, polished to a mirror-like sheen, casts a reflection even in the dim light, like a mirror.
In a instant, Master Mirror activates his power and steps forward into the umbrella knife.
The next instant, Master Mirror cries out as he falls to the floor, his body wreathed in a cursed black mist.
Between the bouts of agony, he sees a knife inserted into the floor less than three centimeters from his ear.
A cold voice rings out like thunder in his ear, breaking through his psychological defenses.
"This is a curse. If it's not lifted, you're guaranteed to die in 24 hours."