"Rain." The Queen of May gave a very short word, then said, "The vines perceive an unusually different aroma from the rainwater. If you wish to find the culprit behind these abnormalities, I can assist you."
"If someone tampers with the rainwater in the natural cycle, all plants may be at risk. All Things Green doesn't desire this. Hence, if you can halt it, I will offer you a fitting reward." The tone of The Queen of May remained constant.
This entity always prioritizes the collective benefit and doesn't adhere to the concept of saving face. Hence, when the collective benefit is threatened, she is more inclined to take proactive measures to confront the problem.
"Fine then, Shiller, you should first remove the curse you placed on The Queen of May. Otherwise, with time, it might affect all the plants in the world, culminating in a disaster," Morpheus continued to persuade.
"I can withdraw the curse. However, before that, you must provide me with more information. I won't exhaust my efforts on an elusive goal. The curse originated from the water, but where does the rainwater come from?"
"The sea," The Queen of May responded, "If you want to investigate this matter, you must focus your attention on the vast ocean. The water cycle in nature, the water that plants and animals rely on for survival, all correlate with the sea. This one is no exception."
Apparently, because The Queen of May was indeed straightforward without any intention of beating around the bush, Shiller recalled the Spirit of Curse. He said, "With that, let's now discuss the issue of compensation."
Under the witness of Morpheus, the two forged a trade deal. After Shiller and Morpheus left, The Queen of May also planned to leave. Unexpectedly, she felt someone summoning her.
Feeling that familiar presence, The Queen of May intended to turn away, but Constantine's voice came, "Queen of May, I wish to trade with you..."
The Queen of May hesitated for a moment. She felt that relying solely on Shiller to deal with the potential mastermind behind everything wasn't entirely safe. Constantine had a bad reputation, but he was indeed powerful. Therefore, she controlled the vines to respond to Constantine's summons.
Unexpectedly, what awaited her was not a trap. Constantine sincerely said, "Your Highness, The Queen of May, I have a request that only you can accomplish. For this, I am willing to investigate the culprit behind damaging the plants..."
"What is it?" The Queen of May asked.
Constantine disclosed a wicked smile and whispered a few words to the vine sent by The Queen of May.
After the vine left, Constantine said cheerfully, "Ha, it was you who hit me with an umbrella before, hmm..."
After returning to the Thought Palace on the Ship of the Underworld, Marvel Schiller discovered that no one controlled the surface consciousness. He didn't know where DC Schiller had gone, so he had to go to his room to find him.
Just arriving at DC Schiller's room, he found him lying still on the bed. Seeing his pale face, Marvel Schiller immediately said, "Is your allergy acting up?"
But then, he said a little happily, "No worries, you can rest here, I can cover for you..."
DC Schiller immediately jumped up from the bed, let out a sigh and said, "No, there's no need, I will go to work now."
Having said that, he left the room, took the elevator, and ascended to the surface consciousness. There he found Pamela and Catwoman hunker down looking at him. When they saw Schiller waking up, Catwoman was startled, then patting her chest, she said, "You scared me to death, you've finally awakened."
The group was still in the laboratory building of Gotham University. Schiller waved his hand at them, then found the phone in the lab and called Batman, "I've figured it out. The cause for the citizens and plant mutations is the rain cloud over Gotham. Even if we can't catch the puppet master, dispersing the rain clouds or blocking the rainwater should be useful."
Hearing this, Batman frowned and asked, "Is this information reliable? Can we resolve the issues of citizens going mad and the plant mutations just by blocking the rainwater?"
"No, blocking the rainwater will only prevent the victims' numbers from increasing. I plan to resolve this issue at its root, but the prerequisite is that you must first calm Gotham."
"Just so you know, I've recently been diagnosed with sleep deprivation by a highly professional doctor. I'd appreciate it if you would stop letting those mad people knock on my window."
After hanging up, Schiller turned to Pamela and said, "I've reached an agreement with All Things Green. Now it depends on your choice. If you're willing to be his agent, he will lend you his power, but won't control your actions. What you need to do is to protect the plants to the best of your abilities and avert some actions that might potentially destroy all the plants in the world."
Pamela frowned and said, "Even without him, I will protect the plants. My dream is to become a plant research scientist and contribute to the survival and propagation of plants."
"Plants can't speak, they don't deceive. They just grow upwards to touch the sun. Humans believe that photosynthesis saves them, but actually, plants don't intend to save anyone."
"Rather, a collective consciousness of plants that deceives me would be a disgrace to the plants," Pamela said coldly.
"Of course, no one will force you. If you just want to be a plant research scientist, then study hard without considering other matters. Now is not the time for you to solve the problem."
Yet, Pamela shook her head and said, "No, I want to accept his power because this incident has made me realize that knowledge from textbooks is probably not enough to protect my plants."
Pamela swept her gaze around the room, then added, "Just look at the terrible conditions here. These incidents are not anything ordinary people can handle."
Seeing the plants that were previously soaked in the nutrient solution cut off from the roots, Pamela showed a sorrowful expression.
Schiller had thought that she would deliver a speech on environmental protection. But surprisingly, Pamela walked over to the side of the plant, picked it up, and with a tone of heartfelt sorrow said, "This pair of plant samples from the growth experiment has taken my professor and me two whole months. It would have only taken three more days of observation to yield results, but now, it's all ruined..."
Schiller immediately empathized with the grief in her tone.
After parting ways with Pamela and Catwoman, Schiller didn't delay for too long. He intended to leave the laboratory building, first return to the manor, and then start searching for the puppet master.
As he usually did, he walked downstairs and exited. However, the moment he pushed open the door, he was stunned by the view outside.
With the exhaustion of Zatanna's power, the dense fog veiling Gotham dispersed. The scenery gradually brightened under the faint sunlight, and Gotham was brimming with greenery.
That wasn't anything surprising since the advent of The Queen of May had brought about a craze of vines. Countless vines covered the entire Gotham, to the extent that even the insane citizens were squeezed by the vines and couldn't move.
However, what dumbfounded Schiller was the sight of all the vines, trees, and green plants in Gotham all turning into broccoli.
The entire city was submerged in broccoli.