Shiller stood frozen at the door for a full two minutes, then he turned around, rubbed his eyes, turned back again, and saw that the sea of broccoli still remained outside. He took a deep breath and muttered to himself:
"Gray mist! Gray mist! Have you been drinking again? Didn't I tell you? Drinking too much Mad Liquor will cause hallucinations!"
"Err... from the information being received from your optic nerve, I'm afraid what you've just seen is not a hallucination." Gray Mist said, sounding somewhat hesitant.
Swallowing nervously, Shiller retreated a step and thought to Gray Mist: "You're saying that these little broccoli trees are appearing in the real world... are you sure???
"Yes, I am, our method as a symbiont of perceiving the world is different than that of humans. We do not observe the world through a specific organ."
"However, according to the information just returned by the Symbiotic Factor, currently, there are over 1400 broccoli plants in front of you, and the smallest of them is about 14 times larger than the size of broccoli humans consume..."
Shiller retreated another step.
He opened his umbrella with a "pop", covered his forehead with his hand, lowered his head and muttered: "My god, what's happening? Is the world going to be destroyed? Is Gotham going to be destroyed??!!!"
Just then, Pamela and Catwoman, who had just gone to change their clothes, came down from the stairs of the experiment building. Seeing that Shiller was still waiting at the door, Catwoman walked up to him, confused: "Professor Shiller, why are you still here? Oh, I get it. Your car broke down, didn't it? It's okay, I can find you another one. I'm sure the owner won't mind..."
Seeing them come down, Shiller moved aside like he'd seen a lifesaver, made way for Catwoman, and then pointed outside with his slightly trembling fingertip: "Could you please help me see? Am I hallucinating? What is that mound of green unknown objects outside?!"
"The green unknown objects?" Catwoman frowned as she looked out the door and exclaimed in surprise: "God, why is there so much broccoli outside? It looks like the original vines have all turned into broccoli?"
She stood at the door observing for a while and then said: "But, it seems like a good thing. The broccoli is much larger than the vines. Originally, these vines could only cling to the feet of those madmen, but now they should be completely immobilized."
However, Shiller stood there, petrified. At this moment, he had retreated to the top of the Tower of Thought, and he exclaimed somewhat deliriously: "Quick, Quick, Quick!! Someone!! Somebody tag me out!! My allergies are about to act up. If you don't replace me, I am going to faint!!!"
"Superego? Superego?" Are you there? Shiller looked up and shouted at the air: "Hurry up! Find a replacement! I can't do this shift for even a minute longer!!!"
"There's no replacement." The indifferent voice of the Superego came: "The only two stable personalities that can surface before the conscious mind are you and the other guy. If you want a replacement, you can find him."
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Marvel Schiller walked out, rubbing his hands together. He looked at DC Shiller and said, "You're having an allergic reaction, aren't you? Hey, buddy, in your condition you shouldn't be working. Let me replace you. Don't worry, I won't make any mess..."
DC Shiller stood there, hesitating for less than a second, then he resolutely headed for the elevator.
Standing in the middle of the elevator, just before the doors closed, he pointed at Marvel Schiller with his umbrella and said: "Instead of enduring the endless accounting tasks you found me, I prefer to bear the side effects of broccoli allergy!"
With a faint electric hum, the elevator doors closed. After DC Shiller left, Marvel Schiller shrugged and said: "Well, that isn't my fault."
When DC Shiller returned, he transformed into Gray Mist and arrived at the roof of the experiment building. This building wasn't very high, but it offered a meager view of the entire Gotham University.
As he had seen from the doorway, the city was flooded with broccoli. However, as Catwoman had said, to some extent, this was a good thing. The dense broccoli had trapped the irrational madmen.
Of course, some who hadn't been infected yet were also buried in the broccoli. But because they retain their sanity, they can struggle and call for help, and they would soon be rescued.
Those who had been infected, their sharp claws could slash through human skin, but they were not much of a threat to the plant stems.
They could scratch the surface of broccoli stems, but they couldn't cut through an entire broccoli plant like an ax does, so they could only move their limbs helplessly while stuck between the gigantic broccoli.
The broccoli that had invaded Gotham was not like the kind served on dinner tables. Firstly, they were much bigger than normal broccoli. From Shiller's estimation, the biggest broccoli plant was about several meters tall, and the smallest was at least half a meter.
Moreover, each broccoli grew very complete. The dark spherical structure at the top half was very full, making every plant look like a mushroom cloud. The size, height, and arrangement of them gave a bizarre aesthetic.