More importantly, Victor's freezing technology has an unparalleled preservation ability. In the comics, he has repeatedly turned Batman into an ice cube, then chatted with him.
After exiting from the ice, Batman is unscathed. He could still beat up Mr. Freeze. Besides Batman's protagonist aura, Victor's excellent preservation ability with his freezing technology is also one of the important reasons.
The outrageous technology of Gotham's villains is just so incredibly illogical. However, if it's used for legitimate purposes, it would become an unparalleled productive force.
In a city where cold storage costs are reduced to the lowest, it is destined to become a logistics hub. Producers seeking to decrease logistics costs will flock to it.
Gordon revealed a thoughtful expression, then said, "Are you suggesting that we do not repair the sewer system, but use these ice layers as natural cold storage instead?"
"We still need the sewer system, but we can reconstruct another one, and these dense ice layers that can exist at room temperature, will become Gotham's trump card for development."
"This massive underground cold storage could carry the storage of all chilled products on the East Coast, making Gotham an unavoidable spot for nationwide cold chain transportation."
Gordon looked at Batman, Batman stayed silent for a while, then said, "According to my calculations, this is indeed theoretically possible. Though there are many technical issues and it'll take a long time to rebuild, if successful, Gotham could become a world-class logistics hub."
"Other cities are unlikely to replicate this success, even if they have Victor's freezing technology, it's hard for them to have such a cooperative Court of Owls like we do."
"Their artificial rainfall technology is indeed impressive. It lasts a long time and results in heavy rain, gathering enough water to create stable ice layers in a very short time. That is rare," Shiller commented.
Gordon almost felt sorry for the Court of Owls. They had been exploited and manipulated while they helped count money for someone else.
"Originally, I was quite interested in the Court of Owls' artificial rainfall technology," Shiller continued. "After all, as you've seen, their technology performs quite well."
"But after considering it, even if we can acquire the technology, we would have to spend a significant amount to implement it, and I doubt the Federal Government would agree to flood Gotham in order to build an underground natural cold storage system."
"So, it's best to let the Court of Owls work for us."
"For now, they are doing quite well. They've triggered a flood and have created the world's largest underground cold storage, contributing greatly to Gotham City's future development. I think they definitely deserve an award for their exceptional contribution."
"But there is a problem," warned Gordon somewhat hesitantly, "While I don't wish to be the proverbial wet blanket, you just mentioned it: dealing with the ice layers is difficult and will be a major project. Reconstruction will likely come with a high cost, not to mention building a new sewer system ..."
Shiller put his hands on the table and abruptly changed the subject. He asked Gordon, "Detective Gordon, have you ever dealt with a kidnapping case?"
"A kidnapping case? I had a few when I was in Chicago, but since I came to Gotham, we only seem to have murder cases, no kidnappings."
"And even if there are kidnapping cases, by the time the police arrive, the hostage is already dead, so it hardly amounts to a kidnapping."
"That's okay, you only need to understand the principles," Shiller reassured him.
"The principles? What exactly are you trying to say?" asked Gordon.
Shiller sipped his hot coffee. As the warm liquid entered his stomach, he let out a satisfied sigh, then said, "Patience, let's first analyze the current situation."
"Gotham faced a risk of flooding due to several days of heavy rainfall. We undertook a sequence of emergency measures; the loss was substantial, but we saved countless residents' lives and properties."
"Now, based on our investigation, this flood was the result of a human conspiracy, the act of terrorists who used a weather disaster weapon on Gotham, and now..."
Shiller paused for dramatic effect, then continued, "The ringleaders are frozen inside a massive block of ice underground in Gotham. Detective Gordon, what do you think is the most critical aspect in a kidnapping case?"
Gordon, taken aback, said, "What? Persuading the kidnapper? Protecting the hostage?"
"That would be true from a policeman's perspective. But right now, we are the kidnappers."
Shiller knocked on the table to emphasize his point, "We are demanding ransom."
"Clearly, now that we have the hostage, we can start discussing money, can't we?" he asked.
Gordon's mouth dropped open as he looked from Shiller, to Batman and Victor, and finally said, "So this is your final objective. To take advantage of the flood caused by the Court of Owls themselves, freeze them all underground, and then... demand a ransom???"
Shiller gestured towards Victor, who was holding a stack of documents. Victor then started speaking, "The location of the cryogenic generator was carefully chosen to ensure that within the underground area of Gotham, all rooms and passages connected to the ground would be filled with solid ice, with no omissions."
"In other words, if those trapped want to leave the underground tunnels of Gotham, they only have two choices."
"Either they would have to dig through rock layers below the range of the low-temperature emitter's radiation and tunnel out of Gotham City, or ..."