Whenever there is a simple solution to a complex problem in this world, countless people who have labored tirelessly for it end up feeling like complete fools.
But this is not meaningless, as their headless fly-like busywork provides amusement for another group of people, those who knowingly live in Fools' Village just to observe the various states of life here.
When Lex saw the transparent cover in Bruce's hand, he wasn't sure what he was going to say, and Bruce impatiently slammed it onto the table with a "pop".
When Lex moved in for a closer look, he saw a small figure fluttering beneath the glass cover. It was a mosquito.
This confused Lex for a moment. He thought perhaps the greatest detective in the world had been driven mad by an unsolvable puzzle.
Then, Bruce understood the pleasure that Shiller took in this spectacle: watching a genius ask befuddled questions like "Are you serious?", "Why?" and "On what basis?" could indeed be pretty amusing.
And if a group of people were all doing this simultaneously, the comedic effect would increase tenfold. Therefore, Bruce immediately summoned all those in the know together and revealed the answer.
"The Summer Killer is a mosquito."
Everyone fell silent, then followed a series of "Are you serious?", "Why?" and "On what basis?" - exactly the reactions that amused both Bruce and Shiller.
But the truth was surprisingly simple.
Previously, when Gothamites couldn't bear the summer heat and began to fall ill, Pamela was also struggling with the harsh weather, so she gave Lex two of her newly researched guard plants.
The two plants proved to be quite talkative, but after chasing Lex around for two weeks, Lex used his genius to modify the machine that controlled Gotham's weather, and he could now manually control the rainfall.
Note that the rain cloud Lex used was man-made and not naturally formed. The water inside it was clean, free from industrial pollution, and contained no trace of acid rain.
And mosquito larvae live in water.
Gotham didn't have mosquitos before due to various factors. For one, the temperature wasn't high enough and it got even colder after the underground cold storage was built. The breed of blood-sucking mosquitos on the East Coast couldn't breed here.
On the other hand, there was a lack of water bodies for mosquito larvae to live in. Gotham's water contained substances which, if Mendeleev got hold of, could have written a periodic table of elements extending two million words long. This was still a bit too advanced for mosquitos.
Naturally, insects should have stronger adaptability than other animals. If sparrows in Gotham can evolve to be as big as eagles, mosquitos should also have no problem.
Yet, the toxic water in Gotham specifically targeted creatures like larvae. Larvae, which are not as strong, lose out on an important life cycle phase – a safe breeding environment – and can essentially be classified as naturally eliminated.
However, the sudden high temperature in Gotham brought about an extremely hot summer. Though this wasn't good for humans, it became a paradise for other long-dormant life forms, including mosquitos.
The subsequent rain perfectly satisfied the needs of mosquito reproduction. The mosquito larvae joyously grew in the clean, pollution-free waters, and they could mature into adults within a short time.
But why would mosquitos lag behind other animals and even plants in Gotham?
The water from the rain cloud that Lex had manufactured was free from industrial pollution, but all the bodies of water present in Gotham were inevitably affected by the dark energy buried in the metal. So, after the rain cloud existed for a few days, it ultimately returned to the typical Gotham taste.
With the increasing number of mosquitos, there were bound to be a few lucky ones affected by this power that underwent mutations, just like the sparrows and seagulls. However, what makes the mosquito species unique is its reliance on humans for survival through the exchange of body fluids.
The mutated mosquitos, taking advantage of their racial talents, were born adept in virology and bacterial transmission. They even evolved a toxin that specifically targeted the kidneys.
They completely ignored the rule that it was rogue behavior to discuss toxicity without considering doses. As long as their mouthparts pierced the skin, it would be like cosmic will ensuring a hit, and the onset of the disease would be sudden and quick, leaving little room for treatment.
The reason why the first ones to fall victim to the mosquitos were members of the Twelve Families was no conspiracy against the Mob. It's just that these people all had large gardens in their homes. When the weather got really hot, they would retreat to the gardens for some cool air. The more they frequented these areas, the higher the chances of them getting bitten.
The general public was also affected, it's just that the death of a commoner naturally didn't attract much attention. There were many people dying in strange ways in Gotham every day. How much difference would a Michelin tire make? As long as the body could be cremated and the ashes scattered at sea, there wouldn't be much of an issue.
It's just the Mob who found the death of their important members very surprising. In fact, when Bruce and Lex were conducting a series of complex deductions, some Gothamites had already found out that mosquitos were the problem and begun organizing mosquito extermination campaigns.
That Shiller discovered the truth ahead of time was purely because Victor found a cicada outside his office.
At first, Shiller indeed thought it was a serial murder case and conducted serious investigations. When he didn't find any clues, he just thought the killer might have some special ability.
But later, when he went to Gotham University to work, he found that Victor had put the cicada in a transparent ecological tank. The inordinate noise it produced nearly resulted in a group attack by all the faculty members on Victor.
While other people didn't notice anything unusual, Shiller observed that it wasn't the species of cicada that was making such a racket, but this particular cicada seemed to be making more noise than the others outside the window.
While Victor was absent, Shiller took out the cicada he was raising in his ecological chamber for a study and he discovered that this tiny insect could have been mutated by pollution, just like other animals.
Pamela had mentioned earlier that the pollution in Gotham's soil was mostly due to water pollution. Any land area that had underground water flowing through it would easily breed aggressive plants. Therefore, the larvae of the so-called "seventeen-year cicada", which remained buried in the soil, could very likely have mutated due to the effects of water pollution.
This caused Shiller to wonder, had the insects that had never appeared in Gotham before silently become extinct?
Of course, it couldn't be that simple. After all, the adaptability of insects is unparalleled in the animal kingdom. There was no reason that birds could adapt and mutate, while insects were driven out of competition.
The only possibility was that they were silently lying dormant, waiting for the climate to be right before making a large scale outbreak, and many of these bugs were poisonous.
Despite his hypothesis, Shiller was still unable to identify the specific criminal insect. Unfortunately, he had been working in the garden of his mansion for garden renovation these days, which increased his chances of being infected.
Then, in just a few days, a mosquito willingly flew onto the gray mist, catching him off guard.
Normal mosquitoes would not attempt to bite Shiller because, in their judgment, Shiller was not a human being and hence did not exist. However, Gotham's mutated mosquitoes had also adopted the attributes of Gotham's animals — they were willing to take a bite at anyone they came across.
The mutated mosquito bit the gray mist, but it actually didn't bite anything. It was then successfully captured by the gray mist, and thus, Shiller found out who the so-called "Summer Killer" really was.
After a series of deductions by Bruce, Lex, and Shiller, they finally filled in the blanks of this little offender's criminal trajectory. Simply put, the mosquitoes were following their natural instinct to hunt humans, and the foolish human race was frightening itself over this.
"We can't just say that." Gordon stroked his chin, stared at the small glass cover and said, "Its toxin is quite deadly. It caused such a disturbance when it bit the locals, so what would happen if it bit a tourist?"
"I think we should introduce measures to prevent and control mosquitoes." Roy extended a finger and said, "We have so many brilliant scientists. Surely we can find a way to eliminate mosquitoes?"
"I believe that preventing mutation is the priority." Bruce, with his arms crossed, contemplated and said, "Ordinary mosquitoes do not have such lethal power. As long as mutant mosquitoes do not appear, humans are safe."
"But this damned place, Gotham, even the plants it grows can attack people. How do you plan on blocking the pervasive dark influence?" Pamela turned to ask.
"Perhaps we can try to create a city-wide water purification system." Lex proposed, "As long as we frequently change the water, we can ensure that certain toxins in the rainwater do not accumulate to concentrations that lead to mutation. This will naturally prevent the emergence of mutant mosquitoes."
"Will the mutation be passed down genetically?" Bruce frowned, "Perhaps we can do something at the genetic level, preventing mosquitoes with mutated genes from reproducing. This can effectively limit their numbers and harm."
"That's too far in the future. What we need now is to eradicate these mutant mosquitoes." Roy brought the topic back on track, "We can't let them go around biting tourists and important figures attending the music festival."
"It's a bit too difficult to eliminate mosquitoes at all times. If it was in the early stages of reproduction, then fine. But now that they've already taken hold, we couldn't possibly exterminate them by hand, could we?" Gordon shook his head, looking somewhat troubled.
Shiller's sigh broke off the discussion.
Everyone turned to look at him. Shiller regarded everyone else and said, "Haven't you all learned a lesson from this case yet?"
"What?" Bruce asked.
"Nature is the most formidable killer. Her creations, made without a thought in mind, are far more ingenious than the most intelligent serial killers human race could produce."
"So?" Gordon still seemed a bit confused but Pamela seemed to have understood Shiller's meaning. She nodded approvingly.
Shiller stood up from his seat, looking ready to leave. He turned his head for a last look at the calendar hanging in the office and said, "Summer is about to pass."
Having said that, he left. Gordon and the others looked somewhat surprised.
Pamela, on the other hand, looked out of the window at the vegetation that was no longer as lush as before. The once expansive deep green had faded and turned gray. In its place, the distant foggy mountains were gradually tinged with brilliant orange and purple hues.
"Autumn is coming. The Summer Killer won't survive much longer."
Gordon finally understood and Pamela said this somewhat wistfully.
"Indeed, nature is the greatest killer. In just a flash, it can wipe out an entire species, then resurrect them in the next cycle. This makes life and death a form of art, limited only by the endless imagination of life."
"The self-proclaimed genius humans are nothing but fools chasing after the cycle of the seasons. This whole civilization is nothing more than a small village in the endless landscape of mountains, lakes, and rivers, a fragment of nature's entrails."
"And if there is any difference between the humans bustling around for her fleeting glance and the insects with their feather-like scales, it probably lies in a realm never ventured into by All Things Green or All Things Red — a midsummer night's dream in the summer of Fools' Village, belonging to the Gothamites."