On the other hand, Bruce and Loki also found some clues. They discovered some antique items in an antique shop, which astonishingly also bore the same text as the totem pillar and the magic array.
Some of these items looked like ritual offerings, while others were household items, but the majority were in poor condition. The sporadic patterns within the fragments suggested that they were of the same civilization as the totem pillar and magic array.
Since these items revealed nothing, Loki and Bruce decided to head to the city's museum. The ancient texts recorded there might offer some insights.
The people in the screening room were even more perplexed. Nightwing said thoughtfully, "I can understand that a magic array can be painted in a few dozen minutes, but some of these things don't seem like they could have been created in such a short time."
However, Red Robin, with his detective intuition, already saw something and said after a brief pause, "These are real clues."
Everyone looked at him. Red Robin pointed at the screen and said, "These were not forged by Professor Shearer. They are artifacts from the civilization we're looking at."
"So how could Shearer...oh, wait, he didn't completely forge them." Nightwing realized, "The symbols and patterns that Professor Shearer drew on the array, in fact, come from the totem pillar fragments he obtained, which actually were sent by the organizer and likely originate from this civilization."
Everyone in the room felt a sudden realization — they've been outmaneuvered.
However, what happened next exceeded their expectations.
Eddie and Batman discovered a crevice three floors below the underground parking lot. It seemed like a crack caused by an earthquake, but there were red crystal-like clusters below, emitting a mysterious red light.
Eddie confirmed that this was the red light he had seen before. Batman immediately deduced that this red light was not just a light but also a type of energy.
Soon, they found energy pipelines in the collapsed buildings. All of them were leading underground and none had yet interrupted their energy supply.
Loki and Bruce reached the city's museum. Their progress was swift because the city was small. When they arrived, over half of the museum had collapsed, but they managed to gather information on the ancient relics from the destroyed artifacts.
They found that the text and content on the totem pillars and magic array had meaning and were used as everyday tools during a long span of this civilization's development.
Both parties came to a conclusion: this was a magic civilization highly reliant on natural energy.
Batman and Eddie planned to continue their investigation, but they ran into Clark along the way.
Upon seeing Batman, Clark immediately flew over. He anxiously told Batman, "Bruce, this may not be as simple as we thought. On my way here, I encountered a strange man who told me some things."
"A strange man? What kind of strange man?"
"I don't know, he insisted that he was the world's smartest man. When I met him, he was driving a car."
"Driving a car?"
Clark nodded strongly, "Yes, but the car was flying. To be precise, it was flying close to the rooftop, and it was also emitting red light, which was kind of scary."
Batman immediately thought of the red crystal underground.
"What did he say to you?"
"He told me to be careful and not to fly upwards. He claimed that he had found a way to harness the energy in relation to the text and patterns on the totem pillar. That's how he started the car and flew it."
"Where is he now?" Batman asked stepping forward.
Batman knew instantly that the stranger was probably a formidable scientist. He had figured out the truth about the energy, analyzed the role of the symbols and patterns and even managed to restart the transportation of this world using these findings. This was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
"He drove away, saying that he wanted to check if there were any police stations or military zones around. He was curious about what their hot weapons looked like."
"Hot weapons." Batman murmured. "Indeed, if this civilization is similar to humanity, their most advanced technology would certainly be applied to weaponry. At the very least, this could show us the highest efficiency of their energy usage."
"I spotted a police station on the nearby street just now, I can take you there."
Without waiting for a response, Clark lifted Batman and flew towards the other end of the street. Still immersed in his thoughts, Batman didn't protest.
Passing a row of buildings, Batman saw a building that looked like a police station. However, as soon as they landed, they saw a silver figure.
The figure had spotted them before they saw him but didn't even have time to greet them before several rockets were launched their way.
Clark immediately used his skills to change the rockets' trajectory and yelled, "Don't shoot, we mean no harm, we're here to investigate."
The face guard opened with a click, and Clark froze.
"Aren't you the one who was driving the car just now? Wait, you don't look the same."
"Have you seen another me?" The figure asked immediately.
Before Clark could answer, Batman spoke first, "It seems you are a hunter, but we also have a hunter here. If you want to fight, bring it on."
A cold light flashed in the figure's eyes. Batman heard the faint sounds of a weapon system warming up and immediately told Clark to prepare.
However, the figure's gaze fixed on Clark, seemingly contemplating whether he was the hunter.
He eventually decided not to open fire.
Batman continued, "It seems you also came to investigate the police station. How about a temporary alliance?"
"I don't think you can offer any help in my investigation."
"I am Batman, the greatest scientist in the world."
"I am Iron Man, arguably greater than you."
"Then we should cooperate even more." Batman took a step forward and said, "I believe you've also noticed, there are many secrets in this world, and our time is dwindling."
"As far as I know, another version of you has already restarted the world's transportation system and set off to explore the military area. Who is the greater genius between you two?"
The man across paused, looked at the two of them again, and stated, "I can cooperate with you, but this foolish big guy next to you can't come in."
Unexpectedly, Batman agreed, and they entered the police station together.
Thus, their exploration progressed smoothly. Whenever they obtained a new clue, but did not know where to go next, a person who knew about the clue, or a trace left by him, would appear. Then they could move on to the next place to obtain the clues successfully.
Batman was guided from the underground parking lot to the police station. There, with Iron Man, he encountered a strange plane crash case. The two then went to the transport plane airport. After that, they discovered a signal device for the control center at the airport. Once they found the control center, they discovered that a dispatcher had been instructed by the government center building to dispatch. Inside the government center building, they obtained a meeting summary of an unknown technology group, which led them to the group's headquarters.
Bruce and Loki traveled from the magic array to the museum, where they obtained a piece of information about an ongoing tomb excavation. Then, after they went to the tomb, they found a historical artifact record left by a member of the archaeological team in the team's temporary residence. The record mentioned a specific artifact was put into a research facility. When they rushed to the research facility, they found the information of a certain person in charge and rushed to his home without stopping. In the end, they found out that the person in charge was a consultant for a technology group and also ended up at the group's headquarters.
Even other contestants conducting their investigations ended up on either of the two mentioned paths and finally arrived at the entrance of the technology group's headquarters.
The spectators in the cinema, having observed the entire investigation process, couldn't distinguish which pieces of evidence were real and which were false.
However, there is no doubt that Shearer had some private goods mixed in, otherwise, it's impossible that all the parties would be guided to the headquarters of the technology group, and that their arrivals would perfectly coincide.
The various groups stood silent at the entrance of the technology group's headquarters.
Stark, in his hover car, let out a roar after discovering that a familiar figure was missing from the crowd.
"Shearer!!! You come out!!!!!!"
Everyone turned to look at him, their expressions varied.
Having received no response, the few people had no choice but to enter the headquarters of the technology group. There, they saw a figure standing in the middle of the spacious hall, who seemed to have been waiting for them for a long time.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to... "Shearer turned around."
In his hand were three totem pillar fragments stacked together.
"... this is a complete totem pillar."
All three Robins slapped their foreheads at the same time.
"Wasn't it supposed to be the main task to explore the secrets of the fog?" Red Hood bellowed, "How come he's off collecting fragments again?!"
"Dishonorable." Nightwing commented.
"Even we got played by him." Red Robin wistfully said, "I really thought he had some real clues and was guiding the others to investigate."
Peter nonchalantly spread his hands and said, "This is Dr. Shearer. He would fill the exam paper with wrong answers for others to copy, then change them back to the correct ones just a second before submission. This way, he'll always get the highest score."
"So dishonest." Red Robin commented.
"But what about that Loki and Eddie?" Nightwing queried, "They knew Shearer's plan, why would they still cooperate with him?"
"Did they really know? Or did they know everything?" Peter countered.
"But if they were tricked too, they should at least be angry." Red Hood retorted, "But they don't even seem to want to stand up right now."
"That means the plan isn't over."
Continuing, Shearer took a step forward, lightly lifted the hand holding the totem pillar, and said,
"I now have the power to kill any of you. Now, tell me everything you've found in your investigations. The one who lies dies."
A pin drop could be heard in the lobby.
"Shearer, what on earth are you..."
"From left to right, I'll count to three."
"No, no, no!" Eddie, standing on the far left, put his hands out and said, "Don't kill me! Isn't just telling you enough?"
Eddie looked around, a bit distressed, gave Batman an apologetic glance, and said, "'He has a killing curse tool. I don't want to die. Being eliminated hurts enough, besides... telling him shouldn't be a big deal, right?"
Loki stepped forward, saying to Shearer, "I think we can strike a deal, can't we?"
All the people in the projection room sighed.