Take Central City, for instance, where the crime rate is indeed not high, and the state of public security is ranked among the top in All America, but that is only if you don't count the disappearances or hastily categorize the missing people as crime-related deaths; otherwise, the crime rate would skyrocket.
Immigrant communities are hotspots for disappearance cases, like the one where Shiller and Constantine are currently located. This area has sparse police presence, attracts no attention, and most people rent their homes, leading to a large turnover in the population. Moreover, many who engage in criminal activities frequently move after committing a crime. It's not surprising if someone suddenly disappears from one of these houses.
This is a natural hunting ground for serial killers.
Not everyone has the capacity to simultaneously evade massive police manhunts while indulging their twisted inner desires. Most people can only manage one of those things, so naturally, many serial killers who prefer not to tangle with the police come to such cities.
Or rather, they are swept into these cities by their more talented peers.
After all, there are quite a few people in the world who can match wits with Batman and still produce artwork; unable to outshine such individuals, others can only retreat to less prominent cities to scrape by.
Shiller had roamed the community twice and soon zeroed in on a particular house. The resident here must have killed quite a few people, but seemed not to be one who killed merely to satisfy a psychological urge; it looked more like they were involved in some sort of blood or organ trade.
Shiller was not particularly keen on killing an organ trafficker, but finding an artist in this city was challenging, so he could only hope this person would offer some surprises.
Shiller did not climb over any walls, as there was a sewer opening at the base of the wall he was next to. Observations of wear marked by rust indicated that the bars covering the sewer opening were often removed.
Additionally, some human tissue remained on the edges—not much, but quite fresh. Someone seemed to dispose of something here every couple of days, likely some kind of ground-up flesh.
Based on the condition of these tissues, today should have been the day for that person to dispose of their waste.
He was brazen, probably because the city really didn't have any noteworthy superheroes. The Flash was not as versatile as Superman nor as meticulous; he ran so fast it was almost impossible for him to notice a remote community or whether something clung to a sewer entry there, naturally obviating the need to dispose of bodies far away.
Shiller waited for a while until the sun tilted westward, and the temperature started to drop, then at last, a man with a bucket turned the corner.
He hardly saw what hit him before he was knocked down and then knocked out. Shiller helped him pour the contents of the bucket down the sewer and found the house keys on his person—the man indeed was a resident of the house.
Shiller dragged the man into the house, but he knew that if the man died there, it would likely be days before anyone discovered him, despite the relatively high temperature, due to the emanating rot—and Shiller couldn't wait that long.
As expected, there was a basement in the house, and its key was also on the keychain. Shiller did not struggle much to open the door.
However, the man did give Shiller a surprise—he was not an organ trafficker, but an organ collector.
The man might have had some medical background and was obsessed with internal organs, so he had set up an organ museum in his basement. Apart from the work area, the entire basement was filled with shelves densely packed with organs preserved in solutions, likely from hundreds of individuals.
Shiller checked the labels; the man had been at this for almost 30 years. Without being fussy or having any specific preference, purely random in his killing, so he had never been caught.
Checking the work area, Shiller found the method of disposing of bodies quite simple: the useful parts were kept, the useless parts ground down, and the troublesome remnants like hair and bones dissolved with chemicals, all dumped down the sewer.
It was only due to the low level of law enforcement in Central City that he had not been discovered for many years. But for ordinary people with limited skills, this relatively simple method of disposing of bodies was actually the lowest risk; the more complex methods were too prone to mistakes.
Shiller thought it over and felt that a case involving hundreds of people should be enough to attract the attention of the Central City police. Once the Central City police realized what was happening, he probably couldn't handle it on his own and would inevitably have to call in The Flash, which could then lure him out.
It seemed that killing this man was not an option. Not only could Shiller not kill him, but he also had to ensure the man caused some commotion to draw police attention to the case.
Shiller tied the man up and went back to the house where Constantine was catching a thief, who seemed to have resolved the issue and had retrieved his wallet.
Seeing Shiller approach, Constantine shook the wallet in his hand and said, "All sorted, I gave him a good beating."
"Come with me," Shiller said.
When the two returned and saw the tied-up man again, Constantine was still a bit puzzled, for though the man appeared strong, there was nothing particularly notable about him—he was just a very ordinary middle-aged American.
It was not until Constantine saw the spectacular scene in the basement that he began to see this man in a new light. When it came to being deranged, it truly had to be you Americans.
Shiller briefly explained his plan, and Constantine thought there were no issues. Of course, causing the man to create a disturbance would naturally depend on Magic.
Constantine set up an Array, and when he untied the ropes, the man charged out like a zombie.
Before long, the piercing sound of sirens rose at the edge of the community, and most of the curtains in the windows were cracked open slightly as many people were curious about what had happened.
Two police cars stopped in front of the man's house, and the officers broke in. After about ten minutes, they scrambled out of the house as if fleeing.
It was clear they had called for backup; the second wave of police cars wasn't just two anymore—it seemed like the entire Central City police force had descended on the neighborhood, with various professionals disembarking from the cars.
To Constantine and Shiller's surprise, they didn't even need to ask The Flash, Barry Allen, for help since he was already part of the police workforce.
He didn't look like a police officer, but more like a technician maintaining the crime scene. After inspecting closely, Shiller realized he was probably from the forensic analysis division.
Unfortunately, he was quite young and appeared to lack field experience, constantly being sent around on errands; eventually, even demoted to managing the police caution tape.
However, because he was away from the center of the whirlpool, Constantine found an opportunity to call him over.
At that moment, Barry recognized Constantine and was willing to come over, but he didn't recognize Shiller. Seeing Constantine with a stranger made him immediately wary.
Luckily, Shiller wasn't dressed extravagantly; he looked more like a scholar than a super villain, so after hesitating, Barry decided to stay.
They went to a nearby cafe for coffee—this was very common in the American police system; most of the time, it was just one or two core members busy while others leaned against their cars, drinking coffee and eating doughnuts.
Since Barry wasn't a core member, he had only heard there was a case, but wasn't aware of its severity. Hearing that Constantine had something important to discuss, he felt justified in leaving the crime scene.
Constantine explained the situation to Barry in the simplest terms possible—which, of course, sounded rather far-fetched, as there was still at least a month before the vampire incident would break out.
"You mean in the future, I'll be bitten by a vampire, become a mole inside the Justice League, and because the others aren't sure they can handle me, you want me to fight myself?"
"Listen, I know this sounds absurd, but you have to trust me, you should know about the special nature of Divine Speed; the Justice League might be under your shadow right now."
Barry hesitated, but then said, "I'm willing to help, but what can I do? Go inside Divine Speed and fight him? Or should I try to avoid getting bitten?"
"Avoiding getting bitten is probably inevitable," Shiller said. "The vampires have likely already targeted you; unless you can hide in Divine Speed forever, you'll be turned someday."
"Is there any way to revert?" The Flash asked. "I don't want to become a blood-sucking monster, nor do I want to hurt other members of the Justice League."
"Then find a way to stop yourself," Shiller said. "As long as you can hold him off, we can deal with the vampires, and once we find a method to reverse it, you can change back."
Barry was visibly worried but eventually nodded. He then looked at Shiller and said, "I know this might be too much to ask, but I want to see the process of me being bitten."
"You want to go to the future?"
"Yes, maybe we can prevent it?"
Shiller also knew that once this version of The Flash learned he might be turned into a vampire in the future, he would definitely try to time travel to prevent the tragedy; without letting him try, he wouldn't be content.
But both Constantine and Shiller agreed that it's impossible to play the thief every day without being on guard every day; if the vampires are set on turning The Flash, stopping them once might just lead to a second or third attempt, no one can keep that up forever.
However, Shiller didn't argue from this angle, he simply said, "The vampires need a mole inside the Justice League, if they find out they can't bite you, who do you think they'll go after?"
Barry was momentarily stunned, then shook his head and said, "Okay, it's me then. If they really bit Batman and Superman, I can't imagine what kind of disaster that would be."
"Barry, I have to tell you another piece of bad news," Shiller said. "Although I haven't seen it myself, I suspect things aren't looking good for Green Lantern."
Barry stood up abruptly and said, "What do you mean? You're saying the future me attacked Hal?!"
"In the Justice League, who would you first help?"
"...Maybe Hal."
"Then who would the evil version of you attack first?"
Barry was already restless, pacing in front of the table, then said, "Let's not waste time then, where can I find that monster? I can't let him hurt Hal... What do I need to do?"
"If things haven't gone awry, he should be guarding your younger self now, because we've made him believe we might attack you as an infant," Shiller explained.
Shiller gave Barry a detailed plan, saying, "Follow him through Divine Speed, hold him off with all your might, and if you still have strength left, you can look around in Divine Speed—I suspect Hal might already have been kidnapped."
Barry nodded vigorously and said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely rescue Hal!"