Kira widened her eyes at Alfred, she had never imagined that Alfred was the legendary agent who had the spy list and was toying with the intelligence personnel on the East Coast of the United States.
"But going from England to Moscow, there's no need to pass through the East Coast of the United States, right?" Kira asked with some confusion.
But then, she responded, slapped her forehead, and said, "Oh, right, they can't directly head for Moscow. They would definitely be intercepted along the way…"
"Even so, it seems a bit too far to go from England to the East Coast of the United States, and then to the Soviet Union. It's almost a trip around the globe…"
"Have you still not realized the importance of this list that the whole world has been searching for for 30 years?"
Upon hearing Alfred's words, Kira thought carefully. Indeed, from what it seemed now, the main function of the list was to rectify the mistakes that had been made in intelligence work. But nearly 30 years had passed, and the list could hardly be said to be invalid. Many of those listed might have passed away.
However, the importance of a list containing all the significant spies at the time 30 years ago was self-evident.
Alfred took a piece of deer hide out of his pocket and started to polish the barrel of the shotgun in his hand. He said, "There were many routes provided by Moscow, but without exception, they all fell within the sniping range of the Central Intelligence Agency."
"In those days, the American agents were omnipresent, it has to be said, the American agents then were much stronger than those today."
"So why… Oh my, the most dangerous place is the safest one?! So, you headed directly for the United States instead??"
Alfred chuckled, seemingly reminiscent of Kira's youth. He said, "There is some truth to the saying that the most dangerous place is the safest one, but it can't be a decisive factor in a critical decision."
"In 1961, Allen Dulles, the longest-serving director of the Central Intelligence Agency, retired. He was a tough old man who brought the CIA to its peak status nationally and internationally."
"However, after 1961, his successor wasn't as good. He accomplished almost nothing in a year; it took a long time just to clean up the mess left by his predecessor. This earned him the nickname of 'Airhead from the Air Force' from the public, the folks in Moscow surely knew."
"Also, during Allen's term, the Central Intelligence Agency's authority was greatly expanded, even replacing some of the responsibilities of the Congress. His work was so brilliant that it created an overwhelming prestige and reputation for the CIA."
"So Congress had to restrict them, right?" Kira asked, then she scoffed, "Typical of the Americans, always stirring up internal strife."
"Yes, they intentionally designated an incompetent successor to take over Allen's position, turning the agency into a mess. Then they revised the Safety Act to further limit the scope of functions of the CIA. In short, the Central Intelligence Agency during that period…"
Alfred trailed off, shaking his head, and Kira got the hint.
According to Alfred, with the circumstances at the time, mainland America was indeed a very safe place. To limit the power of the CIA, Congress would not allow the CIA to get involved, even if they were aware that there could be spies infiltrating the country.
What Americans are best at is establishing an organization, only to set up another one to restrict it, and then another to regulate the previous two. They would name it the doctrine of the separation of powers.
Whenever these three organizations go head-to-head, they call it a "victory for democracy".
Even when more organizations ended up in infighting because of this, they wouldn't be bothered by the decline in efficiency or by the ridiculous unintentional incidents of the left hand hindering the right hand. They would only feel that their oversight mechanism was a great success.
"Moreover, Gotham has been a lawless place. Even though the Falcone family had already taken control of Gotham at that time, the structure of the Twelve Families had not been fully established. Or you could say that it was a period of growing pains during reform, where there were gang wars breaking out everywhere. It was the perfect time to fish in troubled waters."
"Indeed, it's a smart strategy. As long as you lay low in Gotham for a while and Moscow then announces that the list has reached them, it would greatly increase the safety of your journey back." Kira nodded in agreement.
"The original plan was indeed like this, but there were some unexpected incidents…"
Kira looked at Alfred and asked, "What kind of incidents?"
Alfred took a rare sigh, as if recalling some unwelcome memories. He said, "In Gotham City, there has been a unique force lurking. Concealed behind masks and hiding in the shadows, these people monitor everyone, fantasizing about controlling the city."
"They are known as the Court of Owls."
"It's a bunch of lunatics who would stop at nothing for power and status. On one particular day in March, when I went to the cathedral to pray, I 'accidentally' overheard a conversation between Gotham Godfather Falcone and Daniel, the bishop of the Gotham Cathedral at the time…"
Kira noticed that Alfred put an emphasis on the word "accidentally", and she understood that Alfred was implying he had been observing these two and was investigating them, so he accidentally heard some information.
"They said that the Court of Owls had obtained a peculiar egg, and it seemed like they wanted to place this egg in a special pool under the cathedral… "
"An egg? What kind of egg?" Kira asked in confusion.
Alfred took a deep breath and said:
"An egg of a monster."
"Is this… is this an egg of a monster? "
In the basement of the mansion, in the middle of a wide hall, Lex looked at the object in the center of the hall with some suspicion.
At this time, the status of all the members of this underground exploration team was somewhat strange. Both Bruce and Lex were surrounded by a wisp of gray mist that they themselves could see, yet didn't object to it. Bruce was supporting a pale Clark, who was still coughing weakly.
After the group descended from the cellar entrance, they found out that it was indeed just a common cellar. However, the development of events soon surpassed their expectations.
The anomalies weren't really obvious in the hallway leading from the cellar. It looked like a bunker built by medieval nobles, lacking any technological aspects or abnormalities. The mysterious mineral Shiller alluded to was nowhere in sight.
After traversing this passage, Clark started feeling an anomaly, as he began to feel weak.
At the end of the hallway, Lex and Bruce tried to discourage Clark from continuing. However, Clark was determined to make sure that this mineral would not harm ordinary people, so they pressed forward.
Soon, a green light emerged. At this moment, Shiller called them to a halt and said, "You're not thinking of proceeding directly, are you?"
"I must remind you, this mineral also emits radiation harmful to humans. Moreover, the radiation it produces is unlike any other mineral on Earth, human-made radiation suits might be ineffective."
Lex and Bruce exchanged glances. They saw the same feeling in each other's eyes; they were wary of taking this risk yet curious about what lied ahead.
"I can provide protection for you, but..."
Shiller drew out his words and then suddenly said, "Wayne Enterprises and Luther Corporations are the economic lifelines of the Middle East Coast, as well as the bedrocks of the American economy."
Bruce was somewhat puzzled, wondering why Shiller had suddenly brought this up. But Lex seemed to understand. He graciously replied,
"A method to shield against an unknown mineral's radiation is worth its weight in gold. Luther Corporation is definitely prepared to pay a price for this technology. Professor, we can discuss the figures later, but we guarantee you won't be disappointed..."
Bruce looked at the smile on Shiller's face and was taken aback before narrowing his eyes. He realized something was amiss.
When did Shiller start showing interest in money?
Was he out of his mind?
Seeing Shiller shift his gaze back to him, Bruce was momentarily at a loss for words. However, he quickly cleared his throat and said, "The price is not important. What matters is its effectiveness."
Shiller waved his hand, and two gusts of gray mist surrounded the two men. Visually, the green glow seemed to have been blocked, proving the effectiveness of Shiller's method.
Clark immediately turned towards Shiller with a hopeful look in his eyes. But Shiller seemed to ignore this look and walked straight ahead.
Clark chased him and said, "Oh! Professor, is there a misunderstanding between us?"
"Professor! I think I need some defense mechanisms too! Professor..."
"It's useless on you." Shiller rejected Clark rather coldly. Clark could only chase behind them with a dejected expression.
As they moved inside, the situation began to take a serious turn. They first entered a hall where the walls were mostly made of green stones. These stones emitted enough light to illuminate the entire hall, indicating their vast quantity.
Clark was so weak by now that he could hardly walk on his own. Bruce had to support him. However, seeing Shiller walk around like there was nothing amiss, Bruce and Lex knew they had been duped once again.
By now, the function of this mineral had become irrelevant. The important question was, who had constructed this place and why?
Bruce found no evidence to support the rumors as he did not come across any experimental equipment. Radiation experiments, especially those involving humans, need a lot of specialized equipment - equipment that was noticeably absent here.
After crossing the hall and traversing another passage, they reached a huge underground void. What they saw there was astounding.
Most of the walls in the vast underground void were untouched rock layers. Some were even leaking water. However, there were many fortified walls distributed uniformly throughout the void, like wedges carved into the rock.
At every fortified location, there was a bizarre device with a massive green Kryptonite at the center.
The glow of the Kryptonite seemed to be guided by the glass exterior of the device, forming a solid green beam. The beams intersected and focused on a single point where there was a floating platform with an egg on it.
This egg was so large that the team had to crane their necks to look at it. It was gray in color, covered with rocky spikes that emitted a faint blue glow at the tips.
Just as Lex voiced his confusion, they heard Shiller's cold voice from behind, "Fall back."
Bruce turned around to look at Shiller, who was standing at a distance. Looking at Shiller's expression, he knew that Shiller might know what this was. He asked, "What kind of a creature's egg is this?"
"A monster..."
"What kind of a monster?"
"A very terrifying one...even Clark at full strength can't handle it..."
Shiller kept his gaze fixed on the egg as his deep voice echoed throughout the void:
"It is called...Doomsday."