Pala's eyes widened, staring at the young man before her with the most shocked expression she had ever had in her life, yet Tim didn't hesitate for a mont, fixing his gaze on Pala's eyes, he said, "I know what you did, you used vines to restrain that professor, for so special reason, he didn't fight back, faced with a young lady, he always tried to maintain gentlemanly decorum."
"You said it yourself, it was a special reason!" Pala almost scread, "I have no way to attack Shearer, it's impossible. And have you considered that he would settle scores after the fall?!"
"Then you're just an accomplice."
Pala took a deep breath, trying to fill her blank mind with thoughts and to organize so useful counterargunts, "Do you think they were just talking about internship matters with that blind man? Don't you think they were also talking about us?"
"Of course, I know he was alluding to us, but don't you think he made a lot of sense?" Tim's eyes still shone bright as he sat down again, looking up at Pala who had stood up, the smile on the black-haired youth's face now completely dangerous and dissolute.
"Have you ever felt what it's like to fall?"
"I haven't, and I don't want to!"
"Young people always have to fall, but don't you think it's both silly and boring to trip over a pebble on flat ground? Have you never thought about leaping down from the rooftop of the Wayne Enterprises Building?"
"I haven't!!!" Pala grabbed her hair, pacing the room, and said, "I'm not going to seek death because life is boring every day!"
"What if death is inevitable?"
"Then I wouldn't want the process to be more thrilling because of madness!" Pala said, "That's what you're thinking, right? Since you're going to suffer a big loss sooner or later, might as well provoke the most formidable one, so that at least death is thrilling."
"I'm not entirely chasing thrills; you think too little of ," Tim said lightly twirling his fingers, "The key here is that if you fall on flat ground, you see nothing. But if you want to jump from a building, at least you have to climb to the highest structure, which allows you to overlook the entire city, gaining more information."
Pala cald down a bit, realizing that Tim was not just going crazy, he had his own plan, workable or not, at least there was a set of logical reasons behind it.
"If we capsize in the gutter and fall at the hands of a weakling, relying more on luck and our own stupidity, what do we learn from observing his actions?"
"The fact is we learn nothing, it's just a waste of ti, and filling the brain with junk, there's not even a need to review, probably can only learn to stand still and wait for the opponent to make a mistake, equivalent to having fallen for no reason, even if it's just a scrape, the injury is aningless."
"But if we pick a strong enough opponent, perhaps we lose at the first step, but at least we try to plan under imnse pressure, putting it into action, doing our best to avoid forced mistakes, all of these are valuable experiences."
"If we're lucky enough to hold on a little longer, we might see a more exciting ga, understand how he is so much stronger than us, and even if we hit the jackpot, and the situation pushes us from being pawns to players, we might get the chance to compete against him, then even a severe injury is worth it."
Pala sat down again, crossed-legged opposite Tim, gathering her fallen red hair back behind her head and said, "How can you ensure we won't just crash to our death on the spot?"
"What are you afraid of? He can't really kill us." Tim bared his teeth and said, "Even if he did strike, we would exit the copy under the Doujie System's protection and everything would return to normal."
"What about settling scores afterward?"
"Go to the professor," Tim said with a smile, "I'm sure they don't get along, and the professor is very protective of his own."
"Why do you think the professor will protect us?"
"Because I finished my howork," Tim said, "And most of his students can't finish theirs, they have to find all sorts of excuses. I significantly raised the completion rate and the performance level of his students, he won't stand by and watch die."
"What about ?"
"You're Victor's Ph.D., he'll definitely not stand by and watch you die either."
Pala found herself at a loss for words.
"You're not really proposing that I attack Shearer, are you?" Pala started to talk about possibilities, she said, "Even if he didn't have superpowers, what if he called for help from his superhero friends? I can't beat all of them!"
"What if we make everyone think he hasn't really been kidnapped?" Tim countered, "He himself wants to use himself as bait, keeping most of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's manpower hanging on this side, so why couldn't the news of him being in danger be part of his strategy to draw the tiger away from the mountain?"
"But if he can send a ssage out, then he can clearly explain the situation to his superhero friends."
"Would they believe him if he explained?"
Pala felt Tim was being sophistical, she crossed her arms and said, "They are his friends, they trust each other, if it's said in their own words, why wouldn't they believe it?"
"Then you still don't understand these kinds of people," Tim said, "Suppose one day I suddenly call you saying I've been kidnapped by Professor Shearer, what would be your first reaction?"
Pala was about to blurt out, "Of course, I'd be worried about you!" but the thought only flashed montarily, and she knew that she wouldn't think that way if it really ca to that.
She would think it was absurd, then start to consider what Tim was up to, because obviously, Professor Shearer had no need to kidnap him, and Tim wasn't soone who could be kidnapped easily; even if a kidnapping did occur, given Professor Shearer's ticulousness, how could he let the news be leaked so easily?
She would certainly speculate that either Tim was playing tricks himself, or the two were in cahoots.
"So what if it was Dick who sent you this ssage?" Tim asked again.
Pala opened her mouth, not really wanting to say it because she felt it might hurt their brotherly bond, but the truth was that if Dick were the one sending the ssage, Pala might genuinely consider going to the rescue.
It wasn't that she liked Dick more than Tim, but Dick's trustworthiness was just higher in her eyes. Even if the ssage had co from Jason, Professor Shearer's favorite, she wouldn't be certain that it was a sche between the two of them, she would still try to check it out.
"That's the rationale," Tim said with a smile. "He's fishing for Federal Bureau of Investigation agents this ti by assuming so unidentified Hydra identity; he could well assu other identities to bait other people, which might also include his friends."
"All the impressive feats he has displayed in the past make people believe he wouldn't easily fall into traps; all his predicants could only be caused by himself. Hence, the more people know him, the more they think he's up to sothing when he asks for help."
"The story of the 'Boy Who Cried Wolf'?" Pala asked, frowning.
"Pretty much. I boldly speculate that for him to have led his Earth to its current state, he must have used all ans necessary, being harsh on others and even harsher on himself. Using himself as bait couldn't have been a one-off thing; those superheroes, no matter how virtuous, should start thinking."
"And there's one last problem," Pala sighed. "What if there's soone like Superman?"
Tim shook his head, "It's not quite the sa. If Batman sends a ssage to Superman saying he's in danger, Superman would definitely believe it and try to rescue him. That's because Superman still sees Batman as a normal person, at least more so than others realize that Batman is not a god."
"Essentially, because Superman is a true god; he stands so high and is so strong that he can look down upon all creatures on this world. Thus, he fully understands that even Batman, with all his strategies, might overlook sothing, and it is his duty to rescue him."
"But don't you think Shiller in this cosmos is more akin to a god? He manipulates everything, looks down on everything, and everybody else is looking up to him, without anyone as firm in their belief as Superman that he is a mortal with vulnerabilities."
"And once everyone adopts an attitude of looking up, they inevitably have this suspicion—'I am not as clever as him, not as in control of the big picture; so, if this is part of his plan, would my rash move to rescue him have an adverse effect on the plan?'"
"It's a speculation that belongs to the weak, fundantally a sign of wavering born from comparing oneself to the other. Superman, compared to anyone, would not waver, even against Batman, or rather, precisely because his compassion for the weak contains not a trace of rational thought, he can disregard everything and remain resolute in his rescue."
"So you an to say that the more rationally Shiller's friends think, the less likely they are to co to the rescue."
"Yes, in my view, Shiller in this universe doesn't have friends like Superman, or perhaps he once did, but they've eventually started to think rationally under his influence."
Pala showed a complex expression, inadvertently changing the subject, "Do you think that's a good thing?"
"It's a sign of health," Tim said objectively. "It's what psychiatrists like; ntal health, psychological balance, and a normally functioning brain."
"Doesn't he care if his friends are wholly devoted to him?"
"Full devotion in itself is an unhealthy state of mind. For humans to invest all their attention in anything with none reserved for themselves, that's a sickness."
Pala fell silent.
"He shaped all this with his great power, turning the impossible into possible, a testant to his remarkable expertise. Why should we feel sorry for him?" Tim said.
"Alright, then what do you think I should do? Just rush out and tie him up?" Pala asked.
"There's no need for that; kidnapping doesn't necessarily have to be specific to a person. Can you seal off the entire mountain?"
Pala held her forehead, "Why don't you ask to just seal off the Rocky Mountains? The energy I brought is limited; it would be pretty good to surround this one mountaintop."
"So what do we do?"
Thinking back on what Tim had said earlier, Pala said, "In that case, it seems there's no difference from the Federal Bureau of Investigation surrounding this place; they can't break in either way."
"That's not the sa; the Federal Bureau of Investigation fighting Hydra might still hold so hope. Confront them with pine trees ready to swing their fists, and they'll assuredly run back for reinforcents in no ti."
"You an, if I take action to seal the mountain, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation thinks it's unlikely to win and can't make progress here, they won't call for many reinforcents, so Los Angeles won't descend into chaos, and Shiller's plan won't succeed?"
"And, most importantly, if they determine it's Supernatural Forces at play, they might imdiately seek collaboration with S.H.I.E.L.D."
"So S.H.I.E.L.D. could take this opportunity to 'lionize' and gobble up a portion of the budget? Shiller's plan would still succeed."
"It's not the sa. If Hydra hasn't played a role in it, how could Shiller get his share?"
Now understanding, Pala began to take action.
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