Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4540 - 3623: Edge of Tomorrow (32)

"Assassin's Union..." Shiller whispered.

He had forgotten about that. Although Talya was not with Bruce, her father, Ra's al Ghul, was never quiet. Besides global mercenary missions, the Assassin's Union's funding must also have sponsors behind the scenes.

Although the organization is called the Assassin's Union, in reality, they do more than just assassination, and they're not simply a mercenary organization taking orders. Ra's al Ghul's ambition can be seen from the motto of the Assassin's Union - "Justice can only be shaped by one's own hands."

For centuries, the Assassin's Union has engaged in terrorist activities globally. Ra's al Ghul will not allow anyone to establish a new order admired by all before he achieves his ideal world. Naturally, Brainiac becomes a thorn in his side.

Whether for profit or ideals, he will dive into these murky waters. However, it was unexpected that they mixed with the consortiums on Diamond Street. Judging from the situation, this is not their first time disrupting the market for them.

"I know that after the explosion, their employer will definitely choose to call them back to prevent the same disaster from befalling them. So I focused on Diamond Street and sure enough, I caught them."

Deathstroke sat down on the chair, looking at the clipping board, swinging one leg, and said, "These people have some skills; they seem like assassins from the East. Their ninjas come and go without a trace, making them ideal candidates for planting bombs."

"No wonder they chose to place half-made bombs in every subway station, unafraid of us deploying large numbers of personnel for strict defense, because they knew ordinary people couldn't stop them. Luckily, we didn't choose to passively defend," Pamela said.

"Exactly," Deathstroke nodded and said, "They didn't reveal their abilities too early just to deceive Brainiac, making him use the mass attack tactic. However, with ninjas involved, this tactic is completely a failure."

"We've achieved a phased victory, but the next phase will only be harder." Cobblepot walked over with a wine glass and said, "Batman is cooperating with the authorities, and the Assassin's Union is lurking from the shadows, making it a battle on two fronts."

Shiller shook his head and said, "There's no battle on two fronts. After all, they don't know about the existence of the Tomorrow Alliance yet; they still think it's Joker's personal show. So next, they'll definitely focus on Joker with the major crime, which is good for us."

The mansion's door was pushed open again, and Harley rushed in saying, "Little Pa, the goods have arrived, go to the backyard to move the equipment!"

"You two are the logistics team," Pamela said, looking at Shiller.

"If you're not worried about those expensive pieces of equipment being dropped on the ground by us, I'd be happy to help."

"Never mind." Pamela put down the half-eaten sandwich and went to the mansion's backyard with Deathstroke to move things.

The equipment Harley ordered had arrived, including various arms and machines for Pamela and Victor's research. Harley also bought an extra small server for Brainiac to provide them with local service support.

Shiller went over for a look, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where did Jack's bomb materials come from?"

"I bought them for him. After all, making a bomb that could blow up a whole building isn't easy; he doesn't have the money for such quality goods," Harley said.

"I know you paid for it, but from whom did you buy it?"

"You know I opened a beverage shop, right? Actually, I also have an additive factory and a plastic packaging production factory. Using these two companies, I bought from a chemical factory in Gotham."

Shiller fell into thought and vaguely heard Deathstroke say, "I could probe into this woman's background. I can sense she's a formidable character; maybe we can deal with her first."

"Wait." Shiller suddenly spoke, "Talya may not be our enemy."

Everyone looked at him, Shiller stroked his chin and said, "Brainiac, you mentioned earlier that recently there have been three factories purchasing bomb materials. Is the factory Harley used among them?"

"Yes. Harleidi Chemical Factory, from which Harley purchased the materials for the bombs used by Jack, is one of the three factories buying bomb materials," Brainiac replied.

"I see," Shiller said, "I figured Ra's al Ghul wouldn't act as anyone's stooge. Those guys on Diamond Street got played."

Harley also understood and said, "You mean the Assassin's Union used the money from the Diamond Street people to buy bomb materials, but they didn't use all of them and resold the surplus?"

"That's right. Chemical factories aren't military factories; what do they need so many bomb materials for? The simultaneous purchase by three factories from abroad was already suspicious. At first, we thought maybe one of them was collaborating with the bomb planters, but now it seems it could be all of them."

"The Assassin's Union demanded a large budget from the Diamond Street people for the bombing, then bought large amounts of materials from three chemical factories but only used a small portion, selling the rest directly."

Harley couldn't help but laugh and then said, "It seems robbing the rich to help the poor is a human instinct, even for evil organizations."

"The Assassin's Union might be having a tough time," Shiller speculated, "No matter how strong the ninjas are, training them requires an absurd amount of funds. Even if Talya's father is a long-lifer, he can't withstand such consumption and must find other income sources to fill the funding gap."

"But with the poor current global economic situation, it's hard for people to even support themselves, who would willingly fund a terrorist organization? That's why those fat sheep on Diamond Street are particularly precious. If it were you, wouldn't you ruthlessly exploit them?"

Harley nodded and said, "Makes perfect sense. But doesn't that mean the people of Diamond Street blew themselves up?"

"Exactly." Shiller smiled and said, "More importantly, we can use this angle to turn the event into a case of vicious financial rivalry causing mutual harm."

"But how do we clear Jack?" Pamela asked while holding the machine with one hand.

"Who said Jack did it?" Harley quickly caught on and said, "Indeed, he appeared on the big screen before the explosion, but he didn't say a word, he just made a few gestures. Are a few fingers supposed to be a countdown? It can totally be interpreted as something else, right?"

"The key to exonerating Jack is making the accusations against him untrustworthy. The flow of raw materials is the crucial clue. Brainiac, are you there?"

"Of course. I'm looking into the big transactions those three chemical factories have made out of town, but the information collected so far is incomplete."

"No problem, I think you should actively check which group owns those three chemical factories. We could play around a bit on this front."

"You mean..."

"The cleverest lie is the one that fools even yourself. If we make the people of Diamond Street believe this terrorist attack was their competitors seizing the opportunity to cause trouble and fish in troubled waters, they won't be able to unite, let alone trust the Assassin's Union."

Harley snapped her fingers and said, "If they find out the Assassin's Union is stealing budgets, and at the same time the factories get attacked, they're bound to think it's the Assassin's Union silencing to cover up their despicable actions. By then, they'll start fighting each other."

"That's right. A double-edged sword is nice, but maybe we can also choose to drag another party down."

"You mean Congress?"

"The FBI is not much to fear, but dealing with the Federal Shield with Batman involved is no easy task. Dragging them into this mess would give Brainiac more room to grow."

"What are you planning?"

"The people in Diamond Street may be rich, but they lack lethal force. Once they fall out with the Assassin's Union, they can only hire others to protect themselves. Amanda is eager to increase her influence and won't pass up such a golden opportunity."

Harley flashed a big smile and said, "We just need to connect the dots, and naturally, we can pull them all in. By then, Jack's problem will be a minor one."

"I've been thinking." Pamela tapped her chin with a finger and said, "Can Amanda's assembled team really take on the elite of the Assassin's Union? If they get slaughtered, it would only boost the reputation of the Assassin's Union, which wouldn't be good."

"That is a problem. But Amanda isn't stupid; she'll figure something out if she can't win."

"What would she do?"

"Hire people, of course." Shiller smiled, looking at Harley, and said, "By then, I'm sure our generous Miss Quizer wouldn't mind her great Alliance members earning a bit extra, right?"

"Hmph, if you manage to earn Amanda's funds, that's your ability!" Harley bared her teeth and said, "Let Harvey Dent negotiate the fees; make sure those bastards bleed!"

"Of course." Shiller nodded and said, "Ordinary hiring and emergency assistance are not the same. If Amanda is truly cornered, she'll pay whatever it takes."

"That's not so easy." Cobblepot chimed in, "Not to mention the X Task Force is made up of superpower users, each with their strengths, more comprehensive than Ninjas. Just those two addition of Batman is a big problem."

"No." Shiller said, "Amanda values power above all else. Although she knows having Batman lead the X Task Force would make it stronger, she would never allow Batman to take away her command authority."

"At that point, no matter how correct Batman's on-ground responses are, Amanda will insist on using her methods to run the X Task Force just to consolidate her power. Forget being complementary to each other; it'd be a miracle if they don't drag each other down."

"It's a shame we can't watch this grand show, isn't it, Brainiac?" Harley crossed her arms and looked at the powered server unit beside her.

"I'll arrange to have cameras placed on the X Task Force members," Brainiac said, "That way, you can watch their every move in combat."

"Really? They won't notice?" Pamela raised an eyebrow.

"We're not putting cameras on Batman. With the X Task Force's level of vigilance, you could stick a camera lens to their faces, and they'd only see it as a chance to show off their prowess."

Pamela recalled their behavior at the chemical factory and thought Harley made a compelling point.