"Hello, Mr. Luthor. Nice to see you. We've worked together before, so there's no need to beat around the bush."
A woman sat on the couch in the office. She adjusted her hair and then said, "The main reason I came here today is to see if there's any work we can do. You know, things are getting worse, and my friends and I are almost unable to afford food. If you could introduce a few good jobs to us, we could do something for you for free."
"Mr. Luthor... Mr. Luthor?!"
Lex Luthor suddenly snapped awake. He realized how grim his expression was at the moment. Looking at the heavily made-up woman opposite him, he took a deep breath and said, "I have no business to introduce to you."
The woman sighed slightly in disappointment but was actually closely observing Lex Luthor's expression. She realized that he didn't seem to notice anything unusual, indicating that last night's invasion hadn't left him any evidence to hold against her.
It's just a pity that he discovered it too quickly, and she didn't have time to confirm whether he really obtained the Snake Tail. Perhaps it's not too late now?
She could tell that Lex Luthor was a bit absent-minded. Although she didn't know what had stimulated him, it would be a good opportunity to make a move. The woman rolled her eyes and then said, "It seems I was too abrupt, but as a broker, I have to take the initiative. Otherwise, those good jobs would fall into someone else's hands. I hope you don't mind my presumptuousness, and if there's a suitable job, please contact me at the first moment."
After speaking, she stood up, walked to the desk, took out a bottle of red wine, placed it on the desk, and then said, "A small token of appreciation, hoping for future cooperation opportunities."
After speaking, the woman left. She walked out of the office, came to the elevator, and typed a few words on her phone inside her bag: "Succeeded."
As soon as the elevator door opened, the woman froze. She saw a familiar face, and as she expected, beneath the high-arched brows were a pair of gray eyes. What desolate gray they were, but unfortunately, the reflection in the glasses covered most of it, making the eyes lose much of their color.
From the expression on the other person's face, he didn't recognize her, which was good news. But why did this guy, who said he was going to Gotham, end up here at Luthor's place?
The other person nodded gentlemanly towards her and walked out of the elevator, while the woman watched his back, increasingly convinced that the decision to plant the bug was the right one.
What she didn't know was that after leaving the elevator, Shiller's lips slightly upturned. He glanced at the surveillance camera and then walked into Lex Luthor's office.
"Hello, Mr. Luthor, I'm here to explain the situation about the Snake Tail. Mr. Luthor... Mr. Luthor???"
Lex Luthor awoke again. He took a deep breath, clearing those swirling thoughts from his mind, and then said, "You've sure given me a huge headache. Do you know, on the first day the gemstone arrived here, two groups infiltrated my Building and estate respectively?"
Shiller smiled and then said, "That precisely proves its worth."
"I can't be sure if your idea of its worth is the same as how valuable it is," Luthor said, twirling the pen in his hand, speaking rapidly, appearing somewhat eccentric, and fond of using complex vocabulary, "Don't talk to me about some bullshit historical and cultural value. I'm not interested in how many thousands of years it's been buried in Egyptian sand. Now tell me, what did those two groups of mysterious people, whom even I couldn't catch, see in it? Why are they so focused on this gemstone?"
"That is its charm, Mr. Luthor. I am just a businessman and collector trying to unlock certain secrets, and for that, one needs someone as smart as you, a scientist, right?"
"You must know something. I've read all over a hundred emails you sent me, you consulted professional appraisal agencies and even tested its radiation. If you think it's just an ordinary gemstone, there's no need to waste such time, since you said yourself you're only a businessman."
"Well, it turns out I can't hide it from you," Shiller sighed and said, "I didn't explain it right away because if you didn't realize the significance of the gemstone, you would definitely scoff at what I had to say. After all, I have no evidence; if I rashly come to you and tell a bunch of mythological stories, you would just think I'm delusional."
"Let's hear it." Luthor tilted his head slightly, with a trace of curiosity in his tone, but not much, more like he wanted something to divert his attention.
"How much do you know about Ancient Egyptian civilization?"
"It depends on how much you need me to know," Luthor waved a single hand, saying, "I can research and remember everything about Ancient Egyptian civilization at lightning speed, beyond your imagination."
"There's no need for such trouble. What I want to say isn't academic, but rather hearsay. You should be familiar with Egyptian murals, right?"
"Of course, I know. They painted significant events on murals, reflecting local culture and customs," Luthor raised a hand saying, "that was all they could do back then."
"That's right. And the 'Fry Snake' is a local mythological story. It's said that during Pharaoh Tutankhamun's reign, a giant red and blue snake fell from the sky, devouring Egyptians, destroying buildings, and splitting the earth. Everyone was crying and fleeing, rushing to the Pharaoh's throne for help."
"The ten-year-old Pharaoh struck the giant snake with a sword, but it was ineffective. He then recalled the power of the Sun God flowing in his blood, so he smeared his blood on the scepter and stabbed the giant snake, but he missed. The scepter pierced the snake's tail, and for some unknown reason, this weakened the snake, allowing the Pharaoh to sever its head with a sword. When he pulled out the scepter, he found an emerald inlaid on it, wedged tightly in the snake's body."
"To celebrate this great victory, people carved a giant three-meter-wide mural depicting the pharaoh's heroic battle with the giant snake. At the same time, they inlaid the emerald, lost in the snake's body, into the mural. They believed that by doing so, they could trap the snake's soul, preventing it from ever causing harm again."
"Many years later, when people opened the tomb chamber, they discovered this astonishing colossal painting. After 'Frenes Snake' was acquired by the British Museum, it was hardly ever exhibited. The last time it was shown was at a royal charity banquet in the mid-twentieth century, where someone cleverly swapped the snake tail during a heist, and after several transfers, it ended up in my hands."
"Nice story," Lex Luthor said, "but what does this illustrate?"
"Many mythological stories have similar themes to highlight the bravery and fearlessness of a certain king. However, this story is different. Because, behind the grand and captivating three-dimensional snake form of 'Frenes Snake'—this colossal mural—lies something like this."
Shiller took out a photograph from his bag, and Luthor took it over. As soon as he saw the pattern, his pupils contracted sharply.
It was a squid. To be precise, it was a UFO that resembled a squid.
"Ancient Egypt was a desert civilization; they neither had the sea nor had seen the sea. Even if someone had managed to escape the desert and reach a maritime country, the fishing technology of that era was far from capable of catching a deep-sea squid like this. It's a form of mimicry in art; they saw something and painted it, and it just happened to look like a squid from the ocean."
Lex Luthor began to daydream again. He seemed to have thought of something and connected all the dots. He grabbed that photograph abruptly, almost crumpling it into a ball.
Then his grip gradually relaxed as if he had made some sort of decision. He pursed his lips, gently pounded the table, and said, "I need to see the full picture of this thing."
"Certainly. But in terms of the price..."
Lex looked across at the man, who squinted his eyes, looking uncannily like a fox. He knew that the man had been waiting for this moment, and for some reason, he felt like a fish caught on a hook, and everything that was about to happen was beyond his control.
"How much do you want?"
"One billion US dollars."
Shiller took out a business card from his pocket and then said, "To provide you with a better demonstration, I need some time to prepare, and I suppose you do as well. I'll be awaiting your esteemed presence at two in the afternoon."
Lex sat in his seat, watching his departing silhouette, fingers tapping lightly on the table, before picking up the phone nearby: "I need you to do something for me, and it must be done quickly."
The woman put down the phone and said to the hooded man beside her, "It's indeed like this; that guy opened his mouth like a lion and angered Luther. Rather than paying, he'd prefer to take his life."
"What do you plan to do?" the hooded man asked, removing his surveillance headphones.
"This swindler dared to use me to provoke Luther, and we should collect some interest. Capture him, find out where the collection is, and I want both the item and the money."
Diana was sitting in the office of the Metropolitan Museum, researching information on the computer. The screen was filled with information about the Luther Group. However, an occasional news pop-up caught her attention:
"Superman Arrested! Superhero or Super Villain?"
Diana pressed her lips together helplessly. The writing skills of the news editor were not even as good as The Daily Planet's. Was Superman arrested? Didn't he get into the police van on his own? Moreover, if he hadn't torn apart the alien spaceship, who knows how many people would have died in Metropolis. Would you say he's a hero or a villain?
Ever since Superman appeared, Diana had a good impression of him, so she felt somewhat indignant. But there was indeed nothing she could do, so she could only close her laptop powerlessly, taking a strong sip of coffee.
At that moment, she noticed that at the office door, employees were trying to move in a large table, but couldn't get it in no matter which way they turned it, so they had to remove the table legs to bring it in sideways.
Diana seemed to suddenly think of something. She reopened the webpage she had been browsing and finally focused her gaze on the dimensions of 'Frenes Snake.' This thing was three meters wide; even just the snake tail would be over a meter wide, and the entire body was constructed from an extremely thick stone wall. This thing was undoubtedly ridiculously heavy, not something that could be easily moved.
If someone was spooked into trying to move the loot, it wouldn't be a matter of just pocketing it and leaving; they would need movers, at least three or four people, and professional transportation equipment. Such movements wouldn't go unnoticed by her.
Perhaps it was a good thing that she was discovered yesterday, Diana thought. If the other party realized she was looking for the snake tail or thought she made such a big stir that he no longer felt it safe to keep it in the vault, he would definitely attempt to transfer it. Moving something this large would surely leave clues.
Diana knew she didn't need to seize the object; simply confirming its presence in the other party's possession would serve as leverage because it was stolen property. Figuring out how to retrieve it was the royal family's matter; her mission would be complete.
So how could she cause a big enough commotion? Diana turned her head to gaze out the window, her mind flashing back to the scene of Superman punching an alien spaceship apart. She couldn't help but flex her wrist, murmuring softly, "Sorry, Lex Luthor."