Chapter 573: Lex''s Gotham Journey (1)


    After leaving Schiller''s office, Lex began contemting how to tackle this project.


    To be honest, he had no formal education. All the knowledge he had acquired was during the times when he was away from Lionel. His father, while still alive and medicating him, would sometimes hire home tutors for him. However, those tutors knew they were mere tools Lionel used to showcase paternal affection. Who would dedicate themselves to teaching such advanced knowledge to a socially withdrawn child? Nobody thought Lex could learn.


    So, he had no idea how to approach research on a topic. Nevertheless, disregarding the standard procedures, as long as he achieved the objective of this project, Lex believed he could do it.


    Firstly, he possessed nearly limitless wealth, which already resolved most problems. No longer bound by financial constraints, Lex could focus entirely on addressing the issue. He believed that, as a 16-year-old genius, there was nothing he couldn''t aplish in this scenario.


    Before embarking on his experiments, he needed some preparation. First, he had to find a suitableboratory. Lex considered that since he was now a student at Gotham University, borrowing one of itsboratories should be possible.


    However, when he investigated, Lex discovered that Gotham University''sboratories were far from adequate. In more diplomatic terms, Gotham University''sboratories would have sufficed for Galileo''s experiments. The university had two oldboratory buildings, situated behind the administration building. On the surface, both buildings appeared substantial, one being six stories high and the other seven, totaling over twentyboratories.


    However, upon entering, Lex found that there were no modern experimental equipment avable here. There were hardly any teachers or students conducting experiments. Everyone crowded into the newboratory building on the far west side. Unfortunately, that building was rtively small, with only five usable floors and sevenboratories. So far, each was dedicated to a specific department, leaving no spareboratories for Lex.


    In that case, Lex was not confined to Gotham University''s facilities. He believed that a metropolis like this had several institutes or research centers, simr to Metropolis. Apart from the Central Research Institute, Metropolis had many private research institutes that epted individual researchers for a fee. Lex had no shortage of money.


    However, he discovered that he had underestimated Gotham. He bought various maps, consulted various people, and confirmed that there were no research institutes in the city. Thest research institution that had appeared in the city was the European-run Divine College.Gotham was not a city built around the science and technology industry, or rather, the city''s entire science and technology foundation relied solely on Batman. He was single-handedly upholding the city, and most of the high-tech equipment with scientific and technological content in Gotham was provided by him.


    Lex certainly couldn''t ask Bruce for ess to aboratory. He had to find an alternative solution...


    Constructing a newboratory building with his financial resources or establishing his own research institute independently was not difficult. However, it would take time, and even if he donated aboratory building to Gotham University, it would still take at least a year toplete. Lex couldn''t afford to wait that long.


    After some searching, he finally found a ce he could possibly use: Victor''s cryogenicboratory.


    Victor had been in the city for a long time, and he had gradually modified his cryogenicboratory. It was located in the basement, first floor, and second floor of the second oldboratory building, and it had everything he needed for his experiments.


    As another super genius, Victor had built his base impably. Although he was no longer the superviin Freeze, he had all the necessary freezing chambers, cold storage units, an armory, and most of the equipment required for physics and chemistry experiments. Victor had a good rtionship with Bruce, so he had acquired many advanced devices from him, albeit at the cost of some low-temperature technology.


    Moreover, Victor earned extra ie working for gangs in his spare time and mized his low-temperature patented technology. He was now wealthy, and his cryogenicboratory was even expanding towards the Batcave, fully equipped with various devices from different fields. asionally, professors from other departments also came to borrow equipment, so the reputation of thisboratory had spread.


    Upon hearing this, Lex naturally wanted to use theboratory. So, he went to find Victor but was promptly refused.


    In Victor''s eyes, Lex was just a freshman, not even havingpleted basic courses. Why would he need to conduct experiments? Moreover, experiments were not child''s y, and Victor''sboratory contained many dangerous items. As soon as Victor learned Lex was only 16 years old, he immediately rejected the idea. No responsible teacher or researcher would allow a minor into their specializedboratory, which would not only be irresponsible for theboratory''s equipment but also for the individual''s safety.


    Would Lex give up so easily? Of course not. He wasn''t Batman or a superhero, burdened with morality. He wanted to achieve his goals and was willing to resort to any means necessary.


    So, on the second night after Victor''s refusal, Lex entered theboratory directly.


    In Lex''s view, Victor was just an ordinary schr. If he disagreed, it didn''t matter. After all, Lex had ways to unlock doors and infiltrate. Then, he could use the equipment here as he pleased.


    Once he entered the ground floor of theboratory, as Lex expected, there was nothing special. It appeared to be an ordinaryboratory. After opening the first room, the preparation room seemed equally unremarkable. Lex went inside to change his clothes and also found a catalog of equipment storage.


    He flipped through the catalog and discovered that the cold storage for storing certain special chemical reagents was located on the basement level. So, he made his way to the staircase leading to the underground on the first floor.


    As he descended a few steps, a bone-chilling cold emanated from below, causing Lex to shiver.


    However, he thought to himself that in a ce with a cold storage room, lower temperatures were to be expected. He was only going downstairs to fetch something and wouldn''t stay long. He could return quickly...


    An hourter, Victor sighed as he looked at Lex, frozen solid at the entrance of the underground cold storage room.


    Inside the massive ice block, Lex was still alive. Not only that, his eyeballs could move, and he stared at Victor, apparently realizing that the refined and amiable professor before him was not the ordinary schr he had initially assumed.


    "My cold storage is different from others. You need to wear special protective gear to enter, especially special gloves to touch the doorknob. Otherwise, you''ll end up like you, frozen inside the ice," Victor donned a pair of gloves and then turned the doorknob in front of Lex.


    Lex''s gaze fixated on the doorknob. He had stumbled here bying down the staircase and, without thinking, reached for the doorknob, intending to open the door. But then he was instantly frozen.


    Lex had never seen or heard of such technology, the ability to freeze a person within a massive ice block in an instant. What was more astonishing was that he felt no difort, not even the cold. His physiological functions and thoughts were normal; he was justpletely immobilized.


    To Lex, this technology was nothing short of miraculous. It was precisely because he had some knowledge in this area that he understood how powerful it was.


    However, Victor remained unfazed. He changed into his protective suit, entered the cold storage room, and retrieved a gun. With a "whoosh," a beam of light shot directly at Lex''s ice block.


    With a "crack," the ice shattered, and Lex stumbled a bit uponnding but managed to stand upright.


    "How was this done?" Lex spun around, surveying the ice blocks scattered on the floor. In his eyes, these didn''t look like regr ice blocks but more like high-density crystals resembling diamonds.


    "You should answer my question first. What were you trying to do by barging in here? Your name is Lex, right? A freshman. Hasn''t anyone told you that this area is off-limits at Gotham University?" Victor inquired.


    "I wanted to borrow aboratory toplete a project assigned by Professor Shiller," Lex replied.


    Hearing Schiller''s name, Victor furrowed his brow. He took a few steps back and scrutinized Lex. Despite Lex appearing thin and pale, his eyes had a peculiar gleam.


    Thest person for whom Schiller had personally assigned homework was Bruce. Victor was well aware of how brilliant Bruce was. Did Schiller believe that the young man before him was on par with Bruce?


    Suddenly, Victor became interested. He walked back to the control panel, grabbed a set of protective gear, and tossed it to Lex, saying, "Come with me. I''ll ask you a few questions, and if you can answer them, I might let you use theboratory."


    Lex didn''t say anything but silently put on the protective gear and followed Victor inside. Upon entering theboratory, Lex was left in awe.


    Gotham was a peculiar ce where disparities weren''t limited to architecture and the ecological makeup of its citizens; it extended to the realm of science and technology.


    Right next to the old and dpidatedboratory building was another one that appeared to have been transported intact from an alien spacecraft. The walls had a grayish-blue hue, crafted from a metallic material whose source Lex couldn''t discern. The connections between the walls were made of the same high-density crystal-like substance he had noticed earlier. Light strips emitting a cold glow adorned the walls at regr intervals.


    There were four rows ofb tables, all facing the walls, and in the center of the roomy an enormous machine, connecting the floor of the first level to the ceiling of the second level. A blue liquid flowed within it, emitting a surreal glow.


    Next to the massive machine, there were two control panels with buttons that looked dizzying just to nce at. Additionally, there were rows of document cabs near the windows and specialized tforms for holding test tubes, which were illuminated by a faint glow.


    In short, if one were to wake up in such aboratory one day, being a creature with only six legs would be the least of their worries.


    While Lex was examining theboratory''s surroundings, theboratory door suddenly swung open. Another small figure entered, holding a stack of documents.


    "Professor Victor, I''ve finished organizing the materials I brought back yesterday. Should I put them in document cab number two?" the neer asked.


    Lex and the neer were equally surprised when they looked at each other. Lex saw a young boy who appeared even younger than himself, with a paleplexion and somewhat gloomy eyes beneath his brow.


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