This time, the Court of Owls uncharacteristically allowed all members to speak.
In previous discussions, they concluded that regardless of whether the Tiangong Society targeted the Court, its actions had affected the Court, thus making the Tiangong Society an enemy of the Court.
Now, the discussion was about how to respond to the Tiangong Society.
Some members believed they should take the initiative, find the Tiangong Society, and give them a stern warning.
Another group of members felt that a blind attack could easily lead to a trap, and the immediate priority was to first understand the enemy's true strength.
In any case, everyone had their own opinions and their own reasons.
Everyone was eager to express their views, with statements following one after another.
Although each person only spoke one or two sentences, with so many members, it took a full 5 minutes for the right to speak to return to the black-robed, masked figure at the head of the table.
Everyone turned their gaze to the leader, their eyes behind their masks filled with anticipation.
Everyone present wanted to know what this decision-maker planned to do.
And the leader did not disappoint them.
She calmly adjusted her long black robe; the rustling of the fabric was exceptionally clear in the silent Court.
"Cough, cough…"
Two soft coughs drew everyone's attention, and then she said seriously, "I have a suggestion, and I hope everyone will adopt it."
The entire Court instantly fell silent, with only the crackling of burning candles remaining; no one spoke, just silently watching the main seat.
The leader suddenly let out a low laugh, which echoed in the empty Court, carrying a hint of eeriness.
He raised his head, his voice from beneath the mask carrying an elusive meaning: "Since the Tiangong Society attacks us and targets us, then why don't we…"
"Disband the Court of Owls?"
These words were like a bombshell, instantly exploding within the Court. Everyone looked at each other, their expressions beneath their masks twisted in astonishment; the scene was dead silent, with only heavy breathing rising and falling.
Before anyone could recover from the shock, the leader continued, her tone as calm as if discussing a trivial matter: "Not only should we disband, but we should also proactively and sincerely put on handcuffs ourselves, go to them to seek forgiveness, and hand over all our wealth."
"Absurd!"
"Are you insane?!"
"This is an utter disgrace!"
Waves of opposition surged forth, everyone stood up, their emotions agitated.
Some turned red in the face, angrily pounding their seats, making loud "bang bang" sounds. Some directly pointed fingers, cursing at the leader, spewing obscenities.
For a moment, the entire Court instantly descended into chaos.
Just then, a lady in the crowd suddenly realized something was amiss.
The black robe the leader was wearing today seemed wrong; it was completely different from the usual black robe!
And what was even more chilling was that the Talons, originally responsible for guarding, suddenly raised their hands in unison.
The previously motionless figures gently touched the heart guards on their chests.
And then, a symbol that made all the Court of Owls members present feel a chill in their hearts appeared on their chests.
It was a glowing purple hourglass symbol.
And the Talons' original black armor had also turned White.
A few quick-reacting Court members turned and rushed towards the main door, wanting to escape, but when they pushed the door open, a whole team of fully armed Tiangong Society members stood neatly outside.
The full-coverage helmets emitting a red glow instilled fear at first sight.
The chaos abruptly ceased, the Court was silent, with only heavy breathing echoing in the air. The "leader" on the main seat, or rather the Ice Phantom, slowly rose. She raised her hand and turned off the voice changer on her mask, her voice transforming into a terrifyingly cold tone.
"Still the same proposal, everyone, who agrees? Who objects?"
...It has to be said, Gwen now understood what it meant to make a fortune with no capital.
At the previous Court of Owls, Gwen had essentially rounded up all the remaining Court of Owls members in the area.
After catching them, she had their homes searched one by one according to their identities.
This made Gwen, who was already not short on money, even wealthier.
In addition, she also received a package sent from China.
China didn't know how this "overseas Chinese" managed to acquire so many national treasure antiques, nor did they know that this "overseas Chinese" was actually more than just overseas, but they still sent an item to the Chinese Plumbers who handled the shipping.
A piece of porcelain.
Currently, this porcelain piece was placed in the center of the Court of Owls' maze and worshipped.
The owl statue had been directly smashed, replaced by a bulletproof glass display case.
Furthermore, a large-scale version of the bulletproof and explosion-proof devices for The Wayne Family was also installed.
And in this day and age, let alone most of the Plumbers from America, even the Chinese Plumbers didn't understand much about it.
Why their boss valued this piece of porcelain so much.
However, it must be said that the previous roundup operation still surprised Gwen somewhat.
Both before and after her transmigration, her evaluation of the Court of Owls was extremely low.
In her opinion, it was nothing more than a group of capitalists bound together by common interests, attempting to monopolize and promote bread and circuses.
When there was no threat, they could naturally unite to ensure all wealth flowed to their organization.
But everyone knows that those who have gained more things fear death more.
The greatest fear is dying before one has spent all their money.
If it weren't for this, the Plumbers' initial interrogation work wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
The three Court of Owls members betrayed by Douglas basically revealed the identities of the members they knew after being shocked twice.
Virtually every captured Court of Owls member, after being shocked once or twice, revealed information about other Court of Owls members they knew.
What Gwen hadn't expected was that during the previous encirclement operation, some truly chose to commit suicide immediately after being surrounded by the Plumbers.
She had thought these people would all cling to the idea of "better to live a bad life than to die a good death," and continue to cling to life.
And some of these Court of Owls members who attempted suicide were also discovered and stopped by the Plumbers.
But when faced with questioning from the Plumbers, they were like a group of fanatics, saying nothing at all.
Of course, this was useless.
After witnessing the mind-reading function of the helmets, their faces turned ashen one by one.
The Plumbers saw their loyalty to the Court of Owls and to their families.
To live up to their loyalty, after obtaining the intelligence, the first homes the Plumbers began to search were theirs.
And after another week of high-intensity screening, Gwen could basically confirm that the entire Court of Owls in Gotham City was now surnamed Wayne.
It was also fortunate that Thomas hadn't truly died; otherwise, now in the underworld, meeting the ancestors of The Wayne Family, the ancestors would probably pat his shoulder and say he adopted a good girl.
Oh no, this is America, so it should be Heaven.