Thinking of this, Diana added another layer of worry, as she realized that selling it for money might be the best outcome. If it were used for something else, it would be really troublesome.
She wanted to call Clark as a reminder, but she also knew that such a big event, Clark couldn't possibly be unaware of it by now. The Presidential Palace was likely already in motion and didn't need her reminder.
Diana hesitated for a moment and decided to search around herself first. It would be best to find some clues, and if she couldn't, at least she had tried. At that point, it wouldn't be too late to ask for help.
Diana began flying around the Metropolitan Museum, meticulously checking the surrounding environment. After a turn around, she indeed found some clues.
Although the door leading to other galleries was small, the window leading outside was not. Because the glass was intact, no one suspected anything. But Diana discovered trace signs of screws being retightened on the window frame outside the glass.
She quickly called the curator and the police. Because this detail was so minute and because it was on the façade of the Metropolitan Museum, no one had noticed. The police surged over, then called in some experts, even the glass manufacturer. After researching for a while, they found that these robbers were indeed geniuses.
The glass on the façade of the Metropolitan Museum is tempered, with certain bulletproof and impact-resistant features. However, for aesthetic reasons, the window frames are made of wood. The junction was fastened with screws, not embedded in reinforced concrete like normal bulletproof glass.
Moreover, because the Metropolitan Museum was built relatively early, it didn't use a single piece of tempered glass, but rather three vertical and one horizontal partitions using six pieces of glass. The lower three are long, the upper three shorter, with the top arched. Due to the floor-to-ceiling height, only the middle piece of glass below needed to be removed to carry out the mural.
These robbers were craftsmen. The glass was removed and restored without leaving any traces. If it weren't for Diana's keen eye, the slight screw marks would have gone unnoticed.
This also exploited people's psychological blind spots. Everyone assumed robbers would use violent means and couldn't spend time unscrewing, so seeing intact glass, they instinctively felt no one had passed through there.
While investigating thoroughly over time might still lead to discovery, because everyone was focused on how the mural was possibly taken through the doors, a lot of time was wasted. By then, they had already gotten away with the mural.
Considering that the mural was very heavy and difficult to move, their vehicle couldn't have parked far from the window. In fact, outside the window were tall bushes. As the police continued investigating, they indeed found signs of disturbance in two of the tall bushes, and one even had its roots half-pulled out.
This proved that the mural was taken out from this spot. Beyond this wall was the inner courtyard of the Metropolitan Museum, where vehicles couldn't normally enter. However, if both the front and back doors were opened, a car could drive over the tiles to get inside.
The police then began focusing on the tile seams in the front lobby and checking vehicle records. Diana circled again but found no new clues. The investigation stretched to after hours, but no one dared to leave. They had to order takeout and eat in the office.
Diana contemplated the situation closely, feeling unable to disconnect it from Shiller. Inevitably like previous events, she might end up being involved, playing a role he orchestrated.
But, times have changed. She used to be just Wonder Woman, not entirely isolated, but with little foothold in Metropolis. Now it was different; she was part of the Justice League, with Batman as a backup. After finishing her meal, Diana directly went out to call Bruce.
"This is what's happening, I can't figure out what he's up to. I always feel the robbers weren't just targeting the artifacts. What's your thinking, Bruce?"
"You are quite perceptive, madam." Bruce's voice came through the line, "Even if this artifact is sensational now, it's not nearly as valuable as famous jewels and classic paintings. With such skills, they should target the Louvre, not the Metropolitan Museum."
"What sets this mural sculpture apart from other artifacts is that it has some information about aliens, presumably that's why they went for it."
"Could the buyer be an alien enthusiast?" Diana asked, frowning.
"Who isn't an alien enthusiast these days?" Bruce remarked lightly, "After all, the campaign to catch aliens is in full swing."
Diana's heart skipped a beat. She realized her previous assumptions were indeed correct. Stealing to sell for money was the best outcome; it seemed more likely now that it might be used for political persecution.
Diana recalled the content of the mural carefully and then said, "But the aliens depicted there have no specific features, nor are they vividly carved. How can they use it to target someone?"
"Remember the biggest feature of 'Frenes Snake'?"
"What?" Diana couldn't recall immediately.
"It's fake."
Diana felt as if struck by lightning. A thought flashed in her mind. She didn't even bother to continue talking to Bruce and hurried to the curator's office, saying, "Stop looking, curator."
The curator looked at her, puzzled. Diana took a deep breath, sorted her thoughts, explained her and Bruce's speculation first, and then added, "The person who stole this thing might aim to fabricate a scandal."
"Fabricate a scandal? What scandal?"
"'Frenes Snake' is fake." Diana continued, "This artifact is a forgery, and they can find evidence for it. Once proven that this globally sensational artifact is a complete fraud, it can trigger public suspicion, making them think that the Mars invasion event was merely a government conspiracy."
"How is there a connection there?" the curator asked, questioning the logical link between "'Frenes Snake' being fake" and "the Mars invasion event being fake."
"This artifact emerged long before the Mars invasion event," Diana said, "If it can be proven as a forgery, it suggests the government was scheming, long premeditated. This would deal a significant blow to its credibility."
The curator shook his head and then pointed out the window, saying, "The nails on the sea aren't fake."
"That might be the government's doing," Diana said, "They'll definitely find relevant evidence to prove it's just a conspiracy by some government to control the world."
"That's too far-fetched," the curator said, "How could such a thing be done? There's no way they can find the evidence."
Diana closed her eyes in despair. Don't you just love how things work, such things can indeed be accomplished. 'Frenes Snake' was made years ago, and the nails were driven by the Justice League. Conspiracy theorists really weren't wrong about them!
Seeing the curator unmoved, Diana could only hope Shiller's forgery technology was good enough to not be discovered by those people; she also hoped Batman did a clean enough job so that no one would find out the nails were actually driven by the Justice League.
Murphy's Law, what can you say; the bad things are always more potent. Just as Diana was thinking this, she returned to the office and heard a commotion.
"What's going on? 'Frenes Snake' came from America? How is that possible? Didn't the British take it from Egypt? What does it have to do with America?"
"How is it impossible? Look at the photos from the cargo ship that have already been leaked. There's also a video of unloading at the British port. Doesn't this prove that 'Frenes Snake' was a mural transported from America during a Royal scandal period?"
"You mean, to cover up the scandal, they deliberately manufactured a fake in America to mislead the public?"
"It must be. They lost the real one themselves and didn't want to admit to swapping the artifact, so of course they could only make a fake and then urgently ship it to the museum for display."
"No wonder. I had already felt something was off with this thing before..."
Not able to stand hearing more, Diana rushed over and grabbed the person's phone to look at the news. Seeing the headline, she gasped — "Royal Family Forgery? The International Glitz of 'Renowned Artifact'."
Just by seeing the words "international glitz," Diana understood that these people must have uncovered something, or else they wouldn't know 'Frenes Snake' originally appeared in America, then went to England because the British Royal Family wanted to clear the scandal, and finally returned to America.
Covering her forehead, Diana thought, this series of actions seemed confidential, but in reality, it couldn't stay hidden. This thing isn't a coin you can just slip in your pocket and take away. Something so big, moving it from America to England, and then back to America — if any link leaks, the entire trip will definitely be exposed.
So here's the problem. Back then, the Royal Family adamantly claimed the artifacts could never have been swapped, so what about this trip from America to England? The British plundered Egypt, so how did the stolen items end up in America?
Once this journey is confirmed, the origins of the artifact can't logically hold. Now, there are only two solutions: either the Royal Family comes forward and admits the artifact was swapped, and it was indeed stolen to America and then retrieved.
But obviously, the Royal Family would never admit it. They're too proud to confess, especially considering important members of the Royal Family have made statements. If they acknowledge it, they might as well eat a breakup dinner immediately. They won't admit it.
So how can they provide a reasonable explanation? Otherwise, they can only say the one America sent over was a fake, only mistaken as a genuine piece when shipped over, while the real one never left England.
This explanation is also quite stretched but is barely plausible. Anyway, let's just say it's a mistake by the British intelligence agency MI6, thinking the artifact really ended up overseas. After searching, they found a fake, which leads to it being filmed during its shipment from America.
Sure enough. Soon the Royal Family issued a statement saying the transportation video circulating online included a fake 'Frenes Snake.' There was an error in information exchange between departments, leading to the Security Department finding and confiscating this replica from a private collector in Arizona State. The real piece wasn't lost; it was discovered only after the replica had already been shipped back.
Diana sighed in relief; regardless of how, first round off the story. Many netizens also accepted this explanation, as the British government is even more absurd than the US government, creating such ridiculous misunderstandings is quite normal.
But unexpectedly, the bombshell had just dropped. Just as Diana was getting coffee in the coffee room, discussions flared up again in the office.
"Fake? How could 'Frenes Snake' be fake?!"
"Are you saying the one transported is a counterfeit? Yes, the Royal Family has issued a statement..."
"No! It's the one borrowed from the British Museum to us!"
"Wasn't that stolen?!"
"That's how it was discovered to be fake!"
"Oh my God, did you see the detailed pictures he posted? Seems it's really the one from our museum..."
"This is over; someone will surely say we swapped the artifacts. God, how could we swap something this big?!"
"Sure enough, there are people saying it in the comments. Have a look..."
"Look at this, look at this! The British Museum actually tweeted to clear themselves. It's shameless; they imply we swapped it!"