Diana's expression changed. She knew there were foolish and wicked people in the world, but what she couldn't tolerate was those who took pride in their shamelessness.
"Don't look at me like that, ma'am. If it weren't for our bold decision, who knows how long the world would have been deceived."
"What do you mean?"
"Look at this." The mayor pointed behind him. At this moment, a section of the Frenes Snake was displayed in a case. Diana glanced at it, confirming it was the same one from the Metropolitan Museum.
"What about it?"
"You are quite a knowledgeable private collector, so you must realize that the material of this Ancient Egyptian artifact is likely not something Ancient Egypt would have had..."
"Didn't you swap the artifact? Are you trying to get me to endorse you so you can sell the real one?"
"We didn't swap it. The entire theft process has complete audio and video recordings. This thing is fake."
Diana felt a bit frustrated. Although she already knew proving her innocence would be difficult, now she felt entirely hopeless, and couldn't help but feel vexed.
Situations that could land her in such trouble were rare. Punching couldn't solve the problem; she had to patiently play along with these repulsive fools. It was infuriating.
"Say what you want to say quickly," Diana couldn't help but say directly, "or I'll miss the recruitment at the fast food restaurant."
"What I want to say is, I believe you didn't swap the artifact either," the mayor said sincerely, looking into Diana's eyes. "You're not that kind of person, Princess His Highness. You neither lack money nor status, you have no reason to do such a thing. Those online speculations are mere slanders by petty minds. Don't take them to heart."
"So, you're willing to testify for me?"
The mayor nodded and said, "Of course. If you want, I can organize a hearing now. But that's not the point; the point is—if you didn't swap it, and I didn't swap it, then who did?"
Diana scoffed internally. Was there even a need for swapping? It debuted last week, and the concrete might not even be dry yet.
"Of course, you might think it was England." The mayor didn't see her expression so he continued, "Those Brits do often engage in such shady dealings. But not this time, because they also had no motive, and the timeline doesn't fit."
"When the swap was said to happen, this artifact wasn't even hot, nor did it have much historical value. Compared to other relics in the British Museum, it was insignificant, and swapping it would be cumbersome. No one would swap it."
"It was precisely because of an exhibition clarifying rumors and subsequent loans to America that many saw traces of aliens on the murals. Coupled with a recent alien invasion, the artifact became popular, and its value increased. But by that time, the artifact was already in America; they had no chance to swap it. Think carefully, isn't this the case?"
Diana knew, following the normal timeline, he was right. But she knew the real reason it couldn't have been swapped by the British was—that the artifact was fake from the start, fake, fake, fake.
Not swapping, it's fake; swapping, it's fake. In England, it's fake; in America, it's fake. Whether she swapped it or the mayor did, it's still fake. From fake to fake, it's always fake.
Yet, this mayor could untangle the timeline and logic. He's quite clever among politicians. This, oddly, made Diana more patient, curious about what else he might say.
"But if the artifact wasn't swapped in England, or swapped by you after coming to America, nor swapped by me after it was stolen, then why is what we took from the Metropolitan Museum fake?"
"There's only one answer: the artifact itself is fake."
Diana's eyes suddenly brightened. Could it be that there's also a master among politicians?
"This artifact was fabricated by the government, a tool to enhance the reality of alien existence, to create panic, and to stir Cold War atmosphere. This led to it changing hands several times, with no one swapping, but eventually discovered to be a low-grade imitation."
Diana almost wanted to applaud him. You guessed it perfectly. Isn't this precisely what Shiller fabricated to make everyone believe aliens exist, to bolster the new Cold War plan?
Of course, the mayor's cleverness has its limits. He wouldn't know how much trouble Shiller has stirred with this broken snake: first, causing Luther's anxiety, helping Superman forge the Man of Steel; then sparking chaos among various parties, forcing them to call in Superman; then publicly exhibiting, solidifying the existence of aliens, building a public base for Superman; then concocting a theft case, pulling himself into it...
Wait. Since it was all to help Superman before, could it be the same this time?
Because of what the mayor said, Diana began summarizing on her own and indeed found a pattern in Shiller's actions—from the beginning he was there to help Superman.
Every appearance of the Frenes Snake eventually brought tangible benefits to Superman. For example, previously, it agitated Luther, leading him to use Kryptonite against Clark. Although the process was a bit dangerous, in the end, Clark became immune to Kryptonite, granting him a more perfect Man of Steel, nearly immune to all physical attacks.
Later, as parties passed the buck to each other, they ultimately had to ask Clark to mediate, helping him establish an initial upper-level foundation. Without this, after Clark became president, mobilizing politicians and the military wouldn't have been easy, and Luther surely would have secretly caused trouble, not allowing him to implement the New Tax Law so smoothly.
Then, by utilizing Ancient Egyptian legends and artifacts, people were led to firmly believe in the ongoing existence of aliens. This would push them to seek a strong leader during a Mars people invasion, allowing Clark to ascend quickly.
So at this moment, dragging herself into the water must also be to create favorable circumstances for Clark. What could it be?
Once Diana started thinking in this direction, she couldn't stop. Now, Clark's various policy implementations were practically unstoppable. But Diana also knew, although the overall situation was going smoothly, the details couldn't be entirely free of resistance, and there must still be some obstacles.
Then, the reappearance of the Frenes Snake must be to help Clark clear these obstacles.
Diana looked at the mayor in front of her with his mysterious air, yet she already had a premonition of what he was going to say next.