Chapter 1429: New Arkham (Part 1)_1

Perhaps due to the passing of the brief clear sky, with the gathering storm clouds not yet fully closed, the dusk in Gotham seemed particularly intense. A golden-red sunset, unseen by any Gothamite before, followed the Gotham River north to an uninhabited island near the North District, illuminating the old fence currently being dismantled at Arkham Mental Hospital with a shimmering glow.

The workers were in the process of removing the old railing, erecting solid new fences and hammering them deeply into the ground. The damp scent of turned soil intertwined with the smell of paint, being swept away by the sea breeze within minutes.

The much weathered, old insane asylum had finally been reborn. Moving from its original location in the southwest of Gotham North to a small island on the north shore of Gotham, its premises had expanded more than tenfold.

A typical mental hospital would not require an entire island, but the newly built Arkham Mental Hospital had sub-centers for research in psychiatry, neuroscience, psychology, and more. The island also housed labs for chemistry, cryogenics, botany, human biology, mechanical dynamics, and so on.

Of course, their official title was not science labs, but rather the "Arkham Asylum Patient Communication Center".

The reason for Arkham Asylum's hurried relocation and expansion, following its recent renovation, began with a turning point in Shiller's career.

Previously, Shiller had put his professorship at Gotham University on hold to become the primary physician at Arkham Mental Hospital and resume his practice.

Subsequently, Bruce saw this as a rare opportunity - it was time to let Shiller lead all of Gotham's mentally ill villains on a scholarly path.

So he got to work creating a base for all the insane. It was equipped with all kinds of high-tech laboratories, a seemingly endless supply of scarce and expensive experimental materials, and even the corpses for human experimentation were provided by the Mob on the day of death, ensuring their freshness.

The days of frantic scrambling for experimental equipment and raw materials, and killing for illegal human experiments were gone. Batman, through his wealth, had supported all of Gotham's villains as long as they could produce results, and everything was negotiable.

As a result, following gangs of mob bosses flooding into Arkham Mental Hospital, another spectacular scene appeared. The overly daring villains of Gotham enthusiastically admitted themselves to the hospital, completely unable to snag a room.

In the office of the chief physician at New Arkham Mental Hospital, Shiller unbuckled the buttons of his suit jacket, hung it neatly, put on a white coat, a stethoscope, and picked up a clipboard.

The nurse outside handed Shiller a sheet of paper from a folder and said, "Professor, you are in charge of ward rounds on the first and second floors today, and have three separate consultations. This is your schedule, do you see any issues?"

Shiller glance at the schedule he was holding, took a pen out of his pocket, signed it, and handed it back to the nurse. At the next junction, the nurse turned in another direction, while Shiller walked straight ahead to the elevator.

The newly constructed Arkham Mental Hospital still adopted the retro style favored by the Wayne Family. Deep blue wallpaper complemented with chestnut red walls, the ceiling decorated with naturalistic plaster lines, wall lamps resembling those in the Victorian period. Except for the carpeted elevator floor, everywhere else was paved with delicate black and red diamond-shaped tiles.

The metal walls surrounding the elevator were painted a luxurious gold. As Shiller studied the patterns on the wallpaper, the elevator gave a slight jolt. He had arrived at the first floor and stepped out.

In the corridor, he happened to meet Mrs. Miller. Seeing Shiller's tidy outfit, Mrs. Miller nodded in apparent approval. Shiller also nodded back as they passed by.

Apart from having superior architecture and facilities, the New Arkham Mental Hospital also became more professional. Wayne Enterprises hired over twenty experienced psychiatrists, some of whom were Shiller's old classmates, ex-colleagues, as well as his students. They also hired a number of experienced nurses.

With such a large staff, standardized management became necessary. This included doctor code of conduct, medical staff attire, timing, work division. In every aspect, the newly built Arkham insane asylum was a modern mental hospital.

As a result, Shiller updated his psychiatrist and psychologist license and dressed as a doctor during diagnosis and ward rounds. Of course, to avoid giving unnecessary psychological suggestions and stress, he didn't wear it during individual patient consultations.

Upon returning from his rounds, Shiller changed back into his suit. Just as he was buttoning up, the nurse knocked on his office door and said from outside, "Mr. Sionis has requested to carry out today's consultation in his personal care room, if you approve I'll get the key."

Shiller paused as he was buttoning his suit, the nurse opened the door, and he looked at her to ask, "Rhomann Sionis? Has his trial concluded?"

"Yes, six counts including murder, he pleaded not guilty for reasons of insanity and was sentenced to twenty years of confinement in Arkham Mental Hospital."

"He's not in the special care room?" Shiller asked.

The nurse shook her head and said, "Mrs. Miller said he's just a hot-headed fool, there's no need for special care. Besides, his crimes weren't severe enough, there's no place for him in the special care room."