Chapter 154: The Party and the Umbrella (Part 6)_1

Right now, Batman was investigating the identity of the mysterious third person in the murder case, reviewing surveillance footage on his computer.

During the renovation of the Living Hell, Batman, of course, snuck in some of his own gear, such as installing thousands of cameras.

In regular residential areas, with Batman's financial and technical abilities, he could easily monitor all residents with cameras covering every corner.

However, in Living Hell, accomplishing that was difficult due to the bizarre architectural structure and overly crowded population, making monitoring equipment hard to use efficiently.

Elsewhere, cameras covered 80% visible angle and missed 20% blind spot; but in Living Hell, cameras mostly captured 80% blind spot and only 20% visible area.

Additionally, the people living here didn't hesitate to take up shared space, cluttering all possible camera hiding spots with random items.

The inhabitants also didn't see the need to respect public property. At the sight of anything on the walls, their first instinct was to shoot, making about thirty percent of Batman's installed cameras useless within weeks, and another third were either barricaded or obscured.

The remaining third, whose locations depended solely on luck. By chance, none of the cameras in the corridors around Fish's death scene were serviceable, so Batman could only search for clues from further afar.

The population here was dense, with countless people passing in and out every day. The nearby camera surveillance footage alone recorded thousands of individuals. Trying to find someone associated with both Fish and Kopot in the crowd was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Even so, Batman still exhibited patience, examining the footage frame by frame.

Hard work paid off, and soon enough, Batman noticed a familiar face in the footage, Sal Maroni.

The surveillance footage only captured a profile view of Maroni, but his distinctive looks and demeanor made him identifiable to Batman at first glance.

After pulling up Maroni's file, Batman discovered that Maroni was not a resident of Living Hell and had virtually no links with anyone here. Hence, his presence here became suspicious.

Batman decided to have a conversation with Maroni. Even if he was not the murderer, his appearance in Living Hell at that particular moment meant he must definitely know something.

"Batman? What about him?" Shiller asked Kopot in Arkham Psychiatric Hospital's ward.

"I've been observing this freak for a while and found something strange about him—he doesn't kill," said Kopot.

"Moreover, he doesn't just refrain from killing." Kopot said incredulously. "He also saves people. I saw him rescue a beaten child..."

"How could such a person exist in Gotham?" In an absurd tone, Kopot said, "It's almost as if not using him would be a loss..."

"So how did you use him?"

"Just as Maroni and I planned, I led Fish into a room and then infuriated her. Maroni shot her from the side."

"But what Maroni didn't know was that, before I came here, I had all the arrangements in place. As we initiated our plan, I stirred up some commotion upstairs. I knew that the freak often patrolled the area and would definitely be lured here."

"Maroni, hearing someone approach, was eager to flee. As for me, I pretended to stay back to deal with the aftermath. And then, just like Batman told you guys..."

Kopot revealed a creepy evil smile and said, "I lay there, feigning illness with signs of abuse all over me. And sure enough, that freak not only didn't kill me, but also saved me. I ended up at the police station..."

"I understand the whole process now. So, what led to this, and how do you plan to achieve your goal?"

"Maroni kidnapped my mother and forced a minor and a mentally ill person like me to participate in this murder case. I heard him talk about his plan to set up young Falcone..."

"I will stand up as the only eyewitness, identify Maroni, and prove the godfather's heir is innocent—everything was a plot by Maroni..."

"Do you think you can use this to negotiate terms with the godfather?"

"No, of course, I know that's not possible."

Kopot, looking at the ceiling, said, "From the incident when the godfather ordered me to kill Old Edward, I understood a fact—the truth that makes the godfather who he is, a truth that Young Falcone hasn't grasped yet..."

"When the godfather does something, he must think it's justified, well-grounded, and entirely reasoned."

"He has no reason to persecute an unimpressive...pawn who has dutifully worked for him, been abused, pressured, received psychiatric treatment due to the trauma, and resolved troubles for him before his hospitalization."

As Kopot's words ended, Shiller looked at him. The shadow cast by a beam from the room's window fell on his face. Despite his still-youthful features, one could already see the outlines of the future ambitious power broker, Penguin Man.

Balancing between the forces while maintaining a subtle equilibrium, constructing meticulously connected plans, and demonstrating almost perfect execution capabilities, it was hard to believe that a teenager had carried out all of this alone.

"However, your perfect plan ended up encountering unexpected complications."

Upon hearing Shiller's question, Kopot unconsciously turned his head away. He didn't want to look the Doctor in the eye, but Shiller continued, "The unforeseen circumstance lies in your family's genetic disease. Your mother had an episode first, causing you to waste too much time subduing and comforting her. Then you fell ill right before Maroni was about to fall into the trap, and instead of exposing Maroni at the police department, you ended up here."

Kopot pursed his lips, hesitating to admit to something. Then he said, "You said before...this illness can be cured..."

"It can, but you have to cooperate."

Shiller stood up, nodded, and seriously said, "If that's the case, then I admit, you didn't fabricate your academic records in criminal deeds. The plan's setup, preliminary setup, medium-term execution, and ending were all consistent with your level when you killed Old Edward."

"Although certain parts of the process are slightly cumbersome, overall it was meticulous. If it weren't for this unexpected complication, everything would have gone according to plan."

"Besides, you accurately understood the Godfather's psychology. Under such circumstances, he indeed wouldn't hold you accountable."

"Now, let's analyze the unexpected complication."

Shiller walked to the other end of the room, then pushed over a whiteboard. He wrote a series of words on it, then pointed to the board and said, "Paranoid schizophrenia, to understand this disease, we must start with the broad category of schizophrenia..."

Subsequently, Cobblepot, who was lying on the bed, was forced to listen to Shiller's lecture on psychiatry.

Despite his brilliant mind, after more than an hour, he was left with a throbbing headache from Shiller's lecture. Most of the medical terms were unfamiliar to him, and each was accompanied by a detailed case study analysis.

In the interval when Shiller was getting a drink, Cobblepot said, "I think I've mostly recovered. Let me return to the police station; I have work to do…"

"Don't rush. We've still got the core part left, like why you became ill at precisely that time."

"Firstly, the time from dusk to nightfall is indeed when schizophrenia is most likely to occur, the change in lighting can stimulate mental patients."

"You likely began preparing at dusk, and then took action at night. If I'm not mistaken, the room you were in had a window overlooking the sunset, the bright light could further stimulate those who are mentally unstable. Next time remember to find a room without windows."

"Even befor that, you were abused by Fish, and during the process of overpowering your mother, you got severely injured."

"These are all particularly typical external stimuli."

Shiller twirled the pen in his hand and said, "You might think that you silently endured Fish's beating, and felt helpless when your mother hurt you. But in actual fact, your subconscious remembers the pain from that time far more deeply than your conscious mind."

"You may think you don't have any psychological trauma, but that's not the case."

"Adolescent mental states are inherently unstable. If you didn't fall ill this time, in about a month, you would still have post-traumatic stress disorder, such as continuous anxiety, nightmares, and difficulty in falling asleep."

"People always imagine themselves to be stronger than they actually are, especially those high in IQ and rationality."

"But the human psyche is more fragile than you might think. Just because the psychological trauma didn't show, doesn't mean it isn't there."

Cobblepot turned his head, trying not to think about these problems. He said,"I need to finish my plan. Although it's a little late, it should still be on time."

"No hurry…" Shiller went through a file on his desk and pulled out a file, saying while flipping through it, "From your perspective, it's quite clear."

"But do you want to hear the story from another angle?"

Shiller opened the file, and said unflinchingly, "Ten days ago, a murder occurred on Green Street, adjacent to the Living Hell area. The police officer in charge of this case was Harvey Block. His report stated…"

"Kevin Brown, mob boss, was found dead in an alley off Green Street. He was shot three times, the second bullet hit his lungs and was the fatal wound. When the police arrived, he was already dead at the scene. After checking the scene, the police decided it was a mob dispute."

"You shouldn't be unfamiliar with this case, you mentioned it earlier in your recount."

"What I want to talk about isn't this case, but another case attached to it."

"In Vicki's Umbrella Shop, at the end of Green Street, an umbrella craftsman was found dead at the shop's entrance. The cause of death was a gunshot, as with the previous case it was an immediate death. After an investigation, the police concluded; an innocent person got involved in a mob dispute…"

"In the end, the police's conclusion was, a mob dispute occurred in an alley off Green Street, with two casualties."

Cobblepot saw Shiller leaning on the window sill. His back to the light, when he put down the file, the light was coming from behind him, reflecting off his glasses. It made Cobblepot unable to see his eyes, but Cobblepot had a bad feeling about it.

"I know, you would say, such cases are not rare and have nothing to do with me."

"But this has caused me a lot of trouble."

Shiller said calmly, "It has been raining a lot lately, and I've been using my umbrella quite often. It broke."

"When I went to that umbrella craftsman to get it repaired, I found out that he was already dead."

"Fish Mooney killed the only handmade umbrella craftsman in the whole of Gotham City."

"After that, I went and had a word with her. Because of her guilt, she couldn't eat or sleep and eventually went mad."

"So now, Mr. Kopot…"

Cobblepot began feeling a chill creeping up his spine. He struggled to move to the other side of the bed, trying to avoid Shiller's gaze, but tied to the bed rail, his hand could not move.

Shiller picked up an umbrella from behind his desk and slowly walked towards the foot of the bed. He then extended his hand, pointing the tip of the umbrella at Cobblepot's forehead, asking:

"Could you perhaps explain to me where this umbrella, which bears the mark of the VimJin umbrella craftsmen, came from?"