Chapter 2475: The Peculiar Ancient Bat Family (18)

Batman was writing a letter to Schiller; they had been corresponding about the research results of this mysterious blood. What surprised Batman was Schiller's interest in the research findings; in Batman's view, the PhD didn't seem like someone who would care about such matters.

At the same time, he was also writing to another individual, Doctor Sophocles, mainly about the investigation of Barbados and the sources of dark energy.

From the letters, Batman learned that the America in Schiller's cosmos was experiencing the most severe economic crisis in history, with society on the brink of collapse.

Thus, Batman invited Schiller to his universe, not because he was worried that the economic crisis would diminish Schiller's quality of life, but because he feared Schiller's presence might reduce the quality of life for others who were already struggling through the economic crisis.

Like the unlucky students at Gotham University.

Batman knew that before an economic crisis, there were often signs of a stock market surge, and at such times, everyone, not just finance professionals, liked to invest their money, including students with a little extra cash.

The students, young and less resistant to temptation, struggled to discern right from wrong and to understand the market. They only knew that their money would multiply once invested, and with their inherent penchant for gambling and forming cliques, when one invested, a crowd followed, often leading them to jump together after a stock market collapse.

At such a time, if there's a strict teacher pressuring them to submit their homework, it's enough to make them jump whether they want to or not.

Therefore, considering the psychological health of the students at Gotham University, Batman still sent an invitation to Schiller, making it clear that he was not looking to take advantage of Schiller's professional skills to cure the devils and demons at home.

Schiller arrived quite quickly, but to Batman's surprise, he didn't bring the group of little Robins nor the few children that usually surrounded him, which he typically would.

"The economic collapse has had some impact on Gotham," Schiller said, nodding as he took the tea from Alfred. "Luckily, the previous music festival generated a significant amount of revenue for the city. After it was all invested into municipal projects, the living standards of the residents didn't decline too much."

"However, local medium and large companies have all encountered trouble, especially Wayne Enterprises. Bruce had to interrupt his journey in the dark universe to come back and try to save the market."

"Is there any hope?" Batman asked knowingly, aware that such widespread economic collapse was beyond the means of Wayne Enterprises to resolve, unless someone foolishly fired the first shot, recreating the offshore economic tactics of World War II, prolonging the inevitable just a bit longer.

"Congress instructed Wayne Enterprises to find a way to export a batch of military arms, looking for opportunities in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. Wayne Enterprises' directive to Congress was that if that trick had any use, they wouldn't have reached this point today."

"But it could have lasted a bit longer," Batman objectively evaluated.

"But just a bit longer."

"Does he want to solve the root problem?" Batman frowned and asked, then shook his head, "There's no way to solve it."

"So he's looking for another way to last a bit longer," Schiller said ambiguously, suggesting that Bruce had some secret plan that Schiller either didn't fully know or didn't wish to reveal if he did.

Batman typically wouldn't pursue the truth through ordinary means, so he didn't continue to inquire but instead discussed the upcoming plans for the Batman Family.

"We'll be camping in a week," Batman said. "In addition to members of the Batman Family, there will also be a few special Batmen."

"I'm aware of them," Schiller nodded. "Are they doing well?"

"Quite fulfilled," Batman said.

Schiller turned to look at Batman, who gave him a knowing look, to which Schiller, with a sense of resignation, shook his head and said, "I guess you've adopted a Bruce-style approach to solve the problem, and this universe really doesn't need more Bruces."

"Of course," Batman responded, "I fully agree, and that's why I've acted this way. We don't need more crazy Batmen."

"Then let's see if you've taken effective measures to stop their madness," Schiller nodded, "When do I assess them?"

"That would be too troublesome, Doctor."

"Very coincidental," Schiller said, looking at Batman, "Before you sent me that invitation letter, I had just read dozens of laudatory poems about myself in my mailbox. The main content was to express that my poor students had absolutely no intention of letting me turn a blind eye during exams through such means."

"Anything like that?"

"No, you just skipped the praise altogether, which I deeply regret," Schiller stood up and buttoned his suit.

"I'm usually accustomed to evaluating facts," Batman said as he stood up and began using his cellphone to contact the other Batmen, asking them to come back before he continued, "I believe that an accurate description of facts is superior to any unrealistic praise. To be precise, when I need an extremely professional psychological consultant, you are often the first person I think of."

"Accurate, huh? I thought you'd think of yourself first." The two of them walked upstairs together.

Upon reaching the door of the study, Shiller turned around to look at Batman and said, "I hope you are psychologically prepared. They usually have a variety of issues that can't be resolved in a short time, but they still play very important roles."

"Of course, nobody understands them better than I do."

The first to arrive was Doomsday Batman, who was too large for the small study, making him seem rather pitiful curled up in the corner, but Shiller completely ignored this and took some time to conduct a psychological evaluation for Doomsday Batman.

To his surprise, Doomsday Batman's mental state was healthier than he expected. He thought he would have to listen to the history of Batman and Superman's relationship at least 2000 times to be able to ask about deeper issues.

In actuality, it felt as if someone had already guided most of Doomsday Batman's resentment out of him, and he had vented his displeasure. Apart from this resentment, Doomsday Batman didn't have any other psychological conditions that could be deemed unhealthy.

The second to arrive was Green Lantern Batman, and knowing that this evaluation wouldn't go smoothly, Shiller decided to straight up conduct a mental analysis. Surprisingly, Green Lantern Batman was very cooperative, and the results of analysis were even more unexpected.

The problem with Green Lantern Batman was his fearlessness; he dared to do anything, and the fundamental reason was the immense power he possessed. Since he hadn't been disciplined by rules in his adolescence, he didn't know that there were people in the world who could punish him, so he naturally acted without restraint.

However, now Green Lantern Batman appeared to have changed overnight into someone more hesitant. Shiller saw signs of post-traumatic stress disorder in him.

But aside from one bandaged hand, Shiller couldn't see where he was injured, and the pain and harm caused by one hand didn't seem sufficient to discipline this wild adolescent.

God of War Batman was the next to return, and his condition also exceeded Shiller's expectations.

Because of constant warfare in the universe of God of War Batman, his primary issues stemmed from the need for decisive judgment on the battlefield and seizing the right moment to strike, leading to an overly decisive mindset that favored acting now and considering the consequences later.

Shiller discovered that God of War Batman seemed to be reflecting on this issue, but in reality this mindset, engrained over many years, is not easy to notice.

Then there was Mechanical Batman, and from his condition, Shiller recognized that the biggest problem was not that removing pain and fear would make him happier; it instead made him feel numb and empty.

Nevertheless, Mechanical Batman appeared quite fulfilled and the emotional wounds that had been severed were gradually healing. New reactions of pain and fear were being formed inside him.

Shiller did a deeper probe and found that this was likely all from Alfred; Mechanical Batman's new pain and fear arose from the fantasy of being separated from Alfred again.

This meant that he was healing himself, and perhaps wouldn't take long to re-establish the missing emotional modules.

Next was Little Bruce, and Shiller knew he was almost going mad from school the moment he saw him, looking no different from the college students Shiller usually saw at the end of the term in his classes.

Little Bruce's mental state had always been quite healthy, with a stable obsession with pursuing each investigator to their death, which, as far as job types go, was fairly normal.

However, Shiller noticed that the evil god energy within him had faded a bit. Nya seemed to have recently lacked the time to care for him, which allowed Little Bruce to decrease his dependency on the energy. Coupled with a fulfilling real life, he was indeed more spirited than his previous depressive state.

Then there was Batwoman, who was assessed via phone call. This made Shiller somewhat uncertain because Batwoman seemed very, very irritable. She had become so irritable that Shiller spent more than half an hour comforting her so that she could complete the basic tests.

But considering that Batwoman had been in a despairing state of indifference to life due to the loss of her lover, where she acted apathetic and resigned to anything, what could be making her so irritated now?

However, for Shiller, this was good news, because the last thing a patient with symptoms of depression needs is a lack of reaction to external stimuli. Once they start to show signs of withdrawal and stiffness, it means that the emotional system is completely shut down.

As long as there is still emotional feedback, the particular nature of the emotion doesn't matter much. Continuing to maintain emotional exchanges with the outside world is the first step towards healing.

And then there were the Batmonster Vehicle and the Bat Tyrant Dragon, both of whom had, apart from being somewhat excited, very good mental states.

After observing for a while, Shiller found that their excited state was well-balanced too, without any danger of losing control. The only odd thing was the missing tire of the Batmonster Vehicle and the large bump on the head of the Bat Tyrant Dragon.

After leaving the study, Shiller took a deep breath, closed the door behind him, and turned to Batman saying, "I apologize, I misjudged you. Indeed, the real Batman wouldn't bother me in this way, so it seems this has been an easy camping trip?"

Ignoring the intense quarrel coming from the Bat Cave Jail over the communicator, Batman nodded and said, "It has always been so, PhD."