Chapter 1150 Professor (13)_2

In psychology, there is a famous quote that Batman has also seen before—and today, he gained new insights into it—the phrase reads, "Fear has saved the human race".

Throughout the long evolutionary history of the human race, there have been too many disasters that could have wiped out this fragile race. Let's not just speak of devitalizing, blood-sucking beasts, or the ruthless natural disasters—some years, a few more showers could have cost numerous lives.

Fear towards each thing is a scar in human evolutionary history.

Without fear, there would be no avoidance, and thus, naturally, no escape. Only kin groups that are extremely sensitive to various natural and man-made disasters are more likely to survive and evolve to this day. As a result, fear has increasingly etched into the marrow of humankind.

The reason these murderers, who should have been treated by others as their fellows, induce boundless fear, is because they resemble beasts, brutal, frenzied, only pursuing pleasure, and at the same time, they are similar to natural disasters, indifferent, and cruel, but resolute.

The primal instinct of humans to seek good and avoid harm would put them in a natural disadvantage when facing individuals who share the terrible traits of the disasters throughout evolutionary history.

Even though Batman has reached the peak of human willpower, the instinct of the human race would still make him feel a chill running down his spine when facing Shiller in such a state.

Now, Batman understood why there would still be victims when certain serial murderers acted repeatedly. It was not that those people were not cautious enough or didn't fight back hard enough. What defeated them was not their fellows, but the fear in their hearts.

Seeing Batman standing puzzled there, Shiller walked up to him with a bit of confusion and asked, "What's wrong? Weren't you going to ask about something regarding Dick? Why are you silent now?"

However, when Batman saw Shiller standing before him, the more nonchalant Shiller appeared, the more fear sprung from Batman's instinct, causing him to want to back away.

"Dick has run away from home again," Batman said, trying to steer his thoughts back on track. "I took in a kid called Tim Drake. He's...very talented and very keen to become my assistant. His parents do not object."

Before Shiller could respond, Batman explained further, "I haven't agreed to his request. He's still too young. Even if he lives in Wayne Manor, he must go to school first."

"Plus, I told Dick that he is my first child and will be my best assistant. I also told him that he could be involved in case investigations. However, I needed some time to prepare a set of equipment for him to ensure his safety."

"But no matter what I said, Dick wouldn't listen," Batman shook his head slightly. "He strongly believes that I'm going to abandon him, and wants to chase him out of Gotham."

Shiller frowned in deep thought and shook his head saying, "That doesn't align with the psychological profile I have of Dick Grayson."

"When the Grayson family fell from their glory days, they went through a hard time for quite a while, having received no performance invitations and suffering financially and psychologically."

"Plus, Dick was very close to his grandfather. Thus, his grandfather's death hit him hard. It just so happened that during his awareness of wealth, his family's fortunes plummeted. Such a hit could make a child become withdrawn and eccentric."

"But Dick didn't fall because of this. On the contrary, he comforted his parents, worked hard on learning acrobatics, even served as an errand boy selling items during the shows, doing whatever he could to change his family's economic situation."

"To earn money, the Grayson family continued touring across the country. They faced many hardships, not to mention the scorn they received. But Dick never wavered due to these rumors, firmly believing that the Grayson family was the best circus troupe in the country and strived to revive it."

"He is a very clear-headed, wise, and determined child. To speak frankly, he was mentally much more stable than you, even compared with your current state."

"After all, the huge inheritance your parents left for you was enough for you to not worry about economic issues. But for quite some time, Dick had to live frugally, even experienced being destitute."

"But despite such hardships, his mental state remained positive. He was very proactive, without any tendency to give up on himself, which is quite rare."

Batman looked at Shiller as if waiting for a conclusion. Shiller stood there, observing him and said, "Hardship didn't defeat this child for over a decade, so why do you think, with only a few years under your care, he would so drastically change and become unable to communicate with you?"

Batman opened his mouth slightly but didn't know how to argue. He found that he lacked confidence in his own teaching ability to the extent that it had affected his judgement of the facts.

Initially, the young Dick didn't falter despite being homeless, having lost his beloved grandfather, seeing the decline of the famous Grayson family, and being ridiculed by others. So why should a few years at Wayne Manor cause such a sudden change in him?

Batman hesitated before saying, "When Dick first came here, I transferred schools several times for him. Tim told me that he might have been bullied at school, but I didn't notice at that time..."

"So he talked to you about it, and you didn't do anything?" Shiller asked.

Batman shook his head and replied, "No, he never told me, even when I inquired several times, he always responded that everything was fine at school."

"Actually, he might not be as fragile as you think," Shiller said, taking a towel from the side and starting to clean the blood from his neck. "Although he's not a local of Gotham, he has traveled to many places across the country with his parents, having seen and learned much."

Shiller looked into Batman's eyes and said, "I remember I once told you that psychology may seem like a mystical subject, but in essence, its logic is as rigorous as mathematics and physics. If you follow it to the end, there's only one standard answer."

"If a person suddenly changes their behavior, it must not be without the influence of external factors. If you believe you didn't impose any influence on Dick's change of behavior, then it is highly likely that someone else has imposed an influence on him that you are not aware of."

"And if this influence is long-term, it couldn't possibly suddenly burst forth just now. If it's not long-term..."

Batman narrowed his eyes. He understood what Shiller meant and asked,

"Are you saying someone has hypnotized Dick?"