Chapter 1263: Lonely Shadow Becomes Double (Part 3)_1

"I came to see you about a peculiar case that has recently occurred…"

Batman's voice resonated by the window, where he stood with Shiller in a mental hospital room. They stood on either side of the window, not facing each other directly, but rather turned sideways towards the window.

As moonlight shone through the window, their shadows were elongated, lying in parallel on the ground and stretching up the walls and ceiling.

"Yesterday, I received information about a series of murders in Gotham. The victims had died under unusual circumstances. More importantly, the killer left a death threat at the crime scene – 'Bruce Wayne will die tomorrow.'"

Batman's eyes were fixed intently on Shiller, and upon the latter's unchanged expression at hearing this name, he continued, "Wayne Enterprises is crucial to Gotham. The sudden demise of its leader and owner would create immense chaos within the city."

"What are your thoughts on this case?"

"You must have already dealt with the killer, otherwise, you wouldn't be speaking with me so calmly here. The moment you met me, you dismissed any suspicions of me and deemed me a potential ally. Why?" Shiller turned his head to look at Batman.

"I withdraw my earlier statement," Batman said, surprising many present, yet delivered with an unchanged calm demeanor, "The serial murders I initially mentioned is merely a term to describe several similar cases that occurred within a short period. In your view, this doesn't necessarily constitute a serial murder."

Batman could clearly see the surprised look in the man's eyes across from him. Shiller stroked the fabric of his suit, clearly feeling pleased.

"I am well aware that even if the crimes occur close in time and are similar in method, they may not necessarily be classified as serial murders. They are not performing these acts for the sake of death itself, but rather to terrorize the living…" Batman said slowly.

"If they're kidnappers, they should behave as such. Grab their guns, storm into the Wayne building, and hold a gun to Bruce Wayne's head telling him he'll die tomorrow, not entering an unfamiliar field and using numerous, meaningless murders to insult others' intelligence," Shiller concluded.

"In fact, that's exactly what they did." Batman gently tapped the windowsill with his finger, "Yesterday they stormed into the Wayne Building, injured Bruce Wayne, and nearly made him fall to his death."

As expected, Batman heard Shiller lightly exhale through his nose, and thus, he stoked the fire:

"I knew from yesterday's meeting that you and them, you're not the same, or rather, you're natural enemies. Yet they rudely invaded your domain without any decorum."

"Everyone who saw the body focused on their threat to Bruce Wayne, no one but me paid attention to the manner in which the victims died."

"I investigated because the wounds were sloppy amidst their grisliness. I wanted to know how they managed to end the victims' lives so quickly."

"It's over." Harley in front of the screen said, covering her eyes, "How much enmity must there be for each word to harbour no surplusage?"

"Batman must be ecstatic." Jason stood up and leaned on the back of the chair in front of him, "After running into a bunch of rude killers and contemplating how to divert their attention, he picks up a case of a bona fide serial killer with obsessive-compulsive perfectionism on his way home, who just so happens to need a clean suit. If it were me, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams."

"Shiller wouldn't be that easy to convince, would he?" Hal came over with a bucket of popcorn, "After all, that's Shiller we're talking about."

"You don't need to rush to distance yourself from them or emphasize our differences to provoke me."

As Shiller's voice echoed, Hal pointed to the screen, "See, I told you! Shiller saw through Batman's intentions. How could he be easily fooled?"

"However, I do like your taste in clothing. Where is the crime scene?" Shiller swiftly changed the subject.

Hal slapped his forehead.

"Heh, arrogance is so easily pacified by minor favors." Greed's voice resonated from behind the seats, "Bruce Wayne is so rich, what's a tailor-made suit to him? This won't just be designing a comprehensive private security service system for Wayne Enterprises and ripping him off big time?"

"But Wayne Enterprises doesn't need a security service system, does it?" Hal turned and questioned in confusion, "Even if they do, Batman would design it himself, wouldn't he?"

"Whether they need it or not isn't for him to decide." Greed rolled his eyes, "If he doesn't need it, can't I make him need it?"

On the other side, Bruce, sitting with Morbid, slowly turned his head towards Greed's direction, silently noting down the words that Greed had just said.

Most notably the phrase, "arrogance is so easily pacified by minor favors". He figured that at some point in the future, it would serve as the best guide for fraud prevention. He would prevent deception and guide arrogance.

Inside the Batmobile, Batman withdrew his hands from the steering wheel and activated the car's autopilot system. He said as casually as if chatting with an old friend, "You carry an odor from Gotham on you, but there shouldn't be someone like you here."