Chapter 2871: Minifigure Grand Battle! (Part 9)

Shiller found the Joker.

It wasn't difficult at all, as it seemed the Joker hadn't made any attempt to hide himself. There was a huge smiley face painted on the outside of his base, and he had even imitated the Bat Light to create numerous Joker lights, with the sky full of Joker smiley patterns.

As soon as Shiller reached the entrance, he was caught, but he did not resist. The handcuffs were almost as easy to pick as the prison doors, amounting to nothing more than a decoration.

He was taken to the Joker.

The place looked like a circus, and at the very center of the base was a huge tent. As soon as Shiller entered, he saw members of the Joker Gang strutting around.

The Joker was seated on a high throne at the front of the tent, with Batman hanging from the center of the tent. At that moment, the Joker was laughing maniacally.

When Shiller came in, the Joker's laughter quieted a bit, and he looked at Shiller with some confusion, "Aren't you that...?"

"I am that psychologist," Shiller cut in upfront.

The corners of the Joker's mouth suddenly turned downward, and he said, "Psychologist, I don't like that profession."

"I'm not here for you to like," Shiller replied.

The Joker was taken aback, while Shiller seemed quite impatient, "I'm not here to play any word games with you, nor am I interested in your past. I just hope you can help me find a job. It's a win-win arrangement that benefits us both."

"What do you want to do?" the Joker asked fiercely.

"Don't you want to capture all those criminals and take them to Arkham Insane Asylum? Could you let me be the chief doctor? I could cure them all, so they'll never bother you or Batman again."

The Joker paused, looking around and realizing he had indeed not considered what to do with the lunatics after capturing them. After all, those madmen were not easy to handle, and it wasn't as if they would just stay put once confined.

Just as the Joker was about to answer, a voice came from above, "Hey!"

"Hey what?" Shiller didn't even look at Batman, but Batman struggled and said, "You evil psychologist, you must be one of those criminals who hypnotize people into madness, right? You really picked a good time to trouble me, once I get rid of the Joker, I will…"

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not a criminal," Shiller snapped, "I graduated from the Clinical Psychology Department of Columbia University, and have studied at Harvard University and Preston. I've worked in all top ten hospitals in America, my academic and professional records are spotless, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

"Impossible," Batman struggled frantically, "If that's the case, why would you help the Joker?!"

"I'm not helping him, I'm just looking for a job for myself. I charge a high price, he doesn't look rich, he might not even be able to afford it," Shiller said, shaking his head. "But you look like you have a lot of money. If he doesn't hire me, then you hire me. As long as the price is right, I could hypnotize others into madness as well."

"No way!!" the Joker and Batman exclaimed in unison.

"How much do you want?" the Joker asked viciously, "No matter how much you charge, I will pay you. Now get to Arkham Psychiatric Hospital and stop bothering Batman and me during our private time!"

"That's exactly what I intended." Shiller made a gesture, but because the arc of his hand resembled zero, he quickly withdrew it, saying instead, "I want ten boxes of gold bars."

The Joker ordered his men to carry the boxes over, cursing under their breath. Shiller looked down to find plastic gold bars.

The bars didn't look very real, more like golden Lego blocks. However, one box of Gold Coins was very exquisitely made. Shiller disdainfully pushed aside the gold bars and picked up the box filled with Gold Coins.

Without a hint of nostalgia, he turned and walked towards the door, saying, "I'll start my shift immediately. I won't disturb you anymore."

The Joker and Batman were both somewhat stunned, not understanding why this odd person had suddenly barged in.

The Joker was not in a hurry because Batman was in his hands; he had the strength and means to make Batman admit his hatred.

But Batman was anxious. Now trapped here, he urgently needed someone to send out a message. So he shouted, "Come back! Doctor, come back!! I'm also very wealthy!! I can hire you!!"

Without looking back, Shiller disappeared from their sight.

He had no interest in getting involved with the Joker and Batman's affairs. He reached Arkham Insane Asylum at top speed, as all the well-known villains in Gotham were practically there. Otherwise, the Joker wouldn't have the leisure to be lovey-dovey with Batman there.

As soon as Shiller entered, they thought he was a new criminal. But, finding him a bit unfamiliar and thus not a significant figure, they ignored him. Then, after a while, Shiller put on a doctor's uniform. Had the doctor gone mad?

Standing in the middle of the recreation room, Shiller cleared his throat and said, "I'm the new chief physician. From now on, you'll visit my office for consultation in alphabetical order of your last names, according to the law."

Someone was about to speak when Shiller interrupted, "If you don't want to come, don't come. But my consultation fee is ten boxes of gold bars. You…"

Before he could finish, everyone swiftly lined up in a long queue at the nearest office.

Shiller snorted coldly and swaggered into the office.

The main reason he had come was out of curiosity about how villains in Lego World became villains in the first place.

Obviously, Minifigures can't be poisoned, so it was unclear how villains like Bane came to be, and Scarecrow couldn't really be called a criminal since his gas was useless, and it was a mystery why he was even there.

After a thorough inquiry, Shiller couldn't help but laugh and cry. Just like the majority of stories in Lego World, the villains' tales were not tragic at all and were filled with humorous twists.

Penguin Man's limp wasn't due to an injury; it was the result of an accident where everyone's parts got scattered, and, during reassembly, his leg ended up a bit too short, leaving him with a limp.

He was indeed involved in the Mob industry, but as Minifigures couldn't get high, his business mainly involved arms trading. However, since arms couldn't kill anyone, he wasn't really a criminal either.

Bane's story was a bit sadder and similar to the Prime Universe. He grew up in prison, but his strength had nothing to do with poison gas; he was a unique piece from the Lego mold, which made him look different from the start.

He was quite adept at breaking others' spines, but since Minifigures' torsos are all in one piece, he hadn't managed to do so yet.

Two-Face got an even rawer deal; he accidentally came into contact with corrosive liquid, which disfigured him. Despite the disfigurement, he still worked at the courthouse and hadn't committed any crimes.

As for the Riddler, there's no need to elaborate. He was basically a natural-born lunatic, scribbling and doodling everywhere. He was actually the most culpable, not only seriously affecting the city's appearance but also being a repeat offender.

Having questioned almost everyone, Shiller realized that these villains, if taken to the outside Gotham, would be perfect role models—each could even win an award as one of Gotham's Ten Most Inspiring People.

The past of the Joker, whom Shiller was most interested in, was a subject people were vague about; some were genuinely clueless, while others were cryptic and unwilling to share. Shiller's probing brought no results.

However, he could make educated guesses. Looking at the scars on Two-Face's face, one could see that falling into a real corrosive pool would lead to uneven erosion marks like those on one side of Two-Face's face.

However, Joker's face didn't show such signs. Despite the clown makeup, there were no traces of a chemical pool accident—his face was maybe just painted a bit whiter, making him look like a head of cabbage.

This meant it was almost certain to rule out the Red Hood Gang origin story. Instead, his base suggested a closer similarity to an origin involving the circus.

This assumption could explain Joker's obsession with Batman; only someone diligently playing a villain would wish to be universally hated because being genuinely despised by the audience would mean they delivered a convincing performance—they had been seen. If Joker came from a circus background, he might indeed think this way.

Before long, Joker showed up at Arkham Asylum, where Shiller had already blended in with the patients—don't get him wrong, they were bonding over a game of Texas Hold'em in the activity center.

Seeing Joker approach, Shiller quickly intercepted him and asked, "How's Batman doing?"

Upon hearing Shiller inquire about Batman, Joker visibly went on alert, but he still harrumphed twice and said, "Do you even need to ask? He definitely escaped."

The smirk on his mouth, however, didn't escape Shiller, who chuckled and replied, "It seems you're quite confident. Even so, would you like to see what he's doing right now?"

Joker's eyes instantly lit up as he stared at Shiller and said, "You can see his current situation?"

"Of course, let me make a call."

Shiller called Tim, who obediently followed his instructions and pointed the camera at the circus where Joker was, then sent the live feed to Shiller's communicator.

Just as Joker leaned in to see, Shiller suddenly covered the screen and looked at Joker, "So, how much are you willing to pay for this unique memento video, Mister Joker?"

Joker, rubbing his hands together excitedly, said, "I can give you ten more boxes of gold bars..."

"No, no, no, that's too mundane. I prefer something more sophisticated. Do you have any special collectibles? The big and exquisite kind?"

Shiller knew the money in this universe was worthless, but having a few limited edition Lego sets to his name wouldn't be too bad.

"Yes, yes, I do," Joker nodded frantically.

Joker Gang members brought in one large collectible after another into Arkham Asylum, while Joker contentedly munched on popcorn, peering non-stop into the communicator.

Meanwhile, the local Batman had already escaped the circus enclosure.

Only from the sky could one see that the circus was not an independent venue; it was a part of an amusement park, complete with a small zoo next to it. The Batman from the break-out, or rather, released by Joker, was now running into the amusement park.

From afar, he spotted two familiar figures. Batman cautiously approached them, but the cloaked dark figure suddenly turned around, fixing Batman with a deep and solemn gaze.

"Good heavens, why is he so dark!" Batman exclaimed in astonishment.