Chapter 3055: Mercury Chronicles (Part 5)_2

"Alright, let's talk about the third case," Shiller picked up a photograph beside him and was just about to speak when there was a knock on the door.

Killer Croc walked over to open it, and outside stood Bruce. Killer Croc immediately stretched his big mouth into a grin and said, "You finally made it. You have no idea how hot Gotham has been this summer. If you'd come a few days earlier, you'd probably have melted on the asphalt."

"That's exactly why I deliberately came back a few days later. Luckily, it's not too hot recently. Here, these are your dried fish," Bruce handed a package to Killer Croc.

Killer Croc happily took it, winked at him, and said, "Come in. Your dear professor is researching another murder case. Best not to rile him up, or he might toss you into a barrel of oil."

After that, Killer Croc sat down on the bed and started munching on his dried fish. Bruce poked his head in first, and as Shiller turned his head, he saw eight gleaming teeth, which instantly gave him a headache.

"What are you doing standing at the door?" Shiller said, "Don't get in the way of the nurse's work, come in."

After Bruce came in, he placed his belongings on the windowsill. Shiller glanced up at it but then turned his attention back to the photograph.

Bruce dragged a chair over to the opposite side of the table, peered at the items on it, and, realizing they weren't his papers, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did Shiller look up at him. After appraising him from top to bottom, he said, "It looks like you haven't had much time for writing papers recently."

Bruce, who had a series of excuses ready, swallowed them back down and said with an awkward cough, "Indeed, I haven't had the time. In the chaos, writing papers just doesn't result in anything..."

"You also haven't produced anything when you weren't busy. What did you bring?"

"Oh," Bruce stretched his arm out, grabbed the thing on the windowsill, and unwrapped it, saying, "This is the new thermal flask developed by Wayne Enterprises. It has dense ice in its double walls, so whether you fill it with hot or cold water, the insulation is excellent. Without opening the lid, it can maintain the temperature for about two months."

Shiller took it and looked it over but couldn't see how it was any different from other flasks. He stood up, went to the side, and poured some hot water into it.

Bruce looked up at the ultraviolet lamp above, then saw a cup of water placed in front of him, steaming hot.

"Just to be sure, Professor, you don't have any poison teeth, do you?"

Shiller rolled his eyes slightly and said, "If I had wanted to poison you, would you still be alive now?"

Bruce smirked sheepishly and sipped at the hot water. Shiller, sitting down again, gave him another look and said while drinking water, "You've lost quite some weight. Have you given up on your muscle-building plan?"

"I haven't had time for that, but I think being leaner is good too—makes me stand out from the other Batmen," Bruce replied.

"I'm going to talk to Chief Gordon about the third case now. Has he shown you the photos yet?"

Bruce shook his head, took out his laptop from his bag, and said, "I have another task. I need to decrypt the code left at the crime scene."

"Then go over to that table, and don't touch my photos," Shiller stated.

Bruce had to take his computer and sit at the adjacent table, with Killer Croc pulling up a stool to sit next to him, watching as he studied the string of letters.

Shiller reconnected the line and told Gordon, "Sorry, Bruce is here. He should be decrypting the code from the crime scene now."

"No rush, let's hear your thoughts on the third case first," replied Gordon.

"He's saying goodbye to his past."

"Who is?"

"The killer. The killer is saying goodbye to his past."

"And he says goodbye by skewering people on a wooden post?"

"It has three implications. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Any will do, you naturally have your order,"

"That's exactly why I respect you, Chief Gordon, you're unusually understanding for a Gothamite,"

"No, Professor, you've just been poisoned by those students for too long,"

"Thank you, the ringleader is sitting right beside me,"

The two didn't discuss this topic for too long, but rather started talking about the third case. Shiller moved the photos in front of himself with his fingers and said,

"This must be the last case because the killer has adopted a symmetrical structure, which is the first aspect I want to discuss."

"The first case was separate, scattered, irregular, and unfixed, while the third was cohesive, concentrated, individual, and securely fixed. It is a method of juxtaposition."

"But at the same time, these are also childish games, disrupting blocks and pinning insects, seemingly childish ways to explore the world, but they actually reflect the innate human desire to break rules, chaos, and destruction of life, representing the killer's belief that children are naturally disorderly. This is a theme consistent in the first two cases."

"Being the same yet different, naturally achieves a perfect echo,"

"Apart from the structure, the second aspect is the reflection of the change in the killer's own mental state, from torn to whole, from chaos to unity, from excessively exposed flatness to a focused and confident verticality—this is the complete process of growth,"

"He thinks he's healed?"

"In fact, he has been healed, as can be seen from the last case. His current mental state is quite healthy; he has grown from a mental patient into an antisocial element."

"What kind of growth is that?"

"From a psychological perspective, it is indeed growth."

"Well, what about the other aspect?"

"That's what I mentioned before, he wants to say goodbye to his past, the corpse of the last case is a totem."

"A totem?"

"Yes, something used by human societies in primitive times for rituals and marking locations. He wants to commemorate his growth, which is why he impaled the person vertically on a stake—without a doubt, it's a totem."

"If I were to summarize this serial killing case, I would say it's of a private nature. He doesn't want to express his view of the world, but simply to narrate himself to the world and doesn't even want anyone to understand—just a personal memento."

"How do you think he did, Professor?"

"Like I said before, a choice is just a choice, there's no success or failure. He has understood this deeply, so he didn't aim to do particularly well; he just wanted to complete it."

"He prepared and acted in his own rhythm; no matter the result, the very fact that he took that step means he has found an entirely new self, he has been healed."

"But he didn't expect you to understand it."

"Perhaps that's true, but what he wouldn't expect even more is that I would be happy for him. Regardless, the world has one less mentally ill person."

"But one more antisocial element."

"No, Chief, he won't kill again. This will be his last work; he will go on to do something that he prefers more."

"What's that?"

As they were talking, Shiller heard someone knock at the door again. This time he was closer to the door and so he went to open it.

Standing outside was Edward Nigma.