Chapter 468 Is Shiller Sick? (Part 2) _1

"Uh, hello? This is Arkham Mental Hospital, right? Yeah, Brand, it's me, Victor, we've met at the dinner."

"Have you seen Shiller recently? Oh, really? Well, I'm a little worried about his mental state recently, maybe you should invite him over?"

"Behaviour? I find it difficult to say...."

In the office of Gotham University, Victor, with one hand on his hip and one hand on the phone, said: "You know how terrible it is? He even can finish his meal within 15 minutes, and he actually started eating broccoli!"

"Remember the dinner we had at Wayne Hotel? He deliberately found it in the kitchen, pointed a gun at that broccoli! Prior to this, he kept telling me he doesn't use guns..."

Victor switched the phone to the other hand, the hand holding the phone gradually became younger, and the phone turned from blue to black. Bruce, holding the phone, said:

"Yes, Doctor Brand, the situation is quite serious. Despite knowing that he has a class at 10 o'clock, he actually didn't leave the house until 9:30."

"Moreover, he didn't even scramble to catch any other teacher's class for missing one class, he didn't bring up this matter all day, didn't leave more homework, and didn't say there would be an exam tomorrow....."

"After being late due to Gotham's traffic, he didn't even go after the mayor, I think, you better get him treated quickly, otherwise I can't imagine what he'll do next..."

"Doctor Brand, I found your number in the Yellow Pages. I hope you don't mind my disturb. I'm Mister Rodriguez's butler, Merkel."

Merkel, standing next to the phone desk, lowered his voice: "Could you please come over tomorrow? Oh, really? You really don't provide home medical service?"

"Yes, I understand, the pressure of treating mental disorders in a whole city all falls on a single hospital, you must be busy..."

"Yes, I hope you can invite Mister Shiller over, although it's a bit offensive for a butler to say such a thing, but his condition is indeed a bit..."

"Yes, moreover, he didn't even frown for the whole day today. I think this is really dangerous."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to seeing your invitation in the mailbox tomorrow. Thank you very much, Mr. Brand."

The next morning, Shiller still got up early, he once again stood by the window, stretched out and yawned. After washing up in the washroom, he came downstairs.

This time, Merkel got up earlier than him. Seeing Shiller come down, he waved and said: "Morning, sir, breakfast is ready."

Shiller nodded, then walked towards the dining table. As he sat down to start eating, he noticed that Merkel was standing by the door, gazing out the window.

"What are you doing standing there? Won't you eat?"

"Thank you, sir, but I've already eaten."

After saying this, Merkel turned back to the window. Shiller didn't understand what was going on, but he shook his head and didn't ask any more, just got down to his meal.

After a while, the tinkle of a bicycle bell was heard. Merkel directly opened the door and strode out. The newspaper boy waved at him, and Merkel handed him the prepared bread.

The newspaper boy took out a newspaper from his bosom. After Merkel took it, the newspaper boy took out a letter and said, "This is an express letter, but the postage has been paid."

"You know what? You're more diligent than a professional postman, I thought I wouldn't get it this morning," Merkel complimented.

The newspaper boy sneered and disdainfully said: "Postman? Postmen can't survive two days in Gotham!"

"I know all the shortcuts from the South District to the West District. It doesn't even take an hour to drive here, which is faster than those driving old men."

Merkel gave him a thumbs up, then took out a few coins and gave them to the newspaper boy, saying, "Thank you."

"Oh, wait, I can't take this." The newspaper boy suddenly returned the money. Merkel looked at him in surprise. The newspaper boy shrugged and said:

"Things are different now."

"You know the Cobblepot in the North District? The Falcone Family let him take over the management of all the children in Gotham. He came up with a very strong rule."

"I can't explain the details to you, but, now we're not allowed to accept tips without rules. If somebody reports, I will lose my job."

"I don't want to lose this lucrative job. I just managed to take over all the business on the West District side. Since Cobblepot put away those annoying parents, the money I earned is all mine. If they don't keep me on, that would be a disaster."

Seeing that Merkel didn't take the money, the newspaper boy directly threw back the coins. Merkel just saw his retreating figure when he caught the coins. He shook his head and went back into the mansion.

When the letter was delivered to Shiller, he had just finished his meal. He looked up at Merkel, and Merkel gave him a smile.

Shiller picked up the envelope, after opening the envelope, he found out that it was a letter from Brand. He paused, then said: "I have a class this afternoon, so I'll go over this evening?"

"Alright, then I will call Mister Brand later."

"Wait, why didn't he just call me directly and invite me over?"

"Because this is a formal invitation, formal invitations always need to be written. If it's a private gathering, a phone call would be enough."

"Then I'll give him a call later."

Merkel nervously rubbed his palms and said, "Sir, I'd better go, because the person answering the phone might not be Mister Brand."

"So, should I just send that guy to find Brand?"

"I can make the call first, then allow you to take over after Mr. Brand is found…"

Shiller massaged his forehead with a sense of helplessness, he gave up arguing. By the time he finished eating and rushed to the university, it was already afternoon.

In class, Shiller first explained the reason for his tardiness. He thought some students would show displeasure, but unexpectedly, everyone seemed understanding. Their attitude was almost like saying "better late than never".

Before starting the lesson, like many university professors do, Shiller planned to chat with students about casual topics to create a relaxed atmosphere and bring them closer. However, everyone remained rigid in their seats, nobody initiating a conversation.

When he began to lecture and reached the interactive part of the lesson, he encouraged group discussions. His students stared at him with confused looks.

Shiller paused for a moment, then he realized, it was the year 1988, the method of teaching was not as modern as he remembered. He also recalled that DC Shiller followed a straightforward teaching method that required students to memorize information until they knew it fully.

Shiller glanced at his teaching plan again. He then realized that he was not at Harvard or any other Ivy League school. The caliber of his students was not at the level to adapt to flexible learning styles, memorizing by rote seemed the most appropriate method for them.

After class, Shiller was in a gloomy mood. On one side, the lack of feedback from his class annoyed him. He wasn't used to this single-sided mode of knowledge imparting. On the other side, he felt the people in Gotham were a bit strange.

For some reason, those he knew treated him a bit differently. There was a hint of fear mixed with concern, worries mixed with sympathy in their attitudes.

While contemplating these thoughts, Shiller packed his stuff. He left Gotham University and drove to Arkham Mental Hospital.

He had no idea why Brand suddenly asked him to come over, yet he felt that a chat with a colleague could help release his emotional pressure.

When he arrived at Arkham Mental Hospital, Brand was already waiting for him at the entrance. They shook hands and hugged before Brand asked, "It's been a while. How have you been recently?"

"I've been okay," gave Shiller, with an ambiguous response. Suddenly, he remembered something and hastily asked, "By the way, how is Hugo Strange?"

"Oh, him! The last time I found him fainted in the consultation room, I carried him to the ward. Since he awoke, he has been acting a little eccentric, mumbling about monsters and other impossible things. He even attacked the nursing staff."

"How did you handle it?"

"What else could I do? It was clear that he was suffering from mental issues; probably, it's another case of prolonged medical treatment causing a disorder. He is receiving treatment now. We have tried medicating him and applying relaxation therapies, but the effects have not been significant."

As the two men walked towards Brand's consultation room, Brand changed the topic, "Nevermind him, let's talk about you. How have you been lately? You don't look too well."

Shiller touched his face and replied, "Really? Maybe I've not been sleeping well lately."

"So it seems. Victor called and said you seemed to be under some stress recently. Do you want to take a self-assessment of your mental health?"

Shiller hesitated for a moment before he agreed to it.

Brand took a file out from the drawer. Shiller picked up a pen and started answering the questions. After he finished, he passed the file to Brand. The more Brand read, the deeper the frown lines on his face became. He shook his head and asked, "What happened recently?"

"Nothing much, I suppose. If I had to say, something did happen during my visit to Metropolis. Oh yes, I haven't told you about my visit to Metropolis, it was quite an adventure…"

"When I just arrived, a homicide took place, and then the agents sealed off the whole mansion, and then…"

"Hold on, agents??" Brand suddenly frowned.

He stood up, walked briskly to the door, and checked both directions in the hallway. Then he walked to the window and drew all the curtains shut. Finally, he returned to his chair, looking at Shiller with a worried expression, he asked:

"Have those people found you again?"

Before Shiller could reply, Brand heaved a deep sigh, "I told you in the beginning, it's dangerous to take this path. Look at the mess you've gotten yourself in!"

"And, it would be fine if you just hid in Gotham, but you walked right into the lion's den. Did those agents discover your identity? You shouldn't have let your guard down!"

Shiller blinked in surprise, while Brand glanced at his reaction and said in frustration,

"In college, you read Marx, and I didn't want to stop you. Everyone has the freedom to pursue their beliefs."

"After graduation, you said that you wanted to go to Berlin, and I didn't say anything. Everyone has the freedom to choose their path."

"Later in your career, you spent some time in Moscow, and I refrained from saying anything. Although we have different beliefs, friends should tolerate each other."

"But to my utter disbelief, you joined the KGB, only to go back on your actions!"

"If you didn't intend to complete the task, why would you accept it in the first place???"

It seemed that Brand had been holding back these words for quite some time. His words resonated with anger:

"Initially, you severed ties with Moscow and came to Gotham for refuge when the KGB became suspicious of you. But now, you left Gotham voluntarily to involve yourself in the mess in Metropolis?!"

"Shiller, I really don't understand your way of thinking. You've been jumping between these different power factions. Are you truly not afraid of the danger?"

Shiller, seated in the chair, swallowed. At this moment, both he and his counterpart in the Palace of Thoughts asked in unison:

"Did... Do I have a condition?"