Chapter 1947 U: Beyond Major Event (36)_1

All the people on the swaying bus seemed somewhat weary. Natasha had already drifted off to sleep. Batman, with his eyes half closed, was at rest. Beihan was trying hard to think about what the anomaly they had just experienced was, but the more he thought about it, the more sleepy he became.

In the control room of Shiller's Tower of Thought, the Superego watched the dwindling readings on the mental stability meter and sighed deeply.

"I suddenly remembered why we didn't let Morbid out in the first place. In terms of neglecting his health, he's probably ten thousand times more Arrogant."

Rubbing his headache-ridden temples, the Superego looked over the list of characters eligible for work duty in his hand. Eventually, he yelled out towards the outside door, "Arrogant! Arrogant! Get to work!"

Arrogant, who was leaning against the railing outside, snarled back, "I told you we should have taken the hole. But you insisted on extending the elevator. Look what happened now."

"If you won't do it, I will." Greed, with his mouth open and his head tilted upward, exclaimed, "I think this bus is pretty good, the Magic Academy is in need of a new school bus..."

"Arrogant! Get moving!"

When Shiller opened his eyes again, he found Batman staring at him.

"Good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning, Batman."

Shiller looked down to find himself still wearing the deep brown suit he had acquired at Nihilite Manor. He instinctively frowned, then Batman handed him a black tie.

Shiller immediately undid the vibrant colored tie around his neck. As he accepted the tie that Batman handed over, he paused for a moment.

The tie was too light. Where was the two-pound camera it should have held?

Shiller looked back at Batman. As if on cue, Batman responded, "All of my equipment's electronic signals are interfered with here, all communication and surveillance equipment are rendered useless."

As Shiller tied his tie, he said, "I suspect someone is watching our game."

"On what grounds?"

"From a timing perspective, everyone has completed at least one round of the game by now. Many who are cautious about the rules would presumably choose to observe, as the risk is much lower and they can gather more information."

"Let's talk about the previous round first." Batman turned his head back, leaned casually against the back of the chair, and only swiveled his eyes to look at Shiller. "Did you figure out the host's intentions right from the start?"

Shiller also lay back in his seat casually and said in a nonchalant manner, "No, but I knew that this was a game with rules, and Morbid's hobby is to break all the rules."

"This is different from finding loopholes in the game. Those who like to exploit the rules will listen carefully to them, understand them, and often understand them better than others."

"And then they can spot the areas within the rules that can be taken advantage of to fulfill their goal of finding loopholes. You can think of these people as wise men or strategists and occasionally, conspirators."

"But Morbid is a performer," Shiller sighed softly. "You must have noticed by now. He possesses a phenomenal urge to perform all the time. To display himself, that's the nature of his mental disorder."

"Charismatic." Batman spoke one of the characteristics of a mental disorder, then continued, "They usually have a strong personality charm and a narcissistic personality. When they manifest their charisma through their outward appearance, they instinctively attract a lot of attention."

"Many successful figures in various sectors who we are familiar with meet the definition of a mental disorder." Shiller calmly stated, "Especially in politics, business, and the military, those with charisma who know how to self-display tend to succeed more easily."

Shiller turned to Batman and said, "Manipulation, art, hunting, love are all my instincts. They spray everything around everyone, leading them into an eternally chaotic abyss."

"Manipulation." Batman quietly repeated this word.

He recalled the heart rate of Shiller that he'd been keeping an eye on. In retrospect, the variations in heart rate were too regular. No, as if it was a pattern set by the game's monster program—the frequency gradually increasing, the difficulty gradually escalating. This was no coincidence.

"Yes. That's something I can control." Shiller seemed to have a sense of sympathy as he said, "Using each of my abilities, every part, every gesture, and every move, instinctively manipulating anybody around me. That's Morbid."

"Interesting," Batman remarked, "Have you published any works about this?"

"The subject of research in psychology can't be oneself." Shiller shook his head, "And I don't want to pretend to be someone else."

"That rule is worth reconsidering." Batman closed his eyes gently, "Otherwise, they'll miss the academic achievements of many experts like you who have Dissociative Identity Disorder."

"You can rest for a while," Shiller suggested, "I can tell you about my plan for the last game, until you fall asleep."

Batman remained quiet, eyes closed, but Shiller knew he had tacitly agreed.

"Right from the start, I never lost control. The danger you sensed on the bus was deliberately released by me. It was really quite simple. By controlling some facial muscle spasms, stiff limb rotations, and a dull gaze, I was able to effectively replicate a period where I was highly aggressive."

"Among the three of us, you were the hardest to manipulate. Ordinary speech and expressions couldn't easily sway you, so I chose the simplest and most basic physiological approach. From the moment we alighted the bus, I began adjusting my heart rate."

"This is a simple principle of psychology. If my heart rate had maximized from the start, it would have caused more shock than pressure."

"I knew that no matter what, you guys would inevitably put some focus on the Killer devil reciting the rules. What I needed to do was to grab as much of your attention as possible."

"When the unexpected overshadows tension, it's hard for me to keep your attention on me consistently and hence, it makes it harder for me to manipulate your actions."

"Therefore, I chose to gradually increase my heart rate, creating an illusion that I was getting more and more excited and losing control."

"Indeed, even when you were listening to the rules, you maintained at least half of your attention on me, fearing that I might go mad. And when I did indeed go mad, you no longer had the energy to care about what the killer devil was saying."

"There's one advantage to this. Every philosophical proposition in this world requires someone to contemplate in order to have meaning. If no one thinks about it, it's as good as non-existent. At this moment, the rules have been completely shattered."

"When I rushed to the cage and grabbed one of the men's arms, it wasn't just to exhibit my aggressiveness, but to hint to you that these people are not 'ordinary'."

"And when I approached the boy again but didn't attack him, you should have surmised this. Because if I were acting on instinct, I probably wouldn't be hunting those with no aggressiveness, the innocents, but rather, I'd call out for a worthy opponent."

"From the standpoint of morbidity, 'ability' naturally refers to means of killing. Hence, you could deduce from the starkly different treatments of the people here who the killer devils and innocents are."

"When controlled by morbid instincts, I could see only these two types. Either he kills wantonly with blood on his hands, or he has committed no misdeeds and is completely innocent."

"Any other people are just blurred shadows in my eyes. If you were to say that most of these people kill out of necessity for survival or rebellion, I wouldn't be able to see them, because that's just ordinary people."

"Let's talk about the latter part." Shiller also closed his eyes, slowed his tone, and said, "I didn't listen to the rules the killer devil was talking about at all. But I know they're boring, and I don't intend to waste any more time."

"However, to escape from here, ordinary means may not work. So I thought, if he really is as powerful as his outward appearance suggests, why would he need a gladiatorial arena? If he really wanted to show the cruelty of human nature, all he'd have to do is kill half of the people with a wave of his hand, and the ugliest side of humanity would stand revealed."

"From the previous two games, it seems that the killer devil was constrained in some way and couldn't directly take action within a certain period of time. This makes sense, after all, if he were to block the car door, it would be awkward for both parties."

"So to make him expose his weaknesses, lose control and actively violate some rules is the best method. I believe I've mentioned to you the Batman-Joker convergence theorem before, haven't I?"

"That young bat is nowhere near your match. He's easier to trick, but more importantly, he's not as strong as you and more easily flipped."

"Even if he hadn't taken me to high altitudes, I would have found a way to fight with him for a long time until his patience was worn thin, causing him to feel real hatred towards me."

"With Batman and the Joker, their fierce fight couldn't possibly be without Thunderclouds and rain from Gotham. When a curse invades here, everything will be beyond the control of the killer devil."

"I know you want to ask what that thing was that emerged when he was about to kill me, and all I can say is that I hope that you never have to see it."

"It's not scary, just revolting."

Shiller's voice grew softer, and he fell into a drowsy sleep. The carriage went silent.

The bystander was also very quiet.

Lord Superman's gaze became more serious.

Now the problem was that although he originally thought Bruce might be just a rebellious young man without a good education, he now knows that not only did Bruce study under this professor for many years, but he also graduated smoothly, which made Lord Superman suspect that Bruce might also be a psychological deviant.

So he asked tentatively, "Do you get along well with your professor?"

"I unilaterally think so."

"What do you mean by unilaterally think so?"

"I've handed him over 70 doctoral applications, all of which he's rejected, and he's blocked over a hundred of my email accounts."

Lord Superman let out a sigh of relief.

"You..." Lord Superman paused, felt that his way of asking was a bit too aggressive and discriminating, so he rephrased his question, "Was your professor's mental state alright during his teaching?"

"His mental state was always pretty good."

"What about yours?"

"Occasionally not so good, but I take medication."

Lord Superman was stunned again. For the first time, he turned to look at Bruce's face and asked, "Medication? What kind of medication do you take?"

"Some psychotropic drugs." Bruce tilted his head to one side and said, "It's mainly for relieving mental tension and anxiety, as well as some sedatives."

"So you smoke marijuana?"

"That's irrelevant." Bruce coughed twice and said, "I do it for headache relief."

"Every drug addict says the same." Lord Superman said dissatisfiedly, "You should know it's harmful and not beneficial."

"Every old-fashioned nagger says the same, it reminds me of Thomas."

"Thomas? Which Thomas?"

"Which else? Of course, it's my dad Thomas Wayne. When he was at the manor, I was driven so crazy by his restrictions that he wouldn't even let me skip steps on the stairs."

"He was right, because you were bound to ...wait, your dad?!"