Chapter 1206: Scream of the Lamb (18)_1

"Bruce Wayne, what on earth are you up to?!" Amanda chased after Bruce in the hallway, shouting angrily.

Bruce tightened his lips, stopped in his tracks, turned around and said to Amanda, "Ms. Waller, Professor Rodriguez said you lack talent and are overly emotional. He's not entirely without reason."

"You can't see that I'm upset, lost, and you still question me in such an insolent tone."

"How could I..."

"Click-click-click", a series of gun loading sounds resonated. Amanda suddenly found that the dark muzzles of the security personnel behind were pointing at her, while Bruce standing in the dark watched her with a cold gaze, saying:

"Your memory is also poor. I've told you before, those like you who fight criminals out of hatred are in the minority, the majority are those who simply work for pay."

"Bruce Wayne! You bastard!! You've stolen my achievements!!" Amanda screamed.

Bruce shook his head, "Don't overvalue yourself. You have no achievements to be stolen, the current state of this prison is worse than a wasteland."

Looking at Amanda's shocked expression, Bruce Wayne asked, "What exactly are you surprised about? Where do you get the confidence to think that your personal charisma is more appealing to them than my money?"

Facing the increasingly close muzzle, Amanda slowly raised her hands, the furious expression on her face frozen.

Bruce gave her a final glance, turned around and walked away. Amanda gritted her teeth and said:

"I'm amazed. You and Schiller Rodriguez are made from the same mould. You do him proud as his student!"

Having said that, she pushed aside the gun in front of her, hurried to catch up with Bruce, and warned him: "Watch your step, if your prison reform allows these criminals to escape, many people will die!"

"Are you actually worried about civilian casualties? If I'm not mistaken, you must have used the power of some mysterious organization during the capture, they wouldn't care about civilian deaths."

Bruce opened the office door while speaking, "Admit it, you're doing all of this not for the common people, but for your own hatred. You never considered yourself on the side of ordinary people."

"Aren't you the same? Big businessman?"

"I used to think that I definitely stood with the common people." Bruce picked up paper and pen from a nearby cabinet and continued, "Now I realize being on the side of ordinary people doesn't mean running around with a not-so-high IQ and frustrating memory like them. It's meaningless."

"That's actually evasion, feeling insecure, feeling that you don't have the willpower to remain ordinary despite being extraordinary at birth, and therefore lowering yourself to the level of ordinary people, hoping to maintain the original aspiration."

Bruce began to scribble on the paper, wrote a line of words, and then looked up to ask Amanda, "How many prisoners are there in the prison now?"

"Uh... There are still 15." Amanda instinctively answered.

"What happened to the one who disappeared?" Bruce asked.

"He's dead, due to the negligence of the escort staff." Amanda turned her head away and replied.

"It was your mistake." Bruce wrote down the number without even lifting his head. Before Amanda could argue, Bruce said: "Blaming one's own inaction on the strong opponents and weak teammates is typically what we call—a loser."

Amanda gaped, standing there stunned for a moment, before finally retorting indignantly, "Schiller went to prison, he wouldn't have thought, there was another one here!"

Bruce showed a helpless expression, looking at Amanda, he said, "Are you targeting Schiller because you have a grudge against the criminals, or do you think you have a grudge against the criminals because you are overly concerned with Schiller?"

Amanda stood still, her teeth lightly clenching, Bruce shook his head, saying, "You don't need to feel stupid about this, it took me a long time to research this issue too."

"Then... then did you figure out an answer?" Amanda stuttered.

Bruce continued to write while replying, "Some questions don't need to be understood too clearly."

Amanda grabbed her hair, teetering on the verge of a breakdown, but Bruce's action was even more devastating, he walked up to the doorway and called out to Davis,

"Davis, call Officer Angela Dodgson for me, I need a more intelligent, rational, and brilliant woman to help me deal with these criminals."

Amanda stood frozen like a weathered statue. Despite that, Bruce continued to lean on the door frame and yelled, "If you could get in touch with Miss Talya Ogu, that would be even better, attractiveness is an important criterion."

"Bruce Wayne!!!!!!"

About half an hour later, Angela, who was heading towards the office, saw Amanda sobbing by the door, a puzzled expression on her face.

The policewoman pushed open the door while looking back, only turning to Bruce to ask: "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" after stepping inside.

Bruce, engrossed in a thick stack of documents, without looking up, answered, "It has nothing to do with me."

"Then why is she crying outside your office door?" Angela clearly didn't believe Bruce's words, after all, his reputation in this aspect was not good.

"You should ask Schiller about that," Bruce firmly stated.

Angela looked surprised but then her expression turned anxious, she looked at Bruce and asked, "Is Schiller alright? Where is he? You summoned me to this prison, does it mean you've dealt with them?"

"Schiller is fine, but I invited you here to discuss the remaining prisoners in this prison, and the imprisonment of future potential prisoners," Bruce put down the files and looked at Angela.

"Indeed, I need a prison to hold born killers, but not for punishment or confinement. These superficial measures can't solve the root problem," Bruce explained.

Angela considered for a moment, but it seemed like she misunderstood. With her brows knitted, the policewoman said, "Firstly, frontline detectives and lawyers have different views on the death penalty, ours tend to be more radical."

"Speaking for myself, I believe the death penalty is necessary. But if you're planning to carry out vigilantism here against serial killers, don't expect any help from me. At most I'll turn a blind eye."

"On the contrary, I have no plans to kill them," Bruce sighed and said: "Killing them is the most negative solution, simply eliminating one after another only solves the immediate problem."

"If we kill them all, we'll never be able to establish a system that identifies them before they strike their first blow, nor effectively prevent them from escaping before the execution of the death penalty."

"These people are not ordinary. If they are taken to court, it's easy for them to escape their crimes. However, if executed privately, monitoring and arresting a serial killer requires a great cost. Plus, throughout the process, all potential escape routes must be blocked without any errors, otherwise it will inevitably lead to a series of accidents. It's not impossible, but it's just not worth it."

Angela walked to the other side of the table, propped her hands on the desktop, and looked at the documents, "If you want to build an effective system, you must first have an effective solution. If you want to deal with a group, you need to deal with each individual. Without a successful case, everything is just empty talk."

"I just created a successful case," Bruce looked up at her and said: "That's why I invited you here. I want to implement and promote this method."

Angela's eyes widened and Bruce then added, "Confronting this group of serial killers head-on is unwise. They often possess abilities beyond ordinary people and are adept at camouflage. If they make a mistake, they can flee. However, if we make a mistake, it could lead to utter chaos."

Angela nodded, seemingly agreeing with this opinion, and Bruce continued, "I've realized that although these people do not abide by social norms, they still live within society. They stay here because they seek something from society."

Angela stood upright and stroked her chin, saying, "But in my observation, most serial killers tend to be apathetic. Threatening them with family, relatives, or friends usually has little effect."

"Indeed, they may not have many emotional needs, but as long as they are human, they must have desires. If any part of society can satisfy these desires, we must target them."

Bruce twisted his pen in hand and proceeded, "The serial killers that Schiller gathered together using the Serial Killer Club actually crave recognition and a sense of existence. The club perfectly satisfies these desires, and thus influences their actions."

"What we need to do is to identify what each serial killer desires and use these desires to our advantage."

"However, this exploitation doesn't involve harm or force, as violence is always superficial."

"For instance, if someone desires to live like an ordinary person, if I use force to make him expose his extraordinary abilities, he may feel discomfort, but in the end, it will only invite fiercer revenge. I've tried this countless times."

"So what do you plan to do?" Angela asked in confusion.

"The key is to give them hope." Bruce propped his chin on the end of his pen and said, "Give them hope of successfully fulfilling their desires. This hope is like a chain that guides the actions of every lamb, making them docile when they should be, and fierce when necessary."

"Theoretically, it seems viable," Angela said with her eyebrows deeply furrowed, "In fact, in my understanding, many brutal criminals are not invulnerable, it's just that our education has instilled in us a principle - don't try to understand the mentally ill."

"That's where the problem lies. Now, we need to try and understand them, empathize with them, and then find what it is they desire, so we can control their actions using these desires."

Bruce lowered his head to look at the documents spread out on the table, then said, "Once you let go of your rejection and hatred, you'll find remarkable qualities in these prisoners."

He looked up toward the window, where the hazy morning light of Colorado State traced the sides of his semi-long hair into shining gold.

"Their existence makes you realize that God intentionally created these lambs but has hidden their preciousness and fragility beneath thick wool."

"And historically, those who dared to touch them, believed in them despite their sins, loved them despite their enmity, understood them even when they themselves were misunderstood, forgave them even when betrayed, did right and was well-received by God... such a person is called... the ever-existing Lord Jesus."