Chapter 4120: Chapter 329: The Detective Will Die (43)

Batman discovered that the Schiller before him seemed quite different from the majority of Schillers.

Long ago, he'd known that this doctor from another cosmos had a very peculiar form of existence, possessing many different personality traits, the differences between which were even greater than those between individual humans.

But this new personality trait that had appeared before him refreshed his view once again.

The seemingly distinct personality traits of the past always had some common ground and carried a special, mysterious undertone, elusive and incomprehensible, so despite their differences, one could still feel they were the same person.

However, this Schiller seemed to lack that mysterious quality; it might be that he had hidden it, deliberately presenting himself this way, or it could be that he was indeed different from the other Schillers.

Batman didn't know which was the case but he realized he might be in some trouble, for Schiller was now very interested in him.

Although Batman considered Schiller a friend and their collaborations were usually pleasant, he also had to admit that arousing Schiller's interest was not a good thing.

The love and hate of a madman are dangerous, but curiosity and the desire to explore are the most dangerous, and Batman was more aware of this than anyone else.

Batman knew that in his acquaintance with Arrogance, he had almost never sparked Arrogance's genuine interest, as Arrogance had some understanding beyond the facts about him and seemed convinced he had nothing new to offer.

Indeed, Batman had never shown any traits resembling a puzzle before Arrogance. He had always been consistent, and his logic and style in doing things did not change whether he knew Schiller or not.

Batman was never a surprise; he was not the kind of gift that pops out of a box to gasps of astonishment, and his friends also felt there was no need to explore or dig into him. This was intentional on Batman's part.

Saving the world was already exhausting enough; he didn't have the energy to deal with the constant probing and testing from the people around him, so he let them think he was inflexible and always the same, to avoid many meaningless social interactions.

Yet this time he had miscalculated. After he spoke those words to the new Schiller, he clearly piqued his interest, and the other party seemed eager to understand something, the intensity in his gaze reminding Batman of the laser beams Clark Kent's eyes could shoot.

Naturally, it also reminded Batman of some particularly troublesome agents he had dealt with in the past.

When the word "Agent" came to Batman's mind, he immediately pinned it on the felt board marked for important things with a thumbtack, highly suspecting that this new personality trait might have once been involved in the work similar to that of an agent.

What's most important for an agent?

Some might think it's a cautious personality, others might consider it high martial prowess, and still others would say it resembles the reasoning skills of a detective or the unfeeling interrogation techniques of a lawyer.

But Batman was clear that for an agent, the most important thing was a temperament that made them approachable.

This allowed an agent to chat with a neighbor about the weather while leaning on a car or strike up a conversation with a waiter in a café, talk with a mall security guard during a parking lull, or knock on the door of any community house under the guise of making a sale.

Although there are certainly some agents who specifically move through the upper classes, attracting others with their unique charm and beauty, such as the famous Black Widow Natasha, these agents are in the minority; most agents derive their intelligence from those seemingly insignificant and inconspicuous ordinary people.

Because ordinary people are completely unguarded yet ubiquitous, akin to a vast number of easily penetrable cameras, no interrogation is necessary, and a lot of useful information can be obtained by simply chatting, as long as one can blend in with ordinary folk, almost no information is unattainable.

Batman felt this kind of aura in this Schiller. He wasn't as distant as the other Schillers, and upon closer inspection, there was always something blurred and unclear.

He seemed knowing yet understanding, one could see right through him with a glance, and even that probing sentiment was not concealed. Such an openly emotional person always makes others feel they are easy to interact with.

In social interactions, there's a "mirror theory," which is that the person you're interacting with will unconsciously imitate your behavior—if you're rational, they're rational; if you're emotional, they're emotional.

The basis for this theory is grounded in the human instinct to mimic others in a group, a behavior rooted in humanity's social characteristics, where to assimilate into a group, an individual will instinctively emulate others to appear more like a member of the community.

Building on this, when you want to obtain something from someone, you can start the interaction in the desired direction, which will guide the other party unconsciously to mirror you, thereby granting what you wish to receive.

For example, if you want to know about the recent sorrows of others, you need to first show sensitivity and vulnerability, bringing the conversation into an emotional atmosphere before gradually eliciting the other's sorrows.

Batman felt that Schiller was also making use of this principle or had once intentionally crafted such an image for himself to facilitate gathering information. He wondered how many people he had led astray.

Batman didn't think he would be one of them because, in fact, in his day-to-day life, everyone around him was like this, not as an act, but genuinely very emotional, with Clark Kent being a representative figure.

Through the cumulative practice over time, Batman had grown quite adept at immunizing himself against such gazes—the condition being to avoid looking at Schiller's face.

Having the face of a doctor and using the eyes of Clark to look at him was just too weird, and Batman somewhat wanted to end this conversation.

But reason told him he couldn't because there were still many things left unanalyzed; they were currently at a disadvantage, and if they didn't seize this opportunity to devise a viable plan of action, turning the tables would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Batman turned back again, but still didn't look into Shiller's eyes, instead fixating on the final scene of the video displayed on the computer screen, "Joker is not a madman. He recorded this video for me. While it was to have me witness a tragedy, that wasn't his ultimate goal."

Shiller retracted his gaze and nodded, "Indeed. If it was just to disgust you for a moment, there would be no need for such an elaborate setup. I think what he really wanted was to tell you through this video that there was something wrong with Jenny."

"What I want to know is, what were you originally thinking when you fabricated the Hoff family's story? What did you intend to do with this family's tale?"

"You always get straight to the point." Batman finally returned to his familiar rhythm, continuing, "In the original Hoff family story, there were only two important characters: Hoff himself and his eldest son's bride-to-be."

"That woman?" Shiller furrowed his brow, "What's so special about her?"

"She's an outsider," Batman stated. "And not from a nearby town, but from a big city. She's highly educated and has a clear understanding of the world's situation."

"I see, you were hoping to understand this world through her. But how could you be sure she would tell you?"

"Do you remember? In my scenario, I too had spent time in a big city and had quite an extraordinary past."

"You created that woman to be one of your old friends?"

"Exactly. I suspect Greed did the same with Madeline; we can concoct our own background stories, but we can never truly know what others have concocted. Hence, we all need a gateway to understand the setting of the entire world—Doris and Madeline play such roles."

"Her name was Doris?"

"Yes."

"But how did you arrange for her to marry Hoff's eldest son plausibly? Their social classes should have had no intersection, right?"

"Doris also had a story. She was a somewhat famous lawyer who had offended some powerful figures in a case and had to flee to a yacht. At that time, Hoff's eldest son was working on the yacht as a sailor; he saved her life, and that brought them together."

"So you're saying Doris came to this village, in part, to escape disaster?"

"Yes, they might have had some feelings for each other, but it was more a relationship of mutual benefit."

Shiller remembered the way Doris died. In the Hoff family, other people's wounds were clearly man-made, but Doris's situation looked strange; it seemed as if her abdomen had exploded from the inside out.

The fish found in her stomach were also unusual; it appeared that she too was one of Siltex Company's experimental subjects, as if the Transcendent had connected the stories written by Batman and Greed.

"You just set Doris up as having offended someone, without specifying who?"

Batman evidently thought the same, nodding, "Exactly, I was pressed for time and could only state the key points. The details were not well-developed, which is why I suspect that the game manipulator might have filled in Doris's story details through Greed's story."

"That means the big city Doris came from could also be in Connecticut, and she may have crossed someone from the Siltex Medical Insurance Company," Shiller murmured to himself, lost in thought.

"She could have linked all of our stories together," Batman hypothesized more daringly. "Creating connections between each narrative, eventually forming one coherent clue."

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off for Shiller, and he stared intently at Batman, "You said Doris was a lawyer??"

Batman nodded.

"If she had gotten into trouble because of a case, specifically with Siltex, do you think it could have been the case with Madeline?"

Batman instantly linked all the clues in his mind, "That peculiar Joker was also a lawyer, could he have known Doris?"

The two men exchanged a look, almost simultaneously grasping that fleeting butterfly within the heart of the storm.

"Years ago, Madeline lived in poverty because her family was victimized and she could not secure the insurance payout from Siltex Medical Insurance Company. After attending college, she began investigating the truth behind the case, hoping to make Siltex Medical Insurance Company pay the price."

"But she wasn't a law major, and the terms of most American health insurance companies can only be understood by professional lawyers, so she had to seek legal help. That's when she approached Doris's legal team, hoping to collaborate with them to take down this behemoth."

"Doris took on her case, but during the investigation, she discovered the unspeakable secrets of Silter Medical Company. She sought the help of the pale knight who played the role of a lawyer colleague but ultimately could not withstand the pressure from the medical tycoon and had to flee for the time being."

"Later, she met Hoff's eldest son on the yacht and came to this obscure village with him, hoping that life here could shield her from her past shadows."

"But Madeline, who hadn't given up hope, followed the clues she had unearthed to this place, hoping to gather more evidence to expose Siltex or simply to teach them a lesson here."

"And the pale knight, having once been involved in the case and either out of interest in the case or simply in Doris herself, also came here..."

comment 0 comment

Vote

SEND GIFT

Load failed, please RETRY