"Alright, I can let you see from the contestants' perspectives. However, I cannot fully reveal their inner thoughts, and I have no way to show you Shiller's perspective because it is not a complete world of consciousness."
Bruce Wayne grunted a bit dissatisfied. Lord Superman immediately understood. Bruce was hinting that they should play good cop, bad cop, and sure enough, he heard Bruce say,
"You can pull so many souls into this space for a game, but you can't see our inner thoughts or consciousness spaces for our personality traits?"
Owen shook his head silently. Lord Superman immediately retorted, "But you must let us clearly understand what's going on, or we will definitely give you a bad review."
"Don't be so harsh, guys." Owen sighed, "I will show you as much as possible from their perspectives. However, there are some things that I can't comprehend either. If you have any special opinions, feel free to share."
Having said that, the scene on the screen started to rewind. But what they were rewinding was not the scenes in the dreamworld, but what the others had never seen - the view inside the bus during this round.
After the bus left the arena, the participants sat silently in their seats due to fatigue. However, when they looked at the driver's seat, they could see a figure with purple skin.
The previously empty driver's seat was now occupied by a short goblin with dark purple skin, sharp ears, and a big mouth that was opened wide.
At that moment, his mouth was uttering some kind of incantation. Shortly after, a purple mist floated from the driver's seat towards the back, but the seated contestants seemed oblivious. However, the moment the purple mist touched them, their eyelids were seemingly forcibly glued shut.
Apparently, this is the real reason the contestants entered the dream. The killer devil of Round 4 was already in the driver's seat, using his special ability to pull everyone into the dreamworld.
Meanwhile, images flashed across the screen, showing all the contestants standing up for the first time in the mental hospital in their dreams. Shiller stood up from the chair in his office, Batman and Natasha stood up from the bed, and Beihan stood up from a chair.
Then the perspective switched back to the physical bodies on the bus, where they started to stand up slowly.
From a head-on angle, it can be seen that none of them opened their eyes. They were still in their dreams, only their bodies, manipulated by their subconscious, stood up from their seats as the killer devil intended.
Observing this, everyone understood the Killer Devil's plan. After all, they had just heard Shiller's description of the subconscious and Batman's deductions about the hospital corridor. The perspective of the bus interior that Owen showed them confirmed that the contestants' reasoning was correct.
"They are very clever." Arthur pointed at his own temple and said, "This is a considerably abstract connection. Just professional caliber and reasoning ability aren't enough. He needs some thrilling associations."
"People may associate an apple with an apple tree, apple juice, apple pie, but if someone associates an apple with a cassette tape, that person would have to jump through a lot of associations most people wouldn't understand, which would manifest something like a sense of spirituality similar to heaven-human induction."
Arthur revealed a silent smile. He said, "It's also a kind of humor that's quite amusing."
"Especially when everyone gives you a surprised look as if you've been enlightened by God." Bruce added.
The two exchanged glances and laughed. They clearly had firsthand experience.
"Maybe that's what we mean when we say geniuses and lunatics are separated by a thin line." Constantine blew out a puff of smoke and said, "When you're not understood by ordinary people, you're a lunatic. But if your inexplicable whispers are useful to them, then you're a genius."
The scene on the screen continued to play. This time, it no longer shows the interior of the bus but focuses on the dreamworld. Specifically, it now shows what everyone cares about the most: Beihan's first-person perspective.
The camera was slightly unstable, not like some pseudo first-person films that jostle the camera a lot to imitate a person's pace. Overall, it was quite steady.
Beihan didn't wake up in the clinic like Shiller. He woke up sitting in a chair. In his field of view was a hospital bed with his photo hanging on the info board above it.
Beihan blinked his eyes. Everyone heard him whisper, "What's going on? Am I dreaming?"
Then he chuckled softly and said, "This time, finally it's not that hole."
"Wait a moment." Lord Superman yelled for a pause. He asked, "What hole? A cave?"
"It seems that he often dreams about a certain cave." Constantine raised an eyebrow, "That's pretty rare. I thought it would be about the case of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne."
Lord Superman immediately frowned, realizing that this Batman's experience might not be the same as the Batman he knew.
Clark had heard Bruce talk about his parents before, mostly about follow-up investigations and lawsuits. But he never mentioned the killer. Clark only saw the killer's photo when he was flipping through old newspapers.
Bruce seemed deep in thought. At this moment, Lord Superman looked at him. Bruce let out a sigh and said, "I'm not sure, but when I was little, our family went on a picnic in a valley on the outskirts of Gotham. While I was running in the woods, I stumbled upon a very deep cave."
"That must have been a crack left from a seismic shift, and I managed to stop myself just in time, but if I hadn't stopped, I might have fallen in."
"I was somewhat curious at the time, so I yelled into the hole, and a swarm of bats flew out, which startled me."
Bruce shrugged and said, "I guess among all the Batmen across the cosmos, some unfortunate soul must have fallen in there, and probably that unfortunate soul was me."
Everyone nodded, and Spider Man chimed in, "If I had fallen into a bat-filled hole as a child, I would've had nightmares for days. Of course, my aunt would've scolded me for days; my cousin's old clothes were in high demand."
The Batman on the screen blinked as if getting used to the scene in front of him. He stood up, walked to the head of the bed, and looked at the patient's name tag. It read Bruce Wayne along with diagnoses of schizophrenia and delusional disorder.
The audience in the projection room heard a light laugh, clearly from Batman himself, but Bruce suddenly called, "Stop."
The image froze again, and everyone turned to him, wondering why he had abruptly stopped it. Bruce explained, "He is connecting some dangerous ideas, and his mental self-protection mechanism has been activated."
"How can you tell?" both Lord Superman and Spider Man were utterly puzzled.
"He's completely awake now and is aware he's alone in the room. The act of making noises deliberately is a human instinct for self-comfort and amusement that dates back to infancy. When we do this, it means we are diverting our attention."
"Some people hum songs when they feel anxious, nervous, and scared. It can take us back to infancy, when we are in a warm, safe environment, soothing our minds."
"And if he chooses to laugh, it shows he's telling himself, hey, loosen up, there's nothing to be scared of."
Bruce responded with a tiny smile, "if we put this into context, Batman is telling himself: hey, loosen up, these are illusions created by the killer devil, not you suffering from some mental illness in the hospital."
"What does it mean?" Lord Superman asked again.
"It implies that he once suspected himself of suffering from a mental disease and needing hospitalization. He must have imagined such a scenario."
"But aren't lunatics unaware that they've gone mad?"
"That's why Shiller said he's not ill." Bruce shrugged, "It is normal for a person to worry about their mental health, assuming that they might be suffering from some form of mental illness that might warrant hospitalization. Anybody would have had such thoughts."
"The dread he expressed is even more typical. Who would think of an insane asylum as a place? Whether it's forced admission due to worsening conditions or being sent in, it would make quite the climax in any horror story."
Lord Superman agreed, deeming Bruce's reasoning valid. But he had never heard Batman from his universe complain of mental stress or anything like that. Was that abnormal?
Suddenly, a nurse came by, knocking on the door. Batman followed the medical staff to the consultation room for a routine psychological check. This led to his argument with the doctor.
"He isn't only trying to convince the doctor; he is trying to convince himself. He is setting up a mental anchor for himself." Constantine suddenly spoke up: "If it doesn't matter to him, he wouldn't argue, and if he wanted to be a lunatic, he assuredly wouldn't resist."
"Sounds like you speak from experience."
Constantine sighed, "Why would you think the mental institutions built by normal people could hold me? Despite the way they treated me, why would I stay there for a year?"
Constantine spread his hands, looking at the ceiling, "Do you know how much I wish I was just mentally ill? That all the angels, demons, and evil spirits I see are nothing more than illusions, products of my broken brain. Gosh, such a thought even beats my wildest dreams!"
"If you don't like them, why would you interact with these entities?" Lord Superman asked, frowning.
"You just don't get it," Constantine said helplessly. "Not all the evil in this world is formed by upbringing. I was born with a curse in my veins, and that curse destined my path."
"Believe it or not, even if you burned my brain now, I would still come back to life. Then you burn my brain again, or even my entire body, and I would still appear the next day as usual, obstructing your sight."
"That's why I hid in the spirit prison, to avoid situations like this. Your sense of justice can't save me. No one's sense of justice in this world can. You all should learn to let someone like me rot on our own."
Lord Superman looked visibly upset.
Bruce casually mentioned, "You know what? There's a universe where Constantine has been completely saved."
Constantine sat up straight as though jolted to life.
Bruce, however, averted his gaze, as if he hadn't said anything moments ago. Constantine was eyeing him like a hobgoblin. After an awkward pause, Bruce finally spoke.
"Someone paid his debt."
Constantine looked as if his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets. He stated emphatically: "It's impossible, no one can pay it off."
Bruce wore a mysterious smile, saying nothing.
Constantine began to feel uneasy.
On the screen, Beihan was continually debating with the doctor, citing examples from his previous conversation with Shiller, such as how to explain his exceptionally high intelligence, his knowledge of business, his understanding of mathematics and physics, which are definitely not what an ordinary mental patient would possess.
In fact, at this point, the doctor had already shown many flaws. For example, when Beihan first mentioned his experience in business, the doctor told him that he was indeed a businessman who went mad later on.
But when Beihan claimed that he also had mathematical and physical knowledge and proved it by himself, the doctor said it was his hobby. Clearly, such an academic level could not be achieved by just a hobbyist.
Eventually, the doctor's responses had become inconsistent due to Beihan's questioning. Logically, Batman would be certain that it was a woven illusion and not a true story created overnight.
Beihan, too, was Batman. Though not as extreme as the other Batmans, he did possess many of their traits. Logically, once this point was confirmed, Batman would not waste more time on this issue.
Knowing it was a game and having guessed how to play it, why not hurry up and gather clues? Why was he still fussing over this with the doctor?
But Beihan didn't. He just sat there, proving to one doctor after another that he was not mentally ill. He was Bruce Wayne and also Batman. He never suffered from schizophrenia or paranoia.
Even Spiderman and Lord Superman felt something was amiss at this point.
Batman excelled in verbal debate, but he didn't seem to enjoy it. Lord Superman shook his head, saying: "Or I think he doesn't like talking to anyone, he likes to be alone. Sometimes, I wouldn't hear him speak more than three words in a week."
"Words without the backing of power are meaningless," Bruce said while watching the screen: "What's the point of winning a debate? It's not equivalent to winning the game. In other words, even if the fictional characters call you a madman, so what? Who would argue with game characters?"
"He seems a bit paranoid." Spiderman scratched his head and said, "I am not sure how to put it, but he reminds me of a friend of my uncle. When I was a child, that friend always said he was a college student and that his son would be one too, and that his family was full of college students."
"But my uncle told me that he didn't go to college." Spiderman paused before continuing, "Later, his son didn't get into college either. I heard that he got some sort of mental disorder."
"People most emphasize what they don't have." Bruce began, "Essentially, it's a form of self-hypnosis. They remain fixated in the mindset that if they had done something differently in the past, they would be different now. This evolves into the belief that they could have been something different, then it turns into thinking they are deserved to be that, and ultimately evolves into 'this is what I am'."
"It's not hard to see that this Batman must have doubted his sanity at some point." Bruce pondered, "But he did not want to acknowledge that he had ever had such weak moments, so he wanted to prove that he had always been solidifying his existence, not fooled by any circumstances."
"I think I get it now." Spiderman wore a thoughtful expression, "He didn't just suddenly go mad. He was off from the start."
"You could say that." Bruce nodded.
"We come here at different stages of our lives, dealing with different things." Arthur said with a dark chuckle, "Maybe an infant who is a world-class tycoon will come here."
"Sorry, but you may be disappointed," Owen spoke up, "Only those capable of basic combat come here. It's pointless for an infant, who has no capacity for action, to be here."
Arthur snorted, "I understand you like to watch a good show."
The lights in the clinic remained on. Doctor after doctor came and went. Finally, even Lord Superman had had enough. He said: "If the setup is that he is a mental patient, why are these doctors arguing with him? Why can't they just drug him and send him back?"
Obviously, even the killer devil wanted to prove his truth. They were now at loggerheads.
Proof lay in the reality that no one could be as stubborn as Batman. In the end, the doctors were nearly exhausted, and Beihan naturally emerged victorious, returning to his ward.
At this point, everyone already knew the scenario on Shiller's side. Batman went to find Shiller, and they discussed Beihan's issue and decided to conduct a psychological examination on Beihan.
Later, the scene shifted to the night when Beihan simply went for it, though clearly, a part was missing in the middle.
The subsequent scene revealed what they had not seen before: how Batman persuaded Beihan to have the examination.
Probably after lunch, Beihan was looking out the door as if he wanted to talk to a nurse, but when he saw another version of himself approaching, he simply kept the door open, waiting for Batman to enter.
After Batman walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed, just as he had done at Shiller's, he said: "It seems this is the main challenge of this level."
"This really isn't much of a challenge," Beihan shook his head and said, "This deception lacks logic and is unlikely to fool anyone, they don't even bother preparing any evidence."
Batman shook his head slightly and said, "They do not need evidence, they have us trapped in here."
Then he slightly lowered his head and observed Beihan's expression. In Beihan's view, Batman appeared somewhat puzzled.
Beihan spread his hands, sat down on his bed, half-leaned on it, and put one hand behind his head, saying, "I was planning to ask the nurses for some information. Do you think we can leave by regular process?"
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple, but I think you can try," said Batman, pouring a glass of water for Beihan.
"Don't pour me water. You didn't really come to visit me." Beihan looked back at his movement and said.
Batman's movement paused for a moment, but he hid his emotions well, so Beihan couldn't see anything. He appeared as serious and grave as a corpse.
Beihan looked at Batman's face for a while but couldn't ascertain anything. He seemed a bit frustrated, let out a sigh and then said, "I'll probably head to the director's office tonight. There might be some material about this hospital. I think the secret may lie there, which could be the key for us finding a way out."
Batman did not object and just said, "Did you know that Dr. Schiller is a world-renowned psychologist?"
Beihan paused for a moment, then said, "At least not famous in my world."
"Not in mine either, but I do know he's highly competent," Batman replied.
"So what? Do you like people analyzing you psychologically?"
Batman shook his head, "But he wants to perform a psychological examination on you, or rather, he seems very interested in the psychology of all Batmen."
Despite initially planning to object, upon hearing that Schiller wanted to study the psychology of Batman, Beihan seemed less resistant.
Lord Superman stated, following the observation of people around them, "That's weird. He dislikes regular psychological examinations, but he doesn't mind being studied."
"This means that he's more against being studied, he's always been worried that the psychologist would issue him a mental hospital treatment notice," another person pointed out.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, hands on his lap, Beihan let out a sigh, "Will he go crazy if I don't agree?"
Batman showed a complex expression for a moment, but Bruce immediately decoded it, "If you agree, he might still go crazy."
Beihan, however, did not notice this complex expression. He just sat facing away from Batman, and then nodded, "Okay, not a big deal."
"You often do psychological checkups," said Batman in an affirmative tone.
"Yes, the outcome of every check isn't very different, but I dread the feeling of intrusion into my mind."
"I don't like it either, but if it can effectively ensure your mental health, then it's worth it," Batman stood up and said, "While you're still mentally healthy."
After finishing his thought, Batman left. It was clear that they had reached an agreement on this matter, though it wasn't difficult to tell Beihan was not in his normal state during the entire process. He was resistant but did not reject it outright.
This confusion was quite strange. If a word had to be used to describe it, it would be a contradictory resistance. It seemed like he did not like psychology examinations but also longed for them. This paradoxical feeling was felt by everyone present.
"I guess he must be at a crossroads in his life," Constantine suggested while touching his lips, "He has realized that there are problems, but he hopes there is no problem, or at least hopes that other people wouldn't see them. But he also hopes that either he himself or someone else can resolve these problems."
"What could the problem be?" Lord Superman turned to Bruce.
After some contemplation, Bruce came to a conclusion, "He's considering whether to abandon Bruce Wayne."
Lord Superman and Spider Man both showed puzzled expressions, but Arthur laughed, "As per his own words, those versions of himself who couldn't survive past disasters were abandoned."
"Apparently, Bruce Wayne either couldn't get past the last disaster, or just barely managed to. He is deliberating whether or not to abandon the identity of Bruce Wayne and truly become Batman."
"What's the difference between the two?" asked Lord Superman.
"Bruce Wayne is an emotionally normal person, while Batman is an unfeeling god, a machine executing justice, the eternal Dark Knight of Gotham," came the reply.