On a gloomy morning, the stone road that had just rained was covered with muddy traces. One pair of feet stepped on it and hurried to the destination.
It can be seen from their leather shoes and trousers that the people walking on the road are not Gotham University students, but teachers and staff.
The air quality in Gotham is the best in the early morning. Professors who have passed the age of sleeping in often choose to get up early and go to the faculty cafeteria for dinner.
Although most of Gotham University's teaching facilities are relatively old, for a restaurant, this is considered a classic.
The restaurant adheres to the European style, with a strong retro atmosphere, thick carpets, complicated carved edges, silver tableware, and swaying candlelight. It has a special style that is not found in all American universities on the east coast.
A pair of leather shoes stepped on the threshold, but no waiter came to lay the carpet. The owner of the shoes stepped on the carpet without caring. When the remaining rainwater under his feet was absorbed by the carpet, he strode in.
The bell placed on the reception counter rang, and a fat black lady wearing an apron and a floral headscarf came out. When she saw the visitor, she smiled enthusiastically and said: "Oh, Bruce,
You came really early. What do you want to have today? Or don’t you want a pre-dinner drink?"
Bruce lifted the hem of his suit, put his hands into his trouser pockets, leaned on the counter and said, "Yes, I have to come to school to do some errands this morning, so I came here to have breakfast. I want two pieces of bread before dinner. No.
Let’s cook some vegetables and have some salad.”
The black lady rolled her eyelids, stared at Bruce with her brown pupils and said, "Stop joking, our handsome guy, even if he has two portions of pre-dinner bread, that little salad won't be enough to feed anyone! The food here is certainly better than
It’s not as good as what you eat at home, but it’s not so much that you can’t eat it, right?”
"You misunderstood, madam." Bruce smiled at her, shining under the candlelight. He continued to smile and said: "I had a midnight snack last night and I can't eat anything now. Please give me a salad."
Oh, right……"
Bruce's hand was still holding the edge of the counter, but he took two steps forward and glanced into the depths of the restaurant. After seeing the familiar figure, he turned back and asked: "I want to ask, who
What did the professor order today?"
"You mean Professor Rodriguez?" The black lady also took a look, and then said: "As usual, a small vegetable salad, baked potatoes with fish fillets, warmer cream soup, and a small cup.
liqueur."
"Is there broccoli in the salad greens?" Bruce asked.
The black lady tilted her neck back hard, her eyes widened, and she looked at Bruce with great surprise and said: "Oh my God! Don't let him hear your crazy talk! Why is this in the vegetable salad?"
Got broccoli?”
"I mean, did he stress to you that broccoli was in the dish?"
"Does this need to be emphasized?" The black lady shook her head and said, "The whole world knows that he doesn't eat broccoli. Even when we pass the dishes, if there is broccoli on the plate, we have to walk around him. I can't
Don’t want our poor refrigerator to take another two bullets.”
Bruce's expression brightened at a speed visible to the naked eye. He snapped his fingers to the black lady and said, "He and I will share a table. You can just bring the dishes there."
After saying that, Bruce walked towards Schiller. Seeing that Schiller was wearing a familiar black suit today, Bruce walked to the opposite side of him without thinking, pulled out a chair and sat down.
Without even raising his eyes, Schiller was cutting the baked potatoes on the plate with a knife, and then arranging each piece of potato with exactly the same volume neatly.
Seeing this scene, Bruce's expression became more relaxed. He leaned back slightly and asked the waiter who was passing the dishes to place the plate in front of him. He nodded to the waiter, then looked at Schiller and said: "
Good morning, professor."
Bruce reached out and took the knife and fork from the side, but accidentally knocked the vase beside him. Schiller first looked up at the vase, and then moved his eyes to Bruce's face.
"I really don't understand what you are so happy about." Schiller shook his head and said while playing with the food on the plate.
Just as Bruce was about to open his mouth, Schiller got in front of him and said quickly: "Yes, I heard it. Thank you for your concern. I am very touched."
Bruce stared into Schiller's eyes, but did not see any emotional changes, so his words sounded very strange. Sure enough, Schiller then said: "...but you are so stupid that it gives me a headache, especially you."
Bruce lowered his head without saying a word and began to fiddle with the vegetables on the plate. In fact, he had already reacted and was silent because he felt guilty.
"Bruce Wayne." Schiller leaned forward, called his name, and then said:
"Is there any substantive evidence that can prove that I have eaten people before?"
"Batman, please tell me, since when did you start being so careless about substantive evidence?"
Bruce chopped up the large pieces of lettuce on the plate with a knife and fork, shook his head slightly, and then looked up at Schiller. Schiller sighed deeply and asked: "When do you think you started to fall into this trap?"
A trap?"
"At the Falcone family's banquet."
"That's a big mistake." Schiller raised his lips, exposed his teeth, looked at Bruce with a ferocious expression and said, "What kind of informant would subpoena Gordon that someone was going to attack Falcone?"
Taking action at a family banquet? When did Gotham people trust the police so much???"
Bruce held his breath and kept cutting the vegetables on the plate. Schiller tapped the plate with the tip of his knife and said, "If you're not hungry, put the tableware down."
"It was you who subpoenaed Gordon, telling him that someone was going to do something at Falcone's party. You know that I understand that this matter is very important, and I will definitely focus on preventing possible murders, so it is about your attention.
, was transferred." Bruce slowly put down the tableware, put his hands on his body and analyzed.
Schiller did not continue to speak, but listened to his analysis.
"At the banquet, the first time you appeared, I realized that it was not you, but your other personality, and it was more dangerous and crazy than you."
"What supports you in making this judgment?"
"Your expression and temperament." Bruce replied: "The direction of your facial muscles, your eyes, and the way you dress."
Schiller lowered his eyes, sighed softly and said, "When have I ever brought a gift to a banquet? Or is it a cliché gift like red wine?"
Bruce pursed his lips and tilted his head to one side. Schiller took a mouthful of fish and looked at him and said, "Go on."
"The murder still happened, but the murderer used the television as a medium to convey his ideas, and then, and then..." Bruce pursed his lips tightly, turning the corners of his mouth downwards, looking very serious, but his tone was intermittent.
"When you say, 'Human flesh doesn't taste like this,' my first reaction is that I don't believe it," Bruce emphasized.
"Then why didn't you confirm your first reaction?" Schiller asked, staring into his eyes, but before Bruce could answer, Schiller inserted a piece of potato into his mouth and said:
"Because you have been given hint after hint, because the seeds of fear have taken root and sprouted in your heart. There is a gardener who is constantly watering it to make it grow vigorously, but you have completely lost your judgment and are like a bird that has been trapped.
Tie the lamb by the neck and follow it to the butcher's knife."
Bruce pressed his forehead with his hand and said in a low tone: "Then came the discussion between you and Valentine. For the first time, you expressed your own ideas. People will not pour out their emotions like pigs. Just
It’s like you can’t see those ordinary people.”
"I admit that this theory is a bit shocking." Bruce supported his head with one hand and said: "I also admit that I am interested in this. This is a simple trap, but I just go straight.
Come in."
"Arousing your interest is only the first step." Schiller continued: "This is not even a trap at all. It can only be said to be bait, or even the appetizer of the bait."
"Because of this theory, I became very interested in your personality." Bruce remained motionless and said, "I want to know why he is so abnormal, so cold, heartless and cruel."
"So, I threw myself into a trap." Bruce picked up the fork again and began to poke the lettuce on the plate. His movements were very fast and he looked very anxious. His Adam's apple moved, and then said: "He told me that he was'
"Ill", and there is an obvious trap in this, but I didn't find it."
"He placed himself in a higher position, and as soon as he came up, he used you, who I am most familiar with, as a reference to show that he is a higher existence than you. This is like those people in phone scams
, always like to say they have business dealings with Wayne Group."
"Then, you brought up the old story again and brought the topic back to the difference between humans and pigs. But this time, you went one step further and said that you don't like eating pork, which shows that you have no interest in ordinary people, and this once again triggered
caught my curiosity."
When Bruce said this, he was already a little unable to speak. He picked up the water glass next to him and drank some water. After a long pause, he reluctantly said: "You didn't say at all that you wanted to kill and eat the serial killer."
They, but I figured everything out myself.”
"Moreover, I verified this answer with the details found in my mind one by one. After I found that everything was correct, I became even more convinced." Bruce pressed his hand between his eyebrows, closed his eyes and sighed: "
It’s an old-fashioned brainwashing method, only used in Ponzi schemes.”
"Then there was the first armed conflict." Schiller said: "This is the part I don't understand the most, why can't you defeat him?!"
"He moved too fast, I didn't react." Bruce shook his head and said, but Schiller looked into his eyes and said, "Because you were dragged into his thinking space and thought that all your conflicts were just happening.
In thinking, he makes your thinking highly exciting and there is no idle time.”
"The overflowing thoughts squeeze the alarm part of your brain and make you lose your vigilance. You instinctively think that the surrounding environment is safe. But if you can free yourself a little bit, you will understand the situation at that time.
How dangerous.”
"Your thoughts are so filled that your reason cannot tell you that you were in my office at that time, face to face with a dangerous personality, and you had no idea whether he would take action."
"Because he said too many ambiguous words and left too many mysteries for you to guess, making it impossible for you to break away from that kind of thinking in a short period of time, so he was able to succeed in the sneak attack."
"Batman, look at the muscles you have gained from extensive training, think about your precise shooting skills, and touch the batarang on your waist. If you don't get distracted and don't use special abilities, how can I beat you?