The early spring in southwestern France is still somewhat humid and chilly, and the tender grass buds that have just sprouted on the large meadows on the left bank of the Dordogne River are bent down by the dew.
Expensive suit fabrics would condense with moisture in such air within half an hour. It was rare that Schiller did not put on his suit jacket as soon as he got up. Instead, he wore a white shirt and dark brown vest, without a tie.
Prevent your expensive formal wear from getting wet with moisture and becoming less straight before the party.
This is a holiday villa located between a private winery and grape fields. It was temporarily loaned to Schiller by a wine collector whom he met at a banquet in Montreal.
Although Schiller felt that he could also go to the mansion in the city, meeting his old friends in France and Italy would be unjustifiable without bringing some gifts. The nearby winery just happened to be able to buy red wine as gifts.
The original Schiller had many friends in Europe due to the age in which he lived and the nature of his work. They were distributed in various industries. In addition to exchanges in academic circles, he also maintained good relations with aristocrats, celebrities, wealthy families and other upper-class people in the old world.
Relationship.
In their view, Schiller spent the past few years absent from social interaction in Gotham, immersed in academic research. The papers he published in the past few years related to criminal psychology also support this, so his status in the academic circle
It has not declined, on the contrary, it has improved, or the image has changed.
The original Schiller's social line was more popular. He maintained good relationships with everyone he knew. People thought he was calm, reliable and worth making friends with.
Then this steady, reliable, and powerless scholar plunged into a manure pit and swam butterfly for five years and then came out with no trouble, which greatly changed Schiller's friends' views on him.
But this is also convenient for Schiller. After all, if he accidentally shows aggression that he has never shown before, it can be explained that the hardships in Gotham have changed him.
The quality of Schiller's social circle was very high. After traveling around the United States, Schiller became more and more sure that he made the right choice to socialize. Most of the people he met had common topics with him, except
Apart from academics, they are also relatively compatible in terms of personal hobbies and lifestyle.
This actually made Schiller feel a little confused. He didn't feel that he was very similar to the original Schiller, nor did he think that their friendship orientation would tend to be the same. However, the friends he left behind did fully satisfy Schiller's social needs.
needs.
Schiller walked along the stairs to the first floor and rolled up the cuffs of his shirt as he walked toward the kitchen island.
He might have to live here for a while, so he checked the utensils in the kitchen in advance and found that all kinds of kitchen utensils were complete, so he went to the nearest farmer's supermarket to buy some and filled up the refrigerator.
All Schillers can cook, which is an important criterion for self-care ability. When he was vacationing on the island with Hal and Oliver, Schiller cooked with local materials and returned to a civilized kitchen.
Cooking becomes easier.
The ingredients in the farmer's supermarket are very fresh, but there are not many types. Most of them are root foods that are relatively easy to preserve. Fortunately, there are freshly slaughtered beef and mutton, bacon and goat cheese. There is still a bottle of Schiller left in the cabinet that has been opened but there is no
Finished red wine.
So he decided to make a red wine osso bucco, a baked potato wedge, a cheese and bacon macaroni and alkaline bread. Due to the lack of vegetables, Schiller decided to squeeze vegetable juice instead of drinking coffee.
Schiller quickly finished preparing the dishes, but the dishes placed on the plate were far more than enough for one person. He had visitors this morning, so he made an extra portion.
Wrap the kneaded dough into a German knot shape, take out the freshly baked potato wedges, wipe the baking sheet, and then put the bread baking sheet into the oven. Schiller, who was about to finish cooking, stood in the center of the kitchen and thought about it, and finally decided
Make a cup of coffee.
There were no sophisticated coffee machines here, and there was no butler on call, so Schiller decided to use a coffee pot. Just as he was opening the cupboard to look for coffee beans, the doorbell rang.
Schiller wiped his hands with a towel, walked to the door and opened it. Standing outside was Bruce Wayne. "Come in." Schiller opened the door wider.
Bruce walked in and smelled the aroma of baking bread. Schiller poured the freshly baked potato wedges onto a plate and placed them on the island in the center.
"Fortunately, I didn't expect you to bring red wine." Schiller said as he took out a bottle of red wine from the cabinet above, placed the glass in front of Bruce and said, "Even though there are three wineries within ten miles of here.
"
"My bank card has been frozen." Bruce took a potato wedge and put it in his mouth and said: "I checked the backend of the Federal Reserve and found that the federal financial situation was in jeopardy just to deal with Thomas, so no money was borrowed.
Schiller poured a glass of red wine for Bruce and turned around to grate the cheese. He turned his back to Bruce and asked without looking back: "How are the birds doing?"
"they are very good."
"Have you tried to make them better?" "Of course, but I'm not in a hurry to get to that part."
Bruce picked up another potato wedge and put it in his mouth, took a sip of the red wine that Schiller had just poured, and then asked, "How was your trip?"
"Not bad. Now about half of the new world and one-third of the old world are happy to hear the news of your outstanding graduation. "It's my honor."
Schiller placed the shredded cheese on the plate at the top of the page. Bruce stretched his head to the side, saw Schiller's action, and said, "I don't want cheese for my portion."
"Tell us about the Robins," Schiller continued.
"There's nothing to say." Bruce recalled briefly while holding the wine glass, and then said: "After you told me the news that they were coming in the tower, I slightly modified my image."
"In what way should I modify it?"
"As different as possible from Batman." Bruce picked the potato wedges on the plate with a fork and continued: "Create a sense of contrast so that they find that they cannot deal with the social world of this universe in the same way as Batman, so
They will want to know what method is appropriate."
"You lured them out on a night trip to investigate?"
"No, I need to lift their psychological defenses in a short time, so a more dangerous environment may be needed."
"Alternating stimulation?"
"Yes, I know that if I show that I really want them to sleep, they will doubt my purpose, so when I leave Wayne Manor in the middle of the night, the most impatient one among them will follow directly
I."
"I thought it would be Jason who came, but I didn't expect that the biological son of Batman from the universe has a completely opposite temperament to him. But it doesn't matter. They will eventually track Batman to the East District anyway."
"What's the first big scare you give them? Positive feedback or negative feedback?"
Bruce covered his mouth with his hands and said vaguely: "I've thought about positive feedback. I know Dick likes this. If I show him the good living environment of the children in the East End, he should be attracted to me."
resonance."
"But your plan to lure them out for investigation excludes Nightwing. In any case, he is also the most stable of all Robins, and he is the least likely to follow you in a hurry."
"Yes, because I later thought that as long as he can understand my career, he can understand me. There is no rush, but the other two may need some impact."
"clown?"
Bruce nodded and said: "There is no elephant in the room, but if I put one in, no one can ignore it. This is to strengthen their sense of strangeness in the social environment and thereby weaken their sense of security."
"So what do you do next to solidify that excitement?"
"New Arkham Asylum." Bruce picked up a potato wedge with a fork, but turned it over without eating it, and continued: "I know that Harley has a habit of defaulting on homework, so I deliberately removed the pancreas.
and making body parts were laid out one day, and a few days ago, on the grounds that her original classroom needed repairs, the place where she did her homework was moved to the only way up the stairs."
"Two young men who don't know the rules of Arkham's operation will definitely cause a lot of trouble." Schiller shook his head, took the bread out of the oven, processed it, and put it in again for baking.
.
"That's right, they provoked a dozen serial killers along the way, and as expected, they were dragged in by Harley when they passed by her door."
"But what Hallie is doing shouldn't be impactful enough, right? As long as you have a little medical education background, you can adapt quickly." Schiller started to handle the vegetables and said.
"Yes." Bruce nodded again and continued: "But I learned in advance that Beelzebub's daughter will hold a wedding, and all his demon generals are vying to present the treasure."
"I broke the news in hell that there is a cherished sinful heart in Gotham. It was dug out by Harley and Victor before. I took a look before."
"The devils want to buy it, but they can't find me, so they can only go to Constantine. It's not difficult to dig out the sinner's heart, but it's difficult to preserve it. Constantine must be able to think of a way for humans to preserve the sinner's heart besides magic.
Other than that, the only thing left is dense ice. If he finds Victor, he can find Harley."
Schiller paused while putting vegetables into the juicer and asked: "Did Constantine summon the devil?" "No, one of Constantine's magician friends summoned the devil."
"And when their negotiations reached an impasse, you stood up?" Schiller looked back at Bruce and asked, he thought for a moment and then said: "Did you want to use the devil's attitude towards you to deter them?··
...No, maybe you want to show them how the new Arkham Asylum works?"
Bruce nodded.
"Brilliant." Schiller commented: "It's no wonder that I let almost the entire psychology community know about your outstanding graduation.
"I can show them the changes in Gotham's light, but since they can better understand Gotham's Dark Knight, they will definitely understand and admire the means of fighting darkness with darkness."
"But light is necessary." Schiller placed the meal and vegetable juice on the island, sat opposite Bruce, and looked into his eyes.
"Yes, so today I asked Lex to adjust the clearing time a little earlier, so that they will realize that my dark methods are effective and not just a lunatic's self-entertainment."
"They are used to admiring people who use dark means to achieve light goals, such as Batman, so they put me in a high position."
"Very good, only the last step remains."
"I pretended to be unwell, handed over important tasks to them, affirmed them in a condescending manner, and at the same time bound them to an environment with guilt and responsibility so that they could not leave.
"Then continue..."
"The birds are going to have a hard time..." Bruce said with a raised eyebrow.
Schiller picked up the wine glass, and Bruce also picked up the glass and touched it lightly with him. Schiller's voice echoed in the empty morning by the river.