Chapter 1163: Teacher and Student (Part 1)

On a somewhat gloomy morning, the slate road that had just finished raining was covered with muddy traces. One pair of feet after another stepped on it, rushing toward their destination.

From their leather shoes and trouser legs, it could be seen that those walking on the road were not students of Cat Getan University, but teachers and staff.

In the early morning of Cat Getan, the air quality is the best. These professors who have passed the age of sleeping in often choose to get up early and head to the faculty restaurant to eat.

Although most of the teaching facilities at Cat Getan University are relatively old, for a restaurant, this is instead considered classic.

The restaurant, which upholds the European style, carries a heavy retro atmosphere—heavy carpets, complex carved edges, silver tableware, swaying candlelight—and has a special style that no other university in the eastern United States has.

A pair of leather shoes stepped on the threshold, but no waiter came to lay out the carpet. The owner of the shoes also stepped on the carpet without caring, and after the residual rainwater under his feet was absorbed by the carpet, he strode in.

The bell placed on the reception counter was rung. A fat black lady wearing an apron and a floral headscarf came out. As soon as she saw who it was, she revealed a very enthusiastic smile and said, "Oh, Bruce, you came early enough. What would you like to have today? Still no pre-meal wine?"

Bruce pulled open the hem of his suit jacket, put both hands into his trouser pockets, leaned on the counter, and said, "Yes, I have something to do at school this morning, so I'll solve breakfast here. Give me two portions of pre-meal bread, no boiled vegetables, just give me some salad."

The black lady rolled her eyes, stared at Bruce with brown pupils, and said, "Oh, stop joking, our handsome guy. Even with two portions of pre-meal bread, that little salad won't feed anyone! The food here is definitely not as good as what you eat at home, but it's not to the point where you can't swallow it, right?"

"You misunderstood, ma'am." Bruce smiled at her, shining with luster in the candlelight. He continued to smile and said, "I had a late-night snack last night, so I can't eat anything now. Please give me a salad. Oh, by the way..."

Bruce's hand was still gripping the edge of the counter, but he took two steps forward and looked into the depths of the restaurant. After seeing that familiar figure, he turned back and asked, "I want to ask, what dishes did that professor order today?"

"You mean Professor Rodriguez?" The black lady also peeked and then said, "Same old thing: a small portion of vegetable salad, baked potato with fish fillet, cream soup made a bit hotter, and a small glass of liqueur."

"Is there broccoli in the vegetable salad?" Bruce asked.

The black lady tilted her neck back hard, widened her eyes, and looked at Bruce with an incomparably surprised gaze, saying, "My God! Don't let him hear your crazy talk! How could there be broccoli in a vegetable salad?"

"I mean, did he emphasize to you whether there should be broccoli in the dish?"

"Does this still need to be emphasized?" The black lady shook her head and said, "The whole world knows he doesn't eat broccoli. Even when we are serving dishes, if there is broccoli on the plate, we have to walk around him. I don't want our poor refrigerator to be shot twice again."

Bruce's expression brightened at a speed visible to the naked eye. He snapped his fingers at the black lady and said, "I'm sharing a table with him. You can just send the dishes there."

After finishing, Bruce walked toward Shiler. Seeing that Shiler was wearing his familiar black suit today, Bruce walked to the opposite side of him without thinking and pulled out a chair to sit down.

Shiler didn't even raise his eyes. He was using a knife to cut open the baked potato on the plate, and then arranged every piece of potato, which was completely consistent in volume, neatly.

Seeing this scene, Bruce's expression relaxed even more. He leaned his body backward slightly, let the serving waiter put the plate in front of him, nodded to the waiter, and then looked at Shiler and said, "Good morning, Professor."

Bruce reached out to take the knife and fork from the side, but accidentally tilted the vase placed on the side. Shiler first raised his eyes to look at the vase, and then moved his gaze to Bruce's face.

"I really don't understand what exactly you are so happy about." Shiler shook his head and said while fiddling with the food on the plate.

Bruce just wanted to open his mouth, but Shiler grabbed the lead and said in a fast-paced voice: "Yes, I heard it. Thank you for your concern. I am very moved."

Bruce stared into Shiler's eyes, but didn't see any emotional change, so his words sounded very much like sarcasm. Sure enough, Shiler continued: "—but you guys are stupid enough to give me a headache, especially you."

Bruce lowered his head without saying a word and began to fiddle with the vegetables on the plate. Actually, he had already reacted, because he had a guilty conscience, so he was silent.

"Bruce Wei En." Shiler leaned his body forward, called his name, and then said:

"Is there any substantial evidence that can prove I have eaten people before?"

"Batman, may I ask, since when did you become so unconcerned about substantial evidence?"

Bruce used the knife and fork to cut the large pieces of lettuce on the plate, shook his head gently, and only then raised his eyes to look at Shiler. Shiler sighed deeply and asked, "When do you think you started falling into the trap?"

"At the banquet of the Falcone family."

"Wrong, completely wrong." Shiler lifted his lip, revealed his teeth, and looked at Bruce with a somewhat ferocious expression, saying: "What kind of informant would send a message to Gordon saying that someone was going to make a move at the Falcone family's banquet? When did Cat Getan people ever trust the police so much???"

Bruce held his breath and kept cutting the vegetables on the plate. Shiler tapped the plate with the tip of the knife and said: "If you aren't hungry, put down the tableware."

"You sent a message to Gordon, telling him that someone would make a move at Falcone's banquet. You knew that I understood this matter was of great importance and would definitely concentrate my attention to guard against the possible murder case, so your attention was diverted." Bruce slowly put down the tableware and analyzed with his hands on his body.

Shiler didn't continue to speak either, but listened to his analysis.

"At the banquet, the first time you appeared, I realized that it wasn't you, but another personality of yours, and it was more dangerous and crazy than you."

"What supported you in making this judgment?"

"Your expression and temperament." Bruce replied: "The direction of facial muscles, eyes, dress, and appearance."

Shiler lowered his eyelids, sighed gently, and said: "When have I ever brought a gift to a banquet? Or a cliché gift like red wine?"

Bruce pursed his lips and turned his head to one side. Shiler ate a piece of fish meat and looked at him, saying: "Continue."

"The murder case still happened, but the perpetrator used the television as a medium to convey his philosophy. Immediately after, immediately after..." Bruce's mouth was pursed very tightly, the corners of his mouth turned downward, appearing very serious, but his tone was intermittent.

"When you said 'human flesh doesn't taste like this,' my first reaction was not to believe it." Bruce emphasized.

"Then why didn't you stick to your first reaction?" Shiler asked, staring into his eyes. But before Bruce could answer, Shiler said while inserting a piece of potato into his mouth:

"Because you suffered one layer of suggestion after another. Because the seeds of fear took root and sprouted in your heart, and a gardener was constantly watering them, letting them grow sturdily, while you completely lost your own judgment, like a lamb with its neck tied, following it toward the butcher's knife."

Bruce pressed his forehead with his hand, his tone low, and said: "Immediately after, it was your discussion with Valentine. You stated your philosophy for the first time: people don't pour emotions into pigs, just as if you can't see those normal people."

"I admit, this theory is somewhat shocking." Bruce said, supporting his head with one hand: "It's a simple trap, but I walked straight into it."

"Attracting your interest is just the first step." Shiler continued his words: "This doesn't even count as a trap; it can only be called bait, or even the appetizer for the bait."

"Because of this theory, I became extremely interested in that personality of yours." Bruce kept one posture without moving and said: "I wanted to know why he was so abnormal, so cold, ruthless, and cruel."

"So, I threw myself into the net." Bruce picked up the fork again and began to poke the lettuce on the plate. The frequency of his movements was fast, appearing very anxious. His Adam's apple moved, and he continued: "He told me he was 'pathological,' and there was another obvious trap in this, which I didn't discover."

"He placed himself in a higher position, and it was from the start, using you, whom I am most familiar with, as a reference, indicating that he was an existence higher than you. This is just like those people in telephone scams who always like to say they have business dealings with the Wei En Group."

"And afterward, you brought up the old matter again, leading the topic back to the difference between people and pigs, but this time, you went a step further, saying you weren't interested in eating pork, indicating you had no interest in normal people, and this once again aroused my curiosity."

By the time Bruce said this, he couldn't go on anymore. He picked up the water glass beside him and drank a few mouthfuls of water, paused for a long time, and then barely managed to say: "You didn't say at all that you wanted to kill serial killers and eat them, but I brain-filled everything myself."

"And, I also verified the details I found in my brain one by one, and after finding that they all matched, I became even more convinced." Bruce pressed his brow bone with his hand, closed his eyes, and sighed, saying: "No more old-fashioned brainwashing method, exclusive to Ponzi schemes."

"Immediately after, it was the first violent conflict." Shiler said: "This is the part I don't understand the most. Why couldn't you beat him?!"

"His movements were too fast, I didn't react." Bruce shook his head, but Shiler looked into his eyes and said: "Because you were dragged into the thinking space by him, thinking that all your conflicts were happening in thinking. He made your thinking highly excited, with no spare time."

"The flooding thoughts squeezed the part of your brain that reports to the police, making you lose your vigilance. You instinctively thought the surrounding environment was safe, but if you could have had a little bit of thinking break free, you would have understood how dangerous the situation was at that time."

"Your filled thoughts made your reason unable to tell you that you were in my office at that time, face-to-face with a dangerous personality, and you didn't know at all whether he would make a move."

"Because he said too many ambiguous words and left you with too many mysteries to guess, making you unable to break free from that kind of thinking in a short time, so he was able to succeed in a sneak attack."

"Batman, look at the muscles you possess due to massive training, think about your precise marksmanship, touch the Batarangs on your waist. If you don't lose focus, how could I, who doesn't use special abilities, beat you?" ===== CHAPTER 1164 =====