Chapter 1229

"That's how it is." Brand, sitting on the sofa, stroked the soft ears of the white dog drooping beside its head and said, "This dog has intelligence no less than a human's; it just can't speak."

"In terms of psychiatry, I am more proficient in pathology, and in terms of magic, I am not skilled in mediumship or soul magic. I have no way to communicate with Krypto, and it seems to be in need of someone to listen to its troubles right now."

"When Hal handed it over to me, he specifically emphasized that this is a hero dog. While in Metropolis, it once saved two drowning children, helped the police subdue suspects, and stopped two robberies and one domestic violence case. So you really have to help it, Shiler."

"I'm not questioning how good this dog is. I know it's Clark's dog; its abilities and character are almost identical to Clark's. The problem is, I am a human psychologist, and I haven't studied pet psychology. You finding a professional dog trainer would be more reliable than coming to me."

"But a dog trainer can't communicate directly with Krypto." Brand shook his head and said, "Only you can use your Tower of Thought or the Wine of Madness to enter the dream realm, speak directly to this dog, and provide it with psychological counseling."

"So that's what you meant." Shiler leaned back against the sofa and said, "But honestly, human and canine thoughts may not necessarily be compatible. I'm not sure if using human psychological treatment methods to treat a dog will be useful, but I can try my best."

However, Shiler turned his head to look at Jason and Harley, who were interacting on either side of the sofa, and said, "You have to take those two back. I don't have time to babysit."

"Come on, you have plenty of free time right now." Brand picked up his glass, took a sip of wine, and leaned against the armrest of the sofa, saying, "How about I stay here to watch the kids, and you go back to work at Arkham Asylum? Mrs. Miller has already nagged me to death."

Shiler was just about to speak when Brand sat up straight, rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward, and looked at Shiler, saying, "You always say you don't want to continue getting entangled with Batman, yet you never take any action. Now that there's finally an opportunity and you've arrived in a new environment where you can have a new life, why not try to make a change?"

Shiler looked at him in silence for a moment. Brand shook his head and said, "Don't instinctively obey the repetitive, compulsive behaviors brought on by your autism. You have to be brave enough to take that step, don't you?"

Shiler sighed softly. In the end, Brand left alone, leaving the dog and the two children behind. So, when Lucifer returned, he saw the house in complete chaos.

Shiler was bending over to pick up a pillow leaking feathers from the floor. Harley was lying on one side of the sofa, reaching out a hand to try and grab Jason, who was sitting on the floor. Jason was baring his teeth and pushing away Krypto, the Superdog, who was pinning him down.

Unsurprisingly, after Brand left, Shiler tried to mediate the fight between the two children. The educational theme was the usual clichés about not fighting and how resorting to violence is bad, but clearly, these two children were not easy to fool.

Jason firmly believed that Harley was smearing Shiler's reputation, while Harley firmly believed that Jason was denying Shiler's talent. These two viewpoints had become so entrenched that even with the person himself standing right in front of them, they were determined to use all sorts of means to decide a winner and make their opponent concede.

As the two of them raised their fists to strike at each other, Shiler subconsciously wanted to use his own force to break up the fight, but Krypto was faster than him.

Perhaps this Kryptonian dog had some sheepdog genes; it truly couldn't stand to see two living beings at each other's throats, trading punches.

Thus, the moment the two children made their move, Krypto charged forward, first knocking Harley onto the sofa with a headbutt, and then immediately following up with a tail-swipe that pinned Jason down.

Harley didn't give up; she grabbed a pillow and threw it at Jason's head. Krypto jumped high, bit the pillow, and swung it back. The torn pillow released feathers that filled the sky, obscuring Harley's vision. Jason, catching Krypto off guard, grabbed its neck.

A Kryptonian dog is no ordinary pet. Krypto swung its head to the right, and Jason stumbled, falling onto the floor and landing on his bottom.

Lucifer had just walked into the living room when he heard Krypto's deep, powerful "Woof!" He looked at the scene in the living room with some confusion, then let his gaze fall on Shiler.

Shiler sighed deeply and took the two pillow feathers off his head. He turned to look at Lucifer and said, "How is your bar renovation going? Didn't you say it would be open in a few days?"

"The renovation is fine. It's mainly that I have to put up my collection items. It's almost done; I estimate it can open tomorrow or the day after." Lucifer walked up, picked up the pillow that had been thrown into the corner, and tossed it onto the sofa.

"You'd better open tomorrow, and then take those two... oh, no, those three, to your bar. I have to go to work at the FBI training academy tomorrow."

"Those three?" Following Shiler's gaze, Lucifer finally saw the two people and one dog fighting. He blinked and said, "Harley Quinn? Why are you so... oh, I forgot, you should still be Miss Quinzel right now. And Jason Todd, you're a little squirt too, hahaha."

Lucifer laughed twice, waved his hand dismissively, and said, "Don't worry, I'll supervise them to make sure they finish their homework. This is Superman's dog, right? Come here, good doggy, want to play frisbee?"

"Clean up the living room." Shiler said as he walked toward his room. Lucifer called out from behind, "Hey, you aren't planning on dumping all the housework on me, are you? You're my Pope, shouldn't you..."

"Pay the rent."

"... Where's the broom?"

"In the bathroom."

Walking back to his bedroom, Shiler pulled back the curtains. Outside the window was the bustling night view of downtown Haibincheng. This was a high-end apartment not far from the Haibincheng CBD.

Although Greed had purchased a vacation villa not far from the Jordan family's fishing grounds, Pride didn't have the leisure to drive three hours every day just to return to civilized society, so he rented an apartment on a high floor here and paid a year's rent.

As for Lucifer, the bar that Greed had paid for him to buy was located not far from this apartment. It was a renovation of the site of an old natural history museum from the last century. Although there were rooms that could be used for living, it wasn't comfortable because of the renovation style, and the environment was too damp, so Lucifer chose to share the apartment with Shiler.

Lucifer wasn't so poor that he couldn't afford rent, but he really didn't want to talk about money with Pride anymore. He had already discovered that Pride Shiler really didn't like doing accounts, and he was afraid that Pride would call out a professional to add another crisis to the hard-won stable relationship between Heaven and Hell.

Just like that, the two began a life of sharing an apartment. In a way, the two people representing Pride had somewhat similar personalities, and their living habits were compatible enough. The apartment was large, with three big rooms and one small room, providing enough space so their activity routes didn't interfere with each other. It should have been very peaceful.

But regardless of the country or the lifestyle, as long as children and pets appear, it means that a peaceful life will come to a complete end.

The next morning, Shiler got up very early. He put on his suit and tied his tie, looking like an ordinary office worker as he picked up his briefcase and went downstairs. However, the car waiting downstairs was occupied by FBI agents.

"Ms. Amanda Waller sends her regards, Professor Shiler." The female agent driving the car said.

"Is she still in Denver?" Shiler straightened his tie, took a lesson plan out of his briefcase, and said while reading it. The male agent sitting in the passenger seat nodded and said, "Yes, Ms. Amanda still has work to finish. Once things are over there, she will come to visit you."

"She should focus on her own work; I don't need anyone to visit me." Shiler browsed through the lesson plan in his hand, flipped a page, and said, "You must have run into quite a bit of trouble, right?"

The female agent driving the car said with a grave expression, "A month ago, a serious explosion occurred on the second basement level of the Metropolis World Trade Center. The then-FBI Director, William Sessions, was dismissed by the President for dereliction of duty and embezzlement. The then-US Attorney General, Louis Freeh, has taken over. This is not good news."

Shiler flipped the lesson plan another page and said, "Of course. No matter how poorly Sessions performed, he was an independent person with a voice who could decide which direction the FBI would take. But Louis? He came up through the US judicial system; can you really expect him to have any independent personality?"

"Ms. Waller, Mr. Davis, and a group of FBI veterans don't want to be coerced by Freeh..."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have let me off so easily." Shiler said without looking up. "We all know this is a trade: you help me restore my social reputation, and I help you gain an advantage in the internal factional struggles of the FBI."

"Freeh is from New Jersey; the East Coast is his territory. So, you've been trying every possible way to establish a new West Coast Academy outside of the FBI National Academy, wanting to share the responsibility of training agents."

"Yes, Professor, that is exactly what we are thinking." The male agent in the passenger seat said, "We also know that inviting you to teach is no different from inviting a wolf into the house, but even if you are a KGB agent, you can certainly implement the old director's will better than Louis Freeh."

"When Sessions was in office, his greatest achievement was the arcade anti-drug campaign. The slogan he proposed, 'Winners Don't Use Drugs,' deeply penetrated the youth group and did indeed curb drug-related crimes to a certain extent." Shiler sighed softly and continued:

"The newly appointed Freeh is a liberal who also believes in McCarthyism. So, of course, you have to find a KGB agent to challenge him. Only by having me attract all of his attention can you catch your breath, stand firm amidst the negative impact of the explosion, and avoid being held accountable."

The male agent tapped the edge of the car window lightly and said, "You see things very clearly, Professor. Your political mind shocks me, but since you've seen it so clearly, you should understand that the struggle has only just begun."

"I am not struggling with anyone."

Watching the car stop outside a lush forest, Shiler closed the lesson plan in his hand, opened the car door, and stepped out. He turned to look at the agent who had stepped out at the same time and said:

"I am a teacher who only speaks of knowledge from books. I don't care whether this new director respects me, but he had better respect knowledge enough."

"I certainly understand, Professor. This way, please."