Chapter 1254

The doorplate with 125 Katzovo written on it swayed gently in the night wind. Looking up along the wall covered with water vapor, dim lights shone from the window. Two figures sat opposite each other in front of the window, seemingly very close, but also as far away as two worlds.

"... Teaching those intern agents is not an easy job, or rather, working in such an environment, one must always be careful, because there are too many eyes staring at you."

Schiller took a sip of wine, sighed gently, and said, "But I have no choice. That mistake when I was young has already removed me from this society. I must work for a violent law enforcement agency. They call this 'atonement'."

"Sorry, Professor," March shook his head gently and said, "I have no intention of questioning the federal judicial system, but if a free citizen has paid enough for his mistakes, then no one can force him to do a job."

"Whether it's coercion or restriction, the FBI doesn't want me to go deep into this society, but I am also a human being. I need to come out to breathe, so they can only choose the lesser of two evils and throw me into this so-called most chaotic and dark city."

March's gaze paused for a moment, seemingly thinking of something, but then he heard Schiller say with some emotion, "When I was young, I used to hang out in Chicago. At that time, James Gordon was still studying at the police academy in Chicago. I met him once. I didn't expect to run into him again this time."

"I heard about the great name of Commissioner Gordon from Mr. Wei En. He led the police of the Cat Getan Police Department to solve one murder case after another and captured countless criminals. Even those most difficult madmen could only be captured."

"I don't know when Gordon had such talent," Schiller's fingertips had been tapping the armrest of the chair gently. He exhaled slightly and said, "In the past, I thought he was an ordinary person, and I still hold that view now."

March looked up at Schiller, deliberated for a moment, and opened his mouth to say, "Perhaps you just arrived here and don't know yet, Cat Getan City has another feature. They call him 'the world's greatest detective, Batman'."

"Perhaps Gordon doesn't have the talent to call the wind and rain in this dark city, but Batman can. You have already dealt with him, haven't you?"

"Yes, I met him once. When Gordon asked me to assist him in solving the recent serial murder case, I met this so-called Dark Knight."

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know how to say it," Schiller shook his head slightly, but March continued to lean his body forward, staring into Schiller's eyes and saying, "I am very curious about him, so I want to hear everyone's opinion of him, naturally including yours. You can speak freely."

"I don't like him," Schiller first gave an emotional conclusion, then said, "But the deceased is innocent. If this world's greatest detective can really bring a little help to the investigation, his weird dressing style and taciturn communication style are not unacceptable."

"Forgive my bluntness, how does he view the recent serial murder case?"

"He is too anxious," Constantine frowned and said, "Even I can see that every eyebrow of his is shaking with excitement. It can be said to be beaming. It's really terrible."

At this time, the nerves of everyone in the theater were tightened, because they were more familiar with Schiller, and Schiller's current body movements were the prelude to showing aggression.

But just at this moment, with a "whoosh," the fire in the fireplace in the 1st-floor hall went out. The firelight was already very weak, so it didn't bring too much light change when it went out, but Schiller still turned his head immediately and looked at the pitch-black fireplace.

"Excuse my rudeness, Mr. March, wait a moment."

Schiller stood up immediately and walked downstairs. March didn't even have time to hold him back. He stared at Schiller's back as he walked downstairs quickly. When that excitement and thrill that was about to reach its peak were suddenly interrupted, the pain was indescribable.

Schiller walked quickly to the fireplace. He reached out and picked up the firewood that had been burned to half by the edge of the fireplace.

When Schiller's gaze focused on the firewood, Barry's gaze in the theater condensed, and he said in a tone that was not his own, "The firewood has been tampered with."

"From the color of the cross-section, the skin is very dry, but the inside is very moist. It should have been soaked and then dried by special means to keep the wood dry on the outside and wet on the inside."

"In this way, the initial flame will be very fierce, but the speed of extinguishing will be very fast. Someone designed the burning time of the fireplace through such means... Why would Batman do this? Has he already anticipated Schiller's conversation with March?"

"No, it's more like a kind of guidance," Bruce also said quickly.

Suddenly, the atmosphere inside and outside the screen became scorching, just like a movie reaching its climax. The camera began to switch quickly, and everyone had different expressions and thoughts.

Schiller's gaze swept over the place where the wood was piled next to the fireplace. He walked over immediately. After picking up the first piece of wood that hadn't been moved, he saw a metal handle exposed in the gap between the wood and the wall.

Schiller turned to the side immediately, leaned his arm against the wall to block the gap, and looked down. In the gap was an axe for chopping wood, with just the right length and a sharp blade.

Suddenly, there was a noise from upstairs. Schiller turned his head and saw March, who was holding the railing on the 2nd floor, staring at him tightly with eyes full of bloodshot red, and his aggression was fully revealed.

Constantine stood up directly from the theater chair, slapped his hand heavily on the back of the front chair, and said, "Batman anticipated everything."

"Bruce Wei En of this universe has already contacted Lincoln March and knows that he is a fool who doesn't understand etiquette. So, he deliberately took Schiller to see the corpse, not to hear Schiller analyze anything, but just to let March go to Schiller."

"He knew that March's rudeness would definitely anger Schiller, but this was still not enough. Batman needed to add another fire."

"He has already seen that Schiller is a person who is strict to the point of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He must be accustomed to controlling all sounds and lights during psychological consultation and never allows the atmosphere to exceed his control."

"The fireplace going out means the light is dimmer, which may pull the conversation into a darker atmosphere. This strict professor will not allow such a scene that exceeds control to appear. He will definitely go to light the fireplace first."

"Batman chose to extinguish the fireplace when March was about to get what he wanted most. Schiller's departure must have made him furious."

"Once March first shows aggression on Schiller's turf, Schiller will inevitably fight back. He will not allow a crazy fool to provoke him again and again. He provided Schiller with the timing, motive, and even the murder weapon, just waiting for this professor to take action."

"Batman wants to see these two cruel murderers take off their elegant disguises, reveal their highly aggressive true colors, fight with anger and violence, and reveal their ugliness."

"Then, he descends like a god, not only defeating them physically but also setting off their ugliness with his own majestic posture like a god, making them know that there is no madman in this world who can always remain elegant and calm. If you are a beast, you should return to savagery."

"And let them know what a Dark Knight is."

Accompanied by Constantine's voice, the atmosphere in the theater froze like ice. Barry closed his eyes gently and said, "If you have faced him directly, you will know why he is not a policeman, not a judge, not even a hero, but a Dark Knight of a dark city."

"Not only because he is solemn and majestic, making people awe-inspiring, but more importantly, he is always more restrained, self-possessed, calm, and elegant than anyone else."

Barry's voice was more like a narration in the gap between camera switches. Accompanied by the rising tone, the atmosphere inside the room at 125 Katzovo reached its most solidified moment.

Schiller's hand was on the sharp wood-chopping axe, and March could walk down the stairs with one foot to block Schiller's only exit.

But except for the first glance, Schiller never put his gaze on such a perfect murder weapon again. He just stared at March, staring at his bloodshot red eyes.

"Ding-a-ling!"

The moment the harsh phone ringing sounded, even the people in the theater broke out in a cold sweat.

Schiller looked up at the phone on the 2nd floor. He didn't care about March's aggressive posture at all, walked towards him, passed him, walked up the stairs, and came to the phone to pick it up.

"Hello? Yes, I am Rodriguez across the street... Yes, I hope the tie can be delivered to 125 Katzovo before tomorrow morning. Wrap it in oil paper and put it in my mailbox."

"Yes, I understand. 'Red wine stain' is a relatively difficult stain to deal with. It's a bit troublesome to wash it completely clean, but it can't be later than 5 pm tomorrow... No, I'm not in a hurry to use it, but it's better to be fast."

At this time, Schiller looked down. March, who appeared in his field of vision, suddenly relaxed his shoulders and dropped his arms. That obvious aggression disappeared.

"I don't understand how he broke the game," Diana said very bluntly, "This should have been an unsolvable dead end. If Schiller doesn't take action, March will take action. If Schiller wants to protect himself, he must either fight back or dodge. No matter which one, he will look very embarrassed."

"The key lies in appeasing March," Constantine said with his arms crossed, sighing slowly, "Schiller sent the tie to the laundry shop across the street in advance... Wait, Batman told him there was a laundry shop across the street. Does this have anything to do with it?"

"It must be so," Bruce gave a conclusion and explained, "I don't like to say any redundant words. Since it has been emphasized that the new clothes for the banquet will be ironed and sent over, it is meaningless to emphasize that there is a laundry shop across the street. The banquet will be held tomorrow. There is no need to wash and iron a set of clothes twice."

"This is another hint from Batman," Bruce said expressionlessly, "Still the same sentence, he doesn't want to kill Schiller with this game or Lincoln March. He knows this can't be done. He is still trying to see how much Schiller understands him."

"That is to say, the laundry shop is actually a hint, hinting that Schiller should send the stained tie over," Barry's brow tightened, and his fast-running brain couldn't keep up, so he had to ask, "If Schiller understood this hint and sent the tie over, the laundry shop's phone would happen to call, but how does this phone call stop March from taking action?"

"Red wine stain," Bruce gave the answer.

"Red wine stain represents that Schiller stained his tie. Tracing back along the logic, why did Schiller stain his tie? Because he had a quarrel with someone, at least in March's view, it was like this."

"Red wine stain will remind March that Schiller is very likely to have had a conflict with Batman. Schiller and Batman are opposites, not on the same side. They are opponents, not allies."

"So..." Diana also felt that her train of thought couldn't keep up. So far, the only one whose brain could run at full speed and clarify all logic was Bruce, so he said:

"So, a multiple-choice question was placed in front of March: whether to continue to indulge in the pleasure of provoking the police, or to solve the crisis that is about to be discovered and arrested by Batman."

"Didn't understand at all," Hal said.

"Originally, for March, Schiller was just a tool to convey Batman's evaluation, or a toy to satisfy his pleasure of provoking the police after committing a crime."

"But after March realized that Schiller was an enemy of Batman, Schiller's significance to March changed into a temporary ally who could attract Batman's attention."

"The essence of this choice lies in how much March fears Batman. If he is afraid enough, he will inevitably not give up forming an alliance with Schiller, and will not give up letting Schiller divert Batman's attention."

"Since they are going to form an alliance, naturally they cannot take action, but should talk. Naturally, there will be no violent conflict."

Bruce took a deep breath and summarized from the beginning: "Batman used March to interfere with Schiller, essentially to test whether Schiller could understand his hints. Schiller understood his hints and sent the tie to the laundry shop. So when the conflict broke out, the keyword 'red wine stain' was brought out, making March feel that Schiller could be used, and he gave up attacking him."

"Simply put, Batman gave a question. It seemed that there were many solutions, but the optimal solution was hidden in one sentence. Schiller found the optimal solution and answered the question according to the answer. They completed another round of testing."

"The result is that Batman seems to be in a high position, but Schiller has no flaws. Batman got the answer, and Schiller got an ally who can provide him with an identity."

The syllables of the last letter fell, and everyone breathed a long sigh.

Barry covered his eyes gently with his hands, and Clark was more direct. He looked up and exhaled, spitting out a word with a weak breath:

"Help..."