Chapter 1432: Research on Manipulation (Part 15)

"Just like I said before, the gatherings I attended with my father when I was a child and the magic season banquets I attended after I grew up were just small-circle chats, talking about which magic materials had risen in price again, whose mage tower had exploded again, which forbidden articles some black magician had made new progress in..."

Zatanna covered her forehead and said, "I didn't even realize that my lack of common sense about the ordinary world was so severe."

"I'm afraid I don't think Jonathan and his old friends would talk about true common sense at a banquet." Schiller tilted his head toward Zatanna and looked at her from above his eyes.

"Yeah, Zee, I feel like you're overthinking it. The common sense they talked about must be industry common sense, the kind that can be published directly in papers. It's normal that you don't know." Constantine hurried to comfort her.

Zatanna shook her head and said, "Besides that, my performance in etiquette was also terrible. I even doubted myself a bit. How is it that without magic, I seem to be unable to do anything?"

"Perhaps reverse magic is too convenient." Zatanna pursed her lips and said, "If you knock over a wine bottle, you can just point at it and it will float. If you wrinkle the carpet, you can wave your hand and it will return to its original state. For so many years, I don't know how many things I've ruined, it's just that I could use magic to restore the others, but this time I can't."

Constantine opened his mouth. He originally wanted to be righteously indignant and tell Zatanna that Crane was a liar and was deliberately suppressing Zatanna's self-esteem, but he didn't expect Zatanna to really realize some truths through this incident.

Recalling the short and intense romance with the magician, Constantine also had to admit that Zatanna was indeed not very mature. This girl had her own advantages, such as being sincere to others, not covering up, and having a youthful drive and vivid vitality. This was the part of her that Constantine liked the most.

But by comparison, her shortcomings were a bit numerous. Common shortcomings of young people, such as recklessness, not considering consequences, and easily trusting others, couldn't be called shortcomings, just a lack of experience. Zatanna's biggest problem was that she was a child holding a precious sword.

She possessed the unique reverse magic and mental magic in the magic world, didn't need to pay any price, could cast it anytime, anywhere, and could enter other people's brains to control their actions. One didn't need to think about how much covetousness these abilities combined would cause.

But Zatanna didn't have the self-control to match her power. It was like a child holding gold passing through a busy market. As long as a problem could be solved with magic, it wasn't a problem. Over time, the magic became stronger and stronger, and the brain basically didn't develop.

Constantine couldn't think of any reason that would allow Zatanna to still think she could deal with Schiller using mental magic when she saw Schiller's Mind Tower, but Zatanna just felt she could.

She didn't look down on Schiller, just was too confident in her own abilities. She indeed had the capital to be proud, but this pride would definitely make her take a big tumble when she kicked an iron plate.

Constantine had actually always wanted to remind Zatanna, but he really didn't have the standing to do so, because he didn't have more talent than Zatanna, and he had ruined more things than her, so he didn't have the qualification to play her elder and point fingers at her.

But Zatanna did lack some guidance from elders. After her father disappeared, there wasn't anyone who could control her to teach her when to use power and when not to, and what the evil consequences of relying entirely on magic would be.

Thinking of this, Constantine stopped talking. He felt it was good to let Zatanna take a tumble. Anyway, Schiller was here. It was he who let Zatanna go to the chemistry laboratory, so he wouldn't sit idly by if Zatanna had any trouble.

"Then what do you plan to do?" Constantine asked.

"I don't know." Zatanna stretched out her hands to cover her face and said. She shook her head gently, and the broken hair at her temples swayed, appearing a bit funny, but especially revealing simplicity and immaturity.

"I think you should go apologize to him." Constantine pulled Zatanna's wrist and said, "It's useless for you to hide like a turtle in its shell. That way you will feel like you owe him forever. Apologizing at least can make your own heart feel at ease."

"You can indeed try." Schiller suggested, "I think Jonathan won't blame you. It's common for young people to cause trouble at banquets, and you are a young and beautiful lady. If you apologize sincerely, no one will feel offended."

A conflicted expression appeared on Zatanna's face, and Schiller's words became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Of course not." Zatanna stood up, looked at Schiller somewhat angrily, and said, "I apologized to you, and I helped you manipulate other people's brains. I have always been unwilling to do so."

"I am very sorry." Schiller turned his head back. After taking a sip of wine, Zatanna's expression had just eased a little when she heard Schiller add a sentence: "You were very familiar when you entered my brain. I thought you often did this."

"That was an accident." Zatanna stomped her feet, but her tone wasn't as firm. She pursed her lips tightly and said, "I was just very worried about the Extreme Evil Curse. Is there always some reason in this world that makes me sound justifiable in front of a psychologist?"

"Yes, Miss. If you directly told me you were stupid, I would gladly accept it and immediately inform you that you are forgiven."

Zatanna covered her chest and inhaled sharply. She grabbed her bag and walked out the door in high heels. While walking, she looked back and said, "I'm going to apologize to him now. I don't need your psychological treatment!"

After Zatanna left, Schiller shook his head somewhat helplessly, and Constantine also sighed and said, "What a stupid girl."

"Bruce is no better than her." Schiller said, covering his mouth with a wine glass, "Or rather, Bruce a few years ago was even more fatal than her."

"I appreciate the beauty and vitality of these ladies. Even if they are stupid, it is the same. Their shy or embarrassed expressions can always provide some aesthetic value to the people around them, making people smile. But a stupid young boy doesn't have this function."

Constantine grinned and said, "Bruce Wayne must be an exception. I think the expression on his face should also look pretty good."

"But seriously, Schiller." Constantine put down the wine glass, leaned his body forward, stared into Schiller's eyes, and said, "What is the background of that Crane? Are you sure it's okay to let him teach Zatanna?"

"Jonathan once described to me that Zatanna is a bit like the previous Bruce. I don't agree with this point, because he didn't have a deep understanding of Bruce before making a rash judgment."

"Zatanna is indeed a bit reckless, and her self-control isn't strong. She relies too much on power and lacks a brain, but she is a normal person. From any angle, she doesn't count as a mental patient. These shortcomings are just shortcomings that ordinary people will have."

"To some extent, I think Zatanna's characteristic of relying on power doesn't even count as a shortcoming. If you were born with three hands, would you deliberately not use the extra one? If you used it, would it be called abuse? For Zatanna, magic is as simple as instinct. Then why not use it?"

"So she doesn't need guidance at all. Just mess around for a few years like this, and she will understand it herself. But I assert that Jonathan's purpose of wanting to manipulate her won't succeed."

"Why?" Constantine asked somewhat doubtfully. He then added, "You saw it. This Professor Crane spent less than a month making Zatanna start to doubt herself."

"It only took me three days to make Bruce doubt himself."

"I'm not comparing your academic levels."

"But that is the fact." Schiller shook his head and said, repeating the tone, "Jonathan Crane's attempt on Zatanna Zatara won't succeed. He lacks something very important."

Constantine raised one eyebrow, leaned his body further forward, stared into Schiller's eyes, and asked, "What is that?"

"Love." Schiller spat out a word. He said very affirmatively, "Jonathan Crane is a natural serial killer. He doesn't have the ability to love."

Constantine stared straight at Schiller, hoping he would make a more in-depth answer, and Schiller also did as he wished, but first asked, "Have you read any works related to the Stockholm syndrome?"

"A little bit."

"I repeatedly emphasized to my students that patients with Stockholm syndrome aren't masochists. They don't like violence and control. No one likes these. They fall in love with the perpetrator because they feel love from the violence and control."

"Then are they really being loved?" Constantine grasped the key.

"Many times yes, but this kind of love might be twisted. If the kidnapper hates the victim, then they can directly kill them, instead of imprisoning them. Many kidnappers who imprison victims for a long time have twisted love as their motive for committing the crime."

"The murderer pours intense, twisted emotions that don't conform to law and morality onto the victim. The victim isn't wood. In the scene of being imprisoned, they will feel this emotion to a greater or lesser extent."

"Emotions are very complex. There are destined to be many different sides in one emotion. Even the most twisted emotion has a gentle side that is easy for ordinary people to accept. Once the victim accepts this side, the brain's self-protection mechanism will spontaneously persuade them to accept those more twisted things, and then persuade them to accept violence and control."

"In the process of imprisonment, the victim has no other source of emotion, but feels fear and panic. The only source of security is the emotional bond between them and the murderer. It is the victim's understanding and beautification of the murderer. When the victim relies on this sense of security for a long time, they will naturally feel that they cannot let go."

"Even if they have been rescued, they still habitually seek this sense of security, which will be presented in the way of Stockholm syndrome."

"This is from the perspective of the victim. The industry also often analyzes similar psychological states from this perspective. But if you look at it from the opposite side, the murderer who has mastered this mentality can actively cultivate this syndrome."

Schiller looked back at Constantine and said in a very ordinary tone, "This isn't very difficult. Even if my learning is not refined, I can cultivate not just one, but many at the same time."

Instantly, Constantine broke into a cold sweat. He stared at Schiller for a long time before moving his gaze away, blocking his mouth with his hand, coughing lightly twice, and saying, "You mean, Jonathan Crane doesn't have the ability to love, so he can't do what you did to Bruce?"

Schiller nodded.

"In other words, you love Bruce?"

"Yes, as his teacher."

Constantine's features all wrinkled up. He said incredulously, "... Love him to the point of painstakingly guiding him to voluntarily accept harsh confinement?"

Schiller nodded. His attitude was so calm that it shocked Constantine. Then he heard Schiller say.

"Otherwise, with Gotham's trivial matters, where would he get the private time to adapt to the multi-threaded thinking mode after the personality trait split?" ===== CHAPTER 1433 =====

"Otherwise, with Gotham's trivial matters entangling him, where would he find the private time to adapt to a multi-threaded way of thinking after his personality traits split?"