Chapter 1437: Bat Leaving the Nest (Part 2)

When Bruce woke up again, he was still lying on the bed, but the bed he was on was much softer than the operating table. He saw the patterns on the floor and knew that he should be in Schiller's office at the New Arkham Asylum

That should still be the pathological side, because he was wearing a dark red prince-check three-piece suit, a blue and gold paisley tie, and was leaning back in his chair with his eyes narrowed, seemingly dozing off.

Behind Shiler, on the sofa in the office's reception area, Diana and Hal seemed to be egging Clark on to ruin Shiler's expensive cigars—or rather, the two of them were ruining Shiler's expensive cigars and then trying to persuade Clark to take the blame.

And what Bruce hadn't quite expected was that Amanda was standing in front of his bed with her arms crossed; she was also the first person to notice Bruce waking up.

Amanda stared at Bruce with a speechless expression. Seeing Bruce's gaze land on her, she stepped forward to shift her weight, opened her mouth, but stopped herself. Her eyes scanned between Bruce and Shiler before she finally spoke.

"Listen, I don't care what kind of relationship you two have, I just want to know, why the hell do you two have to cause this kind of mess in my prison?! And it's the second time, too!"

"Language," Shiler reminded him as he slowly opened his eyes.

Amanda took a deep breath and then let it out. She didn't uncross her arms, but stood where she was and said, "Sorry, Professor. I just want to know who can be held responsible for this. It shouldn't be me, right?!"

"Elliott." Bruce blinked at a regular frequency and spat out a name. Amanda frowned.

"Elliott escaped the FBI's pursuit." Bruce's voice was very dry and sounded weak. He continued, "On the road while fleeing, he encountered a farmer's family and killed them all, except for the little girl, Belica."

"He has always wanted to obtain Bruce Wei En's identity, so he kidnapped Belica to threaten me into swapping identities with him. To save Belica, I had no other choice."

Amanda paused for a moment, then said, "I do know that Elliott is your fanatical fan and even had plastic surgery to look like you. Was this premeditated?"

"Perhaps."

A look of anger immediately appeared on Amanda's face. She gritted her teeth and said, "That damned, cunning serial killer! You actually fell for his trap?!... Forget it, where is he now? I'll make him pay!"

"I already said, he has taken over Bruce Wei En's identity. How are you going to arrest a Wei En in Cat Getan?" Bruce said intermittently.

Amanda frowned and said, "But you are right here. You can accuse him, and then the FBI can arrest him. If the FBI can't get in, then you and your friends can catch him first and then hand him over to the police."

"That is the problem. How do I prove that I am the real Wei En?"

"Your teacher and your friends..."

"And how would they prove it?"

Amanda was choked into silence, then she spread her hands and said, "His disguise can't be that perfect, right? There must be flaws."

Shiler sat where he was, silently watching their conversation. He didn't speak up to prompt Amanda, because Amanda wasn't actually that stupid.

"Oh, I remember now," Amanda said with a sudden realization. "That little girl can testify for you. She heard everything Elliott said to you when she was kidnapped. She will be the best witness."

"Sorry, Professor, can I borrow the phone here?"

Shiler made a gesture of invitation. Amanda walked quickly to the office phone in her high heels and said to the other end, "In the name of the FBI, summon the survivor of the last Bandage Killer case, the little girl named Belica. Provide her with witness protection!"

"Yes, Elliott pulled off a big case. He threatened Bruce Wei En into swapping identities with him and even attacked other prisoners in my prison... Help me contact Attorney Edgar, he's finished!"

After finishing, Amanda hurried out the door.

At this moment, Diana, Clark, and Hal had already walked to Bruce's bed. Shiler sat in his chair, looked up at them, smiled, and said, "If I said this was another accident, would you believe me?"

The three of them crossed their arms one after another. Diana was the first to smooth her hair with her hand and said, "Better than last time, Professor. At least this time, only Bruce is lying down."

"It wasn't his fault," Bruce said, lying on the bed and hugging a pillow.

"I just want to know, if the suit we made for you couldn't even withstand a scalpel, what was the point of it?" Hal asked, his tone not very good.

"I appreciate the good intentions," Bruce replied.

"Bruce." Clark sat directly on the bed where Bruce was and called his name. Shiler's gaze fell on his damp jeans, but he quickly looked away.

"We plan to form an organization to deal with sudden crises and protect the Earth and the universe. What do you think?"

"I think it's pretty good."

Clark paused for a moment. He looked at Bruce and said, "Shouldn't you be saying something like 'I have to protect Cat Getan'?"

"So you were planning to have me join?"

"Of course, you are the soul of the team!" Clark raised his voice.

"But the premise is that you must guarantee you won't have such academic exchanges with your professor again." Diana interrupted Clark. She looked into Bruce's eyes and said, "Fine, we actually just wanted to find you something else to do. Wasn't it pretty good when we were in Metropolis?"

"Nothing good ever happens when you go back to Cat Getan!" Hal pulled up a chair, sat down on the other side of the bed, curled his lip, and said.

"I can join, but I won't leave Cat Getan."

Clark still wanted to persuade him, but Bruce beat him to it: "It has nothing to do with Shiler. Have you forgotten? I still have children. Aisha is starting elementary school next year."

This reason left the three of them unable to refute, but Clark still spoke up: "No one here wants to kidnap you. We don't have to get you out of Cat Getan just to give ourselves peace of mind, but..."

"But I have to ensure I don't get injured every few days." Bruce's tone was filled with drowsiness. His code hadn't been cleared yet, so the hallucinations hadn't disappeared, and he said very bluntly, "I can guarantee that on normal days, but you know who brings the accidents."

The three pairs of eyes fell on Shiler simultaneously.

Shiler's fingers were crossed in front of him. He turned his head to look at Bruce, who had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's talk over here." Shiler stood up and invited the three of them to the sofa in the reception area. He glanced at the messy cigar box, sighed softly, and while tidying up the table, said.

"This will come to a temporary end."

"What?"

"The kind of situation you don't want to see." Shiler took a piece of paper to scoop up the scattered tobacco leaves on the table and continued, "My frequent academic exchanges with Bruce will come to a temporary end."

"What happened?"

"He has graduated and achieved the results of an excellent graduate." Shiler threw the tobacco leaves into the trash can and said, "He has already broken out of his cocoon. Many things that follow are no longer under my control."

Shiler looked up at the three of them and said, "The universe is vast, but it is also accompanied by danger. I support your forming an alliance to support and help each other, but I hope you understand that no one is fully responsible for this, including each of you, and Bruce."

"Perhaps." Clark said.

"You certainly don't have to give me a definitive answer, but the current situation has made you understand that Bruce's home is in Cat Getan, and he can always run away from anywhere else."

"If one day he comes back, I don't mind taking a little time while having an academic exchange with him to ask what happened. This is a teacher's necessary concern for his student. I think you can understand, right?"

Hal swallowed. He clenched his hands, looked into Shiler's eyes, and said, "Even without this concern, we will protect him as much as possible. We unanimously agree that his brain is a treasure of human civilization."

"If possible, we would also prefer him to stay in Cat Getan." Diana frowned and said, "Besides his home being here, you are also here. This treasure will be safe."

"Of course he will be."

"Then that's it." Clark said, resting his face on his hand. "We might call him from all sorts of places, and he will provide us with strategic support and logistical backup."

"Just like he is doing right now." Shiler put the cigar box away and said.

Diana nodded and said, "In a situation where we all have special abilities, it is unreasonable and inhumane to let an ordinary person charge to the front. This is enough."

"Don't discuss the name of this alliance with me, and I have no interest in the consultant position." Shiler directly interrupted what Clark was about to say and said, "Every generation has its own savior. I have my own things to do, and I have no experience to impart to you—it's all with Batman."

After finishing, Shiler stood up and walked to the bookshelf to place his expensive cigars in the highest spot. Clark touched his nose in embarrassment and explained, "I haven't seen this stuff before, so I took it apart to look at it. I will compensate you."

"I appreciate the good intentions."

The other three looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly. The teacher and student were truly cut from the same cloth.

After the others left, Bruce climbed out of bed. The freshly stitched wound didn't affect his mobility in the slightest. Shiler stood in front of the shelf, turned his head to look at him, and asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"Make it worth your ticket price."

"I am accustomed to paying first. Or are you actually still afraid that I really intend to pay?" Shiler smiled at him.

Bruce sat on the edge of the bed. Shiler walked in front of him, took a dagger from the cabinet nearby, and handed it to Bruce.

Shiler lowered his head to unbutton his suit, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over the chair nearby.

Bruce looked up at him, meeting his gaze exactly.

"Do you know where to insert the knife to reach the heart the fastest?"

"Below the ribs, through the stomach."

"The theory is learned well. So, what about practice?"

"Are you planning to let me test the knife on you?"

"I am not your professor; the gray mist can repair everything." Shiler adjusted the position of his tie, his tone slightly lowered, and said, "More importantly, only if you can truly kill me will I believe you can kill anyone... This is a commemorative moment, and I should have my medal."

"Pfft."

Before Shiler could react at all, the dagger pierced straight in along the bottom of his ribs. His body leaned forward, and Bruce reached out to support him; it looked more like an embrace.

With a "bang," the door was kicked open. Clark roared, "I knew these two lunatics weren't finished!

Stop!

!"

Bruce turned his head to look at them. He was holding Shiler, and the dagger in his hand applied slight pressure. With a soft "shh" sound, the tip of the blade went straight into the heart.

The three of them were dumbfounded.