Chapter 1460

The early spring in southwestern France still held a damp chill, and the tender grass shoots that had just sprouted across the vast meadows on the left bank of the Dordogne River were bent low by the dew.

Expensive suit fabric would be covered in beads of water in such air within half an hour; Schiller, for once, did not put on his suit jacket as soon as he got up, but wore a white shirt and a dark brown vest instead, without a tie, to prevent his expensive formal wear from becoming damp and losing its crispness before the banquet.

This was a vacation villa located between a private winery and a vineyard, lent to him for his stay by a wine collector whom Schiller had met once at a banquet in Montreal.

Although Schiller felt he could have stayed at a mansion in the city, it would have been improper to meet his old friends in France and Italy without bringing some gifts, and the nearby winery was a perfect place to purchase red wine as a present.

The original Schiller had many friends in Europe due to the era he lived in and the nature of his work, spread across various industries; beyond academic exchanges, he maintained good relationships with old-world aristocrats, celebrities, wealthy families, and other members of high society.

In their eyes, the years Schiller had been absent from social circles were spent buried in academic research in Cat Getan, and the papers he had published on criminal psychology over these years corroborated this; thus, his status in the academic circle had not declined, but rather improved—or, one could say, his image had transformed.

The original Schiller's social approach leaned toward being popular; he maintained good relationships with everyone he knew, and people considered him steady, reliable, and worth befriending.

Then, this steady, reliable scholar, who had no strength to truss a chicken, dove headfirst into a cesspit for five years and came out perfectly fine, which greatly changed his friends' perceptions of him.

But this also made things easier for Schiller; after all, if he accidentally displayed an aggressiveness he had never shown before, it could be explained as the tempering he received in Cat Getan.

The original Schiller's social circle was of very high quality; after traveling around the United States, Schiller became increasingly certain that his choice to come out and socialize was correct. The vast majority of people he met had common topics with him, and beyond academics, they were relatively compatible in terms of personal hobbies and lifestyles.

This actually made Schiller feel somewhat puzzled; he didn't feel he was very similar to the original Schiller, nor did he think their social preferences would tend to be identical, but the friends left behind indeed fully satisfied Schiller's social needs.

Schiller walked down the stairs to the first floor, rolling up his shirt sleeves as he walked toward the kitchen island.

He might be staying here for a while, so he checked the kitchen utensils in advance and found that all kinds of cookware were complete, so he went to the nearest farm supermarket to do some shopping and filled the refrigerator.

All Schillers knew how to cook; this was an important standard for self-care. When he was vacationing on an island with Hal and Oliver, Schiller had cooked using local ingredients, and returning to a civilized kitchen, cooking became even simpler.

The ingredients at the farm supermarket were very fresh, but the variety was limited, mostly consisting of root vegetables that were easy to store. Fortunately, there was freshly slaughtered beef and lamb, as well as bacon and goat cheese, and there was a bottle of red wine left in the cabinet that Schiller had opened but not finished.

So he decided to make a red wine beef shank, a portion of roasted potato wedges, a cheese and bacon macaroni, and pretzel bread. Due to the lack of vegetables, Schiller decided to juice some vegetables instead of drinking coffee.

Schiller finished preparing the food quickly, but the food placed on the prep tray was far more than one person's portion; he had a visitor this morning, so he made an extra serving.

Twisting the kneaded dough into the shape of a pretzel, taking out the freshly roasted potato wedges, wiping the baking sheet, and then putting the bread tray into the oven, Schiller, who was about to finish cooking, stood in the center of the kitchen and thought for a moment, ultimately deciding to brew a cup of coffee.

There were no precision coffee instruments here, let alone a butler on call, so Schiller decided to use a coffee pot. Just as he opened the cabinet to look for coffee beans, the doorbell rang.

Schiller wiped his hands with a towel, walked to the door, and opened it; standing outside was Bruce Wei En.

"Come in." Schiller opened the door a bit wider.

Bruce walked in and smelled the aroma of freshly baked bread. Schiller poured the freshly roasted potato wedges onto a plate and placed them on the central island.

"It's a good thing I didn't count on you bringing red wine." Schiller said while taking a bottle of red wine from the cabinet above, setting the glasses in front of Bruce, and saying, "Even though there are three wineries within ten miles of here."

"My bank card has been frozen." Bruce took a potato wedge, put it in his mouth, and said, "I checked the Federal Reserve's backend and found that the federal fiscal situation is precarious just dealing with Thomas, so I didn't borrow any money."

Schiller poured a splash of red wine for Bruce, turned to grate the cheese, and asked without looking back, "How are those birds doing?"

"They are very well."

"Have you tried to make them better?"

"Of course, but I'm not in a hurry to talk about that part."

Bruce picked up another potato wedge, put it in his mouth, took a sip of the red wine Schiller had just poured, and then asked, "How was your trip?"

"Not bad. Now, about half of the New World and a third of the Old World are happy to hear the news of your excellent graduation."

"My honor."

Schiller placed the grated cheese on top of the pasta. Bruce leaned his head to the side, saw Schiller's action, and said, "No cheese on my portion."

"Tell me about the Robins." Schiller continued.

"Nothing to say." Bruce held his wine glass, recalled slightly, and then said, "After you told me the news that they were coming while we were in the tower, I slightly modified my image."

"Modified in what way?"

"As different from Batman as possible." Bruce picked at the potato wedges on the plate with a fork and continued, "Creating a sense of contrast, letting them discover that they cannot deal with this universe's social interactions using the behavioral patterns they use to deal with Batman, so they will want to know what method is appropriate."

"You want to lure them out for a night patrol investigation?"

"No, I need to break their psychological defenses in a short time, so I might need a more dangerous environment."

"Alternating stimulation?"

"Yes, I know that if I act like I really want them to sleep, they will definitely suspect my purpose in doing so, so when I leave Wei En Manor in the middle of the night, the most impatient one among them will definitely follow me directly."

"I thought Jason would be the one to come, but I didn't expect that the biological son of that universe's Batman would have a temperament completely opposite to his, but it doesn't matter; they will eventually track Batman to the East End anyway."

"What was the first big shock you gave them? Positive feedback or negative feedback?"

Bruce covered his mouth with his fist and said somewhat vaguely, "I considered positive feedback; I know Dick falls for that. If I show him the good living environment of the children in the East End, he should resonate with me."

"But your plan to lure them out for an investigation excludes Nightwing. Regardless, he is the most steady one among all the Robins; the possibility of him rushing to track you is the lowest."

"Yes, because I thought later that as long as he can understand my cause, he can understand me, so there's actually no rush. Instead, the other two might need some impact."

"Joker?"

Bruce nodded and said, "There was no elephant in the room originally, but if I stuff one in, no one can ignore it. This is to strengthen their sense of unfamiliarity with the social environment, thereby weakening their sense of security."

"Then what are you using to consolidate this stimulation next?"

"New Arkham Psychiatric Hospital." Bruce picked up a potato wedge with a fork but didn't eat it, just flipped it over, and continued, "I know Harley has a habit of delaying homework, so I specifically arranged the pancreas removal and limb slicing on the same day, and a few days ago, citing that her original classroom needed repairs, I moved the place where she does her homework to the path that must be taken to go upstairs."

"Two greenhorns who are completely unclear about Arkham's operating rules will definitely cause a big mess." Schiller shook his head, took the bread out of the oven, processed it, and put it back in to reheat.

"That's right, they provoked a dozen serial killers along the way, and sure enough, they were dragged in by her when they passed Harley's door."

"But the impact of what Harley did shouldn't be enough, right? As long as one has a slight background in medical education, one can adapt quickly." Schiller started processing the vegetables and said.

"Yes." Bruce nodded again and continued, "But I learned in advance that Beelzebub's daughter will be holding a wedding, and all the demon generals under him are scrambling to offer treasures."

"I released news in Hell that Cat Getan has a rare Heart of Sin, which was dug out by Harley and Victor before; I went to take a look at it before."

"The demons want to buy it, but they can't find me and can only go to Constantine. Digging out the Heart of Sin is not difficult; the difficulty is preserving it. Constantine will definitely be able to think that the method for humans to preserve the Heart of Sin, besides magic, is only dense ice. If he finds Victor, he can find Harley."

Schiller paused while putting vegetables into the juicer and asked, "Did Constantine summon a demon?"

"No, a magician friend of Constantine's summoned a demon."

"And when their negotiations reached a stalemate, you stepped out?" Schiller looked back at Bruce and asked. He thought for a moment and continued, "Are you trying to use the demons' attitude toward you to deter them?... No, perhaps you want to show them the operating mode of the New Arkham Psychiatric Hospital?"

Bruce nodded.

"Brilliant." Schiller commented, "It was worth me letting almost the entire psychology circle know the news of your excellent graduation."

"I can show them the bright changes in Cat Getan, but since they can better understand Cat Getan's Dark Knight, they will definitely better understand and admire the means of using darkness to fight darkness."

"But light is necessary." Schiller placed the meal and vegetable juice on the island and sat opposite Bruce, looking into his eyes and saying.

"Yes, so today I let Lex adjust the time for the sky to clear up a bit earlier, so they will realize that my dark means are effective, and not just a madman's self-entertainment."

"They are accustomed to admiring people who achieve the goal of light through dark ways, like Batman, so they will place me in a high position."

"Very good, only the last step remains."

"I pretend to be physically unwell, entrust important tasks to them, affirm them from a high-handed posture, and at the same time bind them in an environment with guilt and a sense of responsibility, so they cannot leave."

"Then next..."

"The birds will encounter difficulties..." Bruce raised an eyebrow and said.

Schiller picked up the wine glass, Bruce also picked up his glass and clinked it lightly with him, and Schiller's voice echoed in the empty morning by the river.

"... and they can only rely on your guidance."