Chapter 1895

The luncheon began at exactly ten o'clock in the morning. Although it seemed a bit early, since it was a welcome banquet, it was inevitable to exchange pleasantries while waiting for guests to be seated and for the dishes to be served; by the time this whole process was finished, it would be nearly time to eat.

Shiler walked downstairs at exactly ten o'clock. At this time, some people had already gathered in the living room, but every one of them was wearing a black suit with a dark gray tie, and there were no metal ornaments on their bodies at all; the black color matched the atmosphere of the entire manor very well.

Shiler was wearing a dark brown three-piece suit, paired with a dark blue paisley silk tie, and there was an extremely shiny golden hummingbird brooch right in the center of his suit pocket, making him stand out in the crowd like a peacock spreading its tail.

The expressions of everyone in the hall immediately became a bit strange. If one had to describe it, it was more like suppressed schadenfreude, as if they shared some common secret and were happy to see someone who didn't know this secret take a big fall because of it.

Shiler did not make eye contact with any of them; he just walked straight to the entrance of the dining room in the living room, took a look inside, and then began to exchange pleasantries with the waiter at the door.

Immediately after, Be-Bat also walked down. He was wearing a dark blue suit and a dark gold tie, with a small emblem in the middle, but unfortunately, it was just a seagull, not a bat.

He had taken off his mask, his hair was scattered across his forehead, and his stubble was not completely shaved off but rather kept a little; his collar was not perfectly straight. In general, it leaned more towards casual formal wear, making him look very young and fashionable.

The schadenfreude in everyone's eyes grew even stronger.

And when the Batman of the main universe and Seeing Natasha walked down arm in arm, they fell completely silent.

If there was one person in this world most suited for black, it had to be Batman. The black suit was another set of battle armor for him, and the sense of oppression coming from the Dark Knight of Gotham did not diminish in the slightest because he had changed into formal wear.

He wore a pure black suit and a wide dark-patterned tie of the same color. His muscles perfectly filled out the cut of the suit, and the overbearing aura between his brows made everyone look away wherever his gaze fell.

Seeing Natasha wore a slightly conservative evening gown—slightly conservative for her own standards, at least this dress didn't show her back and wasn't a deep V-neck; it was a large dress with a European-style corset and pleated skirt, and paired with a shawl, it only showed a little bit of her chest.

But this still couldn't hide the female agent's extremely hot figure. That group of people in the hall, dressed conservatively and with solemn expressions, were all taking advantage of looking at Batman to steal a few more glances at the lady beside him.

Be-Bat had now walked to the porch not far from Shiler. He heard Shiler saying: "So that's how it is, I misunderstood. In that case, the boy at the foyer is the young master of your house?"

"Yes, that is Young Master Henry. He is the second young master of the Nihilite family. The eldest young master is Young Master Owen, but he has been ill recently. The one you saw going crazy is the third young lady, Isabelle, and she also has a younger sister, Charlotte. These are all the children of the Nihilite family."

Shiler sighed and said: "I am ashamed. I came too hurriedly and did not ask in detail about the young master's condition, otherwise, I might have been able to ask my classmates and teachers to help with a diagnosis."

But at this moment, the manservant's expression looked a bit strange. He said vaguely: "Of course, of course medical experts have been here, but... I absolutely do not mean that, sir. You and your friends are all very kind-hearted people."

"I don't understand what you mean." Shiler looked at the manservant with some confusion and said: "Could it be that the eldest young master's illness is contagious? But as long as isolation measures are taken..."

"No, if it were a contagious disease, the Lady would have handled it long ago and wouldn't have invited you all over. He is just..." The manservant looked left and right, then lowered his voice and said: "He might have been frightened by the crazy third young lady, or it could also be..."

Just then, the butler's voice came from afar. The manservant turned his head in horror, then ran away in a flash.

"Very strange, isn't it?" Be-Bat walked up and first sized up Shiler's attire, saying jokingly: "I can't tell, your taste in suits is quite unique."

The moment Shiler turned his head, Be-Bat's second half of the sentence was choked back. He saw some unfriendly emotions in those desolate gray eyes.

But that disappeared quickly, so quickly that Be-Bat felt he might have been hallucinating. Another strange intuition made him take a slight step back, and then he said: "Sorry, I meant to say, the brooch is nice."

Shiler's expression did not change, but Be-Bat felt the atmosphere around them become more relaxed.

This appearance didn't seem real, Be-Bat thought; it was almost like a perfect and gorgeous human skin. But if a certain creature needed a human skin, then what was he?

A certain restless curiosity made Be-Bat's heart beat a little faster, and Batman and Seeing Natasha, who both had the ability to calculate heart rates from a distance, stopped instantly in the foyer.

"He's done for, I'm telling you." Seeing Natasha leaned toward Batman, and Batman did not refuse. The female agent continued: "He has developed curiosity about Shiler, and that is precisely the most fatal thing."

Batman turned his head to look at Seeing Natasha, then looked at Shiler and said: "I feel he is a bit unfamiliar. Is it my illusion?"

It sounded like a question, but in reality, it was not. Batman saying this proved that he already had a definite answer. He recalled the scene he had seen in Shiler's Tower of Thought. Would this be one of them? And which one would it be?

Seeing Natasha also felt a bit strange, but the second after she looked at Shiler with a probing gaze, Shiler turned his head over. Seeing Natasha felt as if she had been stung and instantly grabbed Batman tightly.

"No matter which one he is, I bet he's not a pushover." Seeing Natasha pulled hard on Batman's suit sleeve and said: "We have to find that murderer quickly, otherwise it's all over."

Batman had just opened his mouth to say something, but Seeing Natasha interrupted him, saying: "I know you want to save everyone here. I have no objection to that and am willing to cooperate as much as I can, because I know that your ability alone is completely enough to achieve this goal, so I'll listen to you."

"But I advise you not to hold too much hope." Seeing Natasha sighed and said: "The three of us can only keep an eye on one at a time. Don't misunderstand, I mean keeping an eye on Shiler. As for the murderer arranged by the organizer... at least he is now among the people you are protecting."

"Who do you think he will be?" This was a real question, but it was actually a double entendre; it was both asking who the murderer arranged by the organizer was, and who Shiler's new personality was.

"You've seen that tower, right? You might not know, but the tower's elevator can lead to the basement, and there is another location there called the Abyss..."

Seeing Natasha briefly introduced to Batman what she had seen and heard in the basement of Shiler's tower, and after clearing her throat twice, she said: "I have witnessed one of them, and the lesson learned is: never develop an interest in any aspect of any Shiler. No curiosity, no desire for knowledge—that's it."

"Then what happened in the end?" Batman was asking about the result of her encounter with the other Shiler.

"We both died." Seeing Natasha shrugged and said: "Ever seen a fish being killed? He dissected my abdominal cavity, and almost all my internal organs fell out. I fired two shots at him, one of which hit his heart."

Batman silently let go of Seeing Natasha's arm and moved a step to the side.

"If you dare to say I'm not someone you're protecting, I won't help you save people."

Batman silently moved back.

And on the other side, just as Seeing Natasha said, Be-Bat had developed a great interest in this slightly unfamiliar Shiler.

Just like every smart person, they always feel they can guess enough information from the other's minimal actions, feeling that they are just skimming the surface, will not go deep, and there is no need to go deep.

It was like this when dealing with the vast majority of other people, but Shiler was like an endless mystery. Every time some information was revealed in conversation, it would bring out more secrets worth exploring.

"You've really changed a lot." Be-Bat smiled and said: "I often hear people say that doctors always have two faces; they are not as patient in life as they are in the clinic."

"That is correct." Shiler nodded, then took a handkerchief out of his suit pocket, wiped his hands gently, and said: "But I don't go into the clinic, Mr. Wayne. I am a surgeon."

Be-Bat opened his eyes slightly in surprise. He sized up Shiler again and said: "You have a surgical license? And at the same time, you also have a psychologist license?"

"Yes, and I have work experience in both."

"Why?"

"Sorry, what?"

Be-Bat changed his posture, straightened the hem of his suit, and said: "I mean, either you changed from a surgeon to a psychologist, or you changed from a psychologist to a surgeon. I think the former is more likely. So why did you do that?"

"You're right. I mean, doctors usually have two faces, and you can understand my situation as being more pathological."

After Be-Bat was stunned for a moment, he opened his mouth slightly and said: "You have two personalities? Multiple personality disorder?"

"Dissociative identity disorder."

"My god." Be-Bat couldn't help but size up Shiler again, frowning and saying: "I remember that multiple personality disorder requires a trigger. Have you been stimulated by something?"

Shiler opened his mouth slightly, then let his gaze fall on Be-Bat's eyes. After being silent for a while, he opened his mouth and said: "A surgery."

Then Be-Bat filled in the plot of almost three seasons of medical dramas in his own mind, and then he said: "I feel sorry. I didn't mean to bring this up."

But at this moment, Shiler was folding his handkerchief while smiling and saying: "You wanted to hear this, right? A certain famous surgeon swore never to step into the operating room again because of a failed surgery. Sir, I'm afraid this would only happen in movies."

"The trigger was indeed a surgery, but I had already prepared myself psychologically beforehand. This doesn't count as any kind of mental trauma; it's more like a spray of waves on the water surface caused by an undersea earthquake."

Be-Bat was stunned for a moment by this metaphor, but he still instinctively asked: "What surgery?"

"Completing the Fontan circulation for a child with congenital heart disease. That's right, it's that picture in the pediatric cardiac surgery textbook."

Be-Bat's expression instantly became serious. He reached out a hand, shook Shiler's hand firmly, and said: "I didn't expect you to be a great cardiac surgeon. Can you tell me the specific situation?"

"There's nothing to talk about regarding the surgery." Shiler sighed lightly, shook his head, and said: "This surgery has three stages in total, all completed on the hearts of young children. Even if the surgery is perfectly successful, the survival rate is only about 70%."

"You might think I made a mistake during this surgery, but on the contrary, every doctor and nurse did their best, but the child passed away three days after the surgery."

"What a tragedy." Be-Bat sighed along.

"But the root cause was not poor recovery." Shiler spoke again.

"Then what was it?" Be-Bat frowned.

"When the child was still under observation, his parents had some property disputes and decided to divorce. Because of the fight for custody and inheritance, the child was forcibly taken away on the third day."

Be-Bat opened his eyes wide, but a feeling of anger flashed across the bottom of his eyes, but then he said.

"Is this the reason you chose to be a psychologist?"

Shiler finally put the folded handkerchief back into his suit pocket and said.

"This is the reason I chose Batman. He won't give up on any child."

Seeing Natasha looked at Batman beside her, whose eyes were gradually becoming vacant, with her jaw dropped, and her expression began to become increasingly desperate.