Chapter 2875

Cat Getan in this universe rarely has sunlight, but the guest room at Wei En Manor was kept very clean, and the bedding exuded the scent of having been sun-dried. When morning arrived, Shiler stood by the door and handed the clothes that needed ironing to Alfred.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Butler." Shiler smiled at Alfred. Alfred took the clothes, glanced down lightly, and couldn't help but offer a compliment.

"Your taste in clothing fabric is very elegant, Doctor. I once tried to get Master to accept silk garments, as they would pair better with his coat, but unfortunately, he refused."

"Then I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to explain why every one of his silk shirts ends up snagged." Shiler kept smiling and said, "He probably just didn't want to expose the calluses on his hands from guns through that method."

Alfred instinctively looked at Shiler's hands.

Although he knew that for a surgeon, their hands were extremely important and would never be neglected in terms of care, this Dr. Shiler's hands were practically flawless; even when smoothing out the most delicate silk fabric, they would never leave a single trace.

Perhaps it was the same in other aspects—was this really just the professional conduct of a surgeon?

Alfred withdrew his gaze, nodded at Shiler, and left with the clothes. A figure appeared at the end of the corridor; Tim walked over unhurriedly and said, "I want to talk to you."

"About Batman? Please, come in."

Tim walked into the room, but his hands remained in front of his chest, and his steps were not very wide, showing signs of nervousness. When he sat down, he didn't lean back but sat bolt upright.

Shiler didn't sit down but turned to pour tea. Seeing him expose his back without any defense, Tim should have felt relaxed, but for some reason, he felt a bit unable to sit still.

"I am indeed here for Batman. I'm a bit worried about his condition," Tim said. "I know that if it has reached the point where he has to rely on an outsider for surgery, his situation must be as bad as it gets."

"I'm sorry, Master Tim. As a doctor, I have no right to disclose any information about a patient, and Batman wouldn't like me doing so either. Tea or coffee?"

"Tea."

Shiler's movements paused, but he still reached into the drawer beside him to get a tea bag. Still with his back to Tim, he said, "Batman told me a lot about vampires yesterday. This completely exceeded my expectations. I find it hard to believe that this group of monsters has developed to the point of posing a threat to humanity."

He turned around and placed the tea in front of Tim. Tim looked up to observe his movements, but only saw this man walk to the opposite side and sit down unhurriedly. When he picked up the teacup to drink, the steam condensed on his eyelashes, yet it couldn't refract any light from his eyes.

"People have been going missing in Cat Getan recently, and we are all investigating this. Did Batman say anything else to you?"

"He is not a person who is very good at chatting." Shiler shook his head, smiled lightly, and said, "I was just a bit curious about these so-called vampires, so I asked a few more questions. But my time is very tight, and most of it is spent preparing for tomorrow night's surgery."

Tim wanted to open his mouth but didn't know how to start. When he asked about the surgery, Shiler talked to him about vampires; when he brought up vampires, Shiler talked about the surgery instead.

Talking to this person always felt stifling. You felt he might be beating around the bush, but you also felt he was being evasive to hint at something. Yet, thinking about it carefully, whether it was beating around the bush or hinting, there was no concrete evidence.

"I don't want to play games with you." Tim had to take a more direct approach. He said, "I strongly disapprove of performing surgery on Batman at this time, regardless of what that surgery is."

"But I also know that Batman should be clearer on this point than I am. He wouldn't like to expose his weaknesses during a troubled time unless he had to. Can you tell me just how 'forced' he is?"

"Too smart, boy." Shiler couldn't help but exclaim. He put down the teacup and stared into Tim's eyes, making Tim break out in a cold sweat.

"Batman told me one thing yesterday—whoever asked this question first—I mean, the question you just asked—I could reveal some truth to him."

Tim pricked up his ears.

"But I'm very sorry, you weren't the first."

Tim was simply stunned. He felt he must have heard wrong, because there was some indescribable, childlike malice in this man's tone, as if he had laid the groundwork for so long just to mess with Tim.

"Who was it?" Tim still couldn't help but ask.

"A clever young lady, eloquent and hard to handle." Shiler sighed with some helplessness and said, "I've always had no way to deal with such clever girls. I can only tell you that she seemed hesitant when she left; perhaps she went to discuss it with someone."

Tim immediately thought of Barbara and Dick. This clever girl must be Barbara.

Although there were two girls in the Bat-family, the other was Cassandra. It was tacitly understood in the Bat-family that she was Batman's mouthpiece—in short, a mute.

The word "eloquent" would never be used for her, so the only one left was Barbara Gordon. Oracle inherited certain aspects of her father and had the qualities of Batman; she was indeed always hard to handle.

And if one were to ask who Barbara would go to first when she encountered a difficult problem, it would inevitably be Dick.

Thinking of this, Tim couldn't sit still. It wasn't that he had any prejudice against this big brother, but from Tim's perspective, the result they could discuss would definitely not be a good solution.

To be specific, it was probably full of justice and rigor, but lacking in flexibility, and it was very likely to delay things.

Tim left in a hurry. Shiler looked at the tea still steaming on the table and shook his head lightly, as if speaking to the air, "I told you, this method won't work. To your children, I am just a stranger. Their vigilance hasn't dropped to the point of drinking tea served by a stranger upon their first meeting."

Shiler walked to the table nearby, fished out a "Bible" from the drawer, and a small cross pendant. Batman's voice sounded from the depths of the drawer.

"This can protect you," he said. "There is still plenty of holy water. If someone wants to make a move, this can at least help you delay for a while."

"I am confident that even if there is more than one vampire in your Bat-family, they won't make a move on me. Still, don't underestimate your children too much."

Batman fell silent. Shiler picked up the "Bible" and flipped through it, not wearing the cross pendant around his neck, but tucking it into his pocket.

Today, he was rarely dressed in a black suit with dark patterns, much more low-key than his usual attire, only the marlin brooch on his chest was still shining brightly.

Arguments soon came from the corridor.

Tim slammed the door and left, Dick followed behind with an anxious look, and Barbara followed closely behind.

This commotion not only disturbed Shiler but also attracted the attention of Jason and Damian downstairs, and even Cassandra looked up.

Everything quieted down when Batman walked out of the room.

"Afternoon tea time is here," Alfred announced. He said, "Today I have prepared rich chocolate cherry cake, almond cookies, and Sri Lankan black tea. Does anyone want extra sugar?"

The Robins had different needs for sweetness. Damian's taste was relatively heavy and he would often clamor for more sugar; Dick would try his best to dissuade him, but when Barbara needed her tea hotter and with more sugar during her period, he would personally help her, which would always provoke a few taunts from Damian.

Barbara nodded lightly at Alfred, and Alfred understood. But Damian looked at Dick, who was not moving, and felt a bit strange, his eyeballs rolling around.

Shiler opened the door but didn't come out immediately; instead, he went back into the room, seemingly having retrieved something before coming out.

Tim, Dick, and Barbara had some unpleasantness, sat on chairs, and didn't speak. Jason gave him a look, but he pretended not to see.

Originally, things would have kicked off by now, but it seemed that because there was suddenly a stranger in the Bat-family, everyone held back, some questions that should have been asked weren't, and the atmosphere felt a bit eerie.

The afternoon tea, with everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, began just like that.

Batman sat at the head of the table, Dick sat on his right, Shiler sat on his left, and the others sat in order of age.

"The surgery will be scheduled for tomorrow night. I will not appear after 3 PM tomorrow. You must take good care of the security work at Wei En Manor and the Batcave. Cassandra..."

"I'm here," Cassandra signaled with her eyes.

"Tomorrow you will guard the manor well. I'll leave this place to you. Alfred will assist from the side. Everyone else goes to the Batcave."

Batman scanned the circle and said, "Barbara will still go to the monitoring room, Dick is responsible for guarding the main gate, and Jason and Tim will go to the armory and wait outside the laboratory respectively."

"I'll go outside the laboratory," Jason and Tim said almost in unison.

Usually, Jason liked going to the armory best, and he also knew that proposing a change in duties at this time was a bit suspicious, so he said, "If anyone wants to invade this place, they must be aiming for you, Batman. Only I can shoulder this heavy responsibility."

"But the armory is equally important," Batman looked at Jason and said, "I believe Tim can protect me well."

Jason's fingers tightened, but surprisingly, he didn't speak, seemingly tacitly accepting this arrangement.

Batman felt slightly relieved, almost ruling out the possibility of Jason, because Jason Todd had a thousand excuses to explode, but only one reason would make him endure, and that was love.

Tim's hands were crossed, his fingers tapping lightly on the back of his hand. He said, "Why not let everyone gather together? Being alone will only be broken one by one."

"Broken by what?" Batman asked.

"Don't play riddles at this time," Tim said, appearing very impatient. "Since you already know the answer is vampires, don't let us waste time making meaningless guesses."

"Why do you say that, Tim?"

"Of course, because this is an answer that anyone with a brain can guess. We are acting like we are facing a great enemy only because this time the invaders are more cunning and secretive than any criminal."

"I don't think so," Barbara said. "Vampires fear sunlight, holy water, and crosses. Their weaknesses are simply too obvious."

"That is why I said you have no vigilance," Tim exposed what they had been arguing about in the room earlier. He said, "There are too many ways to block ultraviolet rays, and not coming into contact with holy water and crosses is also simple. Therefore, abandoning a meticulous defense plan is completely crazy."

"Tim, don't say that about Barbara," Dick said. "No one ever said we wouldn't prepare. I believe Batman has already prepared holy water and crosses, and we can also install more UV lamps in the Batcave. They won't have a chance."

"No need to argue anymore," Batman said. "Let's eat first. Afterward, I will prepare the equipment everyone needs. I believe there won't be any major problems."