Chapter 3188: The Detective Shall Die (Part 50)

Bruce really wanted to howl in his heart. Not smoking early or late, but going to smoke a cigar now?! You might as well smoke me like you used to!

Bruce now urgently wanted to figure out what was going on with this agent, but he didn't know much about

The drawback of behavioral analysis lies right here: first, you must have enough data on past behavior to be able to conduct an analysis.

The key is that Bruce has synthesized all the behavioral data of this Agent Shiler since the game began, and he still cannot figure out his purpose; the main thing is that the data is simply too scarce.

After the game started, the agent performed averagely; Bruce could roughly tell that he is quite capable in a fight, and at the same time, more flexible and adaptable compared to other Shilers, pragmatic in his actions, and also knows behavioral analysis.

But this information alone is completely insufficient to explain his current actions.

The Pale Knight says the agent wants to get intelligence, but the problem is that after they join forces, they will naturally be open and honest with others; at the very least, they will certainly say how Batman and Greed reached a cooperation and what kind of plan they formulated. He will know these sooner or later, so there is no need at all to resort to violence.

Bruce does not think there is any Shiler who is a fool unable to understand the situation; the Main Universe Batman has already spoken to that extent, so anyone with a bit of a brain should understand that next, they are going to deal with the Joker together.

The premise of cooperation is information sharing, so isn't obtaining intelligence just a matter of time? Why on earth does he have to resort to killing?

Even for those crazy, pathological Shilers, they have reasons for killing; they don't randomly select lucky audience members, and they won't give up benefits within reach just to satisfy their own psychological needs. They might be sociopaths, but they are not true mental patients.

He couldn't have really run into a mental patient, could he?

"He needs to confirm that this intelligence is real." The Pale Knight's low-pitched tone echoed in the corridor.

"But we will tell..."

"He doesn't believe what we say, so he will use his own methods to verify it."

"Isn't this crazy?!"

"No, he isn't." The Pale Knight's tone was as steady as ever. He said: "This is logical. Batman and Greed joined forces to play everyone for fools; even if they have noble reasons, it cannot cover up the fact that they have been hiding things all along."

"If they could hide things before, then they can do so later as well. Why should Shiler believe they will tell the truth and hold nothing back?"

Bruce muttered to himself: "Just because of this? But they don't have an obligation to..."

"In the agent's view, of course they do. In the agent's view, everyone should unconditionally tell them the truth; otherwise, they will find a way to get it themselves. This is the method he thought of."

Bruce clutched his forehead in some pain.

Is there not one! Even one! Normal Shiler?!!

But wailing won't solve any problems. Shiler has created a massive dilemma for them, mainly for him.

Who should he save?

Theoretically speaking, Bruce should of course save Greed and abandon Batman, because after all, he is more familiar with Greed and doesn't particularly like the Main Universe Batman.

But now their great enemy is the Joker, and the only one who can deal with the Joker is Batman. Yet, of the three Batmen in their team, one has turned into a bandit, one isn't even a Batman at all, and only the Main Universe Batman is the orthodox Batman.

If the Main Universe Batman dies, who has the absolute certainty of being able to deal with the Joker?

And if something goes wrong and leads to losing the game, then Greed will also lose everything; given his personality, letting him lose points is worse than taking his life.

"Save Batman!" Greed said weakly: "If this game is lost, I won't let any of you off."

"Greed cannot die." Batman's voice also came from the room. He said: "The identity of the young Silterk is more important than a hunter. He can activate the laboratory. The Joker must still have a trump card; only the things in the laboratory can deal with him."

"It is still too early for you to consider this now."

A voice came from the end of the corridor, sounding exactly like a devil's whisper. Shiler did not lower the arm holding the gun, and he said.

"I still have five bullets left, and I have night-vision goggles. I am confident I can take out three of you. Do you think the one with first-aid skills will be included?"

"You are fucking crazy!" Bruce roared toward that side: "Who among us did the Joker kill?! You plan to kill us all!"

"Isn't it better this way?" Shiler's voice came, "If you are all dead, the Joker will never be able to defeat you."

"But you will lose the game!"

"Who says I will definitely lose?" Shiler's voice contained a hint of mockery. He said: "I am a member of the Sect. As long as everyone is dead, no one will know I came to the village. Can the Joker escape the Sect's pursuit?"

Bruce was choked up. He immediately realized that, in fact, Shiler's backstory had not been fully revealed either.

Bruce considered himself to have a relatively good understanding of Arrogance. If the backstory was written by Arrogance, it was unlikely to have any fresh tricks; it was mostly a standard, ordinary story.

But the problem is, the identity of being a Sect member is very special in itself. If the Sect is the only organization in the world that can solve weird phenomena, then the power of this institution cannot be underestimated.

If they and everyone in the village are all dead, Shiler only needs to find some excuse to explain his disappearance during this period. Bruce believes he can definitely deceive his colleagues and superiors, and the Prowler incident would have nothing to do with him at all.

Or perhaps he was sent by the Sect in the first place, and after finishing the business here, he can go straight back to report for duty.

In that case, he would still be a member of the Sect's clergy, and it would be very difficult for the Joker to attack an employee of such an organization. As long as he dares to make a move, he might be subjected to the Sect's endless pursuit.

After all, the Sect even silences survivors of weird events; if anyone dares to stir up trouble on their turf, they will never let them off.

Under these circumstances, it would become much simpler for Shiler to make a move against the Joker; he might not even need to do it himself, just assist from the sidelines, and the Joker would have no way to escape.

"No." The Pale Knight spoke up: "The Joker won't let you leave the village alive. He must have a way to keep you here."

"And how do you know I don't have a way to dodge it?"

Bruce was just about to say that this was sophistry, when Greed's voice came: "He does have a way. He has a doorplate; that thing might allow him to hide in a place that no one can enter."

Bruce was completely numb.

So this guy is indeed not an emotional person; he considered everything before making his move.

He really wanted to say, can the conflict between you Shilers not involve other people, but he really didn't have the qualifications to say that, because the conflict between Batman and the Joker also often involves other people.

Moreover, Shiler's move this time seems to have been triggered by a certain remark from Batman; in the end, it's still Batman's fault, while Greed is just an innocent bystander.

"Do you have any other way?" Bruce looked at the Pale Knight, then at the Night Owl.

"Two human lives and one skill mean that one person must die." The Pale Knight, who was squatting on the ground supporting Greed, looked up at Bruce and said: "This is a deadlock that cannot be solved perfectly; you must make a choice."

Bruce still wouldn't give up. He looked at Shiler and said: "Even if one of them dies, once the other recovers, with so many of us dealing with you alone, you will definitely die."

"I have a way to dodge the Joker, so naturally I have a way to dodge you." Shiler said: "Honestly, I don't know if that door can be opened, or what is inside after it opens. If something you don't want to see is released, don't blame me."

"You can't let him open it!" Greed's tone was slightly pained, and his wheezing became very obvious. He said: "That is very similar to something from another world, and in that world, there is a monster behind this door—a monster you cannot deal with. Once the door opens, it's mutual destruction."

"Then how can he use this thing to dodge the Joker?"

"I know, but the Joker doesn't. Without any precautions, it's more likely that the monster will kill the Joker first, and wouldn't he win then?"

Bruce was speechless. How the hell can you play like this?

"Where did that thing come from?" Bruce asked again.

Greed remained silent.

"It wouldn't be from the story you made up, would it?!"

Greed closed his eyes and said: "It was originally a trump card for the final confrontation, who knew..."

Bruce suddenly understood.

Greed never intended to cooperate with Batman until the end; his original intention was to use Batman's hand to take out the Joker first, then find a way to take out Batman, and then win alone.

He knew it! He knew it! Bruce gritted his teeth in his heart. That is Greed; in a situation where he could take it all, how could he choose a win-win?

"Then why isn't this thing in your hands?!"

"I said, I can't beat him!"

Very good, a perfect closed loop.

Bruce silently closed his eyes, although he knew Greed must also be cursing in his heart, because he surely could not have imagined being matched into a game with Arrogance, and then Arrogance even dragged the agent along.

Wait a minute, Bruce suddenly thought again, could it be that Arrogance had anticipated all of this, which is why he dragged the agent over?

Bruce wasn't quite sure which of Arrogance or Greed was better at fighting, but he knew Arrogance was someone who would absolutely not make a move easily; he would avoid all combat as much as possible, so it was impossible for him to go and fight Greed for the doorplate.

It turns out that Arrogance, who retreated unscathed early on, was the real winner; this makes all of them look more like the Jokers in a deck of cards.

Bruce knew that it was impossible for him to risk having everyone wiped out here by a mysterious monster just to make a move against Shiler.

Greed and Batman have already lost one person; it will become even harder for them to deal with the Joker. If they lose another member, especially a talent as comprehensive as the agent, the advantage he previously gained through scheming will be wiped out.

More importantly, if he insisted on releasing a dangerous monster, the Pale Knight would certainly not agree, and he might also leave the team; then it would be even more of a scattered mess, and the Joker would wake up laughing in his dreams.

This feeling of being schemed against by others and having no way to fight back is truly very unpleasant. Bruce actually rarely experiences this feeling, because in fact, when he and Arrogance hurt each other, it was mostly straightforward; the Joker in his universe even stood on his side in this regard, so much so that Bruce almost never had to make any difficult choices.

Bruce has always been very clear that once free from the shackles of Batman, the outside world would be wonderful, but it is a bit too wonderful right now—the Joker's dilemma is still chasing me!