Chapter 3287

Maria's experience is actually not complicated. It's nothing more than being ruined by the former Joker, and then she herself becoming the Joker.

But if you look at it from another angle, her story is actually not that simple either. If it were just falling into a chemical pool and Batman's gaze, she wouldn't have become the Joker so easily.

Maria was an ordinary bank clerk. But before she became a bank clerk, her growth process was naturally not smooth sailing. In general, it can be summarized as: a father who committed domestic violence, a mother who ran away, a scumbag brother, and a promising her.

That she could find a stable job with such family conditions shows how hard she worked.

And what's even more commendable is that Maria didn't choose to walk the path of crime, but seized every opportunity to work hard, cautiously reducing mistakes, only then winning the battle of survival.

Perhaps many people have this experience: when a person struggles for survival for too long, it's easy to lose oneself. Operating like a lifeless machine every day until the soul gradually disappears. After achieving accomplishments that were once difficult to obtain, one can no longer feel any joy.

Maria is like this; she lived her life as a template, similar to and opposite of Ruth.

Ruth relied on criminal means, which isn't glorious, but eventually reached a high position. Maria didn't become a criminal, but relied on hard work, caution, and a little bit of luck to live a stable life as an ordinary person.

But they also face the same problem, which is encountering the lid on top of their heads.

Whether it's criminal means or hard work, they have no way to continue moving up.

Ruth chose to accept her fate; as long as she could escape the terrible living environment at the bottom, she would be a dog if she had to. Maria, however, chose to grasp the hand the Joker extended to her, falling into madness with him, using madness to resist despair.

Her true nature had been suppressed for too long, and a life with no room for advancement left her with no reason to continue suppressing it. And the Joker let her see the beauty of free release behind madness, which is what forged the Maria of today.

Is it the Joker who created Maria's tragedy? Maria, the Joker, and even Batman don't think so, at least not entirely.

The moment Maria's head hit the lid, her normal life could no longer be maintained forever. To break through this limitation, one must either become a criminal or a lunatic.

Looking at it this way, how many criminals and lunatics in Cat Getan have experiences similar to Maria's?

Clark is also thinking about this question. He hadn't looked at Cat Getan from this angle before, but now he realizes that much of Cat Getan's darkness is not like Metropolis, which has a specific source. No matter how he traces it, he can't trace it back to any person or thing.

Immediately after, Bruce showed Clark some videos, which were videos of criminals in Arkham Asylum recounting their experiences.

The super-criminals who can mix into Arkham's independent rooms, which one of them doesn't have a story? But then again, among those who can survive to tell their stories, which one hasn't dealt with the lid on their head?

Arkham's criminals indeed have quite a few lunatics who are mentally abnormal by nature, but that doesn't mean their choice to be a criminal wasn't influenced by other factors.

This society didn't give these patients with congenital mental illnesses any other path. Even on the path of crime, their choices are few. In the final analysis, it's nothing more than being under the control of the upper class, consuming each other with the people at the bottom.

If all the faults are attributed to the rich, it's not objective enough. Many of them also climbed up from the bottom. Because of their own strength plus a stroke of luck, they broke through the lid on their heads and won a better new life for themselves.

All the efforts they made to maintain their class were nothing more than not wanting to fall back down; they were protecting their own interests. If other poor people were in their place, they would do the same.

It was supposed to be like this.

"Then if I replace you, won't he finish you off too?" the Pale Knight asked suspiciously.

"More unfortunately, he has some conflicts with his brother. When he took action, there were people planted by his brother at the scene who caught evidence of him killing and handed it over to the police station. It can be said that the evidence is ironclad. He definitely won't be coming out for a short time; if his luck is bad, he might spend the rest of his life in prison," Schiller said with a smile.

The Pale Knight rubbed his forehead and said, "In other words, he coincidentally perished together with Toke, and the position of warden of Arkham Asylum just happened to become vacant."

Schiller nodded vigorously.

With a "slap," the Pale Knight patted the table; he glared at Schiller and said, "Do you think I'm stupid? Where in this world do so many coincidences come from?!"

"Talk is talk, don't pat the table, you scared me," Schiller picked at his ear and said. "I admit I made some efforts to create my own employment opportunities. But I am not the type of person who takes credit, and I certainly won't boast in front of you, Mayor. My motto is that humility makes people progress."

The Pale Knight couldn't help but cover his forehead.

"You first say what you did," the Pale Knight said helplessly.

"The idea for the gambling game was mine," Schiller confessed.

"Anything else?" the Pale Knight pursued.

"I am the person on his brother's side," Schiller continued.

"And?" the Pale Knight continued to pursue.

"The evidence was sent by me," Schiller answered.

"Then?" the Pale Knight was unrelenting.

"Really nothing else, just these," Schiller looked at the Pale Knight very sincerely and said. "Two days is only enough for me to do these things, there is nothing else."

The Pale Knight felt a bit oxygen-deprived and said, "Forget the others, what's going on with that gambling game? Do you know this could trigger a riot at Arkham Asylum?!"

"I know," Schiller answered calmly.

"You know and you still do it?!" the Pale Knight questioned angrily.

"I was wrong, I am trying my best to make up for it." Schiller pushed the document toward the Pale Knight again and said, "That's why I'm applying to you to become the warden of Arkham Asylum. This is me using actual actions to make up for my mistake."

The Pale Knight was choked up immediately.

He had already discovered that pointing out Schiller's mistakes on a moral or legal level was useless. He would not debate right or wrong with you; his speed at admitting mistakes was faster than anyone else's.

Shameless people admit mistakes humbly and never change. But Schiller admits mistakes humbly and then counterattacks.

Facing his logic, what could the Pale Knight say? If he said no, wouldn't that be preventing Schiller from correcting his mistake? Wouldn't that be hindering someone's progress?

Good heavens, he had been morally kidnapping others for a lifetime, and now it was his turn to be kidnapped. Was there any justice left in this world?

"I say, don't be too picky either," Schiller said. "If you announce the gambling matter, then absolutely no one will dare to be the warden of Arkham Asylum. But if there is no backbone, it will only cause more trouble. Isn't this me solving problems for you?"

The Pale Knight really wanted to say "I don't need it," but after thinking carefully, he did indeed still need it.

If Toke hadn't died, even if he wanted to flee, his masters wouldn't have agreed. Because as long as they could control him, that game would be a guaranteed win.

But Toke was dead, and those participating in the gambling wanted to send a newcomer up, but no one would be willing to go. Because in the current situation, whoever goes up dies. No one would allow their competitor to occupy such an important position.

Even if they could find someone who wasn't afraid of death, they would highly likely be finished off by others. And sending another one up wouldn't change the fate of being finished off.

To put it bluntly, it's like the King of Hell calling the roll; whoever comes up will be hostile to others, and then they will have to deal with attacks from all sides. Unless Superman comes, it's just going to die.

But if this position remains vacant, they can only let the gambling game develop, let those criminals escape from prison, let the face of the maintainers of order be trampled on the ground, and let the citizens of Cat Getan be disappointed once again.

If they want to interfere in this matter, the important positions must be their people. Although the position of police commissioner is important, he must start from the overall situation, and maintaining stability is the top priority. Expecting him to free up his hands to do something is difficult.

Then, taking the position of warden, who can have close contact with criminals and can mobilize all security facilities of Arkham Asylum, is the only way for these good people to intervene in this matter.

But they also face the same predicament as the elite individuals: whoever is pushed up to sit in this position might not be able to sit still.

The Pale Knight is not afraid of death, but he would be blocked outside the door by the warden's academic and professional requirements. Batman's academic qualifications are enough, but he is a masked hero and cannot disclose his personal information, so that won't work either.

Besides that, the people who can be recommended either don't meet the standards or might not necessarily stand completely on their side. It can be said that after choosing and choosing, Schiller is really the only one left.

Thinking of this, the Pale Knight knew that Schiller was still not counting on him to show kindness; he was still leaving him with no choice.

The Pale Knight was very repulsed by this feeling of being manipulated, but he was not the type of irrational person. So he still signed.

However, after approving the appointment document, the Pale Knight still asked, "What do you want to do again?"

"Don't worry, this is the first step," Schiller said. "Now we still don't have a way to completely cut off their foundation, but collecting some interest first is still possible. This will also facilitate our subsequent actions."

Knowing that the truth could not be asked from Schiller's mouth, the Pale Knight changed the way he asked, saying, "Can you guarantee to me that no innocent people will be harmed?"

"Of course," Schiller promised quickly, saying, "In fact, except for that group of elite individuals, no one will be hurt in this matter, including that group of criminals in Arkham Asylum."

"Even if it's elite individuals, you had better not cause any casualties. If they really have illegal actions, then arrest them and send them to court. That is more effective than you killing them directly," the Pale Knight warned.

Schiller said quite helplessly, "I am not an executioner, I have no intention of killing anyone. In your eyes, am I really that cruel and bloodthirsty?"

"That's not it," the Pale Knight shook his head and said, "These two words are too shallow to describe you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Schiller stood up and said, "Cherish the time you spend handling official business alone. It won't be long before the city government reopens."

This remark left the Pale Knight stunned. Where did this come from? He just wanted to ask what was going on, but Schiller had already gone out.

Schiller carried the appointment document and went to Arkham Asylum. Bruce was playing cards with a group of super-criminals.

When Schiller arrived, he was being lifted up and shaken by Killer Croc, and playing cards were falling off him with a clatter.

Killer Croc opened his big mouth to bite, and Schiller shouted, "Spare him!"

Bruce was put down, and without any embarrassed expression, he patted his butt and left.

Leaving the activity room, he looked at Schiller and said, "What's wrong?"

Schiller found him more and more unpleasant to look at, and said irritably, "After you came to this universe, besides shopping, eating, and playing cards, what else have you done? Are you here for a vacation?"

Bruce actually nodded. ===== CHAPTER 3279 =====

Batman thought with some breakdown, register then, you living ancestor, who can stop you?!