Chapter 433: Metropolis Mystery (14)

"And Rodriguez... Schiller Rodriguez!"

"A damn murderer, a pervert!"

"You damn agent! Haven't you been looking for the killer from back then? I can tell you, the killer is Rodriguez. He killed two people! And dismembered one of them! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"!"

When Lionel spoke the name Rodriguez, various negative emotions poured out from between his teeth like a flood.

Benjamin felt for the first time that human emotions could truly become a tangible blade, making one feel as if thorns were on their back.

If hatred could truly turn into substance, then Lionel might possess the sharpest weapon in the world, but unfortunately, such a thing is impossible.

So, he could only clench his fists tightly in this reception room, stomping his feet repeatedly, venting all sorts of negative emotions directed at Schiller to Benjamin in the capacity of a victim.

And when Benjamin heard Lionel say "Schiller killed at least two people," his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

At this moment, the snow outside began to grow heavier; piercing through the dancing snowflakes, warm light points lit up again, and the Mayor's residence, existing in the same body across different times, appeared amidst the swirling snow, time traveling back two years.

This time, the brilliant lights had fallen; the bloodstains in the living room had not yet been wiped clean; the Vice Speaker's corpse lay in a corner on one side of the hall, covered by a Bai Bu; all the doors in the entire Mayor's residence were tightly closed; everyone had turned off the lights and was hiding in their bedrooms, afraid to make a sound.

Because just now, two more murders had occurred; even the police could no longer maintain order; everyone could only rush back to their small rooms like mice chased by a cat, vainly hoping to gain some sense of security this way.

A violent blizzard surrounded this manor, turning it into a prison for ordinary people, while simultaneously becoming a hunting ground for serial killers.

On the pitch-black corridor, only one room at the end emitted a sliver of light; the light seeping through the door crack was like a sharp blade, cutting the end of the corridor into another cold and chilling space.

Lionel walked stealthily down the corridor, arriving before the door emitting a sliver of light; he stopped his steps, then held his breath; he heard a cold voice coming from inside the room:

"... Looks like this is the last one... Pity, still no sign of what I'm looking for."

Lionel heard the chilling sound of cutting meat coming from inside the room, followed by some water sounds and the "da da" of leather shoes pacing on the floor; all of this made him feel incredibly terrified, but he still suppressed this emotion and continued listening.

"Such a huge treasure... Dong, Dong... Looks like I have to leave here, but before that..."

The voice coming from inside the room was intermittent; Lionel continued to hold his breath, wanting to hear more clearly, but soon, the noises in the room stopped, and Lionel's body trembled slightly.

Just as he calmed himself down through deep breathing, stood up, and prepared to leave, he heard a faint "creak," and the door opened.

A figure wearing a suit stood in the light projected from the room, yet was like a black hole swallowing all light; that was Schiller Rodriguez.

Lionel fell to the ground; he struggled to move his body, backing up a few steps, emitting short gasps from his mouth; he said, "Professor Rodriguez..."

"Did you see?" Schiller asked him expressionlessly.

"No, I didn't, I saw nothing!"

"You saw me kill Nelson." Schiller used a declarative sentence; he said, "You saw me approach him, ask him those few questions, then kill him and throw him off the building; thus, you followed me all the way here, wanting to hear what exactly I was looking for."

Lionel struggled to turn over, climbing up from the ground; he clasped his hands together, hunching his body, and said, "No, no, Mr. Schiller, I saw nothing; I can keep it secret, really..."

"Then why did you come here?"

The evil tone carried a chilling coldness that made one's heart ache; Lionel didn't even know how to answer; he forced out a fake smile; Schiller also revealed a smile, but that smile looked terrifying.

"Uh... it's like this, I came to find you, actually just to ask you to treat my son; he has autism; I've asked many experts, but I feel their professional level is not as good as yours..."

"Where is he?"

Lionel seemed not to expect Schiller to ask this question directly; he revealed a very hesitant and troubled expression; he said, "It's already very late, and..."

"If you are not here for this matter, then you truly saw something..."

Accompanying Schiller's utterance of this sentence, Lionel saw a streak of blood flowing out from the door crack; he swallowed; the expression of fear on his face was almost uncontrollable; finally, to save his own life, he still said, "... No, I am serious; if you think so, then come with me..."

Lionel and Schiller moved through the pitch-black corridor, ascended a spiral staircase, arrived upstairs, until they reached the reception room.

Lex Luthor, dressed in a suit, waited there; at that time, he was younger, and his figure was merely that of a teenager.

"The Era of Genes"

Schiller stepped forward, bent down, and stared at Lex; Lex also looked up at him; his eyes were somewhat numb, his consciousness appeared scattered, unable to think independently.

Schiller narrowed his eyes; Lionel stepped forward, pretending to be polite, and asked, "Professor, how is it? Is my son's condition okay?"

Schiller straightened up, pretending to be thinking, turned around, walked back, and began pacing in the room.

Lionel's attention was on Lex, therefore, he did not notice that Schiller, walking behind him, picked up a vase from the decorative table.

"This child had bad luck; when his mother gave birth to him, she suffered from postpartum depression; I asked many doctors, cared for her meticulously, but in the end, she still committed suicide..."

"Although I am very sad, I know, for little Lex, I must hold on; but what made me more collapse was that a few years later, he was diagnosed with childhood autism, unable to communicate normally with people, his thinking was also abnormal..."

"Professor, you don't know how sad I was; at that moment, I almost wanted to follow my wife, but for the sake of taking care of him, I persisted."

"For my son, I must live on..."

Lionel's voice kept trembling, like an old father overwhelmed with grief; just as he stood up and turned back to look at Schiller's reaction, what appeared in his field of vision was a huge vase.

With a loud "Bang," Lionel fell to the ground; Schiller threw down the handle of the vase, did not look at Lionel who was knocked unconscious with a head full of blood, but instead came before Lex.

He bent down, touched Lex's head, but Lex still had no reaction, remaining very dull.

Schiller flipped up his eyelids, murmuring to himself in a low voice, "Long-term use of excessive sedative drugs..."

He felt around Lex's body; when he touched Lex's calves and knees, Lex instinctively shrank back.

Schiller rolled up Lex's pant legs, discovering many old scars on them; he made Lex turn around; after lifting up his shirt, he discovered scars on his back as well; obviously, these could not have been caused by an accident, but were traces left by someone abusing him.

He glanced sideways at Lionel, his eyes becoming somewhat cold; subsequently, he tested Lex's various reactions again, then sighed, stood still thinking for a long time, and finally, supporting Lex's back, said, "... Come with me."

He patted Lex's back, guiding him out the door, through the pitch-black corridor, to that previous room; facing the intense stimulation of the smell of blood, Lex still had no reaction.

Without looking at the indescribable mass in the center of the room, Schiller stepped over that pile of things, arrived at the bedside, and rummaged a small box out of his suitcase.

After opening the box, inside was a very small test tube; Schiller looked at the liquid remaining in that test tube, less than one milliliter; he sighed deeply again, murmuring to himself, "Originally not much, now only this little bit remains..."

"But, just because only this little bit remains, it seems I can't do anything else." Schiller said as if comforting himself.

He looked up at Lex, looked at his youthful face and dull eyes, paused for a moment, then walked over.

He unscrewed the cap of that small test tube; the instant the cap opened, a charming wine scent spread throughout the room.

He hooked his hand under Lex's chin, made him open his mouth, then poured the liquid in the test tube into his mouth.

The instant the liquid entered his mouth, Lex revealed an extremely painful expression.

Schiller bent down and hugged him, stopping his struggles; Lex was like a dying fish dragged from the sea onto land, trembling continuously; after a few minutes, he began to vomit and cough.

When Lex finally straightened up, his eyes began to gleam, emitting a faint light.

Just like a vegetative patient who had lain in a hospital bed for years suddenly waking up, he had a moment of confusion, then stood frozen in place, beginning to accept the memories in his mind.

Schiller pressed his shoulder, looked into his eyes, and said to him: "I know you are a bit confused right now. I think you have memories of your own ordeal, but I still need to explain things to you."

"Your father must have been abusing you all along, but I don't understand why he would give you excessive doses of sedative drugs for such a long time, to the extent that these drugs severely affected your development system and cognitive abilities."

"However, by a strange coincidence, I have something very miraculous that can reactivate human cognition. Although excessive use might drive someone mad, a small amount should be just right for your symptoms."

"Of course, this thing will have some side effects. It might make your thoughts more active and a bit crazy during certain states of excitement, but it is still within a controllable range."

"Alright, child, listen. In a moment, I will go hypnotize your father to make him forget that I knocked him out and treated you."

"Hypnosis is not all-powerful. If time permitted, perhaps I could do more, but now, for some reasons, I must leave immediately."

Schiller looked into Lex's eyes and said: "Remember, pretend nothing happened. Only then can you protect yourself. If he gives you drugs again, find a way to deceive him."

"Also, do not think about revenge until you have absolute certainty. Goodbye."

After speaking, Schiller turned around, closed his suitcase, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, he heard a slightly childish voice from behind: "Do you know why my father used drugs to control me?"

Schiller turned his head, stared into Lex's eyes, and asked in confusion: "You can speak so quickly? You..."

In his vision, bathed in the light and standing before a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, Lex showed him a somewhat mad smile, then said:

"Because I am a genius..."

"A super genius."

Behind him, the wind and snow continued outside the window.

Weaving through the dancing wind and snow, time rushed forward. When looking through the window again, the atmosphere of confrontation between Schiller and Benjamin grew increasingly intense.

And the red-haired boy who had been standing behind Benjamin slowly raised the vase in his hand toward the person in front of him.