[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-72":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Mental Mentor in Marvel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2322640,4544,"Chapter 72","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-72",72,"\u003Cp>The changes at Arkham Asylum were watched closely by Gotham’s Dadaxiaoxiaodeheibang , and while some coveted this lucrative prize, all plans targeting Schiller were dismantled by him through skillful manipulation of the complex rivalries among the gangs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Schiller, the gangs that once troubled Bruce seemed downright foolish; their first instinct was always assassination—a tactic they knew well, for even the smallest gang could find one or two killers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Schiller’s deal with Falcone brought the Don an unexpected windfall; the Don was old and desperate to leave his descendants greater capital, so this sudden fortune made him value the system deeply—if it could be sustained, the businesses Ivan would inherit from him would grow even more secure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Arkham Asylum was guarded by the Don with impenetrable vigilance, and Schiller himself was his top priority, for whom he spared no expense hiring the finest security personnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Schiller’s irreplaceability lay in Falcone’s vision of a new order; if this professor truly brought further transformation to Gotham, the Falcone family’s early advantage would secure them a pivotal place in the coming structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the local powers, the biggest snake was determined to protect Schiller; the smaller snakes had no recourse. Falcone had ruled Gotham’s underworld for decades, and even in age, his lingering authority remained. The gangs, already weakened, could not possibly stand against the Don.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, if they couldn’t kill Schiller, they could try to remove him and replace him with their own man. Not everyone possessed Falcone’s foresight; they saw only that if their own man sat in that chair, the profits would be staggering—even without considering the wealth Schiller’s rules might generate, controlling such a place could inflate their power manyfold overnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They dared not confront Falcone directly, nor dare to steal from his jaws, but small maneuvers were still possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gotham’s underworld produced no shortage of talent, and among them were clever men who approached the university’s president, Xie Dun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun was another unlucky soul; he had intended to recruit new professors to counterbalance Schiller, but the new hire, Victor the Freeze, not only refused to align with him, but quickly befriended Schiller. Within weeks, the two became inseparable confidants, and Xie Dun’s plan collapsed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t even had time to rest before the gangs came knocking again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun was an outsider with no power base in Gotham; yet Gotham’s rule was simple: you needed at least one gang behind you to speak with authority. Xie Dun failed to grasp this, and the day after he refused the gangs, he was shot on his way home from work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gangs kept him alive—he was still useful—and when he saw those gang bosses again in the hospital, Xie Dun understood Gotham’s supreme survival principle: if you have a gun, you’d better have more bullets than anyone else; if you don’t have a gun, shut up and obey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun could legally summon Schiller back to campus—he was president, after all, and it was perfectly normal for faculty to handle administrative duties. If the professor refused such routine assignments, he would be in the wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun concocted a flimsy excuse; he didn’t care if Schiller returned—he wanted an opportunity to harass him, and this was the perfect pretext he’d been waiting for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the very next day after receiving Xie Dun’s call, Schiller returned obediently, with impeccable attitude and prompt action; when Xie Dun met him in his office, he found not a single flaw to criticize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun’s excuse for recalling Schiller was trivial paperwork; Schiller worked in the archives while remotely managing Arkham Asylum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun had once loved watching Schiller’s lectures like a spectator; now, after Schiller’s return, he monitored the archives with the same vigilance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then Schiller showed him what Gotham truly meant by “simple folk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the next few days, Xie Dun heard Schiller’s phone conversations mention the names of Gotham’s twelve largest crime families; within three days, Schiller greeted each of them at least a hundred times, and alongside their names came terms for contraband or coded references to smuggling routes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most chilling to Xie Dun was how casually they discussed manipulating police, judges, and juries—as if debating dinner plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, one day he heard Schiller say offhandedly: “...If the mayor isn’t up to the task, replace him. Gotham’s traffic is a disaster—he’s responsible for half of it. If he can’t handle it, he still has one life left...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun immediately wanted to pack his bags and flee this damned city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time passed, the content of Schiller’s conversations grew increasingly outrageous, touching on Falcone family secrets: hidden smuggling routes and highly profitable plantation operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun grew more alarmed; though not native to Gotham, his years in other cities’ political circles had sharpened his instincts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Xie Dun knew: this psychology professor, Rodriguez, was far more than a professor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When something exceeds human comprehension, people instinctively fabricate plausible explanations, their minds automatically searching memory for matching details to confirm their assumptions—Xie Dun was no exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought: no wonder Schiller dared to issue Bruce Wayne’s expulsion notice so brazenly—he had nothing to fear. This psychology professor might be Gotham’s true puppet master, manipulating all twelve crime families, the root cause of the city’s chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Xie Dun thought, the more it made sense. Schiller’s astonishing resume could not belong to an ordinary man, and his flawless escapes from so many murders suggested he’d woven similar webs elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun felt he was nearing the truth: Was he alone? Or part of an organization? Who did he represent? What was he doing? What outcome did he seek?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The implications terrified Xie Dun himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his logic, it was normal for a university professor to have ties to gangs—after all, most faculty here had relatives or friends in the underworld, or worked for them directly, trading professional services for safety and side income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that didn’t explain how one professor could simultaneously contact all twelve of Gotham’s largest crime families and participate in the Don’s secret enterprises. The clearest proof was Schiller’s tone on the phone—not fearful or sycophantic like others, but calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was always composed, as if he controlled everything. Xie Dun could tell: Schiller was commanding the gangs, not the other way around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun felt trapped in a massive predicament. Schiller could influence Gotham’s biggest gangs, yet he chose to remain teaching at Gotham University, even treating the position as vital. From Xie Dun’s perspective, with such power, why not buy a mansion in the wealthy district? Why live in the university’s faculty housing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one explanation: he stayed because it was profitable—or because something unknown to Xie Dun drew this mad professor to the university.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, to Xie Dun, Schiller was a complete lunatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gangs were not docile quails, especially Gotham’s largest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city’s evil was nearly overflowing, and everyone who had long floated in this sea of corruption had nearly become evil itself. To rise above the tide and become Gotham’s apex predator meant cooperating with monsters—no different than bargaining with tigers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Schiller didn’t just cooperate—he cooperated with all of them simultaneously, or rather, he tried to control them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having just witnessed the gangs’ brutality, Xie Dun naturally deemed Schiller’s actions insane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like cutting one wire among hundreds of tangled cables—the most lethal one. If you cut the wrong one, these bloodthirsty wolves, accustomed to devouring flesh, would swarm and devour the fool who dared to touch them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Dun began to regret it. Why not leave Schiller at Arkham? He’d finally escaped—why had he brought him back?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if he’d finally thrown out a ticking bomb, then somehow picked it up himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Xie Dun prayed frantically: let Schiller’s schemes not fail. If they did, let them not touch Gotham University. Even if they did, let them not touch him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Xie Dun had reached his position through quick wit; he knew he couldn’t wait. He had to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One morning, Schiller went to the archives as usual, planning to slack off while remotely managing Arkham.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon arrival, he found the archives—still two-thirds incomplete the day before—had been fully organized. He checked carefully: every task had been completed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devour\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell? Was there a sea nymph here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since the work was done, there was no reason to stay. Schiller, puzzled, descended the stairs—and met President Xie Dun. Schiller raised his coffee in greeting; Xie Dun’s face was dark, he said nothing, and walked past without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine, Schiller thought. The president still disliked him. He was used to it—ever since he issued Bruce’s expulsion notice, Xie Dun had never given him a kind look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the only odd thing was: the president, usually immaculately groomed, looked exhausted today, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>",1482,"2026-06-20T16:39:12.484Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","86ed94f4b0049aaa94c38dbb27005ba1de8227924b7281fff4f0e936640aa42a","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-73","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-71",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-cover.jpg"]