Chapter 772

The Vocational and Technical College of Gotham University had not even been open for several days when several new special admissions arrived late, sparking widespread discussion among the students.

As for Jason and the Kid, they could be understood—after all, they were all from Gotham, so a few geniuses weren't surprising.

Besides, the Kid's technical skill was known to every crime boss, and many desperate organizations had hired him at high prices; numerous students in the college had met him before, and though young, he got along well with everyone.

But the Mirror Master and Captain Cold seemed out of place.

Not only were they outsiders from Central City, a place with remarkably good public safety, but their personalities also differed greatly from those of Gothamites.

For starters, as notorious villains, neither of them killed anyone—not even human lives, let alone the lives of cats, dogs, or fish; when they learned he refused even to kill fish himself, Shi Ler felt that, given his own halo, he should bestow upon them the title of "Angels of Earth."

Beyond killing, they upheld an unusually high moral standard: littering was forbidden, personal hygiene was mandatory, they could never fall asleep exhausted and reeking of sweat, they stood straight and sat upright, controlled their diet, strengthened their bodies, studied hard, and improved daily.

Especially the older Captain Cold—he had endured a rough life. His father was a complete brute who regularly beat him; unable to endure the abuse, Captain Cold ran away from home. He also had a younger brother and sister, both raised in the same abusive household.

His experience resembled that of Bruce Banner from the Marvel universe: growing up in violence, he once resorted to force to solve problems, but in prison, he devoted himself with astonishing talent and willpower, achieving notable success in low-temperature physics.

As Victor said, few people studied low-temperature physics, and even fewer had talent; since Captain Cold enrolled at the Vocational and Technical College, Victor had been visiting him more frequently, clearly holding great hope for him and believing he could become a kindred spirit in the field.

With such a class-president-type figure, classroom discipline improved significantly; Captain Cold strongly disliked loud talking in class, even whispering had to be kept to a minimum.

Personal hygiene was no exception—Captain Cold took on the responsibilities of a prefect: inspecting dormitory cleanliness, organizing grade-wide activities, distributing class schedules, and managing campus announcements.

Meanwhile, interaction among students of different ages broadened horizons, expanded knowledge, and enhanced empathy.

Thus, the Vocational and Technical College gradually settled into order—but two people were suffering: the first was Bruce.

Under immense academic pressure, Bruce was forced by Shi Ler to stay at school every day.

During this time, Shi Ler, overwhelmed with tasks, had been living on campus, making life hard for many: first, the vocational students couldn't slack off—Professor Shi Ler was watching them.

Second, Bruce: every paper he submitted received a reply within half an hour—minor issues he corrected himself, major ones required immediate office discussions. Though Shi Ler only addressed academic matters, the sheer volume of nitpicking details left Bruce with a pounding headache.

Many who've written papers know this isn't about intelligence—it's a test of patience. There are no truly incomprehensible problems, just endless time drains: logical reasoning, word choice, punctuation, and so on.

Some subjects can be mastered with intelligence alone, but psychology is not one of them.

Beyond theory, real case studies must be analyzed; if no real cases exist, one must study typical ones—and the sheer variety of symptoms alone wears down most people's patience.

Sometimes Bruce felt it was all mysticism, but Shi Ler always firmly told him: there must be real patterns underlying it all.

Writing a paper has several stages, and now they were stuck in the phase of mutually testing each other's patience.

Only when both sides' patience was fully exhausted might the paper pass—but unfortunately, Shi Ler always had extra patience.

Bruce believed this professor was a just man, but in academia, his insistence on rigor bordered on pedantry—and because of Bruce's exceptional talent, Shi Ler demanded even more.

Some might think Shi Ler was torturing Bruce, but in truth, they were torturing each other—whichever had greater endurance would prevail. This is the norm for most university and graduate students and their advisors.

The second unhappy person was Savage, as described by the Mirror Master.

The name might sound unfamiliar to many DC fans, but if you mention the Immortal or the Savage, many would recognize it?

Vandal Savage, a Neanderthal born fifty thousand years ago, underwent physical changes due to meteor radiation, making him resemble modern Homo sapiens.

The meteor's radiation also granted him immortality, enhancing his intelligence and physical prowess.

Over the long sweep of history, he assumed many identities: Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Jack the Ripper—he even joined the Nazi Party and rose to high rank.

As a named villain, he held one grand ambition: to become master of humanity. He believed his immense lifespan entitled him to a status higher than all humankind.

Over his long life, he amassed countless wealth and artifacts—but one problem remained: these were hard to convert into usable power.

Owning wealth doesn't mean you can fully exploit it—you need sufficient scale to influence human society.

But Savage wasn't fully modern; he lacked understanding of contemporary society and capital power, so his method of ruling remained archaic: hire mercenaries to cause chaos in cities and spread his name.

He employed many ordinary humans, like Lady Goth and Leon, bribing them with artifacts and cash.

He also hired those with special abilities, like the Mirror Master and Captain Cold, offering not just wealth but promises of power.

Like many villains outside Gotham, he was power-driven, aiming solely to rule all humanity—no grand ideology, not particularly insane; though his backstory was strong, his actual impact was low.

His one major moment came in the comics: he sent the Mirror Master to steal Batman's plans for defeating the Justice League. The Mirror Master's unique ability succeeded instantly; Savage used those plans to defeat the League—until Batman ultimately defeated him, causing Batman to leave the League.

In one universe, he succeeded in eliminating the Justice League and became Earth's sole human—but he felt boundless loneliness, so he demanded Superman, who had crossed over, return to the past to save the world. Only then did Savage realize: ultimate power was not power—it was solitude.

Now, Savage felt miserable because since arriving in Gotham, every investment lost money—every investment lost money.

Leon, one of his most trusted subordinates, had known many celebrities on the West Coast and had recruited several assets like Lady Goth—but within days of entering Gotham, he vanished.

Savage's investment in the Goth family's illegal heavy weapons had disappeared; the entire Goth family shipyard had been blown up.

He had spent great effort to recruit the Mirror Master, but after only a few visits, he vanished—no contact since that last phone call.

And his most trusted asset in Central City, Captain Cold, vanished completely after just one visit.

This dark city was like a beast crouched in the abyss—anyone leaping from its cliff would never imagine they'd be buried here forever.

Yes, Savage believed everyone he sent in was dead. He never considered betrayal possible—he thought he had given them enough.

As Savage pondered his next move, in Shi Ler's office, the Mirror Master and Captain Cold exchanged glances. Captain Cold cleared his throat and said: "You're saying we should call Savage and have him send people to rescue us?"

"That's the plan—but not the reality. I have a question for you. Answer honestly." Shi Ler looked at them both; they nodded.

"What do you think of this place?"

Both fell silent. Captain Cold spoke first: "Actually, I've always longed for school, so my judgment may not be objective."

"To me, this city is awful—terrible weather, terrible public safety, violent citizens—but I love this school."

"Yes, the students here are reckless, mad, and violent—but undeniably, they're the most energetic people I've ever met. They never seem tired, possess extraordinary talent in learning, and constantly generate novel ideas. Being with them makes me feel young again."

The Mirror Master stayed silent for a long while, then sighed: "I also think this place is awful—but I must admit, the teachers here are highly skilled and demanding, far better than the professors at my old university."

"I don't know if you have friends back home who share your experiences—if you do, you could use this chance to bring them here to study." Shi Ler gently tapped his pen on the desk. "I believe you've noticed—we're desperately short of outstanding students."

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"As a teacher, I deeply understand that family and social education play a huge role in a person's growth. Many go astray not because they're born evil, but because they lack education."

"Society refuses these people a second chance—or, due to long-standing beliefs, they themselves believe they have none. But that's not true."

Shi Ler turned toward the window. Gotham's dusk was still radiant. He said: "Yes, this is a city of sin—but only here do those once deemed beyond redemption have a chance to return to ordinary life, because everyone here is a sinner."

"Some call it a dump. Many say waste is a resource misplaced. What that truly means is: too many people narrowly label anything they don't need as waste."

The Mirror Master and Captain Cold saw Shi Ler sitting by the windowsill, backlit, becoming a silhouette against the sunset. His low voice echoed in the room:

"Perhaps Gotham will never know light—but that doesn't matter. If this place is destined to be the darkest shadow on Earth, it will still coalesce into a rising black sun…"

"It needs no radiance to illuminate all things."