"Batman, perhaps, what you don't know is, I've been observing you in secret all along, much earlier than you could imagine, starting from the moment you first enrolled at Gotham University."
Jonathan sat in the chair, while Batman stood silently at the door, neither stepping forward nor responding to any of his words.
Yet Jonathan continued to speak: "On your first day here, Shiller and I both knew what kind of person you were, and then, we each faced a choice — to leave or to stay?"
"I am just like the respectable Professor Shiller that you know, we are incredibly similar, yet different."
"When you appeared on the campus of Gotham University, at the same time, we both realised one fact: a student with that personality would definitely become our enemy."
Jonathan let out a sigh, "Perhaps, you knew I was constantly conducting cruel human experiments, but unfortunately, Shiller was no better than me. I know he took my fear gas, so where else could he use it?"
"I bet you've already experienced the power of the fear gas. It's my masterpiece... Anyway, enough about that, back to the point."
"We both knew we were not meant to be doctors, but rather madmen in straitjackets residing in mental hospitals. And you, Batman, are the same. Even though you're a patient, you insist on imagining yourself as a doctor."
"Such people are very troublesome, especially since, you are Bruce Wayne." Jonathan seemed fearless as he directly identified Batman's identity, but Batman didn't react in the slightest, he remained silent, not responding.
"I admit, in this respect, I am no match for Shiller because when I discovered this fact, I considered retreating." Jonathan let out a gentle sigh, took a sip of water, and continued.
"I wasn't completely sure that I could cure you, nor that I could eliminate you. Therefore, staying at the school and confronting you wouldn't be a good choice... But Shiller, he's much crazier than I am."
"Your mentor..." Jonathan shook his head, as if recalling something, and said: "Only a real madman would choose to stay under such circumstances. Only a person who's crazy enough would want to try to cure Batman."
"And what's even crazier is that he actually made progress." Jonathan turned his head to look at Batman, as if examining a rare treasure. His desire to possess Batman and his insanity did not affect Batman in the slightest.
"So, I chose to avoid conflict and left Gotham University, while Shiller chose to stay. He stayed to battle with you, and tried to cure you." Jonathan took another sip of water, tilted his head, and said to Batman, "Aren't you tired of standing there? Come over and sit down."
To his surprise, Batman indeed walked into the room and sat down opposite him, he even poured himself a glass of water.
Earlier, Jonathan had spilled some water from the cup on the table, leaving a puddle on the table. He dipped his finger in the water and drew on the table, then said, "Do you know, Batman? The fear gas, my proudest creation, tested on hundreds of human lives, was taken away by Shiller in large amounts. He took at least a warehouse's worth. What do you think he's going to do with all that fear gas?"
Batman looked down at the calm surface of the water in the cup by his hand, then looked at Jonathan and asked, "How did Shiller obtain this fear gas?"
Jonathan's fingertips stiffened for a moment, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, "...he is a despicable thief, who stole my research results..."
"How did Shiller steal the fear gas?" Batman asked again.
"He broke into my storage warehouse and cleaned out all the fear gas!" Jonathan's voice began to tremble slightly, but Batman calmly nodded and said, "Then, where is your warehouse?"
"Morson district, of course it's in Morson district..." No sooner had Jonathan finished speaking than he suddenly reacted. He thought Batman was trying to trick him, but Batman shook his head and said, "There are no professional warehouses in the Morson district. You didn't just stack your research results in some basement, did you?"
Batman lifted his eyelids, looking at Jonathan calmly, "At least Shiller has one advantage over you, he values his research results and wouldn't just throw them in some basement of a slum..."
"Or, in your circle, I mean, the circle of psychologists who are also mental patients, doctors who are also murder enthusiasts, does such careless behaviour really not diminish your prestige?" Batman stared into Jonathan's eyes as he asked.
Jonathan's breathing rate increased significantly, but soon after, he put on a calm face and said, "It appears that Shiller taught you a lot, but have you ever thought that his treatment of you is built on his use of fear gas..."
"Your emotional changes in front of him are actually the result of the hallucinatory effects of the drug. To him, all your displays of emotion are just sample data from drug experiments."
Surprisingly, Batman nodded slightly, then asked, "You also have fear gas, so why don't you want such sample data? Don't you like it?"
Jonathan's fingers instantly tightened into a fist, he looked at Batman with stern face and said, "Do you know, you have become just like him, like the madmen and criminals you hate the most. You know how to use words to penetrate people's hearts and then watch their reactions indifferently."
"Do you want to hear a joke?" Batman asked again.
Jonathan tilted his head slightly, slowly loosening his fist and placing his hand on the table, saying, "It seems that he did not only cure you of your illness, but also taught you a lot of knowledge. It must be said, for a psychologist, this is already a lifetime accomplishment worthy of praise."
"But it's useless, Batman, you can't save Gotham. Do you know where the darkness here really comes from? Do you know that the criminals you hate most are actually just innocent people transformed by the dark power..."
Batman squinted slightly. Judging by Jonathan's tone, he seemed to know some information others didn't. Sure enough, Jonathan continued, "I am different from Shiller. Although I am a psychologist, I am not only that. I am also a chemist, and one of the world's top..."
"Your criminal record has already revealed this. And I think, besides that, your skills might be better than his." Batman still said calmly, "Otherwise, how did you escape from Arkham Asylum where Shiller was the chief physician?"
With a 'bang', a cup was toppled over. Jonathan's whole arm began to tremble, and his chest was heaving heavily, because Batman had hit the mark once again.
Back then, Jonathan and Hugo were constantly on the run inside Arkham Asylum. It was another part of his past that he couldn't bear to look back on.
"So, what brilliant conclusion has the world's top chemist come to?" Batman asked.
Jonas squinted at Batman. His facial features were very young, his blue eyes shining brightly. When the faint light from the window hit them, they glittered like ripples on the sea.
Such appearance was entirely different from that of the professor. However, the techniques and demeanor Batman displayed during the negotiation made Jonathan unexpectedly see another figure in the dust-lit room.
With this impression, the conclusion Jonathan was about to voice out became less confident.
At first, he thought he was dealing with a fresh graduate riddled with psychological flaws and mental illnesses. Yet in reality, he hadn't seen Shiller in a long time, but it seemed like they reunited again.
"After your four-year-long investigation, you should have come to a small conclusion - that there is something wrong with Gotham's rain. But do you know what the problem is?"
"What is the problem?" To Jonas' surprise, instead of delivering a long-winded explanation of his own conclusion to seize the initiative, Batman asked for guidance humbly like a student. Because of this, the scenario Jonathan had anticipated, where he would point out faults and gradually corner the other, didn't occur.
Jonathan had a persistent feeling that Batman was extremely adept at handling such situations.
Jonathan knew that there was an optimal state in negotiation. It wasn't intense tenseness, astute caution, one hundred percent execution, nor joking and cursing dismissively ignoring the opponent, or being too relaxed.
A true negotiating veteran would combine the two, giving no quarter at the most critical moments while starting light-hearted conversations to lighten the atmosphere when needed, expressing a relaxed and unguarded attitude. It's like a person flying a kite, constantly letting out and reeling in the string, leading the other party to fall into mental exhaustion.
However, negotiation isn't a theoretical issue, and the other party isn't a stiff, wooden problem but a living being.
The human psyche is the most wonderful thing in the world. No matter how many psychological evaluations and background investigations are conducted, it is impossible to anticipate what the other person will say.
Some people are extraordinarily gifted in this, but to actually control it with ease, one can only resort to exhaustive practice.
With more exposure and experience, and having suffered many losses, one naturally learns what strategy to adopt facing certain types of opponents in order to overcome them.
To hone such skills, high-intensity confrontations must be conducted in a short period of time while also stretching the battle line, to exchange time for experience.
But Batman's poise was simply beyond his age. Jonathan couldn't figure out what kind of experience could have enabled Batman to develop such debating skills within just four years.
It was as if a child who was the worst in his class in the first grade, got admitted into university in the sixth grade.
Jonathan stared intently at Batman, observing every minor change in his expression. Then, on Batman's face, he saw a kind of utter boredom. This instantly made Jonathan feel as though his heart had been stabbed.
His face suddenly flushed, and his breathings reached a peak. He was panting strenuously, swallowing saliva every ten seconds for three or four times, his shoulder muscles as well as fingertips trembling.
"Professor Crane, you should calm down." Batman said expressionlessly as he looked at Jonathan, "The whole world doesn't want to see you die of a heart attack on the eve of announcing a great academic conclusion."
"Shut up... Shiller!"