How did the murderer from the hospital know about the movements of the other serial killers? Was there any communication between them? How did they communicate, and what was the point of it?
Several questions surfaced in Bruce's mind. He had no clue about the other problems for now, but the last one, he could immediately answer. What could be the point of these lunatics communicating? If not to boast about their killing techniques?
With this thought, a surge of anger welled up in Bruce's heart.
Upon experiencing a lot, Batman knew that some people turned to crime due to desperation, while others did it on impulse. Regardless of the reasons for crime, they should be punished. But there should also be someone to explore the causes of crime and the stories behind them.
He also understood that if the complex causes of crime were superficially interpreted as personal choices, the root cause of crime could never be resolved. To address crime, you need to first "understand" the criminal.
Here, "understanding" doesn't mean sympathizing with the criminals. Rather, it implies identifying the motives behind their criminal actions and the possible social problems they represent, finding similarities across cases, and analyzing them on a societal level.
However, taking pleasure in killing is indeed the most heinous type of crime. Behind it, there are almost no societal issues worth exploring, just some crazies who use their innate evil and cruelty to hurt others.
Bruce, standing in place, felt his mood growing heavier. Originally, his decision to transfer back to the psychology department was merely to enjoy the drama and ensure that the killers in Shiller's lab won't hurt ordinary people.
But now, he was somewhat glad he made that decision.
After Batman returned from hell, he began to think deeply. He never forgot his ultimate goal, which was to eliminate criminals.
The key to Batman's change in thinking was that he recognized that eliminating individual criminals can never achieve that goal.
Because, crime itself is a social issue. Even those who kill in passion, upon a closer look, essentially lack proper self-control due to the failure of family and social education.
Though some often say not to blame society for everything, in reality, each individual's character development is society's responsibility. While they should take responsibility for all their mistakes, it doesn't mean we can't identify problems from a societal perspective.
After studying various ideologies, and going through various struggles and refinements of thought, Batman found his own path.
If crime isn't personal choice but a societal phenomenon, then he would try to solve the potential problems in society to eradicate crime from its roots.
Upon returning to Gotham, Batman put this into practice.
For instance, in the aspect of livelihood, he actively carried out architectural renovations to tackle the chaos in slums due to poor living conditions, implemented a city-wide water purification system to lessen the impact of potentially harmful substances in rainwater on Gotham citizens.
In the realm of education, he significantly supported technical schools and initiated compulsory technical education from the Children's Gang upwards, eventually integrating the small classrooms into large schools for systematic education.
In terms of employment, Wayne Enterprises lowered the age threshold for technical workers and no longer clung to procedural justice. Having children working in factories could at least equip them with some technical skills, while hanging out with mobs would only teach them all sorts of vices without any benefits.
At the same time, he collaborated with Mayor Roy to carry out his East Coast city self-help plan, introduce casinos from Emperor City, borrow concepts from Brude Haven's beach and tourism development, and work with Chicago to establish a police training academy.
So far, all these plans have been progressing smoothly which is why Bruce had free time to see what Shiller was up to.
However, now, he suddenly realized a problem. Supposing that all his plans went according to the ideal state and the outcomes were all perfect, transforming the whole world into an ideal place where everyone leads the life they desired, would it completely eradicate crime?
Before today, Bruce thought, it probably could.
Although petty thefts and property disputes might not be entirely preventable, at the very least, violent crimes like murder could be extinguished. And murderers happen to be the ones Batman hates the most.
But at this moment, he realized that the answer might be negative.
Because, in this world, there is a group of people who are "born killers".
These people are inherently different from ordinary people. Their brains can pick up a signal that normal brains can't, a signal that makes them feel happy when they harm others. They become addicted to this feeling, sinking deeper and deeper and then there's no way out.
Statistically speaking, these people are very rare. But on a planet with such a huge population like the Earth, even a minuscule percentage would mean there are tens of thousands spread across the globe.
Can Batman stop them?
Maybe when Wayne Enterprises truly controls the world, Batman could find each of them via intensive surveillance. But can he prevent these types of people from being born?
The so-called brain diseases are just a metaphor. These people don't have any pathological traits, nor any genetic issues. Predictably, whether now or in the future, it's unlikely that there will be any technology that can discern whether someone is cold-blooded right after birth.
Even if Batman's advanced technology could enable him to determine who was born heartless and cruel, he couldn't possibly prevent a baby from being born for such reason. If so, should hot-tempered people not be born? Should people prone to depression not be born?
During the decade or so since such person's birth until they have the ability to kill, no one can tell if they belong to this category, meaning prevention cannot be early.
No one knows if the ordinary child sitting next to them is plotting to chop off their neighbor's head.
After much pondering, Batman believed psychology was still the answer.
Since there is no way to stop these people from existing, and he needs to be prepared for a lifelong battle with them, it's best to keep the weapon in his own hands.
"So, what exactly did you come here for?" Shiller questioned Bruce, looking at him.
Bruce appeared somewhat dazed, but he soon regained his focus, looked at Shiller and seriously said,
"I want to take a shortcut."
"...Speak plainly."
"I'm going back to write my thesis."