In the ward of Arkham Mental Hospital, Shiller held the medical record and said to the nurse, "… Give him an IV for another day tomorrow. If the manic symptoms do not improve, send him to the general ward. I suspect he may have a hereditary mental disorder."
"By the way, the patient in bed four is recovering very well and will be discharged by tomorrow. He claims to have slept well here and requests that we prescribe him some sleeping pills. I will write a prescription for his anxiety disorder later, when you administer the medication, remember to give him 30% fewer than prescribed, and let him take them at intervals. We do not want him to become dependent."
The nurse took notes as Shiller spoke. Suddenly another nurse rushed into the room, shouting, "There's trouble! Doctor Schiller! A pregnant woman on the fourth floor is going into labor before her due date, I am afraid she will have to give birth in our hospital!"
"Mrs. Miller has already gone to see, but the patient's mental state has not completely improved, with her blood pressure surging drastically, could you and Doctor Brand please hurry over!"
Shiller immediately dropped what he was doing and, with several nurses from the ward, ran to the fourth floor, where they were met with a strong smell of blood.
Before entering the room, he said to the nurse behind him, "Our hospital does not have a blood bank. The closest one should be at the central hospital, right? Ask them to open the blood bank and send a few obstetricians over here!"
As he spoke, he walked into the room, and then said: "We can handle psychiatry, but we can't handle childbirth, so let's just hope they get here quickly."
About four hours later, a blood-soaked Shiller walked out of the patient's room. He gave an exhausted sigh and made small talk with the obstetricians nearby, "It was indeed very critical, I have not seen such a situation in many years. Thank goodness for your excellent medical skills…"
As he bid the obstetricians goodbye, it was already late at night. Bringing someone back from the brink of death is not as simple as it seems. Even as a psychiatrist, it's challenging to stabilize the mother's blood pressure and coordinate her breathing for giving birth.
Thankfully, doctors from various hospitals in Gotham are accustomed to delivering babies in dangerous scenarios. The mother and child were safe in the end. Shiller sighed a relief, planning to clean himself up in the break room and then go straight to bed.
However, when he returned to his office, he discovered a shadowy figure sitting on his sofa. And there were no pointed ears on the silhouette.
When the silhouette heard the noise and stood up to look at Shiller, both of them were startled.
Shiller was startled because he did not recognize the person standing in front of him. This figure seemed very young, with blonde hair and a bright handsome face. He was wearing an expensive-looking wristwatch, clearly portraying the image of a rich young man.
The shadowy figure was taken aback because Shiller's appearance was quite frightening.
When Shiller entered the patient room earlier, he didn't have time to put on surgical attire and the situation was critical with not enough staff. Both he and Brand had to take on a part of nurse's duties, resulting in them being covered in blood.
Now, his face, hands, and sleeves were covered in coagulated blood, with a large splotch of blood splashed on his chest, and traces of blood smeared on his neck and behind his ears.
Actually, this situation was not uncommon in Emergency. After all, some patients bleed profusely upon entering, just like a fountain, even with the surgical attire on, they can't fully protect themselves. But the person facing him was obviously not a doctor, and he was completely stunned by Shiller's appearance.
"Uh, sorry. Who are you...?" Shiller looked at him and asked somewhat puzzledly.
The figure across him was stunned for a full ten seconds, before he slowly spoke, "Hello, Professor Shearer, I am... I am Rhomann Sionis, a graduate of Gotham University this year. I arrived this afternoon, Mrs. Miller asked me to wait in your office, but I didn't expect... I didn't expect you to come back now..."
Shiller nodded in understanding, then looked at Rhomann and asked, "May I know why you came here?"
"Oh, it's like this, Professor Shearer..."
Just as Rhomann started to talk, there was a knock on the office door, and Bruce walked in from outside. When Bruce saw Shiller's appearance, he was also shocked.
"What's your issue?" Shiller looked at Bruce and then glanced at Rhomann and said: "Is the major you studied at Gotham University staying up late? Do you know what time it is? Can't you discuss whatever it is in the morning?"
Bruce was taken aback. He looked down at his watch and realized it was ten at night. However, he distinctly remembered that this professor would not go to bed before two in the morning, and every time he came to Shiller for essay revision past eleven. Shiller had never complained about him being late.
But then it hit Bruce, shouldn't he now be surprised by, why is Shiller covered in blood? Why doesn't he feel shocked by Shiller's gruesome appearance?
"Bruce, you came too?" Rhomann took the initiative to step forward, looked at Bruce and said, "Weren't you studying in the physics department for your postgrad? Did you come to arrange for a change of specialization?"
Bruce was a little surprised to see Rhomann. They were college classmates, though in different majors, and were good friends outside of class. The Sionis Family, too, was one of the well-known wealthy families in Gotham, and their fathers were old friends who often met at various social gatherings and parties.
"I came to discuss a private matter with Professor Shearer," Bruce replied and then looked at Rhomann and asked, "And you?"
"Ah," Rhomann said with an awkward expression, "It's somewhat embarrassing, but my family wants me to attend Metropolitan University, and my father hopes that I can get a strong letter of recommendation."
"You must know that Professor Shearer is very prominent at Gotham University. He has just published a high-level academic paper and is a highly sought-after figure in academia. My father believes if I could get a letter of recommendation from him, it would bring great prestige to our family."
Rhomann's expression grew more and more awkward. He then turned to Professor Shearer and said, "Ah, excuse me, Professor, my father ... well, he's the type who thinks money can solve any problem."
"Of course, I mean no disrespect, but if you could be a bit lenient, the Sionis Family would be very grateful."
"You've come to the wrong person." Bruce shook his head, barely suppressing a smile, then said, "Don't you know? Professor Shearer is famously strict. The psychology department at Gotham University has the most disciplined academic ethos of any department. Otherwise, I wouldn't have nearly failed to graduate."
Upon hearing these words, Rhomann let out a sigh of dejection and said, "I told you it wouldn't work, but my father never listens. But ... Professor Shearer, are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just involved in an emergency medical treatment, and the hospital was shorthanded, hence my appearance, it's getting late, why don't you come back another day?"
Bruce and Rhomann simultaneously opened their mouths, but neither made any move to leave. It seemed both were waiting for the other to leave first so they could talk privately with Shearer. As a result, both remained standing in place.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door. Harley dashed in, shouting, "Shearer, I've thought of a great way to catch the idiot who caused the hospital murders. You really need to compliment me. I'm like a ... oh ... what happened to you?!"
Harley, who had just rushed through the door, noticed Shearer's bloody appearance. She stood frozen for two seconds, then screamed out, "Did you already kill the culprit? I knew it, you've been wanting to kill him all along!!!"
After that, she sprinted up to Shearer and gushed, "How did you kill him? So much blood ... let me think, did you smash him into pieces with a sledgehammer? That's a brilliant idea, I love it!"
"No, judging by the direction of the blood splatter, you used a knife, didn't you? Did you slit his throat? Oh my God, that must have been exhilarating, wasn't it?"
However, she then shouted out in anger, "Such an exciting thing and you didn't include me!!!"
Seeing that Bruce and Rhomann were both staring at her, Shearer quickly covered Harley's mouth and smiled saying, "This girl is not quite stable, she's spouting nonsense, please don't take it to heart."
"Alright, I just participated in an emergency operation, I'm very tired now, I want to go to sleep, so, could you please leave?"
Shearer's intention to see his guests out was very clear. Although he was smiling as he said this, considering the blood on his face and hands, there seemed to be an underlying warning – if they didn't leave, they might never leave.
"Alright, sorry for the intrusion, Professor, we'll keep in touch." Rhomann was the first to give up. He nodded at Bruce and Shearer and then walked out the door. Bruce took one last look at Shearer and then left as well.
After sending Harley to Mrs. Miller, Shearer didn't immediately rest but waited in his office. As expected, Batman's figure appeared once again in the office.
Without waiting for Shearer to speak, Batman began with extreme certainty, "It looks like they have found you. How many have you killed?"
Before Shearer could respond, Batman cut him off again. "I don't want to hear any details. I'm not interested in your methodology. Considering that they were serial killers and not deserving of sympathy and that it was self-defense on your part, I can overlook it for now. But you better toe the line, don't set a bad example for the kids."
With that, Batman left through the window. Shearer stood by the window, watching his figure leap from the building, shaking his head in resignation.
Just as Shearer was about to return to his room to rest, the phone in his office rang again. He had no choice but to pick it up. A familiar voice came from the other end – it was the serial killer who had harassed Shearer earlier. In his deep voice, he said,
"It seems you've already taken out one of those fools, maybe more. I think they received a very good 'welcome' from you, but that's alright. I'll be sure to extend the same 'welcome' to you."