At Rhomann's words, both Shiller and Bruce froze. They then turned to each other and simultaneously said, "You two are in cahoots?...I barely know him."
But Rhomann exploded immediately, screaming, "You disregard my work! Only letting those stupid police investigate! You've known everything all along, yet pretend to be ignorant, playacting here to fool me! You damned...damned..."
"Wait a moment, let me interrupt." Bruce displayed one hand, looking at Rhomann and asking, "What exactly is going on with you?"
Before Rhomann could answer, Bruce interjected, "Alright, Rhomann, I know your father has placed a lot of pressure on you, but I can help you resolve this. It's not charity or anything of the sort, just friends helping each other. If you feel indebted, you can pay it forward later."
"Bruce Wayne! Batman! You idiot!!!" Rhomann yelled Bruce's name out loud, and the word sandwiched in his speech caused Bruce to frown. Somewhat surprised, he said, "What are you talking about? Rhomann? Well, considering your family's influence, it's not difficult to figure out that I am sponsoring Batman, but that is part of my philanthropic work..."
But Rhomann stared at him darkly, "Are you still going to pretend? Do you think I don't know that Batman is Bruce Wayne? That he's you?"
Bruce's face revealed an expression of helplessness. Just as he was about to continue explaining, Rhomann sneered coldly, and then said, "You too, since the day I took action at the hospital, you must have already guessed my identity, haven't you?"
"You intentionally pretended not to know, just to psychologically tear me down!" Rhomann looked into Batman's eyes and nodded, "The reputation of Gotham Volunteer Police… well deserved."
Bruce opened his mouth slightly and then licked his lips. He looked Rhomann up and down, "You just admitted to committing the hospital crimes?"
"Correct!" Rhomann gritted his teeth, "Yes, the case that you didn't bother paying attention to, the one where you left it to ordinary cops!!"
As he spoke, Rhomann's voice became more impassioned. He started pacing rapidly around the room and went on, "I spent three whole months trying to find the perfect target, carrying out the most meticulous plans to achieve the best outcome, but you... you didn't even look at it twice! Do you know how much effort I put into this? Isn't it thrilling enough?!"
Depressed, he flopped down onto the office couch, covered his face with his hands, and said in a voice choked with tears, "Not only did you refuse to look, you didn't personally investigate and totally ignored me! You even thought of such malicious ways to humiliate me... fine, you are successful. Is that alright?!"
Bruce motioned to interrupt, nearly blurting out, "So you're the brilliant serial killer who targeted Shiller as his second victim?"
Nevertheless, the reason Bruce refrained was that it seemed too clichéd.
When it came to details of the crimes, Bruce indeed had certain areas he did not understand. Just as he was about to inquire, Shiller interjected, "I'm sorry, I won't write a recommendation for anyone other than my students. If it were about wealth, the Bruce Wayne standing before you wouldn't have had trouble with graduation."
"What the hell are you two doing?!" Rhomann stood up once again, disbelievingly looking at Shiller and roared, "I am a serial killer! I am a psychotic murderer! A person who has just brutally murdered a doctor! Standing right before you! And you are still talking about a recommendation letter?!"
"Should we discuss your harassing phone calls to me then?" Shiller looked at Rhomann and asked.
Stunned, Rhomann said, "When did I harass you with calls?"
"Oh, so it wasn't you?" Shiller seemed a bit surprised, however, he promptly shook his head and said, "Then it appears there's nothing left for us to discuss."
Bruce understood Shiller's meaning too. He went straight to the side of the door, picked up the phone, and spoke into the receiver, "Hello, Chief Gordon? We have a killer here who needs to be arrested... yes, the culprit behind the hospital case."
After Gordon arrived, Bruce didn't utter a word. He simply pointed at Rhomann. After Gordon led Rhomann away, Bruce looked towards Shiller who gestured an invitation for him to begin. Touching his own chin, Bruce began to analyze:
"He stressed earlier that he chose a perfect target, which indicates that Doctor Richard must have some unique attributes. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so emphatic."
"The head nurse's description of Doctor Richard was indeed quite peculiar. If her statements were true, Doctor Richard didn't seem to be a local of Gotham at all. Gotham doesn't have these archetypal, non-drug-using, sober surgeons who don't drink, do they?"
"What exactly is unique about Doctor Richard…" As he was pondering this, Shiller timely reminded him, "Don't forget, his second target was me, and serial killers often look for commonalities between victims."
"Commonalities…" Bruce mused for a moment, and then declared, "Right, you two are both doctors, but what else? Wait..."
Suddenly, Bruce turned his head to stare at Shiller, his eyes slightly narrowed, and said, "Is that Richard also a serial killer?"
Even before Shiller could continue hinting, Bruce said, "It seems likely, I understand now."
"What do you understand?" Shiller asked.
"I understand… a weakness of serial killers." Bruce walked over to the couch and took a seat, a smile spreading across his face as he said, "Their weakness lies in them not being ordinary people."
"Their emotions are inherently weaker than those of ordinary people, their behavior patterns unlike them too. Therefore, when they try to blend into society, to disguise themselves as part of common humanity, they inevitably overcompensate, don't they?... Professor Shearer."
Bruce read Shiller's name with extra emphasis, and after shifting his gaze, he continued, "To prevent others from suspecting he's a villain, he naturally needs to disguise himself as a good person. But he doesn't know how to be an ordinary good person, so he can only choose to be a perfect one."
"Good character, excellent abilities, never arguing with anyone, and never getting angry, this is their imaginary good person. They think as long as they pretend to be like that, they can assimilate into ordinary society."
"So, Doctor Richard has such a good reputation. He's a typical figure who tries to disguise himself as an ordinary person to blend into society, but is too forceful."
"However, there's a doubt. Wasn't the killer's leg injured by Harley? Why does Rhomann walk as usual, without any inconvenience?"
"...No." Bruce remarked, "Rhomann probably has accomplices. Maybe that day, there weren't one, but two people left in the hospital. After one was injured, the other one must have saved him."
"Yes, it must be so." Bruce stood up from the sofa, pacing around the room as he spoke, "That day, I found it strange. A person with such a severe leg injury could run that far back to the base and hardly left any traces. Even if he was extraordinarily rich, it'd be impossible."
"But if he has an accomplice, everything makes sense."
"The two of them commit crimes together. After the crime, they both stay in the hospital to observe the situation. One of them may have been trying to do something but ran into Harley, so he was hit with a shovel."
"He desperately jumped out of the window while his accomplice saved him, bringing him back to the base to be treated... However, can such an injury really be fully healed?" Bruce questioned, "These cold-blooded and inhumane scoundrels, wouldn't they abandon a comrade who no longer has utility?"
"I don't know if I've told you this before." Shiller suddenly began, "Generally, real serial killers do not cooperate."
Bruce pondered over this, then nodded, "Indeed. So, Rhomann isn't a real serial killer? ...No, I sensed a cold-blooded nature from him."
"But there's one exception." Shiller continued, "That is, when they have a common enemy."
"Common enemy? You mean..." Bruce turned his gaze to Shiller. He remembered the notes he had seen at Rhomann's base, which mentioned that the serial killers wanted to kill Shiller.
"Are you saying that all the serial killers who come here will work together?" Bruce's face grew serious.
In his mind, Shiller wouldn't be the one to perish when facing any individual serial killer. But if Shiller were to face a group, a collaborating group of serial killers, it might not be the same.
"Aren't you going to do something about it?" Bruce looked at Shiller and asked.
"Do what?" Shiller leaned back in his office chair, showing no signs of nervousness. He picked up the newspaper from the office table and started reading, while Bruce furrowed his brows.
"You're not Shiller." Bruce stared at Shiller, whose eyes peeked over the top of the newspaper to look at Bruce. Before he could speak, Bruce pointed at the newspaper and said, "Whenever you read the newspaper, you always wear a finger cot. Because you think the ink will dirty your hands."
"And, I've seen the serial killing cases you've concocted before. You never get covered in blood because you think it's elegant and clean." Bruce raised an eyebrow. "… You have a severe obsession with cleanliness."
"You're not Shiller." Bruce repeated.
"I am." Shiller, looking at him, answered seriously, before laughing and adding, "But maybe, I'm not the Shiller you know."
"Who are you really?"
"I've told you, I am Shiller." Shiller stood from his desk, walked in front of Bruce and folded the newspaper in his hand. He looked at Bruce and said, "Perhaps, you should know, that the Shiller you know is known as 'Arrogant', and perhaps, you also know that he possesses another personality called 'Greed'."
"So, are you also one of the Seven Deadly Sins?" Bruce asked.
Shiller nodded, then shook his head. With a grin at Bruce, he said, "Once, I was known as 'Sloth'… but not anymore."
Shiller tilted his head back to look at the landscape outside the window behind Bruce and slowly began to speak,
"Arrogant has united and become stronger, Greed has gained enormous power, and the first thing they did after becoming stronger was... realizing Shiller's dream."
"Dream?" Bruce repeated the word.
"Yes, I am now the product of their enhanced power, a realization of their dream." Shiller, with a meaningful smile, looked at Bruce and said, "Now, you can call me--'Mediocre'."
"Or just call me… ordinary."