After the blood had stopped gushing out copiously, he stuffed the corpse into a cupboard in the storeroom, then grabbed cleaning tools from the storeroom and cleaned up all the blood traces along the way.
Returning to the balcony, Bruce cleaned up all the blood stains on the floor and railings as well. Subsequently, he went to the bathroom next to his office, washed his hands clean, dressed up, and put everything back in its place, leaving the scene like nothing happened, dressed in a suit and shoes.
When Bruce pushed the great doors of the first-floor hall, most personnel for the public inquiry had already taken their positions. Bruce saw Rhomann, also saw Thomas, and many other classmates he either knew or didn't.
As Bruce looked away, no one saw a flicker of icy coldness flash through his eyes.
The agents in charge of the interrogation entered neatly through the doors in their uniforms and took their seats behind a curved long table.
The jury members took their seats one by one on the seats to the left, and the witnesses on the seats to the right.
Bruce, Thomas, and other concerned parties or people associated with them, all sat in the central seats.
This was a public confrontation between two parties but it wasn't a public hearing for the society, therefore there were no reporters.
After everyone took their seats, only then did Shiller proceed to the front of the table escorted by two agents.
In front of the curved table was a large vacant area, which took up nearly a third of the hall, but in that space, was just a solitary chair, like a single boat floating on a vast ocean.
Shiller walked steadily towards the chair and sat down. His attire was suitable and his spirits were high. He wasn't handcuffed, nor was he restrained. Prior to his trial, he was still a top-tier scholar.
However, at this point in time, the agents in charge of the interrogation burst into low murmurs as Jimmy, who was supposed to sit in the main seat, had not arrived on time.
Just then, another agent dressed similarly to Jimmy entered through the side door, he said a few words to the others, then took Jimmy's vacant seat.
From the beginning to end, Shiller remained calm. During the interrogation, he answered all questions truthfully, did not offer any self-defense, and showed no signs of anger or injustice.
During the standoff, Rhomann was the first to speak. He spoke passionately, with great emotion, endlessly explaining to the audience about how Shiller manipulated him, oppressed and mentally tortured him.
His delivery was moving and he provided many detailed examples like how Shiller extorted him by threatening to fail his papers or delay his graduation unless he committed murder for him.
Thomas's words were even more intense, saying that his disfigurement was completely due to Shiller controlling him, asking him to self-mutilate, and after he bled for him, Shiller was still not satisfied and asked for more.
Both of their emotions seemed very real, by the end, both started crying uncontrollably, screaming like mad, just like two pitiful students who had suffered psychological abuse.
"Stop humiliating me."
It seemed like Shiller couldn't stand it anymore, he lightly pressed his fingers on the corner of one eye and said: "Even idiots like you have managed to stumble upon the right answer, then why on earth…"
"Look, this is how he's oppressing us, continuously insulting us, psychologically abusing us!" Rhomann suddenly screamed.
"Shut up."
When Shiller directed his gaze over, Rhomann choked up and could not get a word out, like his neck was gripped tightly.
Shiller suddenly rose from his chair, the security personnel on both sides rested their hands on their guns at their waists.
Shiller tilted his head back high, his gaze lingered on each person's face in the crowd for a few seconds before he spoke:
"I initially thought, there wouldn't be anything more painful in this world than teaching unteachable people."
"But now, I realize, no matter how much failure a teaching career may bring, how painful the teaching process might be, it's better than watching two thoroughgoing imbeciles stumble onto an answer using the exhaustion method."
"I've said it before, the exhaustion method is the worst method in the world, yet there are some people who can't even use that."
By the time Shiller finished, the expressions of Rhomann, Thomas and Bruce in the back stiffened.
Now, Bruce could at least confirm one thing, the Shiller before him was real, as there wouldn't be anyone else capable of breaking everyone's guard with a single sentence like this professor was able to.
"Originally, I wanted to escape from reality for a while, but reality proved that I couldn't allow myself to be refuted by such stupid imbeciles, so…"
"…I refute all their accusations." Shiller sat back down and spoke to the agent sitting straight in front of him: "I have valid alibis for all scenarios they described, and there are people who can testify for all behaviours they accused me of, that they are not true."
Just as expected, Shiller refuted Rhomann and Thomas's accusations one by one, and successfully silenced them.
After a few rounds of confrontation, the agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation started presenting substantial evidence obtained from their investigations. Angela, who held the documents, glanced back subtly, Bruce remained expressionless.
Entering this part of the process, Angela immediately stood up and said:
"To judge whether a professor is competent, the best method, apart from his teaching style in classrooms and his daily interaction with students, is to look at his own scholarly abilities and the academic level of his students."
"I think, everyone here, should not question the academic ability of Professor Shiller Rodriguez, and the information obtained by the criminal investigation team from the education information system shows that students under Professor Shiller Rodriguez's guidance also have distinct scholarly abilities."
"Next, I will present a small number of psychology theses written by students under the guidance of Professor Rodriguez."
"According to our investigation, for the student Bruce Wayne who had the lowest GPA, the most absentees, and the most unsatisfactory academic performance in his four years of studies, he still managed to create a psychology thesis that was far superior to the requirement level from the American Universities education system for undergraduate psychology students."
"This is sufficient to prove that Professor Shiller Rodriguez has extraordinary teaching capabilities, prioritizes the academic development of students. Now, let's all take a look at this thesis…"
Shiller abruptly stood up, raised a hand and exclaimed: "Wait! Everybody freeze!"
"I plead guilty!"
Everyone stared at him dumbfounded.
"Wait a minute, Professor Rodriguez, are you saying that you're admitting to the charges?"
Shiller shook his head gently but moments later Shiller said: "I am not admitting to their so-called charges of psychological control and abuse, but I do admit to murder and unlawful imprisonment."
The sudden change in events left everyone in the room stunned.
In the expansive hall, only Shiller stood in the open space up front, when the professor's voice rang out, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"At this moment, inside this building, there is a corpse."
"Click, click, click," the sound of guns being chambered rang out one after another, the micro dust circled one round around Shiller, facing numerous black holes of gun barrels.
"It's the body of Agent Jimmy Andres… who was responsible for investigating me… Yes, I killed him."