The interrogation room was transformed this time, cold railings came into sight for the first time, appearing between the interrogator and the interrogated. The chairs were uncomfortably rigid and the iron rings for handcuffs and shackles shimmered with a frigid gloss under the light.
However, much like the other rooms, the lighting here remained dim. Only a small square window above the chair permitted a sliver of moonlight through. When Bruce entered the room, Schiller's grey eyes, seemingly devoid of pupils, softened under the cold moonlight.
Bruce walked towards the railings but did not take a seat. He turned around to look at the investigator that had escorted him in.
The investigator nodded at him, advising, "Mr. Wayne, for your safety, you mustn't get too close to the suspect. Regardless of what he may say, you are forbidden from reaching through the railings or to tamper with the lock on the door. Nor can you throw anything within the enclosed space."
Once finished, the investigator turned around to leave and shut the door behind him. Schiller lifted his head to look at Bruce on the other side of the railings, and directed, "Relax, take a seat."
"Morbid." Bruce muttered to himself.
Schiller nodded, saying, "It took some effort to get them to find me a decent set of clothes. I don't appreciate those dull colours that make me look like a conventional old scholar."
"As for why I am here - I am here to announce the commendable results of your resit. You did well in all respects. Which part do you want to hear about first?"
Bruce squinted directly at Schiller, asking, "Did you murder Jimmy?"
Schiller shook his head, replying, "I thought even when you'd be having your blood drawn, you'd still be paying attention to what I say next door. I already said that I don't kill and I'm not interested in physical torture either."
"Let's first discuss the part regarding officer Angela." Schiller began.
"After Angela found you, she hoped that you could propose an effective plan. However, she thought you'd use the power of Wayne Enterprises to ensure the fairness of the trial."
"But you persuaded her otherwise. Can you share how you went about it?"
Bruce stood on the spot, keeping a firm gaze on Schiller's eyes. He was considerably tenser than when he had faced arrogant Schiller. This seemingly calm and gentle Professor Schiller sent a chill down his spine.
"After Angela approached me, she was noticeably anxious and extremely worried that an unfair trial might falsely incriminate Schiller. So, I capitalised on her anxious mood to persuade her."
"I told her, I could use the power of Wayne Enterprises to influence the trial's verdict in politics and business. I could even go as far as bribing federal investigators to create fabricated evidence."
"You stirred up her instinct to resist?" Schiller asked.
Bruce nodded, responding, "Angela Dodgson is a woman of justice. Even if she had received Schiller's favour in the past, she wouldn't agree with anyone using such a despicable method to influence judicial fairness."
"Furthermore, based on her understanding of you, she wasn't even certain whether you had indeed abused those students. She wanted both to save you and ensure justice prevails, to seek process justice."
"Hence, I told her if we don't use this method, we must find factual evidence that favors Schiller."
"If such evidence indeed exists but has been buried, then unearthing it and announcing it in court is not an undue influence on judicial justice."
"Angela was frantic and had no ideas what to do. Thus, I suggested that we find the most effective proof of a teacher's qualification - their teaching level. However, we couldn't allow Schiller to teach in the courtroom. Hence, the best way was to gather printed evidence."
"Angela holds a master's degree in criminal investigation and inspection from two renowned universities. She immediately thought of assessing Schiller's teaching level by examining his students' research papers."
"Everyone knows that undergraduate theses typically lack innovative or forward-looking results, and the research often doesn't delve deep enough. However, if we could pick out one or two standout pieces, it would at least prove that Schiller was genuinely teaching his students and not simply using his position for bullying."
"Your logic is flawless." Schiller commented. But he quickly followed up with another question. "How did you convince Angela to choose your thesis? More importantly, how did you explain how you, a playboy with no academic inclinations, managed to produce a thesis that far exceeds the average level?"
Bruce stepped back two paces, pulled the chair he had previously pushed aside, and took a seat. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, and then said,
"While she was looking for the thesis, I purposely struck up a conversation about student life, which allowed me to learn from her that she holds two master's degrees."
"This policewoman is serious, responsible, and experienced in field work, which makes her feel she has a duty to guide and correct every citizen."
"Angela is older than me. When I deliberately complained about the dullness of my studies during the course of our conversation, she instinctively hoped to steer me onto the right path – she encouraged me to study hard, cherish my school life, and not to waste time."
Shiller's lips curved slightly upwards. He leaned forward, seeming quite interested, and asked, "And then?"
Bruce lowered his head and pursed his lips, his expression somewhat conflicted. After a moment of silence, he spoke:
"I casually brought up my circumstances – how my parents died when I was young, and how I alone had to shoulder the responsibilities of Wayne Enterprises."
"Vulnerability," Schiller pronounced, smiling at Wayne. "What surprises most men is that, quite often, it's not the masculine traits, the dominance, the violence, that attract women, but vulnerability."
Bruce took a long breath and continued Schiller's line of thought: "Men both loathe and honor patriarchy, women both fear and are fascinated by it. If you oppress persistently, their characters will regress, causing confusion and resentment. But if you step back, their characters will advance, causing excitement and love."
"When I told her about my unfortunate childhood, Angela understood my complaints. She even came to reason that my academic indifference and reckless behavior were excusable."
"When I regressed my character to childhood, she proactively advanced one step, placing herself in the role of an elder or mother. Maternity is one source of a woman's sympathy."
Shiller nodded enthusiastically, then looked at Bruce, prompting him to continue.
"So, when I suggested that I hoped she could take a look at my thesis, Angela couldn't refuse, for she didn't want to hurt my pride."
"In such a scenario, she could not possibly say things like 'what good paper could you possibly write.' She believed it was worthwhile to 'waste' some time to encourage me."
"So, she found my thesis and gave it a cursory read. Her university curriculum must have included criminal psychology, which is what my thesis was about. Hence, she realized that the quality of my paper was way above average."
"Angela expressed surprise and confusion, and even harbored some suspicions. At first, she suspected I might have employed a ghostwriter. However, Angela is also a police officer who prefers to deal in facts; she prefers to seek the evidence herself."
"She asked me some questions about the points in my paper. I answered truthfully, which led her to conclude that I had indeed written the paper."
"Subsequently, she felt puzzled. As per my description of myself, I was a student who hardly ever attended class, never submitted assignments on time, and whose academic performance was extremely poor. She wondered how I could write a paper of such quality."
"Did you tell her explicitly?" Shiller asked.
Bruce shook his head and said, "As much as specific truths are persuasive, at times they eliminate room for speculation. If only vague implications are given, the other party might suppose that there's an unspeakable rationale involved, which might not really serve their interests."
"I subtly hinted that it had something to do with Shiller. I assumed Angela thought that Shiller had probably polished my paper a bit, hoping to get some help from Wayne Enterprises."
"Therefore, Angela herself connected all the dots to make sense of it. Because Shiller had academically helped me in the past, I agreed instantly to help her save Shiller when she found me. She found a single reason that explained both the quality of my paper and my willingness to help Shiller."
"Then she thought that if such a poor-performing student could write such quality paper, the persuasive power of this evidence must be substantial. Hence, she decided to make my paper public in the open inquiry tomorrow."
Shiller broke into a smile again, and with a smirk in his eyes, he asked, "Now that we've gotten this far, let's talk about why you did all this."
With his head slightly lowered, Bruce put a finger to his brow and, with an air of helplessness, said, "Even though Professor Shiller approved my thesis, his final comments on it…"
"He said that he knew he'll go to hell one day. So, he decided to read this paper to Satan every night. This way, he wouldn't see me in hell."