"Shut up, Jason, nothing good ever comes out of that mouth of yours! Anyway, I'm the one paying, so why should you care about what flavor I want to eat?…Oh right, shopkeeper, get another vanilla one for Little Kryptonite."
Soon after, the shop owner handed over three ice creams. Harley took two with both hands, and Jason took the other one. He unwrapped the paper around the cone and took a bite from the top scoop of ice cream, letting out a satisfied sigh, then said, "I offered to treat, but you insisted on showing off your wealth."
"At least I'm not a broke kid lurking on the streets like you." Harley rolled her eyes and took a bite of her ice cream, then patted Little Kryptonite on the head, saying, "Let's go there and eat while sitting."
"Why would Professor Shiller ask us to wait for him here?" Jason looked around the area and voiced his confusion.
This was the plaza of a park in the wealthy district of Seashore City. Since it was tourist season, many tourists were playing by the fountain with their kids. A line of colorful ice cream trucks and snack booths with striped canopies sparkled under the sunlight, emitting vibrant colors.
"Who knows." Harley said from a bench, swinging her legs ""He only got home after midnight last night and started writing as soon as he did, working until dawn. Maybe he planned to relax today. After all, isn't he here to recover from mental illness?"
Jason nodded, agreeing that what Harley said made sense. He raised a hand to shield his eyes as he gazed into the distance where the view was clear due to the lack of high-rise buildings. He could see the coastline over the tops of the many villas, it was quite a nice view.
More importantly, the sun was shining brightly today, warming up people to the point of making them sweaty. The ice cream melted delightfully in his mouth, it was cold and soft at first, then aromatic and sweet. It was indeed a great place to relax and hang out.
Shortly, a familiar car pulled up next to the plaza. Jason and Harley hopped down from the bench and ran towards the car, climbing in as soon as the door was opened. With Little Kryptonite on the passenger seat, Professor Shiller grabbed the steering wheel and stepped on the gas to drive forward.
"Where are we going, Professor?" Jason asked.
"To see the dentist." Professor Shiller replied while steering the car, "In one week, the two of you have been eating at least one cotton candy, one small cake, two ice creams, and countless mint candies every single day. Have you ever considered your teeth?"
Upon hearing the word dentist, Harley gasped. Before she could make a comment, Professor Shiller cut her off, "Don't think about running away. How long has it been since your last dentist visit after your parents passed away?"
Harley's eyes darted around while Jason, feeling confused, glanced at Harley. In a hushed voice, Harley said, "Visiting the dentist is the scariest thing in the world, you'll see."
Soon afterwards, the car stopped outside a clinic. Professor Shiller led the children out, chatted for a bit with the receptionist at the entrance, and then led them into a doctor's office. After a brief introduction, the children were sent for a dental check-up.
Professor Shiller stood by the entrance of the clinic and instructed, "When I come back, I hope to see you behaving yourselves in here. Don't give the doctor trouble, and definitely no fighting, okay?"
The kids nodded, and Professor Shiller left. About two hours later, Harley and Jason got back into Professor Shiller's car. He handed them glasses and said:
"Both of you have been exceeding the average screen time for your age group by quite a bit. Although loving to read is good, you should prevent yourselves from becoming shortsighted. I had a talk with the ophthalmologist next door, and he suggested that you should wear protective glasses to protect your eyesight."
Jason and Harley gave each other a look. Harley made a face, and Jason frowned.
On the way back to the apartment that Professor Shiller rented, he stopped by a restaurant to pick up dinner. Upon returning to the apartment, he quickly finished his meal and sat down on the couch to work on his lesson.
As Professor Shiller was seriously considering whether to eliminate the group discussion part of his class or switch it with the content in the upcoming session, he heard a soft clink. Turning his head, he found a cup of hot water next to his hand.
"Here, Professor." Jason handed over the cup, saying, "You've been working for nearly 4 hours. Aren't you going to take a rest?"
Shiller shook his head, picked up his water cup, blew on it, and then put his attention back to his work. Jason wanted to say something but was afraid to disturb Shiller, so he could only frown and walk away.
At the edge of the bedroom door, Harley stopped Jason. She stuck her head out and took a look at Shiller in the living room, then turned to Jason and said, "He's not planning on staying up all night, is he?"
"Hard to tell." Jason shook his head, "Looking at him, it's likely."
Harley gritted her teeth, "You know what? The most memorable funeral I attended was my dad's coworker's. Do you know how he died?"
"How did he die?"
"He worked himself to death." Harley overdramatically said, "Because of pulling an all-nighter writing a report, he had a heart attack and suddenly died. He had been working nonstop for four to five days without sleep, and so he died!"
Jason gasped, turning to look at Shiller on the couch he hesitated, "Professor Shiller isn't just anyone, he shouldn't work himself to death, should he?"
At that moment, in the dark room of Shiller's Thought Palace, Shiller, dressed in a white lab coat and crossing his arms, looked at another Shiller and spoke.
"He's always been like this! With the excuse of maximizing time efficiency, when he's in control of the body, the body's wear and tear rate is twice as mine!"
"Before, we didn't have Gray Mist, he would restrain himself a little, now it's a different story. With a Symbiont that can repair his body anytime, anywhere, he's become more reckless. It was just staying up all night and not getting up in the morning, now he doesn't even sleep!"
"But, the Symbiont isn't omnipotent, we both know that. In the comics, after Eddie's body aged, Venom couldn't fully repair it. We could only constantly use the Symbiont Factor to replace the aging cells. Letting Arrogant continue at this rate, sooner or later, we are going to have to do the same!"
"Calm down, talk slowly." The Shiller across from him, wearing a navy blue suit and a burgundy tie, calmly grabbed the red wine next to him and took a sip.
"Superego and him are in cahoots, always favoring Arrogant! Whatever Arrogant does is right, even though I'm the one who takes the best care of the body. I have a healthy lifestyle, I rest adequately, exercise regularly, and take good care of my body. Just because I'm Greed, they teamed up against me, where's the justice in that?!"
The Shiller across from Greed gave a laugh, saying, "You seem aggrieved, otherwise, you wouldn't have come to see me. Don't worry, I have another guest today."
Greed paused. At that moment, the door was knocked in a very rhythmic pattern. The Shiller at the table said solemnly, "Come in."
Greed walked up, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door. He saw that the person standing behind the door was Bruce Wayne.
Bruce was also startled to see Greed. The Shiller at the table picked up his knife and fork, and while cutting the food he said,
"I know what you do for a living, but you're one step too late, someone has already filed a complaint."