Suddenly, a noise echoed from the upper floors. Upon turning, Schiller saw March leaning on the handrail of the second floor, his bloodshot eyes fixed on him, his aggressiveness clearly showing.
Constantine stood straight up from the theater's chair, and said while heavily patting the seat back in front of him, "Batman saw it all coming."
"This universe's Bruce Wayne has been in contact with Lincoln March, knowing him to be an ill-mannered fool. Hence, he intentionally led Shiller to see the dead body. His purpose was not to hear Shiller's analysis, but to have March confront Schiller."
"He knows that March's rudeness would inevitably anger Shiller. But this is still not enough, Batman needs to stoke the flames even more."
"He has observed that Schiller is meticulous to the point of obsessive-compulsive, preferring to control all sounds and light during psychological treatments, never allowing the atmosphere to go beyond his control."
"The extinguishing of the fireplace means the light will dim. This could plunge the conversation into a darker atmosphere. Such a meticulous professor would never allow such an out-of-control scenario to occur - he would surely be the first one to relight the fireplace."
"Batman doused the fireplace at the moment when March was about to get what he wanted most. Schiller's departure will undoubtedly infuriate him."
"Once March shows aggressiveness first in Schiller's territory, Schiller would inevitably retaliate. He can't tolerate a foolish madman who provokes him repeatedly. Batman has provided him with both the opportunity and the motive, even the weapon, just waiting for this professor to act."
"Batman wants to see these two sadistic killers drop their elegant disguise, revealing their inherently aggressive nature, fighting furiously and violently, exposing their ugliness."
"Then he will descend like a god, defeating them not only physically, but also with his own god-like majestic posture, accentuating their ugliness, making them realize that there's no madman in this world who could forever maintain elegance. They are beasts and should return to savagery."
"To let them understand what the Dark Knight truly is."
With Constantine's words sinking in, the atmosphere in the theater became as icy cold as ever. Barry slowly closed his eyes and said, "If you had faced him directly, you'd understand why he isn't a policeman, a judge, or even a hero, but the Dark Knight of a City of Darkness."
"Not only is it because of his solemn majesty that instills fear in others, more importantly, he is always more restrained, composed, cool-headed, and elegant than anyone."
Barry's voice is like a voiceover during a scene transition. As his tone rises, the atmosphere in room 125 of Kazisova reaches its most intense moment.
Right by Schiller's side is a sharp wood-cutting axe. With one step, March could walk down the stairs and block Schiller's only exit.
But except for the first glance, Schiller never looked again at this perfectly made murder weapon. He just stared at March, straight into his bloodshot eyes.
"Dingling!"
The sharp sound of the telephone ringing made everyone in the theater break into a cold sweat.
Schiller, not caring about March's aggressive posture, walked over to him, past him, up the stairs, and took the phone call by the telephone on the second floor.
"Hello? Yes, it is Rodriguez from across the street... Yes, I hope the tie could be delivered to Kazisova 125 before tomorrow morning. Wrap it in oil paper and place it in my mailbox."
"Yes, I understand that the 'red wine stains' are relatively difficult to handle and washing them out completely is a bit of a hassle. But it shouldn't take later than 5 PM tomorrow.... No, I'm not in a hurry, but it would be better if it could be quicker."
At this moment, Schiller looked down. The March that appeared in his sight had suddenly relaxed his shoulders, his arms drooping. His apparent aggressiveness had vanished.
"I don't understand how he got out of it," Diana said candidly, "It should have been a no-win situation. If Shiller didn't act, March would. In order to protect himself, Shiller could either retaliate or dodge, either of which would be very embarrassing."
"The key is to appease March," said Constantine, crossing his arms and letting out a slow breath, "Shiller sent his tie to the laundry across the street in advance... wait, did Batman tell him about the laundry across the street? Does it have anything to do with this?"
"It must be the case," Bruce concluded, and then went on to explain, "I don't like to say anything unnecessary. Since I emphasized that the new clothes for the banquet would be ironed and delivered, then emphasizing a laundry across the street is pointless. There is no need to wash and iron an outfit twice when the banquet is tomorrow."
"This is another hint from Batman," said Bruce, expressionless, "Again, his aim is not to kill Shiller with this plot or with Lincoln March, he knows he can't do that, his aim is still to see how well Shiller understands him."
"So, the laundry is actually a hint, a hint to Shiller that he should send his dirty tie there," Barry furrowed his brow, his fast-moving mind struggling to keep up, so he asked, "So, if Shiller understood the hint and sent his tie there, the phone from the laundry would call just in time, but how would this call stop March from acting?"
"Red wine stains," Bruce gave the answer.
"Red wine stains indicate that Shiller has dirtied his tie. If you trace back logically, why would Shiller dirty his own tie? Because he had an argument with someone, or at least it appeared that way to March."
"The red wine stain would make March recall that Shiller could potentially have had a conflict with Batman, that Shiller and Batman are opponents, not on the same side, they are rivals, not allies."
"So," Diana also felt that she was having trouble keeping up with the train of thought. The only person left who could reason out all the logic at full speed was Bruce, so he said:
"So, there's a multiple-choice question in front of March; should he continue to indulge in the thrill of taunting the police, or address the imminent crisis that Batman could discover and arrest him."
"I didn't understand a single word." Hal said.
"Originally, for March, Shiller was just a tool to carry Batman's evaluation, or perhaps a toy that brought him joy after his crime by taunting the police."
"But when March realized that Shiller and Batman are enemies, Shiller, for March, became a temporary ally who could attract Batman's attention."
"The essence of the choice is how much March fears Batman. If he is afraid enough, he would not give up on allying with Shiller and diverting Batman's attention."
"Of course, if he wants to ally, he naturally can't act, he should negotiate, and there certainly wouldn't be any violent conflict."
Bruce took a deep breath and summed up from the beginning, "Batman used March to interfere with Shiller, basically to test if Shiller could understand his hint. Shiller understood his hint, sent the tie to the laundry, and so when the conflict erupted, he brought out the key word 'red wine stains', making March think that Shiller could be useful and give up on attacking him."
"Simply put, Batman posed a question, which seemed to have many solutions, but the best one was hidden in a single sentence. Shiller found the best solution, answered the question accordingly, and they completed another round of probing."
"The result is that, while Batman appears to be in a superior position, Shiller is flawless. Batman got his answer, and Shiller got an ally who could provide him an identity."
The moment the last syllable fell, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Barry lightly covered his eyes with his hand, and Clark was more forthright. He tilted his head back, exhaled, and muttered a word:
"Help..."