"When was the last time you studied math?"
"University."
"How long ago..."
"It doesn't matter, what matters is that I wasn't good at math."
In a study next to the bedroom in the Tower of Thought, Shiller extended a hand and said, "You don't think I'm the type of top-ranking graduate in every subject, do you?"
Batman, who was pacing in the open space behind the desk, stopped and turned to look at Greed, saying, "Aren't you?"
"Of course I'm not, I'm not an all-round genius like you." Shiller shook his head, "Or more precisely, I'm not a genius at all, I'm not good at calculations, and I haven't really done any inventing or creating."
"In fact, aside from psychology, I performed poorly in many subjects." Shiller admitted without shame.
"So how did you get your degree?" asked Batman.
"I hypnotized all the university professors."
"A genius, and a rogue as well." Batman continued with his assessment.
"Unfortunately, the Batman in Arrogant's world hasn't thought to be a rogue in four years."
"The teacher at Gotham University who manages the papers is already over 70. There isn't even a need for the hypnosis process. If you walk in and take it, no one would notice."
"That's basic shame." Batman sat down opposite Shiller, who shrugged and said, "Wild youth, I haven't even told you how crazy I was when I studied abroad..."
"Alright, look here, you should still remember the basic function knowledge, right?"
"Of course, this I can do."
Greed, with considerable confidence, took a book from Batman's hands, glanced at it, and found that the questions were all easy. He hummed disdainfully and wrote down a few answers casually.
Batman watched as the pen tip smoothly traced an arc on the paper. When Greed stopped writing, he took the paper and found that none of the problems had working steps, but the results were completely correct.
"Any scholar who excels in a particular subject will not have IQ issues, comprehension and memory are universal," Greed said.
Batman nodded and said, "Very well, then, look at this."
Batman handed over another piece of paper, Greed took it and was immediately stunned. The paper was full of something that looked like high EQ would call modernist beauty, while lower EQ would say it was not as complicated as a devil's painting.
Batman said casually, "Next, let's look at the basic equation of the Markov chain model by introducing state probability vectors and transition probability matrices..."
"Stop!" Greed shouted directly, pointing a finger at the devil's painting on the paper in the middle of the table, "What does this have to do with the function just now?!"
Batman looked at Shiller rather helplessly and said, "They are both mathematical models. The function you just got is a parameter model, and I am now talking about the Markov chain model according to the content of this part. Alright, let's look at the regular chain in the Markov chain model..."
"Wait!" Greed shouted, he picked up the paper with the simple function problems, and the one with the devil's painting, placed them in front of Batman and said, "Are you telling me, these are two consecutive lessons?"
"Not consecutive, but related."
Batman's tone was slightly impatient, he was not a patient person to explain, especially in communicating with people, with a unique impatience of a mental patient.
He explained reluctantly once more, "If you can understand functions, you can understand the models I'm talking about. The principles are universal, very simple..."
Just as Greed was about to open his mouth, Batman impatiently cut him off and said, "If you'd been listening since just now, we would have finished talking about the absorbing chain by now. It's just a few sentences, can't you just listen quietly?"
"But the problem is, I don't understand."
"But you can understand functions, right?"
"But what does the function have to do with this?"
"I told you, they are both mathematical models!"
"But they're too different."
"Not continuous, but related!"
"Can't you make it continuous?!"
"But this is basic!"
Batman and Greed stared at each other.
"Can I not learn this?"
"No, you can't."
"Why?!"
"Because if you excel in psychology, there's no problem with your intelligence and comprehension, but if I can't even teach you the simplest mathematical analysis method, it will seem like the problem is with me!"
"Can I skip class?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I lock the door as quickly as you do!"
"Oh my god!" Greed screamed: "You really are Arrogant's pawn sent to torture me! Get out of here, you're polluting my brain!"
Greed stood up and walked towards the door, muttering, "This is my Tower of Thought. I'm going out. Can you stop me?"
Without a backward glance, he reached the door. Suddenly, he heard a hissing noise. Glancing down towards the sound, he saw a thin layer of black liquid covering the floor, spreading towards his feet.
Greed gasped in shock, he looked back at Batman and saw the room being enveloped in dark waves. He exclaimed in surprise, "Morbid actually let you bring your powers in?!!"
Just as the words left his mouth, Greed turned abruptly and rushed towards the door. But a split second before his hand touched the doorknob, the wave of black water coiled around his waist, pulling him back to his desk and pinning him there.
"Batman!!!!" Greed thundered.
With a 'whoosh,' the black tide disappeared. Batman sat back down across the table and said, "This isn't my power, it's still yours. But because our souls have synchronized, I can also draw on a part of Arrogant's power."
"What the hell do you want!!!??" Greed wailed, "So what if I killed you and Arrogant once? Are you still holding a grudge?!"
"I'm not holding a grudge, but I can't let you off the hook, because, I'm Batman."
Nonchalantly, Batman took out another pen and pointed at the marking on the paper:
"Alright, the formula for the regular chain is here. Let's look at its application in programming. By drawing a state transition diagram, you can determine the state type in the Markov chain…"
"Help!!!"
At the Luminous Alliance's Dreamland Base, Stark was carefully reading a document. After a while, he put the document down and asked Charles across the table, "So, there isn't actually a big problem?"
Charles nodded, "With Shiller's permission, I made a very limited, controllable, privacy non-invasive trace of his brainwaves. The anomaly this time could be due to personality surfacing in his High Tower."
"Since I haven't performed this kind of monitoring before, I didn't observe any anomalies. Basically, every time he switches personality traits in the future, there might be this kind of anomaly, but it's not a big problem."
Stark nodded, but his brow stayed furrowed. Charles sat back a bit, speaking in a calm tone, "In fact, I think you guys don't need to create such a tense atmosphere. Always hamstringing Shiller and not letting him do anything isn't a solution."
Charles sighed, picked up a teacup from the table beside him, blew on it gently, then spoke, "When I was young, I would watch Erik constantly, fearing that if he was out of my sight for just a moment, he'd blow a hole in the sky. You know, that was highly probable."
"Of course, looking back now, Erik isn't the strongest, but you know, in our era, there weren't that many superheroes, nor were they that famous. Erik was like a humanoid nuclear bomb, I felt I needed to keep a close eye on him, for his own good and for the world's."
"But then I realized this tense atmosphere only heightened the anxiety. Even though I never said to Erik, 'You might be a destroyer,' my actions were undoubtedly expressing that."
"I was constantly watching him, like I was watching a criminal, and at that time, he wasn't that extremist."
Charles shook his head and said, "So I always thought that his unhappiness over so many years was partly my fault too. As his best friend, I actually treated him like a criminal once. The negative impact this can have on a person is immeasurable."
Stark smirked and said, "You don't need to feel guilty now, Magneto doesn't have time to bother about you."
Charles chuckled quietly, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes forming deep lines that spoke of his joy. He pursed his lips and said, "He strongly opposes Jarvis and Wanda's affair. Lorna said he's been losing hair by the bunch recently. Maybe in not too long, he'll have the same hairstyle as me."
Stark's laughter got stuck in his throat, but he soon remembered something sad and said, "I'm worried about Jarvis too. From a human perspective, he is just a newly-born infant, immature in handling emotions. I don't know if he can manage his own emotional affairs well, especially if his relationship with Wanda impacts the relationship between ordinary people and mutants…"
"You're especially good at worrying needlessly recently." Strange walked into the hall of the Luminous Alliance's Dreamland Base, saying, "Although I agree that we need to keep a close eye on Shiller's condition and prevent him from going mad, we really can't overly restrict his personal freedom."
"From his perspective, it would cause him great distress. From a societal perspective, dumping such a valuable genius in a psychiatric hospital is an egregious waste."
Stark looked again at the data Charles had given him, pondered for a moment in his seat, then nodded and said, "Alright. You guys know how much pressure I'm under. I have to be very cautious, for Shiller, and for the future of the human race."
Charles patted his shoulder in support. Shortly after, they discussed the next plan schedule, then disbanded.
With a 'click,' Stark stepped out of his dedicated Life-supporting Armor, stretched his shoulders and neck, hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made an important decision and pursed his lips.
Suddenly, he heard a series of urgent footsteps from the doorway. Turning around, Stark saw Shiller, who almost failed in stopping his brisk pace.
"Oh, Shiller, you're here. I was just about to say that I may have overreacted a bit. We definitely didn't want to restrict your freedom... Shall I ask Pepper to call you a ride back to the sanatorium?"
"No! Wait!" Shiller put out a hand to stop Stark from getting his phone. He strode over to Stark, put his hands on Stark's shoulders, and looked earnestly into Stark's eyes, saying:
"I'm mentally ill!! Take me to the hospital quickly, do you hear me? I'm sick, I need to be hospitalized!!!"
"Hang on, what happened to you?" Stark looked at Shiller in surprise and asked.
"Batman! He's making me study that damned mathematics!!!!!"
"What's wrong with mathematics?... Oh, I mean, who is Batman?"
"Another idiot!"