"It disappoints me when students don't learn well, and it angers me when I can't teach them effectively. However, what really threatens my academic reputation is when I grade tests leniently," Shiller sighed as he stated.
The topic for Bruce's graduation test was manipulation and counter-manipulation. What do you think is more difficult?
"Manipulating others and resisting manipulation?" Helen pondered for a moment before she said, "Manipulating others seems more difficult. It requires learning many skills and being able to swiftly analyze a person's character to devise targeted strategies."
Shiller shook his head and said, "Skills can be learned. Finding someone's mental weak spot is not a technical task. Understanding someone in a week is hard, but if you're willing to invest time, by revolving around someone for years, regardless of how difficult they might be to comprehend, you'll eventually understand them."
Helen seemed lost in thought as she nodded her head, then she touched her chin and asked, "Is it hard to resist being manipulated by others?"
"It's challenging not to be influenced by others," Shiller took a sip of his tea and said, "It's hard to avoid being affected by the surroundings, and the more important a person is to you, the more significant their influence will be on you. It's impossible to be completely immune to such influence."
"Once someone tries to manipulate you, their understanding of you and their significance in your eyes will become their most powerful weapons. The inability to resist isn't due to weakness, but rather because the nature of manipulation is their love for you, which you reciprocate. You think this compensates for their manipulation."
Helen quietly took these words to heart and then said, "Since Bruce graduated, it proves that he has learned both how to manipulate others and how to resist manipulation."
"Jack is also manipulating Bruce. It's the same concept, just in a different form," Shiller sighed.
"The simplest way to resist manipulation is to not seek validation from others. Completely eliminate the concern about disappointing others due to your actions. Just do it."
"I understand," Helen raised a finger and said, "Jack emphasised to Bruce that if he doesn't participate in the examination, you would be disappointed. If he worries about this and starts looking for ways to score high, he is being manipulated by Jack."
"That proves he hasn't truly completed his course," Shiller sighed heavily, "That also means I graded his graduation test leniently, and me announcing his excellent graduation will undeniably receive a significant blow to my reputation in academia."
"This is so hard!" Helen slumped down into the single-seater sofa, "Who can ignore the feelings of those close to them? If you never consider their thoughts before taking actions, won't you genuinely cause them heartache?"
"That's why it's crucial to maintain balance." Shiller started folding the edges of the newspaper, "Thinking too much would make you lose what you have, and being heartless will also bring losses. Everyone holds a knife called 'emotion.' Either you use it to hurt people, dull its blade, feel guilty, or feel pain—there's no other choice."
"However, this question is not that hard to answer, there's another way of thinking about it," Shiller suddenly changed the topic.
"What is it?" Helen asked curiously.
"Either Bruce realizes he shouldn't value my opinion and resist Jack's manipulation, or he might realize that saving Gotham is pointless."
"It's not because the Batman from another universe needs to save Gotham that he needs to do the same. After all, the situation of his Gotham is different from the one in the other universe."
"In the Gotham where the other Batman lives, things have reached a dead-end. Batman failed to establish order in a timely fashion. It's challenging to find the most suited path for his city during the prime time. Starting the exploration now would require enormous efforts."
"Therefore, a virtual Gotham, free from dark powers, would be the best experimental ground. This is a golden opportunity for him, so he should definitely give it a try."
"However, for Bruce, the Gotham he lives in has already found its path. It needs to progress systematically. Therefore, finding a new method to save Gotham makes no sense; it isn't the priority."
"But to do his top priority, he must let go of his anxiety about the test scores. Isn't it ultimately the same thing?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "It depends on what the top priority is, or whether there's such a priority worth taking the risk of disappointing me."
Helen fixed her gaze on Shiller, not missing any bit of his expression. As she was about to avert her gaze, she heard Shiller murmur,
"If there was, why would I be disappointed?"
Gordon's ringing phone on the monitor drowned out Shiller's voice. Gordon answered the phone and said, "Hello... Clark? What happened?... Your cat is missing, and you can't get a hold of Bruce? You want me to ask him if he's seen your cat?"
"Sorry, Clark, we can't reach Bruce now either, but I don't think a cat can run from Metropolis to Gotham... The cat has superpowers? I should've received a crime report by now..."
"Oh, he's not mad? But I genuinely haven't received any news... No, it's not a hassle, the moment Bruce gets back, I'll... What? Your cat came back? Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Clark picked up the Bat Cat, which jumped on top of the telephone table, held it in his arms, and ruffled its head saying, "Where have you been? I was only making a sandwich and you disappeared. What's up with Bruce? You said he was looking for you?"
"He was indeed looking for me," Bat Cat licked its paws and said, "But the call was faint, I couldn't determine the exact location."
"Is he in any kind of danger?" Clark asked anxiously: "He invited me to Gotham before, but due to work at the newspaper, I didn't go. Could he be in trouble?"
The Bat Cat scratched his whiskers with his paw and avoided Clark's stroking hand, saying, "I'm more inclined to think he might be trapped somewhere in the Kingdom of Dreams."
"Why?"
"Otherwise, why would he contact me instead of contacting you directly?" The Bat Cat looked at Clark and said: "If he had a chance to send information, his first choice definitely wouldn't be a cat. Unless he could only send a message to me."
"And the only limitation which would allow him to send a message to me but not to you is that I come from the Kingdom of Dreams, a part of the dream of a thousand cats, able to communicate with Cat City Gotham at any time. However, you are a human, and unless you are dreaming, no one from the Kingdom of Dreams can contact you."
"Bruce is trapped in his dream? I need to hurry and find him, didn't you say before that if you die in a dream it's the real death? He must be in extreme danger right now..."
Clark turned to go, but the Bat Cat, calmly yawning, said, "Do you think the Kingdom of Dreams is a place you can just walk into?"
Only then did Clark realize his misunderstanding and stopped, somewhat embarrassed, saying: "Uh, seems like I can't, but can you take me there?"
"Sure. But why don't you think about just how serious the risk is that has managed to trap Batman?"
Seeing Clark's baffled expression, Bat Cat had to explain: "Batman's soul strength is very powerful, his will is unparalleled in the world, theoretically, once he realizesthat he is in a dream, he should be able to awake."
"But since he sent a message from the Kingdom of Dreams, it proves that he can't temporarily return to the real world. So, whatever has him trapped in the Kingdom of Dreams is going to be very tough to deal with, and you are not guaranteed to be of any help on your own."
Clark then put on a serious expression and patted Bat Cat's head, saying, "You're right, there definitely won't be anything simple that could trap Batman. But I don't understand these mystical matters too well, I'd better go talk to Diana."
Not long after that, in the coffee shop next to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Diana took a sip from her iced coffee cup and said, "You're saying Bruce might be trapped inside the Dreamworld? I don't know much about that place either, but how did he manage to contact you guys?"
Clark looked at the Bat Cat sitting next to him. The Bat Cat squatted at the edge of the table, his tail hanging under it, and with a typically solemn tone he said: "That takes us to the origin of the dream of a thousand cats. Did you know? This world was once ruled by cats."
Clark laughed and reached out to pet Bat Cat, but Bat Cat evaded him. With a very serious look, Bat Cat looked at Clark and said, "This is not a joke. It's true."
"A long, long time ago, cats ruled the world, humans were the slaves of cats, then one day, a thousand humans shared the same dream. They used that dream to change reality, so humans came to rule the world and cats became pets."
"But how did the dream of a thousand cats come to be?" Bat Cat asked and answered his own question: "A Siamese cat who had become a human pet, driven by her own instinct to reproduce, gave birth to her litter. But her owner only found these additional kitten bothersome, and threw them all into a bag and sank it to the bottom of the river."
"The Siamese cat sensed the darkness and terror, her profound grief at the loss of her children awakened a unique emotion within her. She began to pray like a human, and a mysterious dream responded to her prayers."
"The Siamese cat found herself within this dream, the place she was destined for was distant and sacred, protected by powerful guards. However, nothing can stop an angered mother's determination, and after traversing numerous obstacles she arrived at a cave, where she met the god of cats, who also goes by another name familiar to you, the master of the Kingdom of Dreams - the Sleep Demon."
"The Sleep Demon explained to her the grievances between humans and cats. Since then, this cat has wanted to bring together a thousand cats to create the 'dream of a thousand cats'. By using dreams to rewrite reality, she wishes to return to the era when cats ruled."
"Wait a minute, I have a question." Clark interrupted: "If cats once ruled over humans, then why are there no traces of this in history?"
With a sigh, Bat Cat replied: "Because it's not history, after all. The dream of a thousand humans totally altered reality. The material world as it exists now was ruled by humans from the very start, while the timeline where cats ruled has been completely erased."
"So, are you saying that if the dream of a thousand cats truly comes into effect, the timeline where humans rule will also be erased?" Diana asked.
"Yes, but that hasn't actually happened." After a twitch of his ears, Bat Cat went on: "The story ends with the Siamese cat waking up. She kept repeating her story to her own kind in reality, hoping to find a thousand cats to share the same dream."
"The words of the Siamese cat caused a world with only cats to appear in the dreams of more and more cats. As a result, places like Cat City Gotham began to appear in the Dreamworld, inhabited only by cats. We are all part of the 'dream of a thousand cats'."
"But you still haven't explained how Bruce managed to contact you."
"I told him this story." After a pause, Bat Cat said: "So, he knows how to make the 'dream of a thousand cats' hear his call."
"And how is that?"
"The cry of a mother's pain over the loss of her child."