Shiller turned his head to look at Cobblepot, who had changed drastically from the timid umbrella boy he first met. Cobblepot was not tall or strong. Based on his skeletal structure, he was not the type to grow very tall, but he was far better than the skinny little boy he used to be.
He was dressed in the suits often worn by mob bosses, his hair neatly combed back, and his shoes were so shiny they reflected the pattern of the ceiling. He was still a bit nervous, fiddling with his hands, and smilingly asked Shiller, "Professor, do you have any free time recently?"
"What seems to be the problem?" Shiller put down his lecture notes and looked at Cobblepot, "If you have something to ask, now would be the best time. My office currently doesn't have a computer installed, and I don't think I'll be going to the multimedia classroom to check emails for quite some time. It's been too hot recently."
"Yes, the weather has been a bit too hot," Cobblepot sighed, "But I've spoken to Mayor Roy, who said this is to boost the tourism industry. In fact, the beaches and sea conditions in Gotham are better than those in Metropolis. All we lack is sunshine."
"It seems the tourists coming from afar really enjoy basking in the sun on the beach. Lex hasn't started the machine for two consecutive days, so many people had to return disappointed. Hence, they've been keeping the machine on nearly all the time."
"The people of Gotham will have to adapt," Shiller shook his head gently, "Currently, the temperature is still within a normal range. The frequent occurrence of heat-related illnesses is due to the lack of precautions taken by Gothamites. They are still maintaining their regular routine under the sun without taking any sun protection measures, and adding to it, there's the absence of air conditioning, naturally, they would suffer from heatstroke."
"However, things will improve a lot after this summer," Shiller turned his head back and began to sort out his lecture notes, "Gordon has already organized many people to provide relief, so there shouldn't be any major problems."
Cobblepot nodded. He nervously licked his lips then spoke up, "I hope you'll forgive my intrusion, professor, for troubling you in such hot weather. However, a peculiar event has recently occurred, possibly a murder case."
Shiller slightly furrowed his brows, and after Cobblepot hesitated for a moment, he carefully stated, "The godfather suspects it might be a case of organized poisoning. However, such incidents have never occurred before. As you know, it's just not the Gothamite's style."
Cobblepot revealed a troubled expression. He glanced around to see that the other students were all hunched over their desks, with no intention of coming over to ask questions. With the surroundings quiet and deserted, their conversation wouldn't be overheard by anyone. He then said, "The godfather suspects it might be an outsider, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has been showing interest in Gotham."
"But the godfather cannot make such accusations outright. The Twelve Families have already been complaining about the City's mismanagement due to the influx of outsiders. If this fact were to be made public, the Twelve Families would certainly protest loudly and want to give them a taste of their own medicine."
"Once the conflict escalates, it will hinder the development of the tourism industry and the transformation and upgrading of the industries. So, the godfather has entrusted me with the task of secretly investigating this matter."
Cobblepot's brows were furrowed as he said, "Professor, I would never take the liberty of asking for personal advice during your lecture. However, this incident is indeed quite peculiar, and I believe that psychology may be able to resolve my doubts."
Throughout Cobblepot's narration, Shiller had been observing his expression. Cobblepot's face was serious, but it was mostly filled with confusion. From his cautious tone, it was evident that Cobblepot must have tried to investigate and ponder over the matter privately for a long time, without any result, before he plucked up the courage to seek Shiller's advice.
Shiller was not particularly busy recently. The only thing he couldn't help much with was the occurrence of heat-related illnesses. He was a psychiatrist, and after helping Roy write an announcement on how to recognize symptoms of a heatstroke, he didn't have much else to do.
The children from Wayne Manor were still in the Prime Universe, and due to the hot weather, the madmen in Arkham Asylum were behaving and staying in the lab. Nobody was causing trouble. In recent times, Shiller's main work was teaching, so he was actually quite keen on helping his students when they encountered problems.
"It's inconvenient to talk here. I have two classes this afternoon. Let's meet at the entrance of the faculty cafeteria around six pm."
"Thank you so much, Professor."
The class ended quickly, The second class was a Psychology course, but still, only a few people showed up, so Shiller had no choice but to turn it into a consultation class.
On his way to the cafeteria after class, Shiller felt a headache coming on. Every teacher has this kind of problem. If the course progresses too quickly, they worry that the students may not have sufficient time to review. If it progresses too slowly, they have to rush to complete the curriculum, fearing they won't finish it in time. Right now, Shiller was troubled by the latter issue.
This might just be the negative chain reaction of the vicious cycle. Because of Gotham's poor public security, not many students from other places dared to come here to study, and the locals all fell sick from the sudden change in climate.
If Shiller moves the teaching progress forward now, it means that a large number of students will miss the class. But if he doesn't move it forward, he definitely won't be able to finish it before the end of the term. However, if he lets the sick students persist in coming to class, they won't be able to assimilate anything while they're sick.
As much as he would like to completely cure the heat-related illnesses right away, as long as the sun continues to exist and Gothamites continue to be stupid about sun protection, his curing speed may not be able to keep up with their rate of falling sick. However, turning off the sun is detrimental to the tourism industry they hope to develop on the Golden Coastline.
Shiller hadn't thought that teaching daily instead of a cosmic tyrant or similar kind of enemy would give him such headaches. It seems this was indeed every teacher's destined fate.
While pondering how to adjust the course to catch up with the teaching progress as much as possible, Shiller headed towards the faculty cafeteria. On his way, he met Victor, who seemed to only have one class that afternoon since he had already finished lunch and looked like he was in a hurry to go somewhere.
Shiller wanted to stop Victor to ask him something, but thinking that Cobblepot might still be waiting for him, he refrained and hurried towards the main entrance of the faculty cafeteria.
When he arrived at the faculty cafeteria, as expected, Cobblepot was already waiting for him at the entrance. Shiller quickly ascended the stairs, with Cobblepot following behind him. Shiller then turned his head and asked, "How long have you been waiting?"
"I've just arrived too, Professor." Cobblepot took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead, following Shiller into the dining room.
Unfortunately, the dining room also had no air conditioning, but there were more windows and the building structure was better than the classroom. A breeze blew, making it much better than the stifling heat of the classroom.
Upon entering, Cobblepot exhaled in relief like a fish that had just come ashore, and again wiped the sweat from his forehead. He and Shiller sat down by a larger window.
Shiller glanced at the menu and was just about to order when the waiter came over and said, "I'm sorry, Professor, the chef of the restaurant is sick, and we can't prepare any complex dishes."
Shiller sighed and looking at the menu said, "Then just tell me what I can order. We'll have something simple."
Shiller glanced at Cobblepot, asking for his opinion. Cobblepot sighed and said, "Many restaurants in Gotham are in this state now, otherwise I would have taken you out."
The two ordered a few dishes, mostly staple foods. Shiller ordered a sweet and sour Spanish paella, while Cobblepot only ordered a Caesar salad. They completely avoided soup and desserts, as well as butter and heavy sauces. Clearly, even though Shiller didn't mind the heat, the heatwave made heavy foods unappetizing.
While they ate, Cobblepot started talking about the strange incidents the mob encountered recently.
"The Spencer family had been in a bit of turmoil recently over their daughter's wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Old Spencer had not been well for a while, and a few weeks back, Madame Old Spencer contracted a strange illness," Cobblepot began.
"A strange illness? What kind?"
Cobblepot faltered slightly and said, "I haven't seen the specifics. I've only heard from the women caring for her that the doctors had never seen such a disease. Old Spencer felt that his wife had been cursed."
"Were there no symptoms?"
"From what I heard, she swelled up all over." Cobblepot added. "I can understand why the family would be reluctant to have outsiders see such a change in appearance. Madame Old Spencer had been bedridden for over two years, but the sudden change in her condition is strange. Old Spencer is worried someone is plotting against him."
"So what was Madame Spencer's illness?"
"Stomach cancer. It was well known that she didn't have long to live due to her age. Old Spencer had already accepted the reality of the situation. Then about a month ago, Madame Old Spencer passed away. The funeral was held at the Gotham Cathedral."
Upon reflection, Shiller spotted the odd part of this otherwise commonplace story. He gently ran his fingers over the pattern on his silver spoon's handle and said, "Some diseases can cause swelling at the extremities, and in severe cases, perhaps even swelling throughout the body, but stomach cancer... "
"Old Spencer and his wife had a good relationship. Although her death was inevitable, he didn't want her to suffer. So he hired many doctors to try and eliminate the swelling, but to no avail."
"Including the doctors from Wayne Hospital?"
"Yes, including some doctors from Metropolis."
Cobblepot paused, glanced at Shiller's face, and said, "I know this might sound unscientific, but Old Spencer had the old priest at Gotham Cathedral check her out. The priest said it wasn't a curse…"
"Initially, it was manageable. After all, Madame Old Spencer was terminally ill and there was no point in exploring her peculiar disease. The dead can't be brought back to life."
"But just a week later, the eldest son of the Farnas family also died. Like Madame Old Spencer, he had swelled up over weeks ago before his death. He was just sixteen. Farnas couldn't accept it."
Cobblepot drew in a deep breath and said, "The Twelve Families, due to their beliefs, don't usually allow for autopsies, but Farnas had only one son. He was supposed to inherit the family business. Farnas vowed to find the murderer."
"So, he believes his son was murdered?"
"There's hardly any other explanation." As Cobblepot picked at the salad in his dish, he recalls, "Little Farnas was just sixteen, sturdy and without any genetic diseases. He even joined a basketball club at school. There was no warning. Farnas had never heard his son complain of feeling unwell."
Shiller thought for a moment before asking, "So what did the autopsy reveal?"
"The cause was acute poisoning leading to water retention in the body."