"The ACTH project was a secret exploration of human limits conducted by the U.S. military. I was a subject of the experimental program, and the only successful test subject who survived."
Shiller's eyes slid to Slaughter's body, without any scars, which was almost impossible for a seasoned killer, unless he had a regenerating ability far superior to that of a normal human.
"I'm not aware of the specific data of the experiment. No one told me at the time, and I didn't care later. However, the project team existed for only a short period of time before it disappeared. The reason was that the Congress wanted to catch the military's misdeeds, and unethical human experiments was a good point to start."
"The project team was disbanded too quickly. Those who wished to profit from it or climb up the ladder were not reconciled. After the dissolution of the project team, they scattered in all directions. One of the scientists decided to capitulate to Congress. His name was Francis Campbell."
"Since Campbell knew all about the specific data of the project, he could provide this information to Congress as evidence that the military conducted illegal human experiments. This included detailed information about me, the only successful experimental subject and survivor. I couldn't let him do so because I had a family."
"Once Congress found out that I had become a super weapon, they would not give up controlling me. And the best way to control me was to control my family. I learned this from William Walsh."
"So, he basically saved you."
"It's not that simple. Walsh was just an opportunist. He and Campbell had a falling out when the project team still existed. However, he sided more with the military and did not want Campbell to succeed."
"Did he tell you to kill Campbell?"
"It wasn't a command, but he knew that I was sure to do so to protect myself, and I did it as he wished."
Slaughter sighed, Shiller could hear his resentment. As expected, Slaughter says, "This should've been the end of it, but that fool William Walsh secretly kept a list of test subjects and let his wife know. They divorced, and the child was granted custody to the wife."
"Later, his wife remarried, and she married a businessman named Dennis Jetter. His son grew up under the care of his stepfather. After the death of Old William, his only close relative, young William Denechette collected his natural father's estate and found that list inside."
"He betrayed you." Shiller appended an ending to the story, he said, "He knocked on the door of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with this information, and connected with Amanda."
"He has always wanted to find me." The tone of Slaughter's speech had sunk to the bottom. He said, "He believed that the surviving superweapon must still be alive and that he is the only person who knows the dangerous weapon's control method—he knows the identity of my family so he had to die."
When Slaughter got here, he paused for a moment, suddenly looked up at Shiller because he remembered the question Shiller had begun the topic with--"You have a family, don't you?"
"Did William give you that list?"
"I found it myself." Shiller did not avoid the killing gaze of Slaughter and said, "Why do you think that a murder case could occur in front of me and I wouldn't investigate to the root of the problem?"
"Mr. Wilson, your biggest mistake was to tamper with William's body, making his death method full of artistic expression. This greatly aroused my interest."
"For some reasons, I will take the initiative to contact people who could create such works of art and invite them to join the art group I founded. I think the person who killed William is qualified, so I went to investigate who did it."
"To investigate the murderer, I had to find out about William. Although I had no interest in him and didn't even know his family history, I just asked Amanda for his residence and discovered the list there. He didn't even bother to hide it."
"What a fool!" Slaughter gritted his teeth to say.
"I am quite curious why you didn't go to his residence to destroy the list after you had killed him. Didn't you think he had already destroyed it?"
"I thought William had hidden it."
"Then you really overestimated this fool."
Slaughter was obviously choked. He felt that he was scolded by Shiller, but he had the evidence, and he couldn't refute it.
"A common problem of smart people." Shiller put his hand on the handle of the umbrella, smiled, and said, "You think he is likely to split the list into several parts, hide them in hidden bases all over the world, and set countless complex passwords for the safe that only he himself knows."
"You know clearly that no matter how complicated the puzzle is, once the only person who knows all the clues dies, no one can link so much information together to find the final answer. This is a convenient and quick method, which is specially tailored for those who are suspicious and have late-stage paranoia."
"But William's stupidity obviously exceeded your imagination. He simply put the list on the bookshelf in his apartment, sandwiched in a book with the first letter of his name. I just understand his stupidity more than you do."
Slaughter leaned back on the recliner like a deflated balloon, and said, "How did you know about his relationship with me then?"
"I knew he was killed by you."
"How did you know?"
"I just knew it." Shiller sat down on the recliner next to him and said, "If you want to find the flaws in your own methods through my answers, you might be disappointed."
"I didn't find out the murderer by the methods of a detective. My methods are more abstract."
"Well, since we're idle now, you might as well talk."
"I saw a contradiction in William's body. The murderer's method was too professional, neat and clean, without any clues, as professional as if by the world's best assassin."
"But assassins don't pour this much emotion into a corpse. I saw anger in the manner of the corpse's death. That particular behavior of his has imprisoned your heart and soul, so you've turned the tables and imprisoned his body in a box."
Deathstroke's finger slightly moved; he seemed to hesitate, but it seemed like he thought that since things had got this far, there was no point in hiding. So he said, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is a nuisance for me."
"Or to put it this way, any official law enforcement agency of any major country in the world is trouble for an assassin. The FBI is even more troublesome because they know my real information. For the sake of my family, I must get away from them to prevent them from recognizing me."
"It's not impossible. Initially, Campbell submitted part of the experimental information to Congress to gain their trust. Once the Federal Bureau of Investigation gets the initial experimental information from Congress, and they match it with some of the characteristics I've shown, they'll know who I am."
"So you were isolated," Shiller summarized. "William's actions forced you to distance yourself from this country, and in retaliation, you isolated him in a box."
"That's what he deserved." The anger still hasn't faded in Deathstroke's tone; he's mad at William's folly as well as at his own carelessness.
"You may think it's just a public humiliation and revenge, but your experience of displaying the corpse to the world is not extensive. You didn't carefully filter the information you left on the body. To me, it's like you wrote your name on the body."
"Before this, I never thought there'd be someone like you in the world, reading a corpse's face? Huh." Deathstroke scoffed, but he still said, "I'm just an assassin who does things for money. If I didn't have a personal grudge against that idiot, and want to warn the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I wouldn't have touched his body. I'm not a psychopath."
"But I must say, you certainly have the talent."
Feeling the sudden enthusiasm in Shiller's words, Deathstroke immediately interrupted him: "I get paid per job, kill and go. I don't need to know how to handle a corpse correctly. Just ask what you want to ask."
"When did the Assassin Union approach you?"
"Two months after I killed Gorbachev."
After pondering, Shiller said: "I fear Ra's al Ghul is not as confident as he portrays himself to be, he is afraid of you."
"He has no reason to fear me. No one has paid me to kill him, so he's absolutely safe."
"But he doesn't know if someone will pay. Just now, someone paid you to kill a key figure. He believes the person behind you wants to establish a new world order, just like him, and thinks that the person behind you has been watching him for a long time."
"Don't you?"
"No, I thought he would be more interested in my students." Shiller shook his head, still speaking in a casual tone. Deathstroke was unsure what Shiller meant, so he tentatively asked: "So, you're here to offer me another job?"
"Do you think I would hire you to kill him?"
"Why do people like you always like to use rhetorical questions?"
"Because psychologists usually charge by the hour, this is a good rule. I suggest you also use it, so you can charge me just for the conversation."
Deathstroke felt mocked by Shiller again, but with the prospect of a potential job in front of him, he didn't have the time to argue. He said, "The old devil is tough to deal with, so the price will be high."
"But I don't intend to pay."
"Then I'm afraid you'll receive wave after wave of probing from him, and from then on, you'll never have peace." Deathstroke laid in his chair, crossed his hands on his abdomen, and made a smug gesture. He said, "Although personally, I'm more than happy to see you on the run, but I also think he can't do it. Anyway, he's going to cause you a lot of trouble."
"My point is, I'm not planning to hire a paid assassin. When there's a free one available, why not use them?"
Deathstroke squinted and said, "If there really is such a considerate person, you must introduce me."
"Not someone from your field."
"Then who?"
"Someone from the Assassin's Union."
In the dining room of Rodriguez Manor, Lex and Clark watched as Bruce, who was holding a mobile phone, came back. Lex frowned and asked, "What were you doing? Why were you gone for so long?"
"I received a call from Professor Shiller."
"Was there an emergency?" Clark asked with concern.
"Nothing much." Bruce sighed lightly and said, "Just that I have to take another makeup exam."
Lex let out a cold laugh from his throat, while Clark asked with some curiosity: "Another test? What's the test about?"
"Dealing with a troublesome woman."