Jason was disturbed by Shiller's last words before coming ashore, reminding him of an argument he had with Batman long ago, still revolving around their differing attitudes towards criminals.
"I will be the embodiment of fear in Gotham, strangling every criminal with a noose of fear to maintain the balance and prevent them from acting recklessly."
"Then why not simply kill them?" Jason remembered himself asking angrily, "Let them bleed, let them pay, to serve as a deterrent for others, to dissuade them from committing crimes."
"Perhaps that could solve part of the problem." Batman explained more than he usually did, he said, "But it can't solve everything, because there are always people in this world who aren't afraid of death."
Jason recalled Batman's attitude when he said those words. He seemed to separate death from fear as though they were different entities when they should be one and the same. Who isn't afraid of death?
Shiller got off the boat first, stepping onto the level ground. It was evident that the area had been modified. Gazing through the slightly murky sea, Shiller speculated there was likely a Bat Submarine anchored beneath the island.
Jason followed closely behind, stepping onto the slightly damp morning soil, crossing some wild grass, an abandoned wooden planks and a fallen tree, heading towards the only cottage on the island.
Fortunately, it wasn't as messy in front of the house's door. There was a small garden in front, with a few faded signposts whose writings were illegible. Ascending the steps of the porch, pushing open the sky-blue door, the interior decoration was surprisingly cozy and inviting.
The floor was dark, natural pine. The dark blue doormat with a welcome message. On the right was a marble fireplace adorned with golden metal plates and on the left, a hall with a semi-enclosed bay window.
The center of the hall was carpeted in white with tassels, with a floral shaped backrest soft sofa and a green-floral-covered armchair. Most of the plants were erect ferns, planted in white multifaceted pots.
Past the wall divider, there was the dining area and kitchen. Light green and tan cabinets neatly arranged with countertops, with most pots and pans made of common clear glass and porcelain decorated with Mimosa Pudica leaf prints.
Behind a door at the end of the kitchen was the staircase, with a laundry room behind a small door by the side. The wooden staircase was still made of dark pine, the handrails featured with flower-patterned golden spherical decorations.
Upstairs, a corridor leads to the master bedroom on the right and a study on the left. Further along was a second-floor terrace with an egg-shaped swinging chair.
There was a bathroom in the master bedroom, and a bathroom on the side of the study. Going up from the stairs would lead to the attic, where there were a single bed and a five-drawer dresser. The left side facing the balcony and another laundry room on the right.
After circling the house, Jason found no eavesdropping devices. However, he did not believe Batman would be this negligent. Either technology had upgraded and hidden surveillance was installed, or they still carried other types of monitoring devices on them.
As Jason came downstairs, he saw Shiller adding firewood to the fireplace. The ignited flames made him feel somewhat warm in his armor.
He was also not too trusting of the armor that had been in contact with Batman, so he decided to enter the laundry room next to the staircase. He took off all his clothes except for the shirt, threw the armor out of the window, and dumped the fabric clothes into the washing machine.
Obviously, someone had been taking care of the house all year round, and there were no problems with the water and electricity. Jason even found a pack of unclumped, fresh laundry detergent, and he poured some into the washing machine.
He walked out with the laundry basket and asked, "Do you need your clothes washed?"
"I think I do." Shiller in front of the fireplace responded, glanced at his dirty cuff and then at Jason's laundry basket saying, "Have you started the washing machine yet? If so, I guess I have to wait."
Jason didn't say a word and walked away.
Jason went upstairs through the staircase. He had noticed that there were things in the closet of the master bedroom earlier. After walking to it, he found a large box, which contained a variety of clothes.
He held it up to his body to measure the size and found it mostly fitting. But he didn't find any outfits that resembled the style Shiller wore, so he would just have to make do.
Jason changed into a sweatshirt, pulled the drawstrings on the hood, placed a baseball cap on his head, then took it off again. He looked at the environment of the master bedroom and finally chose to carry the box to the attic.
When he went downstairs, he found Shiller already sitting by the coffee table, writing something, so he asked standing at the doorway of the staircase, "Where are you going to stay?"
"Anywhere is fine. Have you decided yet?"
Jason frowned and felt very annoyed. He never liked it when people spoke to him in a tone that implied they saw through him completely.
"Yes, I am staying in the attic." Jason said stiffly.
"Then you can go upstairs and rest for a while. Soon someone will bring us food."
Jason stood there, staring at Shiller, he asked, "What are we supposed to do?"
Shiller was still focused on his writing. After hearing the question, he paused for a while before raising his head to look at Jason. "What?"
"I meant, what are we supposed to do here? You, Batman and all of them brought me here, what are they expecting me to do here?"
"Are you expecting some sort of therapy session?"
"I'm not expecting..."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit, I have some thoughts to sort out. If you don't mind, I'll call you before dinner."
Jason sighed deeply, then took a deep breath, filling his chest fully, he said, "I can't take it anymore, can't you give me a straight answer? Is it enjoyable for you to keep me guessing? Why does everyone do this?"
"You probably haven't spoken to anyone for quite a while, have you?" Shiller glanced up at him again, but quickly looked back down and continued writing, "That's why you're so eager to express yourself, you're just looking forward to having a good chat with someone."
"However, intense anxiety isn't conducive to conversation. I can give you something to calm you down, a good sleep should make you feel better."
"Stop changing the subject!" Jason exclaimed loudly, "Tell me what you're planning to do, or I'm leaving!"
"I don't intend to deceive you, Jason," Shiller finally put down his pen, propped his hands on his knees and looked at Jason, "I'm conducting some research, a joint research with Batman. We have made a deal."
"What? Did Batman sell me off to you?"
"Not you." Shiller shook his head.
Jason was even more bewildered, but Shiller stopped speaking. When he picked up his pen again, he merely said, "I believe you've figured it out. This is a very serious and important matter, and it's not centered around you."
"I hope that you won't disturb me while I'm working. During any other time, I'll try my best to answer your questions."
Jason stood there silently for a while before heading upstairs via the staircase. He returned to the attic and sat down on the bed, feeling a bit of soreness in his muscles. He couldn't sleep, so he thought of getting up and moving around a bit.
Just as he was heading for the balcony, he noticed a mirror hung on the wall. Upon seeing his reflection, Jason noticed that the scar on his face had faded a bit, apparently the treatment from that strange symbiont was working.
Jason even tried lifting the back of his sweatshirt to inspect the injuries on his back. As he was turning back around, he saw a small boat coming in from the horizon.
That must be the boat carrying food supplies, Jason thought. So, he didn't pay much attention and continued inspecting his injuries. The small boat docked, and Jason saw a figure getting off the boat, it wasn't someone he recognized.
Moving closer to the window, Jason realized that the person seemed to be Peter Parker. Parker was unloading some insulated boxes from the boat, his movements were surprisingly agile, it was evident he had astonishing strength.
Curious about Peter's actual strength data, Jason subtly moved to the side of the curtain, shielding his body with the wall as he peered outside.
After Peter had unloaded quite few large insulated boxes, Shiller came out. However, he didn't seem to be intending to help with the food supplies. Instead, he stepped back onto the small boat.
Jason watched Shiller pull a black trash bin out of the boat, the kind one typically sees on public streets, typically black or dark-green in color, with a slightly protruded lid.
Jason sensed that the bin wasn't light at all. Shiller seemed to possess alarming strength. He estimated it in his head and realized, Shiller would've found his claim of knocking him down within three seconds rather laughable.
While that didn't seem as easy as he had imagined, Jason still thought they were evenly matched. After all, given his heavyweight, it wouldn't be that easy for his opponent to overpower him.
Then Jason felt something odd, what kind of food needed to be dumped in a trash bin, and had to be transported together with other insulated boxes? Judging by Shiller's attire and demeanor, he didn't seem to be a person who would be that unparticular.
While Peter was carrying those insulated boxes, Shiller was pushing the large trash bin, though they didn't head toward the main entrance. They headed around to the back of the house. Jason had noticed there was a door leading to the basement when he first entered the house.
Jason, who was watching the two people turn the corner from the windowsill, narrowed his eyes. The fridges and freezers were all in the kitchen on the first floor, and all the utilities were ready to go. Why would they need to bring things down to the basement?
Jason immediately grew vigilant, he ran down from the attic, reached the second floor, crossed the hallway to reach the balcony on the second floor from where he could see the door leading to the basement.
Unfortunately, he was a bit late. Peter had already come out. Jason watched helplessly as Peter locked the door to the basement.
The basement had two doors, one led directly outside and the other inside to the first floor, just on the other side of the stairwell on the first floor. If the outer door was sealed, one would have to go to the first floor to enter the basement.
Since his room was in the attic, it meant Shiller's room had to be on the second floor. To get to the first floor, he would have to pass through Shiller's room.
He had made a wrong decision, Jason thought, or perhaps it wasn't his decision, but something he did following Shiller's guiding.
So, the question was, Shiller moved the food supplies into the basement, locked the exterior door of the basement and blocked Jason's route to the basement, what was he planning to do in the basement?
Jason hesitated for a moment, then thought that Shiller probably wouldn't come back to the first floor so soon, so he ran downstairs.
Before he got to the door leading to the basement, Jason noticed the paper that Shiller was using for writing and drawing. The wind had caused it to flutter and the corner had drifted to the other side of the tea table.
Jason slowed his pace, walked slowly towards it and only after getting closer realized there were no words written on it, just a drawing.
It was a diagram of the human anatomy.
Upon lifting his head, Jason saw Shiller standing by the doorway, watching him.