Having spoken so much, Shiller was no longer as sleepy, and he knew that even if he returned now, he would likely suffer from insomnia until dawn. Since it was already a mess, pushing a little harder wouldn't be impossible.
"Serial killers always think they are lucid when they commit their crimes, and to some extent, they are indeed," he said. "They can handle the crime scene more calmly and rationally than ordinary killers, almost to the point of leaving no trace. If this is madness, then there are very few sane people in the world."
"But human behavior is such that it follows certain patterns, which must reflect their personality," Shiller continued. "No one can live as someone else; their actions are their own, and naturally, they reflect themselves entirely."
"Clues can be erased, and traces can be concealed, but the basis for each lucid decision they make is their own thoughts, which also come from their personality. There will inevitably be traces to follow."
"The way a killer arranges a body may seem to reflect what he wants to express on the surface, but it actually reveals much more, because his choice also reflects his personality."
"Many factors influence a choice, including personality, his state at that moment, his thoughts right then, and also his recent worries," Shiller explained.
Bruce's expression was serious. He was genuinely evaluating if it was so because he knew Shiller would not lie about professional matters.
I really don't lie. Shiller saw what Bruce was thinking and added in his mind: The professional part is true, like a ship that is indeed made of steel, but if all the parts connecting each component are replaced with marshmallows, and you still insist on trying to launch it, who else but you would capsize?
"So I can see even more," Shiller said. "And the reason I say that the theme of this murder is not sacrifice is that the killer, while committing the act, added more worries than his actual purpose."
"He is contemplating a question, which is the kind of tragedy that I said is bound to happen. Just like Hegel's viewpoint, it's not that there is something wrong with them, but because of different ethical demands, they took different paths."
"So how do you view such aesthetic theory?" Bruce asked.
Shiller's real answer was that it depends on how much you pay me, but no one was paying him now, so there was only one answer—utter nonsense, kid!
"I think it has unique significance in the realm of psychology," Shiller said pretentiously. "But personally, ethical tragedies should be viewed on a more macro level. Hegel focuses too much on individual character."
"But actually, the princess and the king merely represent two entirely different ethical strata. They serve only as the collective's representation under ethical demands, not completely individuals, so I prefer to explore the conflicts of societal ethical demands as a whole."
"But aren't you a psychologist?" Gordon asked. "What you're saying seems like a sociological matter."
Because it really is a sociological matter, Shiller thought. If I start talking about psychology, what if Arrogant comes back and my testimony doesn't match up? As long as I talk broadly enough, surely you'll forget it later.
"Social science is like that; you need to draw knowledge from various fields, and then integrate and understand all problems both broadly and in detail, don't you?"
"It seems like this has become your lecture hall again," Gordon remarked.
If you keep acting like "this is something this expert came all the way at 11 pm just to show off knowledge," this will definitely turn into your wake, Shiller thought maliciously as he stared at Gordon.
Bruce, however, seemed to have an epiphany. He thought it really did seem so; the social sciences are a vast category. Psychology is a very young discipline, but the others are not. They are always interconnected yet independent of each other.
Bruce had been studying psychology in isolation, particularly Psychoanalysis Method, but it is just one small part of the broader social sciences category, often not accepted by the mainstream academic community.
Looking at problems more macroscopically indeed has its advantages. Disciplines like sociology are relatively rigorous with processes of investigation, experimentation, and analysis, which could help him better understand how people exist within a society, an unavoidable issue in the study of psychology.
Banging his head against psychoanalysis might not enable him to learn the Mind Reading Technique, but if he learned enough disciplines at a high enough level, a comprehensive analysis could lead him to conclusions not much different from mind reading. Bruce believed he could do it.
Having realized this, Bruce sighed in his mind and began flipping through a list of famous sociologists in his head.
"So the killer is Amanda and her accomplices, right?" Gordon said as he picked up his notebook to make a record. "We'll try to track her down. Regardless, she's gone a bit too far. This mess ruined my date."
Seeing Gordon about to close the case, Shiller decided not to quibble with him. After all, Batman at his side had apparently just realized something, and his purpose to disrupt had been achieved.
But just then, a policewoman rushed in and said urgently, "Chief, a murder has occurred at a gift shop at 102 Douglas Street! A decapitated woman's body has been hung upside down from the ceiling, and there is blood everywhere on the floor."
Gordon immediately furrowed his brow, not so much because of the gruesome scene described by his subordinate but because he remembered something and said, "Didn't you tell me this morning that there was also a beheading at the docks?"
"Yes, Chief, the body was also hung up, but we can't confirm yet that this is a series of serial killings."
"You can't confirm yet? When do you plan to do so?"
The female officer displayed an unmistakable look of difficulty and said, "These two victims have nothing in common, and from the time of death, it's improbable that the killer could travel from the docks to Douglas Street within two hours, you know what Gotham's like at 7 A.M."
Gordon also showed a puzzled expression and asked, "Is the time of death that certain?"
"Yes, because the bodies lost a lot of blood, the coroner said it was easy to judge, but it's precisely because of this doubt that we came to you, as we all know you have done quite a bit of research on serial killings."
"Indeed, I have done quite a bit of research," Gordon turned to look at Shiller and Bruce and said, "Let's go."
Shiller and Gordon descended the steps together, and just as he was about to head to his car, he saw Gordon had already opened the door to the police car for him.
Shiller glanced at the time, it was already midnight, and from where he stood, there was no sign of the traffic easing on the next street over. The thought of spending another two hours in the car and getting home at 2 A.M. made Shiller feel it would be better to embrace the mayhem to the end; he had already lost sleep, couldn't he have some fun?
Shiller resolutely got into the police car.
"Actually, I think what you said earlier made a lot of sense," Gordon, who was driving, suddenly said, "There really is a lack of communication between Barbara and me."
Shiller wanted to say that someone who would cancel a date with a long-lost girlfriend because of a homicide case was probably lacking more than just communication with his girlfriend.
This man really is strange, Shiller thought. In cases where Gordon could be notified, he basically had no ability to catch the killer, and in cases that didn't reach Gordon, there was no need for him to handle them.
So all that Gordon did was receive notifications, go to the crime scenes, interrogate people, and close cases, but even that had managed to put his love life on hold – no dating, marriage, or children. Was he some kind of sloth?
And this city, it's midnight and the streets are still full of cars. Even if only a small fraction of the people just got off work, so many people work from 7 A.M. to midnight every day, and for decades this rotten city hasn't changed one bit. Are they all social sloths?
And Batman, just by looking at his expression, you could tell how good he was at thinking, extremely alert every hour, minute, second; self-reflective, sharp-minded, with an extraordinary memory. But he would turn so pale from reading research, the king of sloths?
Zzzap—
The drowsy Shiller suddenly woke up with a start, rubbing his head that had just hit the seat in front of him. Gordon in the driver's seat had already rushed out.
Under the brilliance of countless car headlights, flashlights, and emergency lighting, Shiller only saw a blurry figure leap between the rooftops, followed by several figures swinging past.
Bruce also got out of the car, glanced at the figure ahead, and said, "Deathstroke? How did he manage to get on the bad side of so many Spider-Men?"
At that point, Gordon had already started calling the precinct and was fervently discussing the situation. After a while, he got back into the car and said, "Now I know why it was so jammed today. That bunch in red and blue chased the one in yellow and black all day long. A lot of drivers were too busy watching them and ended up in accidents, practically clogging the entire ring road."
"Why would Spider-Man be chasing Deathstroke?" Bruce asked.
"I don't know, but my colleague responsible for urban image said he's seen a person in a red and blue uniform littering all over the city, throwing cigarette butts and empty bottles around, causing three fires, and nearly caused an explosion at a chemical plant."
"How is that possible?" Bruce said, "Those Spider-Men have only been here for three days, and they've practically cleaned any cigarette ash from Gotham's crevices. How could they be littering?"
"Oh, I get it now," Bruce suddenly realized, "No wonder Deathstroke is known as the strongest mercenary; he really found Spider-Men's weakness. He must have painted his armor red and blue and impersonated Spider-Man to vandalize the city's appearance."
"But how does that hurt them?" Gordon asked somewhat puzzled, "Honestly, while we don't advocate smoking and littering, him throwing a few extra butts to cause serious disasters is kind of underestimating this city. There are so many criminals lined up already."
"But Spider-Man absolutely cannot tolerate Spider-Man being seen as a destroyer of urban appearance; they must be furious," Bruce said, "However, the fact that Deathstroke hasn't been caught by these superpowered youths after a day of chasing is a bit beyond my imagination."
"But he's not that kind of dangerous person," Gordon offered his assessment, "He won't lift a finger without pay; in Gotham, he might even be considered a paragon of civility."
"Who's to say otherwise?"
While they were chatting, Shiller closed his eyes, hoping to catch a quick nap. But just as he was about to drift off to sleep, his Doujie Communication System suddenly rang. He checked it and found a message from Beihan.
Upon opening it, there was a 57-page pdf with two attached 4 GB compressed files; the beginning of the directory's document read, "Although the renovation of Arkham Asylum is not yet fully complete..."
Shiller thought, fine, the cartographer is a sloth.