Early in the morning around six o'clock, Killer Croc arrived. In fact, Shiller hadn't even woken up yet; he was awoken by the sound of the doorbell.
He had worked until two in the morning the previous night. Luckily, he had finished everything. Shiller had designed a logo for Killer Croc's moving company and had it printed out using Gray mist.
He quickly got in the car and on the way to the manor, he contemplated how to broach the subject.
It should be simple, right? Just say, "Hey, thanks for coming over so late last night. I think you might need this," and then pull out the sticker version of the logo that can be affixed to the truck.
But for someone with autism, this was a bit difficult.
The emotional channels of someone with autism are almost completely closed off. They can only infer from social rules and common sense what emotions they should be feeling and what kind of emotional response they should provide, but in reality, they don't feel them.
All Shiller knew was that he had called Killer Croc during his break, Killer Croc had come over, and according to the social rules he knew, Killer Croc had sacrificed his own rest time to help him move, so he should thank him. However, in reality, Shiller felt no gratitude.
Furthermore, if he was to reciprocate now, he was supposed to show a gesture of thanks and appear slightly excited. And the hardest part was to show the expectation of Killer Croc's reaction to the logo, much like when someone gives a gift and anticipates the recipient's surprised reaction.
But Shiller didn't care about Killer Croc's reaction, because whether Killer Croc was surprised or disgusted, it wouldn't make him happy or angry.
More importantly, he could theoretically analyze what Killer Croc's reaction would be, even a minute wrinkle on that crocodilian face he could envision in his mind, so in actuality, he didn't expect anything at all.
He had to display gratitude, excitement, and anticipation, and these emotions could not be confused with one another. They also needed to be in the correct order and intensity. While displaying them, he also had to speak and react to the other person's response on the spot. If one thing went wrong, the whole act would fall apart.
"Last night, I saw the advertisement on your truck..."
"Seems like you care about that," Killer Croc interrupted, saying, "Actually, I know that stuff is a bit scary, but I lost a bet to Jack, so I had to stick it on. I'll peel it off when the time comes, forget about it."
"What I mean is, your moving company actually..."
"That's just one of my dreams, just talk, you know. Being the boss and all is better suited for Bruce Wayne, right?"
Curse these ordinary people, Shiller couldn't help but curse inwardly, why couldn't they let him finish his sentence.
Wait a second, can Killer Croc even be categorized as an ordinary person?
But now, it seemed that was indeed the case; apart from his somewhat scary appearance, there wasn't anything unusual about him. Even his mental state was quite normal.
Shiller guessed that the years of heavy physical labor might have consumed the violent tendencies within him, allowing him to vent those energies with no other outlet, making him look like an ordinary person with an unusual appearance.
No wonder he managed to get by in the underworld of Gotham. Although people might initially be startled by his appearance, as they interact with him, they'd quickly realize he's not a monster but an ordinary person, just like them.
It seemed the complete opposite of himself, Shiller reflected. When dealing with him, people were always deceived by his excellent human appearance, but they would soon discover that beneath the human skin lay a monster.
Killer Croc, who was driving, turned to him and said, "Is there something you wanted to say, Professor?"
Shiller simply didn't say it and handed over the poster he had prepared to Killer Croc.
Since the poster was rolled up, Killer Croc couldn't tell what it was until the car stopped at the manor's entrance and he unfolded the massive logo poster with some difficulty.
"My goodness!" he exclaimed, looking over the poster. However, because his arm span wasn't actually big enough, he couldn't see the entire poster clearly.
He took down the ugly photo of himself that he had stuck on the truck, held the poster above his head, and then shouted from the top of the vehicle, "Professor, help me pull the bottom part, let's get this up!"
The logo poster was quickly affixed.
It had a black circular frame on the outside, with a cartoon crocodile giving thumbs up in the center, one side of its eye squinting, its wide open mouth with teeth shining, and its nose and head poking out from above the circular frame.
Beneath the circular frame, in the same cartoon style, read "Killer Croc's Moving Company."
Killer Croc jumped down from the roof of the truck, and the moment he saw the logo, he froze. He came to his senses, pointed to the line of text below, and said, "Hey, Professor, who's Killer Croc?"
That was when Shiller remembered that Killer Croc wasn't actually called Killer Croc; his name was Waylon Jones, and since he had never worked as an assassin in his life, he didn't have the moniker Killer Croc.
"But this is so cool, can you imagine? My two best friends both have super cool nicknames, Batman and Joker, but I didn't have one. But it doesn't matter now, I have one, Killer Croc, it's just too cool!"
"Do you like this logo?"
"Of course! It's awesome! Although it looks like the poster is saying 'The terrifying crocodile killer will murder your entire family and then help you move,' I think it fits me perfectly and also fits Gotham just right."
Killer Croc twisted happily and said, "I was thinking of giving up on starting a moving company, but now I'm thinking maybe if I work hard for the next few days, I could rent that storefront I've had my eye on. With a storefront, I can start taking orders."
"I have high hopes for you," Shiller didn't know what else to say, so he just said this.
Killer Croc looked very excited. Shiller originally wanted to lend a hand because Gray mist can move stuff, too, although the scene might look a bit eerie, like furniture floating in the sky, but there weren't any other people around anyway.
But Killer Croc stopped Shiller's action, apparently to show off his professionalism, he carried a wardrobe on his back and could still carry two garden barbecues in his hands, moving Shiller's needed furniture onto the truck in just a few trips.
On the way to the new house, Killer Croc kept talking excitedly about his moving company plans. He planned to rent a storefront and take orders, starting by driving the truck himself, since he alone could almost replace five strong workers. He had observed small moving companies, which had just four or five people, so starting by himself was definitely no problem.
Once the company grew a bit, he could start hiring people, more importantly, he could hire Jack since Jack had a big truck. Then they wouldn't be limited to moving dwellings; they could also help move factories and companies.
The truck drivers' business isn't very good now, they're all taking side jobs outside, but because of Gotham's construction projects moving into a phase of major development, residents are moving to the East District, factories to the West District, and private moving jobs are the most numerous.
But the big truck drivers aren't professional movers. They're fine with driving, but moving, not so much. They often gather four or five people, grunting and groaning all day, exhausting themselves without moving much, ultimately delaying their employer's schedule and not getting paid.
So Killer Croc is planning to recruit some strong workers like himself, either those with unusual appearances or some less than honorable records. He provides the manpower, big truck drivers provide the vehicles, aiming to make more money in this boom.
Clearly, as a famous villain in Gotham, Killer Croc, although portrayed in many comics as a simply violent tool, can't be said to be very brainy, but at least being able to struggle for a living under such harsh conditions and still find time for crime, proves he has talents.
Shiller's original comment was just to mollify, but after hearing Killer Croc's plan, he even thought it sounded more reliable than Bruce's plan.
At least it's not overly ambitious, very down-to-earth, and even contemplated potential mishaps at every step, no wonder he has been able to mix with Batman and Joker for so long.
Gotham's traffic can be a bit congested in the morning, Shiller glanced at his watch, wondering if he could still make it to his first class, and if not, think about switching classes with Victor.
But soon Killer Croc pointed out the window and said, "Professor, we've arrived at the new campus. Do you want to get off here?"
"What about all this furniture?"
"I can take it over for you and stack it in the backyard for now. Anyway, I'll come back again after your class, and it's not too late to sort it out then."
"That's possible, but there's a... let's say a dangerous person in my house. I will give her a call so just ignore her, okay?"
Shiller got off at the new campus entrance and hurried to the classroom as fast as he could, not forgetting to call the house in the South District on the way, cautioning Raven not to wander off, that someone was coming over to deliver things, and the person might look a bit strange, so she shouldn't be surprised.
Raven was watching TV in the house at the time; in fact, she hadn't watched TV since she moved in because she didn't know how to use the device. She grew up sequestered in the Divine Realm where there were no modern electronic devices. So, though she had some basic knowledge about life, she was still quite puzzled by human technology.
It was just yesterday when she hid and watched Shiller using the remote to watch TV, discovering that the dark machine could display a variety of images, which prompted her to give it a try today out of boredom.
She was watching a rerun of the program Shiller watched yesterday just as she was getting into it when the doorbell rang.
Raven turned to open the door, startled as soon as she saw who was at the door. Killer Croc was surprised too, seeing a beautiful girl answering, and he awkwardly leapt back, hiding behind a pillar in the porch.
"Uh, I'm the mover, here to deliver stuff. Maybe you could go upstairs first, and I'll call you when I'm finished?"
"No need," Raven shook her head, still somewhat aloof, "Go ahead and move, I want to watch TV."
Raven sat back down on the couch while Killer Croc moved the furniture through the house, trip by trip, a bit curious because the show on TV was quite interesting, now at a part where they were about to fix an old house.
"I can say that big guy is not professional at all," Killer Croc commented. "He's quick with taking down beams, but if he keeps carrying such a big piece of wood like that, I bet his shoulder would get a huge bruise by the next day, taking at least two months to fully heal."
"Is it that difficult?" asked Raven, a bit puzzled.
"Of course. That beam is very heavy, and balancing is difficult. Usually, it takes two people to carry it. If someone insists on doing it alone, he would have to carry one end on his shoulder while the other end drags on the ground and move forward like that," explained Killer Croc after demonstrating.
Then he saw Raven stand up, turn towards the door and lightly point with her finger, and the wardrobe flew into the room, landing steadily on the floor.
Killer Croc was stunned.