Although Shiller knew that the immortals in the Cartoon World, aside from being depicted as having lived for tens of thousands of years, were no different from ordinary elderly humans, the most typical example being Savage—a Great King who lived through so many generations was still brawling back and forth with the teenage Titans, a bunch of little brats.
But the old man who had sent Xi Wana over still behaved abnormally because he did not look like an ordinary elderly human; he looked like a mad one.
While most people's emotions fluctuate occasionally, there is a traceable pattern to the overall functioning of emotions. Not to mention that happiness leads to laughter and sadness to crying, even emotions like anger and resentment, which are farther from instinct and closer to logic, have their rules.
Human anger cannot arise without cause, just like a person who gets angry must have something to be angry about.
The old man's reaction did not seem to be anger but a mix of fear, anger, and resentment. In short, he was overwhelmed.
Describing the undertone of his words "you will never be worthy" with "he panicked, he is desperate" could not be more fitting.
"If he was defining why you couldn't inherit his power, he wouldn't say you were unworthy, but rather that you couldn't," Shiller said to Xi Wana. "Of course, you might think he detests evil, and seeing a morally bankrupt brat like you gets him angry, hence why he'd say you are not worthy."
"But he said 'you will never be worthy.' Is that a rational judgment? Obviously not, as any rational judgment would never include the word 'forever,' because the more rational the understanding, the clearer it is that nothing is forever unchangeable."
"To look at it from another angle, when a mother praises her child as 'you will always be the best,' how can it possibly be a rational conclusion? Since 'forever' has been added, this statement can be completely understood as a pure emotional output."
"The emotions he is expressing are clearly greater than the incident he encountered," Shiller said. "If he had tens of thousands of children come here, and the last one still failed, then he would indeed have a reason to be angry, or if you weren't brought in by him but intruded on your own, then he would also have a reason to be angry."
"But the problem is, he only chose you after half a day's selection, and it was he who actively brought you in. You could still try again even if you failed, so what exactly is making him so angry?"
Xi Wana began to think and then said, "You said it's because of fear."
"Of course, a blatantly obvious reason—you're the new kid, but the Eye of the Seven Deadly Sins must not have been placed in front of that old man just yesterday, right? Do you think he hasn't fiddled with that thing?"
Xi Wana seemed to understand a bit, saying, "So he never really figured it out; he couldn't handle the Eye of the Seven Deadly Sins."
"If he could have handled it, you wouldn't have seen him there," Shiller said. "I guess he was skulking in that corner precisely because he was stumped by the Eye of the Seven Deadly Sins, and he knew it wouldn't spare him, so he ended up sitting in jail with it."
Xi Wana suddenly felt like laughing, he struggled to purse his lips and said, "So, in fact, after tens of thousands of years, he still couldn't deal with it. It was only when I touched it that it wanted to follow me, making him that angry."
"That's part of the reason, but more likely, he knew the Eye of the Seven Deadly Sins liked you, and that you would take it away one day, and when you did, you wouldn't spare him. In short, you became a threat to him."
Xi Wana nodded in understanding, "That's true; in the end, I went to the Rock of Eternity and took the words of the Seven Deadly Sins away, and gave him a good hit."
"Isn't that right?" Shiller smiled, breaking off a piece of finger biscuit, and said, "I told you, his unfounded and excessive anger comes from fear, he's afraid of you."
"When a person is both scared and helpless, all they can do is use the most malicious language, trying to suppress you verbally and provoke you mentally."
"But unfortunately, I still let him succeed," Xi Wana sighed, "If only I had realized all this at that time."
Suddenly, he looked up at Shiller and said, "Professor, did you ever encounter such a person when you were young? Oh, look at me, you weren't always a psychologist since childhood, forget what I said."
But Shiller maintained his smile and said, "If it were when I was young, what I would usually do is not analyze."
Xi Wana did not quite understand Shiller's meaning, he merely said, "Now looking back, that guy is somewhat pitiable. Anyway, let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about the Gotham Magic Academy instead, could you give me a brief introduction?"
"Actually, after dinner, the plan was to go visit the Magic Academy, but it's a pity something came up at Director Gordon's end, so we might have to check it out first."
"Let's go then, I took a day off today, I've got plenty of time," Xi Wana said, stroking his chin. "I don't know what the Magic Academy is like, but being a Headmaster sounds interesting. At least these teachers and professors are much smarter than the shareholders and department heads of a company."
The two quickly finished their meal and drove to the Gotham Police Department. As soon as they entered, Shiller was stunned: Clay and several other officers were cleaning up something hanging from the ceiling beams.
Shiller walked over for a closer look; it was indeed Clay, with no difference in facial features, build, or demeanor.
Seeing ghosts in broad daylight? Shiller thought. Even if it was a case of sitting up in the coffin, one would have to recuperate in the coffin for a couple of days after a gunshot exploded the head. Wouldn't it be a bit exaggerated to get back to work the next day?
Xi Wana was also shocked, but Shiller signaled him to conceal his surprise. He stood by the ladder, looking up, and said, "Hey, officer, hello, what are you guys doing?"
"Heard that some damned serial killer hung a body here last night. I'm cleaning up the mess. Who are you looking for?"
"Director Gordon called me over. Is he in his office right now?"
"Of course, third floor, turn left out of the elevator."
"Thank you."
Shiller arrived at Director Gordon's office to find Gordon reviewing photographic materials. Upon seeing Shiller, Gordon looked up and said, "You saw him, any problems?"
Shiller shook his head and said, "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Is the body still in its place?"
"Yes, I'm looking at the autopsy report right now."
"Did you find any problems?"
Gordon also shook his head.
"It seems to be a clone," Shiller said, "Where does his memory stop, which day?"
"It stopped at yesterday, but all memories related to the case that led to his death are erased, including yours."
"That's really odd," Shiller sighed, "The agency department finally got smarter, realizing that they can't afford to lose live agents, but cloning agents is much cheaper."
"Speaking of which, there's something odd about that police academy in Metropolis too. After I went there, I found there were pitifully few trainees, no need for such a big fuss."
"Maybe there are more unseen listeners."
Gordon rubbed his arms, complaining, "When will they ever stop this cryptic behavior? What has Gotham done to attract their attention."
As soon as he said it, even Gordon struggled to keep a straight face, thinking of all the setbacks the Federal Bureau of Investigation had experienced in this city, it wasn't so surprising they would do something like this.
"You think it's the Federal Bureau of Investigation?" Shiller asked.
Gordon was startled again and sighed, "Can you not use the Mind Reading Technique? It's really frightening!"
"I've said it's not mind reading, but I don't think it's the FBI behind this, or at least not just them," Shiller responded.
"But they certainly have a motive…"
"Do you think they're capable of it?"
Gordon opened his mouth to retort, but after carefully considering and fully recalling his thoughts, he ended up shaking his head and said, "If they were capable of creating clones, they wouldn't have waited until now to push these people in. Is it the Central Intelligence Agency?"
"Do you think the Central Intelligence Agency has the time right now?"
Gordon tilted his head back slightly; he had actually forgotten about that aspect. The Central Intelligence Agency wasn't just in a bit of a crisis; they had been burning from the bottom up, and now it had reached their eyebrows.
Since the economic crisis began, the international situation has been restive—in one word—plucking the feathers of the Bald Eagle.
The Central Intelligence Agency had no time to stir up trouble in Gotham, so if it's neither the FBI nor the CIA, then who could it be?
"I'm 80% confident," Shiller suddenly said, "that it has to do with a silly girl."
"Amanda?"
"Although she's considered foolish in Gotham, she stands out as intelligent in the agent world," Shiller appraised, "Even among them, she's seen as bright and innovative. The idea of clones is quite novel."
"Are you planning to talk to her?" Although Gordon phrased it as a question, what he meant was "you'd better talk to her."
"I think those two beside you might just be test subjects," Shiller pondered, "Don't you think their personality modules are not quite complete? Kind of like tape recorders."
"Oh, right, aren't you a mind reader? You should have figured that out," Gordon quipped.
"For the last time, I do not read minds," Shiller emphasized again.
Gordon clearly didn't buy that, recalling Clay's behavior and saying, "He's a bit like a game character who keeps trying to accomplish a mission, with the start and end points marked out, only looking to take the shortest path."
"Then what do you think his end point is?"
"Probably you, I mean, your type of serial killers. It seems like his purpose is just to annoy you to death," Gordon surmised.
Shiller's expression suddenly turned thoughtful; Gordon looked at him inquisitively, and after a moment's hesitation, Shiller said, "I'm pondering the possibility that Amanda has become smarter."
But Gordon laughed and said, "It seems she has successfully annoyed you."
"Though despicable, the tactic is somewhat useful," Shiller admitted, "I really can't stand the thought of hundreds of clone agents surrounding my house."
Gordon burst into laughter, saying, "It seems that silly girl has finally found you serial killers' weakness—sheer numbers. You can't kill them all."
Shiller cast him an annoyed glance, but had to admit he was right; killers like Jonathan and Valentine, who had artistic pursuits, might spend a year or more crafting a work, but that didn't mean they could tolerate someone defiling their territory.
If these agents kept provoking them, they could occupy all the spots for victims, even exhausting them to the point of cramping up.
Amanda has summed up the best way to deal with these killers—a war of attrition.
What's more, it was a terrifying psychological blow—Gordon had just shot Clay yesterday, and today, Clay was back in the police department, well and alive, rendering his death and the works themed around his death meaningless.
After mulling it over for a long while, Shiller looked at Xi Wana and said, "Let's go to the Gotham Magic Academy first."