Strange looked at Shiller with a puzzled gaze.
"Sorry, miss," Shiller suddenly stood up, speaking to a girl sitting in the back row, "We need to discuss some details of a confidential medical project, but we don't have any other place to go at the moment. Could you please change your seat?"
Strange thought Shiller's pronunciation was strange, especially the phrase "we don't have any other place to go at the moment," which sounded very odd.
The girl was slightly startled, now facing Strange and with Shiller's back to Strange, so Strange couldn't see Shiller's expression.
"I really am very sorry, miss, it's due to a small mistake I made, and I must hurry to explain, but I also can't risk the project details being exposed..."
"Oh, my God, you guys talk, I'll leave right now."
Shiller made the sign of the cross over his chest in gratitude, and as the girl left, she looked back with concern at them midway, her worried eyes not feigning at all.
Shiller turned back around to sit down, and Strange asked him, "What did you do?"
"Just like that," Shiller said with a smile, "In this world, no one can fault a victim, and the majority of people can't distinguish between morality and emotional concern, it's too easy to confuse them."
"You're playing the victim?"
"Only showing that demeanor to certain people," Shiller said, "Making them think they are your only savior."
"That's certainly unhealthy," Strange said, finding it hard to suppress his sarcastic tone.
But he paused and then asked, "Doesn't begging others cause a loss of dignity, doesn't it make you seem pitiful?"
"As I said, only for certain people."
"How can you make sure she won't disclose it?"
"Do you really have to like someone who goes around speaking ill of others?"
Strange was caught off guard for a moment but continued to ask, "Doesn't that make you look... antisocial?"
The word 'antisocial' seemed like a heavy burden to him, but Shiller just smiled and said, "If you act like that with everyone, they all become your saviors, revolving around you, acting for you, how could you be antisocial then?"
"But you said only for certain people..."
"There are many people who are natural kidnappers." Shiller leaned forward, saying to Strange, "You just have to give them the feeling that they only need to be charitable to you once, and they will get endless emotional returns from you, who wouldn't do such a profitable deal?"
"Is this what you mean by cultivating a kidnapper?"
"Yes, making them feel that if they give you a little, you'll give them the whole world in return."
"But you can't do that."
"Right, I can't."
Strange looked at Shiller.
"But I feel ashamed that I can't, and because of that shame, I often feel endlessly depressed, even full of self-destructive tendencies, making them save me more because of my initial return, as they would only wait for more returns that will never come."
Strange stared blankly at Shiller as if he had seen something he had never seen before.
"As I said, it's unhealthy," Shiller emphasized.
"But they don't actually need the whole world," Strange found a loophole, he said.
"Do you want ten billion US dollars?"
"I can't say I don't want it."
"But is it possible for you to get it?"
Strange shook his head.
"You knew you couldn't get it before answering whether you wanted it, but you still couldn't say you didn't want it because you really do. Does it really matter whether you can get it or not?"
Shiller placed his hands on the table and said, "Everyone's reason knows they can't have all of a person's emotions, but they just want it. In this regard, I dare say not even demons have seen greed like theirs."
Strange wanted to say something, but Shiller leaned forward even more, pressing in closer, and looking into Strange's eyes, he asked, "Don't you want a person like this? Someone who would give you all their emotions, see you as their best friend, destroy the world, destroy themselves for you, don't you really want it?"
Strange's lips moved, but it was more like a quiver, as if he had nothing to say and was just going through the motions.
Because he knew there wouldn't be any other answer, just as he couldn't bring himself to say he didn't want the ten billion US dollars; to him, it even seemed like something far more likely to turn his whole life upside down than a large sum of money.
"You know there won't be such a person," Shiller pulled him out of his thoughts, shattering his musings with the cold, unfeeling reality, and Shiller continued, "Your reason, your logic are telling you the answer: there can never be such a person, but you still insanely desire one because it's the baser instinct of the human race."
"The closer a person gets to their primal instincts, the more apparent this baser instinct becomes, and the easier it is for them to be turned into a kidnapper, demanding endless emotional ransom."
"As long as you always act like you can give, he will endlessly ask from you. When given the choice, he will never choose another answer. This is far more reliable than hollow terms like love or friendship."
Strange fell into deep thought and then he said, "But that's despicable, it could ruin someone."
"No, the relationship is unhealthy, but not despicable," Shiller said. "Giving someone hope is the noblest emotion in the world. No matter how it's done, as long as you can make a person feel hope from you often, you are a noble provider, not a despicable extortionist."
Strange was taking shallow breaths, seemingly resisting the idea, but eventually his expression softened, his lips, previously pressed tight, loosened, his eyebrows gently furrowed, and his thumb circled the tip of his forefinger.
"Maybe you should give it a try," Shiller continued. "There will be a football game next week, and a party afterwards. Renee will be there, and you just happen to have a very important observation class that day..."
"Are you suggesting I tell her about it, so she'll deliberately invite me?"
"On the contrary, you heard about the party, but you really don't have time to go. Say you're sorry to her."
"But she hasn't even thought of inviting me. Should I act like someone else has?"
"No, you have to believe, at least pretend to believe she would certainly invite you, and then feel deeply sorry for missing an invitation that doesn't exist."
"That sounds mortifying. She hasn't thought of inviting me, she knows it," Strange said. "It's like I'm being delusional all by myself."
"Yes, she hasn't invited you yet, and you're already so sorry you can't attend. If she cordially invites you and you still can't go, she won't see you at the game, and it will make you feel even guiltier toward her. Why wouldn't she do that?"
"It sounds like some form of... moral extortion?"
"But she's the extortionist, she expects you to feel guilty towards her."
"But Renee is not that kind of person."
"No good person likes me," Shiller said. "Playing the hostage, you'll only ever meet kidnappers, but if you truly believed that love is greater than possession, you wouldn't be seeking my advice, would you?"
Strange was clearly conflicted. Looking at the younger face before him, Shiller seemed to remember something amusing, let out a slight sigh, and with a smile said, "You can totally give it a try. If she says to you, actually I never intended to invite you, you misunderstood, then that just proves you fancied the right person, showing you have good judgement."
"But..."
"She's even so grand that she doesn't extort the emotional capital that's delivered to her door. Would she broadcast this matter everywhere? Keep bringing it up to embarrass you?"
"If she chooses to extort, it proves you two are actually the same. You want possession, she wants utility. You two are perfectly matched, indeed harmfully perfect for each other until old age, aren't you?"
The last sentence was like a sharp awl piercing through ice, and Strange almost heard the sound of glass shattering.
"How do you want me to repay you for your guidance?" Strange asked.
Shiller lowered his eyelids to reveal a smile, saying, "To claim I want nothing in return would be too hypocritical. If you don't mind, how about writing me a blank check?"
"What?"
"If one day I'm in trouble, you have to do me a favor. Of course, perhaps you'll receive ample repayment for it."
Shiller stood up, as Ultron had already begun reporting information to him. He nodded towards Strange and said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving. If you have more questions, you can find me in the psychology department."
After saying that, he turned and left, while Strange stood in place, pondering for a long time. After a while, he saw a figure approaching.
"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but are you guys okay?"
Strange looked up to see the girl who had just been persuaded to leave by Shiller. She first looked at Strange and then turned back towards the direction Shiller had left.
Strange knew what he was thinking, because during the whole conversation, he had kept a straight face, barely speaking, while Shiller sometimes lowered his head, sometimes smiled, and spoke at length. It perfectly fit Shiller's narrative that he had made a small mistake and was now rushing to rectify it.
And Strange could clearly sense that this girl in front of him was overly preoccupied with Shiller, unnaturally so. It was freaking unbelievable — could it really work this fast?
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the girl also left, and it wasn't clear whether she was following in Shiller's direction.
On the other side, Shiller was walking along the campus path, listening to the situation Ultron was reporting to him. There hadn't been any major disturbances in the Manhattan Area recently, and the political news also seemed peaceful.
But this was New York, and even twenty years ago, it couldn't possibly have been as calm on the surface. Rather, it might have been the height of chaos twenty years ago.
Because that was both the golden age of America and the golden age of Hydra.
"Among the cases I've searched, there are roughly twelve arrests with unclear circumstances. Six of them were carried out by regular police. But in the other six, those who took action didn't seem to be police."
"Agents? Which department specifically?"
"There isn't enough visual data, mostly photos and text, so it's hard to tell."
"Unless they make a move again."
"Right under our noses."
Shiller straightened his collar and quickened his pace towards the dormitory. Behind him, dark clouds gathered—the first summer rain was nearing.