"I think he is somewhat like me when I was a kid."
Shiller gave Victor a look, saying, "I remember you said you come from a middle-class family, and you've always been an excellent student."
"Yes, my father worked in shipping. His business partners' children, from a young age, would go on ships with their parents and fully understand their family businesses."
"But I've always been a bookworm, engrossed in various chemistry experiments, with no interest in business."
"Oswald and I are alike, we're like lettuce that's infiltrated a carrot patch, our thinking is entirely different from those around us."
"Also, I think he's not inherently bad."
Victor turned the steering wheel, crossed an intersection, and then continued, "His father died too early, his mother has no ability to take care of herself, he struggles to take care of himself, yet also has to look after his mother. It's already a miracle that someone like him can survive in Gotham, no one can ask more of him…"
"Or rather, he's one of the few normal people in Gotham." Shiller continued Victor's sentence. "Just like you."
"Me? I'm certainly normal! ...Alright, I know that you guys think it's a bit crazy of me to freeze my wife in the cryogenic chamber. But I'm very confident in my technology, and now things have indeed improved, haven't they?"
"I'm not among the people you're talking about. I don't think it's crazy at all. Perhaps in the future, this will become a very common medical procedure, used in every household."
Victor turned to look at him, his eyes full of the vicissitudes of life, and a child-like hope. He said expectantly, "If that day really comes, maybe I can take Nora back to my parents. I really miss them, but…"
Victor's voice lowered, Shiller looked at the scenery outside the window, saying, "Actually, they understand you; it's just that you don't want to go back, right?"
"I don't want my shocking behavior to cause them to become oddities and monsters in the mouths of their neighbors."
Victor was always good at expressing his emotions directly. He could always clearly describe his state of mind with words. This is one of the reasons why Shiller could chat with him so comfortably. Victor was the rare type of person who remains honest even when faced with him, not speaking anything different from what he truly feels.
"They loved me. During the early stages of my cryogenic chamber research, my father sent me a lot of money. My mother and sister also wrote me letters. They hoped that I could return home, but I knew it wasn't right…"
"I can't possibly move such a cryogenic chamber and the living person inside it back to my house. That would cause my entire family to live under the other people's gaze of seeing me as a monster. How hurtful that gaze is, I know very well."
"But I can't give up on Nora..." Victor's voice was a bit sad. "Just like how she didn't give up on me when I had an accident in my research and got dismissed from the school."
"Things will get better soon." There was always a calming strength in Shiller's tone, then he changed the topic.
"I remember you told me before that you and your wife didn't have a wedding. What was that about?"
"Oh, that. " Victor sounded a bit guilty as he said, "Didn't I tell you before? Just as I was promoted to a Professor, an unexpected lab accident cost me my job. At that time, Nora and I were already preparing for our wedding, but you know, without a stable job, no projects or funds, so…"
"At that time, it was Nora who was supporting me. We truly couldn't spare extra money to hold a wedding."
"Afterwards, I was hired by a cryogenic laboratory in Los Angeles. After things got better, I wanted to give her a surprise, but then, she was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease…"
"Even with health insurance, it couldn't offset the cost of seeking medical help all across the states. If it were not for those few financial aids from my father, I'm afraid I wouldn't have even been able to build the initial cryogenic chamber."
The car was slowly moving forward. Soon, a light rain started falling in Gotham. The drizzle was light and gentle, hitting the car window but not disturbing the conversation inside the car.
"Sometimes I think that I've really been very lucky. Whenever I come across any difficulties, there are always people there to help me. When I lost my job, Nora stayed by my side, and when Nora got sick, my father consistently provided financial support. And when my research hit another hurdle, you showed up…"
"People may just be like that." Victor's voice carried a certain warmth.
"No matter how bad the situation gets, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, it feels satisfying."
"The important thing is that glimmer of hope." Shiller also sighed. "Even when already in hell, as long as there's a thread of hope, one can continue to live as a human being, instead of falling into a devil of hell, or becoming an utter madman."
"I like to liken this hope to a campfire in a snowy field." Shiller adjusted his sitting position on the seat. He and Victor often chatted about such literary and philosophical topics, and they never felt awkward about it.
"A traveler who has been progressing in a snowy field for a long time, who sees nothing but snow on the vast white land. Every snowflake here makes him feel even colder…"
"But once a glow appears in the distance, the fiercest snowstorm couldn't stop him from advancing."
"When he reaches this campfire, he'll feel warm, as if the heavy snowfall is not terrifying at all. But he knows, it's because the previous traveler lit this fire."
"So, before he leaves, he takes out the little firewood he has and throws it into the fire. Regardless of whether the next traveler comes or not, the fire will never die."
Victor slowed down the car, and with a smile said, "You can summarize this as a word, 'timely help'."
Shiller shook his head, saying, "The term 'timely help' unfortunately carries the connotation of the helper being lofty and pitiful. I've always thought that the world doesn't need a Savior, especially not Gotham."
"If I could, I'd rather be the traveler who left the campfire. Any future traveler from any direction can stop here. If they really have to thank someone, then they should thank themselves for not giving up during the long journey."
With that said, Shiller opened the car door and stepped out into the rainy night.
Victor sat silently in his seat for a moment, then composed his touched facial expression and turned around to open the car door. He stepped out into the slightly chilly rainy night.