However, Shiller still turned to look at the nurse, recognizing her face as somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall her name.
The nurse immediately became somewhat sheepish and said, "Don't you remember me? My last name is Goth, I graduated from the Gotham Vocational Technical College majoring in Nursing…"
Shiller seemed to remember now; he recalled that Miss Goth's mother had once caused a stir and that Miss Goth had struggled to adapt after entering Gotham Vocational Technical College, but it appeared she had graduated since then.
"In fact, I graduated four years ago, Professor," Miss Goth said somewhat awkwardly, "Now I'm considered an old hand in the hospital."
Truthfully, Shiller was quite relieved; the kids trained by Gotham Vocational Technical College seemed to have become pillars of various professions, which in some ways, had changed the fate of a generation.
"Uh, let me check your IV... My Goodness, this needle... I mean, don't snakes feel pain when injected?"
Rarely did animals have a sense of pain as developed as humans, Shiller turned his head to look at the needle stuck in his neck.
His current snake body was only as long as a human arm, and the syringe used on humans seemed very thick for him, but he didn't feel much pain.
The beastification magic of the Circe Witch was really magical; it didn't just change the appearance but also transformed the life form, turning a person completely into a particular animal, unrecognizable even under the most advanced X-ray, vastly different from some magicians' superficial disguise magic.
Shiller thought that this might be the difference between shamanistic magic and magic. If it weren't for Brand's high stature, who recognized him at a glance and used his magic to give him the ability to speak, most people would probably think he was just an ordinary snake.
This move was extremely damaging to ordinary people because you fall to the treatment of an animal without any chance to argue...
Suddenly, Shiller thought of other uses for this ability.
But first, he needed to figure out how to adjust his status and avoid getting heatstroke again; now he was starting to miss his umbrella.
During the IV process, Helen under his guidance went to see Victor and brought another incomplete portable cooling device; the cooling area of this device was about half the length of an arm. As long as Helen held it in her hand, the coiled Shiller on her arm would be completely enveloped.
Helen took Shiller to see Williams, where Pari's husband Heckman was guarding. When Shiller walked over, he found that Williams was just tied to a tree with several cuts on his face, clearly left by punches.
"Looks like you've been having fun."
When Shiller made a sound, Heckman jumped but being a Gothamite, quickly accepted the reality of the drastic change.
"He kept shouting and yelling, I had to punch him a few times, might have knocked out a few of his teeth, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"No problem, I didn't expect you to be so restrained; I thought you would do more."
Heckman frowned and said, "When I saw him, I wanted to kill him, it wasn't that I didn't have the guts, just that I knew if I took action, he would die quickly, and that would be unfair to all the kids."
Shiller nodded; he could understand Heckman, who was an engineer, not a doctor; though he had the courage of a Gothamite, killing was mostly done with a gun or a knife, always lethal.
Gotham had many villains, but talented psychopaths were few; Heckman, like most Gothamites, had only brave recklessness without talent or acquired skill, making the art of physical torture extremely difficult.
Moreover, Shiller felt that Heckman might know some ways to torture people, but theory was theory, and there were still psychological barriers to taking action.
People always think torture must be excruciating, but in psychology, most torturers don't enjoy it but suffer intense psychological torment, sometimes even without their awareness.
Aside from a few psychopaths, most humans have an instinctive sympathy for their kind; when they see their kind bleeding, crying, and screaming, their survival and rescue instincts are activated, driving them to reach out and help.
Torturers have to constantly fight against such instincts, even forcing themselves to get excited and focus on understanding the pain. Over time, they too face enormous mental pressure.
In everyday life, many people feel intensely distressed by the psychological torment inflicted by elders or friends, but often the tormentors are not much better off, even mentally worse off.
Essentially, this is a relationship of torturer and tortured, constantly violating the human instinct to rescue their kind, accumulating excessive mental stress that causes both to collapse.
But they cannot stop because they think by torturing others, they can relieve this pressure a bit, but in reality, they can't; it creates a vicious cycle.
For Heckman it was the same, he could very decisively end Williams with a single slice, sending the damned criminal to hell, but if he had to torture him as long as possible, he would also face intense mental pressure, possibly even damaging his mental health, resulting in mutual destruction.
Shiller glanced at Williams, who still had the energy to glare at him, but Shiller quickly looked away as Helen took a syringe from her pocket.
Heckman took the syringe and found it was an anesthetic, not very concentrated, probably not enough to completely deprive a person of their consciousness.
Shiller, pointing with the tip of his tail at Williams, did not hesitate. He approached him and administered the drug.
Most people think that once an anesthetic is administered, one becomes entirely powerless, but that is not the case. Typically, in clinical settings, anesthesia must be combined with muscle relaxants; anesthesia alone won't suffice.
Thus, although Williams began to feel a bit dizzy after being injected with the anesthetic, he did not cease to struggle; he even became somewhat frenzied.
Helen walked up to him and raised her hand. As the effects of the anesthetic intensified, Williams's gaze gradually became vacant as he started to sink into some kind of dream.
Shiller was going to hypnotize him.
It had already been mentioned that the hypnosis used by typical psychiatrists is not so powerful, nor is it as mystical as many stereotypes suggest.
However, the hypnosis used by abnormal psychiatrists indeed had some sinister effects.
Firstly, this kind of hypnosis must be combined with drugs, and the dosage of the drugs must be very precise. Miss Goth had helped procure the anesthetic; although American hospital anesthetic regulations are strict, they mainly worry about theft for resale. As long as you are cautious, no one pursues it extensively.
Secondly, the subject must not have a strong will. Specifically, they must not suspect hypnosis before the drugs are administered. If they are mentally prepared, success is essentially impossible.
Lastly, it is best if the subject is in a state of extreme emotions like fear, anger, or sadness—the more intense, the better. If they are on the verge of losing their sanity, the likelihood of success is much greater.
Williams might have appeared strong, but it was clear he was strong outwardly but hollow inside, superficially fierce but weak at heart. He was kidnapped; how could he not panic?
Moreover, as a wealthy magnate who lived in comfort for many years, the few punches from Heckman were enough to torment him.
In such a condition, it was much easier for Shiller to proceed with the forced hypnosis.
However, it was impossible to modify common sense or personality. Shiller did not plan to do so; he simply intended to reveal the truth to Williams.
Edgar was a superpower user. Shiller did not believe Edgar had the level to modify memories perfectly. As long as there was any slight flaw, Shiller could use it to unravel all the truths.
Once a person like Williams realized that he had been assisted by supernatural forces all along, he would definitely regard the possessor of these powers as his last lifeline.
Despite the vast difference between witches and ordinary people, a person like Williams could unleash tremendous potential when facing death.
Hypnosis was taxing. Shiller intermittently worked for over three hours to finally complete it.
Shiller had Heckman escort Williams, whose anesthetic effect was about to wear off, to a safe house Williams had previously prepared. They found the location of the safe house in Williams's memory; it was supposed to be his most secure base.
They had no other choice; all locations related to the case had been sealed off, even the high school in Bolokin Community had suspended classes. Williams had almost nowhere to go; once a warrant was issued, it would be completely over for him.
When he woke up, he would realize that as an ordinary person, it was no longer possible for him to reverse the situation. The only help he could seek was from the mysterious witch who had once aided him.
After dealing with Williams, Shiller went to find Miss Richie. Miss Richie had Bob taken back to her childhood home, an old house not far from the historic Cobblepot home, now completely removed from the economic center, and virtually abandoned.
By the time Shiller arrived, it was almost dark. The good news was that it was no longer so hot; the bad news was that Shiller's heatstroke had only subsided, not cured. After the energy-consuming hypnosis, he started to feel dizzy.
Bob was worse off than Williams. After all, Miss Richie truly held a grudge against him. He had clearly been beaten severely, and his leg was broken. Fortunately, Helen could heal his leg using the Doomsday spores.
Shiller had quite a struggle convincing Miss Richie and retrieving his umbrella. Unfortunately, he could no longer wield the umbrella himself and had to hand it to Helen.
According to Miss Richie, one should not look at the patterns on the umbrella. For those with weak willpower, a single glance could make them faint, and Bob had been caught off guard and affected just like that.
Shiller suspected the umbrella worked on a principle similar to Cthulhu's. The Life Equation was simply not something humans could comprehend; a glance was like being filled with an overwhelming amount of knowledge, naturally causing one to faint.
They could even save on anesthetics now; Bob was already half-asleep, so Shiller could proceed directly with the hypnosis.
After completing the hypnosis on Bob, Shiller was truly exhausted. Mainly because his serpentine form itself didn't have a large capacity for energy storage, unlike humans, naturally reducing his active time significantly.
After releasing Bob, Shiller returned to the hospital room where Killer Croc was. He decided to rest there for the night.