"Based on the above," Greed's delightful emotion was not that fleeting excitement, nor was it a joy within control, but rather contained an element of surprise, which indicated the appearance of something unexpected."
After thinking it over, Lucifer said, "Is it because of that phrase from your other self? Something about The Creator or the like?"
"Bruce, your level of psychoanalysis as a human race doesn't even compare to an angel's." Arrogant picked up another cigar but didn't cut it, merely toying with it in his hand.
"What are you saying, it's perfectly normal for me not to be as strong as Lucifer, isn't it?" Bruce stated with conviction.
"You've perfectly ignored the main point, no wonder your teacher is angry," the Transcendent said.
Arrogant didn't want to continue this topic anymore, he said, "Yes, Lucifer is right, the joy of Greed actually came from the last sentence the agent said, but what does that imply?"
Arrogant looked towards the fireplace, and Bruce appeared to ponder seriously before saying, "It means he was surprised by that sentence."
"I feel like he's not just sitting in a wheelchair; he got off at the previous station," Lucifer commented.
"What does that imply, that he isn't happy about the overall success of the first phase of his plan? What does that mean?"
Arrogant turned to look directly at Lucifer.
Lucifer actually gave it some thought and said, "If the first phase of his plan truly succeeded, then he should be happy, unless he feels that it wasn't really a success, or even that it was a failure."
"Yes, this allows us to deduce where that chill comes from, because he sensed failure, and the main reason for the failure was Batman and Joker slipping out of control. Combining this fact, we can analyze that the feeling of disappointment is a sense of powerlessness when things are out of control."
"This doesn't seem to be entirely about psychoanalysis," Lucifer said.
"That's correct, behavioral analysis and psychoanalysis complement each other; there has never been a rule that strictly dictates using only one. Rather, there are situations where one must be used because the other is completely inadequate."
Lucifer looked towards the fireplace.
"Quiet, I'm trying to figure out at which station I got off," Bruce said.
"So, what can we deduce from this?" Walter asked. He actually wanted to know what use there was in analyzing this.
"Of course, it's for speculating on Greed's next move," Arrogant answered him and said, "This sense of powerlessness from losing control sometimes comes not from being helpless but from usually having too much control, and now having too little."
"Are you saying his normal threshold is too high?"
"Exactly, for Greed, Batman and Joker are new adversaries. He has intersected with them occasionally, but there have been few head-on collisions. He's naturally aware of this."
"This implies that his failure this time could be entirely attributed to knowing too little about his opponents, also known as underestimating them."
"I understand," Walter nodded and said. He wasn't just an animator; he was also a successful businessman, "So we can infer that his next move is to understand his enemies. That's his goal, as well as something he can offer as a bargaining chip in exchange."
Arrogant nodded, crossed one leg over the other, and said, "When we anticipate his objective in advance, we can naturally begin to prepare our bargaining chips. Any information related to Batman and Joker can be exchanged for information from Greed's side. And Greed's knowledge about the series of incidents with Silterk Pharmaceutical Company is the most extensive. With the right operation, there will certainly be gains."
"Should I make this trade with him?" Bruce asked casually, though he had already made up his mind. Decisions outside the scope of psychoanalysis are much easier to make.
"I don't think you should," Arrogant finally spoke up, "Do you really understand that Batman well enough?"
"You're not suggesting that I analyze him, are you? I suspect the moment he appears in my field of vision, all the lines will turn black."
Arrogant sighed lightly and said, "Have you ever considered that my analysis of Greed isn't from actually analyzing him, but because he is another version of myself? Naturally, anything I say makes sense."
Bruce caught on quickly, "Right, I'm also a Batman, so it would be very easy to convince others about what another Batman is like."
"I doubt that," Lucifer threw cold water on his notion, "Look at yourself, in what way do you resemble Batman? The last person who can be trusted with information about Batman is you; Joker would be a better candidate."
"What do you mean by that?" Bruce said, highly displeased, "What's this about me not being like Batman? I'm not Batman at all! I've already moved beyond my superhero phase..."
"But you didn't deny the topic regarding Joker," Lucifer immediately seized on the loophole in his words, "You also think Joker understands Batman very well, don't you? As his opponent, as his archenemy, he's the one with the most authority to speak. You cannot compete with him."
"Under normal circumstances, that would be the case, but do you think this is a normal Joker?" Bruce retorted, unwilling to back down, "Please, I'm standing here with this guy called the Pale Knight, and he looks more like a trust-fund kid than I do. Is that even scientific?"
"He's not the traditional Joker, and you're not the traditional Batman, neither of you should talk about the other, The Transcendent watches the fun eager for more trouble." He said, "In terms of authenticity, I still recognize the guy standing beside you with all the cunning in his belly."
"Are you talking about Night Owl?" After snorting, Bruce said, "If he makes an offer, I won't compete with him. After all, I still have to play his good little brother, no need to lose the big for the small."
"He won't make an offer," Arrogant stated, "You and the Pale Knight are unashamed of betraying Batman's information because you have long deviated from Batman's path, but Night Owl can't. He's still on that path, even if in reverse, but revealing his own direction is still unwise."
"Meaning, he and the Prime Universe Batman are of the same cloth?" Bruce's voice carried a tone of reflection, "He couldn't have also sensed Greed's purpose ahead of time, could he?"
"Wait," Bruce suddenly interjected, "It was Night Owl who lured them there! He said he found something upstream, he's in cahoots with Greed!"
"You've finally noticed," Arrogant said, "Night Owl is a version of Batman, with all of Batman's abilities except for evil. As long as he was one of the first to enter the game, whatever Batman could find, he could possibly find too."
"But precisely because he represents the unjust side, the background story he wrote for himself is definitely not like Batman's superhero image; it could even be somewhat evil. So after finding the clues, he made a choice completely different from Batman's, which was to join forces with Greed."
"In that case, he should be warning Greed to be aware of Batman," Lucifer said and realized he misspoke, so he added, "But only the good can unite, the bad all have their own schemes, Night Owl might also be guarding against Greed."
"More importantly, he wouldn't exchange Batman's information for anything because that would be like betraying himself," Arrogant explained, "Although Batman's abilities are well-known, Greed isn't after those famous skills but rather the choices that Batman and Joker would make. However, Night Owl would make those same choices, and no Batman would reveal his own logic of action to others."
"Then who is left to make this trade with Greed?"
"I think the agent would do it," Arrogant paused before continuing, "His livelihood is selling information, and he's quite good at it."
"But where would he get Batman's information? I've never seen him in my universe," Bruce pointed out, hinting that if Greed wasn't familiar with Batman and Joker, the agent would be even less so. Greed might have met Batman, but the agent had probably never seen them before.
"They're not familiar now, but isn't gathering intelligence an agent's bread and butter?" Walter crossed one ankle over his knee and said, "I've dealt with them before, and they're a tough bunch; however, one can't manage without them."
"Why?" asked Bruce, whose most frequent agent contact was Amanda, and he really didn't see what was so indispensable about her.
"When you get entangled with agents, you'll face endless troubles. At the same time, they'll extract information from you. They want everything, that's the horror of greed."
"So..."
"When you're feeding a beast that will eat anything, you can use that to conceal many secrets, and you can even try to direct its troublemaking elsewhere," Walter said subtly, continuing, "When it finds something particularly tasty, you can perfectly introduce them to a restaurant that specializes in that kind of food. Not only can this help you get rid of trouble, but it can also deal with some ill-intentioned individuals."
"That's the nature of intelligence work," Arrogant noted, "Everyone is really just looking for something to do. If you don't give them that, they will find their own tasks. But if you can give them tasks, they don't mind taking them on; agents are never picky eaters."
Walter nodded in agreement.
"So you're saying the agent will choose to sniff out information about Batman for Greed? But Batman isn't stupid, wouldn't he be aware of the agent's purpose?"
"The agent comes for information, but he could also bring information about Greed. Just as Greed can inquire about Batman through the agent, why can't Batman do the same about Greed? Don't forget that he isn't exactly familiar with Greed either."
"Wouldn't the agent be playing both ends against the middle then?" The Transcendent frowned, "If he passes on information about both Batman and Greed, he would be holding the intel on both."
"You might want to think of it the other way around," Arrogant suggested, "What if he actually had intel on both from the start?"
The Transcendent's eyes widened slightly as he processed Arrogant's meaning, turning to him, "You sent him, and you happen to be the one who understands both Greed and Batman."
Arrogant smiled, "Exactly. Naturally, both Batman and Greed could think of this too."
"I see, so the agent isn't an exchange hub, not responsible for swapping intel between the two, but a vending machine selling the information you gave him. But what do you want in return?"
"I'm not exactly sure what I can sell or what I'll gain," Arrogant shook his head, "After all, I'm not Batman, who tries to foresee the development of every event the moment the plan is set, nor am I Greed, who finds a silver lining in any development."
"That sounds quite irresponsible," Lucifer said, "You're betting on Greed and Batman wanting to learn about each other and are willing to offer something substantial. But if they both end up being stingy, you don't have much of a choice."
Arrogant nodded, "Pretty much, but even if they're not willing to pay any price, the plan hasn't completely failed."
"Why? Because they'll eventually turn to you?"
"Because I can finally completely give up pushing this damn wheelchair."