When Shiller arrived in the guest room, Lionel still bore a gloomy expression. Shiller sat down opposite him, picked up the cigar box that had been placed on the table, extracted a cigar from it, and then picked up the cigar clipper, evenly and deliberately began to cut the cigar.
As Lionel watched his actions, about to say something, Shiller interrupted, "I'm generally benevolent, so it's rare for someone to look at me with such an aggressive gaze."
"I know what you're thinking…" Shiller, not looking Lionel in the eye, simply continued on his own accord, "You use your imaginatively deficient brain, day and night, to fantasize about the praise those geniuses have received…"
"In your fantasy, someone like me should have been called a genius from a young age, effortlessly admitted to the best universities, casually obtained multiple doctorate degrees, smoothly sailed through the path of academics, until I became world-renowned…"
"Then, when others ask how I achieved all this, I would act modest and reply, anyone could do it…if they tried hard enough…"
"I suppose you've watched countless such interviews on television. Even if the protagonists were not me, when you heard those words, you felt a profound resentment…"
"Because you've tried, but you fell short. You believe those people are all frauds. They are simply luckier, more gifted, which is why they can have it all effortlessly."
"You're envious of all such people, driven almost to madness with jealousy, including your own son. You abuse him mentally and physically, hoping that he becomes a puppet that only follows your orders."
"I imagine, when I suggested that your son Lex might not be autistic, your feelings must have been quite complicated."
"You were scared, afraid that the whole thing was just a facade. And yet, you didn't want to believe, didn't want to acknowledge that there can be naturally brilliant minds in this world, unaffected by any illness, possessing intelligence surpassing the ordinary."
Having finished cutting the cigar, Shiller lit it with a motion too swift for Lionel to catch, and continued, "Perhaps, you haven't realized that there are more geniuses surrounding you than you think, including your son, Lex Luther."
"He's not autistic, without any mental illness. Maybe his personality is flawed due to your abuses and domestic violence, but not everyone has to be optimistic, kind, and positive. In general, he's a prodigious genius, destined for a brilliant future."
Shiller saw Lionel slowly clenching his teeth, the muscles in his face beginning to tense downward, his countenance growing increasingly grim, like a melting ice cream cone.
"Perhaps, there's another person you're familiar with, that's Bruce Wayne, who you frequently compare with your son. Despite stating, with the hope that Lex could become a playboy like little Wayne, you actually look down on him."
"However, he too is a genius, with an intellect comparable to Lex. If he pretends to be a mere playboy, that's just because as the sole heir to the massive Wayne Enterprises, he inevitably encounters jealousy and needs a bit of disguise."
Lionel's face couldn't look any worse. He wanted to rebuke Shiller, but he knew in his heart, there was no reason for Shiller to deceive him. Whether or not Bruce is a genius, and whether or not he knows Bruce is a genius, has no relevance to Shiller.
Shiller took another puff of his cigar, exhaled the smoke, and said, "There are many people that you look down on, probably including Bruce's companion as well."
"You consider her to be the ordinary social butterfly, hypocritical, flattering, fawning upon others- just lucky enough to cling to little Wayne."
"So, during your conversations with Bruce, you never even glanced in her direction, assuming she must be accustomed to this attitude."
"However, Selina is also a genius. Perhaps what you didn't know is that she is Gotham's most notorious Flying Thief, who's made numerous visits to Falcone's mansion. Yet, the godfather is helpless against her."
"Even if we set that aside, her charm is nearly irresistible, a quality even more illogical than intelligence. If you truly knew how powerful Bruce's willpower was, you would realize, Selina is God's favorite…"
"You've always conducted your business in Metropolis, probably never visited Gotham, feeling there is nothing appealing about the city, with its constant chaos, darkness, and unending rain…"
"However, there are more geniuses there than you could imagine – a scholar freezing the entire world to save his wife, a penguin diving into the open ocean of life, a wild child possessing automotive engineering skills surpassing most established engineers…"
"A host of crazy, evil yet brilliantly intelligent mobsters, a legendary godfather who's ruled Gotham underground for 40 years, an array of diverse and fascinating lunatics and…a Joker who instills fear in all those lunatics."
"Enough!" Lionel's voice rang out sharply. He said :
"Why should I be envious of you?! I have built a massive commercial empire out of nothing! I have achieved unimaginable successes! What right do you have to judge my creations?!"
"They are the fruit of my painstaking efforts, precise, elegant, perfect! Just like Luther Group, they are my masterpieces!"
"If you had started with this attitude, I wouldn't have said so much. But unfortunately, you're neither a genius nor do you possess a broad mind."
Shiller stared at Lionel's eyes, filled with red bloodshot lines, not due to sleep deprivation past midnight. There was jealousy written in them, threatening to bleed out.
"Do you know? The agony you're feeling, the sense that your reasoning and logic don't align, it isn't because you lack a genius mind."
Lionel continued to glare at Shiller, and despite the surprise, the statement evoked in him, he managed to swallow his gasp and remained silent.
"I know someone who had an opportunity to ascend, even though he was already a genius. That chance could've made him nearly omniscient and omnipotent, but he rejected it."
As Shiller spoke earnestly, Lionel's attention was involuntarily drawn. With a somewhat lamenting tone, Shiller uttered to himself:
"The most common and ordinary people have the most complex and beautiful inner world, it doesn't change whether or not they're intelligent. Or rather, all greatness originates from there."
Obviously, Lionel couldn't digest these words, but Shiller didn't utter them for him to understand. For someone who had been caught in a logical paradox for years, it was hard to be persuaded.
"What did you call me here for?" Shiller relaxed into the chair while Lionel tensed, his legs tightly together, elbows propped on his knees.
He took a deep breath, trying to recompose himself. Just as he was adjusting his mindset and calming himself down, Shiller spoke again: "Surely it's not to have me go through your thesis that's only marginally better than dog shit?"
Instantly, Lionel's recently composed expression crumbled.
Finally, he begrudgingly said: " I know you are aware of the secret of the treasure, and you even killed someone during that incident…"
"Treasure, what treasure?" Shiller squinted his eyes and asked. Lionel scoffed dismissively, saying, "Don't play the fool. The whole mayoral election was merely a battle for a treasure."
"You rashly got involved based on rumors, ending up fleeing back to Gotham with your tail between your legs."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Shiller looked into Lionel's eyes and said earnestly, "I have amnesia. I don't remember anything."
But Lionel remained unswayed by these words, he declared: "I invited you here because I wanted to work with you. I can forgive your impertinence of criticizing others' work. I could even share the treasure with you..."
"I am not interested." Shiller dismissed the offer instantly. But Lionel continued, "I know you don't trust me, but in the past, you have stumbled in such situations. Are you confident that you can win this time?"
"Sorry, when I said I wasn't interested, I was referring to the treasure. Of course, I have less interest in working with you."
Shiller stood up, extinguished his cigar on the table. Seeing him getting ready to leave, Lionel frowned and questioned:
"Have you truly lost your memory? If you're really not interested in the treasure, why were you killing the candidates during the mayoral election?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shiller only repeated these words. After a moment of thought, Lionel said, "It seems the lesson from last time taught you a good lesson, and you don't plan on dipping your toes into these murky waters again."
"But if the agents found out that you participated in the last event, they would not hesitate to deal with one more suspect spy."
"If you're confident about it, you can report me." Shiller left these words behind and turned to leave. But at this moment, Lionel behind him pulled out a gun.
Shiller stopped in his tracks. Lionel approached him from behind, pressing the gun to Shiller's head. He said, "You said that I am mediocre, but a mediocre person with a gun can also be lethal."
Shiller turned around, the dark muzzle pointed between his eyebrows. He said to Lionel, "Your actions have made it clear to me, any more time and effort spent on you would be a waste."
In a blink of an eye, a black umbrella appeared in Shiller's hand. He grabbed the middle part of the umbrella handle and gave it an upward flick.
With a "bang", the firm handle struck Lionel's jaw, knocking him onto the floor. Shiller walked over, his shadow covering Lionel's body.
Lionel howled in pain, clutching the bruise on his chin. Using his peripheral vision, he saw that Shiller wasn't looking at him, but was talking to himself while holding his umbrella:
"It's a pity that the first opponent you face after dressing up, is an imbecile."