The crowd was too thick, so Shiller didn't use his Flash skills. Instead, he ran up the stairs, reaching the third floor of the building where the substation was located.
It used to be the old dining hall, but since a new one was built, it was converted into a storage room. Educational materials, office supplies, and sports equipment were all stored here. The room Shiller arrived at housed the educational materials. A female student lay on the ground, bloody all over.
Shiller approached and found that she was still breathing. At this time, Gordon and Victor also rushed upstairs. Finding that the girl was still alive, they both sighed in relief and quickly dialed for an ambulance. Before the ambulance arrived, Shiller examined the girl's wounds.
She had been stabbed twice in the stomach. The openings weren't large, evidently caused by something like a fruit knife. The corner of her mouth was broken, and there was a bruise on the side of her nose. Shiller guessed that someone had attacked her from behind, covering her mouth with one arm and then stabbing her abdomen with a fruit knife in the other hand.
Turning his head, Shiller asked Gordon, "Is the crime scene of the murder that happened in the gymnasium's rest room still there?"
"Someone is cleaning it up; do you want to go? I can call them to pause for a bit."
"I'll take a look." Shiller glanced back at the injured girl. An officer was bandaging her. Her once fair face was now incredibly pale, and she shivered in pain, unable to speak.
Shiller quickly walked out, with Victor immediately following. Although Victor didn't see the expression on Shiller's face, he knew him well. He stepped forward, patting Shiller on the shoulder, saying, "Don't be angry, we will bring the murderer to justice."
Shiller didn't say anything, he kept walking. At this time, the sky over Gotham was overcast, making it hard to tell if the early morning had passed. Soon, thick clouds enveloped the city again and it began to rain.
By the time they arrived at the gymnasium, the weeping cheerleading squad members had been evacuated to the back of the seats. Two officers who clearly knew Shiller waited at the entrance of the locker room. When Shiller walked in, the body was still in its original place, but the surrounding items had been moved.
The cause of death was easy to identify as there was a very evident deadly wound on the victim's neck. Shiller walked over, conducting a simple inspection, then glanced at the belt preserved in the evidence bag.
It was a decorative belt, likely hung around the waist of the cheerleaders during their performances. It was made of metal, thin iron chains actually, which is why the wound on the victim's neck was so evident.
There were no fingerprints, no footprints, virtually no trace was left. There was also no one with a motive, no bystanders, and no locked rooms. This was in stark contrast to typical murder cases seen before.
Victor stood in the middle of the room, his face somber. Clearly, he also realized that the lack of evidence made the investigation difficult. But Shiller seemed to be deep in thought. Seeing his thoughtful expression, Victor walked over and asked, "Have you thought of something?"
"If you look at this murder case alone, it may indeed be hard to determine. But if you connect all the recent murder cases, you'll find that the methods used by the murderer are completely different and unrelated. Apart from all taking place in Gotham University, there are no common points among the crime scenes."
"The only commonality is that all the victims are female."
"Yeah, they must all be members of the cheerleading squad. Could someone hold a grudge against the squad so they..."
Shiller shook his head, "The girl who was just attacked in the storage room, she's not a member of the cheerleading squad. I remember her, she's a junior in the Physics Department. She's well-liked by the professors because of her good performance and serious attitude towards studies. She prepares the teaching equipment used in physics classes, that's why she was in the storage room..."
"In this case, it becomes even more difficult to identify the murderer."
"There's another common point: all the female victims were very good-looking." Shiller recalled and said, "And their demeanor was somewhat similar."
Victor also reflected for a moment, feeling that Shiller's point made sense. At least, both girls he had seen were indeed beautiful. And it was true that their demeanor was similar - youthful and lively, with a touch of childishness and naivety.
Even though Gotham was a city beyond repair, the students of Gotham University were somewhat better than the rest of the inhabitants of Gotham. Because of the high proportion of outsiders, the dark atmosphere was diluted. From the students' daily activities, one could perceive sunshine and a positive vibe, something not common in Gotham.
On the way back to the office, Shiller, uncharacteristically verbose, shared his perspectives with Victor.
"Perhaps I should have mentioned before, serial killers like to deliberately create links."
"They would choose a theme, then plan victims' identities, timing, and crime scenes accordingly. Some compulsive killers even have requirements for how the bodies are discovered, the timing, and the identities of the witnesses."
"Creating associations and guiding attention are their specialties. They like to have investigators led by the clues and evidence they leave behind, retrieving the answer bit by bit. This gives them a sense of achievement, a feeling of triumph derived from killing and playing with their kind."
"Among the serial killers I have encountered, the danger is not directly proportional to the brutality of their modus operandi, nor is the brilliance of their crimes proportional to the scant evidence they leave behind. Sometimes, it's the opposite."
"Every crime they commit might be mundane, but together, they form an impenetrable theme. They might leave a heap of clues at the scene, then watch with excitement as investigators run around in circles..."
"In general, killing someone is not their purpose but to violate the law, cross the line, yet linger in the danger of paying or not paying the price. They gamble with their own lives to observe the response of the entire society. That's their goal in killing people."
"So, even though these cases have some elements of serial killings, such as all occurring within Gotham University and the victims being all women, they are still not serial killings."
"The murderer not only failed to establish links between the cases but, contrary, they are desperately erasing links. They want each case to appear unrelated and reduce the number of commonalities to the minimum."
"Another point to corroborate this is that he annihilated as many traces at the scene as possible, making it difficult for the police to find any lead."
"For a serial killer, this is quite dull. They want to control and guide the investigators, leading them on a tour, rather than seeing others blunder around blindly in their carefully crafted exhibit."
"From this conclusion, it can be inferred that the motive of this murderer and the serial killer is opposite. That is to say, if the purpose of a serial killer is not murder, the purpose of this murderer is precisely murder."
Victor, holding his umbrella, saw that Shiller's face was concealed under his umbrella's shadow, making it impossible to discern any expression.
But whenever Shiller talked about his past experiences, he always exuded a chilling indifference, as if he resonated naturally with the psychopathic killers and lunatics he spoke of.
When he, as an observer, scrutinized the cases and sought out the true culprits with this resonance, he resembled a black sun suspended in the sky, spreading chaos to all things, illuminating everything without light.
The rain continued to fall, and the shadow of death shrouded the few remaining sanctuaries of Gotham. The lives of Gotham University students were no longer tranquil. The shrill sirens and the permeating metallic scent of blood made it feel like everything was being held by a giant hand from the abyss and plunged into relentless darkness, just like other parts of Gotham.
When he returned to his office, the lights were back on, but now, the gleaming new bulbs couldn't provide comfort.
Because, no one knew when the lights would go out again, and no one knew if another scream would be heard and another body found when the power goes out again.
Not long after he returned to his office, Gordon called. He said, "The girl who was previously attacked in the storeroom is now out of danger. I made a preliminary inquiry, but as expected, she didn't see anything because the attacker struck from behind."
"According to her recollections, the attacker was a robust young man who moved quickly, leaving her no chance to retaliate."
After hanging up the phone, Shiller sat deep in thought at his desk. Then, he picked up the phone once more and called Bruce, then Lex. He invited both of them to his office.
At that moment, Bruce, who answered the phone, was dealing with another matter. Because on the day following Thomas Elliot's imprisonment, the current head of the Elliot family, and his wife, were killed.
They died in an alleyway not far from Gotham Cathedral. Their cause of death was two gunshot wounds each; one to the heart, causing immediate death.
The reason Bruce learned about this incident earlier than the police did was that Batman was still prowling the streets of Gotham that night. Someone committed a heinous crime right under his nose, and by the time Batman arrived on the scene, only dead bodies remained.
Faced with a crime scene uncannily reminiscent of past tragedies, Batman could not stand idly by. Although he wouldn't consider Thomas as his confidant, they were old friends. Batman felt it was obligatory to solve this case.
He had a suspect in mind: Godfather Falcone.
After Thomas committed a murder at Gotham University, Godfather Falcone was bound to be displeased. He had declared long ago that nobody was allowed to commit crimes at Gotham University. But Thomas, the only son of the Elliot family, deliberately broke this rule. Godfather Falcone would see this as a provocation.
On the day when Thomas was imprisoned, problems arose between the Elliot family and the Falcone family. The Elliot couple firmly believed that their son had been wronged and tried to create trouble for the Gotham Police Department, which was under the influence of the Godfather.
The Elliot couple's obstinate behavior annoyed Falcone. He blocked some of the Elliot family's businesses in Gotham and even invited the Elliot couple to Falcone Manor for a talk. But on their journey to the North District, they were killed,
So, who else could be the prime suspect? Batman thought that starting with Falcone would be the most efficient choice.
Thus, Batman started to look for past data, attempting to get a deeper understanding of Falcone, and find his weak spots.
Then, he learned an absurd truth.
Carmine Falcone, the mob Godfather who had ruled Gotham for decades, had never killed anyone.
He was completely innocent.