"So, forget about that failure Hugo, he didn't even manage a single round in my hands before he hurriedly ran off," Shiller sneered.
"In my consciousness space, I created a monster. Nothing too terrifying, you know. Just like the laughing, flying cat in your own deep consciousness... A small pet scared him into fleeing. Dr. Taichi, what surprises me is, how could you cooperate with such a person?"
The short Teige walked over to a chair and sat down. His feet couldn't even touch the ground. Making a serious expression, he coughed a little, then said, "He approached me first."
"That day, while testing my Brainwave Controller in the research institute, I was expecting to be annoyed by the typical chatter of ordinary minds after releasing the test signal. However, it seemed he captured the signal with some kind of device and thus, we were able to connect over the distance of two cities."
"He was in Gotham, I was in Metropolis, but my device is powerful and can cover that distance. He told me about some plan which sounded very dumb, right?"
Teige took a cigar from the table. As he felt the delicate touch of it and smelled the fragrance after lighting it, he knew that the person opposite him, like himself, was a top figure in this field.
"Honestly, what kind of plan did you guys come up with? I didn't hear a thing in Gotham. If he only has this kind of capability, I have to say, you should abandon him as soon as possible, Dr. Taichi. He is not a good partner."
Seemingly wanting to distance himself, Teige hastily said, "Plan? No, I can only say it was crappier than my students' homework."
To agree with Shiller's words and not come off as unprofessional, Teige began to sarcastically run down Hugo and the plan.
"Hugo told me, he needed to garner more support in Gotham, simply put, he needed money and status to achieve his goal. There are many wealthy families in Gotham, but most of them are hard to deal with."
"Gangster families in your parts don't adhere to the noble code. They believe in might makes right, making them even harder to deal with for us."
"While there are solely business families, most of them have close ties with the Wayne Family. There is one exception, the Elliott Family."
"The composition of their family is very simple with just one heir. Which means, if you can take care of the heir, you can logically acquire all the resources of the Elliott Family."
"Evidently, he oversimplified things. Hugo managed to approach the heir of the Elliott Family and tricked him into killing his parents."
"Hugo believed that killing Thomas and taking over the Elliot Family wasn't a clear choice, as he knows nothing about business. So, he decided to keep Thomas alive, manipulate him, and let the Elliot Family generate wealth for him, establishing his basis in Gotham."
"So, he really was helping Thomas evade punishment, but that damned guy, he killed my Alice, so I must take revenge!"
"Could you elaborate on your lover's part?" Shiller looked at Teige and said, "Of course, I'm aware of your love for her. I just want to know how the two of you met."
"I'm a tutor at the Central Research Institute in Metropolis, and Alice, she was touring Metropolis. We met and felt a mutual attraction. But my damn assistant David seduced Alice with his good looks..."
"So, you met Alice first?" Shiller asked. As soon as he asked this question, Teige turned his head and didn't maintain eye contact with him. Shiller knew then that he was lying.
The best way to deal with a delusional patient is to find the logical flaws in their story. Obviously, the so-called story that Doris went on a trip to Metropolis and met Teige doesn't hold up.
There are many attractions in Metropolis, but the Central Research Institute is definitely not one of them. Who would visit a research institute while on a trip? Ordinary people wouldn't even be able to enter such a place.
The only possibility is that Doris fell in love with Teige's assistant David. She might have visited the research institute to see her boyfriend and ran into Teige.
Then, Teige fantasized her as his lover. That wasn't surprising as this short man named Teige was the infamous Mad Hatter.
Considering the Mad Hatter's backstory, it's highly possible that Teige harassed Doris but was rejected by her. Consequently, his delusional disorder intensified and he concocted a love story between himself and Doris. He imagined that Doris's original boyfriend, David, was an interloper, even though he was the actual third party.
Shiller didn't delve deeper into Teige's lie, as there was no need. He wasn't there to treat Teige.
"So, you controlled Berenna's friend Anjiele, aiming to make him kill Berenna, to take revenge for your lover?"
"Yes, but I didn't expect that girl to have such a strong will. But it doesn't matter, I will succeed soon. No one can evade my hypnosis..."
What Teige didn't see was the look of disdain on Shiller's face. Meanwhile, in the next room, sitting opposite Hugo, Shiller didn't bother to hide his contemptuous expression, saying,
"I've said it before, his lack of professionalism is extreme. He keeps imposing his worldview on others, without considering their upbringing, personality traits, or current environment. He's just like a barbarian.
"He imposed his beliefs on Anjiele, and was pleased with himself, but he didn't know that Anjiele had already recognized something was wrong, and that's why she resisted him."
"That fool thinks that women should be jealous of each other over a dress or a gemstone. He never analyzed Anjiele's personality, nor did he understand that she was a scholar type, more interested in research than decorations..."
"He failed to deeply analyze the relationship between Anjiele and Berenna, didn't know their story, didn't consider whether they should act the way they did at that time. All he knew was to brandish his Brainwave Controller. In my opinion, he lacks artistic sense..."
Hugo felt an intense resonance with Shiller's opinion. He said, "He relies on external things, treating the Brainwave Controller that can hypnotize people as his weapon. He'll never understand the appeal of psychology or the pleasure of exploiting others' weaknesses..."
Both Shillers in the two rooms leaned back, letting their backs rest on the chair, and the chair was tightly pressed against the wall behind them. On the other side of the wall was another Shiller in the same posture.
Two Schillers, separated by a wall, sat back to back, each looking into the eyes of Hugo and Taichi and said,
"So, we are the same kind of people."
"We should unite, and let those who look down on us know what real hell is."
"What are you planning to do?" Hugo and Taichi asked in unison.
Both Shillers rose from their chairs at the same time, the setting sun cast its afterglow on them, outlining a radiant arc on their profiles. They said,
" I have a method that allows one to enter another person's consciousness world. As we all know, that's where we have the home advantage. In the consciousness world, even the most physically fit are nothing but ants in our eyes."
"Now, think about who your opponent is? Who will you use to fire your first shot to control this world?"
"Allow me to introduce, the ones whom you detest, the most suitable to be your opponents —"
Two identically sounding voices rang out from Shiller, but they called out different names, and in the end, the final sound merged together:
"Batman!"
"Superman!"