The changes in Arkham Mental Hospital were noticed by all the gangs in Gotham City, big and small. It's not that none of them were eyeing this fat piece of meat, but all the plans against Shiller were thwarted by his use of the complex relationships between the various gangs for his advantage.
Compared to Shiller, the gangs that had troubled Bruce in the past seemed somewhat unintelligent. Their first thought was assassination, something they were very good at. Even the smallest gang could find one or two killers.
But Shiller's deal with Falcone brought the godfather an unexpected, substantial profit. The godfather was now old and keen to leave more capital for his offspring. This sudden windfall was therefore highly valued by him. If this system could continue to operate, the industry that Evans took over from him would be even more stable.
Because of this, the entire Arkham Mental Hospital was tightly guarded by the godfather. Shiller was his main protection target and he did not hesitate to hire top security personnel at a high price.
Shiller's irreplaceability lies in Falcone's perception of the possibility of creating a new order through him. If this professor could truly bring more change to Gotham, the Falcone family, by taking the lead, could surely possess the most vital place in this new order.
The largest snake among the overlords was fiercely protecting Shiller, rendering the smaller ones practically powerless. Falcone had ruled Gotham's underworld for so many years, and even though he was now old, his influence still lingered. The gang was already weakened and could no longer stand up to the godfather.
Of course, if they couldn't kill Shiller, they could try to get him out and replace him with their own people. Not everyone had Falcone's foresight; they only thought that if their own people were in this position, the profits here could be staggering. Even ignoring the potential wealth benefits from the rules created by Shiller, controlling such a place could inflate their power overnight.
They indeed didn't dare to confront Falcone directly, let alone snatch from the tiger's mouth, but they could still make some small moves.
The gangs of Gotham were notorious for their talent, and of course, there were some smart ones among them. They found Sheldon, the principal of Gotham University.
Sheldon was an unlucky old man. He initially wanted to recruit a few new professors to counterbalance Shiller, but the newly recruited Mr. Freeze, Victor, not only wasn't on his side, but quickly befriended Shiller. In no time, the two became close friends, and Sheldon's plan fell through once again.
He hadn't had much peace for long when the gangs came knocking on his door again.
Sheldon was an outsider; he didn't have much influence in Gotham. But the rule in Gotham was that one needed to have a gang standing behind them to have a say. Sheldon didn't understand this. So the day after he rejected the gangs, he got shot on his way home from work.
The gangs still needed Sheldon, so they didn't take his life. When he saw the gang leaders in the hospital, Sheldon finally understood Gotham's most important survival rule—if you have a gun, you'd better have more bullets than anyone else. If you don't have a gun, then keep your mouth shut and obey.
As the principal, Sheldon could legitimately call Shiller back to school. After all, it was normal for the teaching staff to handle some school affairs. And if the professor refused this normal work arrangement, then he would be the unreasonable one.
Sheldon found an excuse, thinking it didn't matter if Shiller didn't come back. This way, he could find trouble with him. He was worried about not having a reasonable excuse.
However, Shiller kindly returned the day after receiving Sheldon's call. His attitude was extremely good, and his actions were very timely. When Sheldon saw him in the principal's office, he couldn't find anything wrong.
Sheldon's excuse for having Shiller back was just some minor affairs like handling archives. All the while, Shiller was working in the archives and remotely controlling the situation in Arkham Mental Hospital.
Sheldon always enjoyed watching Shiller's class through surveillance. After Shiller came back, Sheldon also kept an eye on the archives the same way.
Then, Shiller showed him what the authentic Gotham was like.
In the following days, from Shiller's phone conversations, Sheldon heard the names of the twelve largest gangster families' leaders in the whole of Gotham. Within three days, Shiller had at least greeted them hundreds of times. Accompanying the appearance of the gang leaders' names were either terms related to illicit goods or slang about smuggling locations.
The most alarming for Sheldon was their casual way of discussing manipulating the police, judges, and juries as if they were deciding what to have for dinner.
Most importantly, one day, he heard Shiller casually say: "..if this mayor doesn't work out, we'll replace him. He should take half of the responsibility for Gotham's terrible traffic situation. If he's not capable of handling it, he can at least pay with his life ..."
On the spot, Sheldon wanted to pack his bags and leave this damned city.
As time went on, the content of Shiller's conversations that Sheldon heard became more and more outrageous. They began to involve some of the Falcone family's secrets, including some of their secretive smuggling routes, as well as highly profitable plantation businesses.
The more Sheldon listened, the more alarmed he grew. Although he wasn't a native of Gotham, having been in the political circles of other cities for so long endowed him with a keen political intuition.
It was at this point that Sheldon realized that Professor Rodriguez, the psychology professor, was likely more than just a professor.
When something exceeds the cognitive range of human understanding, humans will always use their imagination to make it seem reasonable. The brain will automatically search within memory for various details that could corroborate this inference, and Sheldon was no different.
He thought to himself, 'No wonder Shiller dared to so decidedly issue an expulsion notice directly to Bruce. He was acting with such confidence because he had nothing to fear. This psychology professor might just be the greatest mastermind behind the scenes in Gotham, manipulating all twelve gangster families from the shadows and being the main culprit behind Gotham's current chaotic situation.'
The more Sheldon thought about it, the more logical it appeared. After all, Shiller's astonishing track record didn't seem like something an average person could possess. Moreover, his ability to emerge unscathed from so many brutal cases suggested he might have spun similar webs elsewhere.
Sheldon felt he was gradually approaching the truth. Was it one person or an organization? Who was he representing? What was he doing? What outcome did he aim for?
The possible answers to these questions terrified Sheldon himself.
In his logic, it seemed normal for a university professor to have connections with the mob. In this school, most of the teachers and professors had some link, major or minor, with the mob. Either they had relatives or friends working in the mob, or they themselves provided some professional services to the mob in exchange for safety and extra earnings.
However, this couldn't explain why a professor was able to liaise with all of Gotham's biggest gangster families and participate in the secret activities of the Godfather. The evidence confirming Sheldon's conjectures was in the tone of voice Shiller used over the phone. It was not like others' attitude towards the mob—both fearful and servile.
His tone was always calm, as if he held everything under control. Sheldon could tell that it was Shiller manipulating the mob, not the mob controlling Shiller.
Sheldon felt he had gotten himself into deep trouble. Shiller had the ability to influence Gotham's biggest mob, yet he chose to continue teaching at Gotham University. It even seemed like he regarded this position highly. From Sheldon's perspective, with all of Shiller's abilities, why didn't he buy a villa in Gotham's rich district? Why would he want to stay in the teachers' apartments at Gotham University?
There was only one likelihood: staying at Gotham University benefited him in some way, or there was something unknown to Sheldon in this place attracting this mad professor.
That was right, in Sheldon's view, Shiller was a complete lunatic.
Working with the mob was indeed not for the faint-hearted, especially not the biggest mobs in Gotham.
The city's villainy was almost overflowing, and all those who had been submerged in this sea of sin for many years were almost becoming evil themselves. Those who could stand at the top of this dark city after dealing with such a harsh environment, working with any one of them was akin to courting danger.
Yet Shiller not only cooperated with them, but he also attempted to manipulate them, all at once.
Having just witnessed the mobs' ruthlessness, Sheldon deemed Shiller's actions insane, of course.
It was as if he was trying to cut the most lethal wire among hundreds of entangled wires. Once cut wrong, a pack of carnivorous jackals, long accustomed to their bloody practices, would swarm over and devour the bold yet reckless culprits whole.
Sheldon started to regret. Wasn't it fine to just let Shiller stay in Arkham Asylum? He had finally got out, why on earth did he bring him back?
It was like he had finally thrown a ticking bomb away beforehand, yet somehow, he picked it right back up.
As things stood, Sheldon was praying fervently in his heart that none of Shiller's activities would go wrong. If something did happen, it must not affect Gotham University, and even if it affected Gotham University, it must not affect him.
However, it was Sheldon's quick wit that helped him reach his current position. He knew he couldn't let things go on like this; he had to take action.
One morning, as Shiller went to the archive room as per his routine, planning to slack off while managing remotely, he found that all the files that were yet to be archived from the day before had been sorted out. He checked with great curiosity and found out that indeed all the work had been done.
What was going on? Did the Snail Girl do it?
However, since the work was done, there was no need to stay any longer. Shiller left in puzzlement, and as he was on his way down the stairs, he ran into Principal Sheldon. Shiller raised his coffee cup in greeting, but Sheldon passed by him with a frown without uttering a word.
Alright, Shiller thought, it seemed the Principal still didn't like him, but he had grown accustomed to it. After all, ever since he sent the expulsion notice to Bruce, the Principal hadn't given him a decent look.
The only strange thing was, the Principal, who usually looked energetic and dapper, looked a little worn today, with two dark circles under his eyes.