novelonline Chapter 2978: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (2)
Chapter 2978: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (2)
Chapter 2978: The Green Trees Are Thick and the Summer Is Long (XII)
Schiller is still investigating the serial killer principal. He applied to the city hall for permission to view educational information, hoping to find information about the previous principal of the boarding school where Edward attended.
But as expected, the information was gone. It must have been erased manually. Not only was the information of the previous principal missing, but the information of all previous principals was lost.
Then I checked the historical records of personnel appointments and dismissals of the Ministry of Education, but the work level of Gotham City Hall is really not satisfactory. It is simply impossible to keep multiple copies of the records. After checking again and again, it was still a mess.
The only solution now is to visit the school in person. After all, the current female principal is also a suspect. Just because there is nothing clear in the information does not mean that there is no problem at all.
But it was indeed a bit suspicious to visit a high school so rashly. Schiller went to talk to Edward again and found out that the high school he had attended before had a football team.
Schiller had a good relationship with the players and coaches of the Gotham University football team, and because he attended every game, people thought he was a football fan.
Schiller suggested to the coach that he go around the high schools to see if there are any promising talents. The coach did not doubt his suggestion. He believed that the situation in the United States was such that playing basketball well could be a direct path to a prestigious university.
But when the coach saw that Schiller had chosen such a remote boarding school, he felt a little confused. However, after so many years of getting along with him, he also understood Schiller's temper. Seeing that the professor was in a bad mood, he did not ask any more questions.
When we arrived at the school, the female headmaster was indeed very happy. Their school was too remote, the financial situation was average, there were not many opportunities to go out and play games, and it was difficult for the players to find a good career path. Gotham University was already the best choice.
Schiller observed the female principal closely and found that she was just as he thought. She was not a serial killer who would harm students. Instead, she was conscientious and did a good job in school management.
And in the school, Schiller finally found reliable records of the appointment and dismissal of the principal. The previous principal was a middle-aged man, and the previous principal was an older man. It is difficult to trace back further.
According to the headmistress, she took office relatively late, and came to teach at this school after Edward had already been admitted to Arkham Asylum. In other words, Edward's accident happened during the term of the previous headmistress.
The previous principal was not transferred because of a mistake at work, but was transferred to a better school in the west district because he did a good job.
Schiller had to drive to the school in the west district to meet with the previous principal. He thought the principal was a strong suspect, but after meeting him, he found that he was unlikely to be a serial killer.
The principal is younger than the female principal. He is in his prime, ambitious and capable. The school is thriving under his management, and the rugby team has achieved great success. If nothing unexpected happens, he may be able to work at a university or directly join the Ministry of Education within two years.
Schiller then investigated the old man and found out that he had died two years ago. Judging from the time of his appointment and transfer, he should not have met Edward.
Schiller not only checked the paper records, but also interviewed witnesses. Everyone's testimony matched and the timeline was very clear. The only suspect, the male principal, was as far away from the serial killer as the distance between Earth and Mars, and the investigation was temporarily deadlocked.
In the end, we have to start with Edward.
Schiller talked to Edward again, but the conversation ended before it even started because Brand stopped it directly because too frequent conversations and letting Edward recall the past were not good for his condition.
"I don't want anyone to interrupt any of my conversations, Brand, I hope you understand that." After closing the door, Schiller turned to Brand and his tone was obviously not very friendly.
"Don't you realize you're a little out of control?" Brand also looked unhappy. He said, "Even if you're not a professional doctor anymore, you can't force a patient like this. You're just a psychology professor, not a police officer with a search warrant. I'm letting you talk to the patient because of our friendship. If you push your luck any further, I'll call the police!"
Schiller was speechless. He was not even a private detective, just a university professor. However, no one cared and everyone was giving him easy access. It would be a bit too much if he continued to push his luck.
Seeing Schiller's ugly face, Brand slowed down his tone and said, "You are a little anxious again. Vent your emotions on some insignificant things to avoid losing control. If you want to track down the serial killer, I will support you with both hands and feet, but don't involve Edward, okay?"
Schiller sat in his chair without saying anything, so Brand walked over to sit opposite him, leaned forward, put his hand on the armrest of Schiller's chair and said, "Go back and have a drink and a good sleep, how about that?"
Speaking of wine, Schiller thought of the bottle of red wine again, so this sentence not only failed to comfort him, but instead instantly made him feel alarmed.
"Then why don't we keep it a secret?" Schiller said, "You should not always study those 'maybes' as a professional doctor, or pretend to be a doctor. I can hardly imagine how a monster with so many ugly tentacles can confidently say that he understands human pathology. Whether from a scientific or aesthetic point of view, you are making nonsense."
Brand was stunned.
"You're going to say you're not? But everything about you is full of loopholes. How did you get in touch with my old self? And why did you come to Gotham almost at the same time as me? Have you never noticed my changes? What does that bottle of wine mean?"
"And you are a magician, but even Constantine can't tell you who your master is. It seems that you have never paid a price for your magic. You also know a lot about the magic world, and even know about the past of Zatanna's father."
"Isn't this something a pathologist can do? Are those extra bumps and dents on your brain just for decoration?"
Brand looked at him.
"You doubt me?"
"Please don't say anything disgusting like 'the time we spent together is not fake'. If I have to choose one person from you monsters to accompany me, I would prefer a giant octopus. At least it can warm my stomach. As for you, I don't drink the red wine you sent me. It has nothing to do with anything else. It's just that your taste is too bad and you are very stingy. Can't you afford Chateau Lafite? You can't surpass Batman in terms of money?"
"Besides, if you were targeting me, why did you go looking for my other personality trait? Do you think he would have more common topics with you? Is this your level of psychology? Then I can only say that you have a chance to surpass Bruce's papers in the trash can of my mailbox. After all, you have countless more tentacles than him."
"Brand, since you have been hiding for so long, why do you suddenly reveal yourself now? It can't be that our omniscient, omnipotent, great and supreme Lord is also like the Laughing Bat, coveting the fat piece of meat in the fighting world, right?"
As soon as the name "Laughing Bat" came out, something finally couldn't be held back, and the whole office began to ripple abnormally, as if everything in the world was made of water.
It was as if Schiller was not in his office but in a fish tank, as if he had become a helpless fish and the water was angry.
Schiller did not move, just stared at Brand coldly, watching the whites of his eyes replaced by black and a thin golden light appear in the middle of his pupils, so bright that it seemed to encompass everything.
"I never thought we would meet again under these circumstances, Schiller."
"There were a lot of things you didn't expect. You bumped into the Laughing Bat and had a passionate kiss with him. You didn't expect that, did you?"
The rippling state suddenly disappeared. Schiller snorted disdainfully and said, "Why don't you continue? Did you find that you can't drag me into the illusion? If you want to do this, go and fight the guy with the Book of Destiny, or go find Lucifer. I look forward to seeing you in his pot. You and your favorite red wine will meet again in my stomach."
Brand stared at Schiller without saying anything.
"I don't understand why you're pestering me." Schiller said to himself, "When you and I went together to deal with Barbatos, I thought you were only interested in Gray Mist. After all, he is one of you. But if you were targeting me when I first arrived here, then it would be much earlier than Gray Mist. Why is that?"
Brand remained silent.
"If you don't want to talk about it, forget it." Schiller stood up and said, "I was too hasty about Edward's matter, but I'm sure I didn't cause any bad influence on him. If I did, I will take responsibility. I'm leaving now."
"No, Schiller," said Brand.
Schiller saw that the road in front of him turned a corner. This was not an illusion, but the real ability to modify the world. He would not be able to get out of the room if he followed this road.
"What on earth are you going to do, Nyarlathotep?" Schiller turned to look at Brand and said, "My patience is running out. You'd better..."
"You owe me money."
"...?"
Brand stood up. His movements were actually no different from usual. His use of language was also very precise. He was not the kind of inhuman person who was playing dumb. This proved that he was not possessed.
"You borrowed my power and didn't return it."
Schiller was stunned.
Suddenly he remembered that this seemed to be the case.
His original body borrowed money all over the world, and then cancelled his account to avoid debts... Wait a minute, Nyarlathotep is also a cross-universe god, just like God and Lucifer. In other words, it is useless to cancel your account in one universe, because others can check your IP address.
"Hiss..." Schiller took a breath of cold air.
What is more terrifying than having your door blocked by a creditor? It is scolding the creditor after being blocked by the creditor.
Schiller took a deep breath, walked back to his chair and sat down.
"But then again..." Schiller said with his back to Brand, "The red wine from Chateau Margaux is really good. Would you like a glass?"
Two red wine glasses appeared out of thin air on the table, and the red wine with a familiar logo floated up by itself and fell into the glasses.
Schiller pinched the bottom of one of the red wine glasses and waited until Brand sat down again before picking up the glass.
It’s like you suddenly realize that a villain who keeps pestering you is actually your creditor. You borrowed his power, but have been in arrears for a long time, refused to return it, had a bad attitude, and tried every means to escape the debt.
He also invited you to stay in a luxury hotel and gave you thousands of dollars worth of red wine. You didn't drink it, so he sent his own avatar to give you another drink.
But you just threw a bunch of shit at him and scolded him.
Schiller never felt guilty, but when he toasted, he moved the mouth of the glass down a little, and the glass made a crisp sound when it collided.
Looking at the figure opposite him, Schiller raised his head and took a sip of red wine - it was indeed not bad.
"Here's to the time we spent together."
Retribution