"Uh, hello? Is this Arkham Psychiatric Hospital? Yes, Brand, it's me, Victor. We met at the dinner party."
"Have you seen Schiller recently?...Oh, really? That's right. I'm a little worried about his recent mental state. Do you want to ask him over?"
"Performance? It's hard for me to say..."
In the office of Gotham University, Victor put one hand on his waist and the other hand on the phone, and said to the other side: "Do you know how scary it is? He can even finish his meal in 15 minutes, and he actually started eating Broccoli!”
"Remember that dinner we had at the Wayne Hotel? He specifically found the kitchen and shot the broccoli! Before that, he kept telling me that he didn't know how to use a gun..."
Victor changed the phone on his hand. The hand holding the phone gradually became younger, and the phone also changed from blue to black. Bruce took the phone and said to the other end:
"Yes, Dr. Brand, the situation is quite serious. He didn't go out until 9:30 even though he knew that class would start at 10 o'clock."
"Moreover, he didn't steal any other teacher's class because he missed a class. He didn't mention it all day long, didn't leave more homework, and didn't say he would have a test tomorrow... "
"He didn't even bother to go to the mayor after being late because of Gotham's traffic jam. I think you have to get him treated quickly, otherwise I can't imagine what else he might do..."
"Dr. Brand, I found your number in the yellow pages. I hope you don't mind interrupting me. I am Mr. Rodriguez's housekeeper, Merkel."
Merkel stood next to the phone desk and said in a low voice: "Can you please come over tomorrow?...Oh, really? Do you really not provide home medical services?"
"Yes, I understand that the pressure of mental illness diagnosis and treatment in an entire city is placed on one hospital. Of course you will be very busy..."
"Yes, I hope you'd better ask Mr. Schiller to come over. Although it's a bit offensive for a housekeeper to say such a thing, his state is indeed a bit..."
"Yes, more than that, he didn't even frown once all day today. I think this is really a bit dangerous."
"Okay, I look forward to seeing your invitation in the mailbox tomorrow. Thank you very much, Mr. Brand."
The next morning, Schiller still got up early. He stretched himself by the window and yawned. After washing in the lavage room, he walked downstairs.
But this time, Merkel got up earlier than him. When he saw Schiller coming down, he stretched out his hand and said hello: "Good morning, sir, breakfast is ready."
Schiller nodded, and then walked towards the dining table. When he sat down and started eating, he found that Merkel had been standing by the door, looking at the scene outside the window.
"What are you standing there for? Don't you want to eat?"
"Thank you, sir, but I've already eaten."
After Merkel finished speaking, she turned to look out the window. Schiller didn't understand what was wrong with him, but he shook his head and did not continue to ask. Instead, he lowered his head and started eating.
After a while, the bicycle bell rang softly. Merkel opened the door directly and strode out. The newsboy waved to him, and Merkel handed him the prepared bread.
The newsboy first took out a newspaper from his arms. After Merkel took it, the newsboy took out another letter. He said: "This is an urgent letter, but the delivery fee has been paid by the other party."
"You know what? You are more dedicated than a professional postman. I thought I wouldn't be able to arrive this morning." Merkel praised.
The newsboy sneered and said disdainfully: "Postman? The postman can't survive more than two days in Gotham!"
"I know all the small roads from the South District to the West District. It doesn't even take an hour to get there. It's faster than those gentlemen who drive."
Merkel gave him a thumbs up, then took out a few coins and handed them to Bao Tong and said, "Thank you."
"Oh, wait, I can't accept this." The newsboy suddenly handed the money back. Merkel looked at him in surprise. The newsboy shrugged and said:
"It's different now than it was before."
"You know that Cobot from the North District, right? The Falcone family asked him to take over the management of the children in Gotham, and he made a very powerful set of rules."
"I can't tell you the specifics, but we don't allow illegal tips to be collected now. If someone reports it, I will lose my job."
"I don't want to lose such a lucrative job. I managed to take over all the work here in the West End. Ever since Cobot got rid of those annoying parents, all the money I earned is mine." It’s my own, it would be bad if they don’t take me to do it.”
Seeing Merkel stop and not pick it up, the newsboy threw the coins back. When Merkel caught the coins, she only saw his retreating back. He shook his head and then returned. In the manor.
When the letter was delivered to Schiller, Schiller had just finished eating. He looked up at Merkel, who smiled at him.
Schiller picked up the envelope, opened it and found that it was a letter from Brand. He thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I have class this afternoon, shall I go there tonight?"
"Okay, I'll call Mr. Brand back later."
"Wait, then why didn't he just call and invite me over?"
"Because this is a formal invitation, and formal invitations require writing invitations. If it is a private gathering, you can make a phone call directly."
"Then I'll call him later."
Merkel rubbed her palms in embarrassment and said: "Sir, it's best for me to go, because the person answering the phone on the other side may not be Mr. Brand."
"Then can't I just ask that person to find Brand?"
"Then I can call him first, and then I can ask you to answer the phone after I find Mr. Brand on the opposite side..."
Schiller covered his forehead helplessly and stopped arguing. By the time he arrived at school after dinner, it was already afternoon.
In class, Schiller first explained the reason why he was late. He originally thought that some students would complain, but what he didn't expect was that everyone expressed their understanding. .
Before class, just like many university teachers do, Schiller planned to talk to the students about daily topics, relax the atmosphere, and get closer. As a result, everyone sat there tremblingly, and no one said anything to him. .
When he started lecturing, and when it came to the interactive session, when he started to let the groups below discuss, the students below all looked at him blankly.
Schiller was stunned for a moment, and then thought, this is 1988, it should not be the modern classroom model, and he remembered that DC Schiller’s teaching model was completely scripted, and students were forced to memorize by rote until they were familiar with it. until.
Schiller lowered his head and flipped through his teaching materials, and then he realized that he was not teaching at Harvard or another Ivy League school. The quality of the students here was far from being able to learn flexibly, and rote memorization was more suitable for them.
After class, Schiller was in a bad mood. On the one hand, the classroom feedback was not good enough. Schiller was not used to this unilateral knowledge output model. On the other hand, he felt that the people in Gotham were a bit weird. of.
I don't know why, but my acquaintances have a special attitude towards me, that is, fear with a hint of worry, worry with a hint of worry, and worry with a hint of sympathy.
Schiller thought this while packing his things. After leaving Gotham University, he drove to Arkham Psychiatric Hospital.
In fact, he had no idea what Brand was doing by suddenly calling him over, but he felt that chatting with a colleague should help relieve his emotional pressure.
When he arrived at Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, Brand was already waiting for him at the door. The two of them shook hands and hugged again. Brand said, "I haven't seen you for a while. How are you doing?"
"It's okay." Schiller gave an ambiguous answer. Then, he was thinking about something and suddenly asked: "By the way, how is Hugo Strange?"
"Oh, him, last time I found him fainted in the consulting room, so I carried him to the ward. After he woke up, he became a little crazy, and kept talking about monsters, impossibilities, etc. , and also attacked the caregiver.”
"Then how did you deal with it?"
"How else can we deal with it? He obviously has a mental problem, and he may have been ill for a long time. He is receiving treatment. We have given him medicine and some soothing therapy, but the effect is not obvious."
The two of them walked inside while talking. When they arrived at Brand's consulting room, Brand changed the topic and said, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about you. How are you lately? I think you don't look well. .”
Schiller touched his face and said, "Really? Maybe it's because I haven't slept well recently."
"It's like this. Victor called me and said, you seem to be under some stress recently. Do you want to do a mental self-examination?"
Schiller hesitated, but said, "Okay."
Brand took out a document from the drawer. Schiller picked up a pen and started to work on the questions. After finishing, he handed it to Brand. Brand frowned more and more as he looked at it. He shook his head and said: " What happened to you recently?"
"Is everything okay? If I must say, something did happen when I went to the Metropolis. By the way, I haven't told you about my experience of going to the Metropolis yet. It was quite exciting..."
"When I first got there, there was a murder, and then agents cordoned off the entire estate, and then..."
"Wait, agent??" Brand suddenly frowned.
He stood up and strode to the door. After opening the door, he looked around in the corridor. Then he came to the window and closed all the curtains. Finally, he sat back at the table. , looked at Schiller quite worriedly and said:
"Did those people find you again??"
Before Schiller could answer, Brand sighed deeply and said, "I told you at the beginning that it was dangerous for you to choose this path. Is that okay now?"
"Furthermore, even though you were hiding in Gotham, you actually ran out and threw yourself into a trap. Did those agents discover your identity? You shouldn't be able to let them see any flaws, right?"
Schiller slowly widened his eyes. Brand looked at his expression and said with some hatred:
"When you were in school, look at Marx. I don't want to stop you. Everyone has the freedom to pursue their own beliefs."
"After graduation, you said you were going to Berlin, and I didn't say anything. Everyone has the freedom to choose their own path."
"After work, you stayed in Moscow for a while. I don't want to say anything. Although we have different beliefs, friends should tolerate each other."
"But what I can't understand the most is that you have already joined the KGB and you actually regretted it!"
"Why did you accept the mission if you didn't want to complete it???"
Brand seemed to have been holding back these words for a long time, and there was anger in his tone:
"At first, you were suspected by the KGB because you were cut off from Moscow, so you came to Gotham to take refuge. But now, you voluntarily left Gotham and went to Metropolis to get involved in another mess?!"
"Schiller, I really don't know what you are thinking. Are you really afraid that you will not die after repeatedly jumping between so many forces?"
Schiller, who was sitting on the chair, swallowed his saliva. At this time, he and DC Schiller in the hall of thinking asked at the same time in confusion:
"He...am I sick?"
