Chapter 1172 Teachers and Students (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Bruce took his first bite of the lettuce, but he was just mechanically chewing and speaking in the same mechanical tone:

"The next trap will be even more obvious. You have artificially created a weakness for me, which is Harley as a child. You know, I have sympathy for children, whether she is a good child or not."

"When Harley said she had something to discuss with you, I should have suspected it. It's very likely that you told Mrs. Miller something, like coming to your place to pick up the medical records at the appointed time, so Harley would come here at that time. This is not a coincidence, but another trap."

"Then, there was your conversation with Valentin." As Bruce said this, Schiller tapped the plate with the knife tip, and Bruce fell silent. Schiller then spoke:

"What you didn't notice is that he deliberately acted polite and patient. Do you think this was to lower your guard? No, he was using another way to express his difference from me, increasing your sense of unfamiliarity and bringing you psychological pressure."

"People have two sides - the professional and the personal. When people bring their professional side into their personal life, it puts pressure on family and friends. But if people bring some of their personal habits into their work, it can also make others feel unfamiliar and confused."

"In the second class of the third year, when we had the debate on 'the stimulation of novelty and the pressure of unfamiliarity', what were you doing?"

Schiller stared into Bruce's eyes and said, "You got all the simple questions wrong and ignored all the difficult points."

"You got all the multiple-choice questions wrong and didn't write a single word on the essay questions. Bruce, tell me, what do I need to do to pull you out of this academic abyss?"

Bruce speared a bean and put it in his mouth. Schiller took a few deep breaths to calm down, tapped the plate, and said, "Continue."

"Next, your analysis of Valentin was very brilliant... but unfortunately, I listened to it again."

Bruce sniffed, seeming to have no energy left for further description. He continued, "The most terrible part is your analysis of yourself."

"But I insist, this part is not my fault." Bruce gritted his teeth and said, "Your logic is too self-consistent."

"Is it too self-consistent, or are you too interested?" Schiller leaned forward, staring at Bruce. "Bruce, tell me, how many times have I emphasized not to have any interest in the inner world of any mentally ill person!"

Schiller almost said this word by word, and Bruce could only stare at him in silence.

Because in his four years of teaching students, Schiller had almost turned this sentence into a catchphrase. Even the most unscholarly students in the class must have remembered this sentence.

But Bruce knew that he had still developed an interest.

"You can't just eat the poison because it's tempting. What's the difference between you and a stupid rat that gets poisoned to death?" Schiller asked in a raised voice.

"I'm a bat, not a rat," Bruce replied in a low voice.

Schiller suddenly laughed. He looked at Bruce and said, "So you still remember that you're Batman? In the final stage, why did you go after those serial killers instead of directly confronting me?"

"I can't..." Bruce started to say, but hesitated, looking into Schiller's eyes. "I can't go after the serial killers together with you, can I? Wouldn't that be standing on the side of the criminals?"

"But if you go after the serial killers with me, aren't you still standing on the side of the criminals?!"

Bruce fell silent.

"One more thing." Schiller narrowed his eyes and looked at Bruce. "In the second half of the first year, do you remember even a single sentence about the causes of Stockholm syndrome?"

Bruce closed his eyes and lowered his head. "People who are imprisoned in a closed environment will constantly abandon their own principles, lower their standards, and even develop attachment to their captor due to the perpetrator."

"Do you feel that as long as it's not a violent kidnapping, without physical assault and injury, it's not considered imprisonment? Do you still think that you staying in that space was your own choice, so it's your fault? What is this? Answer me, Bruce?"

"Emotional control and abuse." Bruce covered his eyes. "It's common in groups, creating an environment with no other choices, then making the victim actively make the choices the perpetrator expects. After causing serious consequences, the victim is made to believe it was their own wrong choice."

Schiller put down his utensils and gestured with his hand. "The key point of Stockholm syndrome is that the perpetrator's control over the victim's survival materials gives them a higher position than the victim."

"Contrary to public perception, the perpetrators are not extremely cruel, nor do they use violent abuse on the victims. They often have great personal charm and are extremely patient and gentle, even expressing their own inevitability and vulnerability to the victim."

"From a high position but with a lowered attitude, they can gain the victim's sympathy, which then evolves into the victim feeling the perpetrator actually loves them."

"Patients with Stockholm syndrome are not the masochists the public perceives them to be. They only believe, in that environment, that the perpetrator is doing this out of love, that it's inevitable, and that it's against their will."

"They want to reciprocate the love they imagine, so they develop attachment to the perpetrator."

"So, Roman's shot..." Bruce looked at Schiller, and Schiller continued, "Was to show you that I, as a serial killer, am also a victim, have a vulnerable side, and was forced to do this, against my will."

"Batman, sacrificing yourself like a criminal, don't you think this is too crazy?" Schiller stared into Batman's eyes. "Do you still remember who you are?!"

Bruce lowered his head, not wanting Schiller to see his eyes, and more importantly, not wanting Schiller to see the hint of panic.

He hadn't realized that after all this time of learning, he had step by step fallen into the trap, completely powerless to resist.

Even at the end, after this series of traps had weakened him to the point of utter vulnerability, he was still self-indulgent about the fact that he would recklessly choose Schiller.

Bruce closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. He didn't understand what kind of discipline psychology was, to have turned him into this.

Schiller lowered his head, speared a piece of vegetable and put it in his mouth, chewing. He looked at Bruce with some helplessness and said, "You ruined my graduation exam."

"Bruce, Bruce." Schiller looked at Bruce, calling him repeatedly until Bruce looked up at him, and then Schiller spoke: "In my teaching career, I have never given any student so many questions."

"I fabricated many Serial Killers in your dream to train your ability to deal with them. I specifically emphasized that I don't eat internal organs while eating, I let the Pathological One come out once to let you know he doesn't like to use special abilities, and let you know he can't beat you..."

"Are you hoping that I'll bring all your psychology textbooks, highlight the key points one by one, and tell you that one day you may encounter a special me to give you a special exam to verify the results of my teaching?"

"I'm sorry," Bruce said to Schiller.

Schiller placed his utensils on the table and stared straight at Bruce, saying, "Have you ever thought that I'm afraid to show up because of your concern?"

Bruce looked into Schiller's eyes. Although those gray eyes were no longer as desolate, the feeling of tightness in his chest came from the disappointment in Schiller's eye contact.

"When you expressed concern for me, I had also wondered if it was real, but now I understand that it's just verbal, no different from the kindness you pretended to have as Bruce."

"What I taught you, what I advised you, the words I said, the things I did - you haven't remembered even a tiny bit. Even if we were just casual acquaintances, you should at least have remembered some of the theoretical knowledge I repeatedly emphasized... but you didn't."

Schiller shook his head lightly. He leaned back in his chair, putting down his knife and fork. Bruce noticed that the food on Schiller's plate was also barely touched. They had breakfast together, but neither of them actually ate breakfast.

"The Pathological One told the truth. He is a fixed existence relative to the norm, and he rebuilt the norm and rebuilt us. The Schiller you saw is the original me from my childhood and adolescence, without any treatment."

"In the fantasy of the norm, the Pathological One played the role of the father figure I never had. He shaped us, and we also shaped him. He is the product of my inner fantasy of paternal love, and therefore he can test us."

"Perhaps it is precisely because there are too many qualities of the father I understand in him - patient, gentle but authoritative, full of curiosity but also fear, reminding you of your own father - that you couldn't bring yourself to harm him, and blamed yourself instead."

"This is exactly what he wants. He is a true master of mind control, able to tame his prey into a meek lamb that constantly reflects, constantly apologizes, and constantly harms itself."

Schiller stared into Bruce's eyes and said, "So I say, I don't know what you're smiling about. The reason I didn't hurt your body is because you expressed your loyalty to me."

"After a series of psychological abuse towards you, you ignored the harm, ignored your hatred for Criminals, and even ignored the fact that I almost killed you, and still chose to reconcile with me. Do you really think this is normal?"

Facing Schiller's gaze, Bruce painfully closed his eyes, and Schiller continued:

"Don't treat your concern as a weapon."

"Because if you truly understood me, the things you learned would have provided you a way out from the fear, self-blame, and pain you're experiencing now."

"Any teacher in this world hopes that their students' understanding of them is not just expressing care when things are going well, but using what they've learned as a weapon to fight their troubles, to fight themselves."

"Even if you can't do those two things, the perspectives you've gained from the knowledge should at least teach you to accept failure, understand where your pain comes from, and reconcile with the self that was shaped by these things, so that you won't spend the rest of your life desperately seeking answers in vain."

As Schiller spoke, Bruce's gaze became fixed on his eyes. These sincere, detailed, and heartfelt teachings fully made Bruce understand what guilt is - a sharp knife.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1173 Teacher-Student Relationship (Part 2)