Chapter 254 I, the Clown (Part 3) (Patreon)

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"Dr. Rodriguez, please, your friend has called the office over 60 times this week, and he's driving the receptionist crazy..."

"Mrs. Miller, please, my friend has come for treatment 10 times this week, and he's driving me crazy too," Schiller said, holding his forehead and speaking to Mrs. Miller.

Mrs. Miller sighed and said, "Can't you just refuse him?"

"I want to refuse, but he's a mental patient."

"So what?" Mrs. Miller stared at Schiller, and he was taken aback by her attitude. Then he said, "...Isn't this a mental hospital?"

Mrs. Miller was also taken aback and lowered her head, saying, "Oh, right, this is a mental hospital. Can't he be admitted?"

"Oh my, he's already frustrated with the commute back and forth. If he were to be admitted..."

"He was admitted before, right? I remember seeing him in the inpatient department."

"This time it's different. He was just a madman before, but now he's a drunk madman."

Schiller sighed again. He made a gesture to Mrs. Miller to wait a moment, then walked to the table, picked up the phone, and asked Brand, "Didn't you say last week that a new attending doctor was coming? Where is he?"

"What? He only submitted his resume... and it didn't pass? Why didn't it pass?... Alright, I'll call him and ask."

Schiller hung up the phone, then continued to dial and picked up the receiver. He said to the other end of the line, "Hello? Bruce, did someone apply for the position of attending physician at Arkham Mental Hospital last week? Did the resume come to you?"

Bruce on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment and then said, "The Wayne Family does have shares in Arkham Mental Hospital. After receiving the job application, I rejected it directly..."

"Why did you reject it?"

Bruce fell silent again, a little puzzled by Schiller's attitude. There was only one position for the attending physician, so someone applying for the job meant they were trying to snatch it from him, right?

"...Alright, Bruce, I know you mean well, but there's really no need for it. I was originally a university professor, and I'm only serving as the attending physician here because Brand is too busy. I would welcome a new doctor to come..."

"Really?" Bruce was skeptical, as Schiller had seemed to enjoy it before.

Schiller confidently held the receiver and said, "If you think I have any passion for this job, then you're mistaken. At least for now, I just want to leave this place..."

"Alright, then I..."

Before Bruce could finish his sentence, Schiller hung up the phone because he heard a series of maniacal laughter.

Seeing Jack clumsily flipping over the balcony and entering, Schiller pushed Mrs. Miller out, closed the door, drew the curtains around, and finally walked to the balcony. When Jack saw him approaching, he waved and said, "Good morning, my friend!"

At this moment, with one leg inside and the other leg still on the balcony, Schiller held his arms and said, "Do you know what I want to do?"

"What? Punch me? Hey, wait, you can't do that. Haven't we been having a great time lately? My friend! Where did we leave off yesterday... Oh, Baroque art style. You shouldn't be busy this afternoon, right? The noodles in my stomach are coming up, what did you have for lunch today? The patterns in naturalistic decor remind me of bats... Bats! Bats?..."

Schiller took a

deep breath and silently repeated in his mind, "I am a doctor, I am a doctor, a doctor must not resort to violence against patients..."

To understand how this situation came about, we need to go back to that night when Schiller and the Joker got drunk and high.

Whether it's Schiller or the Joker, alcohol doesn't have much effect on their brains. No matter how strong the alcohol is or how much they drink, it doesn't cause any major issues. However, that's just regular alcohol.

Schiller had noticed a problem before. The fear gas concentrate he had and the highly pure brain-active medicine extracted from fear toxin, the lizard serum treatment syringe, and the purified version of the eternal life factor were all in liquid form. This gave him a very bold idea, and with the help of Connor, he turned it into reality.

He had Connor mix these liquids together.

Schiller called it the "Crazy Liquor."

It combined all the effects of these medicines and incorporated their strengths and weaknesses. It transformed the fear brought by the fear gas concentrate into excitement and madness. This excitement and madness had reached a point where it could physically alter the brain, but at the same time, the lizard serum allowed the brain to continuously repair itself.

For ordinary people, taking this medicine is the most terrifying torture in the world because even though they don't suffer any physical harm, their brain, which controls all their senses, simulates everything. However, for some people, it is a delicious and highly potent liquor.

Schiller had always wanted to drink it, but he was afraid of getting drunk. So he had to find a drinking buddy, which was Jack. That night, the two of them finished a whole bottle.

As it turned out, Schiller had a better tolerance for alcohol, or rather, the mist had a better tolerance since it had been a heavy drinker for a long time.

Although Schiller got high when he drank, he was fine after sleeping for a night. Jack also got high when he drank, but one night of sleep couldn't fix him. After all, he didn't have a symbiote to share the madness and excitement, so now he was a bit too excited.

Normally, an excited and crazy Joker would go after Batman, but unfortunately, Batman was busy investing in Catwoman's movie and they both went on a trip, not in Gotham.

So Schiller ended up reaping what he sowed.

Jack wasn't interested in anyone other than Batman, but there were different levels of disinterest. Obviously, he felt that he and Schiller had a lot in common, so he would drag him into lengthy discussions every day. He had appointments more than 10 times a week, not only seeing him every day but also in the morning and afternoon. He was always around.

Schiller had to admit that Jack was a good drinking buddy and even a good conversationalist. Although he didn't know where Jack got his vast knowledge and profound insights, if they only talked about those things, Schiller was somewhat interested too. After all, it was a way to pass the time during work.

The only problem was that Jack could relate every topic back to Batman.

He was like someone with an incredibly broad knowledge base, unparalleled depth of knowledge, and an overwhelming interest in... sex.

Schiller had zero interest in Batman, so he was really getting annoyed by the Joker.

But Jack neither liked nor disliked anyone other than Batman. Simply put, he ignored them. So even though he kept coming in and out of the mental hospital, he didn't cause much damage to the environment, and Schiller didn't have a valid reason to kick him out.

Since he couldn't kick him out, he decided to exile himself.

Schiller took the resume from Brand and said, "How about your future colleague? Will they apply to work at Gotham's mental hospital? Their work experience must be impressive."

"Regardless of how astonishing it is, can it be as astonishing as you?" Brand retorted, then hesitated as he stroked his chin and said, "His resume is not bad, but..."

"What's wrong?"

"I heard some unfavorable rumors about him from my previous colleagues..."

"Unfavorable rumors? What are they?"

"The reason he came to Gotham is because of his previous involvement in unauthorized human experiments at the school where he used to teach," Brand hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to tell Schiller, but continued, "He seems to have been conducting unethical experiments."

"Human experiments? Interesting..."

Schiller looked down at the resume in his hand and, unsurprisingly, saw the name written on it - "Hugo Strange."

Hugo Strange's resume was indeed decent, but not as astonishing as Schiller's. His education and work experience were average at best, not even comparable to the Strange from another world, and certainly not considered world-class.

Of course, it could be because the current timeline was too early, and Hugo hadn't had a chance to shine in his area of expertise.

While Schiller was looking at Hugo's resume, Hugo was also looking at Schiller's.

On the train to Gotham, he read the Gotham Daily and came across an old case that happened in Metropolis. Hugo didn't recognize most of the characters involved, but one figure seemed somewhat familiar - Schiller Rodriguez.

It was impossible for Hugo to have never heard of Schiller's name because there were only a few top psychologists in the world, and as a professional, Hugo knew about him.

His decision to come to Gotham was partly because he had attracted an enemy after his unauthorized experiments were discovered, so he came to Gotham to avoid trouble. On the other hand, he also wanted to meet Schiller.

Throughout history, it was not uncommon for professionals in the same field to repel each other and look down on each other, especially since Hugo considered himself a genius in psychology and psychiatry, with his own unique theories in these two disciplines. However, due to limited opportunities in the past, he had not been able to perfect his theories, and just as he was about to do so, his experiments were discovered.

The city and university he was previously affiliated with could not tolerate his actions, but he knew there might be a place that could - Gotham.

There was an experimental environment suitable for him here, and there were people who interested him. So Hugo naturally submitted his job application.

Originally, he thought his chances were slim, as it would be unlikely for him to displace Schiller from his position with his current resume. However, to his surprise, shortly after submitting his resume, Arkham Mental Hospital called him and warmly invited him to join.

And so, in the office of Dr. Schiller at Arkham Mental Hospital, Hugo received a warm welcome from Schiller.

Schiller shook Hugo's hand firmly and said, "Thank goodness you're finally here."

"Uh..." Hugo was taken aback, not understanding Schiller's meaning. After all, they didn't know each other, and given their positions, Schiller had no reason to be so enthusiastic towards him.

During their conversation, Schiller was frank about it, saying, "There are too many difficult patients here. Throughout my career, I never thought there would be patients I couldn't cure, but that's the reality..."

"Mr. Strange, I understand that you may be frustrated with your mediocre resume, but it's okay. There are quite a few rare cases here, and some of them are ones even I have no idea how to handle."

Since Schiller behaved too much like an unscrupulous mediocre doctor trying to pass the buck, it made Hugo's impression of him decline. He said indifferently, "Yes, Dr. Rodriguez, actually I have always been troubled by the lack of good experimental subjects. I am very interested in challenging cases. If that's the case, then it couldn't be better..."

Schiller sensed the arrogance in Hugo's tone, and he could also tell that Hugo seemed to consider him as one of those self-promoting scholars who didn't live up to their reputation. However, he still smiled and shook Hugo's hand, saying, "Then you must be the most suitable doctor for this position... Well, that's it for now. I'll take my leave."

Watching Schiller quickly leave with his belongings, Hugo looked at his back with some confusion.

What exactly could make this world-renowned master of psychology run faster than being chased by a dog?

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 255: Hugo's Adventures in Wonderland (Part 1)