Chapter 578: Completely Stitched (Part 2) (Patreon)

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"Belenna and I have been close friends since our childhood, and we both made it into Gotham University together."

"She was born into wealth, residing in the affluent South District, while I... I was a native of East District, the common side of town. Fortunately, my parents loved me enough to pay for my education. On the side, I worked as a flower girl, selling flowers to the well-to-do ladies to earn some pocket money and support my family."

"I met Belenna while I was selling flowers in the South District. She was different from other wealthy girls. She never looked down on me or asked me to leave. It seemed she was more mature than the rest, understanding the hardships of the poor. Every time I saw her, she would buy all my flowers."

"We became the best of friends. She constantly encouraged me to focus on my studies and get into university. Although I wasn't as academically gifted as her, I still managed to enter Gotham University. Recently, I've been earning a good amount and have been sending money back home. We've even moved out of the East District."

"Belenna has always been a huge help. She often secretly gifted me with brand-new items, and then excused it by saying she didn't like them. I was always aware of her little gestures..."

"I always thought that I admired her without envy. But a few days ago, for reasons I can't fathom, I... I began to envy her—from the beautiful dress she wore to the gemstone ring on her finger."

"When I heard that her fiancé, a man named Thomas, had been imprisoned for murder, I couldn't help but feel a perverse joy, thinking her perfect life would crumble. To my own surprise, I found this misfortune of hers immensely satisfying..."

"These dark emotions consumed me. Every deep night, I would cry bitterly, wondering how I had become this twisted, especially when I had been so different before..."

"The situation deteriorated further a few days ago. I began harboring thoughts of killing Belenna. I couldn't wait any longer. I bought a knife, prepared a rope, even had a place in mind..."

"But then I realized that something was terribly wrong. I knew deep down that I wasn't that kind of person." Even though Angel looked worn out, her eyes sparkled with determination. The scholarly aura around her began to emerge, revealing why she could be such an efficient assistant to a physics professor.

"I started to think rationally. When Belenna and I first met, our backgrounds were even more diverse, and I was younger and more impressionable. If I were to be envious, it should've been then."

"After entering university, my mentor treated me well, provided for me, and even got me involved in some lucrative industries. My financial situation began to improve considerably, and I had a decent amount of money at my disposal."

"I could afford dresses and gemstone rings just like Belenna, but I genuinely didn't care for them."

"With accumulating knowledge, I learned to think rationally and analytically. I wasn't going to be like those women from affluent areas who'd get envious over new dresses or jewelry. To me, a new research discovery was far more valuable."

"When I realized something was wrong, I tried to resist these feelings, but they were overpoweringly strong. I tried my best to resist..." Angel's grip tightened on the bedsheet, tears streaming down her face, her expression one of sheer despair.

"Maybe, maybe I've gone mad... An incurable madness..."

"So, you hurt yourself hoping they'd send you to a mental hospital?" Gordon inquired.

Angel shook her head, replying, "No, that day, I was already armed with the knife and other items, ready to kill Belenna. I couldn't control myself any longer..."

"But then, my mentor asked for a teaching aid he urgently needed from the storeroom. As I battled the overwhelming impulse, the thoughts still swirled in my mind."

"I headed to the storeroom, thinking that after fetching the item, I'd go through with the act..."

"But in the storeroom, surrounded by the tools that had imparted knowledge to me, a fragment of my sanity returned. I realized that I shouldn't ruin either Belenna's life or my own. There's no predestined fate in this world..."

Gritting her teeth, Angel continued, "So, I started to battle it, this formidable beast. I had to defeat it to protect both of us..."

"I saw it, I truly saw it! It was a demonic creature, a bloodthirsty maniac... a terrifying monster, all black..."

Schiller sharply tapped the bed rail, the crisp sound breaking Angel's hallucination. She lay there, panting heavily, her neck veined and sweaty, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Come back to reality; they're just figments of your imagination," Schiller persisted, tapping the rail.

"We struggled for what felt like ages. I punched it, it punched me back. It tried to strangle me from behind, to silence me. I broke free, slashing its body with the knife, but it healed almost instantly..."

"In the end, I realized that I might not be able to defeat it." Angel continued in a hushed, desperate tone, "It entered my body, wanting to control me, to make me kill Belenna. There was only one way left to stop it..."

"If it wanted to coexist within me, I would end my life, killing it in the process. At least Belenna would be safe..."

After sharing her ordeal, Angel seemed to lose all her strength. Her voice dwindled until she closed her eyes, her breathing slowed, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

"So, she truly has gone insane?" Gordon asked, looking at Angel's face.

"If we only take her symptoms into account, it seems her mental state caused all of this. However, there's a loophole—her inexplicable envy towards Belenna."

"Typically, the emotions that lead to mental disturbances in a patient are internalized, such as excessive self-focus, feelings of inferiority, sadness, feeling disposable, and not being accepted by society, and so on..."

"Yet emotions like anger, jealousy, and hatred rarely lead to such serious mental issues. Explosive emotions, once expressed, don't easily accumulate in the heart and lead to so many problems."

"When listening to many patients confess, the majority describe themselves, talking about their own sadness and helplessness. Rarely does anyone accuse others with such intense anger. They lack such vibrant emotion; they're too exhausted to produce such explosive feelings."

"So you're saying they don't even have the energy to hate?" Gordon inquired.

"Correct. They can't express a range of emotions like normal people. Emotional disturbances are manifestations of mental issues. If their joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure were like ordinary people's, they wouldn't be so severely affected."

"Among all the explosive emotions, the mental issues caused by jealousy shouldn't be this serious. At most, it might trigger anxiety but wouldn't be the main cause."

"What do you think is happening?" Gordon asked.

"There might be many abnormal reasons, but in most cases, it's due to external provocations. I suspect someone is guiding and amplifying these emotions."

"Is that even possible?" Gordon wondered.

"Of course. A normal psychologist could also do it, although it's somewhat tricky. But for the elite in this industry, it's a piece of cake."

Gordon noticed a change in Schiller's eye contact, but Schiller seemed unfazed, staring intently at Angel's face, deep in thought. Suddenly, Angel sat up from the bed, shouting, "Belenna! I'll kill you! Belenna..."

She screamed madly, struggling to sit up, her face pale and contorted in rage, looking like a demon from hell.

Gordon quickly restrained her, but the strength of a delirious patient, especially one whose muscle constraints are released, is unimaginable. Gordon barely managed to hold down the frail Angel until Schiller took out his umbrella and struck her on the head with a loud "thud," making her lie down again.

Schiller stood up, telling Gordon, "Chief Gordon, please return to the station. Leave this to me; I will investigate her mental state."

After Gordon left, Schiller's expression darkened. If the previous murder made him slightly angry, for it disrupted his routine and led to a power outage at Gotham University affecting his office lighting, now he was genuinely furious. Not because he felt manipulating someone's mind was wrong — Schiller wasn't a superhero with a strong sense of justice. He saw such abilities as mere tools.

But now someone was invading his territory, flaunting their skills brazenly. It felt like a provocation.

People often hold greater hostility towards those similar to themselves. This was also true in the realm of anti-social lunatics.

Schiller leaned back in his chair, pulling out a bottle of wine. Without even uncorking it, the intoxicating aroma was enough to send everyone into a dream.

Entering his 'Temple of Thought,' Schiller was immediately alerted by chaotic sounds from below. He saw another version of himself, wearing a lab coat, rushing up, saying, "Hurry! Go and stop that green-haired lunatic; he's going berserk again!"

Schiller raised an eyebrow and descended with his umbrella. Indeed, he saw a figure with green hair stomping furiously in the corridor, muttering, "Here we go again... another one..."

At that moment, Schiller felt a knock on the door of his 'Temple of Thought.' Opening it, he found JokerJack outside.

JokerJack, with a dark expression, strode into Schiller's 'Temple of Thought' and shouted, "Another Joker? Where did this country bumpkin come from? Daring to confront Batman? Oh, that unfaithful wretch, how much more does he want to hurt me?"

"One after another! How many does he want? I'll kill him... chop him into pieces... No! Not Batman, the damned Joker! Why would I want to kill Batman?"

But Schiller didn't watch his performance. He stepped outside his 'Temple of Thought.' After a while, JokerSchiller joined him, and together they stared at the door.

This door, which always remained slightly ajar, was now fully open. A massive ship's prow appeared, and atop it stood Schiller, proclaiming, "The real battle is about to begin; everyone, get ready!"

Two Jokers gasped in shock, but before they could scream, they were engulfed by an endless tidal wave of Schillers.

Accompanied by the deep sound of horns, the great ship sailing in the space of consciousness set sail.

Ten minutes later, within Dreamland, the horns blared again.

"Boom!"

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 579: We Are Alike (Part 1)