Chapter 842: The Peril of Savage (Part 1) (Patreon)

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In the Gotham University office, a voice of astonishment echoed, filled with intense confusion, audible even several kilometers away.

Schiller widened his eyes, staring at Bruce sitting across from him, and exclaimed, "You need money?!!!!"

"Could you repeat that?"

Bruce replied, spreading his hands on the table. "I need money."

Schiller took a deep breath and said, "Bruce, do you think that once you've submitted all your summaries and papers, I won't be able to hold you accountable for anything? Instead of coming here to play games with me, you should go back and explain to your butler why you can't achieve the status of an outstanding graduate..."

"I'm serious," Bruce's expression was deadly serious. "Wayne Enterprises is facing a cash flow crisis, and I urgently need to make money."

Schiller sighed and asked, "So, what's your plan for making money? If you're thinking of your inventions... well, they don't seem to sell well. And borrowing from the bank... never mind, you're stubborn, and directly printing money... although it's easy to do, it would cause inflation. So, how do you plan to make money?" Schiller looked at Bruce inquiringly.

No matter what, Batman was a good person, even though he could be overly paranoid at times and might appear mentally unstable. His moral compass was certainly higher than most, making it difficult for him to engage in deception or theft, especially if it affected the lives of ordinary people. Bruce didn't want to resort to such methods either. If he wanted to make money through legitimate means, especially in a short amount of time, it would be challenging.

At this moment, Bruce uttered a name, "Vandel Savage."

Schiller raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you eyeing his wealth? Well, he should be quite rich..."

In the design process of DC Comics, Savage was depicted as extremely wealthy, supposedly accumulating countless riches over fifty thousand years. Although this setting was highly unreasonable, it was what Captain Cold and Mirror Master had heard. He should be in a phase of having too much money.

Schiller chuckled and sat back, looking at Bruce. "So, your plan is to get some money from Savage? How do you intend to do it?"

"I came here to ask for your advice on how to do it," Bruce replied, looking into Schiller's eyes. "I believe you're more skilled in this area."

Schiller widened his eyes, showing a slightly surprised expression. He hadn't expected Batman to change so much. He had finally learned the essence of deception and covert operations: you didn't have to do it yourself, and you didn't have to know how to do it, but you had to know who could.

"Well, I think finding him, subduing him, or even killing him might not be difficult," Schiller began. "But squeezing him dry could be a challenge. If what Captain Cold said is correct, Savage has served as many kings in the mortal world, which suggests he may have some traits of unyielding determination. You might be able to capture him, lock him up, and interrogate him about the source of his wealth, but he might choose death over revealing it."

"To achieve the goal of squeezing him dry, there's only one way: make him willingly part with his money," Schiller paused, and Bruce understood that perhaps his professor had transformed once again.

Indeed, Schiller displayed a mild smile. Unlike his usual cold and calculating demeanor, this smile seemed genuinely warm, with only a hint of eeriness.

"If we want people to voluntarily empty their pockets, we must figure out what they desire most. What does Savage desire the most?"

"To rule the world," Bruce answered.

"Correct, but that might be just one of his overarching goals. To rule the world, he will undertake various actions, such as buying off the people in Central City. However, it will all lead to one result."

"He bought off people in Central City, came to Gotham, and ultimately arrived here. This suggests he has some plans for Gotham, or he believes Gotham plays an important role in achieving his world-ruling goal."

"Before ruling the world, he wants to rule Gotham. I can only say that he's quite ambitious, seeing Gotham's chaos as an opportunity to operate under the radar. If he can unify this chaotic city, he can use it as a stepping stone to rule the East Coast," Bruce concluded, understanding Savage's perspective.

After all, only someone who had lived for fifty thousand years without ruling the world could conceive such a strategy.

"He has great ambitions for Gotham, and so far, he hasn't encountered significant resistance. He believes that his previous methods will still work. To make him change his ways and follow the path we guide him on, we must first make him face some resistance."

Schiller stood up and walked over to the whiteboard in the office. He drew some symbols on it and continued, "From a psychological perspective, if you want to guide someone to act according to your will, you must do the following."

"Firstly, you must create obstacles for him, make him realize that his previous behavior and logic won't work with you."

"Then, create an environment in which he has to rely on you."

"In this environment, he has only one choice, but his behavior pattern is rejected because of it. In order to gain a sense of security, he must passively change his behavior and mindset to accommodate you. When he finally chooses you after paying such a high cost, the sunk cost becomes his restraint."

"Human beings can be conditioned in this way. In a closed environment where there's only one path to take, they are willing to pay the price to change their behavior to walk that path. As they proceed, they gradually shape their worldview according to that path and become its followers. When others try to pull them away from that path, they feel resistance and fear."

"That's why many people, even though they know they're being deceived, continue to believe the deceiver, paying a price for it. Their behavior patterns have been conditioned."

Schiller tapped the blackboard and said, "To use this knowledge for manipulation, you need to focus on a few key points. Firstly, create a closed environment or make the other person believe it's a closed environment."

"Provide a sense of privacy, allowing people to wrongly estimate the consequences of their actions. In simple terms, pre-give to pre-take, making them believe that their actions won't come at a significant cost, and the losses won't be substantial compared to what they already possess."

"For example, if I ask you to pour me a glass of water right now, and in return, I'll answer a question you've been wanting to know, would you do it?"

Bruce looked at Schiller and said, "Perhaps in the past, I would have done it, or maybe I've done such things before. But now, I wouldn't. If I want to know the answer to a question, I'll find it myself."

Schiller raised his hands and said, "I've made it sound more straightforward, so you can see that it's a manipulation tactic. But with a little modification, emotional appeal, and finding common ground, the core content can be easily concealed."

"As long as you take the first step, the process of conditioning begins. You may feel like you haven't lost anything in this step, but in reality, what you've lost is your most precious independent judgment."

"Independent judgment means that when I ask for water, your initial reaction should be, 'Am I thirsty?' because the decision to drink water when thirsty is based on a self-initiated judgment."

"But once you get caught up in the deliberation of whether or not you should pour water for me, what you've lost and gained, and what I've gained and lost, your judgment based on reality weakens."

"Once you abandon facts and focus solely on the evaluation of gains and losses in our interactions, things can quickly spiral out of control."

"So..." Schiller looked at Bruce and continued, "to make Savage willingly part with his money, the first three steps are crucial."

"You must first make him feel like he's in an isolated environment. Then, you introduce resistance and difficulties for him, making him realize that his previous behavioral logic is unreliable. Finally, blur his logic based on reality and shift his thinking towards evaluating gains and losses regarding a specific number or outcome."

As Bruce left the office building and walked down the road, Schiller's words continued to echo in his mind. He hadn't realized that there was so much theoretical support for manipulation.

At the same time, he felt a sense of astonishment. It seemed that the rules of human psychology and behavior could be applied to everything related to people, giving those who understood them an advantage.

If he hadn't learned these theories, but others had, mastering knowledge beyond his awareness and using it in practice, how could he limit them?

The only way was for him to learn what they learned, but learn it better, so he could fight fire with fire.

With these thoughts in mind, Bruce returned to Wayne Manor, refocusing his attention on Savage. After Schiller's explanation, he had a clearer plan in mind. Violent means might not be the way to make Savage part with his money, but violence could pave the way for the plan ahead.

As Schiller had said, he needed to create some resistance for Savage to make him realize that his previous approach of spending money to recruit people wouldn't work. Only then would he start considering new methods, and once he started thinking, the game would change.

If Savage were to seek a new deal, Bruce believed that his good old professor would surely present an astonishing plan to help him rule Gotham, conquer the East Coast, dominate North America, claim the Pacific Ocean, and once again reign supreme over the world.

This plan, much like Schiller himself, was excellent in all aspects, except for one tiny detail—it was incredibly costly.

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 843: Perilous Encounter (Part 2)