Chapter 946: The Three Detectives (Part II) (Patreon)

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After confirming that the observation room had no exits, Batman turned his head and looked at Zatanna. "How many more times can you use that kind of teleportation? I mean, in extreme conditions..."

"Five times, at most five times," Zatanna sighed, "You haven't noticed that my Soul power is running low? Traveling through the memory space is much more cumbersome than in the real world. Just locating a place consumes half of my power. I can only teleport five more times, after that, I will lose all mobility."

Batman nodded. "Now, use it once to take us to the first floor and find an exit in the living area."

Zatanna appeared a bit tired but didn't object. She waved her hand, and a ring of fire appeared. After the three of them entered it, they found themselves in a corridor on the first floor.

Batman started by searching facilities like the convenience store, but after a few minutes of searching, he found nothing resembling an exit. Finally, they arrived at the large canteen on the first floor.

As soon as they pushed the door open, a bright light sphere appeared in the center of the canteen. Constantine let out a sigh of relief. "Finally found it. Let's go, we can't stay here."

"But why the canteen?" Batman wore a classic skeptical expression. "Wouldn't places like the clinic, observation room, library, or study rooms be more likely to trigger something that Schiller would resist?"

"Maybe being repeatedly analyzed by psychologists or strapped down in a chair is worse than eating," Constantine shrugged. "Who knows? He's a mentally unstable person. Don't try to understand their world."

While Batman was leaving, he saw a figure in a straitjacket outside the canteen's door, appearing eerie and terrifying in the dim light of the safety indicators.

When the straitjacket-clad Schiller and Batman faced each other, it was hard to say who seemed crazier.

Batman turned towards the light sphere, a bright white flash passed, and the next moment, he found himself in an entirely white space.

Constantine sat down on the ground, and Zatanna introduced the place to Batman, "This is the buffer zone. We can rest here for a moment and then start considering creating a virtual memory..."

"I don't need rest. What kind of virtual memory space are you planning to create?" Batman inquired.

ZatannaConstantine, sitting on the ground, sighed. "But I... alright, Little Zat, you owe me a drink when we get out. It's been a while since I've bled this much." thought for a moment and then said, "First, we need to find a relatively stable and safe memory space, one that isn't too aggressive, as it might easily reveal our deception."

"Then, I'll use some props to trick him into giving up the Umbrella, but... I'm not that tired. Let's get started right away."

With that, he staggered to his feet, and Zatanna waved her hand, creating many light spheres in front of her. She explained, "These are memory fragments. I don't know why, but his memory fragments are more fragmented than others. A normal person's memory segment can last at least 2 to 3 days."

"But the longest memory fragment I can find in his Soul is only one hour. So, I don't have time to prepare slowly. Creating some sudden events might be better. Watch this."

Zatanna took a step forward and selected one of the light spheres. When it expanded into a screen, Batman saw Schiller in a classroom.

Seeing the familiar theories on the blackboard and the papers handed in on the podium, Batman instinctively took a step back, wanting to keep his distance from the blackboard.

Zatanna didn't notice his reaction, just stroked her chin and said, "A straitjacket... a straitjacket... got it! Now what?"

Then, her finger on her glowing hand gently tapped her forehead, and she continued, "Schiller Rodriguez, you were born into a family with a history of hereditary mental illness. You often fear that your own mental illness will flare up..."

"Wait a minute," Batman interrupted her. "Scholar-type autism isn't a hereditary mental disorder."

Zatanna looked a bit frustrated and rolled her eyes. "That doesn't matter. We're frauds, our goal is to fabricate things that never existed..."

"I'm replacing Schiller's memories within this memory space. You have to make him feel fear so that he will give up his Umbrella."

With that, Zatanna looked at Batman with annoyance. "Don't interrupt me; this consumes a lot of energy."

Batman opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but, seeing Zatanna's determined expression, he decided to stay silent.

At that moment, on the screen, the door to the classroom on the right side suddenly slammed open. A group of doctors rushed in, and one of them approached Schiller. "I'm sorry, Professor Schiller, your previous mental breakdown injured people, including three innocent students. Their parents reported you. You must come with us to the hospital for treatment."

The Schiller in this memory space seemed to have had his memories replaced. First, he showed a shocked expression, then he glanced at the doctor and said, "Alright, I'll cooperate with the treatment."

After saying that, he put on his coat and picked up the Umbrella, intending to follow the doctors. However, at this moment, the lead doctor said, "No, to prevent your illness from causing harm to others again, you cannot have any sharp objects. Please hand over the Umbrella, and we will keep it safe."

"But it's raining outside," Schiller looked at the window's gloomy weather.

Outside the screen, Zatanna let out a cold snort and waved her hand, but there were no changes on the screen. She furrowed her brow and tried again, but still, there were no changes.

"What's going on? Why can't I change the weather to clear skies? Stop it! Stop the rain! Make it sunny! So, he won't have a reason to use the umbrella..."

"What's happening? Is my power failing?" Zatanna, like a gamer whose controller suddenly malfunctioned, kept trying different methods. She said, "No, I can still control the scenes in the memory. But why can't I stop the rain?"

"Where did you set the location?" Batman asked.

"I didn't set the location; it's the place where he was teaching... Oh, it's Gotham University."

"I advise you not to try anymore; you can't do it," Batman looked at Zatanna. "If you can make Gotham sunny, we can return to reality now and tell this Professor. He would be more than willing to exchange his 'Umbrella' with you for the Curse of Extreme Evil."

Zatanna didn't quite understand what he was hinting at, but she didn't dwell on this issue for too long. She said, "Alright, let's change the approach."

Then, the lead doctor on the screen said, "Professor, no matter what, we can't allow you to possess dangerous items. Please hand it over to me."

He took a step forward, but Schiller took a step back, showing no intention of giving up the Umbrella. At this moment, the lead doctor produced a straitjacket and said, "If you don't cooperate, we'll have to use force..."

"Okay, that's it. If he sees this prop and feels fear, he will definitely cooperate," Zatanna mumbled to herself.

The doctors on the screen, holding the straitjacket, moved closer to Schiller, who didn't retreat this time. He looked at the lead doctor and asked, "You said I injured three students due to a mental illness and was reported. So, may I ask, what kind of mental illness do I have?"

"Uh..." The doctor hesitated for a moment, and Zatanna thought for a moment before saying, "...schizophrenia? Yes, that's right! It's schizophrenia!"

"What type of schizophrenia?" Schiller inquired.

"Type? Schizophrenia has types?" Zatanna furrowed her features. She asked, "Schizophrenia has types?"

Batman instinctively spoke up, "Paranoid type, catatonic type, disorganized type, undifferentiated type..."

Zatanna looked at him and said, "So, among these types, which one would lead to violent behavior towards others?"

"It's complicated," Batman said with just one word and continued, "It varies from person to person."

"Symptoms also include perceptual disorders, such as hallucinations, delusions, auditory hallucinations, olfactory hallucinations, and thought disorders, most commonly persecutory delusions, as well as affective, volitional, and behavioral disorders, and cognitive impairments..."

"Stop," Zatanna said, "Can you give me a conclusion directly?"

"Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common type, and because of the aggressive behavior caused by hallucinations, it's possible for it to lead to harming others. So, let's go with that," Zatanna seemed to find Batman's answer a bit uncertain, but she had no better option, so she repeated it.

Schiller nodded, as if accepting it. For some reason, Zatanna let out a sigh of relief. But then, he asked, "How did you arrive at this conclusion?"

Zatanna immediately turned her head to look at Batman, and Batman, with a frown, said, "Based on the disease classifications and diagnostic statistics manuals like DSM-IV-TR and the WHO's International Classification of Diseases ICD-10..."

"What?" Zatanna didn't understand any of these terms, so she stumbled through repeating the pronunciation. Then, Schiller asked again, "So, after you send me to the hospital, how do you plan to treat me?"

"Early, adequate, and sufficient treatment..." Batman mechanically recited, "Follow the principles of monotherapy and individualized treatment, using atypical antipsychotics like risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and other second-generation drugs as first-line treatments..."

Zatanna couldn't repeat this part at all. It was like another complex magic spell for her. She sighed, saying, "Why does this Professor have such a serious professional problem? Can't he just simplify things? If he's ill, he should go to the hospital for treatment..."

"Have you considered that he is, in fact, a top psychologist himself? Although he may not be well-versed in pathology, he's not completely ignorant. How could he willingly go to a mental hospital with you?" Batman spoke up.

"Why don't you just force him?" Batman asked again, and Zatanna sighed in frustration. "I've already said, we are con artists, not thugs. Excessive stimulation could cause a collapse in the mental space and might be discovered by the person himself. Once he becomes suspicious, creating false memories will become very difficult."

"Alright, forget it. We still have two other items," Zatanna looked back at the cleaver and the block of wood. She said, "Let's continue."

Zatanna first picked up the cleaver and thought, "How can a cleaver trigger fear? Normal people should be afraid of being stabbed by a knife. But this type of fear may not make him drop the Umbrella. Instead, he might be stimulated to use the Umbrella in self-defense..."

"Wait a minute! I've got it!" Zatanna suddenly had an idea and snapped her fingers. She said, "How about this? Schiller takes this cleaver and commits a murder, and just as he hasn't had time to hide the weapon, the police arrive..."

"He must quickly dispose of the weapon to avoid arrest by the police. If he wants to hide such a long cleaver, one hand won't be enough, and in his panic, he certainly won't have time to deal with the Umbrella!"

Zatanna felt excited about her brilliant idea and was eager to put it into practice.

What Zatanna didn't notice was that Batman's expression behind her had become somewhat complicated.

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 947: Schiller's Greatest Fear (Part 1)