Chapter 954: Schiller's Misfortune (Part 2) (Patreon)

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After Batman and Zatanna's souls returned to their bodies, they paid no attention to the hastily departing Constantine. Batman supported the exhausted Zatanna, guiding her to the resting area where she could recuperate in a life support pod. Soon after, they received a call from Schiller.

Over the phone, Schiller informed them that the madness gripping the citizens and the plant mutation incident might be connected to the continuous rain that had fallen since the disaster began. Batman had already suspected this.

Since the disaster's onset, Gotham had been shrouded in dark clouds that never dispersed, and the rain had not ceased for even a few minutes over the course of several days. There were only two natural phenomena commonly observed during this crisis: fog and rain.

It was known that Zatanna had created the fog to seal off the Spirit Realm and prevent Dark Sorcerers from obtaining the Curse of Extreme Evil. The unexplained factor remained the relentless rain.

While Gotham was no stranger to rainfall, it had never experienced continuous, unrelenting rainfall year-round. To make matters more challenging, Batman's plans for dealing with the crisis were contingent on the completion of significant infrastructure improvements throughout Gotham. This long-term solution was ill-suited for the current acute situation.

However, when discussing immediate measures to alter the weather, there was one person who came to mind: Lex, who was also a student at Gotham University.

Previously, Lex had engaged in a competitive academic pursuit with Bruce, focusing on how to manipulate Gotham's weather. Though his efforts had not been entirely successful, Batman believed Lex had made some progress.

Batman decided to leave the Batcave in search of Lex. If they could address the citizens' madness first, he could then turn his attention to uncovering the true mastermind behind the crisis.

As Batman left the Batcave, he was met with a shocking sight. Standing on a hill with a clear view, he could see that the entire city had been overrun by a sea of green. This was no ordinary vine but rather a multitude of blue cabbages, growing in varying heights and patterns, covering Gotham completely.

It seemed as though Gotham City had intruded upon the territory of the blue cabbages. When viewed from above, the blue cabbages resembled the indigenous inhabitants of this land, while the high-rise buildings appeared as spikes protruding from the deep green canopy.

Upon witnessing this scene, Batman's initial thought was that Schiller was in grave trouble. He wasted no time and rushed to Rodriguez Manor.

As expected, he found Schiller slumped on the sofa, his hand trembling uncontrollably as he held a glass of water. Merkel, looking guilty, sat nearby. Turning his head, Batman saw that the enormous blue cabbages had completely blocked the right side of the living room.

Batman confirmed that Schiller was unconsciously trembling, and from the frequency of his chest rising and falling, it seemed he was having difficulty breathing. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his consciousness appeared to be unclear.

Batman never expected Schiller's aversion to blue cabbages to be so severe. While he knew that Schiller disliked blue cabbages, the degree of his aversion was unclear.

Previously, Batman had heard of Schiller playfully firing a shot at a blue cabbage in the kitchen during a dinner gathering with Victor, but it sounded more like a friend's exaggerated jest. Moreover, Schiller had consumed blue cabbage when he switched personalities, indicating that his physical reaction to it was not severe.

Batman thought that, at worst, Schiller merely disliked eating blue cabbage. After all, who would have thought that a mysterious individual, capable of transforming into fog and concealing their true power from others, would have a vulnerability to blue cabbage? It sounded absurd.

Constantine shared Batman's sentiment, not even considering the possibility of severe physical or psychological allergies. He had intended to disgust Schiller as revenge for the umbrella incident.

In Constantine's view, disliking blue cabbages to some degree was perfectly normal. At most, one would avoid eating or looking at them. Even if someone's life was filled with blue cabbages, it wouldn't pose a serious threat. All Constantine and All Things Green had done was to transform all the mutated plants into blue cabbages. This would limit the spread of the insane patients and serve as a means to taunt Schiller for his earlier actions.

Therefore, Constantine rushed towards Rodriguez Manor at top speed. He feared that if he arrived any later, Schiller might leave Gotham, rendering all his efforts meaningless. His purpose was to mock Schiller as quickly as possible.

Upon seeing Schiller's severely deteriorated condition, which appeared almost life-threatening, even Constantine was stunned.

Turning his head, Constantine asked Batman, "What's happening to him? Why do I feel like his pupils are dilating?"

With a cold, indifferent gaze, Batman replied, "You ask me? Out of the three of us who have witnessed that giant blue cabbage, besides you and Zatanna, who else is left?"

Constantine hesitated for a moment, then retorted, "Why should we exclude you and Zatanna? All three of us were witnesses. Maybe it's your way of retaliating against Schiller for criticizing your thesis..."

Constantine had deliberately raised his tone in the latter part of his sentence, evidently trying to shift the blame onto Batman. However, Batman was not easily fooled. He responded, "Zatanna and I were witnesses. During the time our souls returned to our bodies, neither of us left the Batcave. You had the opportunity..."

"But you have no evidence," Constantine interjected. "If you hadn't forbidden me from smoking inside the Batcave, I wouldn't have left. Besides, you claim that you and Zatanna were in the Batcave, but who knows if that was just a projection or something else you created? Your alibi isn't foolproof..."

As they continued to pass the blame back and forth, suddenly, the Manor's door was pushed open, and Jason rushed in, exclaiming, "Oh my! Professor, I knew it!"

"When I saw so many blue cabbages, I knew something must have happened to you!"

Jason hurried over to Schiller, first touching his forehead and noticing it was warm, then checking his pulse, which seemed relatively normal, although his breathing rate was elevated.

He turned to Merkel and said, "Mr. Butler, there should be sedatives in the Manor, or if not, we can use sleeping pills. Could you fetch them, please?"

Merkel was about to go but hesitated, saying, "Shouldn't we use allergy medication for a reaction like this? I'll get some allergy medicine..."

Jason shook his head and explained, "This isn't a physiological allergy reaction; it appears to be a stress response caused by psychological factors. We need sedatives."

Constantine approached and asked, "Can psychological allergies be this severe?"

Jason emphasized, "This isn't a psychological allergy. There's no such condition as psychological allergies; it's a stress reaction resulting from mental stimuli or reliving traumatic experiences. It's entirely different from a normal allergic reaction."

"For example, if something has caused you deep emotional harm in the past, seeing it again can trigger memories associated with that trauma."

"These associations and memories can stimulate the mind, potentially leading to stress reactions that appear as if you were allergic. However, the physical symptoms stem from psychological distress rather than organ sensitivity."

Merkel turned to fetch the sedatives, while Batman turned his gaze towards Constantine. Constantine cleared his throat and said, "Well, I'm not well-versed in psychology, but I'll take care of this."

He shrugged and continued, "Although I haven't studied psychology, I can use mysticism to deal with this issue. Give me some time to prepare a magic array..."

As he was about to turn and leave, Merkel frowned, picked up a box, and descended the stairs. He then said, "I remember we had some sedatives here, but it seems they've been used up..."

Jason took the box from Merkel, inspected its contents, and said, "None of these medications will do. Perhaps we should consider taking Professor Schiller to the hospital."

Suddenly, Merkel recalled something and rushed to the telephone, saying, "I'll call Brand, Doctor Brand. He's an old friend of Mr. Schiller and should be willing to help."

He made the call, and shortly thereafter, both Brand and Victor arrived. Brand arrived first and complained, "What's going on in this city? What are all these bizarre disasters? I've seen large-scale invasions by spirits and lost souls, I've seen devils attempting to consume the city, but I've never seen an invasion of blue cabbages. What are their demands? Are they insisting that humans don't dip them in sauce when eating?"

Victor bent down and checked Schiller's forehead. Meanwhile, Brand approached and administered a sedative to Schiller. He sighed with some resignation and said, "After spending so much time with Schiller, haven't you all realized that he's actually mentally unstable?"

He looked around at everyone in the room and continued, "Autistic individuals often react differently from typical adults to stimuli, and their triggers aren't the same. Something seemingly ordinary, common, and harmless to most people in their daily lives can stimulate them and cause sudden excitement."

"In some schools that admit autistic students, you can witness many children suddenly screaming and experiencing intense emotions. You may find it inexplicable, but it's likely triggered by something in their daily lives or certain behaviors that affect them."

Constantine had initially wanted to argue, but seeing Batman's increasingly intense gaze, he raised his hand and said, "Alright, it's my lack of knowledge. I thought it was a joke. Fine, I'll handle this."

With that said, he was about to arrange the magic array, but at that moment, there was a loud bang as the door to the Manor was pushed open, and a group of heavily armed agents stormed in. The leader, a black man, entered, flashed his credentials towards Schiller, and said:

"U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation."

He then returned the credentials to his pocket and addressed Schiller:

"Schiller Rodriguez, based on our investigation, you are hereby arrested on charges of espionage, illegal surveillance, endangering national security, and multiple other offenses."

Everyone present was stunned. However, at this moment, Schiller, who seemed to have just regained his composure, weakly stood up, using the umbrella handle for support, stabilizing his balance.

After a brief pause, Schiller, with a slightly hoarse voice, said:

"I am an operative of the Soviet Union's National Security Commission... and also the organizer and leader of the Central American revolutionary movement. I request witness protection."

As his words landed, everyone in the room, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, stood frozen in disbelief.

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

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 955: Schiller's Misfortune (Part 2)