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Chapter 295: "Preaching and Teaching" (2)

The afternoon in Gotham always seemed a little somber. The originally not so bright sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, becoming even dimmer as it landed on the floor, resembling shimmering golden waves of a sunset.

Schiller stood behind the table, tinkering with a telescope from the great Age of Discovery. It was a treasured possession of the Manor's previous owner, who had sailed across oceans with his ancestors, all the way from Europe to this place.

Most of the decorative items on Schiller's table were left by the original owner of the Manor, giving them a touch of British classical charm. Among them was the slightly worn and yellowed Earth globe, an old gramophone placed at the corner of the table, and a walking stick hanging on the side of the bookshelf.

Schiller held the telescope, looking ahead, when suddenly, a black shadow flew across the telescope's field of view. Schiller put down the telescope and turned to face the uninvited Batman.

Batman naturally picked up the Earth globe at the corner of the table. In his line of sight, the globe blocked Schiller's head, as if everything had returned to a dream.

Batman touched the Earth globe with his hand, but soon stopped. He said to Schiller, "You know why I'm here..."

Schiller turned around, searching for something on the bookshelf. While rummaging, he said, "Surely you're not here to arrest me, Detective Batman?"

"Gordon told me that whenever something strange and inexplicable happens in Gotham, coming to you is never a mistake."

"Oh, am I not aware of any recent peculiar incidents in Gotham? Are you referring to those rather ordinary murder cases?"

Schiller turned around, holding a bottle of wine and two cups. He gestured for Batman to sit across the table, saying, "Verbal descriptions are always rather dull, lacking the excitement of being there, wouldn't you agree?"

Perhaps not wanting his subsequent discussion to be judged as "ordinary and mundane," Batman gulped down the glass of wine in front of him as if taking medicine. Schiller also took a sip of wine, then relaxed, leaning back in the chair, becoming intoxicated.

As the afternoon sun shimmered in the air, Batman suddenly woke up. He noticed the Earth globe on the table slowly rotating, while Schiller's head remained unchanged. After opening his eyes, he paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, I forgot."

He leaned forward, reaching out to pick up the Earth globe from the table and held it in front of his face. In Batman's view, the Earth globe overlapped with Schiller's head, transforming Schiller's head into the Earth globe.

Now Batman understood how the Schiller with the Earth globe head appeared in his dream.

After Schiller stood up, Batman followed suit. The two of them walked to the center of the room. Schiller made a welcoming gesture to Batman, who began to focus, recalling the intricate details of Rich's room from his memory.

This was the first time he had constructed such a large-scale scene in a dream. Despite having the support of physical memories, Batman found himself expending a great deal of energy in an instant.

As he slowly raised his arm, the scene in the room began to change. The books on the bookshelf gradually merged into the wall, one by one. The partitions were removed, blending into the side walls. The book table receded, sinking into the floor, while the floor flipped over, transitioning from dark brown to light brown.

Rich's body appeared on the floor, blood spreading on the light-colored floor, gradually seeping into the cracks.

Schiller clicked his tongue and said, "That's quite gruesome, isn't it?"

"Three days ago, the head of the Lawrence family, one of the Gotham Twelve Families, was found dead in his bedroom. He had seven wounds on his body, with a fatal puncture wound in the heart. Anesthetic drugs were detected in his system..."

"Two days ago, one of the Hawke brothers from the Twelve Families was found dead in his book room. He was tied to a chair and beheaded, a single strike ending his life."

"One day ago, the leader of the Rich family from the Twelve Families was found dead in the living room. He had been sawed open from the middle of his body, dying from excessive blood loss."

"The common factor in these three cases is that their deaths mimic the martyrdom of the apostles among the Twelve Disciples of Jesus. Gordon and I believe this is a serial murder case. However, it wasn't until Rich's death today that I noticed the killer's modus operandi deviates from the previous two cases."

Schiller reached into the air, producing a cane in his hand. He lightly tapped the ground with the cane and said, "Why do you conclude this is a serial murder case? Is it because their deaths align with some religious narrative?"

"Isn't that the characteristic of a serial killer?" Batman asked. "I remember learning that most serial killers tend to adopt a backstory involving numbers and incorporate it into their crimes, such as the common themes of the seven deadly sins, Black Friday, Sabbath, and so on..."

"Then, what did I teach in class? Is that the reason?"

"Because of the 'sense of ritual.' Serial killers, particularly those who choose their victims at random, don't kill for vengeance but purely for the pleasure of killing their own kind. For them, the sense of ritual is essential."

"Even if killing seven people in seven days significantly increases their chances of being caught by the police, and leaving behind various clues further raises the possibility of their arrest, they still do it. Without experiencing the joy brought by this sense of ritual, killing loses its meaning to them."

"That's right. That's why, for a skilled detective, serial killers are sometimes easier to apprehend than ordinary killers, as they tend to voluntarily leave behind a variety of clues."

"So, this should be a very typical case of serial murder..."

However, Schiller shook his head and said, "Perhaps it appears that way on the surface, but in reality, I can only say that this is a poor imitator."

"Imitator? What do you mean?"

"It means the perpetrator is not the kind of deranged psychopathic killer I previously described. In other words, he's not a genuine serial killer but rather a clumsy imitator."

Batman looked Schiller in the eyes and asked, "Why?"

"Firstly, I bear no legal responsibility for what I'm about to say because it's merely a dream. And precisely because it's just a dream, I will only share this information within the confines of my dream. You needn't contemplate activating any audio or video devices in reality to use my dream ramblings as evidence..."

Schiller held a cane and began pacing around Rich's body lying in the center of the room. He said, "You know, if I were to take on this case, what would I do?"

Batman didn't expect him to bring up this topic, but he couldn't come up with an answer either. Finally, he could only reply, "I don't think you would take on a case like this because it's unnecessary."

"I'm glad you still understand me a bit, but right now, we're assuming, assuming that I suddenly changed my mind and started planning a series of murders..."

"First of all, let's start with the theme. Since you said the murderer's theme is Jesus and his twelve disciples, then I'll use the same theme."

"I assume you've carefully read the story of Jesus and his twelve disciples?"

Batman nodded, and Schiller looked up, revealing a reminiscent expression. He asked, "Do you remember who was the first disciple to die among the twelve?"

"...was it St. James?"

"Correct. According to the accounts in the Bible, he was the first disciple to be martyred for Jesus. Do you know what kind of person he was?"

"Both James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were Jesus' disciples. James was beheaded by King Herod. He and John were both passionate individuals..."

"That's why I said the person who took action is just a poor imitator. Who is Lawrence? Does he have anything in common with James? Why did he become the first martyr?"

Batman didn't quite understand Schiller's meaning, and Schiller continued, "If it were me, the first target I choose must have a brother, just like James, and old Lawrence should be an only child."

"Secondly, Lawrence's temperament is not strong enough. Both his appearance and inner qualities differ greatly from James'."

"And as you mentioned, the first martyr was beheaded, not crucified."

"So, if it were me, my first target would be a male with an extremely strong personality, having a brother and a living mother. His cause of death would be beheading."

"What if Lawrence corresponds to St. Peter?"

"Oh, yes, St. Peter is known as the person closest to Jesus and was also appointed as the first pope. If he were the first to die, that would make sense. But what do old Lawrence and St. Peter have in common?"

Batman remained silent, and Schiller tilted his head, looking at the corpse on the ground, and said, "Not to mention, the way the murderer crucified old Lawrence upside down is simply telling you very directly that he is a fake."

"If you've studied history, you'd know that in the punishment of crucifixion, the victim on the cross shouldn't die from vital organs being pierced, but should be exposed outdoors after being nailed through their limbs and die from bleeding or extreme exhaustion, leading to heart failure."

"Piercing the heart is part of the vampire legend, not a story recorded in the Bible, and has nothing to do with the Twelve Apostles. The victim who was crucified upside down should die from brain congestion, not from the heart being pierced."

"Clearly, the person who took action either didn't read the story carefully or didn't have the patience to wait for the other person's slow death."

"If it were me, I would have plenty of patience. I could spend a year setting up a scenario where he is trapped in the bedroom for ten days without being discovered. That would be a fitting death for this background story."

"Not to mention, the killer even drove nails through his head. My God, just the thought of him pounding nails into someone's head sends shivers down my spine..."

"Your choice of words always manages to surprise me," commented Batman.

"And, the biggest mistake is that he actually used anesthesia? God, if he truly is a serial killer, he should be nailed to a cross. This damn heathen lacks any sense of ceremony... ..."

Batman observed Schiller's expression of dissatisfaction and was momentarily unsure of what to say.

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