"What I really want to ask you is, 'What is 'hatred'?"
"Yours or his?"
"For all murderers."
Shiller lifted his head slightly and said, "Well, I appreciate you moving the interrogation to this place."
"Gordon, turn up the heat," Batman turned his head and said.
"But the corpse..."
"Forget about the corpse," Shiller gently shook his head.
Standing between the two, Gordon felt their atmosphere to be peculiar.
Now there's a reality that's glaringly obvious to all three of them: the cold storage door is locked. So, the question is, who's the judge? Who's the criminal?
On the surface, the interrogator is, of course, the "inviting guest into the pot", Batman, who brought Shiller here for the sole purpose of having him answer questions in an uncomfortable environnt to improve the accuracy of the answers, which ordinary people call interrogation.
But Shiller didn't show any anger either. Not only did he not feel rage towards the deceit and manipulation, but he also didn't feel uncomfortable with the increasingly cold condition, even though his body was uncomfortable.
Gordon could clearly see that Shiller was shivering a bit. Before the door was locked, the cold storage temperature had not fallen. When the cold storage was completely sealed, the refrigeration effect was excellent. Apparently, the professor didn't tolerate the cold well.
"Usually, I don't kill out of hatred, because for , the impulse to kill doesn't co from emotions, but from instinct. There isn't a switch in that would make bite soone when pressed, but so people do have one."
"So, the murderer is not like you." A very standard affirmation, it seed exceptionally candid.
"For so people, certain words shouldn't be ntioned. Once the switch is pressed, they imdiately start seeing red, their thoughts unconsciously spiralling into violent paths, their minds filled with terrifying ideas of destruction."
"This is one form of hatred, but not the usual kind. It's not about hating a person, but about hating a concept. Anyone connected to this concept becos the target of their attack."
"Emotionally, hatred is simple, but the concepts these people hate are different, and their origins are complex, childhood trauma, ntal weaknesses, or things they lack, but most of the ti, it is all of these things combined that form hatred."
"I'll take back what I said earlier," Shiller repeated Batman's words, then continued, "your hatred and his hatred are essentially the sa, there is no need to separate them, thus, if you can understand your hatred, you will understand his."
For the first ti, Batman's expression changed. That dark storm seed to be spreading again. But suddenly, everything stilled. The room returned to tranquillity in an instant. Batman, staring into Shiller's eyes, said, "It seems, you don't just read corpses."
Shiller chuckled deeply. Gordon was creeped out by his laugh, but Batman turned to Gordon and asked, "You said Errimu established a charity fund for orphans. What are the specifics?"
"Eh, what specifics could there be? Aren't all global charity funds similar? Oh, wait, Errimu's orphan relief charity fund is sowhat different. It's not entirely for tax evasion."
"Recently, the newspapers were full of how he found new families for three holess children. Pictures of the foster parents and children were plastered on the front page of the newspaper. You know, the kind of photos with the family of three, grinning, taken in the grassland near Brude Haven."
Gordon's face showed a hint of hesitation as he said, "Of course, we all know he was putting on a show, but it was, at the very least, helping the three children, right? Even if not all of them could live happily with their foster parents, at least for a few days they did not have to endure the rain."
Batman squinted his eyes for a mont, then shifted his gaze back to Shiller. He was wondering whether Shiller's face-reading ability was stronger than he thought. How did Shiller see through his hatred?
"Are you satisfied with the answer?" Shiller asked.
Batman silently reached for his collar, then unfastened the cloak from his back, folded it in half with one hand, then offered the soft bundle to Shiller.
Batman eyed Shiller's suit and said,
"Cashre and silk, smooth but not warm enough. Next ti I'll consider muskox wool."
"Not bat fabric?"
"You're not a bat."
"Thank you, but I won't remove the electric shock device."
Shiller calmly looked at Batman. Batman always felt that this man's voice, standing before him, was wrapped in a layer of haze, like the stained glass behind the Gotham Cathedral pulpit at midday, displaying more darkness amidst the brilliance.
Batman smoothly retracted his hand, gently opened the cloak and draped it back on himself.
Interestingly enough, this short bout didn't intensify the tension between the two of them. Everything returned to normal.
In the theatre, Harley, leaning over the back of a chair, blinked her eyes and said, "Okay, now it's my turn to not understand. Batman wanted to attack Shiller, right? For instance, he tried to stun him. Although we all know it wouldn't work, wouldn't Shiller get angry seeing such an aggressive move?"
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