Victor stared in amazent at the little girl sitting on the sofa in Shiller's office, snacking.
"Where did you get this kid from?!"
That's right, the little girl was not Aisha. Aisha was sitting on the carpet beside her, unboxing the latest set of building blocks.
"Why are you so nervous? She's not yours." Shiller was typing on his computer replying to emails. A day had passed, and many emails from students had piled up.
"But..."
"How is Billy?" Shiller asked.
"Not very well." Victor paused for a mont and said, "The results show that his bones are indeed affected. If this continues, he might develop bone cancer. I've contacted Lady Shangdu at the Gotham Magic Academy and we're trying to find a solution."
"Have you decided to adopt him?"
"Yes, he's actually a pretty good kid. If it weren't for that damn Old Shazam... forget it, let's not bring it up. If he dares to co around, I'll smash his head with ice cones!"
Then, he looked at the little girl again and said, "Who are you planning to place her with this ti?"
Shiller shook his head without speaking, first closing the computer, then walked over and picked Aisha up from the floor and placed her on the sofa.
Aisha squird a bit, sowhat unwillingly, but her attention was still entirely on the toy in her hand. The other little girl's age and build were about the sa as her, except her eyes were green.
"Alright, Aisha. We need to take Betty for a check-up. Bring your toys, she might have to stay there for a while."
Aisha nodded, hurriedly shoving the newly opened building blocks back into the box, then stuffed the snacks they were eating into her small bag, slung it over her shoulder.
She took Betty's hand willingly and led her out of Shiller's office. Shiller stood at the door and said to Victor, "Betty's mother divorced three months ago. She was tragically murdered while out for a walk. The body has not yet been found."
"Betty witnessed her mother's death and stayed with the body for several days, suffering severe psychological trauma. Fortunately, the mory has been significantly blurred. She knows the incident happened, but can't recall the specific details."
"Even so, her ntal health is very problematic. The police contacted all her relatives, but none were willing to adopt her. And if she goes to the orphanage, they obviously don't have the conditions for treatnt and recovery."
"I contacted the local Child Protection Association, and they helped with the paperwork. Under the guise of treatnt, I brought her here."
"What a terrible disaster." Victor sighed, "Are you planning to adopt her? But I'm afraid legally..."
"No, soone else will be adopting her."
Just then, Shiller's phone rang. He picked it up:
"Hello? Mr. Ronz? ... You've already been here? Yes, I'm on my way to the hospital with Betty. If you want to see her, co to Arkham Psychiatric Hospital. Perhaps we can also discuss the adoption issue..."
After hanging up, Victor looked at Shiller and said, "You indeed already have a target in mind. Who is it this ti?"
"Ron Ronz. Martian Manhunter, also a good cop. I promised Jas I'd find him a good hand, can't let the tropolitan Police Departnt get ahead."
"With you around, Jas indeed needs more good hands." Victor couldn't help but sigh.
Leaving the academic building, Shiller found Aisha next to the car at the entrance, carrying a pink crossbody bag, telling Betty about her pink slide castle.
Betty was a very quiet little girl. It was apparent that she wasn't like this due to trauma but was inherently introverted. When Aisha spoke, she just quietly listened, occasionally nodding.
Gotham was sorely lacking in children like her. Most kids here were incredibly lively, even those born in relatively peaceful tis were overly exuberant.
Shiller got the two of them into the car and drove towards Arkham Psychiatric Hospital.
Though there were many good hospitals in the city, Shiller was more familiar with Arkham Psychiatric Hospital. Furthermore, specialized hospitals could better handle Betty's condition.
Upon arrival, Shiller didn't go straight to his office, but followed normal procedure, registering and waiting for a check-up like an ordinary patient.
About ten minutes after they arrived, Ron entered the hospital and imdiately saw Shiller waiting in the lobby.
Shiller walked over, shook Ron's hand, and said, "Hello, Chief. Looks like your eting with the Justice League went well."
Ron shook his head helplessly and said, "They insisted on throwing a welco party. It was hard to get away."
Then he glanced down at the little girl next to Shiller. Seeing she was still relatively healthy and sane, Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
"I didn't directly erase Betty's mory, but accelerated her natural forgetting process according to human mory patterns. Still, I left so hazy mories to prevent any confusion."
"Yes, I also think it's the best thod. But we should still get a professional psychiatrist to look at her. What do you think?"
"Of course." Ron nodded. He approached Betty, but she seed a bit scared of him and took two steps back.
"You're too tall," Shiller said.
It's unclear whether Ron miscalculated the human body type when landing on Earth. The form he took as John stood nearly two ters tall, a burly figure completely packed with muscles, exuding an intense sense of pressure with just a glance.
Ron crouched down carefully, trying to communicate with Betty. Shiller glanced at his watch and said, "It's almost ti for the examination. Here is the registration slip. You take her over, I still need to go to the office."
Then he reminded Aisha, "Keep an eye on her, call if anything happens."
"Don't worry." Aisha nodded and said.
Ron realized that Shiller was creating an opportunity for him to interact with Betty, so he very carefully stretched out three fingers and held Betty's hand, saying, "Let's go, I'll take you for the check-up."
After Shiller returned to his office, the first one to knock on the door was Brand. He walked in with a smile, only to receive a roll of the eyes from Shiller.
"It's published, this is for you." Brand handed over a book. Shiller glanced at it and sure enough, it was "The Gloom of Faralines."
After he took it, without looking at the content in the front, he directly flipped to the back. As expected, the part continued by Mad Laugh was deleted, and the final ending was changed to a total annihilation.
"I didn't expect the Outer God to also be so uniquely talented in self-promotion. Do you guys even have the right to call the human race arrogant?"
"I never said that," Brand replied.
"How much did you pay Constantine?"
"I just gave him my phone number and that octagonal trinket." Brand spread his hands and said.
"You gave him the octagonal trinket?" Shiller looked at Brand with so surprise, "Aren't you afraid he'll make a huge ss for you to clean up?"
"Since he wrote quite well, I can help him clean up once."
"Then just wait to see this thing in Lucifer's house," Shiller said rhetorically, moving the book further away.
"It won't be that bad, will it?" Brand squinted his eyes.
"Then you don't understand the power of Constantine. If one day Lucifer storms in cursing, I won't help you."
Brand ca in cheerfully, but left worriedly.
Since moving to the new campus, Arkham ntal Hospital can be considered the largest and most professional psychiatric hospital on the East Coast.
With the improved weather in Gotham, it has also beco the most famous convalescent center. The large beach outside is full of people sunbathing.
Shiller's office remains the sa as before, after all, it was remodeled once already. Within a few short years, there is no need to renovate again.
However, with the spread of electronic devices, the office is now equipped with a computer, printer, and fax machine. A TV displaying information is also installed on the wall outside the door.
After responding to the last few emails on the office computer, Shiller found that Aisha had not contacted him yet, so he logged into a real estate website and started browsing.
The economic depression is still ongoing. Every day there are aerial acrobats on Diamond Street, Gotham's largest financial center, and the real estate market has collapsed drastically. Shiller no longer wants to check how much his house has depreciated.
However, the good news is that his manor in the West District was bought by Harley, turned into the Young Avengers' base for a pretty good price. This left Shiller with a substantial amount of money.
The Great Depression will eventually end, and with the arrival of the new millennium, the economy will see a boom. This is the best ti to make so investnts.
Shiller's investnt tendencies are quite conservative, so even though he ca from a later era in his previous life, he wouldn't gamble his money on the stock market. After all, there are differences between the two worlds, and stock performance is not the sa.
Pure financial products are also unreliable. In the current market, investing in real estate seems to be the best option.
Gotham's land prices will inevitably rise and likely reach the highest levels globally in the 21st century. Given that New York is like this, the nights of Gotham, as New York's reflection, must follow suit.
Shiller already has a residential property he's very satisfied with and won't be changing in the short term. So he plans to buy a comrcial property near the city center, preferably a two-story building. This would give him a place to stay when he's active in the downtown area.
As for what kind of shop to open, Shiller hasn't decided yet. But it should be quiet, with few custors, and shouldn't disrupt his routine of teaching by day and playing cards by night.
A bookstore seems the best option. However, judging by the situation of the bookstores opened by Zatanna and Constantine, such shops are dood to fail.
While browsing the real estate listings, Shiller suddenly found a promising target. In central Gotham City, located between the roundabout and Diamond Street on Du桑 Flower Street, a two-story building is up for sale.
It was originally a magazine publisher, but it seems to have been affected by the Great Depression and couldn't continue operating. Therefore, the entire building is up for sale. The price is high, but considering it was refurbished only a year ago, the value is quite good.
Most importantly, the renovation is done in a unique English Tudor style. There's a giant lattice stained glass floor window on the first floor's sample showroom, said to be transported from an English estate, making it very eye-catching on the entire street.
One of the photos greatly caught Shiller's attention. In the sunny afternoon in Gotham, sunlight filters through the massive lattice window onto the dark oak floor, creating a vintage, hazy atmosphere like a river at sunset in a slightly inebriated person's eyes.
Just as Shiller zood in on the photo to inspect the details, his phone rang. Seeing it was a call from Gordon, Shiller answered.
"A big guy nad Ron Ronz ca to the police station inquiring about a job. Is he the skilled person you ntioned earlier?"
"Yes, he has extensive experience. His physique is also very strong, making him very suitable to be the captain of the field team. We've already prepared to hire him, and he's asked about buying a house, so it looks like he plans to stay long-term."
"Alright then. As agreed, I've transferred the headhunting fee to you. Make sure to check your account. Drop by the station to play cards soti. Goodbye."
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