Compared to Schiller, Jonathan really does look more like a good person. He has a thin, lanky frame, long limbs, a mess of curly hair, and he wears a large pair of black-rimmed glasses. Dark circles always linger under his eyes, giving him a frail appearance, like a complete geek.

His personality at school is very much that of a nice guy; all the students at Gotham University know that Jonathan is lenient in class and that exams are easy to pass. Even when students skip class or arrive late, he merely adjusts his glasses and tells them to take their seats without criticizing them.

He looks every bit the nerd, while in contrast, the new psychology professor, Schiller, resembles a high-ranking member of Arkham Asylum. Schiller has a somewhat mixed-race appearance, with black hair and gray eyes, and the original owner of his clothes seemed to be a straight man, with all his clothing either black or gray. Most of it consists of coats, scarves, and formal attire worn for work. Schiller never went out to buy clothes, so he has maintained the original owner's style, and with Gotham having been rainy recently, he almost always carries a black umbrella.

How should I put it? His image almost feels like he’s not the final villain in a TV drama, which would be a disservice to the audience.

Moreover, Schiller had only been there a few days when his students discovered that he was actually a very strict professor. His teaching level is indeed high, but he is merciless towards those who are late or leave early, and he requires pop quizzes every few classes. He directly informs the class that at least 30% of the students will fail the course, making everyone extremely nervous.

The students at Gotham University come from good families, but they are not without their rebellious streaks. No college student would like a professor like that. Initially, there were several troublemakers in Schiller’s class, but soon, someone with a big mouth leaked Schiller’s background, and the students in his class immediately quieted down like obedient sheep.

After all, how could a normal person be involved in so many serial murders? Soon, Schiller became a campus legend at Gotham University. Some say their professor is actually the murderer behind these serial killings, while others claim he carries an unfortunate curse that brings terrible incidents wherever he goes. There are even imaginative students who fabricated a tragic backstory for Schiller, suggesting that his involvement in so many murder investigations is actually for revenge.

Various versions of the story circulate, fitting the students' inner expectations. Such bizarre yet somewhat terrifying tales spread quickly among the students, and within a few days, the vast majority knew about Schiller’s past.

When Schiller went out to buy breakfast, there was never anyone at the window where he stood; the students all watched him from a distance. In class, he collected assignments with remarkable consistency—no professor had ever been able to do that.

After that confrontation one night, Schiller often felt that Bruce was following him, even during the day on campus. Fortunately, he has his spider-sense. Bruce had tried several times to install cameras in his dorm, counseling room, and classroom podium, but he was unsuccessful.

However, this provided Schiller with some inspiration. It seems that this young Batman hasn’t quite figured things out yet. But he noticed that Bruce seemed to have reached some sort of agreement with Gordon, as Schiller had visited the Morson Street area a few more times at night and found that the two of them really seemed to be working together.

Finally, one day, as bedtime approached, the sky over Gotham had darkened like ink. Schiller had no intention of going out tonight; he wanted to get a good night's sleep. Teaching at the university was not as easy as he had thought. Psychological counseling occasionally involved students who genuinely needed help—whether to relieve anxiety, alleviate depression, or provide psychological advice—these tasks could be exhausting, so he planned to sleep well.

But life doesn’t always go as planned. Jonathan, who usually only operated in the latter half of the night, suddenly left campus in the early evening. Schiller knew he probably wanted to catch a new batch of test subjects. Recently, Gordon and Bruce had been active in the Morson Street area, and Jonathan knew he couldn’t take on the police. If caught, he would definitely be locked up.

His physical condition was even worse than Schiller’s; he might even spray his fear toxin incorrectly. After Batman had cleaned up the Sewers Gang and several small gangs in the Morson Street area, he had gradually gained some notoriety. People knew there was a quirky vigilante fighting against those gangs, and Jonathan hadn’t dared to show his face for several nights.

However, his fear toxin was about to make a breakthrough, and no experimental madman could accept a failure at such a critical juncture. His test subjects had long been used up, and he had to capture new ones.

Although he wasn’t physically capable, capturing test subjects was still quite simple for him. He just needed to find a house with an open window, extend a tube inside, spray a large amount of anesthetic, and then pry open the door to drag the person out.

As Schiller watched him leave campus, he had to put on his coat, grab his umbrella, and follow behind him. Although he had no messianic complex and didn’t intend to be a superhero savior, he still felt he should intervene in the tragedy unfolding before him.

More importantly, if Jonathan continued to act recklessly, there would soon be no one left in the Morson Street area, and Batman’s debut would end before it even began. After all, the Scarecrow would eventually be caught by Batman, so why not do it today?

Moreover, Schiller had a small trick up his sleeve. He intended to teach Batman a lesson, to help him wake up from that arrogant mindset.

Currently, Batman still had room for mistakes because the Joker was merely a circus performer. Schiller didn’t dare to imagine how badly Batman would be toyed with if the Joker appeared before the young Batman now.

Although Batman was still young and had many shortcomings, it must be acknowledged that the skills he had learned while traveling abroad were not without merit.

And Jonathan was not a meticulous criminal; he had not undergone special training and lacked counter-surveillance awareness. Many of his leads had already been discovered by Batman and Gordon.

The two of them teamed up and made their way to the basement of a small church, where they found Jonathan’s laboratory. It was not a sophisticated lab; it looked much more like a shady workshop.

Dim, cramped, and filled with an unpleasant odor, Batman looked at the drainage pipe in the basement and said, “I think I know where those people went.”

Gordon approached with his gun and said, “Although I really don’t want to ask, the truth has to be written in my operation report.”

“Acid. It can not only dissolve metals but also the most troublesome parts of the human body.”

“Okay, I get it. You don’t need to go into details,” Gordon said.

They investigated the small lab, and suddenly Gordon found some traces beneath an old crate—some broken leaves.

“North American red pine,” Batman said. “I see its needle leaves.”

“Damn it, where are there any pine trees in Gotham? Otherwise, the weather wouldn’t be like this,” Gordon said.

“I think there’s a place with this type of plant…” Batman said.

“Gotham University. It’s the best-greened place in all of Gotham City. On the wide sidewalks there, you can find this plant on both sides.”

Gordon squatted down and carefully examined the traces, saying, “It should be the killer’s boots that stepped on these leaves. There’s still mud on them, which clearly indicates that the heavy rain these past few days has caused him quite a bit of trouble. After he came here, the stains inadvertently fell off, and he didn’t bother to clean them up.”

Gordon looked up and said, “The killer is a student at Gotham University?”

“Or it could also be a professor,” Batman replied.

“Is it that person you threatened the other day?” Gordon asked.

“I wasn’t threatening him,” Batman said.

“But you cut his throat with a dart and made him bleed a lot. A wound that long will definitely leave a scar,” Gordon said.

“Are you sympathizing with a criminal?” Batman asked.

“He’s not a criminal, at least not until he’s been tried.”

“Trial…” Batman snorted coldly.

Gordon sensed Batman’s distrust of the judicial system. He didn’t respond with righteous indignation; he had been a police officer in Gotham for quite some time now, and the judicial system here was indeed untrustworthy, or rather, the entire order system here was untrustworthy.

“But from my perspective, you wield a dangerous weapon and wantonly harm an unarmed ordinary person—that’s a threat,” Gordon said.

“Unarmed…” Batman said.

He suddenly found himself unable to refute Gordon because, to his knowledge, Schiller indeed had not received any professional combat training, and Batman was sure he could take him down with one punch.

But he had been troubled by this person for many days with no way to deal with it. He suddenly remembered a saying he had heard while studying abroad—words are mightier than fists.

But that was as far as it went, Batman thought.

The killer was undoubtedly from Gotham University; there was almost no other answer. Wasn’t the evidence strong enough? Perhaps it was time to send that crazy professor to prison.

He looked at the stained drainage pipe beneath his feet, where the souls of over forty people had vanished, and among them, some must have had parents.

A long time ago, on that night, his parents’ lives had been extinguished in an alley, yet no one had paid the price they should have.

But now it was different. With him here, these criminals would ultimately end up where they belonged, and not a single one would escape.