"Professor Rodriguez? What brings you here?" Shivana stood on the ladder by the bookshelf and turned her head towards the door.
"I've come to get the notes from today's lecture, and there's something I need to discuss with you." Shiller stood at the doorway, took off his coat, and hung it on the nearby rack. He walked over to the desk and sat down, and Shivana came over as well.
"You can just ask Brainiac for the board notes. Did something happen?"
"Have you been at the Magic Academy recently?"
"Yes, Christmas is coming up, and the school is hosting a ball. We want to make it lively, so there are many things to manage."
"A student at Gotham University attempted suicide." Shiller paused for a moment and then explained the situation briefly.
"This is not an attempted suicide," Shivana said. "Someone who truly wants to die wouldn't make such a fuss. He's only using this method to force you to compromise."
"That's indeed the case. We can all tell he doesn't really want to die, and perhaps won't succeed either. But ultimately, the matter needs resolving, doesn't it?"
"So it seems Professor Fries is unwilling to compromise?"
"Mr. President," Shiller looked into Shivana's eyes and said, "Victor Fries may seem very good-natured, but that doesn't mean he's easy to push around. He's a scientist with principles, and you can't ask him to compromise professionally. Besides, Chick's mishap that burned the low-temperature controller cost seventy thousand US Dollars..."
"Alright, I'll have someone sue him right away," Shivana said through gritted teeth. "Gotham University's financial situation is already less than optimistic. Nearly all investments and projects are due to him. We can't allow someone to burn through our money like this."
"I'm afraid you can't. This involves a love triangle between two men and a woman..."
"Damn it, when will these bratty kids take their eyes off their pants?!"
"I'm afraid it's very difficult," Shiller said. "If word gets out, it would definitely be a scandal and affect admissions. Even if he doesn't succeed in dying, a suicide attempt could attract widespread attention."
"That's odd," Shivana said. "Since when does a student suicide in Gotham make the news?"
"It's precisely because it's suicide that it makes the news. If it were a bombing, perhaps no one would bother to report it."
"They'll say we drove him to his death, right?" Shivana opened his mouth and pounded on the table. "They'll portray Gotham University as a den of iniquity, talk about how we coerced and abused him..."
"And also involve persecution of homosexuals."
"God." Shivana leaned back abruptly, scratched his head, and then said, "How about just having someone murder him, so the case becomes so routine it doesn't draw any attention. And if the body is posed, it would be even more of the same old story."
"Brainiac is watching you."
"No, it's mainly because he's watching you. Otherwise, this would have been resolved long ago."
Shiller turned his head away and said helplessly, "Why would I murder a student?"
"Doesn't his unreasonable behavior anger you?"
"It's not unreasonable; it's justifiable. Even though he's agitated and completely irrational, I can understand why he behaves this way."
"Didn't you ever try scolding him?"
"I've already exposed him," Shiller said. "It's already a significant mental blow for him. Continuing further would be actual murder."
After their complaints, Shivana thought seriously for a moment and then said, "You mentioned he's from a single-parent family with a mother who strictly controls him. I'll try to communicate with his mother."
"That would be best," Shiller replied. "Hopefully, resolve this by tomorrow. If Victor loses control, we're all celebrating Christmas in a freezer."
After leaving Shivana, Shiller returned to Gotham University. By that time, it was lunchtime for students, and the dining hall was crowded. Shiller ordered delivery to his office instead.
He glanced at the weather and opened the weather forecast app on his phone. "Continuous snowfall..."
"Will it last until tomorrow morning?" Shiller asked.
"It'll stop for a while tonight and then continue until morning," Brainiac replied. "You'd better go home while the snow has stopped, or you might not be able to."
"I really must go back," Shiller said. "If the snow keeps up, the temperature will drop significantly. There aren't enough heavy clothes in the office, so I need to go and get some."
"Alright. The itinerary has been updated. Destination: Nature Reserve... I mean, your cozy home."
All afternoon, Shiller prepared for classes. After finishing the last evening seminar, he got into his car. The snow had indeed stopped. He drove straight home, with time to spare. Shiller gathered some of his thicker clothes, including heavier suits and overcoats, as well as some cashmere sweaters, to bring to school the next day.
Once the fireplace was lit, Shiller went upstairs to sleep. But in the early hours, a phone call woke him. Outside, the snow was dimly visible, with the glow of streetlights swaying in the distance.
"Shiller." When Nora's voice came from the other end of the phone, Shiller had a bad feeling.
"Chick is dead. Victor's emotions are out of control, I'm worried he'll encase someone in ice."
"Where are you now?"
"Hospital."
"...What happened to Victor?"
"It's not Victor. Billy got caught in a snowstorm on his way home from school. He got wet and caught a fever. For the sake of his immune system, Brainiac advises against him using superpowers to recover, and I can't leave now."
"Don't worry, ma'am, I'll go check it out." Shiller sat up from the bed and dressed as quickly as possible. He got in the car, intending to head toward Gotham University. However, Brainiac alerted him that Chick died in the South District.
"What?"
"Gotham University is full of surveillance; he couldn't have died there. He lived in one of the old shared villas in the South District. That's where he died."
Shiller's heart sank. For a professor, not dying at the school was certainly good news. However, the situation at the South District villa was somewhat complicated. He had a premonition that this would be a tricky case.
As expected, when Shiller arrived, several police cars had already surrounded the villa. The glow of police lights illuminated the night sky, and the snow-covered ground was tinted with vivid red and blue, while the yellow of the caution tape was even more striking.
Shiller saw Gordon's patrol car but didn't approach it. In Gotham, no police would stop him. Shiller got out of the car, tightened his coat, and walked toward the caution tape. The officer opened the barrier as soon as he saw him, and Shiller nodded at him.
Gordon had just walked out of the crime scene. Shiller couldn't remember the number of times he's seen Gordon walk out of a crime scene. This scene kept playing out, never stopping.
Snow clung to Gordon's hair, and the coat he wore over his uniform was wet. His glasses were covered with droplets. Seeing Shiller, Gordon was unsurprised. He said, "Brainiac told me you and Victor contacted him during the day."
"More than that. We talked to him for quite a while," Shiller sighed. "I regret we couldn't prevent the tragedy. But whether things are as imagined, we'll have to see after investigating."
"That's not the focus," Gordon shook his head and said, "You have to calm Victor down first. He's already frozen the corpse with dense ice."
Shiller frowned slightly: "He wouldn't vent his anger like this."
"He's not venting. He suspects foul play in the student's death and is worried someone will tamper with the body. He might be waiting for you to come over."
Shiller didn't ask further and walked into the villa. The reason the situation here was more complicated was that this place was considered an abandoned wealthy district.
Most of the wealthy in the South District had moved to the inner world, leaving many villas vacant. But due to previous inertia, many preferred to choose small East District apartments. They had heating, were inexpensive, and had complete surveillance systems. There hasn't been a murder case for over a year.
However, the world never lacks gamblers eager to make a big score. Some believed they could take this opportunity to claim a villa, perhaps earning Brainiac's recognition of their property rights, or at least occupying a part of it, and when development occurs in a few years, they could get a share.
Thus, people began to flock to the affluent South District. Brainiac had exercised control, but only managing average living space, meaning there couldn't be too many people in one space, nor one person occupying a space entirely, without much other control. These people settled this way.
Chick and his mother were among them. Originally poor from the East Dock, worried that once Brainiac withdrew, the East District would return to its former chaos, they simply resided in the South District.
The model here meant many people shared one villa, but not with individual rooms. Some occupied the hall, some occupied rooms, and others occupied the kitchen and bathroom together.
They opened separate doors, some built staircases from the second floor down, others added rooms on the top floor. As long as the structural safety wasn't compromised, Brainiac didn't interfere. This also led to some safety blind spots yet to install surveillance cameras.
Chick died in one of these blind spots. A rope hung from a railing below the extended second-floor balcony, with Chick hanging between the second and first floors. The body was already frozen by Victor but still maintained the expression it had upon death.
Victor stood leaning against the wall, his face bleak. As Shiller entered, Victor raised a gun. Shiller quickly raised both hands and said, "It's me."
Victor was momentarily confused, but quickly regained clarity, put away the gun, and said, "Oh God, you're finally here! I'm really going crazy!"
"Don't worry, Victor. Since there's been a murder, you and I will surely figure it out. It won't be like before where his one-sided statement entangled you."
Victor was hardly comforted. He said, "I should never have let him go home. I should have watched him the entire time, not giving him any chance to commit suicide."
Victor looked up at the sky, sighed, and said, "I didn't even know his home was around here. I know his family conditions aren't good, thought they lived in the East District. I've been to the East District, know the security there is fine. I thought Brainiac wouldn't let him commit suicide at home..."
Shiller could see that guilt was dominating Victor's emotions. Chick was very young, just starting his freshman year. Under Brainiac's screening mechanism, anyone admitted to college was considered talented. Chick was careless but didn't have serious issues, otherwise, he'd have been expelled.
First, he made a mistake leading to the burning of expensive equipment, reprimanded by his mentor. Then the heartbreak from being dumped by his girlfriend, followed by being approached by the principal. Multiple emotional stimuli like this could indeed lead to extreme actions.
However, Shiller still didn't believe this was a suicide case. If he had seen any suicidal tendencies in Chick's emotions, he would have had Victor keep an eye on him.
The fact was, although Chick was very angry and resentful, completely unable to control his emotions, he hadn't actually contemplated suicide. Making a scene in the lab was just to vent his feelings, wanting an explanation for the grievances he suffered.
Shiller looked up at the scene of the crime.