Jenna opened her mouth but didn't know how to explain for a moment. She said, "Principal Xi Wana is repulsed by being suppressed. No matter whom he is talking to, he must always dominate. Any coercion, judgment, or any behavior that views him as an object will seriously trigger his stress response."
"I suggest Principal Xi Wana contact Chick's mother," Shiller continued.
"Oh, God." Victor seemed to realize something.
Just as Shiller said earlier, Chick's emotional outburst might be imitating his mother. That is to say, his mother is even more extreme in crying, creating a scene, and threatening suicide.
Victor also knew Xi Wana somewhat. The principal is very tough. No matter who comes along, if you want to communicate with him, you must follow his lead. If you have any intention of stepping on him, nothing will be agreed upon.
Moreover, he's also a very emotional person. If you upset him, he will find ways to retaliate against you, not considering the big picture at all, and won't deal with issues objectively.
Generally speaking, this type of person is not very suitable as a leader. But due to Gotham's unique situation, such tough and petty people actually thrive. In the magic realm, the way to generate revenue is through revenge; the smaller the heart eye, the more you'll gain.
When these two types of people meet, won't it be a clash of titans?
However, clearly, that type of emotional manipulation, like crying, creating a scene, and threatening suicide, only works among opponents of the same level. Step back, it only works against those who need to consider the big picture.
But unfortunately, Xi Wana is not someone who considers the bigger picture, but rather if you upset him, he'll make you even more upset. His social status is much higher than Chick's mother. In their clash, Chick's mother is at a disadvantage.
He has too many points to control Chick's mother. Not to mention the equipment worth seventy thousand US Dollars — if he really wants to pursue the matter legally, that money is as good as gone. Even if not in full, losing even a tenth would be devastating.
And, although one doesn't need a loan to attend university now, the consequences of bad behavior records are more severe. Once expelled, it's impossible to find a good job, as Brainiac will clearly record all bad behavior, and the records are globally applicable, making it impossible to deceive by changing locations.
Chick's mother surely hopes for her son's success, so she cannot accept her son being expelled. As long as Xi Wana seizes on this point, Chick's mother will have no way of fighting back.
Once Chick's mother loses, it's hard to expect such a person to control her emotions. Someone habituated to oppressing others will inevitably lash out at others to express emotions when things don't go well.
And just then, Chick returns home, landing in his mother's hands, ensuring a difficult night ahead.
"Professor, are you suggesting that Chick's mother might have killed him?" Barry asked, frowning, "Even though his mother is not a good person, I don't think she'd kill her own son just because of this, right?"
Victor nodded in agreement. Although he also believed Chick's mother would certainly abuse Chick, still, as they rely on each other. Chick's future success also relates to his mother's future life, it shouldn't lead to murder.
"Do you think his mother's personality is normal?"
"Uh... this can't be considered normal, right?" Victor said, "Honestly, I believe Brainiac's criterion for judging mental patients is somewhat lenient. This person really needs to see a doctor."
"Then what caused this abnormality?" Shiller asked again.
Everyone was stunned; they genuinely hadn't considered this issue. After all, there are so many annoying people in the world, and no one usually gets to the bottom of why they have developed such annoying personalities. But upon further thought, it's actually quite worth researching.
As for being innate, not entirely. Human genes don't wield such power as to creatively produce so many quirks. The greatest variable remains the external environment.
"Are you suggesting Chick's mother is also imitating someone?" Victor contemplated and said, "Is she learning from others too?"
"No." Jenna was the first to speak, "On the contrary, this is cognitive behavior."
Victor looked at her, and Jenna thought for a moment before saying, "She is very aware of her situation, and she resents it, feeling justified about her feelings. Therefore, she desperately tries to express these to those around her. Whether it's threatening suicide or making unreasonable scenes, she believes these are helpless acts given the situation, both justified and should be understood by others."
"I'm poor, I'm justified?" Barry frowned.
Shiller shook his head and said, "Not only poverty, certainly some deeper oppression."
Now he turned to Victor and asked, "Do you know Chick's father?"
"I only heard they got divorced." Victor said with a frown.
"Chick's father might be a wealthy man," Shiller said. Victor widened his eyes at him as if saying, "How did you deduce that?"
"Moving to a villa in the South District is an inherently risky move," Shiller said, "People who have always lived among civilians may not have this kind of confidence. Some people have nothing to lose and don't fear anything; they are already dirt poor, and at worst, they gamble it all. Even if political changes confiscate their home, they're still at rock bottom and have nothing to fear. But clearly that's not the case with Chick's family."
Victor once again recalled the scene in the house. To be honest, the house was beyond messy and dirty that it couldn't be explained just by having too many things. It was clear that the people living there didn't have good living habits, resulting in the mess and filth, with grease and dust everywhere. This also proved that their background wasn't great; they might even have been homeless before.
Such people moving into a mansion area for co-tenancy certainly have no psychological pressure. At worst, I could go back to wandering the streets; it won't be any worse. But those ordinary people from the East District, like dock workers, street vendors, or even scavengers, with relatively stable jobs and barely livable housing, wouldn't take such a risk. If the house in the South District is repossessed and they can't go back to the East District, it would be disastrous.
However, Chick is a student at Gotham University. Nowadays, the university's admission standards are rising, and low-temperature physics is an extremely popular subject with visible bright prospects. According to reason, their family shouldn't gamble everything.
Staying in the East District is stable, and once Chick graduates, life conditions will certainly improve rapidly. But moving to the South District, if policies change, it might even implicate Chick. People with normal brains wouldn't do this, but Chick's mother did.
This can only prove that she might not be trying to gamble, but possibly just wants to live in the South District, or even in a particular house in a certain area—it's her obsession.
"You mean she might have been a mistress of a wealthy man in the past, and Chick is an illegitimate child?"
Shiller nodded and said, "I'm afraid that is the case. Chick's biological father went to the inner world, didn't take them along, and might have completely cut off contact. This is something she cannot accept; she feels abandoned, which makes her deeply resentful and fearful."
"Fearful?"
"A mistress who managed to latch onto a truly wealthy man and bore an illegitimate child wouldn't just do it for a few bucks. But the inner world incident completely shattered her plans. Some scenarios she envisioned will never occur, yet she lacks a plan for life outside that scheme. Everything is unknown, so naturally, she feels fearful."
"That's really melodramatic." said Victor, "It's all just speculation, we have no solid evidence... Okay, it's meaningless to say this to you. Let's assume it's true, what benefit does it have for deducing the murderer?"
"This basically rules out Chick's mother's suspicion." Shiller picked up his hot tea, took a sip, and then said, "Of course, his mother hopes he is excellent, but she has other expectations for him. These expectations are not based on whether he is gay or academically successful; as long as he lives, it's enough. Because the root of these expectations comes from blood lineage."
"Therefore, even if Chick causes trouble at school and his mother hits a dead end with Principal Xi Wana, they will certainly have arguments, Chick might suffer abuse, but his mother would never kill him, because his bloodline is her most important hope."
"Well, is it possible that it's his father?" Barry said, "He doesn't want this disgraceful illegitimate child, so he killed him."
"Even more melodramatic." Victor responded.
"I don't think it's necessary." Shiller said, "After all, his father has already gone to the inner world, completely severing ties with this side. And Chick's mother doesn't have the ability to find him, so this poses no trouble for him. If he really wanted to act, he should have removed the hidden danger before going to the inner world, not try to find ways to act now."
Victor nodded in agreement. He touched his chin, then said, "Then could it be his biological father's legal wife..."
"How can you still have the nerve to say we're melodramatic?" Jenna couldn't help but comment.
"But this is indeed possible." Victor spread his hands, "It's the most fundamental dispute of interests, inheritance rights are very important."
"First, Brainiac's law does not recognize the inheritance rights of illegitimate children, and it can be perfectly enforced to the end. Secondly, the existence of the legal wife is still in doubt. Because if such a person indeed exists, Chick's mother shouldn't have such great expectations. If the legal wife and legitimate children exist, she should know she has no hope at all."
"Indeed." Victor suddenly realized, "After all, Chick's mother should also be aware of Brainiac's inheritance law, so her hope should rest on the sparse population on his biological father's side, and if it's about will inheritance, she might have a chance."
"Since we ruled out problems on Chick's family side, then the likelihood of his ex-boyfriend and his ex-boyfriend's girlfriend being involved increases." Barry sighed, "So the question returns to whether they are super villains capable of evading Brainiac surveillance."
"I don't think they are." Jenna said, "At least Pelota definitely isn't that clever, smart people don't blindly listen and believe."
"Then it's Milos." Barry said, "He seems to have the highest suspicion. But if it's really him, how did he deceive Brainiac?"
"The key lies in timing." Shiller said, "There are many ways to commit murder, the simplest is to stab directly. Chick isn't some tremendously strong Hercules; one stab would be fatal. But the killer still chose to hang him."
"That's to fake a suicide, right?" Jenna said, "Oh wait, if it's just a simple suicide disguise, hanging on the beam would be better. Why hang the body outside the window?"
"That's the key." Shiller said, "From inside the room hanging someone out of the window is an extremely strange posture, normal people wouldn't think of it."
"Adopting this method of murder, it's either to express certain thoughts or it's a last resort measure, without which they'd expose themselves."
"Which do you think it is?" Victor asked.
Shiller was just about to speak when his phone rang. He picked up the phone: "Hello?"
"Hello? Scotland Yard. A student has died in the dormitory. You need to come over quickly for a look."
The atmosphere in the room instantly froze.