The peak of New York summer has finally passed, and it's gotten cooler in the mornings and evenings. More and more people are taking walks in Central Park. Through the layered shadows of the trees, the rustling sound of the wind blowing leaves, the quiet murmuring, the barking of cats and dogs, the ringing of bicycle bells, and the gradually weakening chirping of autumn insects, drift through the cracks in the windows, cooling down pens that had been warm with body heat and drying the ink on the paper.
"...Please, citizens who have not undergone a medical examination, go to the designated hospitals as soon as possible. Failure to update your health status information in time will render your driver's license and train ticket passes and other identification documents unusable. Repeating..."
Shiller turned off the television and picked up another report that required his signature. He glanced at it from top to bottom; all the data was standard, only slightly higher than before. This indicated that the patients in the sanatorium weren't significantly affected by the Spiritual Energy Recovery, and no magical or physical mutations had occurred. For him as the director, that's as good as it gets.
Dingling – the phone rang. Shiller picked up the receiver beside him, only to find it wasn't an internal call. It was Strange calling him.
"Alright, so it seems you've already discussed the results. I have no opinion. I'm not like Tony or Reed, with independent laboratories. There's nothing much to see in the sanatorium. If they insist on coming, I could ask them to fill out a psychological evaluation report or something. That's it."
Hanging up the phone, there's a knock on the room door. The head nurse came in with another pile of documents. Standing in front of the desk, he said, "Good news, Doctor. The list of supervisory personnel sent by the community this year requires us to oversee only three people."
"Three people? Wasn't it said there were still more than a dozen people before? What happened to the others?" Shiller furrowed his brow and asked.
"Don't worry too much, Doctor. Their situations are all documented in the report. According to evaluations by authoritative mental institutions, their mental status has improved and basically reached a level of self-care. The community no longer has the obligation to select supervisory institutions for them."
Shiller looked closely at the report and found that what the head nurse said was true. Most of the patients originally distributed to his sanatorium by the community had recovered. The remaining three were extremely severe cases of schizophrenia, but even their conditions had somewhat improved.
"I heard from a classmate at Columbia University Medical School that it seems to be the influence of Magic Power," the head nurse said. "This power can not only improve people's cardiovascular level and muscle strength but also stabilize human mental states. After two weeks in this environment, there's a noticeable improvement. The young girls under me also mentioned recently that many patients have calmed down a lot."
"That's even better." Shiller set the report down, saying, "Tomorrow, there might be several people coming to visit the sanatorium. You should prepare the reception."
"Are they big shots from Washington again?"
"Not really. But try to keep them from having contact with the patients. I'll personally host them. Later, I may need to go to the West Coast for a while, and I'll hand over the work to the deputy director."
After the head nurse left, Shiller picked up the phone to dial Nick's number, informing him of the recent discovery. Nick said, "I was just about to find you. Over at Congress, they're consulting me on whether to set up a research group dedicated to studying the impact of Magic Power on people's mental states. They want you and Professor X to join."
"If Professor X is participating, what's the sense of me joining?"
"You charge more."
"Alright, I want 30%." Shiller switched the topic, "How on earth did Steven and Tony convince you to agree to Batman visiting New York? Aren't you worried about free-range nuclear threats now?"
"You also need to understand my predicament," Nick sighed deeply and said, "Stark's lab, Osborn's lab, Richards' lab, Doom's lab, Otto's lab, Parker's lab, Connors' lab... They're all waiting for science's God to descend."
"And as the Pope, what you do is accept their bribes and let Gods roam freely in his realm?"
"It's not reckless. I dispatched Natasha to keep an eye on them."
"How is that different from sending a sheep into a tiger's den?"
"Why would you think our female agent is a sheep?"
"I'm talking about Batman."
"But they're numerous."
"Only lambs move in herds." Shiller sighed, saying, "Don't tell me you don't know the rough way Natasha and Arkham Batman solved their dispute. Now both Bucky and Barton are pursuing her; are you desperate to make New York even more lively?"
"I have no time for these romantic entanglements," Nick said. "If she splattered blood on them simultaneously, I'd pop champagne at her funeral."
Nick hung up the phone, leaving Shiller to shake his head somewhat helplessly. Just as he wanted to dial another number, Natasha came rushing in.
"This is already the sixth time, ma'am."
"What?"
"Bursting into my office without knocking."
"I'm an agent." Natasha said, glancing at Shiller's resigned expression, and added, "Alright, next time I enter your bedroom, I won't knock either."
"What's wrong?"
"An impending disaster." Natasha dragged over a chair and sat down. "The thing is, my former former boyfriend and my former boyfriend are chasing me, and I'm now assigned to spy on my former boyfriend. Short of killing them all, is there any other way for me to escape?"
"No, ma'am. Your only mistake was not killing them one by one when breaking up. Now that they've all survived and gathered together, even God is powerless."
Natasha collapsed onto the desk.
"What you need to think about most now is the question regarding Arkham Batman," Shiller said. "Do you know what he did in the Magic Academy?"
"I heard he stirred quite an uproar."
"Because someone shot and injured him, he not only spared the culprits but implicated everyone related. And at that time, he only had broken ribs. You nearly excavated his heart; why do you think he specially wants to come to New York before heading home?"
"You just repeated the question." Natasha banged the table with a "bang" and said, "What I need is a solution."
"First, tell me your motive; do you really want to kill him?"
"Not at all." Natasha leaned back in the chair, took out a pack of cigarettes and waved them. Shiller slightly nodded, and Natasha lit a cigarette, blowing smoke to the side.
"In a nutshell, there are some differences."
"Where?"
"What?"
"Where are the differences located?"
"Shouldn't you ask what the disagreement is?"
"That's not important." Shiller shook his head and said, "My research on sexual psychology is not deep, but I do know a thing or two. Between the sexes, the location where the conflict arises is more important than the conflict itself."
"In bed." Natasha said succinctly.
"Okay. Is it related to sex?"
"Not much."
"Then it is related. Did you stab him?"
"Just one stab."
"Did he call you a madman?"
"No. He definitely knows he's in the wrong."
Shiller shook his head and said, "He just doesn't plan to argue with you under those circumstances."
"Perhaps because we both temporarily can't disconnect." Natasha rolled her eyes and said, "Ugh, men."
"So, you didn't stop."
"No." Natasha thought for a moment and said, "I actually admire him a bit. If it were Tony Stark, he'd probably have screamed and jumped right to the middle of the Pacific Ocean."
"What a tough guy." Shiller couldn't help but sigh, "Now tell me about your little conflict. How did he annoy you?"
"He said he's the US President."
"Hmm, and then?"
"I think he's lying to me."
"Why do you think so?"
"How could Congress allow such an amazing person to be President?"
"Perhaps they have no choice."
"He asked if I wanted to join him at a banquet, I refused, but he kept asking. I slapped him, and when he reached out again, he grabbed my wrist, so I took out a knife. I admit I was a bit impulsive."
"Oh, I see." Shiller relaxed and said, "Small issue."
Natasha looked at him skeptically, and after a moment, decided to trust Shiller's professional judgment. Then she said, "Tomorrow, Batman will be coming to New York to visit various laboratories, and I'll be in charge of all security work. Do you think there's anything to keep in mind?"
"Not really, they might just throw around cameras, but the networks of the two universes aren't interconnected. They can't see from over there. You can pick up the cameras they throw and hand them over to Nick, which might be able to innovate our camera technology."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Natasha left quickly, probably to prepare for the visit the next day. Shiller also made some arrangements at the health facility, mainly for fear that Batman's arrival would disturb the patients. In the evening, he took a stroll through Central Park.
Ever since Stark Group's floating cars hit the market, occasionally one or two luxury vintage cars could be seen flying over New York's wealthy district. But due to their high price and the need for asset verification, not many have been sold, making them still a rarity.
So, the next morning, when a flying Batmobile glowing with magic light landed in the facility's parking lot, the surrounding passersby and neighbors all took out their phones to take photos.
Stark staggered out of the car like a wandering soul, and as soon as he landed, he began retching. Peter wasn't much better off, despite reclaiming Spider Man's balance, he was shaken pale.
"I'm so wronged." Stark looked at the approaching Shiller and said, "You must apologize for your assessment of my driving skills, or you have to sit in his car and take a spin with him."
"No need, I apologize." Shiller said, "Compared to Batman, you drive steadier than the subway."
Peter rubbed his waist and said, "Oh God, when he accelerated, I was almost smacked into the seat and turned into a blob of spider sauce. With this power, why are you studying race cars? Go study time machines instead!"
At this moment, Arkham Batman and Primary Universe Batman stepped down from the driver's seat and passenger seat. They remained calm and began to observe the health facility.
"I've heard of you, Director." Primary Universe Batman stepped forward to shake hands with Shiller, saying, "I heard the facility moved not long ago, are the doctors and patients adapting well?"
"Pretty well."
"If there's anything we can help with, we'll do our utmost." While exchanging pleasantries, they walked inside the facility. Many patients opened their windows to look out, thinking maybe another official from Washington was visiting, only to see two similarly handsome blue-eyed men, sparking cheers and whistles.
Shiller skillfully pointed at their windows, calling their names and telling them to close the windows. From the building came scolding voices of nurses and the laughter of teenagers.
"This is not quite what I imagined." Arkham Batman said.
Shiller glanced at him and said, "What did you imagine it to be like? A large human experiment base?"
"Completely the opposite. Perhaps a luxury shopping mall or something."
"Then you'll be disappointed. The fees here are actually not high, and many patients are assigned by the community. I can only get a small subsidy."
"But it doesn't seem like you lack money."
"Are you from the tax bureau? Still investigating my income source?"