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Chapter 166: The Long Easter (6)

"The condition of the patient in room 2 needs to be observed further. Also, the dosage of the medication for the two patients on the fourth floor was adjusted yesterday. Go to Nurse Jenny and get the prescription. Also, pay close attention to hospital room 13. Yesterday, his arm was dislocated when he struggled..."

Schiller, dressed in a white coat, briskly walked down the corridor while briefing the nurse behind him. When he walked into his office, Brand was lying on the sofa, dozing off with his eyes closed. He startled awake at the sound and sneezed, then asked hoarsely, "You're here? How are the patients doing?"

Schiller shook his head, put down the medical record in his hand, and said, "Not very optimistic. Five more people were admitted yesterday, and one male student's symptoms are very severe. I'll have to go over later."

"You go ahead. Leave it to me."

Saying that, Brand stood up and walked to the coffee machine, intending to pour himself a cup of coffee. Schiller said, "Make me a double espresso... two cups, please. I'm a little tired."

"You're only feeling tired now? Thank goodness! You've been working for over 50 hours straight, haven't you?"

Schiller yawned and said, "It's okay. I'll go to bed after I take care of the male student's condition."

After saying that, he took the coffee from Brand's hand and left.

He arrived at a hospital room on the fifth floor, pushed open the door, and the male student on the bed suddenly woke up like a startled beast. He began to struggle frantically on the bed. If his arms weren't tied to the railings, he might have jumped up and pounced on Schiller by now.

Schiller knew that he couldn't diagnose this case according to normal psychiatric cases because all the cases that were admitted overnight were the same symptoms. Obviously, this was not a natural onset.

If it wasn't a natural onset, the cause might become very bizarre, and it might also be mixed with some elements of mysticism. Such cases are almost impossible to be analyzed by modern medical means, but so far, Schiller hasn't found a good diagnostic method.

While Schiller was thinking, a wave of brainwaves came from inside his fog: "I can do it..."

"What? What can you do?"

"You want to check, right? I can do it..."

Schiller asked in confusion, "How do you plan to check?"

"You touch him with one hand..."

Following the gray mist's instructions, Schiller reached out and touched the male student's shoulder. The male student desperately twisted his head, with a ferocious expression trying to bite Schiller's hand, but as the imperceptible gray mist floated into his body, he gradually calmed down.

A series of brainwaves feedback into Schiller's mind, allowing him to understand certain functions of the human body from a more intuitive perspective.

He said to the symbiote in his mind, "When did you learn to do this?"

"Take your hand off," the symbiote replied.

Schiller hesitated for a moment, then removed his hand. He suddenly had another person's perspective, that of the boy, instead of looking at the ceiling.

Schiller said in surprise, "Did you split?"

The symbiote transmitted a series of negative emotions, then a wisp of mist drifted out of the boy's body and back to Schiller. The second perspective disappeared as if it had never existed, and the symbiote did not change at all, with no additional consciousness.

"I am different from them," the symbiote's voice came through. "I am mist, and mist is not a single entity..."

Then, through the symbiote's brainwaves, Schiller understood that the mist was significantly different from other symbiotes due to its different form. Because of its misty form, it could not split or, in other words, it was always splitting.

Other symbiotes were also made up of symbiote factors, but Venom's symbiote factors were stuck together. Once separated, they became two independent individuals.

However, the mist's symbiote factors were originally not connected and were scattered. Even if they were cut apart, they would only be separated by distance, still a whole.

"So you can't reproduce offspring like other symbiotes?" Schiller asked.

"I can, as long as I voluntarily give up that part of the factor, it will become another symbiote."

Schiller nodded and said, "So you can attach yourself to someone else's body, and the part that you attach to will still follow your commands. And I can indirectly control others through you?"

The mist transmitted affirmative brainwaves and said, "But the control of the factor is limited and cannot perform precise movements. I can only have an understanding of his condition, and the farther away, the weaker the information feedback."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Schiller asked.

"I couldn't before, there was food everywhere, and I ate too much, so it was enough."

"Food everywhere?" Schiller asked in confusion. "Could it be the rainwater? Does that rainwater have an effect on you too?"

"Like alcohol," the symbiote answered. "Like fear toxin, it tastes good and makes me full."

Schiller rubbed his chin and thought that if rainwater was useful for symbiotes, it meant that there were certain substances in rainwater that could stimulate symbiotes.

He also thought that Venom was really unlucky, if he followed him back to Gotham, the whole city would be his meal. Why would he still be thinking about those chocolate balls?

Later, Schiller let the mist attach to the boy's body and conducted a comprehensive examination. After that, he found an unknown substance in the boy's blood, which was the culprit for his madness and excitement.

Schiller didn't act rashly because he didn't know the cause of this substance. In the spirit of being responsible to the patient, he thought it would be more prudent to identify the culprit first and then treat it. Therefore, he withdrew the mist and decided to observe further.

While Schiller was trying to calm the patient's emotions with the mist, Victor called again, saying, "Come quickly, something has happened."

Hearing Victor's serious tone, Schiller knew that it was likely that someone had died. He went back to the office to change his clothes and then headed to Gotham University.

As soon as he entered the gate, he saw two police cars parked on the road. Walking forward, a group of people surrounded a circle, and the police were shouting, "Get out of the way! All of you, move!"

Schiller walked over, and the young police officer was about to stop him, but an older police officer next to him grabbed his colleague and said, "Professor Rodriguez, right? Chief Gordon will be here soon. Please go in first."

Schiller nodded to him and then walked quickly into the area within the cordon. He saw Victor standing next to a police car, and a police officer was questioning him.

"What happened?" Schiller asked as he walked over.

He glanced behind the police car and saw what seemed to be a scene of someone falling from a building. There was a shadow lying on the ground, and blood was splattered everywhere.

"Sheldon is dead," Victor said, looking back at the scene of the fall. "He fell from the balcony of his office, eight floors high, and died on the spot."

"What exactly happened? Can you tell me?"

Victor shook his head and said, "I don't know. You should know that we are short-staffed recently, and many students have been falling ill. I am busy subduing the patients and also trying to find their commonalities."

Victor glanced at the police officer who was busy taking notes and continued speaking, "I was busy with my work when Principal Sheldon suddenly called me and asked me to come to his office. So, I had to put down my work and hurry over to the administrative building..."

"As usual, I entered the administrative building and as I was walking towards the fourth floor, I saw a dark figure falling down from the window in the hallway. Then, I heard a loud 'bang' and when I looked down from the window, I saw Sheldon's body."

"To be honest..." Schiller patted Victor's shoulder and said, "Your narration has increased your suspicion by 30% out of nowhere. When Gordon arrives, don't say it like this."

"But what I said is the truth..."

"You can beautify the process a bit, like saying that you and Sheldon were having a great conversation over the phone, and he strongly requested that you come to his office for a small gathering. You tried to decline in every way possible but had to go to the administrative building in the end..."

"And because the building was cracked and the power was out, the elevator couldn't be used, so you had to climb the stairs. As a researcher with no strength, you were already exhausted by the time you climbed to the third floor. Panting heavily, you made it to the fourth floor and rested by the window, only to see an unknown dark figure falling."

"You were terrified and ran out of the hallway to call the police."

"Don't forget..." Schiller reminded Victor, "You're not a local resident of Gotham, only locals can appear so calm in a murder case."

"I found out after I came here that this place is quite suitable for me." Victor shrugged, "I don't know why, but I don't feel anything about corpses and blood. I'm a bit too calm."

Soon, another police car arrived and Gordon rushed out of the car. As soon as he saw Schiller, he took a deep breath and walked quickly towards him. He first peeked towards the body and then looked at Schiller with suspicion.

"I didn't do this, the witness is here," Schiller pushed Victor forward and explained to Gordon, "This is what happened..."

Victor repeated the explanation that Schiller had given him, and Gordon frowned. "Your story is a bit far-fetched. How is that possible? Oh, wait, you're not a local resident, right?...That makes sense."

"Local residents of Gotham only curse and complain about blood and brain matter when they see someone falling from a building, asking us to clean the floor quickly..."

"Anyway, let's go take a look at the scene first."

Several people bypassed the police car and entered the cordon. Sheldon's body lay in the middle of the road.

Schiller glanced and said, "His luck wasn't very good. He landed on a sharp corner of the road surface crack. Otherwise, there might have been a chance for him to survive."

Gordon waved his hand, and a group of police officers began to investigate the scene. Then, they moved the body onto a car and took it back for an autopsy.

Gordon stood at the spot where Sheldon fell and looked up at the 8th floor of the administrative building, which was still lit up. He turned to Schiller and Victor and said, "I'm sorry, but according to standard procedures, you two can't participate in the next steps. Witness Victor Fris needs to come with us..."

"As for you, Professor Rodriguez, you may have to wait to be summoned."

What surprised Gordon was that neither of these two showed any objection. Victor cooperated very well and got into the police car with the officers, and Schiller did not insist on participating in the investigation but turned and left.

Before leaving, Schiller said to Gordon, "Although I'm willing to cooperate with your investigation, there are too many patients at Arkham Hospital recently, and I have to prioritize their safety..."

"I heard earlier that many students at Gotham University have been affected by a mental illness. What's going on?" Gordon asked Schiller.

"I have some clues, but I haven't investigated it thoroughly... Don't look at me like that. I don't need to create trouble for myself. After they go crazy, I still have to treat them. I haven't slept for 50 consecutive hours."

"Professor Rodriguez, I have to remind you that no matter what, I will find out the truth of the murder..." Gordon paused for a moment and continued, "I hope that the result of my investigation won't lead back to you."