Talia's gaze followed Schiller's face closely, and there was no hesitation in asking for a request, which was indeed her most pressing problem at the moment.

Someone had stunned her with drugs, which proved that the anti-drug training she had had had not worked on such drugs, which proved that it was a completely foreign and potent drug, and that Talia could not tell when the drug's properties would pass without a full understanding of its properties.

Walking in Gotham with drug-induced hallucinations is tantamount to death, and Talia must figure out if and what she will hallucinate again.

Schiller wasn't a good candidate to turn to for help, but Talia didn't have any more options, and instead thought she could use it to test whether Le was in league with Bruce.

Talia was 80% sure that she was hallucinating, and if this was a game set up by the teacher-student team, Schiller would definitely hide it for Bruce, so that they could join forces to paralyze Talia and then use drugs to constantly erode and manipulate her.

This is going to be the real showdown, Talia thought, she can't let her guard down, she can only win.

"With all due respect, miss, some of your panic states may be related to overdoses, but if you want to find out the source of similar symptoms, I'm afraid you can only go to the hospital for a blood test."

Schiller somehow walked back behind the desk where he was reading, sat down in a chair with his hands on the table, looked at Talia and said, "The psychiatrist can only analyze your mental state, and I can't get any accurate results from your description." ”

"All I need is analysis." Talia turned to Schiller sideways and said, "You'll help me, right?" ”

"So let's talk about the hallucinations you saw."

Talia opened her mouth for a moment, which she thought was ridiculous, because she wasn't sure that the two percent she saw the hallucination were coming from the man in front of her.

She saw him as a monster in human skin, but she couldn't firmly believe that it was the delusion of victimization caused by the panic effect of the drug, did he? Isn't he?

Talia doesn't believe Schiller's analysis, she only asks for espionage, she always trusts only her own judgment, and to judge whether she sees a hallucination in Schiller, she must understand what kind of person Schiller is.

Is there really a gorgeous and dangerous feathered serpent hidden beneath this perfect human skin?

Talia's aggressive spiking gaze usually reveals the camouflage of most people, but when it lands on Schiller, it doesn't even leave a trace on the perfect shell.

And now she's decided to open a corner of his skin - it would be quite dangerous, but Talia will always be fascinated by danger.

"I see you." Talia's gaze followed Schiller's closely, and she leaned forward, her forearms folded on her knees, in a searching gesture, and said, "I saw that you had become a feathered Serpent with bright feathers, with your wings outstretched, and sharp fangs in your mouth, and I was so frightened by your gaze that I couldn't move." ”

Schiller, who seemed to be showing some interest in the topic, fiddled with the pen in his hand and said: "People tend to think that the hallucinations they see have no reason, that they are the chaotic whims of the brain when they are confused, but in psychology hallucinations often reflect the needs of the subconscious." ”

"What do you see in my hallucinations?"

"You said you saw the shadow of a mythical creature in me, can you describe his appearance in more detail? What was his first impression on you? ”

"It's huge, like a sun."

After a moment of reflection, Schiller said: "When people see religious imagery in hallucinations, they usually don't really have a deep understanding of religious culture, but they bring certain religious rules into themselves, so that they can anchor their existence in the floating tide of consciousness, so they need to bring in a religious role, what role do you play in the face of Quetzalcoatl?" ”

"Sacrifice."

"Interesting." After Schiller's evaluation, he paused and said, "Have you ever had this kind of hallucination before?" ”

"I've killed many gods in my dreams."

"Quite brave."

"Isn't that crazy?"

Schiller shook his head and said, "This proves that you are not a person who needs to rely on external objects to prove your existence, you feel that you are a victim of the gods, why?" ”

"Shouldn't you have told me?"

"But I am not a prophet, nor am I a sacrifice, and I cannot stand before the altar and condemn you."

"Yes, because you are the evil god who stood behind the altar and waited for the sacrifice."

"That's just your hallucination, Miss Talia, and we're going to talk about why you're hallucinating, and when have you ever seen something like this?"

Talia was silent, apparently thinking of a past, but not sure whether to tell Schiller, and after a while, she spoke: "When I was thirteen years old, I was sent on a mission to Central America, and the image of Quetzalcoatl was frequently used in the decoration of the ancient city. ”

"At that time, I was too young to have a smooth mission, and perhaps my father found me a strong enough opponent to train me, and I escaped with serious injuries, and when I was lying on the cold floor of the tomb, I heard the whispers of the Mayans."

"That makes you associate Quetzalcoatl with death." Schiller got up from his chair again, he walked to the table, put the pen flat on the table, looked at Talia and said, "Answer me, Talia, what are the Mayans talking about?" ”

Talia was in a trance, the long-lost memories coming back to her, her lips opening and closing, but not making a sound.

"Don't you understand?" Schiller then asked, and he added, "So what do you think they are saying to you?" ”

"They told me to lie down on the altar."

"And what do you think?"

"I'm feeling incredible."

"Not fear, not panic, but shock, why?"

"Before the mission began, I heard the mythical story of Quetzalcoatl from a local guide, who ...... Not like an evil god, He does not accept any living sacrifices. ”

"So you're surprised by this, surprised that Quetzalcoatl is different from the myth?"

Talia bit her lip, and she said with some confusion, "I was surprised that I would be chosen." ”

Then Talia was silent for a long time, and when she came to her senses, Schiller was standing on the side of the armchair, his hands on the back of the chair and looking out the window.

Finding that Thalia had come back to his senses, Schiller turned his head and said, "You are not surprised that Quetzalcoatl chose you, you are surprised that only Quetzalcoatl chose you, and you realize that you have been abandoned by your father. ”

"I've never been as close to death as I was that day." Talia's tone sank and said, "And I realized that this is not a trial, he will not come to my rescue when I fail the exam, death is death, he does not need a weak daughter." ”

"Was that the first time you realized it?"

"Perhaps." "There will come a time when people realize that their childhood is over, and that others either don't want to or can't take responsibility for your stupid choices, and then you have to be strong and save your life until everyone in this world dies and you won't die." ”

Schiller stood behind Talia, who could feel his hands on top of the chair, but couldn't see his expression, which made Talia feel relaxed, and for anyone to analyze his psyche through Schiller's demeanor was like a fool moving mountains.

"In many studies of mental illness attributed to emotions, we focus on the trauma of the patient's childhood, and all the abuse that a person suffers before the personality is fully developed can leave a permanent mental wound on them."

Talia smiled helplessly, as if to scoff at the argument, but Schiller changed his tune and said, "But there is one exception, they don't have childhood. ”

Schiller walked slowly to the piano bench by the window and sat down, his whole person was completely in Talia's field of vision, his expression could not be seen clearly against the light, there were no bright feathers behind his back, no sharp fangs in his mouth, and he spoke like a key that emitted a deep alto.

"All the sense of security in human beings at an early age comes from the parents behind them, and they are also educated from their parents, and the essence of education is to rehearse, children make mistakes, parents preach, and then punish, this is to establish a sense of rules for children."

"But children don't really pay for their mistakes, the preaching and discipline they get are all fictitious by their parents within their acceptable range, and the parents are like a protective shield that filters out all the costs that the children should not pay, replacing them with a gentle education, and childhood is spent in such a cycle."

"And like you said, as they get older, there is always a mistake that makes children realize that their parents are no longer able or willing to pay the real price for them, they have to be really socially responsible for the first time, the protective shield disappears, and the children move from the family to society."

"But people like you and me have to pay the price from the first mistake, and we skip the whole family education process and consciously take responsibility for our own life safety, living situation, and mental stability."

"It's not about being abused in childhood, because it's only within the protective shield, and the scenes that parents or others are rehearsing are too brutal, and one of the characteristics of child abuse is that parents control and abuse their children by controlling their children's survival resources."

"But this is not the case with people who have no childhood, who do not provide them with the resources to survive, who are responsible for everything on their own, and who are responsible for themselves from the moment they are able to act."

Schiller sighed softly and said, "But you are different from me, I am an orphan, so naturally this is so, why are you like this?" ”

Talia wanders again, and what Schiller says reminds her of her childhood training, where she fought all sorts of people or creatures, medicine and food were only available for victory, and nothing for defeat.

Talia wasn't born to know everything, she made mistakes in battle at a young age, and since her opponents were much stronger than her, a small mistake could lead to defeat, and she would not be punished or reprimanded for defeat, just nothing.

Now, she understands the principle of this—what Lei Xiaogu does is not education.

All of those actual battles and missions were not drills, not to simulate what it would be like when she actually fought alone in the future, not to make her understand the consequences of defeat or taste the sweetness of victory, nor to hone her combat skills repeatedly.

That's just so that she doesn't have to be a child anymore and can pay for her choices like an adult, so that he doesn't have to pay.

"What did he say to you?" Talia slowly raised his eyes to look at Schiller, who looked like he was standing across from the coffee table, "What did my father say to you on the phone, right?" ”

"He said I could do with you as I pleased."