amaotonovel Chapter 4580 The Day of Brightest Day (39)
Chapter 4580 The Day of Brightest Day (39)
Chapter 4580 The Day of Brightest Light (Thirty-Nine)
In fact, Deathstroke was very interested in psychology. But what interested him was applied psychology. To be precise, how to use psychology to gain an advantage, not the lengthy theories. Besides, Schiller's theories didn't sound very plausible; they seemed like something he made up himself.
What's amazing is that he could listen to Schiller's long, rambling lectures the whole time, and he could even absorb it all. Despite his highly developed brain, he didn't cram every bit of knowledge into his head. It was precisely because he had stronger control over his brain than the average person that he could filter out a lot of irrelevant information. Logically, Schiller's ramblings should have been among those filtered out, but he could still remember them.
“He said he awakened his superpowers when he was seven.” Deathstroke sighed, got into the driver’s seat, and said, “He probably has some mind-reading abilities too, right?”
“Yes, he does,” Schiller said. “To perform mind manipulation, a bridge must be built between the mental realms. Once it is built, it is inevitable that some of the other person’s memories will be seen.”
“My God!” said Deathstroke, “I can’t imagine what he saw. Those images of me killing people are just too much for a seven-year-old to imagine…”
Do you think he cares more about this?
Deathstroke turned to look at Schiller in the passenger seat.
"When you discover that he is not as weak as you imagined, will you be more concerned with how that plane was the first to land?"
Deathstroke didn't immediately grasp the analogy. But he quickly realized that persuasion alone couldn't get the plane to land first. Joseph must have used his superpowers to do something.
From both a moral and legal perspective, this undoubtedly involved some malicious methods. Threats, intimidation, and manipulation—the psychological harm caused is arguably no less severe than physical harm. Although he acted only in self-defense, it cannot be dismissed as innocence.
What about before? Did he often do this at school? Did it start in middle school? Or elementary school? Isn't it evil to exert mental control over children?
While Deathstroke wasn't a good guy, he had basic common sense. In the public's moral judgment, exercising mind control over someone is sometimes more immoral than killing that person. In particular, forced manipulation is tantamount to killing the other person's soul, making it no different from being a killer.
However, when Deathstroke learned of Joseph's abilities, he didn't think about whether Joseph was evil or not, or how many people he had killed or how many bad things he had done. The only thing that angered him was that Joseph had awakened superpowers but hadn't told him.
So, conversely, Joseph's anger likely stemmed from the fact that Deathstroke was a mercenary, yet he didn't tell him. For people like them, deception is more infuriating than evil itself.
“No,” Deathstroke said again. “I remember now. One night, when he was seven years old, I think it was only two months after his birthday, he was yelling and screaming in the house, and he seemed very scared. I tried to tell him a story, but he chased me out. That must have been when he found out.”
"Is something wrong?"
“He was terrified,” Deathstroke emphasized. “He must have seen those bloody things in my memory to be afraid. If he wasn’t afraid at all, he wouldn’t have acted that way.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t afraid at all. However, more than those bloody scenes, I’m more inclined to believe that he was afraid of that stranger, you.”
Deathstroke let out a soft breath, his shoulders drooping as if he felt a pang of sadness. "He was afraid of the real me. He definitely wanted a normal, good father, at least someone professionally competent. That's why he never liked me after that and never wanted to talk to me."
Have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?
“I’ve heard of it,” Deathstroke said. “A hostage falling in love with their kidnapper sounds like utter nonsense. Who would fall in love with someone who wants to kill them?”
Schiller shook his head and said, "That's a common misconception. The key to Stockholm syndrome isn't that the hostage falls in love with the kidnapper, but that the emotions aren't based on justice and evil, but on a consistent underlying principle."
"What do you mean?"
"It's either normal or pathological; there's no middle ground."
Deathstroke looked even more puzzled. He really didn't want to look like a fool, but Schiller's words made no sense, and he couldn't think of anything more.
Fortunately, Schiller quickly said, "You can love someone like a normal person, protect them, support them, and treat them well as always. You can also love someone like a madman, control them, manipulate them, and leave them nowhere to escape. But you can't choose the middle option."
“You can’t act like a normal person, swearing to be good to him and protect him, and then act like a madman, using violence to control him. Or conversely, you can be the perpetrator who uses violence to control others, yet insist on being good to the hostage every now and then.”
“Wait a minute,” Deathstroke said. “I can understand the first one. In the neighborhood we moved to later, there was an alcoholic who always beat his wife. When he sobered up, he would swear to God that he would never drink again and would treat her well. But when he got drunk, he would do the same thing again. I heard they were childhood sweethearts and each other’s first love. They got divorced not long after.”
"But the latter sounds like a form of manipulation as well. Using violence to force someone into submission while simultaneously offering them a little something in return. Isn't that wrong?"
“That depends on how you give it,” Schiller said. “You can’t be soft-hearted; you must always maintain control. Otherwise, you’ll become a hostage controlling you.”
Deathstroke seemed thoughtful, and Schiller continued, "The main conflict between you and Joseph lies in your own internal struggle. You must first figure out who you are before you can deal with relationships with others."
It was already quite late. The night winds in Egypt are always more primitive and desolate than elsewhere. Driving along the coastal road, you could smell the sand and sea in the wind. The scenery gradually became clearer.
If Joseph could see through him, he would understand that Deathstroke was merely playing the role of a good father. Beneath this facade, his true self was unstable. That's why Joseph couldn't expose him.
It's like this: if a scarecrow stands up because of its outer garment, you can't touch its outer layer. Because it doesn't have that pole, if you remove the outer layer, there's nothing left to support it.
For a long time, playing the role of a good father sustained Deathstroke's life. He worked as a mercenary, like a hunter, to earn more money so that one day he could retire with enough money to enjoy his old age with his family.
Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this goal was unnecessary for Deathstroke, since he is immortal. There's no need for retirement, much less for old age. He sets this goal for himself simply because a good father should do so.
Needless to say, when he's at home with his family, he does most of the chores a traditional husband and father would do: repairing and maintaining the car, mowing the lawn, and other physical tasks. He spends time with his children, engaging them in sports, hosting family gatherings, and helping other family members socialize. This is his entire life.
If he's exposed, at least the part about parent-child bonding and education won't be able to proceed smoothly. From what standpoint can a bloodthirsty killer raise his own child?
Unless I can be like Lei Xiaogu, the leader of the Assassin's Guild, whose goal is to train my child to be the world's top assassin, I simply can't manage my relationship with my child. After all, you can't be a killer who kills for money and at the same time teach your child to obey the law, follow morals, and be a normal person who strives to contribute to society. That's untenable.
So Joseph chose not to expose them and just let things slide. Deathstroke continued his act, and Joseph cooperated somewhat perfunctorily. In any case, they managed to fool everyone.
Thinking of this, Deathstroke said somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, ever since Joseph started high school, I've been thinking about having another child."
“It’s not surprising,” Schiller said. “Once Joseph started high school, your responsibilities as his father in terms of companionship and education decreased significantly. But you didn’t want to miss out on that. Having another child was the best option.”
“No, not at all,” Deathstroke said. “I’ve thought about it carefully, and I think we still can’t do it that way.”
"Why?" Schiller asked.
“You see, Joseph happens to be able to read minds, so he knew, accepted it, and didn’t expose me. But other children may not have this ability. If I teach them this way, so they grow into good people who are useful to society, or even heroes, wouldn’t they turn against me if they found out what I’m doing?”
"Then why don't you think Joseph will turn against you?"
Deathstroke said somewhat embarrassedly, "Because I think he's too weak. Even if he's a kind and righteous person, he can't do anything to me. I know this sounds a bit cold—he's not even qualified to be my opponent. So naturally, I don't care whether he's kind or evil."
"But now you have to mind."
"Yes, but thankfully. That plane landed first. Thank God." Deathstroke even made the sign of the cross on his chest, looking quite professional.
"Then why don't you just tell them directly?"
"And then what? Train them to be assassins? I'm not exactly a saint, but I'm not that bad either," Deathstroke shook his head. "Besides, while they have a chance to awaken superpowers, combat skills aren't the most important thing in this line of work. Without that talent, they won't survive two years. I can't just send them to their deaths, can I?"
“That’s rare,” Schiller said, looking at him. “You haven’t made a big mistake yet, but that might not be the case in other universes.”
Deathstroke frowned, and Schiller said, “In some universes you have three children. Guess what? — They’re all your enemies.”
Deathstroke covered his eyes. "What about Joseph? Is Joseph here too?"
"Of course. He also had his throat slit."
The death knell's hand suddenly paused.
"What about the rest?"
"Grant has been killed."
Deathstroke gripped the steering wheel tightly.
"Your daughter has also broken ties with you."
The foot of the death knell slowly released the accelerator.
“You also gave your other child to Robin to raise.”
Deathstroke clenched his fists.
“You tried to resurrect your son, but failed—” Schiller drew out the last syllable with a laugh, “but you did manage to kill your resurrected father.”
On the dark coastal highway, a car slowly came to a stop. A burly figure emerged from the driver's seat, drew his greatsword, swung it forcefully, and roared, "You damned killer whale! If you don't give me an explanation, I'll send you back to Mother Ocean's embrace right now!!!"
(End of this chapter)