Shiller also stood up, then said, "What Batman said is correct. Your memories have been completely edited, and your emotions were manipulated as well. But to defeat this kind of power is almost impossible. Because resurrection is a form of reshaping. You're not the same person anymore. So the things that are missing aren't hidden; they weren't written in from the start. They'll never be recovered."
Damian was still a little unconvinced. He said, "But since I rationally know how it should have felt at that time, I can also believe I did have those feelings."
Shiller shook his head and said, "I told you, love can't be faked. If you really want to pretend, you might be able to fool ordinary people. But fooling Batman is thinking too much."
After Damian left Shiller's room, the more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he felt. Although he inwardly admitted that Batman and Shiller were right, after being resurrected, they were actually incomplete. Many things were artificially removed and do not exist in their memory, never to be recovered.
However, this doesn't mean they can't be rewritten. After all, normal people's memories also fade over time. Some things might still seem exciting after one or two days, but one or two years later, that excitement fades. After a long time, they might only remember the event, not the feeling. Isn't that just like them now?
So now, they rationally know that certain things should be exciting, so they pretend to have been excited. Rewrite the emotional experience that should exist. Although they haven't experienced it so intensely themselves, it could still count as having it. Why should it be impossible?
Even though this is what he thought, it's actually not an easy thing to do. It requires reorganizing one's memory from scratch and then filling it bit by bit. Even filling in the most basic things is very difficult.
Damian stared blankly for a long time, thinking that this wouldn't work. So, he simply took out his phone and started searching online for Batman.
Unfortunately, too much time had passed since his era, and he really couldn't find any traces. But the most recent news about Batman was extremely awe-inspiring, which was the scene of Batman defeating Savage Wolf.
Because the incident happened in a scenic area with many cameras, that scene was naturally captured. Damian clicked on the video, and when he saw the powerful Savage Wolf being instantly defeated by the Hell Bat Armor in one move, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, his heart racing.
This is way too strong! Damian thought, unable to help himself. He scrolled down to the comment section and found that everyone shared the same thought as him: this armor is so cool to the point of explosion, its capabilities are absurdly remarkable. Where on earth did this numeric monster come from?!
Damian continued reading and found a debate post. The main theme was "If Superman were present when fighting Savage Wolf, would Batman be irrelevant?"
Damian was instantly furious. What kind of nonsense are you talking about? If Superman can beat the Hell Bat Armor, I'll eat this phone!
Damian started typing furiously. But he wasn't used to this phone model, typing slowly and not understanding some of the current popular internet slang abbreviations, especially the myriad of abbreviations for English online vocabulary. He had to search Google while arguing with others, and when he couldn't win, he'd go everywhere analyzing the details of the Hell Bat Armor until he rendered the opponent speechless.
Bang bang bang!
The door was suddenly knocked, startling Damian. He crawled out of bed, only to realize that it was already daylight. Amanda stood outside, shouting, "Damian! Get up, it's time!"
Reluctantly, Damian got up. Although he wasn't tired, he completely disliked Amanda's plan and had already decided to slack off. So he sluggishly tidied himself up. When he went out, everyone was already ready.
"Here, your equipment." Amanda tossed him two guns and a grapple. Damian said nothing and joined the team.
"Alright, let's repeat the operation plan. The first squad is responsible for breaking through, and the second squad is responsible for distracting people on the second floor..."
Damian's mind was filled with details of the Hell Bat Armor, analyzing its arm transmission with his limited mechanical engineering knowledge. That thing seems completely unscientific.
Bruce obviously noticed Damian's absent-mindedness. He elbowed Shiller, gave him a thumbs up, and then said, "You're really good, resolved in one night."
Shiller gently shook his head, "It wasn't me, it was Batman."
"I knew it," Bruce said, "no Robin can escape Batman's charm."
Shiller smiled. Although he said nothing, he agreed with Bruce's words. The behind-the-scenes manipulator's plan was excellent, and he executed it perfectly. The memory deletion was very precise—deleted all the good, leaving all the bad. This led to these people gathering here, aiming to take on the Justice League.
But the problem was, he only deleted the feelings from the memories, without stripping away everyone's emotional capacity. It might also be because if all emotions were removed, they'd seem too much like replicas, unable to masquerade or be insidious, so they were still preserved.
This will lead to one problem: people always tend to step into the same river repeatedly. A person often falls in love with the same type of person repeatedly.
From the attitudes of this group, it's evident. Take the Allen couple, for example. In reality, they don't harbor much animosity toward Barry. Because just like Damian said, there really aren't any deep-seated vendettas worthy of being exaggerated between them. So even if love is deleted, there's no hatred. They just don't care about Barry as much anymore, rather than hating him enough to want him dead.
They participated in the presidential assassination action because they were dissatisfied with the government, having perished back then due to law and order issues.
Take Dr. Erdel, for example, he doesn't care about Ron at all, doesn't even look for him because there's no real conflict between them. Even if their friendship is erased, they'd still just be strangers.
Dr. Erdel also targets the government, so he eagerly took part in the assassination plot as well.
Amanda needs no further mention, really. He's pure hatred in a warrior form. Never having much positive emotion, he's naturally keen.
But Steve is strange. Or rather, he was fine initially, played along with Damian in a kidnapping scene. But with Wonder Woman's appearance, he starts to seem a little out of it.
For instance, during the kidnapping, he should have at least worked with Damian, said something to persuade Diana, or maybe pretend to be hurt or in pain to gain Diana's sympathy. But in reality, he just stood there staring at Diana, doing nothing else.
Shiller could see it; he's stepped into the same river twice. Coincidentally, Steve and Diana had fallen in love at first sight back in the day. Even without the beautiful memories, it doesn't stop them from falling for each other again. To be accurate, Diana might have moved on, but Steve clearly fell again.
Then there's Damian. There's not a single Robin in this world who wouldn't be drawn to Batman. Becoming Robin means they admire and adore Batman; it's just their thing.
Even if Damian is Batman's biological son and not someone he found on his own, volunteering to become his sidekick proves he likes Batman and wants to fight alongside him.
The past has been erased. But if they start getting to know Batman again, they will still be drawn to him because that's who they are. Unless you erase their very souls and replace them with new ones, people will fall in love with Batman countless times.
And Shiller also knows why Batman has that peculiar attitude towards Damian. To put it bluntly, it's a ploy of feigned indifference. How could Shiller not understand this maneuver?
In truth, once one steps out of Gotham's twisted, dark relationships, everything becomes clear—if it weren't intentional, Batman wouldn't act this way towards ordinary kids.
In fact, whether as Batman or Bruce Wayne, his attitude towards children is better than towards adults.
Though it could be explained by his aversion to resurrection. But Batman expresses his annoyance through ignoring or silence rather than lengthy lectures.
Batman has met Damian twice, each time delivering long speeches, then leaving coldly. Something's clearly off. If he truly detested him, he wouldn't bother with words, he'd just leave.
Batman champions efficiency; why waste words on someone he dislikes or finds worthless? His actions only suggest he's baiting.
And sure enough, Damian took the bait. From the moment he felt indignant, he'd already bitten. Many emotions in this world start with "Why?"
Of course, it's usually not a very healthy emotion. However, "defiance of destiny" is indeed a crucial pillar of human reproduction. If everyone learned to accept fate in love, there wouldn't be so many intersections of chance and searching in vain.
Clearly, Batman's plan worked brilliantly. In just two provocations, Damian started trying to understand Batman again. And, unsurprisingly, for yet another time, he's captivated by Batman. Now, his soul is evidently adrift.
"Time is a bit tight," Shiller said, "but it has to be this way. If they fully immerse themselves, someone might get hurt."
Bruce nodded. Actually, the late-night persuasion yesterday was a bit rushed. But there's no choice; Damian is the most skilled among them. If you don't distract him, and he gets serious and goes wild in the hospital, Superman might be fine, but others would be in trouble.
Now, the most capable one has made up his mind to slack off; his mind is completely off the plan. This inevitably means their assassination attempt is doomed to fail. But this is their only chance; they can't afford failure. So, what will they do?
They got in the car and sped towards the hospital. Amanda maneuvered skillfully, avoiding various checkpoints, successfully driving into Metropolis City. But as they approached the hospital, they were already under surveillance.
Sharp, piercing police sirens sounded around them. Amanda stuck her head out for a look, cursed, and told the driving Shiller, "Speed up, let's dash straight into the hospital!"
Shiller said nothing but slammed on the gas. The car lurched forward at incredible speed towards the hospital. A helicopter roared overhear, but he didn't care and smashed through the hospital parking barrier. The car crashed through the side door.
They swiftly jumped out and charged inside according to the original plan. But even as they started running, trouble arose.