PFC Chapter 4124 When the Pumpkin Ripens (6)
Chapter 4124 When the Pumpkin Ripens (6)
Chapter 4124 When the Pumpkins Ripen (Part 6)
“…Alberto?” The main universe Batman called out the name. Alberto Falcone. The infamous Holiday Killer. What was he doing here?
The main universe's Batman suddenly remembered: Halloween is just around the corner. Is he here to commit a crime?
However, he quickly dismissed the idea. After a series of investigations, he found that while the green-haired bald man was somewhat annoying, he was strictly controlled. The crime rate on the East Coast was practically zero. The Holiday Killer wasn't a superhuman; he couldn't commit crimes under the nose of a super artificial intelligence.
Besides, Bruce's cosmic gang has long since disappeared. The city's atmosphere is also quite different from when the Romans were still around. I heard the transition was smooth, without any major trouble. Since the gang is gone, the Falcone father and son shouldn't have any conflicts. The Festival Killer won't appear either.
"You know me?" the man said. "Yes, you look like a relative of Bruce. Why didn't you go see him?"
"He's not in Gotham lately. But you, I remember the Falcone family had a plantation, right? Were you kicked out by Brainiac?"
The other person chuckled and said, "I stopped living there long before Brainiac came. I went back to Italy. I just got back yesterday."
"I see," thought the main universe Batman. There were at least two noteworthy pieces of information in Alberto's words: one was that Brainiac hadn't just arrived recently, but had probably been there for some time; the other was that the Falcone family seemed to have left Gotham and returned to their homeland, Italy.
"Then why have you come back recently?" the main universe Batman asked again.
“This is my private matter. You'd better not tell anyone that you've seen me. Although we've retired from crime for a long time, we still have a few enemies. It won't do you any good.”
After saying that, the other person lowered the brim of his hat and left. The main universe's Batman watched his retreating figure, realizing that things weren't so simple.
Green Avenue, FBI office.
Barry frowned as he looked at the information displayed on the computer screen and said, "So, the perpetrators of these three child abduction cases are not the same person?"
“The behavioral patterns are completely different.” The colleague operating the computer adjusted his glasses and said, “The inferences from the serial kidnapping case are completely invalid.”
"But what is the probability of three almost identical cases occurring in the same area? They even managed to escape Brainiac's notice."
“What I mean is, we might be facing a more complicated situation now,” the other person added. “This could be organized crime.”
Just then, the blonde woman pushed open the door, slammed a document on the table, and said, "The surveillance camera logs show that in all three cases, the same video signal was interfered with fifteen minutes before the incident. The other party has very professional jamming equipment."
"More professional than Brainiac? How is that possible?"
Then my Black female colleague came in and said, "The field team said they didn't find anything unusual. They'll probably have to keep watch on us for the next few days. Our Halloween holiday is ruined."
“The three missing children haven’t been found yet, so I’m not in the mood for a holiday. Besides, there haven’t been any heinous crimes like this since Brainiac came, not to mention that this might be organized crime. I won’t be able to sleep peacefully until the killer is caught.”
Barry sighed, not because he couldn't take the day off, but because he had promised Harley he would attend the Halloween party. He just hoped he could spare a few hours that night.
The group quickly got back to work. Barry watched the surveillance footage several times, finally saying, "There are just too few clues. If only they had filmed a few more seconds..."
"Hello? Yes, this is it. Is this the publication from the Behavioral Science Analysis Department? No problem, send the article over first. We'll take a look, and if there are no issues, we can publish it internally..."
Everyone looked at the Asian man who was on the phone. After he hung up, he said, "Headquarters said they received a good paper on criminal psychology and want to publish it in the training base's textbooks."
"About behavioral science?"
"It seems so. You guys go ahead with your work. I'll take a look after you send it over. If there's nothing seriously wrong, I can just upload it to the system."
Everyone else nodded and went about their business. Although contributing to the internal publication was also part of their duties, there were more important things to do right now. The kidnapped children were far more important than academic papers.
“Hey, wait a minute, you guys need to take a look at this…” An Asian colleague suddenly came over again.
The group looked at him again and saw the questions on the laptop he was holding.
"About child psychology?" The group immediately crowded around. As they swiped the touchpad and more content appeared, the blonde exclaimed, "It's actually linked to criminal psychology. But this theory is kind of weird."
“Because this isn’t behavioral science,” Barry suddenly said. “It’s psychoanalysis. He must be from the psychology department at Gotham University.”
"Could it be Professor Rodriguez's student?"
Barry nodded and said, "Although it's an anonymous submission, I can roughly guess who it is. It must be that very talented lady."
Several people gathered around the table to read the paper, until they came across a sentence: "In the field of crime, the vulnerability of children can sometimes be a breakthrough point. Because of the large gap in physical strength, criminals often do not focus too much on physical suppression, but are forced to develop a desire to establish mental authority that they may never have had before. Even if it is for self-interest, they will develop a desire to build a group, obtain a leadership position, and exercise power when they come into contact with children..."
“That sounds a bit absurd,” a colleague said, stroking his chin. “So he means that children’s vulnerability is a trap, triggering extreme emotions in perpetrators that cause them to lose their minds? Is there any scientific basis for that?”
“I haven’t heard of a similar theory. However, I think it makes some sense.” Another colleague turned around and said, “I strongly agree with the theory that everyone has repressed instincts that need an outlet. Some of these instincts might be benign, like a good workout or quietly enjoying the scenery; others might be strange, like obsessive-compulsive cleanliness or a fixation on numbers…”
“There are also some heinous crimes, such as murder and torture. But because of the law and the risk considerations, most people don’t dare to do them. Even if they had the opportunity, they probably wouldn’t do it.”
"However, there is a different kind, which is 'exercising authority.' When someone is in a naturally advantageous position, he oppresses and bullies others. The victims are powerless to resist, and bystanders do not care. He can then vent his repressed nature at will. This contradiction is often seen in families. In cases of domestic violence and child abuse, this behavioral pattern is always present."
After thinking for a moment, Barry said, "Let's be a little bolder. Since the kidnapper didn't kill the children immediately after abducting them, they must have spent some time with them. If we consider this relationship as a special kind of family relationship, then the theory in this paper becomes much easier to understand. Could a kidnapper be a good parent?"
Everyone began to shake their heads. The blonde woman said, "In most cases, kidnappers exhibit a very twisted, wavering mentality. They are evil, but not evil enough. They don't derive sufficient pleasure from murder like many pleasure criminals; their crimes are usually driven by profit, but they don't have the knowledge and means to illegally gain huge profits like some financial criminals. If they want to profit illegally, they can only resort to the simplest method they know: kidnapping hostages and demanding money."
"Even those among them who plan more meticulously, due to limitations in their understanding, choose this unwise method of crime. Such people usually lack a calm mind and strong willpower, which leads them to have a gambler's mentality during the crime, and thus become as anxious, overly excited, or constantly alternating between excitement and depression as other gamblers. This can cause them to have very serious emotional problems."
“I remember now, wasn’t that a case we handled before? The kidnapper was driven crazy by anxiety. He wasn’t sure if the hostage’s parents would send money, when the police would arrive, or if there were any flaws in his plan, so he kept checking it repeatedly, even to the point of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which ultimately led to his downfall.”
"That's right. Most people don't have experience dealing with these sudden emotional problems, nor do they know how to adjust. So many of the kidnapped children we rescued had been abused by their kidnappers. Because these people used to abuse them to relieve their anxiety."
"Yes. Because children are very vulnerable, and the physical gap between them and their kidnappers is too large, this allows them to act with impunity, without considering the possibility of being harmed in the process of abuse. Therefore, they are better able to unleash the repressed evil within their humanity. This is what this paper calls the 'trap of vulnerability'."
"In other words, even if the initial kidnapping was for financial gain, the negative emotions experienced by the kidnappers while waiting for news can drive them to engage in abusive behavior. But I don't understand why the authors of the paper emphasize 'establishing authority'?"
"Because physical violence and abuse are different from establishing mental authority. Beating and abuse may simply be an outlet for emotions; but establishing mental authority is for manipulating others."
"Why manipulate a group of children? They couldn't have run away anyway, could they?"
“This is the deeper meaning of this viewpoint,” Barry said. “For humans, spiritual satisfaction is the ultimate satisfaction, and it can be said that all physical satisfaction is ultimately spiritual satisfaction. Completely controlling and manipulating the minds of others is one of the most addictive forms of morbid spiritual satisfaction. Many family problems we see illustrate this point—everyone has a natural tendency to overuse their authority, or rather, only excess can bring pleasure.”
“Even if they know it’s wrong when they are weak, they will inevitably have this tendency once they gain such a position. In the special families of kidnappers and victims, because children are too weak to be controlled by violence, they are more inclined to use psychological control. And the best way to use psychological control is to establish and exercise authority.”
“It doesn’t sound like a special family, but rather like many families,” the Asian man said.
"Yes, unfortunately, many parents are indeed like kidnappers, some even worse—after all, kidnappers have to worry about the police, while some parents don't. It's really sad."
"I understand what the paper's authors mean. Children's inherent vulnerability can tempt kidnappers to unleash their natural instinct to control others. So what can we do with this?"
"This brings us to the method of establishing authority. Mere violence won't work. And if this kidnapper isn't a professional, but just acting on impulse and being tempted to unleash his desires, he'll inevitably take some risky actions. If we can guess what he's going to do, we might be able to catch the criminal without Brainiac's help."