Chapter 143: R: The Great Bat Incident (20)

On the roof of Stark Tower, Schiller capped a jar containing a mass of black slime. Gray Mist was communicating with Venom via brainwaves. Venom said, "Deceiving such a simple kid, don't you feel any guilt in your heart?"

"It sounds as if you aren't an accomplice. If the negative emotions in his heart weren't so scarce, insufficient to induce the black tide of fear, I wouldn't be willing to resort to such a desperate measure."

"Besides..." Schiller paused and said to Venom, "I've discovered you have the potential to direct movies. The scene of Stark's death you fabricated really scared Peter quite a bit."

"I know that scumbag too well. From beginning to end, he only knows one trick. Sooner or later, it will come true."

Schiller sighed, more as if he were relaxing. He said, "Those multiverse guys coming so early was indeed beyond my expectations. If I don't use this trick to scare them away, there will be no peace in the future."

Venom said, "Our deal is done. Now you should be able to let me choose my own host, right?"

"Of course. However, given your danger and uncontrollability, you can only choose from hosts you have already parasitized."

"Then, who do you intend to choose? Stark? Bruce? Or..."

"The reporter!!!! I choose that reporter!!!!" Venom roared bluntly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You also parasitized a human reporter. Fine, I'll have you delivered to his house tomorrow."

"But as we agreed, you'd better not change hosts easily, and don't go around eating people's heads on the street, or I'll have Gray Mist bite you."

Venom let out a nasal sound extremely similar to Stark's, filled with unwillingness.

After standing on the roof for a while, footsteps soon came from behind. Nick walked over and stood side-by-side with Schiller. Nick said, "The commotion caused this time is really big, right?"

"Why? Is it beyond your expectations? Director-in-Chief?"

"I am not any Director-in-Chief. Just like you, do you still want to call yourself a stagehand?"

"Isn't that what I am?" Schiller didn't turn to look at Nick, but kept watching the lights on the New York skyline. He said, "Don't tell me that the Bat God faith spreading more and more widely among vampires in recent years is just a coincidence."

"And don't tell me that the prophecy of the Bat God's descent spreading on the eve of the moderates wanting to manipulate the election is also just a coincidence."

"Who knows? There are just so many coincidences in this world."

"Yeah, S. H. I. E. L. D.'s exclusive coincidences. All final interpretation rights belong to you."

"Let's talk about the good news," Nick said, crossing his arms. "The bats infected with the lizard serum can't be used, right? The raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce, and our production has encountered difficulties..."

"Where is the address for the sanitarium?"

"Still Manhattan. You know, it's closer to where they live."

"However, it's too late to build a new sanitarium. There's an old bank there built in the thirties. Its new owner was kicked out because he couldn't afford the inheritance tax. Construction starts there tomorrow."

"How much bat raw material is left that can be used?"

"Police and S. H. I. E. L. D. agents suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield. Less than one in ten can be sent out to pursue them, and many of them are green recruits who can't even hold a gun steady. The inventory of freeze-gun fuel is also low, and we have no other way..."

"So how many did you report?"

"Only 12 left. We only have 12 precious bat raw materials with the immortality factor." Nick shrugged.

"Too many." Schiller said without thinking, "Let's just keep two. Connors has a good long-term freezing technology. Freeze the remaining 10 and put them in your S. H. I. E. L. D. warehouse. Wait until the price is hyped up a thousand times before slowly selling them off."

"Isn't that a bit too exaggerated? Thousands of armed police and hundreds of S. H. I. E. L. D. agents only caught two when the bats were routed?"

"Thousands of people and hundreds of agents? You underestimate the intensity of this war. By the time of the final pursuit, there were only 10 armed police left and one agent. With such data, it's not too exaggerated, right?"

"Fine, but the problem is, Natasha, Coulson, Hawkeye, and Daisy all have to go out for activities in a while. Which one of them do you intend to sacrifice?" Nick asked.

"Don't even think about reasons like being injured. Hawkeye has been injured more than 80 times this year, and his medical insurance quota has been used up four times. Daisy has also been seriously injured more than 20 times..."

Schiller touched his forehead and said, "It's not even summer yet, and you've already reimbursed their entire quota. Do you really not intend to leave any redundancy to deal with emergencies?"

"Emergencies? S. H. I. E. L. D. deals with emergencies every day."

"Fine, if you're willing to raise my consultation fee a little bit, I'll go convince Osborn and Stark to contract the project of rebuilding the Brooklyn Bridge."

"In the name of charity? There isn't much room to operate here. After all, everyone can see the bridge being built."

"If a charity event of this scale doesn't meet your requirements, then launch a larger one. You should be more familiar with that set than I am..." Schiller waved his hand and said.

"Send out war correspondents, film the ruins after the war, publicize the tragedy of the war, launch charitable organizations, host fundraising galas, celebrities, socialites, brands, political parties..."

"If that's still not enough, then announce sanctions against the vampires."

Nick sighed and said, "So far, our policy remains conservative for many reasons. The Security Council will not agree to launch large-scale sanctions."

"If you're willing to part with one of the only two precious raw materials and give it to them, I think they would be tempted, right?"

"You intend to deceive even your own people?"

"Don't talk nonsense. There were only two to begin with. The remaining 10 are S. H. I. E. L. D.'s emergency reserve funds; they just haven't been cashed out yet."

On the roof of Stark Tower, Schiller and Nick watched the brightly lit night view of New York. Inside Stark Tower, Stark lay on a hospital bed, wrapped like a mummy. He watched Peter walking back and forth in front of him and said, "Hey, stop spinning. You're making me dizzy."

"When is that doctor coming? At this time, there shouldn't be a traffic jam, right?"

As soon as Peter finished speaking, Strange's voice appeared outside the door, accompanied by footsteps. He said, "How I wish what I'm seeing right now is a corpse named Stark."

He walked in, looking sleepy, clearly having been called out of bed in the middle of the night. He grumpily straightened the monitoring equipment next to him. Peter poked his head in from the side and asked, "Dr. Strange, Mr. Stark should be fine, right? He's injured quite heavily..."

"If he were truly injured heavily, what you'd be seeing right now would be a priest, not me."

Strange very roughly pulled out the pillow Stark was propped up on. Stark's head hit the corner of the bed, and he screamed, "You unscrupulous quack! Are you trying to murder me?!"

"I am unscrupulous, but I am definitely not a quack."

Stark muttered a few words, "You doctors are all the same..."

"Alright, the check-up is done. You're fine. You should be able to live until you die. Pay up, then send me back to sleep."

Stark looked him up and down and said, "What did you check? You just turned the instrument on and then turned it off. Don't think I don't understand these things. Who do you think you're facing? I am Stark. Don't try to fool me."

Strange said impatiently, "Then check yourself. Send me back."

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have a big business deal to discuss with you." Schiller's figure appeared outside the door. He handed a proposal to Strange. Strange took it, glanced at it, and said, "Stark-Osborn Joint Medical Company, Chief Consultant Employment Letter?"

"What kind of ghost company is this?" Strange asked suspiciously. "How come I didn't know Stark and Osborn had joined forces, and it's a medical company at that?"

He flipped through the employment letter and said, "Besides, I'm a neurosurgeon. I'm not going to be some drug salesman."

"You might want to flip to the last page and look at that number."

Strange looked up at Schiller, flipped the employment letter to the end with half-belief, and focused his gaze on the number.

In one second, he closed the employment letter. He coughed twice, straightened his collar, stuffed the employment letter into his briefcase, and said, "I am currently employed by the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and my contract has not yet expired. You cannot make me violate my contractual spirit."

"I know, of course I know. I am also a person with a strong contractual spirit." Schiller smiled and said, "The employee cafe upstairs should still be open. We might as well go there and talk in detail."

After the two doctors left, Stark and Peter stared at each other. Stark said, "So, what about my check-up?"

At this moment, Connors walked in. He heard what Stark said and said, "Although it's been several years since my last clinical medical experiment, I can reluctantly give you a check-up."

"Oh, no! Wait! Never mind, I think I'm fine!"

"Don't worry, I have extensive battlefield medical experience." As he spoke, he walked over and suddenly lowered the upper part of Stark's hospital bed. Stark screamed in pain from the jolt.

Peter hesitated, wanting to step forward to stop Connors's brutality, but Connors glanced at him and said, "Peter, Dr. Yin Sen is calling for you upstairs. He might have something for you."

Peter paused for a few seconds, looked at the bandage-covered Stark, then at Connors, whose scales had not yet faded, and then ran away in a flash under Stark's indignant gaze.

Stark pounded the bed frame with his only movable left hand and said, "This heartless kid! If it weren't to save him! How would I have ended up like this?"

Connors held a diagnostic report and said, "Now there's good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

rice ball.

"Don't play games with me. Tell me both."

"The good news is that your spine and nervous system are indeed fine. The bad news is that the problem lies with that thing in your chest."

Stark stiffened and said, "There's nothing wrong with this thing in my chest either."

"Yin Sen told me about the general principle of the reactor in your chest. Although my specialty is biology, I have also dabbled in mechanics and physics. Your physical examination report tells me that this thing is a big problem."

"In order to pursue greater power for your armor, you used too much palladium. As it stands now, if you don't think of a way, sooner or later you will die of poisoning."

Stark looked away. Clearly, he didn't want to discuss this issue. Connors put down the report, looked into Stark's eyes, and said, "You understand this better than anyone, but you just won't change. I believe your friends must have tried to persuade you before, but you are truly the most stubborn person I've ever met." ===== CHAPTER 144 =====