Chapter 1521

In Nick's office, they were still discussing Schiller's disappearance. Stark sighed and said, "He's playing hide-and-seek on purpose just to make us worry, thereby guiding us to look for him. And if we do as he wishes, there must be a whole bunch of messy plans waiting for us behind the scenes."

"I don't approve of everyone going to look for Schiller either," Nick sighed and said. "I also feel that his disappearance must have a reason. If we rashly look for him and disrupt his plans, that wouldn't be good. But we can't do nothing either, to avoid being completely unprepared when his 'big surprise' arrives."

"How about this: you all go about your business as usual. I'll arrange for agents to search the Earth, and I'll contact Loki to see if there are any traces of Schiller in the universe, and keep an eye on Schiller's movements at all times."

The others looked at each other, feeling that this was the best solution. After all, everyone was very busy now, and no one could afford to run around the world looking for someone just because of a potentially existing grand plan that they could barely glimpse the tip of the iceberg of.

"Bottom line, Dr. Schiller won't harm us, right?" Peter said to Steve while walking and looking back.

Steve shrugged and said, "Every big surprise Schiller prepares can advance Earth's civilization by a big step, but if only the way he announced it wasn't so terrifying, we wouldn't be this worried."

The others walked out, but Eddie stayed in Nick's office. He sat down opposite Nick and said to him, "Regarding the documentary plan I mentioned to you before, I've rethought a draft proposal. See what you think."

Nick took the stack of documents from Eddie's hand, browsed through them carefully, nodding as he read. Then he looked at Eddie with a slightly surprised gaze and said, "Your long-term vision surprises me, Mr. Brock. This kind of unit-style documentary based on groups is indeed much more vivid than individual biographies."

Nick sat down, holding the stack of materials in one hand and putting on his glasses with the other, saying as he read, "Telling what kind of personality someone has from a god's-eye view always seems a bit thin and pale. If it's paired with scene reenactments and small stories combined with the era's background, it would be much more vivid."

"But this is not as good as many members evaluating each other within a group, presenting the connections between them from multi-faceted perspectives. People prefer to discuss the relationships between them rather than the superheroes themselves, don't they?"

Eddie placed his hands on the table and said, "That's what I thought too. When I was still working at the Global Times, I often heard my colleagues discuss the relationship between Iron Man and Captain America. Some said they were very close, some said they were enemies. They each held their own opinions, and fierce discussions always erupted."

"Complex multi-party relationships easily attract attention. The exploration of relationships will have a lot of topic traffic, which can also ensure economic returns. It's just that the initial investment will definitely be large, and it requires cooperation from all parties."

Nick pushed up his glasses and said, "You can rest assured about that. S. H. I. E. L. D. will ensure that the superheroes under our jurisdiction cooperate with your filming. It's a pity that Dr. Schiller is not here now, otherwise he would be the best candidate to coordinate the relationships between all parties."

"Oh, in fact, this idea was proposed by him." Eddie was afraid that Nick would misunderstand and hurriedly explained, "This is not me plagiarizing. He proposed the general framework, and I supplemented the draft details on this basis, but it was indeed Schiller's idea."

Nick immediately widened his eyes. His eyeballs turned slightly. He put down the documents in his hand, looked into Eddie's eyes, and said, "Are you sure this was Schiller's idea?"

Eddie nodded. He didn't understand why Nick's attitude suddenly changed, but soon Nick restrained his emotions, handed the documents back to Eddie, and said, "You go and perfect the first episode's proposal first. I'll go raise funds and coordinate personnel. How about we meet next Monday?"

"Of course, if there are any problems, I will call your office."

After Eddie left Nick's office, Nick immediately stood up from his seat, trotted to the secure phone station, pulled the phone cord with one hand, and held the receiver to his ear with the other.

"Hello, Natasha, come to my office immediately."

Natasha arrived soon. Seeing Nick's serious expression, she was a bit puzzled. Nick looked at Natasha and said, "You've heard the news of Schiller's disappearance, right?"

Natasha nodded. The female agent shrugged indifferently and continued, "Schiller must be plotting some plan that is linked step by step again. Anyway, no one in this universe can hurt him, so there's no need to worry."

"Yes, he must be preparing some plan, and I have already received his hint."

Nick sat back behind his desk, picked up a piece of paper, and while doodling, said, "We just discovered Schiller had disappeared and gathered here to discuss it, and Eddie stayed behind to give me a documentary proposal draft that Schiller came up with. This is the clue he left for me. He must hope that I will cooperate with him on something."

Nick tapped the paper with his fingertips and said, "The question is what the documentary filming plan has to do with his disappearance, and what I need to do..."

Natasha sat opposite Nick, her forearms crossed on the table. She knew that Nick needed another perspective to help him clear his thoughts, so she immediately said.

"I have heard about ABC's filming plan, but I remember that the general concept they proposed at that time was to film biographies of key figures. But after all, this plan is an important ongoing project, and they were not clear about the scale of filming, so they found Eddie."

"Eddie brought this idea to Schiller," Nick said. "But this is not surprising. If anyone knows the superheroes in New York best, it has to be Schiller."

"Schiller thought it was a good thing, but he modified the content of the proposal, from filming individual biographies to filming unit dramas about groups... That's right, the key lies in this."

Nick frowned and said while thinking, "If filming individual biographies, then what is emphasized must be the personal charm of a certain superhero. But if filming group biographies, it inevitably involves the conceptual thoughts and member relationships of a certain team..."

"There are quite a few superhero teams, but we haven't paid too much attention to this," Natasha said, frowning. "Ever since the solar system development plan was implemented, S. H. I. E. L. D.'s focus has shifted from intelligence to coordinating personnel and resources on Earth, and trying to improve the efficiency of space development as much as possible. We have indeed not paid attention to the situation of superhero teams in New York for a long time."

Nick sighed and said, "Schiller wouldn't shoot without a target. It seems that the superhero teams in New York have probably run into some problems. Put aside the work at hand for now, send out a few teams to investigate. I want to see detailed information on all teams before tonight."

Natasha took the order and left, but before nightfall, she returned to Nick's office with a pile of information, her brows tightly furrowed and her expression serious.

Seeing Natasha's expression, Nick stood up immediately. Ever since Earth entered a period of rapid development, he hadn't seen such a heavy expression on this Black Widow's face for a long time.

"What's wrong?"

"The situation is not optimistic."

Natasha shook her head, first took out two documents and handed them to Nick, saying, "Agents investigated the situation of all superhero teams currently stationed in New York. Unfortunately, more than eighty percent of the superhero teams exist in name only, including the Avengers you assembled."

Nick widened his eyes slightly, looked down at the information in his hand, and the most significant data among them was that the Avengers' base had not submitted any logistics applications for cleaning services for over three months.

In the past, the pretentious Tony Stark would require S. H. I. E. L. D. to send eight or ten cleaners to thoroughly clean the place every time the Avengers members used the base.

This meant that the members of the Avengers hadn't gathered there for at least three months, not even for combat meetings.

He looked at the remaining investigation reports on superhero teams in Natasha's hand. There were over sixty superhero teams in New York under S. H. I. E. L. D.'s jurisdiction and funding, the vast majority being small teams of five to ten people. The reports submitted by logistics showed that about sixty percent of the teams had shown no signs of activity in the past three months, and the members were nowhere to be found.

And for the remaining forty-plus superhero teams within the monitoring range, their activity traces had also decreased by fifty percent compared to a year ago.

Nick frowned and said, "This might be because the security situation in New York has improved significantly, especially since those super-criminals beyond the scope of ordinary people's response have almost disappeared. Without super-criminals, naturally there is no need for superheroes, let alone united superhero teams."

"Then what should we do now?" Natasha asked.

Nick paused, sighed, and said, "The Superhero Registration Act may not be entirely a bad thing. At least it can let us know which superheroes are controllable and which are not."

"For those superheroes whose abilities are completely controllable and who can choose to be ordinary people, we should naturally suggest they return to their original lives. But if their abilities and personalities are inherently unstable, disbanding the superhero teams might make them more of a security risk."

"If we forcibly keep the superhero teams, those superheroes who have already returned to peaceful lives certainly won't be willing to be forcibly dragged to gatherings, or the stable and unstable factors within a team will create conflicts because of this, causing even bigger trouble."

Nick touched his forehead and said, "I've been so busy for the past year that my feet haven't touched the ground, only caring about looking toward the stars, and I actually forgot that New York still has such a big problem that hasn't been solved. Fortunately, Schiller reminded me."

"I guess he couldn't stand it anymore," Natasha smiled and said. "Don't forget, those superhero teams we fund don't work but still eat up logistics funds. How could Schiller tolerate this?"

"I can't tolerate it either." Nick walked out from behind his desk, straightened his tie, and walked toward the door: "Notify all departments, prepare for a meeting in ten minutes. The meeting topic is to integrate and reorganize the New York superhero teams."

"By the way, make a call to the Captain and ask him to come and participate in the meeting. If we want to establish a new superhero team system, we need a leader, and he is the best candidate."

"Then what about Iron Man?"

"If he wants to come, he should pay for those cleaners first. He shouldn't think about eating another cent of my logistics funds. Haven't I lost enough already?"