Chapter 1853

When a fishhook is cast below the water's surface, the weight determines the depth it can sink to and the type of fish that will eventually bite. And from the beginning, Schiller's purpose wasn't to let the fishhook stay on the surface to fish for floating algae and small fish.

In the first two worlds, Schiller realized that a mysterious force had been affecting their actions, so how could he not have made preparations early after coming to this world?

In the first two worlds, this mysterious force showed two characteristics: one was the ability to control human thoughts, or rather, to strengthen their extreme thoughts in some way, thereby affecting their actions; the other was the skilled invasion and manipulation of electronic equipment.

In Schiller's view, these two talents might come from two different masterminds, and they were in a cooperative relationship.

But still the same saying, the cooperative relationship of such people wouldn't be that stable. They wouldn't be as selfless as superheroes regarding who contributed more and who contributed less; they were more likely to haggle over interests and even pursue fairness in the degree of contribution more than superheroes.

In a previous world, that kind of mysterious purple light controlled the secret realm manager Aubon, so Schiller guessed that the next mastermind to strike might not focus on controlling humans, but would be good at manipulating electronic equipment, just like in the first world.

Substituting into the mastermind's perspective, where would electronic equipment have value for manipulation? Naturally, the first candidate was the weapons of the Stark Group.

It's a pity that before Tony Stark of this universe went to Afghanistan, most of what he invented were ordinary munitions, at most improved in yield and firepower density. These weapons had no smart equipment and no value for manipulation.

And if one were to wait until Stark developed the suit before starting the invasion, it would clearly be missing the opportunity. Moreover, Iron Man of this world had clearly deviated from the path of Iron Man. Schiller discovered in previous observations that both murderers weren't the type who liked to take risks. They shouldn't bet that Iron Man of this world would still get back on track, and would rather seize the opportunity first.

Then it seemed there weren't many things that could be invaded by them. Wakanda was clearly the best target.

This small African country possessed scientific and technological capabilities beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Regardless of whether it was scientific or not, at least the lethality of the weapons and spaceships was beyond doubt. In the eyes of a mastermind who wanted to cause destruction, it was simply the best tool.

Although Schiller couldn't be sure that the mastermind would definitely strike at Wakanda, he could remind T'Challa that someone was eyeing his Royal Guard.

Despite this, T'Challa didn't take any effective measures, but it was understandable. He couldn't order the Royal Guard to take emergency response measures based on a baseless speculation from a partner.

But fortunately, Schiller had a backup plan. This was the reason he didn't dodge the two punches Stark of this universe gave him. Someone on the Star-Eater Engine wouldn't sit idly by.

Let's put it this way, Iron Demon God Stark might tolerate others hurting Schiller. After all, Schiller's injuries were all self-inflicted. If he didn't want to be hurt, he could turn into a gray mist form, and no one could hurt him. After such a long time, Stark had long been accustomed to Schiller's style of having to find some trouble for himself when he had nothing to do, and wouldn't have more sympathy for this.

But it was a different matter if the person who struck was another version of himself. First, the Iron Demon God really couldn't bear to see himself from another universe be so foolish, and even less could he accept the faint guilt that welled up in his heart when others teased him about it after dinner.

It wasn't him who did it, but if another version of himself did it and he stood by and didn't stop it, wasn't that saying he was nepotistic and only showed leniency to himself?

For this reason, the Iron Demon God couldn't stand by either and instead had to be even more impartial, just to avoid giving people something to talk about. So, of course, he would descend to Earth.

It was very clear that the mastermind hadn't made enough preparations for this. He might have only thought that under Schiller's plan, many indigenous ordinary people of this universe would gather together, and for this group of people, Wakanda's spaceships were indeed war weapons that were difficult to resist.

The spaceships T'Challa brought over weren't completely offensive, but three Royal Guard frigates were equipped with large-caliber artillery to drive away certain hostile fleets blocking their flight, which was completely overkill on Earth.

It was conceivable that if no one else intervened, these three spaceships could easily bomb the entire valley into flat ground. Even if a very few people could run out, Schiller and the Iron Demon God who had suddenly descended here would have no credibility left, because it was precisely because of his appearance that there would be a sudden bombing. The smart people present wouldn't give him a second chance.

But relying on this level of firepower coverage couldn't break the energy protective shield that the Iron Demon God had set up with quick eyes and hands. He had nothing else, just particularly abundant energy. Even if these small Wakandan frigates bombed for another three days and three nights, his protective shield wouldn't even lose a bit of skin.

On the other hand, Schiller notified S. H. I. E. L. D.'s Helicarrier to arrive in advance and fight with the suddenly out-of-control Wakandan spaceships. Schiller knew that the Helicarrier built by Nick was equipped with complete scanning equipment. Based on the scanning results, he would know that the uninvited guest who suddenly controlled the Wakandan spaceships had nothing to do with the descended Iron Demon God.

This could well dispel T'Challa's suspicion about this and also allow the Iron Demon God to strike boldly without worrying about being accused of self-directed acting.

Simply put, there were three parties present: Wakanda, S. H. I. E. L. D., and Iron Demon God Stark. Among these three parties, as long as one party could produce fair evidence to prove that the other two parties weren't hostile, then the effect of sowing discord that the mastermind wanted wouldn't be achieved.

Sure enough, seeing S. H. I. E. L. D.'s Helicarrier descend, Iron Demon God Stark no longer hesitated and exerted his full strength. Countless drone swarms appeared around him.

First, the swarm that had formed a protective shield intercepted the artillery fire of the Wakandan spaceships, and then dispatched a suicide swarm to launch an attack. Several streams of light flew rapidly toward the spaceships like falling meteors.

T'Challa and Nick looked up together, staring at the blooming of one brilliant firework after another in the gradually darkening sky.

When the fireworks dissipated, the Iron Demon God, with his arms spread wide, slowly descended. He turned around to look at T'Challa and Nick and said: "I must warn you, this isn't an accident. A mysterious mastermind has set his sights on your universe, and his purpose is to destroy all universes..."

Stark narrowed his eyes and looked at Schiller. Schiller shrugged his shoulders feignedly relaxed, but still wiped the blood splashed on his neck with his fingertips. Stark walked to his side and handed him a handkerchief.

"Thank you."

"You..."

Schiller shook his head and said: "I didn't lie. Everything I said was true, it's just that it happened in another universe."

"I'm very sorry."

"No need to be sorry. Still the same saying, Tony, don't imagine me as a victim on your own. I have countless opportunities to reshape myself, but I didn't do so."

"Why?"

Schiller raised his eyes. Under the night sky, his gray eyes still flickered with a light that Stark couldn't see clearly.

"The love of ordinary people is far more surging than you imagine, and I must have a foundation just as surging to shape this greatest emotion. For me, the most surging and intense is my madness."

"My love is born precisely from this, so I could never abandon it to be a normal person. I don't want to be forever indifferent and alienated, rejecting everything in the real world. You can take this as the self-rescue of an autistic patient."

"In order to possess this great emotion, I am willing to bear all the trouble brought to me by this pathological madness. This is my choice, absolutely not out of necessity. If you can't empathize, you don't need to be full of sympathy."

Stark looked at Schiller. He finally profoundly understood this sentence: if love didn't come from madness, it wouldn't always end in hysterical madness.

"You are hunting a murderer. Is he dangerous?"

"Not dangerous to us. Do you want to help?"

"What help can I provide?"

"Build your suit well. Perhaps we will meet again."

Schiller followed Iron Demon God Stark back to the Star-Eater Engine, while Stark, who remained on the ground, just looked up at the huge figure that flashed across the sky, finally realizing how powerful the other party was.

Stark clenched his fists. He realized for the first time that being the smartest person on Earth was meaningless, because there were endless universes in this world, and he had to become the smartest one among all Iron Men.

Someone had already walked ahead of him, and he had to strive to catch up. But how exactly to break through the limits of Earth's technology in a short time and truly step into the universe? Stark suddenly remembered what Schiller had said.

A week later, Stark looked at Pierce being escorted away by S. H. I. E. L. D. agents, turned his head, and said to Nick: "Congratulations, Director Fury."

Nick shook his head, looked at Stark, and said: "You know, Tony, the research results on the power that suddenly controlled the Wakandan spaceships that day aren't optimistic. That isn't power belonging to our universe. This proves that someone must have been eyeing our universe long ago."

Stark turned his head back, looked straight ahead, and said: "I will solve it."

"Still remember what Schiller said?" Nick looked at him and said: "You can't always stay in the past, imagining everyone as idiots on your own, while you are the hero who saves the world."

"So, what do you want to do?"

Ten minutes later, the two appeared in the basement of a secret S. H. I. E. L. D. base. Nick opened a very strangely shaped life-support pod. At that moment, Stark felt a bone-chilling cold erupt.

"I don't know if you've heard your father's story, and in that story, there is a legend that hasn't been forgotten to this day."

Stark and Nick cast their eyes toward the life-support pod together. Nick stretched out a hand and slowly brushed away the frost.

And after that pale coldness faded due to the temperature, what appeared was the red, white, and blue star-spangled banner printed on a metal shield that once represented the glory of an era.