[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-195":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Mental Mentor in Marvel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2322763,4544,"Chapter 195: Father and Son","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-195",195,"\u003Cp>“So you went to see Odin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t bring it up—I never even saw him.” Strange leaned against the desk in Arkham Sanatorium’s office. “I don’t understand why my teacher was in such a rush.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We didn’t make an appointment—we just drew a circle and went to Asgard, but Odin was out. We have to wait a while before he comes back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You traveled across the stars in just a few hours?” Stark sat on a nearby sofa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just say it if you’re jealous.” Strange shot back without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he still sighed helplessly. “I told you we shouldn’t have told my teacher about this plan so early—she’s gotten way too excited.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When we returned to Kamar-Taj, before I left, she had over a dozen sorcerers call the cosmic demons we’d previously traded with—and kept calling even when they didn’t answer. The first to respond was Mephisto...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You met him? That so-called Lord of Hell?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, but I heard his voice. They used an ancient language—I couldn’t understand it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did the voice sound like?” Stark asked curiously. “You actually heard the devil’s voice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s so special about that? When I went to Asgard, I saw the World Tree too. And flying Pegasus, and sprites in the spring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>bidige.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you meet any of the gods from mythology?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange shook his head. “We showed up too suddenly. Asgard had no one assigned to receive us, and many had left with Odin. The only one home was a god named Loki—the prince of Asgard. He received us, but I didn’t form a good impression of him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hard to say. Since I started learning magic, my intuition has become sharper. I just get the feeling he’s not a good person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your intuition is right,” Shiler said to Strange. “A few days ago, that big dumb guy we picked up said his brother is the god of lies and deceit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, I’ve confirmed it now—the alien who landed on Earth really is Odin’s son. I heard Odin left specifically to deal with the mess he caused.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where is Thor now?” Stark asked Shiler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s currently cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. for a physical examination. He should be released soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does Nick really plan to let him go? According to what you said, he caused a huge mess at home, forcing his father to come down personally to clean it up. How much trouble will he cause on Earth?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Steve already tested him. Aside from slightly greater strength and an unbelievably healthy body, he has no special abilities.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shiler glanced at his watch. “By now, Nick should have gotten everything he wanted to know. Next, he’ll use S.H.I.E.L.D. to find Thor a place to live, get him a job, and assign agents to watch him nonstop—twenty-four hours a day—to observe the alien’s behavior.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I still think this is dangerous. Even if he has no abilities beyond normal human strength, his values are completely alien to ours—he’s like a psychiatric patient in constant flare-up...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether he’s insane isn’t up to you,” Shiler smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t take Nick’s dirty money to write him a clean bill of health, did you???” Stark stared wide-eyed at Shiler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’d even take money like that??”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just take care of yourself first,” Shiler glanced again at his watch. “Pepper’s finished her work. You’re in trouble now, Mr. Stark—the man who understands women best.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the mention of this topic, Stark nearly fled. After he left, Strange glanced at the door, then walked over and closed it. “Are you just going to let him keep doing this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed to his chest, indicating Stark’s energy problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like learning magic has changed you—you actually care about Stark now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just see him as our guarantee for technological development. We still have many unsolved problems—energy conversion, storage, and so on. If he dies, everything after will become a nightmare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haven’t you noticed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We know his chest reactor is a ticking time bomb—it could kill him within a year—but none of us are in a hurry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So why?” Strange tilted his head, staring at Shiler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When we went to the lab last time, did you see the model on his workbench?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange frowned, thinking. “I think I did—was it the one beside the bookshelf?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. That’s the model of the Arc Reactor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So he already made a replacement? Then why hasn’t he switched to it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because it’s based on his father’s technology.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright...” Strange shook his head, clearly baffled. “He’s gambling his life over stubbornness—he’s even more childish than I thought.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not just stubbornness. He believes the technology still has room for improvement. He wants to create a perfect version all at once—once and for all. More importantly, it proves he’s better than his father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough about him. Let’s talk about you. I heard from the nurses you didn’t go home for Christmas or Easter last year?” Shiler asked Strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s none of your business.” Strange’s tone grew flat. “I’m not your patient. I don’t need your counseling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every one of my patients says that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I have money, status, and access to realms ordinary people can’t touch. I even traveled to the divine realm just hours ago...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know? When you just said that, your expression was identical to Stark’s when he mentions Howard. Every time that name comes up, he talks about how brilliant the Stark Corporation is now...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So what would you tell him to do? Forgive Howard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shiler sighed. “Generally speaking, a therapist tells you to let go or forgive someone not because they believe that person was right—but because holding onto it only damages your own emotions and mental health. You should know that better than anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, maybe I shouldn’t say this—but I really want to hear your backstory, then compare your father to Stark’s. Which one’s worse?” Shiler continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange snorted. “Good people are all different. Bad people are all the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after a pause, he added: “That drunkard only got drunk. He knew Donna could only move with a wheelchair, yet refused to buy her a better one. She fell into the river while crossing the bank.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Stark, Strange spoke this memory in a cold, flat tone—no emotion, no rise or fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I studied medicine to cure my sister’s legs. But the day I won the scholarship, I called him. His first words were: ‘Your sister is dead.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His second: ‘Give me the scholarship money.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then your father seems worse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only because he was poorer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard you have a younger brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, a brother...” Strange’s tone was dismissive. “That drunkard hated Donna. Hated me. But he doted on his youngest son, Victor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I won’t go back. That place isn’t my home. Their father-son bond has nothing to do with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange lowered his head again to write. When speaking of his past, he didn’t react like Stark—his tone was calm, as if recounting someone else’s life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Stark was lucky after all—he’s an only child, and had his butler and uncle to keep him company as a child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shiler rested his chin on his hand. “That big dumb alien from the sky is the same way. I wonder if Odin truly favors him—or if there’s another reason.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m different. I always had top grades and won every scholarship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He fought campaigns across the land, earned countless victories. And now, neither of you can go home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was cast out. I wasn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange’s tone remained unchanged. “I’ve received more praise from my teacher in these past few days than I ever got from my father in my entire life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stark once said his father always thought he understood nothing. That’s why he’s now desperate to prove he understands everything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s meaningless,” Strange concluded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s meaningless!” Pepper shouted. “When will you put down your damn arrogance and stop risking your life?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you trying to prove it to? Your father? Can’t you think for once? No father wants to see his son risk his life just to prove a point!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Stark Tower’s lab, Pepper stepped before Stark, meeting his eyes. “If I’d known you were busy killing yourself while I cleaned up your messes, I never would’ve bothered with you, Stark!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not killing myself. Listen—I haven’t perfected the device yet. I want to make something flawless...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the point now? You’re still obsessed with your meaningless standards? You’re dying!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know, Tony? I can’t imagine any reason someone would, knowing they have less than a year to live, still cling to the past and memories.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She covered her forehead and sighed. “I don’t know whether to call you brave or arrogant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I could do better. I just need time. A year is enough. Believe me, Pepper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stark stepped forward and hugged her. “Even if I only have a year left, at least I have you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You always say the right things—but never fix the problem I’m most afraid of,” Pepper sighed wearily. “You use this line on every woman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say that. Believe me—I’ll solve this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking into Stark’s perpetually slightly damp eyes, Pepper couldn’t bring herself to say more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Pepper left, Stark sat back against the lab bench, holding the model.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he stared at the model, he remembered his favorite childhood toy—the little car he and his father had built together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howard finished the chassis and engine. Tony installed the shell, wheels, and seat, then wrote their shared surname on the door with a pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the only good memory he’d dug up after searching long and hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone thought Stark refused Howard’s tech out of stubbornness. But only Stark knew—he wanted to make it perfect, not to prove he was better than Howard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just wanted this to be a joint creation between father and son—like that little car. The toy became his childhood’s memorial; the Arc Reactor would be his life’s hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That way, he could pretend his father had never been absent from his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————Extra Notes————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here we go!\u003C\u002Fp>",1676,"2026-06-20T16:39:12.484Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a33b459dabc48cdb482596674b29917d0613e5691abe7f8fbca16d4d88480729","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-196","my-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-chapter-194",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-mental-mentor-in-marvel-cover.jpg"]