Chapter 3418

Danny had completely lost control of his body. He was slumped over the steering wheel, trembling, struggling to lower his head.

At that moment, Shiler heard a female voice: "That man is acting strangely—I mean the man who was just talking to you. Some kind of magical power on him is affecting Danny..."

"Ms. Francis?"

"It's me. Quickly take Danny away. He can't hold on much longer."

Shiler had one hand on the car door and one on Danny, glancing back at Dario. He couldn't see Dario's eyes behind the sunglasses, but from his body language, it was clear he had come looking for trouble.

Shiler stood up, slammed the car door shut, turned to look at Dario and said: "There's an appointment you don't want to keep, but you have to go. You want to make an excuse to stand someone up—this way, you avoid serious consequences and don't offend the person who invited you. Do you think that's a good idea?"

Dario's movement paused for a moment. His hands were in front of him, one hand gripping the ring on the other.

"I've long heard of your name, Doctor Shiler." Dario seemed to have learned Shiler's identity. He said, "I heard you're a psychological consultant for S. H. I. E. L. D. Since Nick isn't willing to solve the problem, I thought you might be willing to help."

"I've always been happy to help," Shiler said, "but it seems you haven't asked Nick about my salary."

"I'm the chairman of Roxxon Energy. I can give you however much money you want." Dario walked over without hesitation, patted Shiler on the shoulder, and said, "To be honest, I really am in some trouble, Doctor. A disagreeable person suddenly invited me to his company, but I still have other guests waiting."

"This person is also someone of standing. If I refuse, I might offend him. But if I have an accident on the way, I can't be blamed for being late. Then I can slip away and do something else. If you're willing to help me, money or anything else isn't a problem."

"Let Danny go." Shiler intended to negotiate. He glanced at the vehicles coming and going behind Dario, then said, "I can stay here with you to handle this traffic accident, but my friend's condition can't be delayed any further."

"No, no, no, Doctor. A simple traffic accident won't delay things long, and no media would bother to report it. But if some guy suddenly turns into a monster and goes berserk on the street, that will definitely become tonight's and tomorrow morning's headline news. I'm also a victim of supervillain crime, but I can't be blamed for it."

"He's not a supervillain," Shiler said. "Then let me leave. I don't want to get involved in these things, and I don't want to be caught by any media."

Dario placed one hand on Shiler's shoulder, pressed lightly, shook his head with a smile, and said: "That won't do, Doctor. Only if a big internet celebrity gets involved will the coverage have breadth and depth. Besides, I heard you're friends with many superheroes. That annoying guy will worry about you first, leaving him no time to bother me."

"You want everything, but in the end you'll get nothing."

"As long as you have enough capital, you naturally have the appetite to swallow everything." Dario withdrew his hand, turned, and walked toward the car.

Shiler walked back to the car, and Jarvis's voice came through the car's broadcast: "Should I remind Mr. Stark that you've run into some trouble, Doctor?"

"No need. I have a way."

Danny had completely lost his reason, and flames were bursting from his eye sockets. At that moment, Shiler's hand rested on his arm, and silver power spread upward from his shoulder.

"I can't hold on much longer," Khonshu said. "The vengeful spirit inside him possesses tremendous power—it won't be long before it breaks through the seal."

"It will be resolved soon."

Shiler took out his phone and made a call. Frances and Khonshu nearby, watching, assumed he was calling Stark or Captain America,

but Shiler picked up the phone and said: "Hello? Manhattan Police Department? My friend suffers from a mental illness with aggressive tendencies and needs immediate medical attention, but we encountered a traffic accident on the road, and the other party refuses to let us leave. My friend has had an episode—he needs stabilization and restraint. Can you come help and also contact the nearest psychiatric hospital?"

"Yes, we're not far from the intersection. The other accident vehicle is a stretched Lincoln, very noticeable. Okay, I'll wait here for you..."

Less than five minutes later, two police cars arrived, one ahead and one behind. One pulled over and blocked the accident scene from the front; the other slowly approached from behind.

Shiler stepped out of the car, raised both hands, and said: "It's me who called the police. We need help."

Dario also stepped out of the car, waving his hand at the police and saying: "Hey, this is our private matter!"

"My friend is having an episode—he has aggressive tendencies. He's had violent outbursts before. I need you to immediately administer a sedative to him."

Two officers got out of the police car, hands on their guns, slowly approaching. Shiler immediately stepped aside. One officer walked to the window on Danny's side.

Shiler had already rolled down the window. The officer saw Danny slumped over the steering wheel, twitching. The instant Shiler released his control over Danny, Danny jerked upright, turned his head, and glared at the officer.

Seeing the flames flickering in his eyes, the officer hastily stepped back a few paces, then waved his hand to signal his partner to keep their distance.

"Alright, sir. We can call an ambulance for you, but you must handle his condition yourself. We'll do our best to ensure your safety."

"You can't let them go—they wrecked my car!" Dario immediately said. "This isn't your police's business. If you insist on covering for them, I'll file a complaint against you!"

The officers exchanged a glance, clearly showing reluctance.

The New York Police can be described as notorious. Besides entrapment policing and violent policing, they are especially skilled at avoidance policing. If they judge a matter's complexity exceeds their jurisdiction, they will retreat to safety regardless of how urgent the situation is, then request backup. While waiting for backup, they do nothing—even if someone dies before their eyes, it's none of their concern.

Dario clearly felt pleased, turning his head to look at Shiler. But while he was speaking to the police, Shiler had already regained control of Danny and moved him to the passenger seat.

Immediately after, he himself climbed into the driver's seat, shut the door, pressed the accelerator, jerked the steering wheel, and swerved around the parked police car. The car "whooshed" forward and sped off.

Now they had truly entered the New York Police's comfort zone. The two officers quickly jumped into their car and began the pursuit.

Shiler actually doesn't know how to drive fast. He always drives at the speed limit, and he's often honked at by others.

In fact, in the U. S., the speed limit on signs is roughly equivalent to drivers' minimum speed. The probability of speeding on the road is about 99%. If you're noticeably below the limit, you'll get honked at and overtaken.

Shiler wasn't driving fast, but the police didn't dare to pull him over. After all, there was a mentally ill madman in his car, and one look told them he had superpowers—if he exploded on the spot, the closer they got, the faster they'd die.

Shiler just slowly left the accident scene, heading all the way toward the place he had agreed to meet Wanda.

"Jarvis, call Wanda and tell her I've run into some trouble here—ask her to help."

"Okay, I'll tell her."

As they approached the agreed location, Shiler slowed the car. The two police cars behind were still hesitating—unsure whether to close in or retreat and wait for backup—so they also slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.

At that moment, a red light flashed, and the police officers in the car all passed out. The red light flashed again, and Wanda appeared in the back seat of Shiler's car.

"What's wrong, Doctor? Why are the police chasing you?"

"Things are complicated. First, take the cat away, then check on Danny's condition." Shiler turned his head and said to him.

Wanda reached back, picked up the cat, checked it, found nothing wrong, and placed it in the travel carrier with the other three kittens, preparing to take it to the pet hospital later for vaccinations.

She got out of the back seat, opened the passenger door, and glanced at Danny. Red light flickered in her eyes—Danny stopped twitching, and the flames in his eyes quickly died out.

"Something is disturbing the balance between the two souls inside him." Wanda's eyes flickered slightly, as if she were gazing at the other soul within Danny. Meanwhile, the vengeful spirit Khonshu called difficult to deal with was now as quiet as if it were dead.

"Did you drive here?" Shiler asked.

"Yes, I just drove over from Queens—traffic hasn't been bad lately. I actually enjoy driving."

"Lend me your car, ma'am. I need to go handle some small trouble. You'll take care of him."

Wanda shrugged and said: "I still need to get the kittens vaccinated—just let Jarvis watch him. Here are the keys."

Wanda passed the keys through the car window to Shiler, who had already walked out, then pointed and said: "That blue Ford over there."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll fill up the tank for you."

After saying that, Shiler grabbed the car keys, got into the car, turned the steering wheel, drove past the few police cars beside him, and headed straight back toward the original accident site.

Not long after, he arrived at the original destination—but the Lincoln was gone. It seemed Dario had realized he couldn't count on Shiler, so he drove off to find another sucker to scam.

But Shiler had no intention of letting him go. He had already guessed who the annoying guy Dario mentioned was, so he drove toward Stark Tower, looking for the Lincoln in the traffic.

The stretch Lincoln was indeed conspicuous. Shiler drove less than ten minutes before spotting the car on a ramp behind Chinatown. From the damaged bumper, he could tell it was Dario's car.

Shiler pressed the accelerator, first changing lanes twice to approach the Lincoln's right rear as quickly as possible. Then he suddenly accelerated, gave a sharp jerk of the steering wheel, and his left bumper struck the Lincoln's right rear door.

"Bang! Sizzle—"

The stretch Lincoln itself was long, so a hit to the rear caused the vehicle to fishtail and lose control. The impacted body lurched sharply to the left, then the whole car swung sideways, nearly flying into the flowerbed behind.

But the driver's skill was also quite formidable. He quickly turned the steering wheel left, using the full-body torque, then jerked sharply to the right. After two such sways, he barely managed to stabilize the vehicle.

Dario, seated in the rear, leaned out the window to look back. Shiler's expression, reflected in the windshield, appeared utterly cold.

(End of Chapter)