Chapter 4974

"Tony, I completely understand your concern." Carter spoke first. "In fact, reliable deities are rare on Earth. Our universe has endured so much, and we've killed quite a few gods. It's normal for you to be wary of them."

"But what better option do we have?" Carter tried to soften her tone as much as possible. "We don't believe this form is already perfect; it's just that Earth truly cannot afford another civil war in such a short time."

"Mr. Stark," Peter also spoke up: "Have you paid attention to Stark Industries' interns? Those who can intern at Stark Industries are mostly outstanding talents. What about the snack stall owners in the alleys around Stark Industries? Convenience store owners? City sanitation workers?"

"Let me give an example. When my uncle was still alive, once, I don't know if it was superheroes fighting or mutant abilities erupting, a section of road pavement on his way to work suddenly collapsed, causing him to be late and miss an urgent repair task. This led to his weekly wage being deducted—around six hundred dollars at the time. Although it's already considered blue-collar pay, to you it doesn't seem like much, right?"

"But this produced a chain of effects. That winter in New York was bitterly cold, firewood was snapped up completely, and fireplaces couldn't be lit. The electricity bill from space heaters increased by 1.5 times, and the power company raised rates under the pretext of snow disasters. Meanwhile, I still had to pay for textbooks, so we could only choose one."

"My uncle chose to pay for my textbooks and simultaneously sent me to stay with other classmates. He got some firewood from friends, but the quality was poor, so they could only sleep on the floor by the fireplace. Just one winter, my aunt developed rheumatoid arthritis, leaving her with severe lower back pain. And we obviously had no money for physical therapy."

"Ironically, the one who cured her condition was precisely the assassin hired by Kingpin who shot him. She died, and I made a deal with Mephisto; after she was resurrected, she no longer suffered from back pain."

Peter lowered his eyes and said: "Sometimes, maintaining surface peace is unacceptable to many people, who see it as appeasement. Because their livelihoods have high fault tolerance, even if we fight a few more times, you could rebuild Stark Tower. But ordinary people really lose their jobs and end up on the streets due to roads being continuously destroyed."

"I'm not as foolish as you think." Iron Man retorted: "Stark Industries has countless charitable projects, and I use my technical means to ensure money ends up in the right hands. I'm sorry for your aunt's ordeal, but I am absolutely not the indifferent person you imagine toward the lower classes. I support the Registration Act precisely because I want to guarantee ordinary people's rights!"

"It's precisely because I care about the masses that I cannot let this guy rule us." Iron Man stared fiercely at Thor. "If superheroes disappeared, we would notice. What about ordinary people?"

"Why would I let ordinary people disappear?" Thor countered him.

"You really haven't done that?" Iron Man snorted coldly. "How did you treat Ms. Jane Foster? You pursued her despite your own identity. Your brother sent people to interfere in your relationship, causing her psychological harm, and your foolish father actually had people kidnap her, supposedly as a test."

"In your family, isn't there a single one who truly regards humans as human? In your eyes, humans are merely toys to be played with at will, using longevity and divine power as bait. But in the end, did Ms. Foster actually receive these?"

"She endured so much danger, so much emotional harm. You think that as long as you erase her memory, everything can be treated as if it never happened?! Thor, answer me. What evidence do you have to prove you won't play with other humans' emotions the same way you played with Ms. Foster's?!"

Thor stood there stunned. Spider-Man immediately realized something was wrong and said: "Don't listen to him—he's just a lunatic. I was merely having a few words with a classmate, and he charged over and started hitting me..."

"You ungrateful little brat! Idiot!" Iron Man shouted. "I originally thought your betrayal of us was your stupidest decision, but I never expected today's actions to surpass even my understanding. On the first day of school, you almost came to blows with a classmate."

"That's because he wanted to steal my luggage," Bruce said. "I just wanted to subdue him first."

"You water-brained idiot! Didn't you notice that the place you were in had no surveillance, while that person had an accomplice standing around the corner secretly filming? They just wanted to capture Wayne Enterprises heir Bruce Wayne bullying a classmate, so they could go to your dad for money!"

Spider-Man froze. Peter couldn't help but raise a hand to his forehead. This kid still lacks vigilance, but thinking back to when I first became Spider-Man, I was also a hotheaded fool who caused even more trouble, so it's understandable.

Then Iron Man turned to Carter again: "How long should a stopgap measure last? Are you treating the lack of any contingency plans or precautions as a stopgap? I must declare that I have never criticized Batman for being suspicious, because working with you lot, I'd rather live in the Batcave!"

"Alright, even if you want to guard against Thor, what are you and Bruce fighting about?" Peter asked.

"I suspect this bunch was sent by Thor," Iron Man suddenly shifted tone, beginning to dream up and say whatever came to mind. "He wants to undermine the Revival Alliance from within, so that no one can defend against him anymore. The best target is Spider-Man, so he naturally wants to first obtain leverage to threaten him, or release photos publicly to severely damage Spider-Man's reputation."

Thor also couldn't help but clutch his forehead. He felt this Iron Man was strange—one moment lucid, the next raving. What he said about him and Foster actually made sense and wasn't entirely sophistry, but when it came to Bruce, there was absolutely no logic.

"Then why don't I just directly control Spider-Man?" Thor asked. "You know I fully have the ability to do so."

"Look, look!" Iron Man jumped up and said. "In front of so many people, he's already started threatening! Where did you put Reed and them?! Did you secretly execute them? Why can't I get through when I call them?"

"They're in Jotunheim—how could you possibly get through?" Thor explained helplessly.

"You blocked Jotunheim!" Iron Man roared. "Do you think we're idiots who lack interworld communication technology?!"

Carter truly couldn't bear it anymore: "Tony Stark!" She slammed the table hard. "Pepper said it right—you're really a nutcase! Reed almost destroyed this universe, yet you're still speaking for him?"

"I didn't say he shouldn't face trial, but on what grounds should he judge me?" Iron Man pointed at Thor. "He's always been watching me, surveilling me, wanting to steal my technology, and also wants to isolate us! Why don't you guys get it?!"

"Mr. Stark," Xilei finally spoke again. "I know that a true deity who controls the Nine Great Domains brings you great pressure. This pressure makes you anxious and gives you some persecutory delusion symptoms."

"This isn't just symptoms—he is a persecutory delusion patient!" Carter gritted her teeth. "He should go to Arkham Asylum!"

Obviously, Iron Man's earlier intention to defend Reed had thoroughly angered Carter. Peter quickly grabbed this lady, softly comforting her. After all, we're currently in mediation, so overly heated words are inappropriate.

"No matter what you think, I will find evidence," Iron Man said. "If anything happens to me during this period, it will definitely be his doing. Please make sure you remember this!"

After saying that, Iron Man tried to leave, but discovered he was still wearing handcuffs. He then began to violently struggle against the restraints, but his physical body, after all, is merely mortal flesh; under violent struggle, both wrists were bloody. Everyone rushed forward to subdue him.

However, for some reason, Iron Man's strength had become immense, and Peter and Carter couldn't press him down at once. Thor wanted to help, but seeing Iron Man glaring deathly at him, he feared being framed and dared not intervene. In the end, Spider-Man subdued Iron Man.

"He's definitely having an episode," Peter said. "We can't let this continue like this. Professor Xilei..."

Xilei furrowed her brow, seemingly assessing, then said: "Indeed, if before it was merely persecutory delusion tendencies, his sudden self-harm and attack tendencies now truly qualify as persecutory delusion disorder. However, I don't believe Stark Industries' medical team can't resolve this. If he were sent to a mental hospital, public opinion and stock prices would likely fluctuate greatly. Better to let Stark Industries handle it internally."

Carter also calmed down, thinking it over. Iron Man's special point is that he's still a billionaire. Such a person's every move affects livelihoods; if we truly angered Stark Industries, wouldn't that also harm its employees? Not to mention how many workers in the upstream and downstream industrial chains?

She made a call. Not long after, Stark Industries sent people over—but not Pepper. Pepper is no longer Iron Man's personal assistant now, but the newcomer was also professional, bringing a medical team's doctor to bandage Iron Man's wrists, then lifting him onto a stretcher.

Peter watched him leave, sighed deeply, turned to comfort Spider-Man: "He might just be having an episode—don't take it to heart."

"Actually, if he had come to remind me, I would have been grateful," Spider-Man said. "Perhaps I overreacted—his waving might not have been meant to hit me, just to tell me not to touch that luggage-snatching guy."

"Experts will treat him," Carter said. "If he truly has severe persecutory delusion disorder, he may need recuperation. His Strategic Security Department also needs a new head and handover of work. But manpower is already insufficient..."

As she spoke, her gaze flicked to Peter. Peter widened his eyes slightly: "I've already lost my superpowers..."

"Then how did you stop those two?" Carter crossed her arms and looked at him. "If I hadn't seen you use magic, I truly wouldn't have known our Dr. Parker is still a mage. Who did you learn from?"

Peter glanced toward Xilei a few times, but still didn't dare say, coughing a few times: "Self-taught, self-taught."