"Stephen! Stephen!" Main Universe Iron Man flew towards Strange. Strange was currently observing the Magical Defense Network in low Earth orbit. This universe also had a Magical Defense Network, not comparable to the one in his universe, but it was somewhat effective. He was contemplating how to further improve it.

"What are you doing here?" Strange’s gaze at Main Universe Iron Man was not very friendly. To put it impolitely, it was a bit like looking at a pile of dog poop. Of course, at the moment, everyone looked like dog poop to him, varying only in size.

Main Universe Iron Man seemed a bit deterred by this look. He instinctively flew back a bit, then said, "I know you’re angry, Stephen. I’m really sorry, I sincerely apologize. I shouldn’t have said those things outside the hospital room. Anxiety isn’t an excuse. I promise I won’t..."

Strange had already flown away.

Main Universe Iron Man wasn’t discouraged and kept pursuing him while mumbling. Strange finally stopped and looked at him, saying, "Don’t you have anything better to do?"

"My main business right now is to apologize to you and earn your forgiveness. We’re teammates, and you were really hurt by what I said before. I need to..."

Strange extended one hand and then said, "What did you say outside the hospital room?"

Main Universe Iron Man was stunned. He pursed his lips and said, "Stephen, there you go again. I know you like to express yourself with generosity to match your mage persona, but we don’t need to do this between us, right?"

"Now, repeat what you said at the hospital door."

Main Universe Iron Man was again surprised, saying, "Stephen. What’s wrong with you? Why are you so..."

Main Universe Iron Man wasn’t sure how to describe it. Anyway, Doctor Strange had never spoken to him like this before. But knowing he was angry, it was said that his temper wasn’t great when he was a surgeon. So the change in attitude was understandable.

Main Universe Iron Man finished mumbling. As a result, Strange’s gaze toward him became even more contemptuous.

"You’re going to find a doctor from New York to replace me? Who are you planning to find? Stark Group’s medical consultant? Oh God. Don’t you know your medical team is just a bunch of parasites feeding off medical funds? Do you believe if you asked them for academic results, they’d run away immediately? They’re just tricking you, a big sucker, with their prestigious degrees and padded résumés. You’re actually counting on these outsiders. You’d better research your iron can suit well, or else don’t catch a cold or fever. If you die on the operating table of these quacks, I definitely won’t attend your funeral!"

Main Universe Iron Man was a bit dumbfounded by the reprimand. However, he first noticed, "My medical team are parasites?! How is that possible? They’re carefully selected medical elites..."

"They only treat you?"

"Uh, I paid for it."

"How many times do you get sick a year?"

"I’m in good health."

"So they haven’t treated a patient in years. You’re still confident in them treating you?" Strange looked at Main Universe Iron Man again with that sucker’s gaze, then said, "Whether it’s internal or external, the most important thing for a doctor is experience. Without frontline practice, where does the experience come from?"

"But they also have positions in some big hospitals," Main Universe Iron Man explained.

"Really? Have you seen them go to work? Are there surgery records?" Strange rolled his eyes, saying, "With the salary you provide, who would bother doing surgeries? They only hold positions in big hospitals to get more money out of you."

"But...but there are still some good doctors in New York, right? I was just worried you couldn’t handle it, so..."

Strange stopped his actions, turned to look into the eyes of Main Universe Iron Man, and said, "You don’t think that after my hands were injured, I couldn’t even match those interns who can’t distinguish between instruments, so I left in disgrace, do you?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Main Universe Iron Man wanted to ask "isn’t that the case," but he indeed didn’t dare to say it, fearing he’d anger Doctor Strange further. In such a situation, saying that would surely warrant a beating.

Strange sighed and said, "It turns out, you don’t understand, Tony. I was only defeated by my own pursuit of perfection."

With that, he flew away, leaving Main Universe Iron Man stunned. When he returned to the living room, Captain America pointed to the microwave and said, "I just made sandwiches for you guys."

Main Universe Iron Man seemed somewhat absent-minded, sitting down on a single sofa without even taking off his battle armor. After resting for a while and Thor, whose wound had almost healed, came out, looked at him, bypassed him, sat on the other side of the sofa, and said, "Looks like it didn’t go well?"

Iron Man came back to his senses slightly, suddenly stood up, and turned to walk out the door. Captain America poked his head out of the room and asked, "Aren’t you going to eat?"

"Keep the sandwich for me," he said. "I’m going next door."

He wasn’t talking about Clarkia Island, but the Avengers headquarters in this universe. The local Avengers were clearly not welcoming of him, but they still let him in.

"Stephen," Main Universe Iron Man shouted, "Oh, okay, Doctor Strange. I have something to ask you, can we talk privately?"

Doctor Strange frowned deeply, as if suspecting there was a conspiracy. However, he also noticed Strange’s actions in low Earth orbit, considering their talk of cooperation. He still followed the Main Universe Iron Man out.

"I have a question," said the Main Universe Iron Man, "I know bringing up that history might offend you, but..."

"Stop!" the local Doctor Strange raised a hand to stop him and then said, "I have no expectations of you, so nothing you say can offend me."

"Did you... after your hand got injured, could you really not perform surgery at all? Like, you couldn’t do any surgery? Even... even the simplest kind of surgery." The Main Universe Iron Man gestured for a long time, but he really didn’t understand much about the difficulty levels of neurosurgery.

The local Doctor Strange looked at him as if he were an idiot and after a moment said, "Are you talking about an appendectomy?"

"Wait, that’s not neurosurgery, right?"

The local Doctor Strange sneered and said, "There’s not much difference between those simple neurosurgery procedures you imagine."

"So you can..."

"Why do you ask?" the local Doctor Strange inquired.

The Main Universe Iron Man fell silent. The local Doctor Strange sighed and said, "Leaving the operating table was my own decision."

The Main Universe Iron Man seemed a bit confused. The local Doctor Strange had to explain, "If I had no value, the hospital would have kicked me out directly, I wouldn’t have had the choice. Do you understand?"

"So you still can," said the Main Universe Iron Man, "You can perform surgery."

"Yes. Just compared to the surgeries I used to perform, that can’t be called surgery," the local Doctor Strange said, "It’s probably like the difference between knitting a scarf and building a car."

"So you left because you couldn’t perform those high-difficulty surgeries?"

"Tony Stark. Is your brain completely not functioning?" the local Doctor Strange said, "I am a doctor, my hands are not just useful to me. Many people want me to be their last line of defense after an extreme sports accident, and they might be wealthier than you. My surgical skills are not easily replaceable as they might wish to discard. Even if there is the slightest hope, they would try their utmost to save my hands."

"Under such treatment, even if I can’t fully restore functionality, I can at least restore most of it. Even the surgeries those people hope I complete, I can complete. The same goes, if not for this, how could I have left with dignity."

The Main Universe Iron Man felt a sense of shock. Because of Strange’s earlier reminder, he realized, he is willing to pay a lot for his medical team, because nothing is more important than his life. And if he had such a skilled doctor in his hands, in the event of an accident, he would also try everything to save them, as it is also ensuring his life. The rich are never stingy in terms of life-saving.

In this circumstance, even if the hand can’t be cured completely, it should at least be restored by 80%. With 80% hand functionality restored, it should not affect actions.

"But you said earlier your hands shake..." The Main Universe Iron Man hesitated. This was something Stephen had told him privately.

"It’s mostly psychological." The local Doctor Strange pursed his lips, clearly not easy to bring up the past, and he said, "When I think I can’t do it perfectly, I can’t do anything."

The Main Universe Iron Man stared at him. This statement matched precisely what Strange had previously said, "I can only be defeated by my pursuit of perfection." So he is not unable to perform surgery, not unable to be a doctor, he just can’t return to being that top-notch doctor from before, unable to achieve a perfect surgery like before, so he chose to leave.

"My teacher once said, precisely because I have the power to ’believe,’ I would be the best mage." The local Doctor Strange said, "If I believe I could do it, perhaps I could return to the operating table. But now I no longer believe. That car accident truly shattered my trust in myself."

The Main Universe Iron Man clenched his fist. Guilt overwhelmed him like a tide. He had to hold onto the wall to walk out. Stephen was at his most crucial moment of seeking confidence, while he mocked him outside the door.

More importantly, he never truly understood Stephen Strange. He knew he had a trauma experience, but he didn’t know, he was only defeated by the pinnacle of himself.

The Main Universe Iron Man had to admit, his lack of understanding made him worried, prompting him to rush to the operating room’s door and say what he did. When a friend once considered very good doesn’t understand, or even know you, wouldn’t anyone be saddened?

The Main Universe Iron Man felt drained, as if the Battle Armor carried him to the dining bar, slumped over the table in a dizzy state. Vaguely he heard a voice: "Iron Man? Iron Man? Tony Stark?"

A drink was handed to his side. The Main Universe Iron Man instinctively took it and gulped it down, barely regaining consciousness. Just when he exhaled a long breath, a plate with a burger was handed over again, along with Professor X’s slightly worried face.

"Are you okay? Tony? You seem a bit hypoglycemic, do you need to see a doctor?"

The Main Universe Iron Man grasped the burger, just feeling some congestion in his throat. He took a big bite, chewing as he shook his head, "No, I’m okay."

"You don’t seem so fine. Your brainwaves are a mess. What happened? Can you tell me?"