"Why are you so drunk?" Black Widow pulled up a chair and sat beside the sofa, resisting the urge to wake up Main Universe Iron Man with a glass of ice water. Instead, she tenderly placed a fresh towel on his head.

Captain America stood nearby, sighed, and after pondering for a moment, said, "It’s only because he’s passed out drunk that I dare say this. Tony is very smart, but sometimes he’s also very stupid."

Black Widow looked up at him. Captain America said, "If Steven is willing to go to the operating room for him, why would he be so angry about his interference?"

"You’ve confused me too. Isn’t it obvious why Steven’s angry? He’s practically furious."

"When you piss someone off, it’s best to figure out the real reason they’re angry. If you get it wrong, the more you try to appease them, the angrier they’ll get."

Black Widow agreed with this, looked at Main Universe Iron Man’s face, and said, "I feel like he never really understood. Who could force Stephen Strange?"

"I thought geniuses would understand each other better," Captain America sat down and said, "They are different from us ordinary people and should be better at understanding that there were always other choices. But it turns out they can make the same mistakes."

Black Widow chuckled lightly and gently pressed the towel on his forehead.

Main Universe Iron Man suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, struggled to sit up, and was pushed back down. Captain America withdrew his hand, sighed, and said, "Take it easy; you’re still injured."

Main Universe Iron Man lay there, staring straight at the ceiling, and after a while, said hoarsely, "How can whiskey be so strong..."

"How much did you drink?" Black Widow asked somewhat curiously.

"A bottle, I think." Main Universe Iron Man mumbled in reply.

Captain America closed his eyes in some frustration. "That’s way too much for someone who doesn’t usually drink heavily, no wonder you’re so drunk."

Main Universe Iron Man seemed to regain his senses, scrambled to sit up, took a deep breath on the sofa, and wiped his face with the towel on his head, then said, "I think I know why Steven was so angry."

"Let’s hear it," Black Widow, sitting on the small stool, hugged her knees and said.

"The key to ’he’s angry I don’t trust him’ isn’t ’don’t trust him,’ but ’I.’" Main Universe Iron Man said listlessly, "I’m the reason he stays in The Avengers, but I didn’t understand that. I just thought he had nowhere else to go and found shelter. But if one day the Stark Group went bankrupt, and I came to stay with The Avengers, yet he thought I just wanted a safety net and wouldn’t starve, I’d be furious."

Black Widow couldn’t help but laugh, seemingly imagining this scenario. When the roles are reversed, it sounds particularly absurd, as if Tony Stark is just an accessory to the Stark Group and is nothing without it.

But in reality, it’s entirely the opposite. Without Tony Stark, the Stark Group would be just an arms company. Only with Iron Man, the super genius inventor, can the Stark Group be called a tech giant, a beacon of science.

If the Stark Group went bankrupt, and Iron Man hadn’t become an imbecile, he could easily bring out a few technologies and instantly make a comeback. As long as he’s alive, plenty of people are willing to help him rise again.

So if he doesn’t choose to rebuild the Stark Group but instead decides to join a force, whoever he joins, it can’t be for restoring past glory or gaining status and power because those are at his fingertips.

The status of Stephen Strange in the industry is the same. He’s not some rookie making his debut but an influential figure with a say in the industry. Even if he couldn’t wield a scalpel, just standing in the operating room and guiding others would be an invaluable opportunity that ordinary doctors would dream of. Not to mention, he hasn’t completely lost his abilities.

It can be said that none of the members of The Avengers joined because they were truly out of options. They all have other choices and possibly even better paths. They choose to stay not because they crave any official status or salary conditions, but because they share the same aspirations and ideals. They want to do something for the world and recognize what others in the group want to do, which is why they form a team together.

This also allows Main Universe Iron Man to better understand the state of the Central Universe. Over there, the superheroes have chosen the other paths available to The Avengers.

Spider Man chose being a scholar as his main career, Doctor Strange continued his work as a surgeon, Iron Man is a scientist and a father, Captain America became an interstellar navigator, and Thor became the king of Asgard. But even so, they are still transforming the world in their own positions to make it a better place.

Whether gathered as a blazing fire or scattered as shining stars, there’s no real distinction in merit. What’s important is that they all have choices. This state of "having a choice" is the foundation for maintaining a pure state of righteousness. While it’s said that good deeds should be rewarded, in reality, it’s usually those who gain nothing from their good deeds who can maintain their original intentions. Because they have no demands, they have no weak points.

If there’s any difference, perhaps it’s that the Avengers in this universe draw more from each other’s love and care, while the Avengers in the Central Universe find it from their own relatives and friends, possibly also from Shiller. Although they don’t seek anything material, their feelings cannot be severed, and this is also their only weakness.

"This is a trap," Main Universe Iron Man suddenly said, "Shiller wants to cause trouble for us, and he’ll definitely start with our feelings. That’s why he had Steven do the surgery."

Black Widow raised an eyebrow and said, "Although he’s not very honest, you did fall for it."

Main Universe Iron Man sighed deeply, with no room for argument. Captain America asked, "If no one poured their heart out to you, you probably wouldn’t have drunk so much. Who said what to you?"

Black Widow had a look of "You’ve really got your hands full," while Captain America gave her a glance that said, "What can you do when the kids aren’t doing well?"

"It’s Professor X." Main Universe Iron Man said. He roughly recounted his conversation with Professor X and then sighed, "Perhaps we misunderstood mutants. They’re not ticking time bombs with immense power, just a unique ethnic group."

"I’m glad you think so." Captain America encouraged him first. Black Widow was eager to speak, but Captain America stopped her with just a look, and then said very tactfully, "But do you think that’s his main point?"

"Isn’t it?" Main Universe Iron Man retorted, "I think he was just trying to reassure me and change my stereotype about mutants, and he indeed succeeded."

"I want to ask you a question." Black Widow puts her hand on the edge of the couch where Main Universe Iron Man is sitting, leaning forward and asked, "What did Stephen say to you when you went to see him earlier?"

"He said he was defeated by his pursuit of perfection..."

Main Universe Iron Man finally realized: "But Stephen indeed didn’t fail. Is Professor X trying to tell me this? Then why would he say it like that, is he still holding a grudge against me?"

"Arrogant people maintain their arrogance because they can’t imagine themselves failing. If they ever envisioned their downfall, they’d show some reverence." Captain America said.

"Can’t imagine themselves failing?"

"Just like how the Soviet Union never thought it would disintegrate." Black Widow added. She especially liked talking about this in front of Captain America, "If they knew the chaos would result in being torn apart, they would have been more cautious."

"What kind of person can’t imagine themselves failing?" Main Universe Iron Man asked, "Children?"

"To be precise, it’s someone who’s never failed before." Captain America said, "Without encountering setbacks, how can one know what they look like? They can only guess through imagination."

Main Universe Iron Man froze for two seconds, then suddenly stood up and roared, "Central Universe!!"

"Move more toward this side!" A figure in a red cloak was directing mages to modify the Magical Defense Network, "Yes, that node, do you see it? Route the energy path here to the New York Temple, it’ll make power transmission easier..."

"And you, can you stop wandering around the North Pole? Can’t you see the huge energy tumor there? Are your eyes on your nostrils?"

"Why are you dawdling there? Do you have to wait until the enemy is at your doorstep to tell the difference between a closed loop and an open circuit? I’m really showing all the patience I can..."

"For heaven’s sake, you’re scarier than interns in an operating room who can’t tell the difference between clamps. How did you graduate?"

The local Doctor Strange was finally a bit fed up. He flew over, looking at another version of himself and said, "If you want to tease Tony Stark, at least act a little more convincingly, okay?"

"I don’t know how you can shamelessly tell me these things." Strange said, "You’ve set up your own Magical Defense Network like a sieve. If your magic energy wasn’t so impoverished, I’d think you were embezzling..."

The local Doctor Strange was so furious he leaned back and said nothing more, going to work on the other side of Earth.

Suddenly, a figure jumped into near-Earth orbit, and it was the furious Main Universe Iron Man. He rushed again right before Strange and shouted, "You damned impostor!!!"

"Are you sure you want to fight me at this crucial moment?" Strange squinted his eyes, "Human satellites are still up there, you know."

This statement successfully stopped Main Universe Iron Man from impulsively opening his hand cannon. He merely glared angrily at Strange, "Why are you impersonating Stephen?"

"Are you crazy? If you have to choose one Stephen Strange from the Multiverse as the main body, it would definitely be me. What do you mean I’m impersonating Stephen?"

Main Universe Iron Man was grinding his teeth in anger. Strange sneered and said, "You must have mourned for countless nights over your friend’s car accident, but regrettably, the version who didn’t endure the crash stands in front of you, and yet you wish to kill him."

Main Universe Iron Man’s expression froze, his overwhelming anger seemed to be choked by something. Countless memories flashed in his mind, as it was indeed as Strange said; he imagined many times how nice it would have been if Stephen had not met with the accident.

Though they might have never met that way, he always considered himself not emotionally narrow-minded. Whether Stephen could maintain his Hand of God glory, it wouldn’t matter if there was a friend called Tony Stark to add to it or not.

However, the fact is, it seems he has been overly romanticized about his friend. Or maybe Stephen always showed a transcendentally accepting air in front of him, making him overlook some insignificant details and feel like a Stephen Strange free from suffering would be more perfect.

But reality is brutally raw. While hardship isn’t necessary in life, it indeed makes some people reform profoundly. Stephen Strange clearly stands among them. This version that hasn’t gone through life’s reconstruction is genuinely terrifying.