Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4376 - 3469: Midnight Sons (31)

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Shiller hadn't even had a chance to speak when Stark squeezed right in. Wearing his iron shell, there was no way Shiller could out-squeeze him, so he had to step back two steps to dodge him, letting Stark swagger right into the clinic.

"Ahem." Stark cleared his throat. But when he was about to speak, he didn't know what to say. After pausing for a long time, he blocked his mouth with his fist and said casually, "Why did you move back here again?"

"Didn't you know? Arkham Sanatorium is being renovated." Shiller walked to the coffee machine, opened the back cover, switched to fresh coffee beans, changed the milk box, and said while busy, "I'm currently selecting suitable material suppliers. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I can introduce you to the suppliers who renovated the Stark Building," Stark said, "but I don't know how good they are at renovating hospitals. You could talk to them. Maybe they can recommend a specialist."

"Okay, just send me their contact information." Shiller took a coffee cup from the shelf, rinsed it under the faucet, then wiped it dry with a sponge.

He turned around to place the coffee cup, glanced at Stark, and said, "You can place the listening devices over on that table."

Stark put down some items and then said, "Are you sure you'll use it? It's best to place it discreetly, or they might find it during a body search."

"Why would you think I would let them search me?"

"That guy wouldn't let you into his company just like that." Stark sat down by the sofa, and the Iron Armor disappeared in an instant, leaving only headphones and a pair of glasses behind.

"Okay, I know. I can freely enter your company. Leaving that aside, let's talk about Dario Ag. What do you know about him?"

"He's an extremely annoying guy, arrogant, conceited, and completely clueless about technology, just a pure speculator." Stark shook his head.

But he quickly acted objective and said, "But this guy does have some skills. JARVIS couldn't find any flaws in his investigation. Last time, Roxon Corporation's stock price plummeted, but they quickly restored their reputation. This proves he has some talent in business."

"I suspected that the Minotaur wrecking havoc in Manhattan yesterday was Dario Ag." Shiller placed a cup of hot coffee in front of Stark, then went to pour himself a cup.

Stark squinted slightly, picked up the coffee cup, and rubbed the handle with his fingers, "Do you have evidence?"

Shiller shook his head, cupping the coffee cup as he sat down across from Stark and said, "Yesterday I took Danny to Manhattan, and he tried to give me trouble on the way, trying to use me to delay meeting someone he hates."

"And unsurprisingly, that person is me."

"I figured as much. I used a little trick to thwart his scheme. After that, the Minotaur appeared."

"Then he claimed that the monster's invasion affected him, his car broke down halfway, and the driver died, so he had to delay meeting with me. He probably took that chance to meet the Dark Elves and sorted out their issues." Stark continued.

"Dark Elves?"

Upon hearing Shiller's question, Stark was a bit stunned, then remembered that although the Midnight Knight knew about the Dark Elf trouble, Shiller did not.

The thought of having to communicate with Shiller utilizing the information gap between his two identities made Stark's head spin. You could be a Superhero, but why insist on being one with a secret identity?

"Yes, Dark Elves... never mind, you're just a regular psychiatrist; there's no need to understand these things." Stark chose the simplest way, brushing the topic aside.

Just as Stark was about to continue speaking, the clinic door was pushed open again. Natasha was the first to walk in, her voice arriving before she did, "Doctor, did you record footage of that bull-headed monster transforming when you fought it yesterday? Nick said that if we can catch him in the act, S.H.I.E.L.D could arrest him immediately..."

Shortly thereafter, Steve's voice followed, "That guy disappeared near the Roxsen New York Headquarters; it's definitely Ag..."

The two walked in one after the other, pausing when they saw Stark also present. Steve seemed to suffer a brief memory loss, suddenly turning around and asking, "What did Nick send us here to do again?"

"Ah... we were here to pick up the latest psychological evaluation report." Natasha nodded, "Doctor, is it done? If it is, please give it to me so I can file it."

"Right, Carter asked me to check. He's not out on missions lately; he's working in the archives..." Steve quickly added.

Watching the two perform their act, Shiller chuckled internally. Stark thought the Superheroes were all just playing Superhero games with him, oblivious to the fact that everyone was still indulging an anxious Iron Man's game of "Schrodinger's cat."

Stark's goggles skillfully hid his eye roll, but he still moved to one side of the sofa, making room for the two.

At this moment, Natasha noticed the listening device on the table, raised a brow, and looked at Stark, saying, "Did Batman finally rub off on you? I never thought you'd make the first move against Doctor Shiller..."

"That's just an injustice to me," Stark immediately claimed innocence, "clearly, it's for a highly professional doctor who's about to conduct an absolutely confidential and un-listenable therapy session."

"Surely you're not saying it's your treatment." Steve showed a disgusted expression, "Can swapping a psychiatrist's recording device for this thing alleviate your anxiety symptoms? What's kind of hobby is that?"

Stark almost rolled his eyes to the heavens, stood up, and as he walked to the table, deliberately bumped into Steve's shoulder, "Then what's your hobby of gifting Agent Carter a color-reversed shield? Howard has to help you knock together an anniversary gift in Hawaii."

Natasha also displayed a gossip expression. Steve, not to be outdone, crossed his arms and looked at Natasha saying, "Were you talking about Batman so casually because you just got too used to saying it recently?"

"Alright, if you two have nothing better to do, at least complete your psychological evaluation reports." Shiller retrieved evaluation forms from the drawer. Three of them stepped back in unison.

"Sorry, I still have things to do at my company, I'm leaving now." Stark immediately lifted his foot to leave. Natasha and Steve also quickly made their exit.

Just as they were walking out, they bumped into a figure. Steve almost slammed Loki into the glass with a sprint.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Holding a magic wand in one hand, Loki rubbed his nose with the other, "I almost shoved my nose into my pineal gland! Honestly, if Odin had brought you along when he campaigned against Jotunheim, would it have taken so long?"

Detecting the dissatisfaction in his tone, Steve was the first to apologize, "Sorry, I didn't see you. But I really have something to do, could you please let me through?"

Loki extended the magic wand to block him, "Don't leave yet, I've got something to tell you."

"But he also has something to tell us," Natasha pointed backward. Shiller was looking in this direction.

"Great, we can talk together." Loki caught Shiller's look and signaled back, "Don't worry, I'm on your side."

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Two minutes later, the four of them were sitting around the dining table, filling out psychological evaluation forms while discussing the Dark Elves.

"It's been confirmed, the current leader of the Dark Elves isn't Malekith, but his former general Algrim, otherwise known as the Cursed Warrior. He hasn't responded to the diplomatic note sent from Asgard, so his stance is still unclear."

"I think he's gone mad," said Natasha bluntly, "How long would it take Asgard to wipe out the Dark Elves?"

"One second." Loki answered very bluntly, "We categorize civilizations into two types: those we need to use the Rainbow Bridge as a portal for, and the others we just use it as a weapon. They're the latter."

"What about Earth?" Steve couldn't help but ask.

"You're in between. Earth is protected by a magical defense network; the shield's strength is far beyond most first-level interstellar civilizations' planet's shield, making it necessary to use the Rainbow Bridge."

"But the Rainbow Bridge requires a cooldown and charging; to shatter the shield in one hit may need overdrive, and once without the Rainbow Bridge, Asgard's mobility greatly decreases, making it hard to deal with Earth's mages."

"So if we have to attack, Thor probably won't choose to use the Rainbow Bridge as a weapon, and would still use it as a portal. But in that case, the Earth's shield becomes an issue."

Loki shook his head, "You haven't been safe in the cosmos for so long solely relying on Asgard. Similarly, if other civilizations in the cosmos had ways to attack successfully, they wouldn't keep causing trouble within Earth."

Steve nodded, seemingly relieved, but then Loki said, "Homeworld security and navigation security are two different matters. Unless you can move the magical defense network onto your starship, navigation security is still tough, let alone distant engagements."

Steve sighed and said, "We'll take things slowly."

Natasha was curious and turned her head to him, "That doesn't quite sound like you."

"I've been dealing with Chinese people lately, learning from them." Steve shrugged, "It's a response that can counter any pessimistic view, simultaneously optimistic enough to be shocking. They truly seem to believe that over time, we'll have everything."

"Maybe that's indeed the case," Loki chuckled, "they're a civilization from the same era as Asgard; the words of the elders usually have some truth."

"What do you think the Cursed Warrior's attitude is?" Stark asked.

"Not very friendly. But I'm here to convey a message: Asgard won't send troops to attack Svartalfheim; whatever happens there is unrelated to us."

Everyone understood the crux was in the second half of the statement. Steve seemed to think of something abruptly, whispered to Natasha, who nodded, then whispered something back to Steve.

Stark didn't know what secretive moves they were up to, just began taking inventory of his resources. But soon he looked at Shiller and asked, "You have friends in Hong Kong?"

"Somewhat." Shiller nodded.

"You think they..." Stark hesitated for a moment and asked, "Would they be willing to fight? If they don't, we..."

"You're mistaken on one thing," Shiller sighed and said, "Why do you think they dislike fighting?"

"Because they've always opposed aggressive interstellar exploration, lacking almost any aggressiveness, doing everything so sluggishly."

"Then where did their world's third-largest territory come from?"

"Uh..."

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