Chapter 496: Who is the Hardcore Tough Guy? (2)
Chapter 496: Who is the Hardcore Tough Guy? (2)
In the office of Arkham Sanatorium, Schiller picked up the telephone on the side and spoke rapidly, "Hello? I'm the doctor."
"Yes, I know, but recently too many people have been attacked. The last incident led to the temporary suspension of security measures, and I can't do anything about it."
"It's not that I won't help you. Did you see who attacked you? The all-powerful Captain America and Iron Man. If I could defeat the two of them alone, would I still be sitting in my current position?"
Schiller angrily hung up the telephone. After a while, the other telephone on his desk rang again. He answered, "Hello, I'm the doctor."
"Say it again, there are no security measures left. Good luck to you... Important materials? Hold on!"
Schiller hung up the telephone, picked up another one, dialed a number, and then picked up the receiver, saying, "Hello? Nick, there are important materials in the underground base at the western pier. Send someone to retrieve them. If you go too late, those children might burn them with a fire."
"No one available? What's S.H.I.E.L.D. doing? Alright, alright, but what can I do? Are you suggesting I go find Mephisto?... Wait, I have a solution."
Schiller put down the telephone, picked up another one, dialed a number, and in no time, a burst of flames erupted from that telephone, flying into the air. Schiller spoke into the telephone, "Mephisto! Hurry and have your lackey, that Ghost Rider fellow, go to the western pier's underground Hydrabase and retrieve the materials..."
"What? What? What?" Mephisto sounded like he had just woken up. Schiller rapidly spewed out that long string of words, and Mephisto didn't understand a thing. Schiller, growing impatient and on the verge of exploding, slowed down his tone and repeated himself. Mephisto said, "Why should I help you? I don't work for free!"
"You took the souls of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, leaving them without usable manpower. Whose responsibility is it now?""Weren't they sold to me?"
"Weren't you supposed to buy them?"
"If you didn't sell them, how could I buy them?"
"If you didn't buy them, how could we sell them?"
Mephisto was so frustrated he wanted to smash the telephone. He thought of arguing, but hearing Schiller's increasingly impatient and almost explosive tone, he considered for a moment. If Schiller exploded on the spot, their future business would be in jeopardy. Besides, it was just a small favor. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll get Johnny to go."
Just as he put down the telephone, another one started ringing. Schiller sat in his seat, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and picked up the telephone. He was about to curse when he heard Nick on the other end say, "Think of a solution quickly! Hydra is being wiped out by them. My future employees are about to be gone!"
"You're the one in charge of New York State now. Dealing with this kind of mess is your responsibility. What's my relationship with this?" Schiller impatiently said, "They've called countless times already, and I've been dealing with it for you. What more do you want?"
"Even though I'm the overall leader of New York State now, when faced with troubles I can't handle, don't I still need to report to higher-ups? Can't you report to higher-ups? What's the situation in Germany?"
"Nick Fury, how much have you been drinking?!" Schiller raised his voice, questioning, "Germany headquarters? During World War II, they couldn't even beat a Captain America. Are you expecting them to take on the entire Avengers now?"
Nick was left speechless. During World War II, Hydra never defeated Captain America. And now, equipped with Iron Man's advanced technology and Captain America's strong determination, along with several other super-powered superheroes, when Germany headquarters saw such opponents, they probably rushed to the moon to cry in front of the little mustache.
"We really need to come up with a solution, Schiller. Our employees are losing every moment. Aren't you concerned?"
"I'm more concerned than you!" Schiller frowned, he even instinctively covered his chest, feeling as if his heart was bleeding. He said, "There aren't many people with real power in the entire Americas. Most of them are concentrated in New York State. This is our heart."
"Now, those Avengers actually want to stab a knife into our heart. How could we possibly let them succeed?"
"What do you plan to do then?" Nick asked.
"We'll think of a way, divert their attention," Schiller said, holding a telephone in one hand and writing on a medical record in the other. He asked, "Any recent developments on the military side? Any idle generals looking to conduct some experiments, creating a big monster or something?"
"The military has been relatively quiet lately. After the Tarthu officers were cleared out last time, the extreme voices have diminished. Recently, they seem to be obsessed with biogenetic technology. They won't be able to create a monster in the short term."
"Can't make bricks without straw!" Schiller cursed. He sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll contact someone else and see if there are any other solutions."
After hanging up the telephone, Schiller pondered for a moment, then called Connors. He said to Connors, "Dr. Connors, have there been any security issues in your laboratory lately?"
"Security issues? What kind of security issues are you talking about?" Connors asked, a bit confused.
"You know, the kind that could potentially lead to leaks... well, the kind that could create a big monster." Schiller described for a while, but because he had no understanding of biological and chemical terms, he could only convey a rough concept.
Connors didn't find it surprising. He said, "Rest assured, I take laboratory safety very seriously. Anyone who can enter my laboratory has undergone strict training. Anyone who doesn't adhere to safety rules is not allowed into my laboratory, including you."
Hearing Schiller's deep sigh on the other end of the telephone, Connors felt a bit puzzled. However, he believed that whatever Schiller was doing had a purpose. He picked up the telephone again and called his assistants, saying, "Do another random inspection of safety protocols today. Make sure they're implemented properly... Well, I'll personally come to inspect later."
Schiller, after setting down the telephone, thought for a moment, then picked it up again and dialed a number. This time, he called Daredevil Matt and asked, "Any recent activities from Kingpin and The Hand?"
"Activities? Those two have been at each other's throats recently. The Hand even stopped looking for the Dragon Bone, and Kingpin isn't expanding his gang industry. They aren't pursuing anything either. It's just gang members and ninjas fighting every day. I've seen it several times."
"Why are they so lacking in ambition?! Isn't The Hand planning to summon something?"
"Summon? Summon what? Did you hear something?" Matt asked, very confused. But he didn't wait for Schiller's response before the call was abruptly ended.
Erica, who was beside him, frowned and said, "I guess Schiller must have received some information. He's always well-informed."
Saying that, she stood up and said, "No, I have to confirm. If The Hand really has some big conspiracy, we need to snuff it out in its infancy."
"I'll go too. Since the mission to take down Hydra hasn't started yet, let's investigate The Hand first. We must crush any dangerous beginnings."
After hanging up the telephone, Schiller thought for a moment, then called Loki. The other end was chaotic, and he heard Loki say, "Hello? Schiller, is something up? If not, I'll hang up!"
"What are you doing?"
"I... wait a moment! Thor! Explain yourself to me! I was indeed killed by him, but I was resurrected... No! I'm not acting! Put down your hammer! Snap! Boom! Snap! Snap! Snap!"
Schiller looked disappointed and put down the telephone again. Then, he immediately called Professor X. After picking up the telephone, Charles' gentle voice sounded in Schiller's ear. He said, "What's the matter, Schiller?"
"It's just... you know... any recent developments with Magneto and them?"
"Magneto? He's busy with construction on the floating island. The orbital trajectory of that island seems to have some issues. He and the mutants from the Brotherhood are working on repairs, quite troublesome."
"When might he be back?"
"At least another month, I suppose. What's the matter? Why are you looking for him? I can convey your message through Polaris."
"A month... never mind." Schiller sighed again and set down the telephone. After Charles hung up the telephone, he frowned slightly, then connected to Polaris using brainwaves and asked her, "How's your father been lately?"
"Him? He's doing pretty well, better than ever. He's holding a model of the floating island and a bunch of books every day, mumbling to himself. I don't know what he's researching," Polaris replied.
"While I know he's unlikely to come back to Earth to cause trouble again, I still hope you can keep an eye on him. After all, at a critical time like this, if anything goes wrong, it could be troublesome," Charles said.
"Don't worry, I don't want him to come back either. Otherwise, he'll just keep pressing my head and making me read books."
After hanging up the telephone, Schiller made dozens of calls in succession, but didn't get the answers he was looking for.
Suddenly, Schiller felt a sense of helplessness that was both amusing and frustrating. After all his previous efforts, Earth's security was, as he looked around, quite unassailable within tens of thousands of light-years.
The enemies of the Captain America series, Hydra, were now under his control and were being soundly beaten by the Avengers.
The enemies of the Spider-Man series weren't much of a threat and most hadn't even made an appearance yet. They were probably still just regular people. The only significant villain, the Green Goblin, had dived into a pit of eternal life factor. He was probably counting money until his fingers cramped up.
The enemies of the Iron Man series, Obadiah and the Green Goblin, were squatting in the pit of eternal life factor, counting money until their eyes went blurry. Whiplash was expelled back to Russia along with a group of agents, back to his hometown of Siberia to do research. Ultron hadn't been created yet, JARVIS was getting more intelligent, and he hung up on Schiller's call the moment it came in.
The villain Dormammu from the Doctor Strange series had been digesting in the dark dimension since getting his fill last time. Mephisto was engrossed in teaching an economics class in hell. Baron Mordo was nowhere to be found, even the Vishanti were researching the Astral Form they had given The Ancient One before.
The villain Loki from the Thor series was currently being beaten up by his elder brother. Judging by the sounds of those thunderbolts, he probably wouldn't be able to get up for a while.
Even the mutant villain Magneto was off-planet, involved in extraterrestrial construction. He wouldn't be back for some time.
Among the remaining well-known Marvel villains, they were either not powerful enough or couldn't be contacted. After all his efforts to contact them, Schiller arrived at a conclusion — his previous efforts were indeed not in vain; Earth was just too safe.
Just as Schiller was about to resort to searching for Thanos' phone number, suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps in the corridor. They didn't sound like those of nurses or orderlies; instead, they resembled the steps of soldiers.
A loud bang, and the door was kicked open. A group of strangers rushed into Schiller's Sanatorium office. The one at the front slapped his identification on the table and said, "Central Intelligence Agency investigator Marc Spector."
"Schiller Rodriguez, you've been reported for engaging in espionage activities violating federal security laws in New York. Come with us."
Hardcore tough guy Nick ×
Hardcore tough guy Schiller ×
Hardcore tough guy Marc √
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