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Chapter 527: Schiller's Origin Story (2)

Steve pressed the projector on the table, and a list was projected onto the wall. Everyone could see the Materials of Cryogenic Scientists that matched certain filtering criteria.

There weren't many individuals on Earth who could be called Cryogenic Scientists, even when considering those who had already passed away. The number remained in the triple digits.

Among these people, those capable of researching such genius-level cryogenic technology numbered only a few dozen prominent Scholars, and around 30 of them had spouses.

However, degenerative neurological diseases were relatively rare cases. Among these 30 Cryogenic Scientists, none had a wife suffering from such a rare illness.

In fact, among these 30 Cryogenic Scientists, aside from two who were widowed and eight who were divorced, the rest could be considered to have happy families and content lives, without any tragic stories of separation or loss.

At this point, Strange spoke up again, "As I mentioned before, I am the best neurosurgeon in the world. If someone had such a relatively rare case, I should have at least seen or heard about it, but I really haven't."

"Furthermore, when he gave me the Materials, he emphasized that the patient couldn't come for a face-to-face consultation. But if what he said is true, that it's his friend's story, then even if the patient couldn't come due to physical reasons, why wouldn't Schiller's friend, as the husband, personally come forward?"

Stark's voice came from the combat suit. He said, "If such a person truly exists in this world, I absolutely wouldn't be unable to find them."

No one considered this boasting, because aside from being Iron Man, Stark was also the leader of Stark Industries, the world's richest person with unparalleled information-gathering technology thanks to JARVIS' AI. If he was determined to find someone, he wouldn't fail.

However, Stark truly couldn't find a Cryogenic Scientist matching Schiller's description, whether currently alive or deceased. As long as someone in Humanity's history had any connection to the name Arkham, Stark should have been able to trace their footsteps. But the fact was, there were no traces to be found in any spider web.

"So, is this just an excuse he made up to hide his story?" Steve furrowed his brows. He said, "There's another suspicious point – Schiller actually named his Sanatorium 'Arkham Sanatorium'."

"Where did the surname Arkham come from? And even after relocating the Sanatorium once, he's still unwilling to give up this name."

"Tony, can you trace the surname Arkham?"

"I'm searching." Stark replied. After a while, he sounded puzzled. "No, I can't. I've filtered through all Materials related to individuals with the name Arkham in Humanity's history, but there are no matches."

"Perhaps it's not a surname, but a middle name." Matt proposed again. He continued, "And don't forget, if Schiller wanted to cover someone's tracks, you might not be able to find them."

Everyone knew that if the friend's story about the Cryogenic Scientist was true, this point didn't make sense. Schiller had no reason to hide his friend's identity. While freezing his wife and waiting for treatment might seem shocking, at this stage, how others perceived it was less important. Instead, revealing his situation might garner more help.

In fact, this argument was even more convincing if applied to Schiller himself.

"As far as I know, in the medical field, many people's spouses are colleagues in the same profession." Strange spoke again.

Thus, Steve connected this story.

"Schiller lost his ability to speak when he was young after witnessing his parents' murder, possibly due to trauma, and was sent to a mental hospital."

"During his treatment at the mental hospital, he didn't receive enough attention, leading to the development of his anti-society personality."

"He spent his adolescent years at the mental hospital, and perhaps, during this time, he met his former lover who cured him. This gradually transformed Schiller into a normal person."

"Afterward, he embarked on the path of seeking Humanity's psychological and mental secrets, achieving great success."

"But later, his wife developed a neurodegenerative disease that current medical means couldn't cure. He had to freeze her, waiting for Humanity's medical technology to advance."

"Perhaps there was no progress in this regard for a long time, which might be one of the reasons why his mental issues resurfaced." Steve sighed.

"Then, the key still lies with his wife." Stark's tone became more serious. He asked, "Does anyone know where Schiller goes on vacation each time?"

Everyone shook their heads. Peter hesitated for a moment, then said, "I only know that whenever Schiller leaves, he doesn't bring anything, so it doesn't really look like a vacation..."

"That indicates he might have another place to stay, perhaps somewhere he used to live with his wife..."

"But Schiller wouldn't tell us where his wife is." Steve sat down in a chair and said, "Clearly, he distrusts anyone with this information."

"We have to find out ourselves." Stark proposed, saying, "Perhaps due to emotional reasons, Schiller came to the conclusion that he doesn't need anyone's help, or he believes it's necessary to keep this a secret."

"But in reality, we all understand him and are willing to help. It's not a big deal. If magic doesn't work, we can ask Asgard. If Asgard can't help, we can ask other Space-demon gods..."

"Overall, the diseases Humanity suffers from might not be difficult to deal with in the eyes of these non-human entities. If we can deal with these issues, we might be able to fundamentally address Schiller's mental problems."

"The key is where do we start?" Peter said, somewhat perplexed. "I lived with Schiller and Dr. Connors for a long time, but I didn't find any noteworthy clues."

"As long as there's a source, there must be traces left behind." Steve said with great certainty. "As long as this person existed, there's no way they left behind no traces."

"...We still need to start from Schiller." Matt suggested, "Perhaps we can find some traces of where he and his wife used to live in his living environment."

Steve pounded the table and began assigning tasks. He said:

"Peter, you go investigate the Hell's Kitchen clinic where you lived with Schiller before. I remember Schiller should have left a lot of things there."

"Stephen, go to the Arkham Sanatorium on Wall Street where you used to work. It probably hasn't been renovated yet, so there might be some traces."

"As for me, I'll go to the new Sanatorium. Maybe I can find some of Schiller's living habits there..."

After Steve had finished arranging the tasks, Stark looked at him, and he looked at Stark. Steve shrugged and said, "I think, based on Schiller's current mental state, he probably won't appreciate you barging into his Sanatorium."

Stark let out a slight grunt and then said, "So, how do you plan to get into his new Sanatorium? Climbing the wall?"

"And how do you plan to get in?"

Half an hour later, Stark got out of his car, and Steve walked over from the other side. He closed the car door, and Stark swaggered his way to the Sanatorium's entrance. As soon as he entered, a nurse intercepted him.

Before the nurse could speak, Stark pushed his sunglasses down slightly on his face and looked at the nurse from above the sunglasses. He said, "Don't you recognize who I am?"

"Oh, you're Stark, the world's richest person, Stark!" The nurse was taken aback for a moment, but then she quietly stepped back two steps, apparently having heard something about Stark's reputation.

Steve approached and patted Stark's shoulder, saying, "Seems like facial recognition didn't work so well?"

"Who said I was planning on using facial recognition?" Stark gave a cold snort, then stopped the nurse and asked, "I'd like to go to the Director's office. How do I get there?"

"This Sanatorium operates by appointment and needs..."

"How much for the highest level of lifetime membership?"

The nurse's eyes lit up, and she immediately led Stark to the front desk with a friendly smile. Stark tapped his wrist device twice, and with a ding sound, the sound of money transferring could be heard. The nurse promptly said, "Now, you can use all the facilities here for free, and we have multiple welfare guarantees..."

"I just want to visit the Director's office."

"Well, uh, but the Director isn't here in person right now..."

"Do you think he would refuse a senior lifetime member who spent so much money? If one isn't enough, I can top up another one. I believe you should understand something about your Director..."

After hearing this, the nurse pondered for a moment and seemed to think that Stark had a point. If Schiller was here, and Stark was willing to spend so much money, Schiller would definitely invite him into the Director's office with a smile.

With that thought, the nurse pointed to a staircase and said, "Second room on the left side of the fourth floor, but I'm not sure if the door is locked, or if there's a key. If you can't get in, then there's nothing we can do."

Stark tossed his head slightly, gesturing for Steve to follow. Steve shook his head helplessly; when it came to manipulating currency, no one was better than Stark.

Arriving at the door of the Director's office on the fourth floor, Stark noticed that the door wasn't locked. He walked right in and began searching with Steve in the room.

These Director's offices were very spacious, with bright floor-to-ceiling windows and modern-style decorations. One massive desk was located on the east side of the room, piled high with numerous documents.

Just flipping through these documents took the two of them a long time, but aside from some scattered medical records, they found nothing.

On top of this desk was a bookshelf, and one side underneath was a row of drawers. All of the drawers could be opened freely, filled with paper documents, except for the bottom one, which was locked.

Both Steve and Stark noticed this. They came beside the desk, crouched down, and began examining that drawer.

What was quite peculiar was that there was no handle on the drawer, nor was there a keyhole. Rather than a drawer, it looked more like a solid box that seemed impossible to open.

Stark hesitated for a moment and gave up on the idea of forcefully disassembling it. He stood up, changed the core of his Mech armor, and with a shimmer of magic light, a dot appeared on Stark's gauntlet. Then he pressed his finger against the cabinet door, and magic energy flowed into it. Eventually, a very special lock was discovered on the inside of the cabinet door.

With a click, the lock opened, and Stark extended his hand, pulling open the cabinet door. What came into his view was an old-fashioned folder.

On the folder was an emblem with a sickle, a hammer, and a red flag, gleaming brightly.

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