Chapter 138: The Big Bat Event (20)
Chapter 138: The Big Bat Event (20)
On the rooftop of Stark Tower, Schiller put a cork on a jar containing a black viscous substance. Venom and the gray mist were communicating through telepathy. Venom said, "Do you not feel guilty for deceiving such an innocent kid?"
"You speak as if you are not an accomplice yourself. If it wasn't for his lack of negative emotions, which are necessary to trigger the terror symbiote, I wouldn't have resorted to this plan," Schiller replied.
"Besides," Schiller paused and said to Venom, "I've noticed you have potential for making movies. The scenes of Stark's death that you fabricated really scared Peter."
"I know that Rotten guy too well. He only has one trick up his sleeve, and sooner or later it will come true," Venom replied.
Schiller sighed, seemingly relaxed, and said, "It's surprising that those guys from the multiverse came so early. If we don't scare them away with this plan, we won't have peace in the future."
"Our transaction is complete. Now you should let me choose my host on my own, right?" Venom asked.
"Of course, but considering your dangerousness and unpredictability, you can only choose among the hosts you have previously bonded with," Schiller replied.
"In that case, who do you plan to choose? Stark? Bruce? Or..." Venom asked.
"Journalist!!!! I choose that journalist!!!!" Venom exclaimed.
"Oh, I almost forgot. You have bonded with a human journalist before. Alright, I will send you to his place tomorrow," Schiller said."But as we agreed, you better not change hosts easily, and don't go around eating people's heads on the streets, or I will let the gray mist bite you."
Venom emitted a nasal tone that sounded very similar to Stark's, full of unwilling emotions.
After standing on the rooftop for a while, footsteps quickly approached from behind. Nick walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Schiller. Nick said, "This commotion we caused was quite big, wasn't it?"
"How? Did it exceed your expectations, Director?"
"I'm not a director, just like you, do you still want to call yourself a set worker?"
"Isn't that what I am?" Schiller didn't turn his head to look at Nick, but kept looking at the lights on the New York skyline. He said, "Don't tell me that in recent years, the belief in the Bat God has been spreading more and more among vampires, it's just a coincidence."
"And don't tell me that just before the moderate faction wants to manipulate the election, the prophecy of the Bat God's coming just happens to be circulating. It's also just a coincidence."
"Who knows, there are just so many coincidences in this world."
"Yeah, SHIELD's exclusive coincidences. You guys have the final say in everything."
"Let's talk about some good news," Nick said, hugging his arms. "The bats infected with lizard serum are no longer usable, right? The raw materials are becoming scarcer, and our production is facing difficulties..."
"Where is the address of the convalescent home?"
"Still in Manhattan, you know, it's closer to where they live."
"But it's too late to build a new convalescent home. There is an old bank built in the 1930s, and its new owner rolled away because he couldn't afford the estate tax. Construction will begin there tomorrow."
"How much usable bat material is left?"
"The police and SHIELD agents suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield. Only one in ten of those who could be dispatched to pursue the enemy were available, and many of them were untrained rookies who couldn't even handle a gun. The fuel for the freeze guns is also in short supply, and we have no solution..."
"So how many do you have left to report?"
"We only have 12 precious bat materials left that possess the eternal life factor." Nick shrugged.
"That's too many." Schiller said without hesitation. "Let's leave only two. Connors has a decent long-term freezing technology. We can freeze the remaining ten and store them in SHIELD's warehouse until the price increases a thousandfold, then slowly sell them off."
"Isn't that a bit too much? With thousands of armed police and hundreds of SHIELD agents, we were only able to capture two when Bat God fell."
"You're underestimating the severity of this war. By the time we were pursuing them, there were only ten armed police and one agent left. That's not too much of an exaggeration, is it?"
"Okay, but the problem is that Natasha, Coulson, Hawkeye, and Daisy will all need to go out and work soon. Who among them do you plan to sacrifice?" Nick asked.
"Don't even think about injury excuses. Hawkeye has been injured over 80 times this year, using up four times his medical benefits, and Daisy has been seriously injured more than 20 times..."
Schiller rubbed his forehead and said, "It's not even summer yet, and you've already used up all of their benefits. Don't you plan to keep some redundancy for emergencies?"
"Emergencies? SHIELD deals with emergencies every day."
"Well, if you're willing to increase my consultation fee a little more, I'll go convince Osborne and Stark to contract the reconstruction project for the Brooklyn Bridge."
"In the name of charity? There isn't much room for that to work. After all, everyone can see who built the bridge."
"If this scale of charity event doesn't meet your requirements, then launch a larger one that you should be more familiar with..." Schiller waved his hand.
"Send war journalists to shoot post-war ruins, promote the horrors of war, launch charity organizations, host fundraising banquets, celebrities, dignitaries, brands, political parties..."
"If that's still not enough, then announce sanctions against vampires."
Nick sighed and said, "So far, our course of action is still conservative for many reasons. Will the Security Council agree to launch large-scale sanctions?"
"If you can spare one of your only two precious materials to give to them, I think they should also be tempted?"
"Are you planning to deceive even your own people?"
"Don't talk nonsense. There were only two to begin with. The remaining ten were SHIELD's emergency reserve funds, which just haven't been liquidated yet."
On Stark's rooftop, Schiller and Nick both looked at the brilliant night view of New York City, while inside Stark Tower, Stark lay on a hospital bed, wrapped up like a mummy. He watched Peter walk back and forth in front of him and said, "Hey, stop it. You're making me dizzy."
"When is that doctor coming? At this time, there shouldn't be any traffic, right?"
As soon as Peter finished speaking, Strange's voice accompanied by footsteps appeared outside the door. He said, "How much I wish I was looking at a corpse named Stark right now."
He walked in, looking groggy, obviously having been woken up in the middle of the night. He grumpily adjusted the monitoring devices next to him, while Peter peeked and asked, "Doctor Strange, is Mr. Stark okay? He's pretty badly injured..."
"If he was really badly injured, what you're seeing now would be the priest, not me," Doctor Strange replied rudely, as he forcefully pulled out the pillow that Stark had been propped up on. Stark's head bumped against the corner of the bed, and he let out a miserable cry, saying, "You heartless quack! Are you trying to murder me?!"
"I may be heartless, but I am definitely not a quack."
Stark muttered a few more words, saying, "All you doctors are the same..."
"Alright, I'm done with the examination. You're fine, you'll live until you die. Pay up and then take me back so I can sleep," Doctor Strange said impatiently.
Stark looked him up and down and said, "What did you even examine? All you did was fiddle with some instruments and then turn them off. Don't think you can fool me, who do you think you're dealing with? I'm Stark, don't try to pull a fast one on me."
Doctor Strange said impatiently, "Then go ahead and examine yourself, and take me back."
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, I have a big business deal to discuss with you." Schiller's figure appeared at the door as he handed a plan book to Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange took a glance at it and said, "Stark-Osborn Joint Pharmaceutical Company, Chief Consultant job offer?"
"What kind of company is this?" Doctor Strange asked with suspicion. "I didn't know Stark and Osborn had joined forces, and in the pharmaceutical industry no less?"
He flipped through the job offer book and said, "Besides, I'm a neurosurgeon. I'm not going to be a drug salesman."
"Why don't you flip to the last page and take a look at the number," Schiller said.
Doctor Strange glanced at Schiller, then skeptically flipped to the last page of the job offer book and focused his gaze on the number.
In one second, he closed the job offer book, coughed twice, adjusted his collar, and put the job offer book into his briefcase, saying, "I am currently employed by the New York Presbyterian Hospital, and my contract has not expired. You cannot ask me to violate the spirit of my contract."
"I know, I certainly know. I am also a very contractual person," Schiller said with a smile. "The employee coffee room upstairs should still be open. Let's talk there."
After the two doctors left, Stark and Peter stared at each other. Stark said, "So, what about my examination?"
At this moment, Connors walked in and heard what Stark said. He said, "Although it has been several years since my last clinical trial, I can reluctantly give you a check-up."
"Oh, no! Wait! I think I'm fine!"
"Don't worry, I have extensive field medical experience." As he said this, he walked over and lowered the upper part of Stark's hospital bed, causing Stark to yell in pain.
Peter hesitated to stop Connors' actions, but Connors glanced at him and said, "Peter, Dr. Yinsen is calling you up, there may be something."
Peter paused for a few seconds, looked at the bandaged Stark, and then at Connors, whose scales had not yet subsided. He then fled in a cloud of smoke from Stark's angry gaze.
Stark pounded the bed with his only functional left hand and said, "This heartless kid! If it weren't for saving him, how could I be so injured?"
Connors held a diagnostic report and said, "Now there's good news and bad news. Do you want to hear which one first?"
"Don't play games with me, let's talk together."
"The good news is that your spine and nervous system are fine, but the problem is with that thing in your chest."
Stark stiffened for a moment and said, "There's nothing wrong with the thing in my chest."
"Yinsen told me about the basic principles of the reactor in your chest. Although my expertise is in biology, I also have some knowledge of mechanics and physics. Your medical report tells me that there is a big problem with this thing."
"You used too much palladium to provide more power to the Mech armor, and if you don't think of a solution soon, you'll eventually die of poisoning."
Stark turned his head away, obviously not wanting to discuss the issue. Connors put down the report and looked into Stark's eyes, saying, "You understand this better than anyone else, but you just won't change. I believe your previous friends have advised you, but you're the most stubborn person I've ever met."