Chapter 6

As Schiller retired to bed each night, he discovered he was able to remain steeped in the Marvel world. Therein, he could drift off to sleep, journey to the illustrious world of DC, sleep peacefully, and then return to the Marvel world. The passing of time in DC held no sway over him, for he could perpetually remain in the Marvel world, escaping the oppressive fumes of Gotham City.

However, the good times did not last long, as before Schiller could take Peter and his family for a medical examination over the weekend, S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived at the door.

On another typical workday, Schiller completed his ward rounds and proceeded to utilize the doctor's internal system to assist Peter's family in arranging a physical examination. However, in the midst of this, there was a sudden knock on the door of his office.

He sat behind his desk, absorbed in his work, until suddenly, his senses tingled, alerting him to a vibration. He looked up with vigilance and saw a strange man standing at the door.

"Hey, Doctor, don't be nervous. I'm Coulson, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," the man said, observing Schiller's tense posture. Schiller glanced at him through his glasses and replied, "Let's step outside and discuss."

Coulson nodded quickly, and the two of them proceeded downstairs together. They sat down at a coffee shop adjacent to the hospital. Schiller furrowed his brows and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. must be struggling to find a capable female agent who can handle the difficult task of wearing a nurse's uniform."

Coulson was somewhat puzzled by Schiller's attitude. Shouldn't regular folks exhibit fear or rejection in response to sudden visits by agents? It appeared that his boss was correct - something must be amiss with Schiller.

Schiller seemed a bit impatient and said, "I have already been one day absent. The entire clinic knows that I stay up late, drink, and take drugs. If you insist on causing trouble for me, can you please wait until this matter is over before bringing it up? I will be fired!"

"But according to our information, you are only a temporary psychological consultant hired by the Presbyterian Hospital, and you are only substituting because the head of the psychiatry department is not available..."

"Does that matter? I really need this job right now. What will happen if you cause me to lose it?"

Coulson said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Schiller. We didn't mean to bother you. We just heard that you are Mr. Stark's psychological consultant, and we want to learn more about his psychological condition. Of course, we will pay the consultation fee on time..."

"One million dollars per hour."

"Ha!" Coulson spurted out a mouthful of coffee and wiped his mouth, saying, "Even if you want to refuse, you don't have to make excuses like this..."

"If you can't afford it, don't come to see the doctor." Schiller rolled his eyes and got up to leave, acting just like an unscrupulous and mediocre doctor.

Surprisingly, Coulson didn't stop him. After Schiller left, Coulson pressed his earpiece and said, "There may be something fishy going on in the hospital. He was in a hurry to send me away and was in a hurry to go back... okay, okay..."

Schiller returned to the consultation room, concentrated his attention, opened his mind to the maximum, felt the emotions of those mental patients, and expressed some of those emotions as much as possible in words. The inner world of a group of mental patients is really chaotic and crazy. Schiller hastily wrote more than ten pages and locked them in a drawer.

After he returned to his apartment at night, he found that many things were not in the place they should be. He suspected some spies had searched the room. Schiller used spider-sense to scan the room but did not find any bugs or cameras, so he didn't pay any attention to it.

In S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury stared at the glowing data panel, which showed Schiller's detailed information. Coulson stood behind him and said, "He's very nervous about his job and doesn't seem to want to leave the hospital. We found a lot of liquor bottles and some drugs in his house..."

"These are some papers we found in his office tonight. It seems that he urgently destroyed more of them, as we found a lot of shredded paper pulp in the sewer. Unfortunately, it cannot be restored."

Nick took the papers and said, "He has a mental illness? No, these don't seem like the ramblings of just one person. Is he gathering psychological information from patients in the psychiatric department? How is he communicating with these mentally ill patients?"

"These are clearly not the kind of information that an ordinary doctor can obtain. These records even contain patients' extreme privacy..."

"He can hypnotize?" Coulson said.

"Our psychologist can do that too. Can he make you say what color underwear you liked to wear in elementary school?" Nick said.

"Perhaps he's just making it up," Coulson said.

"He seems to have an extra understanding of Stark Industries' past and our old friend, and he's able to hit Stark's weak points head-on. He even caused Stark's AI butler to suffer a logic failure today," Nick said.

"Do you want him to work for us?"

"He knows how to deal with Stark, and we'll have more people like him to deal with in the future." Nick put the stack of files aside and said, "Anyway, let's find out what's in that hospital and, if possible, get him transferred out of there."

"I hate these sophisticated intellectuals the most. They are always too calm, cautious, and difficult to figure out. It's hard to deal with opponents who use their brains," said Nick.

"Perhaps he is merely a regular psychologist, and his pastime is gathering nonsensical ramblings from his patients..." Coulson said.

"Someone who can make Stark completely lose his temper within thirty minutes and still swagger into Stark Industries the next day. Do you think he's an ordinary psychologist? Or do you think Tony Stark is really a playboy who only knows how to hang out with models?"

"Understood, I will first make him leave the hospital," said Coulson.

The next day, Schiller was called into Stark's office and given the news of his dismissal. He let out a small sigh and said, "I was hoping I could count on your support, Mr. Stark. It would be a shame to see a dedicated psychologist like myself end up unemployed and bankrupt."

Stark raised an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you have enough money to open up your own legitimate psychological clinic? I believe I paid you two million dollars."

"It's not about the money, Mr. Stark. The clinic I want to open needs to have the proper qualifications and be a legal psychological therapy room, not some shady operation like the fortune-telling booths on the street," Schiller replied.

Stark leaned back in his chair and said, "With your impressive resume, I'm sure you could find another job easily. Jarvis told me you have three Ph.D. degrees and have worked in some of the best hospitals in six different states."

Schiller nodded, taking a sip of his iced wine. "That's true, but the location of the clinic I want to open is quite unique."

Curious, Stark asked, "Where is it?"

"Hell's Kitchen," Schiller replied.

Stark's hand shook, and poor Mark 2 burst into a series of sparks. "I can't believe you have the heart of Mother Mary and want to save the poor and junkies in that godforsaken neighborhood," he said in disbelief.

Schiller didn't say much, simply stating, "I need a psychotherapy clinic that is legally operating in Hell's Kitchen. In exchange, I can promise you one request."

Schiller emphasized the word "legally".

Stark said, "Do I have anything to ask for your help? Come on, I'm Stark."

"Don't you want to know if Pepper really likes you?" Schiller said.

Stark's hand trembled again, and the Mark 2 directly exploded on his right leg. Schiller silently took a step back and looked at Stark, whose face was blackened by the explosion. He rubbed his face nervously and said, "What did you say?"

Obviously, Stark was not yet aware of his feelings for Pepper.

"I can tell you at an appropriate time whether Pepper really loves you or not. I guarantee accuracy. You have witnessed my abilities."

"Of course, Pepper loves me. Women all over the world love Stark," said Stark.

"Is that so? Is she just one of the women in the world, nothing special?" Shiller asked.

Stark fell silent.

"I can promise you, starting tomorrow, you don't have to come to me for any more psychological consultations. If Pepper contacts you, just decline," Stark said.

"Do you not have enough money to pay for the medical fees?"

Stark, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, exclaimed loudly, "Even if you charge me ten million dollars per hour, I can afford it! I just don't need any psychological counseling! I'm not crazy! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Unfortunately, Mark 2 doesn't seem to agree with you," Schiller said as he shook his head slowly. He and Stark both gazed down at the war machine, which had exploded and hurt Stark's leg. Stark then pointed to the door and ordered, "Leave immediately!"

After returning home, Schiller sent a message to Peter informing him that the weekend physical examination had been arranged and that he would speak to the hospital to ensure that Peter received considerate service. However, Schiller added that their meeting time might need to be postponed since he had resigned from that hospital due to a change in his career plans.

Although Peter expressed concern, Schiller brushed it off as a minor career shift and didn't divulge much information. Nonetheless, Peter was touched by Schiller's continued concern for the scheduled physical examination. He eagerly suggested, "Are you still in New York? If so, we could meet up for a meal, or you could come over to my house..."

Schiller declined Peter's invitation with courtesy, but he sent a message to Charles asking, "What would happen if I were to open a hospital in hell?"

Charles responded, "I'm afraid the devil won't welcome your kind intentions."

Schiller replied, "You seem to have strong feelings about this."

Charles cautioned, "I advise against it. Perhaps you are a gifted individual, but ordinary people cannot withstand the devil's influence."

Schiller countered, "Isn't it true that only wrongdoers can fight other wrongdoers?"

After reading this statement, Charles, who was on his computer, fell into silence. He wondered, 'Max...do you share the same opinion?'

Can dealing with the most vicious criminals only be achieved by resorting to criminal acts oneself?

Charles disagreed. Justice should be pursued through lawful means. If one has to descend into darkness to fight against evil, then it's akin to forming an alliance with wickedness.

On the playground outside, students from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters were running and playing, while Storm urged them to return to class and Jean Grey observed from the sidelines. It was a serene scene.

However, Xavier was aware that the looming threat of the Dark Phoenix remained.