Chapter 494: Who is the Hardcore Tough Guy? (Part 3)

Inside the office of Arkham Sanatorium, Shiller lifted the phone on the side and quickly spoke, "Hello? I am a doctor."

"Yes, I know, but recently too many people have been attacked. The last incident made the safety measures temporarily stop. There's nothing I can do."

"It's not that I won't save you. Have you seen who attacked you? The omnipresent Captain America and Iron Man. If I could single-handedly defeat them, would I still be in the current position?"

Getting slightly angry, Shiller hung up the phone. Shortly after, another telephone next to him rang. He said, "Hello, I am a doctor."

"Again, there are no security measures, fend for yourself ... Important data? Hang on!"

Shiller hung up the phone, picked up another one to dial a number, then picked up the receiver and said: "Hello? Nick, there are crucial documents in the underground base at the western pier. Dispatch people to get it quickly, if you're late those kids might burn it down."

"No people? What does S.H.I.E.L.D do? Alright, okay, but what should I do? You want me to go find Mephisto? … Wait, I have a solution."

Shiller put down the phone, picked up another one, dialed a number, and after a while, flames burst out from that phone, flying halfway, Shiller said to the phone: "Mephisto! Quickly order your subordinate, that Ghost Rider, to retrieve data from Hydra Base at the Western Pier's underground..."

"What? What? What?" Mephisto looked just awoken, Shiller quickly spat out a huge lump of words, he completely didn't understand. Shiller somewhat helplessly repeated slowly, Mephisto said: "Why should I help you? I don't work for free!"

"You took all the souls from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, leaving no one available to help me retrieve the information, whose fault is it?"

"Isn't it you who sold it to me?"

"Isn't it you who wanted to buy?"

"How would I buy it if you didn't sell it?"

"How would we sell it if you didn't buy it?"

Mephisto was so angry he wanted to smash the phone, he wanted to argue, but listening to Shiller's increasingly impatient tone, he thought for a moment, if Shiller exploded on the spot, future business wouldn't be feasible. Anyway, it was just a small favor, so he contemplated it then said: "Alright, I'll send Johnny."

Just as he put down the phone, another one rang again, Shiller sitting in place, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, he picked up the phone, was about to explode when he heard Nick on the other end saying: "Quick, think of a way! Hydra is getting wiped out, my future employees will be no more!"

"Since you're now in charge of New York State, you should deal with such a mess, what does it have to do with me?" Shiller impatiently said: "They've called in countless times, I've handled all of it for you, what more do you want?"

"Even if I have become the person in charge of New York state, if I encounter an insolvable problem don't I need to report it to the higher-ups? Can't you report it to the higher-ups? What did Germany say?"

"Nick Fury, how much have you drunk?!" Shiller questioned loudly: "German Headquarters? During World War II, they weren't even able to defeat a single Captain America, you expect them to deal with the entire Avengers now?"

Nick was choked, during World War II, Hydra has never defeated Captain America. Now, along with a well-equipped Iron Man, a very determined Captain America, and several other superheroes with variety of powers, the German Headquarters would grab a rocket overnight and go crying to little mustache on the moon at the sight of such opponents.

"We really have to think of a way, Shiller, our workers are dying every second, don't you feel pain?"

"I feel more pain than you!" Shiller frowned, he even subconsciously covered his chest, feeling his heart bleeding, he said, "There aren't many in the Americas who can be called a force, most of them are concentrated in New York State, which is our heart."

"And now, those Avengers actually want to stab our heart, how could we possibly let them succeed?"

"So what are you planning to do?" Nick asked.

"We need to think of something, divert their attention." While holding the phone in one hand, Shiller wrote on a medical record with the other, he asked: "Has the military made any movements recently? Are there any generals who are idle, wanting to conduct some experiment and create a monster or something?"

"The military has been quiet lately, after the Tartu Faction Officers were purged, the extreme voices have lessened considerably. Recently, they seem to be obsessed with bio-prosthetic technology, they can't create monsters in a short time."

"A crumbling wall pushes no bricks!" Shiller cursed, he sighed and then said: "Forget it, I'll contact someone else and see if there are other solutions."

After hanging up the phone, Shiller thought for a moment, then called Dr. Connors, he said to Dr. Connors: "Dr. Connors, have there been any safety issues in your lab recently?"

"Safety issues? What kind of safety issues you're referring to?" Dr. Connors asked uncertainly.

"The kind that could possibly lead to leaks ... well, anyway, the type that could create a big monster." Shiller described for a while, but since he totally didn't understand the terminology of biology and chemistry, he could only describe a general concept.

To Dr. Connors, this didn't seem astonishing, he said: "Don't worry, I take lab safety issues very seriously. All the assistants who can enter my lab undergo strict training. Anyone who doesn't abide by safety rules cannot enter my lab, including you."

Dr. Connors heard Shiller on the other end of the phone take a deep sigh, then hang up the phone.

Dr. Connors felt baffled but thought that whatever Shiller did must have a meaning. He picked up the phone again, called his assistant and then said: "We will check our safety rules again today to make sure it is implemented ... never mind, I'll check it myself later."

After hanging up the phone, Shiller thought for a moment, then picked up the phone again, dialed a number, this time he called Daredevil Matt, asking, "Any recent moves from Kingpin and the Hand Union?"

"Moves? They've both been at each other's throats recently. The Hand Union doesn't bother with the Dragon Bone anymore. Kingpin isn't expanding his mob empire either. Both have even ceased their pursuit of killings. Each day is just mobsters and ninjas fighting each other. I've seen it several times already."

"Why are they so lacking in ambition?! Isn't the Hand Union planning to summon something?"

"Summon? Summon what? Did you hear some sort of rumors?" Matt asked in confusion, but he got no response from Shiller. The line had already been cut off.

Erica, who was beside him, frowned and said, "I bet Shiller has received some kind of new information. He's always well-informed."

Saying this, she stood up declaring, "We can't just sit idly by, I must verify this myself. If the Hand Union truly has a grand scheme in motion, we need to nip it in the bud."

"I'll go along with you. Before our mission to strike Hydra commences, let's conduct a thorough investigation of the Hand Union first to eliminate any potential danger."

Having hung up, Shiller contemplated a bit before he dialed Loki. The line on Loki's end was chaotic. He heard Loki say, "Hello? Shiller, what's up? If it's nothing, I'm hanging up!"

"What are you doing?"

"I… wait a minute! Thor! You explain this to me! Yes, I was killed by him, but I came back to life… No! It's not an act! Put down your hammer! Snap! Bang! Snap! Snap! Snap!"

Shiller again put down the phone in disappointment. He then dialed Professor X. As he picked up, Charles' gentle voice echoed in Shiller's ear, "What's going on, Shiller?"

"Well… umm… Is Magneto busy with anything recently?"

"Magneto? He's working on the construction on Sky Island, apparently there's an issue with its orbital track. He and the mutants of the Brotherhood are fixing it, pretty bothersome."

"When will he be able to come back?"

"Probably not for at least a month. What's the matter? Do you need him for something? I can have Polaris pass along your message."

"A month… nevermind." Shiller sighed again, putting the phone down. After Charles hung up the phone, he frowned slightly, then connected to Polaris through telepathy to ask, "How's your father doing recently?"

"He? He's been doing great, splendidly in fact. Everyday he's with a model of Sky Island and a bunch of books, mumbling to himself. I have no idea what he's researching," answered Polaris.

"Although I know it's unlikely that he would return to Earth to stir things up, I still hope you can help me keep an eye on him. After all, if there's any trouble at such a critical time, it would be quite problematic," said Charles.

"Rest assured, I don't want him to come back either. Otherwise, he'll be pressing me to read books everyday."

After hanging up, Shiller dialed dozens of numbers on his phone, but to no avail.

Shiller suddenly felt a mix of amusement and frustration. After all his previous efforts, the Earth was truly safe. Looking around, within tens of thousands of light years, there was no enemy in sight.

The Hydra, Captain America series' enemy, are now his subordinates, being pummeled by the Avengers.

Enemies from the Spider-Man series were unimpressive and most of them hadn't even appeared yet. Currently, they might still be ordinary people. The only respectable villain, the Green Goblin, was currently obsessed with the Eternal Life Factor, probably busy counting money.

The Iron Man series' villains, Obadiah and the Green Goblin, are wallowing in the pit of the Eternal Life Factor, counting money until their eyes blur. Whiplash went back to Russia with a team of Russian agents, returned to his homeland in Siberia for research. Ultron hasn't been born yet, Jarvis is getting smarter, as soon as Shiller called, he hung up right away.

Doctor Strange's villain Dormammu, was digesting in the Dark Dimension after a feast, Mephisto was immersed in running economics teaching classes in Hell, Eye Demon's whereabouts were unknown, even Emperor Mount Wey was studying the Saint Spirit Body they made for The Ancient One.

Thor's villain Loki, was currently being beaten up by his brother. Judging by the thunderous sounds, he probably wouldn't get up anytime soon.

Even Magneto, the villain of the Mutant series, was building infrastructure on an alien planet and couldn't return in the short term.

Left were famous villains of Marvel, either not strong enough, or unreachable. After Shiller made multiple calls, he came to a conclusion - the efforts he had put in previously were indeed not wasted, Earth was incredibly safe.

Just as Shiller was driven to look up Thanos' phone number, suddenly, he heard urgent footsteps coming from the hallway. It didn't sound like nurses or caregivers, it sounded more like soldiers.

With a loud bang, the door was flung open, a group of strangers stormed into Shiller's sanatorium office. The leader flashed a badge, saying:

"Central Intelligence Agency Investigator Mark Speight."

"Shiller Rodriguez, you've been reported for conducting espionage activities in violation of federal security laws in New York. Come with us."