Chapter 2799: Star Core Rescue (49)

Sitting behind his desk, Nick supported his face with his hand as he awaited news, unable to hide his dissatisfaction with Peter, who was busily working in front of him. Looking at Shiller sitting next to Peter, he felt even more like he was looking at a human trafficker.

But Shiller paid no attention to him and seized the brief moment when Peter paused to ask, "How is it going, Peter? Have you found anything from the examination of the body?"

Peter hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "So far, I haven't found anything unusual, but genetic analysis is needed, and that requires specialized equipment."

"What kind of equipment do you need? I can have it brought over," Nick said. "I have almost every piece of specialized equipment you could possibly need here."

"What I mean is, even with the specialized equipment, we might not be able to pinpoint the problem. Human genes are much more complex than you imagine."

Peter pushed up his glasses and said, "As we all know, there are many unreasonable aspects of the human body, with many redundant parts. But these things didn't just appear out of nowhere; it means that at some point in human evolution, they might have been useful."

"But because human evolution happened too rapidly, many parts have not been completely discarded and the genes haven't been filtered out, thus they remain in the human body, leading to an extremely complex genetic system."

"To put it simply, human genes are like a mountain of feces in code," Peter shook his head and said. "This puzzles all geneticists in the world, even an expert like Dr. Connors would not dare to claim that he fully understands human genes."

"Therefore, if someone has tampered with the genes, the chances of detecting it perfectly are very slim." Peter concluded pessimistically, "We can only guess the general properties and location of this gene through the changes it causes to the spirit body and then try to deduce the identity of the behind-the-scenes manipulator from any potential implantation traces."

"You mean we have no way of removing this gene?" Nick asked.

"The problem with mutants has existed for so long, so why has no one managed to remove the X gene?" Peter retorted. "Although genes are complex, the relationships and their interconnectivity are very delicate. More likely, even if the X gene is removed, the mutants' abilities won't disappear, because the X gene has fundamentally altered their other genes. They've become an entire system, and removing just one part is useless."

"So our current goal is just to investigate clues and find the behind-the-scenes manipulator?" Shiller asked.

"That's what I think," Peter nodded in confirmation.

Shiller, however, sighed and said, "Actually, you don't need to investigate him; I know who he is. It's just that it's nearly impossible for us to catch him, let alone make him give up the antidote."

Peter furrowed his brow deeply; he knew Shiller wouldn't exaggerate, but he still couldn't help asking, "Not even you, Doctor?"

"If I could, I would've done it for Gwen and you, but in reality, even if I could, it would take a very long time. It's more efficient to just restart you guys."

Peter turned his head away and said, "I'd prefer to consider death as a last resort because, for a normal person, whether enduring death or inflicting it, it's a painful and terrifying thing."

"If you could figure it out, that would be best, but if not, I'm afraid you'll have to face this harsh reality. However, I believe that neither you nor Gwen will be easily defeated."

"Of course, Doctor, I'm prepared," Peter said. "Although I don't want to ask this, I still want to know, the behind-the-scenes manipulator will pay the price, right?"

"He is a very special existence," Shiller finally began to reveal some information. "Any attack you launch against him won't be considered harm by him; it might even make him proud."

"Even if it's you?"

"Even if it's me," Shiller smiled, seeming unconcerned as he said, "As long as you make a move against him, he can dodge it and counterattack, and after the counterkill, brag at length and mock you. It is a rule that cannot be broken; it's written into the core of his logic."

"Inevitably dodge and counterkill? What kind of absurd rule is that?" Nick said. "Is there even a hint of internal logic to this? Why would that be?"

"There's no logic, nor does it rely on anything; it simply exists."

"That means no one can deal with him," Peter said. Yet he didn't feel angry or panicked because he knew if Shiller was this complacent, he must've already thought of a solution.

"Actually, it's easy to deal with him," Shiller continued calmly. "Just don't strike at him."

"But he's already struck at us," Nick raised his voice. "Are we supposed to follow this rule even in our retaliation?"

"Unfortunately, yes, so his way of dealing with others is to cause trouble first, irritate someone, then counterkill and mock them when they retaliate," Shiller explained.

Nick couldn't help but retch.

But Peter seemed to catch an important point and said, "But what if we don't retaliate to his provocation, wouldn't the pattern be not triggered then?"

"Yes, but his provocations are endless, until he has destroyed everything, until everyone collapses, even until the cosmos completely collapses."

"How can such an existence be real?" Peter wondered aloud. "Has God gone mad?"

"Someone may have gone mad, but it's certainly not God." Shiller tapped on the table lightly, bringing their attention back and said, "We can't take forceful measures in retaliation, and even this kind of restart that would disrupt his plans might be anticipated and destroyed by him again. Perhaps he'll do so soon."

"What do we do then?"

"We do not retaliate like that, but that doesn't mean we don't retaliate at all," Shiller sighed lightly. "This guy has a fatal weakness."

"What is it?"

"He possesses wisdom," Shiller said. "He's not a purely rule-driven natural disaster; he's been designed as a character, seemingly with his own personality."

"But he has rule-based power that's almost inescapable," Peter said. "Even if you take advantage of a weakness in his character, he might anticipate it, right?"

"Yes, so we take no countermeasures," Shiller said. "Not even any that could potentially disrupt his plans or cause him harm."

"Doesn't that amount to letting him off?" Nick raised his voice. "Can you just get to the point, please?"

"We just disgust him," Shiller finally showed a smile, he said, "In the real world, we completely lie down and offer no resistance, but that doesn't mean we can't disgust him."

Nick was taken aback for a moment, as if he had suddenly realized something, and also showed a look of understanding, he said, "I get it, he's human, so he must have likes and dislikes. We can't ruin his plan, and we can't even protect ourselves, but we can disgust him, make him give up his plan and run away on his own."

"You might want to make him give up his plan, but I just want to disgust him," Shiller said. "No, not just disgust him, but make him breakdown, disgust him so much that he never wants to come here again."

"It looks like you have a plan," Nick finally relaxed and leaned back in his chair, saying, "You damn bad seed, you really did wait for this day to come."

Shiller didn't care about Nick's choice of words, but instead purposely revealed a neurotic evil smile, satisfied to see Nick shiver.

Shiller placed a videotape on the table.

"What's this?" Nick asked.

"A movie, it might be a bit long, with a documentary element, but overall it's still a movie."

"Movie? About what?" Peter got a bit curious, he pulled up a chair to sit down, and then asked, "Is it a superhero movie?"

"No, it's not even a story," Shiller said. "I just completely replicated some things that certain people did."

Nick and Peter looked at each other, not knowing what Shiller was hinting at.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Nick asked.

Shiller turned to Nick and said, "I need you to use the Time Management Bureau to help me find a special existence."

"Who?"

"A special Iron Man."

In the Time Management Bureau's office, Mobius's desk was still piled with mountains of books and files, as he was again buried in the never-ending work.

Two dark figures appeared in front of him, and the moment Mobius looked up, he saw Nick's black face, he had no choice but to sit up straight and stretched, saying, "How come you have the time to come now, Director?"

"Of course, it's about something important," said Nick. "This one doesn't need an introduction, Doctor Schiller. He wants to access a file and use the way of the Time Management Bureau to go to that universe."

Mobius was slightly puzzled, but as a standard worker, he never asked too much when the boss gave an order, so he pulled out a big bunch of keys and said, "Please follow me, Doctor, the archives are this way."

"There's no need to go through the archives," Shiller said. "The person I'm looking for is quite famous in the cosmos, I even suspect that some of your employees have seen him, even if not in person, they should have seen some of his creations."

"Who is that?"

"Mechanical Overlord Iron Man."

Lisa had a dream.

In the dream, she heard a gentle voice telling her not to be afraid, she thought it was Aux, who was asleep next to her bed, but on closer listen, it did not seem to be her husband's voice.

Lisa kept chasing after the voice until she finally sensed her own existence in the Psychic_Battlefield. She couldn't tell whether this was a dream or reality, or perhaps it was both.

A speck of light appeared in front of her.

Soon, that light coalesced into a human form, but it was hazy and indistinct, a little girl. The girl opened her arms towards Lisa.

For some reason, Lisa felt that this was her daughter, the tiny life still inside her body.

"Mommy... Mommy..."

She kept calling like that, Lisa gently stroked her hair, her heart brimming with love and joy.

Another figure appeared behind the little girl.

"You're a good mother." A gender-neutral voice arose, Lisa looked up and saw a tall figure floating behind the little girl, his body half black, half white, his face resolute, but his voice was soft.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Middleman of chaos and order," the figure replied, "I am here to protect the child in your womb, to ensure she is not affected by the Incubus."

"I'm afraid you can't do that anymore, Middleman," another voice echoed, Lisa looked in the direction the voice came from, but saw nothing, and the black and white figure suddenly vanished.

Lisa woke up startled from her bed.

Aux was also startled awake and quickly sat up, and Lisa seemed to realize something was wrong. She held Aux's hand and said, "Call Doctor Schiller."

"What's wrong, dear?"

"I had a very strange dream," Lisa said with a furrowed brow, then added, "Hurry, Aux, I must protect our child."