Chapter 96 Growing Pains (Part Two) _1

Shiller was standing next to a hospital bed, on which a patient with no arms was lying unconscious. Doctor Connors adjusted the instrument and then said, "The kind of drug that the military injected into them is not perfect, it might have damaged their nervous system."

He sighed and said, "Whether he can wake up is still uncertain."

"Is he your former comrade?"

"No, I didn't see him on the battlefield. But he is a comrade, we both headed to the battlefield with the same belief."

Stark stood silently on the other side of the hospital bed. He was sensitive to the emotions of others, but he always felt that Connors was calm, like the sea before a storm.

Stark wondered, if he were in the same position, would he resort to any means to take revenge on those who caused him this kind of pain and anger?

Stark had never imagined that one day he would stand from his opponent's perspective and put himself in their shoes.

This perspective brought him a considerable shock, as he discovered that what he once thought of as villains, if it were him in their shoes, he wouldn't perform any better.

This was something that Stark had never anticipated. He always felt invincible, but now he found that his arrogance might just be built upon the vacuum environment that others created for him.

During this period, he felt firsthand the difficulty of dealing with everything without Pepper's care and Obadiah's protection.

He had to painstakingly learn how to care for himself while also struggling to navigate through various forces. Those deceitful methods that he once found repugnant, he had to learn and employ.

It wasn't until this moment that Stark realized, he had possibly been living in a cradle all these years, and it was only recently that he began to just toddle into the real world.

Shiller asked, "What are you going to do? Although Robert is dead, not all Taltu System officers have disappeared. They firmly believe in their Super Soldier theory, and once they find out that the data for the Despair Project has been leaked, they will do everything possible to annihilate it."

"After all, once the data you have gets exposed, it could shake the prestige of the entire military system, and even officers outside of Taltu System wouldn't let that happen."

"I have been prepared for a long time." Connors said, "I am prepared to be silent."

"You think I'll do what? Dodge the military and try to publish this data?" Connors shook his head and said, "I've long known that's useless."

"These people always find a way to make the public believe what they should, and erase all things that they should not believe. Even if I can make some people believe that this is true, people are forgetful."

"Just like what we've been through before. When we headed to the battlefield, everyone cheered for us, calling us heroes. But when we came back, the cold looks and discrimination were no less harsh because of the glory of the past."

"We just disappeared from society for a short while, and they forgot about us. Forgetting is a terrible thing. It can turn white into black and erase all serious past sins."

"I will keep waiting. I have waited a long time, and I'm not afraid to wait longer."

"I'll wait until it's impossible for them to erase my name from history, and then reveal all this."

Connors' tone was calm, but everyone could feel a force from his words, which might be the sediment of anger, or the condensation of a flame for revenge.

Late at night, as Shiller was preparing to sleep, he received a call from Stark, who said, "I want to book two hours of psychotherapy now."

"You want me to scold you again?"

"I'm serious, I'll pay the fees."

"You also have to pay for last time."

Stark, a bit speechless, stomped his foot and said, "I'm on your roof right now. If you don't come up, I'll ask JARVIS to activate emergency awakening measures."

After a while, Shiller stood at the edge of the roof, where Stark, wearing his Mecha, stood beside him. Shiller asked, "Has anyone ever told you that whenever you run out in your Mecha at midnight, you are like a sign has been written on your face saying— 'I am an unwanted, bereaved dog'?"

"I repeat, I paid money for psychotherapy, not to be scolded."

"And I repeat, others wouldn't be scolded because they wouldn't ask for two hours of psychotherapy at two in the morning."

"I'll pay overtime, however much you want."

"You seem to use only this Mecha, and the fact that you're rich, to cover up your now extremely insecure state."

Stark fell silent.

"Every time you come to see me in that mecha suit, it's like you're telling me that things are getting tough, and I need to raise my prices."

"No wonder you're always cranking up the cost."

Stark hesitated for a moment, then unsealed his face guard. He said, "Do you think I should do something? I mean... about Connors' business, I can't stand the military's operation either. As a hero for justice, shouldn't I give those inhumane demons a lesson?"

"If you want to help Connors, just say it."

"I'm not trying to help him. Why would I want to help that giant lizard who messed up my Stark building?"

"I just want to uphold justice. I think anyone who saw that plan would want to take action, right?"

"You can admit, Connors' actions have deeply shaken you. You never thought one would willingly linger in this kind of darkness, waiting for a day of light that might never come."

"You've noticed, his method of upholding justice is different from yours. You don't have to don a shell armor and openly fight criminals to uphold justice."

"You genuinely can't bear to see this."

"Alright, I admit it..." Stark sighed slightly, closed his eyes, and said, "I dare not imagine what kind of beliefs he held on to while immersing himself in developing those serums. When he's alone in his lab, doesn't he feel despair? Doesn't he feel helpless?"

"When I face those pressures, even with my genius brain, even with the entire Stark Group and the world's largest fortune, I still feel somewhat... It's truly unbearable being alone. Fighting all by yourself without knowing when it will end."

Stark swallowed hard and said, "From the time Connors found out about this plan, to the development of the Lizard Serum, it must have been years, right? Has he lived like this all along? Has he not gone mad living in such conditions?"

Stark had experienced this despair himself. With Obadiah unconscious and Pepper busy trying to regain control, Stark had spent countless days and nights alone in his lab. His loneliness pouring out like a black tide from the abyss. He had to rely on the numbness from alcohol, just to avoid thinking about when he, his lifeboat, might finally drift ashore.

But he knows that Doctor Connors has been drifting like this for years. Unlike Stark, who still has hope, Connors does not even have a boat. He has spent countless days and nights drifting in the storm, clutching a decayed piece of wood, never giving up despite knowing that there may be no shore.

Because Stark had experienced these feelings, he knew how unbearable that kind of loneliness was. He also realized that no amount of wisdom could create a cure for this torment. He didn't feel superior and look down on those who were struggling in this torment.

"You always consider yourself as Peter's elder, which is true in terms of age, but perhaps not in some other aspects."

"What does that mean? I am his elder. In fact, I was the one who went to his parent-teacher meeting a few days ago."

"I mean in certain aspects, you might need to learn from him."

"Learn from him? That dumb kid?" Stark sneered and said, "What do I need to learn from him? Learning to tremblingly beat up a loudmouthed punk? If it were me, Daddy Stark would definitely put that trash in his place..."

"I mentioned Peter because you wouldn't want to hear the name of another."

Stark opened his mouth in surprise and said, "I'll go ask Peter about it. You don't need to suggest the other one, or I'll deduct your pay."

With that, he clacked his battle armor's mask into place, took to the air, and left. Shiller shook his head.

Shiller thought, the growth of these superheroes seemed like a rich scroll slowly unfolding before his eyes.

Only when he was personally involved in the process did he realize these were indeed superheroes, but they were also just ordinary people. Whether it was Peter or Stark, whether it was Spiderman or Ironman.

Their transformations couldn't be fully captured by a few panels or lines in comic books, as the troubles of their growth were like a tangled maze, too complicated to explain and too long to discuss.

Their emotions fluctuated, and every wavering, every determination, was filled with complex and strange thoughts. Just like the subtle changes brought about by the brain of every ordinary person, there were too many to count.

This made Shiller realize that the touching stories, valiant sacrifices, and firm beliefs he saw in movies and comics were not born that way.

These superheroes were like a piece of steel being tempered. Shiller could see the process of their forging. Each hammer strike's sound and tremor, each spark from the fierce collision, were like fuels to the soul, giving him more stimulation than an ordinary life.

Until one day, when the hearts of the heroes turn into shining gold, the stories about their tempering process are written into legendary tales.

If the readers of these stories saw the bright and great side of the heroes, then Shiller, who was deeply engrossed in the stories, was more willing to note their small and trivial growing pains.

He would record their joys and sorrows, their hellos and goodbyes as normal people, until one day, after the popular stories were forgotten, traces of the heroes who were not really heroes would still remain in this world.

He wanted to remember that greatness originates from the ordinary and would eventually return to the ordinary. This answer.