Chapter 517 Shiller is Probably Crazy (Part 1)_1

From Stark's perspective, linking the clues they had gathered along the way, Shiller not being controlled by the Moon God Khonsu was not too far from Stark's expectations.

He did not believe that a person who stands so high in the Thought Palace would easily be controlled by a god. He guessed that this was Shiller's plot, but after entering Shiller's consciousness, Shiller's past experiences exceeded his expectations.

A child on the verge of overcoming his loneliness, just as he regained his ability to speak, witnessed his parents being murdered, and his ability to talk was lost again. Such a tragedy could be called a human tragedy no matter where it happened.

Later, they witnessed in the insane asylum on the second floor how a young Shiller, due to childhood trauma, split into a murderous personality.

What saddened Steve and Stark even more was that the Dr. Shiller they had known before appeared very normal. Not only was his language ability unimpaired, it was actually much better than the average person's. Particularly, he used his intelligence brought about by his scholar-like autism to strategize for human civilization, and he has achieved quite good results now.

One could say that even if Shiller were not their friend, they would have been inspired upon hearing such a story. This is human nature. They are moved by those who stand on their own, strive to win despite the odds, and derive the motivation to move forward from their stories.

Later, however, they learned from Khonsu that Shiller is studying the secret of the resurrection of believers in the Egyptian Pantheon, which alarmed them. Particularly Stark—who, having lost his parents due to an accident, greatly empathizes.

Stark had once counseled Shiller in the same way. When he learned of the death of his parents, he too had sleepless nights, constantly pondering ways to reverse everything. It could be said that if he knew at the time that the Egyptian Gods could resurrect believers, he would have resurrected his parents at any cost.

Because Stark has had such an experience, he understands just how dangerous this mentality is. On the road to pursuing the resurrection of life, one might come into contact with countless forbidden knowledge. The more you invest, the more you are fascinated, and in the end, you may even disregard others' lives and pay any price to become a lonely ghost living for a single obsession.

Upon learning that Shiller wanted to investigate the secret of resurrection, Stark became extremely anxious. Psychological trauma can be treated, childhood shadows can be soothed, but if Shiller really took such an extreme path, even if Stark knew he could escalate to being the only one, he was not confident he could stop the obsessed Shiller.

So he knew he had to pull Shiller back before he was trapped in this mire. He could not let matters develop to a point beyond redemption.

From his perspective, his speculation was reasonable. To be honest, there are few people in this world who can resist the temptation to resurrect their loved ones. Even if a person once demonstrated resolve and wisdom, no one can guarantee 100% that they would have no selfish purposes when facing this issue.

Humans are creatures living in the river of time. All they can do is to continuously drift downstream, thus leaving regrets that cannot be made up for.

But humans also fantasize that they can go up against the current of time and return to the upper reaches to make up for past regrets.

Everyone has their own story and their own regrets, so there are always those who put these unrealistic fantasies into action.

Stark is not someone good at opening his heart. His personality is quite difficult and could even be called eccentric. He is always avoiding certain emotions and rarely makes responsible promises to others. Those who have been disappointed in family and love often lack this capability.

But this time, he put aside his eccentric emotions and tried to persuade Shiller with a sincere attitude. He even made an emotional promise after many years, hoping that Shiller would not get caught in this mire, not even to step into it in the first place.

However, after listening to him, Shiller was confused. He really didn't know what had happened.

Stark and Steve entering his Thought Palace directly along the path marked by the Shining Alliance Base was completely beyond his expectations.

Because, although from the perspectives of Stark and Steve, their journey was extremely smooth and they entered Shiller's Thought Palace without any hindrance, but Shiller himself knew that the high tower had very perfect defensive measures, and not just anyone could enter.

Moreover, he did not take away all the personalities at once. Many are still working in the tower, so how did Stark and Steve managed to get in directly? And it seemed like they had some misunderstanding?

The reason Shiller was confused is that he sought death not to truly resurrect anyone, but to negotiate a deal with Death.

In fact, Shiller knew very early on that Asgard had Valhalla.

Because he has read comics, he knows that everything in the cosmos ultimately belongs to the abstract entity of death. Asgard actually used some special methods to keep people from Death.

But at that time, Shiller did not have this idea, because he knew that the powerful Asgard and Odin at their peak were incredibly powerful. It was not surprising that they could negotiate with death. Thus, it was only right for Odin to have Valhalla. It was the cosmic status that Asgard should have.

As for Shiller, he first weighed the weight of human civilization and then looked at his pile of project schedules. He felt that there was really no need to contact the Five Creator Gods so early.

But recently, he has changed his mind for two main reasons.

The first is that the required funds were too large, The Avengers were too strong, and Hydra was not up to the task in terms of quantity or quality, especially quantity.

The previous wave of getting three things out of one was great, but Hydra is not exactly leeks, which grow quickly. After selling one batch to hell, the amount left on Earth was already insufficient. The Avengers wanted it, and S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted it too. Where else could they get so much Hydra to share?

Not giving it to The Avengers would not work either. Stark and Captain America fight every day, and killing Hydra to compete has become a very civilized method. You can't let them start a civil war, can you?

But S.H.I.E.L.D really does need Hydra. It gives them weight and status. Plus, Nick and Shiller plan to pull a fast one; the budget just doesn't stretch that far.

However, if they could have a Valhalla like Asgard's, things would certainly change.

Shiller could totally resurrect Hydra members killed by the Avengers, send them to work for S.H.I.E.L.D, kill them again for performance recognition, then resurrect them again to send to the Avengers.

This way, a perfect cycle for the Hydra industry chain would be formed.

Shiller has seriously considered how to sustainably develop the Hydra industry chain.

Hydra members are people—not materials. Humans can't be resurrected after they die, so it's not like he could go brainwash children for production, now could he? Aside from the moral problem, the time cost to train a Hydra villain is just too high.

But resurrecting them would change things. The Hydra members alive now, especially the mid to high-level staff, can't be said to have done anything irredeemably bad, but you could argue they deserve to be hacked to pieces. Thus, constantly exploiting these people poses no moral dilemmas.

You've done so many bad things, what's a few more deaths? There's a saying in this world: "A thousand deaths would not suffice." It fits perfectly when applied to Hydra.

If the resurrection function was even more powerful, they could even bring back the old NAZI batch, and the SS, the Defense Force—all incorporated into Hydra. Half would work at S.H.I.E.L.D and the other half would be targets for the Avengers. What a perfect ecological cycle, it can even be described as sustainable over-exploitation!

The other thing that made Shiller consider death was actually the Egyptian Pantheon.

Asgard and Odin are ridiculously strong, they can trade with death. Shiller had no complaints about that. They let their strength do the talking. Odin had ruled the Nine Major Kingdoms for so many years. In a sense, he could be considered the protector of human civilization. If he had a Valhalla in place, human civilization would be even safer.

But why did the Egyptian Pantheon deserve that too? Is their leader as strong as Odin? Is their overall strength as great as Asgard's? Is their civilization as advanced as Asgard's? Have their contributions to mankind been as significant?

None of that is true. So what gives them the right to trade with death? By battling in civil wars all the time?

Simply put, Shiller was sore.

If you say that human civilization can't be compared to Asgard, then Shiller would admit. They started high on the ladder, almost full from birth. Plus, with Odin having been granted the Star of Zimans, he'd survived countless cosmic disasters. Some privileges made sense.

But look at the dilapidated Egyptian Pantheon. So many Demon Gods crammed into one dimension, battling over the limited space and exiling a bunch. They sat in temples all day, controlling human followers to make waves on Earth. Weren't they just a cancer on Earth?

If they're not considered a civilization and can't be compared to Asgard, then compare them to the Demon Gods. Consider Mephisto, for example. His Hell is similar to Asgard's Valhalla. He can also intercept souls from the Realm of Death, suggesting Mephisto has dealings with Death too.

But these Egyptian Gods, even when lumped together, might not be able to beat Mephisto.

So where do their privileges come from?

With this mindset, Shiller, of course, thinks, 'If they can do it, why can't I?

Let's be real, I've contributed quite a lot to Death's business, right? During the first wave of Nal serving, many Cosmic Sorcerers died, didn't they? All deaths, including those of Cosmic Sorcerers, eventually return to the Realm of Death.

Not to mention the Luminous event. After several waves of member gifts, including detonating stars and black holes, if Shiller didn't earn an employee-of-the-month award in the Realm of Death that month, the entire cosmos would certainly have a mid-summer snow in protest.

With this thought, Shiller had naturally come up with a plan to find Death and negotiate with her to get a Valhalla. That was his ultimate goal.

Of course, as was characteristic of Shiller, within this ultimate goal, countless minor targets would be interlaced.

For instance, to observe Mark's mental state along the way in preparation for his thesis, to collect some of Khonsu's moonlight power, or to let a certain personality that's been locked in an insane asylum get some air.

To fake his own death, making the Avengers and the Supreme Magician realize the essence of these gods, prompting them to eradicate the Demon Gods on Earth, addressing the internal threats before humanity officially steps into the cosmos.

To obtain a vehicle that could move about in the Dreamworld, helping solve the vehicle problem at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

To owe a favor to animal gods like Moon God Kong Su, Panther God Bast, and the Hippo Goddess, helping them take revenge on the Natural Deity who exiled them.

To find a suitable reason to turn the Natural Deity into the next wave of member gifts, to obtain the method of trading with Death from Osiris's mouth.

Last but not least, to use this method to achieve his ultimate goal: meeting Death and negotiating a deal with her.