Chapter 535: Schiller's Expertise (2)
"Claude! Claude! What's wrong with you? ... Someone, quickly! Claude has passed out!"
A voice shouted from the seats of the parliament, and next to him, an elderly man with white hair collapsed directly under the seat with a loud "thud." The surrounding people were all in a panic, rushing towards the elderly senator.
Chaos erupted among the seats, and the presiding senator had no choice but to forcefully slam the table and say, "An emergency accident has occurred! Adjourn the session! Immediately adjourn!"
"He's having a heart attack, call a doctor!"
At this moment, Schiller's voice came from the front, "I'm a doctor! I'm coming!"
"Wait!" Stark hurriedly rushed over, intercepting the excited Schiller, and Schiller and Stark started wrestling right there.
Steve was afraid that Stark couldn't stop Schiller, so he let Schiller actually go forward and hung the old senator on a lamppost. He had no choice but to pick up his shield and join Stark in stopping Schiller.
"Spider-Man! Come help me, I need to go up and save people!" Schiller shouted as he fought.
Peter was puzzled. When Schiller and Stark were arguing just now, he had been sleeping secretly underneath until someone shouted for a doctor, waking him up. He thought, since someone was calling for a doctor and Schiller happened to be a doctor, why not let him go save people?
So, when he heard Schiller's call, Peter rushed up directly, and Stark and Steve started shaking people. Just as Steve was about to throw his shield, Stark shouted, "This is Capitol Hill, you can't use superpowers here, you'll bring down the building!"Steve was frustrated but had no choice, so he began throwing punches. As a result, this group of superheroes started tearing at each other like a street brawl, creating a chaotic scene.
"Stop fighting, everyone stop fighting! This is the Congress meeting hall!" someone yelled from below.
But by this time, chaos had already taken over the stage. No one could hear anyone else amidst the "thud," and Peter crashed into the presenter's desk with a "thud," causing the presenter to roll and crawl away.
The flying presenter's desk first smashed into the wall behind, then with a "whoosh," it flew up and landed on the seats, causing everyone at the point of impact to scramble out in panic.
Soon, several individuals with the ability to fly soared into the air, throwing punches and kicks mid-air.
Schiller would smash Stark to the ground for a while, then Stark would knock Schiller down. After a series of bangs and clashes, the extent of the damage to the Congress chamber would conservatively be enough to deceive budgets for half a year.
And so, this chaotic meeting with a tumultuous start and finish came to an end amidst the superheroes' disorderly brawl and the screams of the senators. But this incident was far from over.
First, the members of the registration bill faction made it their priority to investigate Moon Knight Schiller's sudden madness.
It turned out that investigating him was no small matter. Just a few days ago, he had been taken by the Central Intelligence Agency under the pretext of espionage. But in the process of the investigation, both he and the agent investigating him disappeared. A successful conversion, perhaps?!!
Looking at his academic achievements, they were equally impressive. He was known worldwide as a psychologist. Either he was classmates with other well-known individuals, or he was their alumni or teacher.
And his circle of friends was equally impressive. Renowned superheroes were either his patients or friends.
What was even more significant was that they consulted Professor X Charles to confirm if Schiller indeed possessed such powers. Given Charles's unique mind-reading ability, he had a profound understanding of each person's unique abilities.
The answer they received was even more astonishing. Charles said:
"He indeed possesses a mind-reading ability similar to mine. Moreover, in the world of consciousness and dream exploration, he is number one. Just a few days ago, I was fortunate enough to have his assistance in completing some academic research that had long puzzled me. I'm not kidding when I say he's even stronger than me."
Charles was known for his modesty, so his words needed to be taken with a grain of salt. But even after considering his humility, didn't that essentially mean that Schiller was on par with him?
In fact, all the ruling factions in the world had once pondered: what if Professor X suddenly decided to exert control over all of humanity through brainwashing? What would they do?
After decades of contemplation, they realized they had no answer.
Everything relied solely on Professor X's high moral standards and extreme self-control. Besides that, there was no alternative.
They had also wondered what would happen if someone with lower moral standards and less extreme self-control emerged. And now, something even more terrifying had occurred.
Schiller was not only a telepath but also an extreme leftist.
The veteran senators knew that even within the Soviet Union, extreme leftists were a minority, and they were difficult to manage. They were rarer than stones in a pile of dirt.
It could be said that they had drawn the short straw. They had picked someone with abilities comparable to Professor X's and handed him the most headache-inducing role—an S.H.I.E.L.D. psychologist.
Could S.H.I.E.L.D. even keep him now?!!
Just as they had speculated before, how would you deal with Professor X?
Answer is that he cannot be dealt with, only appeased, allowing this time bomb that can manipulate all of humanity to roam Earth, hoping he doesn't go mad on a bad day.
Any anger or dissatisfaction towards this situation can only result in impotent fury. No one dares to approach him, and countermeasures are out of the question.
Currently, Schiller's situation is like this as well. Besides Charles's endorsement, Iron Man and Captain America have also confirmed Schiller's abilities.
Iron Man, who had taken a glance from above Space, knew that Schiller indeed possessed the power of telepathy. While the intensity couldn't be verified, given how much his words hit home, the intensity must be significant.
Captain America, on the other hand, inferred why Schiller always managed to get under his skin. Schiller was a telepath, and hitting the mark was a given.
To some extent, Schiller was more frightening than Professor X. He didn't have the burden of a mutant school or opponents like Magneto. He had no attachments and no adversaries, making him nearly invincible.
At this stage of events, the approach to dealing with Schiller had shifted from how to eliminate or control him to how to appease him, preventing him from going mad.
They were accustomed to this kind of thing. Over the years, the U.S. had sprinkled countless sugar-coated bullets. Even the once unwavering Soviet Union eventually succumbed to their corruption, didn't they?
Give Schiller what he wants, let him do what he wants. Find weaknesses, then capture those weaknesses. They had the patience.
Then, from Iron Man, they received earth-shattering news—
Schiller wants to resurrect the Soviet Union.
Senators above 80 years old in Congress fainted on the spot.
They should have long realized that aside from wanting to turn Earth into a red state, what else could an extreme leftist fanatic want?
In a secret meeting room, an old man with white temples, dressed in a suit, handed an oxygen tank to a recently arrived agent. He removed his face mask and took a deep breath, clutching his chest as he sat down.
On the other side, a general dressed in uniform, looking slightly younger, also sighed. He said, "I'm a bit puzzled. He has both the ability and the ideology, so why can we still sit here safe and sound?"
The old man across from him sighed and said, "Don't you understand? By revealing his identity, as S.H.I.E.L.D. claims, he's showing that he doesn't want to resort to extreme measures first. Or brainwash the whole world. Such actions surely come at a cost."
"He's using this as leverage, wanting to negotiate with us. But we don't have the corresponding leverage, so regardless of the price he sets, we can only accept it."
"What do you think he will ask for?" the young general asked.
"I think it's best if he sets an astronomical price, even higher than Gorbachev's, several times higher would work. But he mustn't ask for..."
Just then, a piercing telephone ring echoed through the room. An assistant entered with a secure telephone, the old man picked it up, and a voice came from the other end:
"Your Excellency, we have established contact with Mr. Rodriguez."
"What conditions did he set? Money, status, or someone's life, we can give him..."
"No, he said..."
As the answer came from the other end, the man known as the Vice President started trembling uncontrollably. The young general looked at him and saw a mix of helplessness and complexity in the old man's eyes.
"What does he want?" the young general asked.
"He said he wants a brighter lighthouse."
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