In the surgeon's office at Presbyterian Hospital, Strange was frowning and checking the matching information. Just as Schiller expected, after learning about his brother Victor's condition, he made a decisive decision to proceed.
Liver transplant.
But he understands the current medical development of the earth better than Schiller. In fact, even if there has not been an explosive growth in technology in recent times, cancer is not completely hopeless. Wakanda has a method to treat cancer.
After seeing Victor's diagnosis report, Strange immediately contacted the Black Panther, but the Black Panther told him that although they could use the power of the Panther God to eliminate cancer cells, there was nothing good about genetic problems.
method.
In other words, even if the cancer cells were eliminated once by borrowing the power of Wakanda, Victor would suffer again if the genetic problem worsened again, so Strange decided to simply undergo a liver transplant.
In normal times, this decision seems a bit risky, because the biggest problem in organ transplantation is rejection, but in fact Dr. Connors has conducted in-depth research on the rejection phenomenon in the human body. If he participates in this operation, the prognosis of treatment
The effect will be much better, and with all parties working together to find the most suitable liver source, and with him performing the surgery himself, the risk has been reduced to a minimum.
The good news is that with Nick's help, a suitable liver source was quickly found, and there was more than one. Now Strange is screening the most suitable one with the help of his old classmates.
But at this moment, there was a "bang" and the balcony door was pushed open. Strange turned around and saw the chilly mecha rushing in from the balcony. He immediately frowned angrily.
, raised his voice and said: "Tony Stark! What do you want to do?!"
"You actually ask me what I want to do?!" Stark's tone was higher than his. With a click, the mecha's cheeks opened. Stark stared at Strange with a rather cold look and said, "You
Why violate the agreement between us? Don’t you know how much we have paid to stabilize Schiller’s mental condition?”
Strange's frown deepened. He put down the paper and pen in his hand and stood up. He turned to look at Stark and said, "Why are you so crazy? Tony, what does this have to do with Schiller?"
Before Stark could speak, Strange stretched out a hand and said: "Yes, I asked him to help me persuade Victor, but they communicated for less than three minutes in total, and he just
It just calmed Victor's mood, isn't this also okay?"
The anger on Stark's face disappeared and turned into a deeper expression. He took a step forward and looked into Strange's eyes and said: "You have known him for so long, don't you know what he is like?"
person?"
"Schiller will hope that everything goes perfectly according to his plan and ensures that there are no accidents in all aspects. No matter what the cost, he doesn't care!" Stark emphasized.
He hammered the wall next to him with one hand and continued: "As long as he is involved in something, he will do his best to ensure that the result is as perfect as he expected, even if he may be hurt in the process.
Own."
Strange's frown deepened. He took a deep breath and said, "Stop being so pretentious and tell me what's going on."
"Death came to see me last night." Stark tilted his head to one side, turned to look out the window, and said in a low tone: "Schiller went to find her again, you know, the two of them
There is a deal between them."
"All human beings must go to the kingdom of death when they die, but Schiller can pay a price to have the kingdom of death exclude certain people, so that their souls can go directly to the paradise Schiller built."
Stark lowered his eyes and said: "Three days ago, that is, the night when your brother was transferred to the hospital, Schiller went to find death. Just like he did for my parents before, he took part of his soul to make a deal with death and asked for
He shut out your brother's soul."
"In this way, no matter whether the liver transplant operation is successful or not, your brother will not die, and the price will be an arm of Schiller's soul."
Strange slowly widened his eyes. He first looked down, then stamped his feet on the spot, looked at Stark again with his hands on his hips, and asked: "Are you sure? I mean
…Are you sure he traded part of his soul with death for me?”
"if not?"
Strange opened his mouth, as if he suddenly couldn't speak, he coughed out of his throat, then shook his head, turned around, walked to the desk and sat down.
Stark narrowed his eyes slightly. He saw Strange's arm muscles twitching and his fingertips trembling, but it didn't look like symptoms of an anxiety disorder, but like something that had always existed.
Nerve reflexes.
Searching for psychological information that he had learned about, Stark came up with a term in his mind - "autism".
But soon, he denied that the symptoms of Strange and Schiller were not the same, but they were somewhat similar, so he instinctively spit out a term: "Asperger's Syndrome?"
"Are you here to be a doctor?" Strange didn't give in.
"Of course not, I just want to talk to you. I know that my parents were resurrected because of Schiller, so I have no position to ask you not to let him do this. I just hope you understand the possible consequences of this."
Stark put away the mecha, walked to sit opposite Strange, leaned on the back of the chair, put one hand on the edge of the table, and said: "Maybe he is not really crazy, nor is he really mad.
It will put the universe in real danger, because we and the world are his precious assets, but that doesn't mean he won't suffer."
"Schiller's intense desire for emotion masked this pain, but I maintain that there was no benefit in allowing his mental state to continue to develop."
When he said this, Stark sighed again and said: "I always feel powerless when facing Schiller."
"Every failure makes me more anxious, because I see clearly how my patience is worn away, which means that one day I will give up, and I can't give up curing Schiller."
Strange just sat across from him and listened quietly. Stark couldn't see any expression on his face. Stark didn't know whether this was Asperger's syndrome that appeared when socializing with others.
Symptoms of inattention.
"I will solve this matter." Strange stood up and made a gesture of seeing off guests. Stark sat on the chair and looked up at him. After a while, he lowered his head and shook his head.
As if he felt that Strange failed to truly understand him, another pessimistic mood surged into Stark's heart.
Of course he knew that Strange had the ability to stop Schiller from going crazy. Even if he didn't stop it, Strange could go to the kingdom of death like him and exchange Schiller's soul for something else.
But what about next time? What about next time? Can everyone stop Schiller like them or recover what he lost? Does everyone have the patience to save Schiller?
Or is this really possible?
After a long time, Stark once again felt the uncontrollable wave of anxiety engulfing him, as if he was floating on the vast ocean. He knew that the ship would not come, but he did not want to give up. He felt that his efforts were in vain, but
Nothing else can be done.
Until Stark left Strange's office, he could not see any movement on Strange's face. He thought that maybe not everyone was as unfounded as he was.
Most people and Schiller himself thought that Schiller was very good, but he was the only one who acted like a madman, constantly acting as the annoying roadblock on this seemingly smooth road.
After Stark left, Strange still said nothing. He just took out his mobile phone and dialed a number and said.
"Hello, Schiller? I have selected the liver source for transplantation. The conditions are very good in all aspects. The operation will be performed in about a week, but I feel a little nervous now. Can I go to your place?...
…Okay, we’ll see you tonight.”
Strange did not rush to the appointment immediately. He first processed all the liver transplant information, then went to see the head nurse to confirm the schedule for the day of the operation, and even performed two minor surgeries on behalf of absent colleagues until it got dark.
It was completely dark before he drove to Arkham Sanatorium.
Schiller seemed to have just finished eating. He invited Strange to sit on the single sofa on the side of the office. As usual, he brought a stack of psychological assessment scales and took one out and handed it to Strange.
Said: "Let's do a stress test first."
Strange said nothing and began to fill out the form. After he finished, Schiller took the form, glanced at it and said: "Mild anxiety symptoms caused by stressful environments are not a big problem."
Then Schiller looked at Strange's eye movements again, and found that his eyes were slightly unfocused. After discovering that Strange's arm muscles were stiff, Schiller frowned and said, "Some of your
Your mental state may have affected your neurological reflexes, which may affect your performance on the operating table."
"Tony came to see me today." Strange suddenly changed the subject and said: "He said you went to find death and wanted to use one of your arms to ensure that Victor would not die. My kind of
The physical reaction was not from anxiety, but from anger."
Strange leaned forward, put his arms on his knees, looked Schiller in the eyes and said, "I wish you would stop doing this."
Schiller paused while flipping the scale. He raised his eyes and glanced at Strange, then looked back and asked, "Why?"
"Because you are questioning my surgical skills." Strange said very seriously: "Because you think the operation will fail, but this is absolutely impossible. I will not make any mistakes in front of the operating table. Your protection is complete.
no need."
"I just want to add an extra layer of insurance." Schiller continued to turn over the things in his hands and said, "I hope you can understand."
"I don't understand, and I hope you stop this behavior immediately." Strange kept staring closely into Schiller's eyes.
"Okay, then I'll cancel the transaction tonight, I think..."
"I'm not just referring to Victor's matter." Strange immediately interrupted him and said: "It's all similar incidents where you treat us like little babies who can't walk on their own and question our abilities.
It’s going to mess everything up, so make sure you have all the safeguards in place – stop all this behavior immediately.”
The movements of Schiller's hands paused. When he raised his eyes to look at Strange again, there was a hint of indifference and anger in the usual calmness of his eyes. He stared into Strange's eyes and said.
"You should know that I am helping..."
"I'm not Tony Stark." Strange also stared into Schiller's eyes and said, "Your moral kidnapping is completely useless, because I have no morals. I am not persuading you, but informing you.
If you don't stop this behavior, you will pay the price."
"Do you know what you are talking about? Stephen Strange." Schiller called Strange's full name for the first time, and his tone had begun to take on a coldness that he had never revealed to his friends.
"Of course." Strange stood up from his chair and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he looked back at Schiller one last time and said.
"Stark can't cure you just because he is cowardly, and I am different from him. I am not afraid to pay any price to achieve my goals, and I am not bound by any moral shackles, so..."
Strange drew a long note, stood upright at the door, gently raised his chin and said, "You can give it a try, Schiller."