The Stark Schiller saw was indeed on the verge of madness; his psychological state was a mess, and with his telepathy, even through the wall, Schiller could feel his chaotic and tangled thoughts giving him a headache.
Schiller took a deep breath and walked in. Stark looked up, rolled his eyes, and gave Schiller a big White eye.
Although he looked a bit haggard, he wasn't disheveled, and the consequence of his stubborn pride was that Schiller could feel he was already on the verge of collapse, but just unwilling to show it in front of Pepper.
Schiller cleared his throat. Pepper looked worriedly at Stark, then turned and left. Schiller sat opposite Stark and said, "Mr. Stark, may I ask you a question?"
"What do you want to ask? To play the mystic and talk philosophy with me? Or discuss those useless Psychology theories?"
"Ahem, neither. I want to ask how much my hourly rate is?"
Stark was clearly stunned by the question. He said with extreme surprise, "What did you say?"
"I said I want to know the price of my psychological consultation, because I was drunk when Miss Pepper discussed the price with me, and I forgot everything when I woke up," Schiller said.
Stark was speechless at this moment. He waved his hand and said, "You shouldn't choose an abstract topic, one that you psychologists commonly use... like, the meaning of life, the object of sorrow, topics like that..."
"Yes, that's the next step, after the consultation officially begins, but I need to first confirm whether you can afford my psychological consultation fee."
Stark's eyes widened. He said in shock, "What did you say?! Do you know who I am?! Goodness, are you some kind of primitive man? Don't you know me? Don't you recognize this is Stark Tower?"
"Yes, I know you are very rich, Mr. Stark, but how much money you have and how much you are willing to offer are two different things."
"...How much do you want?"
"One million U.S. dollars an hour, no bargaining."
"Take it! Take it! You mercenary mad Doctor, are you crazy? One million U.S. dollars! I could hire a dozen beautiful women on a yacht..."
"I vaguely heard someone say he was very rich."
Stark was truly speechless with Schiller. He said, "Did Pepper send you to mess with me? Fine! Go tell her! She succeeded! I've already explained that my last party was just to say goodbye to those ex-girlfriends, not to do anything else. Why doesn't she believe me?!"
Schiller said, "A dozen beautiful women on a yacht won't make you feel better, sir, especially when you feel like you're about to die."
Stark's exaggerated gestures stopped. He stiffened, then looked back at Schiller, his gaze suspicious.
Schiller sat calmly and said, "You are very afraid of Death now, but perhaps what frightens you most is not Death, but not having the chance to make amends for your mistakes..."
"Bullshit. Who are you? Who exactly are you?" Stark's emotions began to stir. He said, "Did Pepper tell you something... No, she wouldn't know either. You..."
Stark stared directly at Schiller. He said, "Don't play these tricks with me. I don't believe there's any damned mind-reading in this World."
"There is no mind-reading in the World, only Psychology," Schiller said.
He stood up and told Stark, "You can continue to procrastinate. Anyway, my consultation fee is one million U.S. dollars an hour. If we waste a little more time, I can buy a new car."
Stark's head hurt from his alternating serious and rambling talk. He said, "How did you figure that out? With that ridiculous Psychology?"
"That's not important. What's important is that the only advice I can give you is to best solve the problem of Death first. Of course, you might think I'm making it sound simple."
"But the method is..."
Schiller stopped. Stark stared at him. Schiller said, "Pay fifty percent deposit first, and then we can begin the next part of the treatment."
Stark was practically fuming, smoke coming from his head and steam from his nose. He was so amused by Schiller that he picked up the phone and called Pepper, saying, "My darling, where did you find a Vampire Doctor? ...Yes, he charged me one million U.S. dollars an hour..."
Schiller directly snatched the phone and said, "Miss Pepper, Mr. Stark's unit of calculation for one million U.S. dollars is one yacht of beautiful women..."
Then he hung up the phone, shook his phone, and said, "It will be in your account in five minutes."
Stark was still staring at him.
Stark crossed his arms and said, "Speak. I want to see what you can say."
"What have you been avoiding?"
"What? What have I been avoiding?"
"You'd best ask yourself. The answer is hidden in here. I'm not referring to Miss Pepper's urgent calls or ex-girlfriends' ambiguous texts. I'm serious..."
Schiller leaned on the table, arms crossed. He pushed up his glasses and said, "I've never seen such a peculiar case. It's unique, very rare..."
Stark shivered and said, "Hey, I don't like men. Stay away from me."
"You are not as absurd as you appear. I know someone very much like you. He disguises himself as a playboy, like a fool who lives for the day and never thinks about tomorrow."
"But he is very smart, too smart, so he has been waiting for someone to give him an answer. This answer comes from... his past."
Stark looked at Schiller, and Schiller looked at him. Stark whispered, "I'll give you two million U.S. dollars. Leave here. I'll tell Pepper your treatment was very effective. I..."
"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Pepper is listening right now," Schiller said.
Stark fell silent. Schiller said, "Two million U.S. dollars, and I'll tell you a truly useful method."
"Deal."
"All the answers you seek are in that past you most avoid. I once saw it in the news, the founder of Stark Industries, your father..."
"Enough," Stark said.
He turned away. Schiller couldn't see his expression. Stark's voice trembled slightly. He said, "Pepper will transfer the consultation fee to you. Leave here."
"...He would be willing to give you a second life. God bless you."
"Leave here!!!"
After Schiller left, Stark smashed the wine glass on the table, and in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office, Nick Fury pressed his earpiece and said, "Immediately investigate a psychologist named Schiller. I want all his information right away."
After Schiller left, a large sum of money quickly arrived in his account. He thought happily, although Stark was difficult to deal with now, you get what you pay for, and he was still willing to help this rich man solve his problems.
And soon, there was another surprise: Schiller discovered he could replicate Spider-Man's abilities.
It turned out that the previous lack of this function wasn't a system malfunction, but because Peter hadn't been bitten yet. Now that his Spider abilities had appeared, Schiller could naturally replicate them.
Schiller clicked replicate, and he obtained "Spider-Sense (Low-level)". Compared to the immediate impact of gaining telepathy, this felt unremarkable. Schiller felt his five senses had slightly improved, meaning he could see further and hear more clearly. As for intuition, Schiller hadn't felt it yet.
He felt a little regretful. If only he had Little Spider's physique, but it was a weakened version anyway, probably just a slight boost to athletic ability, far from being able to fly or burrow.
Spider-Man didn't have such great strength at first; his Spider abilities developed gradually. Currently, it seems he's just a bit beyond ordinary people, not too exaggerated.
However, since Spider-Man's story had begun, Peter's uncle might also be in trouble. Schiller thought about it and still sent Peter a message. He said, "How are you? Do you want to come to the hospital for a check-up? I'm a Doctor, I can introduce you to a reliable trauma Doctor."
Peter's reply came quickly. He said, "Wow! You're actually a Doctor, that's cool. Which hospital do you work at? What kind of Doctor are you? Are you an orthopedic Doctor? But I don't think I need a surgeon anymore. I'm very happy now. I think Gwen will agree to my pursuit soon..."
Schiller said, "I advise you to still come for a check-up. Being bitten by an animal is no joke. It's also a good chance for us to meet..."
Peter clearly hesitated. After all, meeting someone from the internet at this time wasn't a good idea. He had just gained his Spider abilities and was extremely excited, not wanting to do anything else. Schiller said, "I think you can bring Miss Gwen along. I'm at Elders Hospital. I can get you both a free comprehensive physical examination, and afterwards, you can go to the coffee shop nearby..."
Peter was somewhat tempted. Firstly, his family situation wasn't good, so he didn't have the opportunity for physical examinations, and no New Yorker hadn't heard of Elders Hospital. He said, "Thank you, but I'd like to bring my Uncle and Aunt along. They're older. Of course, this might be a bit much. If not, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Schiller thought about it and decided it might be even better. He said, "Okay, I'll make an appointment for you this weekend. You can also try inviting Miss Gwen and her family. I have plenty of available slots."
Peter joyfully went to call Gwen. You see, he had always received Gwen's help. Because his family was not well-off, Gwen always brought him snacks and yogurt. Peter always felt guilty that he couldn't help Gwen much.
But this was a good opportunity for compensation. Elders Hospital was not that easy to get into. Even if Gwen's father was the New York Police Department Director, getting an appointment for a comprehensive physical examination would still require a long wait, or might not be possible at all.
Peter felt that things had been going incredibly smoothly for him lately. First, he gained superpowers, and the friend he met online turned out to be a Doctor at a big hospital, seemingly an attending Doctor. Now his Uncle and Aunt wouldn't think his online chatting was a waste of time.