Chapter 537: The Phantom Named Xunzong (Part 1) (Patreon)

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The weather was gradually getting colder again. The mornings and evenings no longer carried the oppressive heatwaves they had before. Instead, they became pleasantly cool. The unique humidity of East Coast City was carried inland by the morning sea breeze, causing the steam rising from the coffee to thin out.

Schiller picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and turned his head to gaze at the view outside the window. The colorful walls of Hell's Kitchen had just been adorned with a new graffiti piece last night. Looking at the undead mural with its Mexican flair, he knew it was definitely the work of Gonzalez, the taco vendor.

Indeed, Schiller had returned to the clinic in Hell's Kitchen, but in a sense, he had brought it upon himself.

Perhaps some still remembered that Schiller's initial intention was to give the Avengers something to do, to divert their attention from focusing on the weak and helpless Hydra, in order to preserve the last ember of Hydra.

The first twist occurred when Nick Fury directly exposed Schiller's actions.

Perhaps some also recalled that when dcSchiller went online initially, he inadvertently caused damage to several of Nick Fury's secret bases. Nick's off-the-books bases were ruined, and he had to foot the bill for repairs himself, with no way to claim reimbursement. This was a painful blow for the one-eyed director, and reporting Schiller had been a long time coming.

Later on, Schiller was brought to the CIA and encountered Moon Knight, a coincidental meeting at best.

But after that, Schiller began a string of branching quests. First, he was curious about the secrets of the resurrected Egyptian gods, and he struck a deal with Khonshu, leading to the emergence of Ammit. Schiller allowed Ammit to eliminate him in order to relive Marc's experiences from the Moon Knight TV series. This was the only way to enter the underworld.

After seizing a ship in the underworld, another twist occurred. In an act of revenge against Marvel Schiller for constantly finding him work in the Green Light industry, DC Schiller deliberately gave Stark and Steve access to the lower levels of the Temple of Thought by loosening its security measures.

Subsequently, DC Schiller convinced the Id to stage a play, weaving a tragic backstory of his own childhood for Stark and Steve.

But who would have known that Stark and Steve, based on this narrative, would assume that Schiller had become obsessed with resurrecting, especially after witnessing his frenzied conversation with Death over the telephone? This deepened their misunderstanding.

The third unexpected turn came from Death's unyielding attitude.

For reasons unknown, Death adamantly refused to allow Schiller entry into the Realm of Death. Due to his competitive nature, Schiller, together with Strange and Loki, came up with hundreds of sales pitches to persuade Death. He was determined not to give up until he secured Death as a major client.

However, Balance resided within the Dreamworld. To pursue his sales efforts, Schiller needed to enter the Dreamworld. To outsiders, it seemed as if he was suffering from a mental issue that caused him to fall into a deep sleep. This only raised more concerns for Stark and Steve.

Meanwhile, DC Schiller's retaliation was not yet complete. He had purposely left behind the Philby list and the Red Flag medal that he had discovered in Metropolis Manor in the cabinet of the Sanatorium that Schiller now owned. This was not only intended to cause trouble for Marvel Schiller but also to expose the identity of the Hydra serpent that he had left behind when he was standing in for Schiller.

Guided by DC Schiller, Stark and Steve found these clues in the Sanatorium. They concocted a strange story based on these clues, which Natasha later refuted.

The fourth twist was rather unexpected. It was a time when Superhero culture was just gaining momentum and Congress was eager to capitalize on the trend. They proposed the Superhero Registration Act to harness the power of superheroes for their purposes.

By that time, MarvelSchiller had realized he had fallen into the trap as well. He hadn't confirmed his identity as a KGB agent, and Stark and Steve were endlessly speculating about the convoluted stories. If they were to spread the word, if Avengers members were to find out, Schiller would be in a bind.

To regain control over his backstory's final explanation, Schiller had to confirm his identity first and then provide room for explanations. The Superhero Registration Act provided that opportunity.

En route to Capitol Hill, Schiller planned a series of steps. The ultimate goal was to unite the nations of Earth.

In fact, since the conception of Stark's Solar System construction plan, a considerable amount of time had passed. Given Stark's productivity, had there been no hindrance, the probes would have likely explored every corner of the Solar System by now.

But the issue was the number of hindrances.

The U.S. wanted to seize the opportunity in this plan, to restore their dominance. However, the Far Eastern nations would never agree. After their disputes, the U.S. realized that instead of striving to construct the plan and claim a larger territory, it was easier to frame others. As long as the others didn't have significant territory, the U.S. could maintain an advantage.

In essence, this had become a time even more rotten than before. If someone had a plan, everyone would rush to obstruct it.

This was particularly evident in the Solar System construction plan. Stark's productivity had long surpassed the initial needs of the plan. The reason the plan was stalling was due to immense political resistance.

Stark's goal was not for him alone to venture into space. He could even directly pierce the veil of space if he wanted to. His true aim was for human civilization to step into space and join the interstellar society. So, despite the plan's sluggish progress, he continued to push for it.

Stark showed remarkable patience in this endeavor, but his patience didn't necessarily extend to Schiller.

Schiller was generally patient, but given the opportunity provided by the Capitol Hill politicians and the groundwork he had laid regarding his identity, the upcoming play would be easy to enact.

Schiller intended to create a polarizing stance and then drive Earth back to a time of ideological confrontation, compelling Humanity to unite through conflict.

To achieve this, he first needed to make his stance clear. This was why Schiller exhibited an extremely radical leftist attitude during the Congressional meeting. He had to make the comfortable members of Congress understand that he was an ideological fanatic capable of anything.

Following this, he needed to demonstrate his capabilities to everyone. As a matter of fact, Schiller's mind manipulation ability wasn't as potent as Professor X's. He could only mimic telepathy and, in most cases, only sense emotions.

However, on the way to Capitol Hill, he took a brief nap in the car and met with Professor X in the dream world for an afternoon tea.

Schiller had lent the boat to the Realm of the Dead to Professor X previously, allowing him to use it as a school bus. Professor X was grateful, and he mentioned that he wasn't lying; he was just speaking the truth, depending on how one understood it.

Armed with the most formidable knowledge, the rest of the Avengers were not clear about Schiller's precise capabilities. From their perspective, Schiller was more unwilling to use his powers rather than being incapable.

With confirmation from various sources, world leaders came to believe that Schiller was an immortal figure active during the Soviet Union's heyday, possessing an unwavering faith stronger than anyone else's.

Recently, he felt disappointed by Earth's situation and wanted to bring back the imposing red entity.

Everyone hoped he wouldn't go through with it, and the only way to deal with this was self-examination.

Patch up the leaks, replace the missing parts, change the tires if needed, step on the gas pedal.

We unite to prove to the departed giants that the beacon of human civilization still shines brightly. We can join hands and step into space, illuminating star after star in the deep void that you gazed upon countless times but never personally visited.

You can see, we are gratified, but the best viewing spot is at your grave.

Actually, the intelligent individuals in leadership positions could see Schiller's intentions, but they dared not gamble. Fortunately, most of them had experienced the Cold War era.

The curtain of idealism hadn't completely fallen, and they knew these people would do anything to understand and uplift all of humanity. They could forsake their own lives and certainly launch a crazy plan to brainwash humanity.

Given this situation, they had to act quickly. The faster they acted, the bigger their share would be in the inevitable forward progress of the plan. Overnight, every nation became exceedingly proactive.

However, there was a question they needed to consider: even though there was no way to deal with Schiller, they still needed to limit him.

Professor X was powerful, but he also had vulnerabilities, namely the mutants' school and his long-standing adversary, Magneto. Mutants were his emotional burden, preventing him from achieving true invincibility.

Although Congress compromised, shelving the Superhero Registration Act and focusing on rebuilding and rekindling the beacon, they were simultaneously making a second preparation—to limit the potential outburst of Schiller.

To uncover Schiller's weaknesses, they needed to observe him. The FBI and CIA, united once more, began 24-hour surveillance.

Schiller actually lived in his own super luxurious Sanatorium, situated in the wealthiest small town near New York. Beyond the Sanatorium, all the surrounding buildings were extravagant villas.

Given the generous budget from Congress, these agents naturally enjoyed luxurious accommodations.

They were pleased, but one person was displeased—Schiller.

He had put so much effort into obtaining this Sanatorium, and now these agents were not only monitoring him, they even wanted the same luxurious hardware conditions? This was simply outrageous!

Adhering to the principle that if he couldn't be happy, they couldn't be either, Schiller resolutely abandoned the super luxurious Sanatorium and moved back to his small clinic in Hell's Kitchen.

In this way, while his living conditions worsened, the agents who were keeping tabs on him were in a much worse situation.

Because, in fact, the clinic was located in the best part of three surrounding blocks. The rest of the buildings were as rotten as they could be, providing an extremely unpleasant living environment.

Finally, Schiller's frustration began to ease. In his view, he had been a victim throughout this series of events. Yet, now, these agents were ignoring the true instigators and instead focusing on him, the victim. This was simply unjust!

Leaving aside the monitoring agents at the lower levels, the higher-ups were also deliberating on Schiller's weaknesses and how to limit him, so he would think twice before going mad.

In the Vice President's office, a gray-haired elder rubbed his temples. His appearance was much more worn than usual, and even the white in his hair seemed to have increased.

Clearly, the attack plan against Schiller's vulnerabilities had almost no progress. He had encountered countless setbacks in recent days, and his blood pressure had skyrocketed.

An aide walked over, handing him a secure telephone. After picking it up, he spoke into it:

"How's the emotional assessment going? If he's truly a Soviet Union person, he should have a marital history, right?"

"...No results? Could it be that he's also a highly classified individual? What does the Russian Federal Security Service say?"

"No records found? It seems his security clearance is exceptionally high. Could he have been part of some revival plan for the former Soviet Union?"

The Vice President sighed, covered his head, and then said:

"Alright, let's not discuss the past for now. How about recently? Has he had frequent interactions with the opposite sex?"

"Well, when he was teaching at the university, were there no close female students?"

The person on the other end seemed troubled, and the Vice President waved his hand impatiently, saying, "Just say it."

"He hardly interacts with the opposite sex. If we have to talk about frequent interactions with the opposite sex, there is indeed one, but they aren't students; they're agents."

"Agents? Which agency's agents? That's even better. It might even save us the effort of persuasion and training."

"Um, they're agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Who?"

"Natasha Romanoff. She just recently concluded an internal investigation clearing her of KGB spy suspicions..."

"Thunk!"

"Mr. Vice President! Mr. Vice President! What's wrong with you? Your Excellency, wake up! Quickly! Get a doctor! Mr. Vice President is having a heart attack!"

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 538: A Ghost Named Xun Zong