Chapter 46: Iron Man Never Backs Down

Peter said while eating: "It seems that the situation is not optimistic. When I went to the laboratory to see Mr. Stark yesterday, Colonel Rhodes seemed to have been persuading him."

Peter said: "Although I don't understand these things, I know that if Mr. Stark's mechas fall into the hands of the military, it may not be a good thing."

"Colonel Rhodes, as a friend of Mr. Stark, may also be in a difficult situation. After all, he also represents the interests of a group of people." Peter said.

"You are smarter than I thought. I thought you would not understand the current situation."

Peter shook his head and said, "Actually, I really don't understand, but I know that everyone wants those mechas because they are really powerful."

"No, because it is a weapon."

"If it was just a sweeping robot, even if it could clean up New York in an instant, the military would not be so interested in it."

Peter was silent for a while. He said, "I don't think the mecha should be handed over, but I know Mr. Stark is under great pressure. Do you think I should... or should I comfort him or advise him? I can't do nothing, right?"

"I think you should solve your own problems first. If you can fully control the power of spider mutation, maybe these things will be trivial for you?"

As Peter said, the next day, Schiller's psychological clinic welcomed an expected guest, James Rhodes, also known as Colonel Rhodes.

He said to Schiller very straightforwardly: "The military needs Stark's mecha technology, but he seems to have been unclear about his attitude. I just want to ask you, what is his plan? Does SHIELD play a role in it?"

"Actually, you don't want to come either." Schiller said. "I can see that."

Rod pulled the corner of his mouth and said, "It seems that Tony's high medical fee is reasonable."

"Obviously, your boss knows that you can't ask Stark about this question, otherwise SHIELD will get the answer faster than you. But it's useless for you to ask me."

"The military needs Stark's mecha, which can give us advantages in many places... and save many lives."

"You didn't realize that your reluctance has made your words extremely dry. Colonel Rod, I know you are also in a difficult situation. The military has repeatedly forced Stark, but he is your friend."

"So you can only deceive yourself to make yourself feel better. In fact, you know what these armors will be used for, but as long as you convince yourself that doing so may be beneficial, you can get rid of the guilt of forcing your friends."

"Obeying orders is the duty of a soldier." Rod said.

"Indeed, but what about Stark? What about your friend? You repeatedly go against your friend's wishes, force him to sell out his own interests, and use friendship to kidnap him."

"You actually always know how much Tony values ​​you. Stark doesn't have many friends, but you are definitely one of them... maybe the most important one."

"You know he is willing to pay these prices for you, and is willing to do what he hates most for you - compromise and bow down."

"You know, Stark will be willing sooner or later. If you are forced into a desperate situation by your boss, he will definitely save you."

"Don't say it." Rod said.

He pursed his lips tightly into a line.

Schiller pressed the button of the ballpoint pen, and the crisp sound suddenly woke Rod up. Schiller said, "Perhaps he is willing to do this because you have something he doesn't have. My advice to you is that perhaps these are the things you should keep the most. Compared with the military, Stark's friendship is more precious, and this is not because he is richer-"

"But the qualities that a lone genius sees in you, those qualities that he doesn't even have and that make him willing to pay these prices for you, are more worthy of your persistence and pride than those false and empty honors, aren't they?"

Rod was silent.

The next day, when Schiller went to Stark Building, he ran into Rod who came out. Behind him was an adjutant, who looked obviously very happy, and they seemed to have got something they wanted.

But Rod's face didn't get better at all, he still had a tense face, he didn't look at Schiller, and just walked straight over.

After going upstairs, Stark stood in front of his armor again, carefully examining his work.

"It seems that you have made a decision. They got what they wanted, right?" Schiller asked.

"Okay." Stark turned around. He first tightened his shoulder muscles, then suddenly relaxed, lowered his shoulders, and exhaled. He said, "I know I should stick to your previous advice. That's right."

"But I didn't do it. I knew it was right. I didn't have to pay any price, but I still didn't do it..."

"I knew it wouldn't work." Schiller sat at the table with the case and wrote in his notebook. He didn't look up, but sighed and said, "Many people are willing to pay a huge price to pursue emotional compensation, especially for people like you who have never lacked material conditions."

"You would rather give up the result of maximizing your interests than to see Rod being caught in the middle. You paid the price and bought back his temporary friendship with you."

"Yes, I know what you want to say. You are friends. You think so, and so does he. But especially if both parties are not so happy, this friendship can last."

"You keep paying the price to buy, and sooner or later there will be a day when you can't afford it. When you can't afford it, maybe Rod will understand you, but the world won't."

Finally, Schiller said: "When you feed those people's appetite, the price you have to pay for your feelings will never end."

Stark said: "It's not that I haven't thought about this problem. I know that once I give in, I will inevitably continue to lose."

"They can use Rhodes to persuade me to hand over some of the mecha technology. Then one day, they can force him to persuade me to hand over all the mechas, or build more war machines for them."

"Since I knew how many civilians my weapons hurt, I knew that wisdom will not only bring wealth, but also disasters." Stark said, he put his fingers on his eye sockets and said: "I just figured out this problem recently. The final outcome of a genius is always no way out."

"When Everyone knows that you have a brain that is enough to save the world, and they will also have the ambition to let you destroy the world. "

After a moment of silence, Schiller stood up and walked to the French window. Outside the window of Stark Tower was the sunset of New York. Stark followed his gaze and looked out. The dazzling light made his eyes blurry. Schiller said: "What will you do when you have no way to retreat?"

Stark said: "This is my home, and it also belongs to Pepper, Jarvis, and... all Stark. "

"In the end, no one can force me to hand over this place. "

"If they want more ..."

Stark's eyes, which always contained various emotions, looked directly at Schiller. His expression was not heavy at all, but he said calmly:

"...Iron Man never retreats."

Schiller looked at him and asked:

"So, have you ever thought about overturning this absurd and boring negotiation table?"

"You are like a devil who leads people to fall."

"This is much better than praying to God."

"I never pray, I don't count on God, I don't believe in those weird tricks, those absurd rumors and legends..."

As soon as the voice fell, Stark saw that everything in his laboratory began to tremble slightly.

Then, everything floated up.

In an instant, as if it had lost gravity, everything floated in the air, cups, notebooks, computers, wrenches...

The sunset outside the window shone on these things where they should not have received sunlight. Schiller stood in the center of everything, and the light behind him cast a long shadow in front of him.

The shadows of all the objects overlapped to form a huge net. Stark stood in the middle of it all. He stretched out his hand, and a drop of water fell from the cup onto his fingertips. Stark looked up and saw countless ordinary and commonplace objects in the air, and the ordinary ceiling and walls above his head. He saw the door to a new world.