"When I was studying at Kamar-Taj, I was most interested in occultism and folklore. I read most of the human race's related books in the library, and became proficient in both Eastern and Western rituals for summoning spirits and ghosts."
Helen pointed at the pattern on the ground drawn with fresh blood. Eddie looked along her finger. It was an upside-down pentagram, and a goat head was drawn in the middle.
"This is the most common magic array for summoning demons in the West. Look here, don't underestimate this circle of runes. They are special symbols that can identify a demon's identity, which is equivalent to the demons' phone numbers."
"But Shiller is not a demon, does he have a phone number?"
"Umm, even if he has, I don't know it." Helen shook her head and said, "After all, if you can really call, why would you need to draw a magic array?"
"Then what have you written here?" Eddie frowned at a large pile of complex runes written in the outer circle of the pentagram.
"The outer circle reads 'Doctor, quickly come here there are lots of money, lots of gold, and a mentally ill patient with peculiar symptoms, big sale, quick buyers only scarcity treatment hurry up', the inner circle reads 'Almighty Doctor Shiller, think of a way to clean up this mess, I want to go home and sleep, I'm begging you, help help help'."
"Cough cough cough..."
Eddie nearly choked on his own saliva, he stared at Helen and asked: "Do you write the answers to essay questions in the name column during exams?"
"What can I do? Just like you said, Shiller is not a demon, and I don't know his occultism code, so I can only try this method."
Helen took out a pen from the big package, then tied the pen's tail with a fishing line and hung it from the ceiling. She said: "This is an eastern ritual for summoning gods. It is said to be able to attach the summoned spirit to the pen."
"And this." Helen took out a disc and a stone tablet, saying, "These are all tools for summoning gods, and the method of use is very simple, just place them there and recite enchantments."
"But considering we are using a variety of methods, we'll recite the enchantments all at one go later. I'll first set up the offerings."
Helen started rummaging through the shopping bag again, saying as she rummaged, "Rituals for summoning gods and spirits around the world require offerings. But I'm not sure which cultural area Shiller's soul belongs to, so I bought all the offerings I know of."
"Asgardian culture originated from the Vikings. To sea-going nations, livestock is very valuable. But we will also offer the rarest and most delicious fish."
"I couldn't find any live animals, so I bought some frozen chicken wings. As for fish, I could buy a whole one in the fresh food section, but I heard that Doctor Shiller likes sashimi, so I bought some salmon and tuna slices in the sushi section."
"Eastern culture likes to place fruits, pastries, and incense on the tribute table. I bought oranges, which are Doctor Shiller's favorite."
"The supermarket doesn't sell Eastern pastries. But I saw Doctor Shiller eating brownie cake before, so I bought a small piece."
"The incense used in the East isn't common on the East Coast, and Chinatown is too far away. So I made do and bought two cigars. As for the wine, I'll use the regular red wine."
"I had seen half a bottle of coke in the doctor's refrigerator before, it might have been drunk by Peter, but I bought it anyway."
"In Christian culture, God accepted Abel's offerings of meat and fat. We already have meat, and I really couldn't find animal fat in the supermarket, so I bought a bottle of olive oil. I've seen Doctor Shiller use this brand before when he was cooking."
Helen rummaged in the bag again and continued to say, "Also, regardless of which country, the soul summoning ritual always requires placing the deceased's favorite things."
Helen evenly sprinkled the purchased gold around the magic array, then pulled out a stack of banknotes and started spraying money in the room.
Finally, she took out a bunch of boxes from the bottom of the shopping bag. Eddie leaned in to take a look, only to find they were actually superhero figurines sold in the supermarket.
The box contained a full set of the Avengers, including Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Widow, and so on.
Helen neatly arranged these toy figures in the center of the magic array, then clasped her hands together and started to pray.
"Great, um, um... Alright, Doctor Shiller, we don't need to be coy with each other."
"Speaking honestly, I've got some trouble I can't handle. If you can hear me, please come and help. If it works out, I'll have my dad increase the next quarter's medical fees by 20 points."
Eddie facepalmed.
Speechless, he looked at the haphazard magic array on the ground. Honestly, it didn't look like a cult ritual site, but more like a second-hand market. It didn't seem capable of summoning a demon or ghosts, but rather like it could attract a neighbor looking for a bargain.
He might take a hit, but with the sight of those piles of things laid out, Eddie didn't feel cold anymore, no chills down his spine, all he could see was the throng of people scrambling for toilet paper in a supermarket before a disaster.
Could this really summon ghosts? Eddie wondered. Meanwhile, he and Venom both crossed their arms, toe tapping the ground, waiting for the spectacle.
Inside the floating Galactus's skull in space, Shiller who was floating in midair at present only had one feeling - what the hell is going on?
Originally, he was pleasantly floating in mid-air, eating hotpot, singing and scaring Stark while watching him work.
Turning people in the tower into ghosts wasn't very useful, but Shiller's biggest belief was that not everything in the world has to be useful, it's enough to have fun.
The biggest disadvantage of ghosts in battle is the lack of a body, but it becomes the biggest advantage when watching a show. Shiller didn't have a body, so Stark couldn't hit him, isn't that a win however you want to argue?
Stark was experiencing a ghoulish revenge first hand. He was working, and Shiller was right by his side providing him with therapy. And to top it off, Shiller was flying around in the sky, one minute making an S, the next minute making a B.
Don't misunderstand, this "SB" stands for "Stark Brilliant".
Stark was so annoyed that he had already broken three wrenches. This is how Shiller planned his revenge. Every time a gray mist would be damaged, a new one would be spat out.
Just as Stark decided he could endure no longer, about to explode, Shiller suddenly stopped mid-air, wearing a puzzled expression.
Next, he started flying around in no particular order, looking here and there, as if searching for something.
"What are you doing?" Stark turned back to look at Shiller, who was almost flying away.
"I think I heard someone whispering in my ear, something about lots of money and patients or something," Shiller muttered left and right, then said.
"Who's the crazy one now?" Stark coldly grunted, but quickly focused back on his work. He wanted to get the key parts done quickly while Shiller was pacified.
Suddenly, Shiller shrieked, startling Stark into striking a part wrongly. He turned to Shiller: "What's the matter with you now?"
Shiller was staring straight into the distance saying, "I see a heap of delicious food. Sashimi with wasabi soy sauce, cola chicken wings, pan-fried salmon in olive oil, mulled wine with oranges, brownie cake... all the food I love to eat, and I can even smell the aroma."
"Did becoming a ghost mess with your head?" Stark squinted his eyes: "Where's the food here?"
"Wait," Shiller raised his voice, "I see a pile of gold and bills laying around on the ground, unclaimed property, mate!"
Shiller could not help but float towards a direction. It was then that Stark realized something was not right and he shouted toward Shiller, "Shiller! Shiller! Come back quickly!!"
Shiller seemed to wake up instantly, shaking his head, and found himself still inside the skull of the Planet Devourer.
"What's going on, Grey Mist?" he asked.
"Not sure, but I can feel subtle changes in the magnetic field. You know, quantum mapping and such, haven't figured it out yet."
Suddenly, Shiller froze again. In his vision, many superheroes appeared, scenes of him interacting with them were playing in front of his eyes, including scenes where superheroes sought his help for emotional and mental problems.
In these illusions, every person was the type of patient that Shiller loved, in simple terms, those filled with contradictions and confusions but vocal ones.
Seeing this dreamy heaven, Shiller could not help but float towards it, oblivious to Stark shouting behind him.
This time Grey Mist had to wake Shiller up.
After coming back to his senses, Shiller said, "Is this the after-effect of turning into a ghost? Why do I keep seeing memories of all the things that happened?"
For a moment, the noises in his ears became clearer. He heard a familiar little girl's voice whispering in his ear, "Doctor, if you can hear me, please come and help me. If it works, when we get back, I'll convince my dad to raise your next quarter's consultation fee by 20 percent..."
"Here I come!"
With a "whoosh", Shiller had disappeared, leaving Stark staring blankly at the air in front of him.
With a "swish", suddenly a figure in a white coat appeared in the room, rushing towards Helen's barely any different from a second-hand market-like altar.
The things on the ground hadn't changed, just that the food color had deepened a little.
After a while, Shiller finally came crawling up from the ground. He looked at Helen with slight anger, "I didn't take Loki seriously when he said you don't read carefully enough. You know you have to offer money, but don't you also know that these things need to be burnt to work?"
"Of course I know, but this is real money!" Helen efficiently picked up all the banknotes from the ground. Shiller, lacking a physical body, could only watch helplessly as she tidied up all the banknotes and gold.
"You can't cheat ghosts without repercussions!" Shiller complained resentfully. "I came because I saw the money and gold!"
"Stop scaring people, Doctor. We all know you came over after hearing the 20 points increase of next quarter's fees, which is at least 20% of three hundred million dollars! Stark is bleeding heavily!"
Shiller, whose lie was exposed, muttered and after looking around, pointed at the little plastic people on the ground, "At least burn these figures for me. They're much easier to deal with than the real ones."
"Burning plastic products is illegal in New Jersey State and carries a fine of 500 to 1000 dollars."
"Well, I feel like love is appreciation, not possession."
Eddie, standing on the side, was looking around cluelessly, not knowing who Helen was talking to. At that moment, Venom's voice rang in his ear, "Oh, I forgot to adjust your brainwaves back... off you go!"
The next second, Eddie saw a white ghost floating in midair.
"Ahhhhh!!!"