"It was Hydra who kidnapped you."
Startlingly staring at Shiller who had spoken, Stark desperately sought signs of guilt on the doctor's face, but it remained utterly impassive.
"So, you orchestrated all this?"
"Not exactly."
Stark slammed his hand on the table beside him, "Stop saying 'not exactly.' Is it or isn't it?"
"You could say that," Shiller nodded, "Don't rush, I'm not shirking responsibility, I'm just stating facts."
"Start from the beginning," Stark closed his eyes and extended a finger, "Stop using these ambiguous words, I want to hear the concrete, precise facts."
"The fact is, you never seriously listened to me, never used your wisdom to scrutinize the experiences I told you, just imagined me as a victim and a good person."
Stark furrowed his brows deeply, extending a hand to stop Shiller from speaking more. He then reviewed Shiller's story in his mind,
According to timeline, Shiller should have been kidnapped and experimented on in his childhood, escaped halfway through, returned to America for school, and along the way killed many of the project's puppet masters, before finally being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and sent to work in a military secret lab.
At a first glance, it was a rich experience, but after careful thought, Stark found there were no details or points for scrutiny. He turned to look at Shiller, waiting for him to provide an answer.
"I told you a long time ago I have no morals, why would you think I'd obediently face the law and work for my enemies?"
Stark opened and then closed his mouth again, staring at Shiller, incredulously asking, "So, you actually joined Hydra a long time ago?"
Shiller nodded, "And there's another loophole. You've seen my abilities. How do you think the Federal Bureau of Investigation managed to catch me?"
"You joined Hydra that early on?"
"Even earlier."
"How early?"
"Guess how I managed to return to America."
Stark slapped a hand onto his forehead.
Not because of Shiller's legendary experiences, but because he suddenly felt incredibly stupid.
If Shiller was indeed kidnapped and experimented on when he was young, his social identity would have been lost long ago. The only way he could honestly attend college in the U.S. was not by illegally migrating or faking identification. The origin of his subsequent social identity was obvious.
Suddenly, Stark realized something. He frowned sternly and said to Shiller, "Since Hydra was able to help you regain your citizenship and identity, it means your people must hold significant social positions."
"Actually, it's pretty high, remember? Cut off one head; two grow back."
Just as Stark was about to open his mouth, Shiller interrupted him, "And this leads to why I brought you here rather than Hydra's base."
Stark suddenly shivered. He suddenly realized that he trusted Shiller too much. Even though he knew that Shiller could potentially be Hydra, he still got in his car and let him drive away.
He didn't want to contemplate what would happen if this base was a secret Hydra facility. Although the robots he created were powerful, they were ultimately not him. If the opponent was prepared and fully armed, and he walked unarmed into a trap, external forces would be useless. If they aimed a gun at his head, they could easily make him hand over the remote control.
He shouldn't have made unmanned robots! Stark thought to himself, biting his lip. It would be better to make a suit of armor to equip himself.
Stark calculated in his heart that if he had an opportunity to leave, he definitely needed to make a set of intelligent armor and wear it on himself. Then, no one could threaten his physical body.
But Stark still felt nervous. He felt a real sense of fear towards Shiller for the first time.
Stark didn't understand why, after such brief interaction with Shiller, his intelligence seemed to have diminished. He didn't scrutinize Shiller's words at all, but instead suddenly felt a great deal of trust, maybe even reliance towards him.
This was scarier than the shrapnel lodged in his body because it was silent and insidious, and he couldn't even figure out where the bullet came from.
Stark swallowed, thinking that external armor wasn't enough; apparently, he needed to systematically study psychology.
Stark was also a little puzzled. Shiller went to great lengths to stage this kidnapping and earn his trust. Why did he give up at the last moment?
Stark voiced his doubts. Shiller didn't answer directly, only saying, "Just before I left the cave for the last time, I learned from my teacher and supervisor the full contents of their plan for you and it was more drastic than I had imagined."
"What was it?" Stark asked tentatively.
Shiller slightly turned his head away and said, "My teacher believed that Tony Stark's social identity could easily cause trouble. Even if we kidnapped you, as soon as you got the chance to appear, it would cause massive turmoil."
"So..."
"They prepared a human transformation experiment. The goal was a brain transplant, so as to ensure that even if you appeared in public, no one would recognize you as Stark, and it wouldn't damage your intelligence."
Stark seized the key point in Shiller's words. He repeated a few of those words: "Human transformation experiment?"
He noticed that throughout this process, Shiller never made direct eye contact with him. Stark lowered his eyelids and in a lower voice asked, "So this is why you changed your mind in the end? Because you didn't want me to go through the same tragedy as you?"
"I told you, don't imagine me as some kind of hero." Shiller still looked at Stark with that gentle gaze. "I just thought their plan was too foolish. It's obvious that such a stupid experiment is bound to have all sorts of complications. I did this for their benefit, not yours."
"Then you could have just not told me all this." Stark felt like he had finally seized upon Shiller's weakness. He pointed out sharply, "You could have just handed me over to someone, let them take me back to America. Not bring me here personally and explain all this."
"So, in your view, why would I do this?"
Stark leaned forward, placed a hand on Shiller's knee and stared into his eyes: "You hope that I will repay you. Don't deny it, I am talking about your instinct."
"You claim you're not interested in returning to society or America, but the only reason you're doing this now is that, if I knew unequivocally that it was you who saved me, then I would fulfill my promise and help you return to civilized society. To let you be a doctor and not some Hydra."
"Unfortunately, what gives me the initiative is not civilized society, but Hydra."
"Not anymore." Stark said firmly. "Regardless of your stance, you saved me twice. You have not benefited from the society at all, thus it's not your responsibility. So of course, I will repay you."
"You should leave now," Shiller stood up and said. "The reason I'm explaining all this to you is that I got your private secretary's phone number through the media. I told him your survival news and the location here. He will send a plane to pick you up immediately."
Just as Shiller finished speaking, the sound of helicopter blades came from outside the base.
The gate slowly opened, and after the storm, the rare bright sun gradually snuck in through the gap in the door.
However, it wasn't Pepper who appeared at the door, but a group of heavily armed agents.
For the first time, Stark saw a look of shock on Shiller's face. He looked up and saw a familiar man.
"Alexander Pierce?" Stark called out his name. He remembered having seen him at a party once.
The agents rushed up swiftly, neatly bypassing Stark and swiftly pinning Shiller to a nearby table.
Pierce walked forward with an air of concern and relief. He embraced Stark and said, "Mr. Stark, I'm glad you're fine. I'm Alexander Pierce, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. You should remember me, right?"
Stark's mind was a little confused. Why did Shiller say he contacted Pepper, but instead it was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director who showed up? And why did they immediately pin down Shiller when they arrived?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, S.H.I.E.L.D. was alerted to this location because of an old enemy. I presume you already know your kidnappers are the revived Hydra?"
Stark turned to look at Shiller. Pierce also turned his head, looking at Shiller with lowered eyes. "We've confirmed the identity of the suspect. A report from our informant embedded in Hydra's operations in Eastern Europe identified him as — Schiller Rodriguez, a member of the terrorist organization Hydra, sent to the U.S. military base in Afghanistan three years ago by his superior, known as Baron Strucker, the leader of Hydra."
Pierce gently touched his own wrist, "He was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Tony Stark and the one directing local militants to carry out terrorist attacks."
Pierce's voice was loud; Stark realized that he was not speaking to him, but to everyone present — and not just S.H.I.E.L.D. staff.
"Who would have thought, after so many years, this terrorist organization still resists obstinately. This is indeed S.H.I.E.L.D's negligence." Pierce heaved a sigh. "I feel very sorry, Mr. Stark. Next we will communicate with Congress on how to better carry out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work. During your disappearance, your family and friends were missing you. We should get on the plane now."
Glancing at Pierce's smile, Stark suddenly had a thought. His back was immediately soaked with cold sweat.
Hydra easily restored Shiller's nationality and social identity, indicating that they have long established a powerful position in the upper echelons of the U.S., and it suggests that Shiller's boss and teacher is in the U.S., and is definitely not just an ordinary person.
Shiller said he contacted Pepper, but Alexander Pierce arrived instead. What was even more terrifying was that Shiller seemed to recognize Pierce from the expression on his face.
Just as Stark was about to voice his suspicions, he found himself drawn towards Shiller.
Then he saw, Shiller, whose hands were held down tightly on the table, his face pressed against the surface, looking at him intently with a somewhat terrified gaze, mouthing at him: "Silence."
Stark suddenly felt weak-legged.
Instinctively, he reached for the gun in his pocket. But Pierce noticed his movement, leaving Stark no choice but to pull out the gun, caress it for a moment and casually said, "Good thing you guys arrived in time, I didn't need to use this little guy."
"Indeed, a small handgun isn't of much use against such cunning terrorists."
Stark detected the probing in Pierce's words. He directly handed the handgun to an agent nearby, saying, "Your S.H.I.E.L.D. is really incompetent. This Hydra Assassin almost killed me. But we can discuss that later. I should get back and deal with the Stark Group mess."
Pierce seemed relieved. He waved his hand, and a few agents led Shiller away. He and Stark walked towards the exit together.
But he didn't notice Stark turning to watch Shiller's retreating figure, clenching his fists tightly.