Steve pressed a button on the projector on the table, projecting a list onto the wall. Everyone could see the profiles of cryogenic scientists that met a certain criterion.
The number of scholars on the entire Earth who could be called cryogenic scientists was not many. Even if those who had passed away were included, there were only a three-digit number of them.
Among these people, those who could likely develop such brilliant cryogenic technology were only dozens of well-known scholars, about 30 of whom had spouses.
However, neurodegenerative diseases are relatively rare. Among the 30 cryogenic scientists, none of their wives suffer from this particular disease.
Furthermore, among these 30 cryogenic scientists, aside from two widowers and eight divorced men, the rest could be said to have happy families and blissful lives. There was not any tragic story of separation by death.
At this point, Strange spoke again: "As I mentioned before, I am the world's best neurosurgeon. If someone suffers from such a rare disease, I should have at least seen or heard of it. But I really haven't."
"Moreover, the time he gave me the information, he stressed to me that the patient couldn't come in person for a consultation. But if his story is true, that it was his friend's story, then even if the patient couldn't come due to physical reasons, why didn't that 'friend', as the husband, show up in person?"
Stark's voice came from inside his battlesuit. He said, "If such a person really exists in this world, I won't fail to find them."
No one thought he was bragging. This was because, in addition to being Iron Man, Stark was also the leader of Stark Group, the World's first billionaire with the largest capital globally.
With Jarvis's Artificial Intelligence and Stark's unparalleled information gathering technology, such a man, once determined to find someone, it wouldn't be impossible.
Yet Stark has indeed not found a cryogenic scientist who matches what Schiller described, whether alive or deceased. As long as this person exists within human civilization, Stark was absolutely able to trace him. Yet the truth was that no clues were found at all.
"So, did he just come up with an excuse to cover up his own story?" Steve frowned and said, "Another suspicious point is that Schiller even named his sanatorium 'Arkham Sanatorium'."
"Where did the surname 'Arkham' come from? And even though the sanatorium has relocated once, he still doesn't want to give up this name."
"Tony, can you look up the surname 'Arkham'?"
"I'm checking." Stark replied. After a while, he said with some confusion, "No, I couldn't find anything. I've screened all the information of people associated with the name 'Arkham' throughout human history, but there are no matches."
"It may not be a surname, but a middle name." Matt suggested again. He then said, "Don't forget that if Schiller wanted to obscure someone's track, you might not be able to find it."
Everyone knew that if the story about the cryogenic scientist friend were true, it wouldn't make sense if we found nothing at all.
Because there's no need for Schiller to hide his friend's identity; although freezing his own wife to await treatment is a bit shocking, what others think isn't important at this stage. On the contrary, revealing his conditions might bring more help.
Regardless, it would be more persuasive if this scenario was about Schiller himself.
"As far as I know, many people in the medical profession have spouses who are from the same field." Strange stated once more.
Therefore, Steve started to string the story together.
"Dr. Schiller saw his parents get murdered when he was young, which rendered him mute and led him to be admitted to a mental institution."
"During his treatment in the mental institution, he didn't receive adequate attention and consequently developed antisocial personality disorder."
"He spent his adolescence in the mental institution. It was probably during this period that he met his former lover, who cured him. Thus, Schiller gradually transformed into a normal person."
"Afterwards, he embarked on the academic path of studying human psychology and mental secrets, achieving great success."
"However, his wife later contracted a neurodegenerative disease that currently has no effective medical treatment. He had to use a kind of cryogenic technology to freeze her, waiting for the progress of human medical technology."
"Perhaps, the lack of progress in this area is one of the reasons why he's having mental issues again." Steve sighed.
"So, the key is still his wife." Stark emphasized, asking, "Does anyone know where Schiller goes on vacation every time?"
Everyone shook their heads. Peter hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I only know when Dr. Schiller leaves, he doesn't bring anything with him, which doesn't look like he's going on vacation…"
"That indicates that he may have another home he can move into directly. That place might be where he and his wife used to live…"
"But Schiller isn't going to tell us where his wife is." Steve pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "Obviously, he doesn't trust anyone concerning this matter."
"We have to find out ourselves." Stark suggested, saying, "Due to emotional reasons, Schiller concluded that he doesn't need assistance, or he considered it more necessary to hide it."
"But the truth is not the case. We can all understand him and are willing to help him. It's not a big deal. If magic doesn't work, we'll ask Asgard. If Asgard can't, we'll ask other cosmic sorcerers…"
"In short, the diseases humans suffer from may not be tough problems for these non-human beings. If this problem can be solved, it could fundamentally solve Schiller's mental issue."
"But the question is, where should we start looking?" Peter said with a headache, "I've stayed at Dr. Schiller's place for quite a long time, but didn't notice any significant clues."
"As long as something has a source, it inevitably leaves traces," Steve said with certainty. "If this person ever existed, it's impossible that they left no clues behind."
"We still have to start investigating from Schiller," Matt suggested. "Perhaps we can find some traces of his and his wife's life in the environment they lived in."
Steve slammed his hand on the table, beginning to assign tasks, he said:
"Peter, you are to go explore the Hell's Kitchen Clinic where you and Schiller used to live. As I recall, Schiller should have left many things there."
"Stephen is to go to the Arkham Sanatorium on Wall Street that we visited before. It probably hasn't been refurbished, so there may be some traces there."
"As for me, I'll go to the new sanatorium. Maybe I can find some of Schiller's living habits there…"
After Steve had finished arranging, Stark looked at him, and he also looked at Stark. Steve shrugged and said, "I think, considering Schiller's current mental state, he probably wouldn't like you barging into his sanatorium."
Stark snorted lightly, then said, "How are you planning to enter his new sanatorium? Are you going to climb the wall?"
"Then how do you plan to get in?"
Half an hour later, Stark got out of his sports car, as Steve emerged from the other side and shut the car door. Stark strutted into the entrance of the sanatorium. As soon as he entered, a nurse stopped him.
Before the nurse could speak, Stark lowered the sunglasses on his face, looked at her over the top of them, and said, "Don't you recognize who I am?"
"Oh, you're Stark, the world's wealthiest man, Stark!" The nurse was stunned for a moment but then quietly took two steps back, clearly having heard about Stark's reputation.
Steve stepped up and patted Stark's shoulder, saying, "It seems your fame is of little help here?"
"Who said I planned to use my fame?" Stark snorted coldly, stopped the nurse, and said, "I'd like to visit the Dean's office, can you guide me there?"
"This is an appointment-only sanatorium, you need to have...."
"How much for the highest-level lifetime membership?"
The nurse's eyes lit up, and she immediately led Stark to the front desk wearing a pleasant smile. Stark pressed a few buttons on his wrist device, and with the sound of a ding, the money transferred. The nurse immediately said,
"Now, you can use all the facilities here for free, and we also have many benefit guarantees…."
"I just want to visit the Dean's office."
"Eh, but the Dean is not here, this…"
"Do you believe he will refuse an advanced lifetime member who has spent so much money? If one ain't enough, I can buy another. I believe you should know your Dean well…"
Upon hearing this, the nurse considered it and seemed to think that Stark made a reasonable point. If Schiller were here and knew Stark was willing to spend so much money, he certainly would happily invite him into the Dean's office.
With that in mind, the nurse pointed to the staircase and said, "The second room on the left-hand side on the fourth floor. However, I'm not sure if the door is locked, and I don't know if there's a key. If you can't get in, then there's nothing I can do."
Stark flicked his head, signaling Steve to follow. Steve shook his head helplessly. When it came to using Cash's strength, no one was stronger than Stark.
Arriving at the door of the Dean's office on the fourth floor, Stark found it unlocked. He went straight in and began searching the room with Steve.
The Dean's office was very spacious, featuring bright floor-to-ceiling windows and modern décor. Notably, a huge desk stood on the east side of the room, on which were piled a large number of files.
Just going through these things took the two of them a long time, but other than a hodgepodge of medical records, they found nothing.
A bookshelf was placed on top of the desk, and a row of drawers lined up on one side underneath it. All the drawers could be freely opened, filled with paper documents, except for the one at the bottom which was locked.
Both Steve and Stark noticed this. They squatted down next to the desk and began to examine the drawer.
What was strange was that there was no handle on this drawer or even a keyhole. Rather than a drawer, it looked more like a solid box, which seemed impossible to open.
Stark hesitated for a while, then gave up on the idea of forcibly dismantling it. He stood up and swapped out the core of his mech suit.
With a flash of magical brilliance, a light point appeared on Stark's handguard. He pressed his finger onto the cabinet, and the magical energy was conducted into the cabinet. Inside, he identified a very unique lock.
With a click, the lock was opened. Stark reached out, pulled open the drawer, and an old-fashioned file folder came into view.
On the folder, a badge stamped with the symbols of a sickle, a hammer and a red flag was glittering.