Genius Sets Off Again (Part 2)

"Wait a minute!! You planned to use this method all along??? Then why did you make me read so many books???"

Schiller was shoving an earphone into Stark's ear, and Stark, trying to dodge, said, "Is this cheating??? Damn it!! Don't do this!! My ears! I've already learned those things, I don't need them..."

"You don't really expect you to learn everything I studied from college to doctorate in just a few nights, do you?"

"You planned to provide off-site guidance all along!!! You liar! You clearly told me that if I didn't learn these things, Stark Industries would be finished!!!"

"That's just a macro perspective. I'm not wrong, you'll have to learn these things someday, so why can't it have been yesterday?" Schiller said.

Ignoring Stark's attempts to dodge, Schiller shoved an earpiece into one of Stark's One Ear, saying, "Don't make a fuss, I'm just an off-field translator, it's common, right?"

Steve chimed in, "Actually, politicians do this too when they're talking business. They have their own teams of staff behind them, and they wear these headsets when giving important interviews. Of course, back in my day, these devices were much more expensive and rarer; only the most important ones had them..."

Stark frantically fiddled with the earphone shoved into his ear like he'd been bitten by a flea. He said, "Damn it! Why did you create such a desperate atmosphere before? And why did you give me so many books? I stayed up all night memorizing them all!"

"That's right. If I didn't do this, you would never have seen them in your life," Schiller said.

"Okay, let's put that aside for now, but are you sure this will work?"

"Damn it... I should have thought of that sooner! You vampire Doctor! If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have used such an outdated headset. I would have made a much more advanced, complete monitoring system..."

Stark slapped his forehead in regret, saying, "Why didn't I think of that before! I could have just let you do it for me! I could have just been a broken record at the event. Even if I didn't know how, as long as you did, wouldn't that have been enough?!"

Stark was genuinely angry, but not at Schiller; he was angry at himself for not being able to see things clearly.

Of course, this is all Schiller's fault. When he came to Schiller seeking a solution, he was very anxious, and Schiller used a very serious attitude and tone, using rhetoric to trap Stark in a mental loop, making him feel that it was abnormal for him not to know these things.

It's just that Stark is always detached from worldly affairs; otherwise, he would know that Obadiah also has a whole think tank behind him, and the entire Stark Industries cannot be decided by Obadiah's mind alone.

Stark is a very wealthy man. It doesn't matter if he doesn't know these things. As long as he has money, he has plenty of people who do. If he spent this whole day hiring advisors, he would have assembled a dream team by now.

However, Schiller misled him into thinking that he was paying the price for his past willfulness, so he did not consider at all that he still had financial power and genius scientific research ability.

Putting aside everything else, even if he were to write an AI facial expression analysis system, it would probably be much faster than him memorizing the text himself.

"Is this what psychology is?! You fraud!!" Stark gritted his teeth and said, "You studied psychology just to trap people in these kinds of predicaments so you'd pay exorbitant prices for treatment?!"

"Don't portray me as an unscrupulous quack doctor."

"Aren't you an unscrupulous quack doctor?"

"Although he is a bit unscrupulous, he is definitely not a quack."

"Mr. Stark, the car has arrived," Jarvis reminded him. "The meeting will officially begin at 10:30, and you are expected to arrive at 10:20."

"Alright, alright, that's settled then." Stark still seemed a little nervous. "That's the only way."

Schiller patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, once you get there you'll find that you're not an oddball."

Stark got into the car and soon arrived at the negotiation venue. He was late; most of the people there were already seated.

Stark glanced around and noticed that almost everyone was wearing headphones, and some were even openly video chatting on their laptops. On the other end of the screen was a Legion of people sitting at a conference table, which was clearly another small meeting room.

Stark said to Jarvis, "Deduct Schiller's consultation fees... deduct them all!!!! Don't let me see his name on the year-end financial report!!! That damn bastard tricked me!!!!"

Jarvis said, "The headset has been connected for thirteen minutes."

Schiller's voice rang in Stark's ears. "It's alright, you can certainly deduct the previous consultation fee, but this kind of political consulting service also has a fee, which is $200,000 per minute..."

"You shit, you vampire Doctor!"

"If you don't agree, I'll hang up immediately."

"No! No, no, no... wait, I think we can still talk. $200,000 is too expensive, but don't hang up yet, the negotiations are about to begin. What do you want me to say?"

Meanwhile, in the psychological clinic, Peter and Steve sat at the table listening to Stark's anxious voice. Steve was quite gloating, but Peter a little sorry for him. He said, "It seems a bit too expensive, Doctor. I think we can lower the price a bit..."

"You're now part of Stark's staff. Once the money arrives, we'll split it 50/50."

Before Peter could say anything more, Stark's voice came through again. "Hello? Hello? Negotiations are about to begin, what should I do?"

"You don't need to do anything, just wait. In fact, you can completely daydream for the first 30 minutes. You don't need to listen to anything they say."

"Will this really work?" Stark was clearly in a state of high tension. This was the first time he had seriously participated in such a situation, and he felt that he should do something immediately to show results.

"Trust me, just stay put."

Afterwards, Stark sat there with some doubt, but soon he realized that Schiller's words made a lot of sense, because the first person to speak had actually started talking about World War II.

The military representative began reminiscing about their glorious past, starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor. In less than 20 minutes, Stark was already incredibly sleepy. This spokesperson sent by the military was able to recount various battles, which were considered classics, in a way that sounded like a running account. When boasting about the military's achievements and resume, he always used the same set of grand and righteous words.

No one could listen to such a speech for more than 10 minutes. In the end, by the time the military finished their first round of speeches, most of the audience was already dozing off.

Next up on stage was a representative from S.H.I.E.L.D.., and the moment he opened his mouth, Stark felt like he was about to faint, because he started his speech with an Iron Curtain address.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent were slightly better than the military representatives, possessing extensive knowledge of various intelligence warfare tactics and the history of special operations organizations. However, Stark thought that he was there to participate in negotiations, not to learn modern history.

About 40 minutes later, it was Stark's turn to speak. Schiller said, "Open the first draft, and just read it. That's all."

When Stark opened the manuscript, he was immediately overwhelmed, because the manuscript began with the Industrial Revolution.

He spent a full 20 minutes reading the manuscript, finally managing to stumble through it. After he finished, he turned on his headphones and said, "My God, this is the first time I've ever fully understood the history of Stark Industries..."

To Stark's dismay, it wasn't over yet. Then, starting with the military, they began to talk at length about the evolution of future military organization, the development direction of future weapon systems, and the possibility of World War III, rambling on for another 20 minutes.

The S.H.I.E.L.D.. agent were the same; they kept talking about the importance of the agent organization operating independently of the surveillance system, the future development of individual combat and intelligence warfare, and the path to establishing a global intelligence system...

Stark whispered into the headset, "I demand half off this part of the consulting fee. It makes absolutely no sense; it's completely different from what I expected..."

"What kind of scenario are you envisioning?" Schiller's voice came through the earpiece. "Starting up all sorts of conspiracy theories in a dark room?"

"The most important thing you need to know is that these negotiations are just a formality," Schiller said.

"Everyone knows what the other side has to Chip, and everyone knows what they have to Chip. The outcome of this negotiation was already decided from the beginning. In fact, even if you act like an oddball like before, not thinking about anything and not listening to anything, the result will not change."

This feels even more absurd than having Stark learn those theoretical concepts; it's like learning all sorts of fancy fighting techniques, only to find that you can still defeat your enemy with just one punch.

Next, when it was Stark's turn to envision the future, he had already learned to close his eyes and read from the script, even though what it said about the development direction of the mechanical industry seemed like complete nonsense to him.

The manuscript concocted and combined certain terms to create some sophisticated-sounding words, making it sound like something out of a tech scam. But Stark shut his brain and read the manuscript without batting an eye.

Then came the pleasant part, where the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely. One of the old General, whose hair was turning gray, said to Stark, "I remember the glorious days of Stark Industries. You Stark were all geniuses, your father was, and so were you. Back then, his research on hovercars was astonishing. But as you know, the military, due to some conservative considerations, didn't cooperate with him, which we truly regret..."

Before Stark could answer, Schiller said into the earpiece, "He's insulting your dad, saying he's useless and that you're worse than him. Talk back to him."

Stark paused for a moment, then mimicked Schiller's words. "Indeed, I believe that most people in the military, like a respectable general like yourself, have a long-term vision; it's just that the times are changing too fast these days..."

At this point, Nick Fury, sitting at the far end of the negotiating table, said, "In large-scale Army landing operations, conventional weapons still have some use. While mechs can significantly improve individual soldier combat capabilities, their adaptability also needs to be considered in group operations..."

Schiller's voice came through the earpiece. "He's giving you a way out, easing the tension in the negotiations. You can return his smile."

Then Stark smiled at Nick got goosebumps from the smile. He thought Stark was acting very strangely today, really very strangely.

The military and S.H.I.E.L.D.. both noticed that something was wrong with Stark, so they got down to business earlier than usual.

Then Stark discovered that the main topic of the negotiation took up less than a tenth of the entire negotiation time.

First, Nick Fury pointed out that the military might have kidnapped Dr. Connors. The military countered by saying that S.H.I.E.L.D.. After a brief tug-of-war, the military lost slightly and stated that it would question some officers who might have taken drastic actions.

Listening to their argument, Stark whispered to Schiller, "They really don't know that we hid Connors?"

"The military might not, but Nick definitely knows. He just needs this kind of stance to show that we should unite against the military. He's already told me that before, so you can continue with confidence..."

Next, Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D.. joined forces, overwhelming the military. After all, they had many Chip: the Red Iguana's original form, the antidote Connors might have developed, certain evidence held by S.H.I.E.L.D.., and the Jaegers delivered to the military by Stark Industries, among others.

In short, the negotiations ended very quickly and in a very absurd way, just as Schiller had initially predicted.

The military introduced a scapegoat, namely the Tartarus officer faction led by Robert, who were purged. Then the matter was wiped clean, and the military and S.H.I.E.L.D.. joined forces to fabricate losses and jointly demand increased military spending.

Stark Industries will establish a stable cooperative system with the military and S.H.I.E.L.D.., providing some auxiliary individual armor exoskeletons and restarting medical research projects, and will take a larger share of the results.

Back at the psychiatric clinic Stark ripped off his headphones and angrily exclaimed, "You damn bastard Doctor..."

Before he could finish speaking, a voice came from behind him. "You damn bastard!!! Stark..."

Stark turned around, Pepper stormed in, tears welling in her eyes. Stark hugged her, and he could hear Pepper heart pounding.

Pepper said, "I went to look for you this morning, and you were gone! You weren't even wearing your suit! I asked Jarvis, but he wouldn't say anything. I thought something had happened to you! You scared me to death, you bastard..."

Stark held Pepper tightly and whispered words of comfort to her.

The only sounds in the dimly lit room were Pepper's soft sobs and Stark's somewhat muffled low voice.

The path of a genius is always destined to be more difficult than that of others, and the sensitive heart of a genius like Stark always suffers more than that of an ordinary person.

But at least, this fledgling bird, just about to leave the Leaving the Nest, still had branches to perch on when it flew unsteadily in the biting cold wind.

He saw Peter, who was hiding behind the entrance hall, smiling and waving at him, and Schiller and Steve, who were also standing there.

He saw the television in the clinic's living room flicker suddenly, and a smiley face made of symbols appeared on the screen.

He thought, "Stark, you're a genius."

He is not only the smartest genius in the world, but also the luckiest genius in the world.

Celebrating the 100th chapter!

Today's 10,000-word article is delivered!

One hundred chapters! Aren't you going to give me some votes?!