Chapter 92: Little Spiders Great Wisdom (1)
"Hello, Dr. Yinsen. This is Dr. Connors. You two will have a lot in common," Schiller introduced Yinsen to Connors.
"Hello," Yinsen shook hands with Connors, and Schiller continued, "I remember you both had teaching experience at the University of California, right?"
"Oh, yes, that's right," Yinsen said. "I taught physics at the University of California for half a year. That was a few years ago."
"I did the same, except I was a visiting professor, so my teaching time was shorter. And you know, back then, biology wasn't given much attention..."
"Do you remember those hooligans who caused a big scene at that graduation party?"
"Oh! You mean the Onion Club people? Of course, I remember. Those sheep ran wild in the school for three or four days. I heard they even kicked Professor Frank's butt. Hahahaha..."
The group chatted for a while, and Schiller subtly guided the conversation. Soon, Yinsen said with some emotion, "That was really a close call, wasn't it?"
"...They didn't have such advanced methods of handling corpses, and I went into shock. They just casually threw me into the corpse pit. Fortunately, a kind-hearted corpse collector found me and realized I was still alive. He dragged me out, and then Stark sent someone to look for my body, intending to bury me. But then they found out I wasn't dead..."
"Thanks to him, that place was short on medical care and supplies. If Stark hadn't sent someone back to find me, I probably wouldn't have lived for two more days."
Dr. Connors shook his head and said, "Why did a good professor like you go there? Afghanistan is just a graveyard. Even if the regular army goes in, they won't get a good outcome."Yinsen sighed and said, "It was originally classified, but there's nothing to hide now. It's related to a military plan."
Connor tightened his fingers and glanced at Schiller. They exchanged a look, and then Schiller coughed and said, "It's funny, we've also recently discovered a military plan for human experiments..."
"That's not important," Yinsen interrupted. "I did everything I could to stop the inhumane things going on there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been left stranded in that godforsaken place."
The group continued chatting, and Schiller gradually learned from Yinsen the whole story of how he narrowly survived. Yinsen was a physicist who was supposed to conduct a secret experiment in Afghanistan under military escort. But something went wrong in the experiment, and Yinsen seemed to have sabotaged it to prevent certain aspects from succeeding. When the military evacuated, he was left behind in Afghanistan and was subsequently captured by the group that tried to capture Iron Man.
The group wanted Yinsen, a physicist with a PhD, to manufacture weapons for them. This led to the plot of the first Iron Man movie, but in this version, Yinsen didn't die and managed to escape.
This explained a question that had been on Schiller's mind. According to the original story, Stark was strongly determined to shut down the weapons manufacturing department, but the Stark that Schiller met was easily persuaded to change his mind with only a few words. Schiller knew he was just a psychologist, not God, and wondered how Stark could change his mind so easily.
In fact, it was because the death of Dr. Yinsen was a key point missing from the stimuli that affected Stark. So even though Stark reflected on the fact that manufacturing weapons could harm more people, he wasn't as paranoid as in the original story. This is what caused Schiller to only need to persuade him a little, and he changed his mind. Otherwise, no matter how much anyone talked, Stark wouldn't have turned around.
Schiller briefly introduced Yinsen to the recent events surrounding Stark, and Yinsen was a little sad but ultimately said, "Regardless, his uncle who grew up with him didn't die. He's not alone. He still has family, and that's a good thing. People need something to hold onto, or they'll fall into despair and can't turn back."
Three people were chatting in the Psychological Clinic. They actually had a lot in common, as their education levels were similar and they had many similar experiences.
In fact, if you count, all three of them were alumni. Dr. Connors had three Doctor degrees, Yinsen and Schiller had two each, and they had all taught at many different schools, some of which overlapped. When they talked about these experiences, they always had a lot to talk about.
After a while, the door of the clinic gently opened, and Peter walked in with a backpack on his back. As soon as he entered, he was overwhelmed by the aura of the academic geniuses in the room. He said, "Uh, am I not here at the right time? Then I'll come back later..."
Before he could slip away, Dr. Connors stood up, grabbed him, and walked over, saying, "Look, look at this genius kid, Yinsen, this is Peter, still in high school, but he did outstandingly well during his internship in my laboratory, even better than some of the graduate students I've taught."
"Peter, this is Dr. Yinsen..."
While Peter was greeting, Steve also walked in with a hotdog in his hand. He hadn't met Connors before, so Schiller introduced him, "This is Dr. Connors, a Doctor in medicine, pharmacology, and biology. Dr. Yinsen is a Doctor in mathematics and physics, and as for me, you should already know, a Doctor in psychology and philosophy."
Steve opened his mouth, nudged Peter's arm with his elbow, and said, "So now there are a total of 7 Doctors in the room, right?"
"We only have 5 people in total."
"Let's average it out, each of us still has more than one." Steve winked at Peter, and Peter also smiled. He whispered, "In the future, I'm also going to get 2, no, 3 Doctor degrees, so the 5 of us will have a total of 10 Doctors, averaging two per person."
"I'm also a double Doctor now, thank you so much," they said, laughing together.
As they sat down, like most of their conversations, the topic eventually turned to the youngest person there, Peter. Yinsen asked him, "Have you thought about your future career path? Which university are you planning to apply to?"
"I haven't really thought about it," Peter said shyly. "Although my grades are good, I don't have much confidence in applying to those top universities, considering how many people with good grades there are..."
"Don't worry, we can write you a recommendation letter. But of course, you also have to work hard. Even if you can get into a good university, graduating is still a challenge."
"You guys are underestimating him," Dr. Connors said. "When he interned with me, he showed talent that was definitely among the best. I think he could even go straight to graduate school now."
"Oh, don't say that! Doctor, I still have a long way to go," Peter protested.
Dr. Connors noticed Peter's lack of confidence. He wasn't just being humble; he really didn't believe in himself.
He gave Schiller a look, and they went to the rooftop to smoke a cigarette. Schiller said, "Peter's family background wasn't good before, and he was also ostracized in school. Even though his grades are good, he has to worry about university tuition fees every day. His uncle is a good man, but not particularly skilled..."
"I know, it's the same old story. I've seen many students like him, and most of them lack confidence."
"Peter's problem is even more serious. You know he's Spider-Man, and he has put all his expectations of achieving his life's value on his superhero identity. We're trying to correct him and encourage him to embrace his Peter Parker identity, but you know, when you suddenly have such strong power and can use it to help others, of course he's going to do that."
Schiller said, "You can't tell people in this age group too many big truths, or try to use professional knowledge to make them understand the balance between two identities. Their self-control isn't that strong. Whichever identity gives them a greater sense of achievement, they will rely more on that identity."
"It's such a shame. I don't want him to become someone who just roams around and fights with those street thugs. His talent is quite strong, and his mind is also clever. He can achieve greater things."
As he was speaking, Schiller noticed a wisp of cigarette smoke rising from the sky, followed by a tall figure appearing. Schiller narrowed his eyes to take a closer look and realized that it seemed to be a monster.
Schiller extinguished the cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it before saying, "Let's go back. Something's happened."
As soon as he reached downstairs, Stark's phone rang, "A monster has appeared in the East District. Go ask Dr. Connors if he has any leads."
"Dr. Connors? Why ask Dr. Connors?"
"Because this monster looks like a lizard, and I think it's the same species as a lizard, right?"
At this moment, Dr. Connors also saw the scene in the distance with a telescope. The monster jumping around in the city was a fire-red-skinned monster, unlike ordinary lizards. It looked more like a monitor lizard, with spines on its arms and head, rougher skin, and layers of throat pouches under its neck.
Dr. Connors cursed, put down the telescope, picked up his coat, and was about to leave. Peter went up to him and said, "Doctor! Where are you going?"
"To the laboratory at Stark Tower. Oh, by the way, Schiller! Have him grant me access. This is likely a product of the military project, and I need to find a way to deal with this trouble."
"No, it's not possible. From here to Stark Tower, we might have to pass through the affected area. You're just an ordinary person. Let me take you there."
"How are you going to take me there? Do you want me to fly in the air like you? That stupid monster will definitely chase after us and bite us."
Connors put on his coat and walked briskly out of the clinic's gate, with Peter following behind. Connors walked to his car and said, "Let's go, get in the car."
Peter sat directly in the passenger seat.
However, he soon regretted it because he forgot that Dr. Connors, like Steve, was a veteran.
By the time the car arrived at the entrance of Stark Tower, Peter was crouched on the ground, holding onto the bumper, almost throwing up.
The destruction caused by the monster not only affected them, but they couldn't even see their taillights.
Dr. Connors said, "When I had both my hands intact, I could drive a car for over ten kilometers even under the bombing of six bombers. He still has a long way to go."
After he finished speaking, a thumb slowly extended from the front of the car's engine.