amaotonovel Chapter 4715 X Royal Clash (21)
Chapter 4715 X Royal Clash (21)
Chapter 4715 X Royal Family: Fierce Battle (Twenty-One)
"Stephen! Stephen!" The main universe's Iron Man flew towards Strange. Strange was currently in near-Earth orbit, observing the magical defense network. This universe also had a magical defense network, though it couldn't compare to his own, but it was still somewhat effective. He was pondering how to further improve it.
"What are you doing here?" Strange's gaze towards the main universe's Iron Man wasn't friendly. To put it bluntly, it was like looking at a pile of dog poop. Of course, now he looked at everyone a bit like dog poop, only differing in size.
The main universe's Iron Man seemed somewhat deterred by his gaze. He instinctively flew back a little and said, "I know you're angry, Stephen. I'm truly sorry, I sincerely apologize. I shouldn't have said those things outside the ward. Anxiety is no excuse. I promise I'll never..."
Strange has already flown far away.
Undeterred, Iron Man from the main universe continued to nag him. Strange finally stopped, looked at him, and said, "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"What I need to do right now is apologize to you and get your forgiveness. We're teammates. And you were hurt by what I said before, so I have to..."
Strange held out a hand and said, "What did you say outside the ward door?"
The main universe's Iron Man was stunned. He pursed his lips and then said, "Stephen, you're doing this again. I know you need to be more magnanimous to fit your sorcerer persona, but is there any need for this between us?"
"Now, repeat what you said at the ward door."
The main universe's Iron Man exclaimed in surprise, "Stephen, what's wrong? Why are you like this...?"
Even Iron Man from the main universe didn't know how to describe it. Doctor Strange had never spoken to him like this before. But considering he was angry, and having heard that Doctor Strange had a rather bad temper when he was a surgeon, it was normal for his attitude to have changed.
Iron Man from the main universe finished his rambling. As a result, Strange looked at him with even more disdain.
"You want to find a doctor from New York to replace me? Who are you planning to hire? A medical consultant from Stark Industries? Good heavens. Don't you know that your medical team is full of parasites who only know how to siphon off medical funds? Believe me, if you ask them for academic achievements, they'll all disappear in an instant. They're just using their prestigious degrees and fabricated resumes to fool you, a sucker. And you actually expect these laymen to do what they say? You'd better study your metal canned body carefully, and make sure you don't get a headache or fever. If you die on the operating table of a quack, I will never attend your funeral!"
Even the main universe's Iron Man was a bit stunned by the insults. But what he noticed first was: "My medical team are parasites?! How is that possible? They're handpicked medical elites..."
"They only treat you?"
"Uh, I paid for it."
How many times a year do you get sick?
"I'm in good health."
"So that means they haven't seen a doctor in at least several years. You're really comfortable letting them treat you?" Strange looked at the main universe's Iron Man with that look of someone looking at a sucker, and then said, "Whether it's internal medicine or surgery, the most important thing for a doctor is experience. Where do you get experience if you're not on the front lines of clinical practice?"
“But they also work in some major hospitals,” the main universe Iron Man explained.
"Really? Have you ever seen them go to work? Do you have any surgical records?" Strange rolled his eyes and said, "With the salary you pay them, who would bother to go through the trouble of performing surgery? Just putting them on the big hospital's paycheck is just a way to make you pay more money."
"But...but there are still some good doctors in New York, right? I was just worried you wouldn't be able to handle it, so..."
Strange stopped what he was doing, turned to look into the eyes of the main universe's Iron Man, and said, "You don't think that because my hand was injured, I'm not even as good as those interns who can't distinguish between different types of tools, so you slunk away like that, do you?"
The main universe's Iron Man really wanted to ask, "Isn't that right?", but he didn't dare to, because he was afraid of angering Doctor Strange again. In this situation, saying that would be too provocative.
Strange sighed and said, "So you don't understand, Tony. I just lost to my own pursuit of perfection."
After saying that, he flew away, leaving Iron Man from the main universe standing there dumbfounded. When he returned to the living room, Captain America pointed to the microwave and said, "I just made you guys some sandwiches."
The main universe's Iron Man seemed somewhat absent-minded, walking blankly to the armchair and sitting down without even removing his armor. After resting for a while, Thor, whose wounds had mostly healed, came out, glanced at him, walked past him, sat on the other side of the armchair, and then said, "Looks like things aren't going well?"
Iron Man snapped out of his daze, then suddenly stood up abruptly and turned to walk towards the door. Captain America poked his head out of the room and asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"
“Save the sandwich for me,” he said. “I’m going next door.”
He wasn't referring to Clarkia Island next door, but rather the Avengers headquarters in this universe. The local Avengers were clearly not exactly welcoming, but they still let him in.
“Stephen,” the main universe’s Iron Man called out, “Oh, okay, Doctor Strange. I have something I want to ask you. Can we talk alone?”
Doctor Strange frowned deeply, seemingly suspecting him of some conspiracy. However, he had also discovered Strange's actions in near-Earth orbit, so let's assume they wanted to discuss cooperation. He still went out with Iron Man from the main universe.
“I have a question,” the main universe’s Iron Man said. “I know bringing up that history again might offend you, but…”
"Stop!" The local Doctor Strange held out his hand to stop him, then said, "I have no expectations of you, so nothing you say is offensive."
"You... after your hand was injured, is it really true that you can't have any surgery at all? That means you can't have any surgery? Including... including... even the simplest kind of surgery." The main universe's Iron Man gestured for a long time, but he really didn't understand how the difficulty of neurosurgery was classified.
The local Doctor Strange looked at him like he was an idiot, and after a long while, he said, "You mean removing the appendix?"
"Wait a minute, this isn't neurosurgery, is it?"
The local Doctor Strange chuckled and said, "It's no different from those simple neurosurgical procedures you've imagined."
"So, you can..."
"Why are you asking this?" the local Doctor Strange asked.
The main universe's Iron Man remained silent. The local Doctor Strange sighed and said, "Leaving the operating table was my own decision."
The main universe's Iron Man seemed a bit confused. The local Doctor Strange then explained, "If I'm of no value, the hospital will just kick me out; I won't even have a choice. Do you understand?"
“So you’re still okay,” the main universe Iron Man said. “You can have the surgery.”
“Yes. But compared to the surgeries I’ve done before, that can’t really be called surgery,” the local Doctor Strange said. “It’s like the difference between the difficulty of knitting a scarf and building a car.”
"So you left because you couldn't perform those extremely difficult surgeries?"
“Tony Stark. Is your brain completely shut down?” the local Doctor Strange said. “I’m a doctor, and my hands aren’t just for myself. Too many people hope I’ll be their last line of defense after an accident during extreme sports, and they might be richer than you. My surgical skills aren’t something they can easily discard or replace. They’ll do everything in their power to save my hands, even if there’s only a sliver of hope.”
"With this kind of treatment, even if I can't recover all my functions, I can at least recover most of them. I can even perform the surgeries that those people want me to have. As I said before, otherwise, how could I leave with dignity?"
The main universe's Iron Man felt a chill. Thanks to Strange's earlier warning, he realized that he was willing to pay a lot of money for his medical team because nothing was more important than his own life. And if he had such a skilled doctor, he would do everything in his power to save him in the event of an accident, because that would also be a way of protecting his life. The wealthy are never stingy when it comes to preserving life.
In this situation, while a complete cure isn't guaranteed, at least 80% of the hand function should be restored. With 80% recovery of hand function, it shouldn't affect mobility.
“But you said your hands were shaking…” The main universe Iron Man hesitated. This was something Stephen had told him privately.
“It’s mostly psychological.” The local Doctor Strange pursed his lips, clearly finding it difficult to bring up the past. He said, “When I think I can’t be perfect, I can’t do anything.”
The main universe's Iron Man stared at him. This statement echoed Strange's earlier words, "I can only be defeated by my pursuit of perfection." So it wasn't that he couldn't perform surgery or be a doctor; he simply couldn't be the top-tier doctor he used to be, unable to perform a perfect surgery as before, which is why he chose to leave.
“My teacher once said that it was because I had the power of ‘belief’ that I would be the best sorcerer,” the local Doctor Strange said. “If I had believed in myself, perhaps I could have returned to the operating table. But now I no longer believe. What the car accident truly shattered was my trust in myself.”
The main universe's Iron Man clenched his fists. Guilt overwhelmed him like a tidal wave. He had to lean against the wall to walk out. At Stephen's most crucial moment in searching for confidence, he stood outside the door, mocking him.
More importantly, he never truly understood Stephen Strange. He knew he had a traumatic past, but he didn't realize that he was simply defeated by his own peak self.
The main universe's Iron Man had to admit that his lack of understanding worried him, which led him to rush to the operating room door and say those words. Anyone would be heartbroken if a friend they once considered very close didn't understand them, or even know them at all.
The main universe's Iron Man seemed completely drained, even carried to the bar by his armor, slumped on the table, feeling dizzy and disoriented. He vaguely heard a voice: "Iron Man? Iron Man? Tony Stark?"
A drink was handed to him. The main universe's Iron Man instinctively grabbed it and gulped it down, finally managing to stay conscious. He'd just breathed a sigh of relief when a plate of hamburgers was handed to him. Then came Professor X's slightly worried face.
"Are you alright, Tony? You seem to have low blood sugar. Should we see a doctor?"
The main universe's Iron Man, clutching his hamburger, felt a tightness in his throat. He took a large bite, shaking his head as he chewed, "No, I'm fine."
"You don't look like you're alright. Your brainwaves are all jumbled up. What's wrong? Can you tell me?"