Chapter 3717 Evil Strength (End)

In his office at the new sanatorium, Shiller received Mephisto. However, this time he didn't appear as Shiller but as Danny. Although the two looked alike, Mephisto appeared more handsome than Danny. No matter what form he took, Mephisto always exuded a classical charm that made him seem more mysterious and captivating.

The two could be said to be having a pleasant conversation. Obviously, the internet's trends change rapidly. Shiller's popularity hadn't exactly waned; his fan base had merely stabilized. Now, the media were racing to report on the Danny brothers, who were garnering fame from a hit mockumentary.

Shiller was, after all, just an ordinary person, at least in the eyes of the media and fans without any superpowers. Any magical feats in the movies were likely added effects. But the Danny brothers were genuine Ghost Riders, flame-skull riders on fiery motorcycles—absolutely cool!

Psychopathy enthusiasts were still a minority in this world. Under mainstream aesthetics, the Ghost Riders undoubtedly had more sensational appeal. Danny and Johnny quickly overshadowed Shiller, becoming the new targets of reporters and fans.

Mephisto also rode this wave of popularity. This was part of his agreement with Shiller—by the final scene of the movie, when Danny expelled Mephisto, their pact was already in place. This meant his expulsion was merely an act.

Johnny, having used Mephisto's power, anticipated the showdown. Their confrontation was staged. By the final scene, Danny was the only one still left in the dark.

The movie's success benefited everyone. Even Danny, who was oblivious throughout, earned a handsome sum to improve his financial situation and received complimentary therapy from Shiller.

A Ghost Rider requires a conviction to effectively cooperate with the Spirit of Revenge. This conviction can take many forms, such as a steadfast pursuit of justice, a deep desire to protect someone, or a fiery urge for revenge. However, Danny, always bewildered, lacked such conviction and couldn't synchronize with the Spirit of Revenge.

He couldn't meditate, couldn't communicate with his internal power, and couldn't pinpoint the issue, so he could only instinctively summon the Spirit of Revenge in a daze. Yet the Spirit of Revenge couldn't hear him constantly, leaving his Ghost Rider ability inactive for an extended period.

With the success of this cooperation, Danny could more smoothly wield the Spirit of Revenge's power. With further meditation practice from mages and more communication with Kyle, his internal Spirit of Revenge, it wouldn't be long before he became a true Ghost Rider.

His brother Johnny also made substantial earnings, no longer needing to brave the elements delivering takeout to sustain the biker gang. Thanks to the collaboration with Mephisto's marketing efforts, he received a 16-day vacation from Mephisto and was already unwinding in Hawaii.

Mephisto sought to ride Shiller's wave of fame. Now that there were more popular figures than Shiller, naturally, he shifted to the hotshots. Moreover, the film effectively publicized Mephisto, even in a villain role, boosting his recognition. Coupled with his impersonation of Danny during media interviews, Mephisto managed to garner quite a fan base interested in studying him.

The movie's ending deliberately left a mystery, sparking countless speculations. Some speculated that the expelled Mephisto was merely a decoy and that the real Mephisto wasn't banished, with Dr. Rodriguez appearing at the end as the true Mephisto.

Others suggested that Mephisto might indeed have been banished but that the emergent Dr. Rodriguez might be a more terrifying devil, giving reason to Mephisto's shocked expression.

There were also theories that Mephisto wasn't expelled but instead possessed Johnny, with the flames in his eyes signifying Mephisto's power returning to him.

There are many interpretations of the ending, and any of them could make sense. Even without leaving suspense for a sequel, it's a well-crafted open ending.

Shiller finally disentangled himself from the harassment of the media and fans. Many were unaware Shiller had moved. Even those who knew didn't have the location of the new sanatorium. Even if they found it, the area around Central Park had more police surveillance than the suburbs. Additionally, space was tighter here, leaving little room for them to park and stake out—no sooner did they park than patrol officers slapped parking fines on their cars. Even the scattered few fans that appeared didn't disrupt Shiller's daily life.

Now, his headache was a different matter—Pikachu clashed daily with Gugu.

Gugu's owner, Captain Marvel, seemed to be invited by Lilandra to mediate the war of the Three Great Empires, and couldn't return anytime soon. Gugu wasn't typically aggressive, usually quite docile. But Pikachu, seemingly driven by a rodent's instinct, never got along with the orange cat, leading to three or four altercations a day.

The patients in the sanatorium all knew Pikachu. The yellow-furred rodent spent its days playing games or chatting up patients in the sanatorium, even organizing a band at the patient activity center, with plans to release a new album next year.

With Peter's arrival, Pikachu became more unruly, having an ally to back him up as he continued to pester Gugu. The sanatorium was now divided into two camps, the cat faction and the mouse faction, both rallying support for their champion, with even some betting on who would come out on top each day.

Shiller felt like the lady from "Tom and Jerry," suffering from their brawls. He chased Pikachu throughout the sanatorium, and occasionally had to scoop the defeated yellow-furred rodent out of Gugu's belly.

After a warm early summer, New York's lush summer gradually set in. The new sanatorium's outer walls were completely shrouded in vibrant red roses. The backyard was filled with various flowers that had been growing for over a decade, thanks to the gardener's meticulous care. Each bloom thrived, making the place look less like a sanatorium and more like a lost-in-time European garden.

Shiller sat in his office with the fan blowing. He preferred a fan over air conditioning, a habit he developed in childhood. Unless it was unbearably hot, he still preferred sitting in his office with just the fan on.

His new office didn't have floor-to-ceiling windows, but it did have four or five windows behind him, with a Victorian-style arched dome. When they were all open, the airflow was quite decent.

While he was writing a medical report, Shiller heard a noise behind him. He turned his head and saw Pikachu jump through the window. Judging by the long fur stuck to him, he must have just lost half a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to Gugu.

He used his little short hands to wipe his face and then reached out to smooth the fur on his tail. The moment a cat's meow came from behind, Shiller quickly shut the window—the tentacles in Gugu's mouth were just two centimeters away from wrapping Pikachu in.

Pikachu sighed in relief and said, "At least you have some conscience!"

"I've already had Nick contact Captain Marvel." Shiller took another document over to sign, then said, "The good news is, Gugu will be leaving soon. The bad news is, she's passed all her skills to her son, who happens to be the little cat I adopted, Tolik."

"Oh, crap," Pikachu cursed.

Peter knocked on the door and walked in, saying, "Doctor, Tony and I have come up with a new flying car. We're planning to test it in Central Park later. Wanna join?"

"Already got it done?" Shiller was a bit surprised as he set the documents aside. "I was planning to visit Central Park this afternoon. I've never been there. Let's go."

Peter also brought Pikachu along, and they all left the clinic, walking to the park. In the southeast corner of the park, they found an empty spot, and Stark soon arrived with the car.

Shiller was puzzled by the car's design. He had seen China's flying cars online; each one looked like a concept car for top-end sports cars, with a very sleek body, clearly something from the future. But why did Stark bring over an old-fashioned car?

Being gently lowered from mid-air by a mecha was none other than a classic Mercedes-Benz vintage car, the kind with two round headlights that looked like something from around the 1950s, bearing no relation whatsoever to words like "sci-fi future."

Stark boasted, "Letting a car that looks like a spaceship fly in the sky is no big deal. I have to challenge something more difficult. I don't want people saying I'm copying."

Shiller circled the car and frowned, saying, "Firstly, this thing doesn't even follow aerodynamics on the ground. Are you sure letting it fly is a good idea?"

Stark waved it off and said, "You don't get it; that's what gives it a sci-fi feel. Plus, this is completely different from China's flying cars; it's the Stark household's old craft—floating car."

Shiller slapped his forehead, realizing he'd forgotten. Stark Industries originally made its name with floating cars; back in Howard's days of researching flying cars, this was exactly the kind of vintage car that was used. This truly was staying true to one's roots.

"I've studied it; China's floating cars likely utilize part of the gravity system technology from the Midcourt Starship, enabling cars to fly through anti-gravity combined with normal propulsion. But we're not using that technology; Stark's floating technology uses magnetic levitation, or to be precise, magnetic field technology."

"Which is more reliable?" was all Shiller cared about.

"Both are reliable; there's basically no issue with flight safety. Even if they collide in mid-air, they won't fall," Peter said. "Also, the starship's technology is very advanced. They've probably invested a lot of resources into breaking down some of the anti-gravity technology, then miniaturizing it and making it suitable for civilian use, followed by large-scale commercialization. Most of this cost is borne by the government, so flying cars over there are getting cheap, almost down to the same price as regular cars."

"But we can't go that route because traffic control here is too weak. If everyone were to take to the skies, it would be unmanageable. Plus, since we're privately funded, we'll definitely need to recoup our R&D costs later. So we aim for the high-end market, essentially creating 'luxury airborne cars.' We can leverage Stark Group's history of developing floating cars to build a high-end brand like Mercedes or Ferrari, for the rich to buy. This way, there won't be too many people in the sky, making it easier to manage, freeing up some ground space, and alleviating big-city traffic congestion."

"Sounds good," Shiller said. "But are you sure people know about the Stark family's history of floating car development?"

"Whether Americans know, I have no idea. Chinese people are certainly familiar with it," Stark said, patting the car window. "When they first launched flying cars, people found out about Stark Industries' history of developing floating cars. They even claimed their companies were copying ours."

"Moreover, someone even dug up a video of Howard's car crash at an exhibition, leaving Howard fuming. Early this morning, he called the embassy, accusing them of maliciously tarnishing Stark Group's brand image and demanding the removal of related videos. It cracked me up, hahaha."