Chapter 80: Dr. Helen

Dr. Banner raised an objection to Tony’s suggestion. “But Tony, can you guarantee that we’ll find them before the contamination outbreak? Even if we do, can we be sure they can solve it?”

“Alright, you’re right, Banner.” Tony, not fully familiar with the Ancient One’s methods, admitted the risk involved. “The unknown—I hate the unknown—but this can be one of the solutions, running in parallel. J.A.R.V.I.S., get me in touch with Dr. Helen Zhao.”

“Connecting you with Dr. Helen Zhao now, please hold,” J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voice was soon followed by a crisp female voice filling the lab.

“So, our busy man is finally ready to tackle his little problem?” Dr. Zhao’s voice carried a teasing tone. As Tony’s longtime friend, she was well aware of the shrapnel lodged inside him. Tony reaching out to her suddenly only meant one thing: he wanted to address that issue.

Tony rolled his eyes but restrained his emotions. “I want to know if your cradle of life can repair mental damage.”

“It’s called the Cradle of Life,” Dr. Zhao replied, clearly accustomed to Tony’s style. “If it’s physical damage, theoretically it can be repaired. But if it’s psychological, there’s only about a 30% chance of successful treatment. What’s wrong, Tony? Are you suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?”

Tony was clearly dissatisfied with the answer, but as the planet’s foremost expert on life sciences, if anyone could cure this so-called mental contamination among his acquaintances, it would be Dr. Zhao.

“Alright, Helen, I’ll send someone to pick you up tomorrow. Bring your treatment equipment. I have a new condition you’ll find interesting.” After a moment’s thought, Tony decided to invite her to the Avengers base.

“As long as it’s not one of those boring parties, see you tomorrow,” Dr. Zhao said, curious about the new condition but wisely keeping quiet. As a high-tech expert, she understood the importance of confidentiality.

“See you tomorrow.” Tony ended the call and turned to Steve. “Captain, the case of the missing investigators is yours. While the main focus is on eliminating the mental contamination, if you need any help, contact J.A.R.V.I.S. directly.”

“No problem.” Steve naturally knew he couldn’t help much here but recalled the missing persons case Fury had mentioned. Although he hadn’t investigated cases like this before, his experience tracking Hydra bases might come in handy.

Now, not only SHIELD but the Avengers themselves were short-staffed. Barton and Natasha were assigned to SHIELD missions, Tony was symptomatic and mostly confined, Banner’s condition was uncertain and also confined, leaving only one uncontaminated agent, Qu Yi-zhi, free to move about.

Tony looked at Qu Yi-zhi standing nearby. Since he and the others couldn’t travel to the East, it was better to have Qu Yi-zhi seek out the monks herself—perhaps it would even aid in recovering her memories. He said to her, “Miss Qu, I’m entrusting you to seek out those with special powers in South Asia. It might help you regain your memories.”

“No problem, Mr. Stark.” Qu Yi-zhi was also feeling down, uncertain when she would recover her memories to help everyone. She immediately agreed to Tony’s request.

…

Early in the morning, Hailar went for a run and happened to see his beloved descending from the upper floor. The morning sun bathed Qu Yi-zhi’s flawless skin, painting a delicate picture in Hailar’s heart.

Sadly, the vision shattered quickly as he watched her get into a car and drive away. Though he didn’t know where she was going, his intuition told him he wouldn’t see Qu Yi-zhi for a long time.

His mood turned from joy to melancholy, just as Tony came out of his room and caught the expression.

As a playboy, Tony immediately detected Hailar’s secret feelings but chose not to expose them—after all, Hailar was now one of the most dangerous people on Midgard, and Tony had risen early specifically to greet the arriving Dr. Zhao.

With that in mind, Tony called out, “Agent Hailar, come here.”

Hailar, lost in his thoughts, was startled to hear Tony’s summons. Though unused to the formal title, as a former police officer, he was sharply aware of his name. He quickly composed himself and approached.

“Mr. Stark, what can I do to help?” Hailar recalled Tony’s orders from yesterday—to do whatever was asked—but he was curious what the famous billionaire needed from him.

“You’re coming with me to pick someone up. You’ll find out soon enough,” Tony said, motioning for him to follow as he strolled ahead.

Though puzzled, Hailar obediently followed, trusting Tony wouldn’t lead him into danger.

…

Before long, the vehicle sent by Tony to fetch Dr. Helen Zhao arrived at the Avengers Tower. Dr. Zhao was surprised to see Tony standing at the entrance.

“Good heavens, has the sun risen in the west today? Tony Stark greeting me at the door,” she joked as she shook his hand.

“Maybe the sun really did rise in the west,” Tony replied with a faint smile, his face serious. Now that everyone was assembled, the experiment could officially begin.

Inside the elevator, Tony introduced Hailar to Helen. “This is Hailar, your number one volunteer.”

Then he introduced Helen to Hailar. “This is Dr. Helen Zhao, your mission leader. Your task is to follow her orders.”

Hearing “volunteer,” Hailar swallowed hard. He couldn’t help but wonder if Tony was about to use him for human trials. After all, he knew a little about the renowned Dr. Zhao.

Helen glanced at Hailar with curiosity and asked Tony, “Volunteer? Is he the new case you mentioned?”

Hailar looked at Tony in confusion. What case? His SHIELD medical report was normal.

Tony rubbed his forehead. This damned mental contamination was already affecting his sleep, which was why he was unusually the one to greet Dr. Zhao. However, these details required a confidentiality agreement before disclosure, so Tony didn’t answer her question immediately.