Loki still didn't understand this world well enough.
If over three thousand people died all at once, the government would undoubtedly face immense pressure.
But he arranged for these people to die one by one, spread out over time.
How many people commit suicide every year? Adding these three thousand deaths to the statistics would be like a ripple in the ocean, easily suppressed by the media.
The only ones who would feel threatened were the heroes who truly cared about the people.
"Shen He, we can't hand Loki over," Tony said, removing his armor and striding over to Shen He. "Where's his Scepter? Maybe I can crack that mind control ability."
"You're not an expert in the field of psychology. Even with your brilliant mind, you can't accomplish that in such a short time," Shen He shook his head.
"Are we just going to stand here and watch, then?" Tony hated feeling helpless.
"Perhaps that's Loki's goal," Steve interjected. "To exhaust us with rescuing people so he can have his allies open a Dimensional Gate."
"Then let them open it," Tony said, staring at Shen He. "That was the plan all along, wasn't it?"
The scene suddenly fell silent, as Steve also looked at Shen He.
This team wasn't without a core, and they all hoped Shen He could come up with some ideas.
Shen He didn't speak for the moment. He thought for a moment and established a summoning communication with Lelouch in his mind, roughly explaining the situation.
The enemy had captured ordinary people. Shen He wanted to see if Lelouch could awaken, or rather, control them. If he could capture one or two people who were with Loki, such as Hawkeye, or could know Loki's movements, know who he had contacted, to further narrow the scope of the victims.
With Loki refusing to budge, it seemed this was the only way.
In an instant, the black-clad youth appeared before them.
It was Lelouch who directly agreed to the summoning.
"Aren't you very busy lately?"
Shen He looked at him with some surprise, because Lelouch was now wearing Zero's uniform and holding a helmet.
"It's not like I'm short on time." Lelouch sat down on the sofa and glanced at Tony and the others. "I already understand the general situation. Next, I'll talk about my inference. According to Loki, he controlled a total of three thousand six hundred and forty-two people. Is that correct?"
"That's right." Steve nodded. "Loki himself said so."
He had spoken with Lelouch before and knew that the other's cautious strategies did not match his youthful appearance.
"It's not uncommon for the perpetrator to remember the number of victims, but that's a kind of 'merit-keeping' mentality. Would harming ordinary people give Loki this kind of sense of showing off?" Lelouch continued to ask.
Steve and Tony looked at each other.
They weren't stupid. Just that one sentence was enough for them to understand what Lelouch meant.
"You mean, Loki was just deceiving us? He didn't actually control so many people?" Tony's eyes flickered slightly.
"It's a possibility," Lelouch didn't deny. "But following this line of thought, I think we can find other overlooked details."
The reason he came was because he had noticed something unusual in the events Shen He described. As someone who could control minds himself, he only saw it as a means to an end, never enjoying the process, and certainly not keeping track of how many people he controlled.
And no matter how cruel and cunning Loki was, he was still a person in a high position.
So Lelouch believed that in this regard, Loki should be the same as himself.
"Now that you mention it," Shen He also realized, "My Hubby has been monitoring all the wireless terminals in the country. If it were just a few people, it would be fine, but over three thousand, is it really possible for Loki to have contacted over three thousand people without being discovered in the span of a single day?"
After all, he had only taken a day to get from Mexico to New York, and he was still being tracked by Jeanne throughout the entire process.
"Who is Hubby?" Lelouch suddenly heard an unfamiliar name and asked.
"A new companion." Shen He didn't explain much. "What you just said, and what I just said, are just guesses. And even if it's not over three thousand, Loki should still have controlled quite a few people."
"In that case, perhaps we can start with the method of control." Lelouch offered a suggestion. "Changing a person's mind is impossible without any changes. I've studied my ability. The mechanism of 'Absolute Obedience' is to add a layer of pseudo-personality to the controlled person. It has all the memories of the main personality, but they are completely two different people."
"Can you be more specific?" Shen He seemed to understand something.
"As for me, if the order given is 'suicide,' then the pseudo-personality that is born will be extremely indifferent to their own life." Lelouch sat upright on the sofa and said very confidently, "Modern medicine should be able to identify whether a person has suicidal tendencies."
The scene was silent for a while.
"This should be feasible." Tony took a breath. "If the memory hasn't changed, but the behavior and the way of looking at and thinking about problems are completely different, it can be regarded as another personality in medicine."
"When did you become a psychology expert?" Shen He chuckled.
"After my parents died, I worked like a madman, almost thinking I was getting schizophrenia." Thor's tone softened. "You know, there's a fine line between genius and madness."
"I can agree with that." Steve nodded in agreement. "I've met quite a few lunatics who were unparalleled geniuses in certain fields."
"Then," Lelouch put his helmet back on, "I'll be going now. If there's anything else, Master can call me anytime; I can always squeeze out a little bit of time."
His path of revenge seemed extremely relaxed.
Perhaps it was because the hatred hadn't gone deep into his bones, and the revenge with a clear purpose could be carried out with absolute rationality.
Lelouch had just left when Thor came.
From the hammer-wielding guy's expression, it was clear that his interrogation of Loki was very unsuccessful.
"That bastard!" Sure enough, Thor took a large gulp of wine in a rage. "He kidnapped Jane and controlled her, and then used her to blackmail me. I can't believe I even mourned his fake death."
"Isn't this just normal behavior for Loki?" Shen He didn't have any intention of comforting him. "Thor, you clearly didn't see through your brother's true nature before. He is the God of Mischief and Lies."
Thor couldn't refute that at all.
He stood up and walked a couple of steps, then suddenly picked up his hammer.
"I'm going to find Jane. There's less than five days left."
-----------------------
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