As the car sped along the road, Dream Power Doctor Strange realized that this dreamscape was likely from years ago, possibly around the time he traveled to Tibet for medical consultations, or maybe even earlier.
"Have you been here before?" Greed asked while driving.
"Yes, I once met a Chinese surgeon at an academic exchange. He was quite well-known here. Upon learning of my situation, he invited me to China for treatment. My first stop was here, but I didn't stay long. In retrospect, I should have spent a few days here before heading to Tibet."
"You probably weren't in the mood for sightseeing then, were you?" the agent inquired.
"Not really, I was almost ready to give up at that point," Dream Power Doctor Strange sighed, "I actually performed two surgeries here. I didn't think they went well, but they still sent many people to observe and learn. They were really grateful, which improved my mood a bit."
"Resources were quite scarce here back then," Greed said as he maneuvered the car around a bend, "especially lacking various talents. A top doctor like you was a rare treasure for them."
"Yes, in fact, at the time, I thought that if my journey to Tibet yielded no results, I would stay here as a teacher. It wouldn't have been too bad."
The car drove on, taking many turns, almost crossing the entire city before arriving at what seemed like a newly-developed suburb. There were many guard posts here, seemingly well-guarded, though it was dinner time, and the aroma of food could faintly be smelled coming from a nearby building.
They walked along the sunset that squeezed through the gap between two buildings. Greed knocked on the window of a guard post, and the person inside looked at him with some surprise, then stammered, "Hello, do you...do you speak Chinese?"
Greed, somewhat helpless, said, "I'm looking for Dean Li, can you call him?"
The person picked up the phone but soon said, "Sorry, Dean Li is on a business trip. Do you know anyone else?"
"Dr. Anatoli, or try Nurse Chen from the nursing department."
The person made another call, and soon the gate opened. Dream Power Doctor Strange followed them as they walked inside, asking, "Did you grow up here?"
Then he observed the buildings and said, "But this doesn't look like a school. It feels more like some research institute..."
"Stop overthinking. For me, this is a psychiatric hospital. I wasn't quite right in the head as a kid and needed treatment here."
"Seems like the treatment didn't work out too well," Dream Power Doctor Strange, clearly familiar with Greed, shook his head and said, "Or did you relapse after leaving?"
Greed rolled his eyes and ignored the comment. They walked along the orange-red glow of the sunset, bypassing the first gray building, past a giant banyan tree, and arrived at a courtyard surrounded by three buildings. The courtyard had a soccer field painted on the ground in white paint, though the paint was peeling and hard to discern. The goalposts were welded from steel frames, rusted at the edges and corners.
A group of children was digging in the flower bed nearby. Seeing people approaching, they first ran over but, upon seeing their white faces, shrieked and ran away.
"Dr. Xiao! Dr. Xiao, your relatives are here! They look just like you!!!" a child shouted while running.
"Dr. Xiao?" Doctor Strange asked, puzzled.
"Shostakov," Greed said with some resignation.
Soon, a figure emerged from the building on the left. He wore a white coat, a stethoscope around his neck, looked tall, with deep brown hair closely cropped to his head and blue eyes, black-framed glasses. His features were typically Slavic, with a high forehead and nose, sunken eye sockets, the curve of his eyelids and straight brow arch forming a shape like a bridge, and thick lashes like shadows flowing through the water under a bridge.
"You're back, A Zhi," he said with a smile.
"Wow, his Chinese is excellent," Doctor Strange marveled.
"You can speak like that too after working here for more than ten years," the agent murmured.
"Yes, I'm back," Greed smiled, "How are the dean and nurse doing?"
"Pretty well, Dean Li is about to retire and plans to go to Shanghai to visit his daughter. Nurse Chen's youngest son got into college, I heard it's a good one in the south. How about you? How have you been?"
"Not bad, this is Steven, a very skilled surgeon. This..." Greed wasn't sure how to introduce the agent, so he simply said, "This is the agent. They're all my friends."
Dr. Anatoli seemed very happy, nodded, and said, "Looks like you've been doing well over there. What brings you back this time?"
"I..." Greed paused, then said, "Just came back to check in. As long as I know you're all doing well, I'm satisfied."
"So you're leaving soon?"
"Yes, I'm leaving shortly."
Then they fell silent. They walked into the building together, its interior still reflecting an older style. The terrazzo floor with floral patterns was dark green, with blue-tiled walls, white-painted walls, wire cage around the wall lamps, and white plastic window frames yellowed by the sun.
Going up to the second floor, looking out the window, they could see the wind gently nudging quilts strung between two large trees. Children chased each other below, laughing and screaming as the sunset painted their faces red. The wind carried the smell of food cooking in the cafeteria, and distant shouts, though unclear, sounded vibrant.
"Oh my, I'm getting a bit hungry," Doctor Strange said, "I'll always remember my first meal in their cafeteria when I first came. Oh, I crave some braised pork."
The agent looked at him, then at the somewhat silent Greed and Anatoli ahead, suddenly grabbed Doctor Strange and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria."
"What about them..."
"Let them catch up, come on."
They left. Greed glanced back while Anatoli opened the office door. Greed followed him in, looking around, and remarked contemplatively, "This place used to be so small."
The office was indeed not large, especially when a big desk and two large bookshelves left little room to move. A pile of books and newspapers stood in front of the desk, with books stacked high and newspapers tied with straps reaching up to the ceiling. The desk was covered with various medical records, the shelves filled with paper documents, and even the windowsill with floral curtains was lined with books of all kinds. It was practically a kingdom of books.
The only spaces available for movement were the area to the left front of the desk and a small space behind it. The former allowed the door to open, while the latter was Anatoli's spot.
Greed couldn't help but reminisce; in his mind, this office was huge, like an entire city. Who knew what interesting things might be found in the forgotten corners, and a day of exploration here always passed quickly, making it dinner time before one knew it.
"Sit," Anatoli said as he sat down in his office chair.
"Where to sit?" Greed asked sincerely. There really was no place to sit in this room.
Anatoli felt a bit embarrassed, so he came out from behind the desk, went to another room to fetch a plastic chair, and placed it in the space in front of the door after closing it.
Greed sat down, watched Anatoli sit, and then sighed, saying, "You went through all this trouble just to meet me here, didn't you?"
"So you've already noticed?" Anatoli pushed up his glasses and said, "I thought I was doing a good job pretending."
"If you really were merely a dream illusion, common sense suggests you should speak to the agent first, as his age and the time when I left are similar; he's the A Zhi you're most familiar with."
"The one I'm most familiar with is the childhood you. Alright, let's not talk about this. I heard you've already dealt with the Laughing bat?"
"Not completely dealt with, but he should be quiet for a long time now."
"What about the Old Skrull Empire?"
"There's no trace of it; the new one is now besieging Asgard along with the Kree Empire."
"Have you met Apollo?"
"Once, and I saw that cannon you made."
"Nyarlathotep didn't come after you for payment, did he?"
"He did, but I didn't pay."
"Still getting seasick?"
"Not anymore, after dealing with Atlanna."
Anatoli showed an understanding look, then said, "Alright, it seems my old friends are doing well."
"I've always wanted to ask, you borrowed so much from both worlds, what exactly are you planning to do?"
"Didn't you already know? I exploded Gotham's Dark Source."
Greed scoffed, saying, "You didn't need that much energy, and you gathered so much Constant Star Power too. Surely it wasn't just to blow up Gotham?"
"Okay, not entirely. In fact, the power I left for you is just a small part; there's quite a bit more like Constant Star Power, hidden across the cosmos. I kept some for myself too."
Greed's eyes suddenly lit up as he said, "There's more? How much? Where are they all?"
"I can't tell you, otherwise you'd definitely waste it. I have serious business to attend to," Anatoli said.
"What serious business could you possibly have? Getting drunk and writing letters to Arrogant?"
"Uh, he received them?" Anatoli asked, a bit embarrassed.
"Of course, he's even planning to frame your letters as protection against evil," Greed shrugged. "You know, America can't buy Door Gods, and your talismans are just right."
"Those aren't talismans, they're... never mind," Anatoli said, "Let's not digress. We're talking business here. Have you seen Xiao Chen?"
"Yes, but I've been meaning to ask you, why did you send him over here?" Greed frowned and asked. "He was doing well at university, and although he's still in university here, what's the point of switching worlds? The nurse will never see him."
Anatoli was slightly taken aback, then pursed his lips and said, "You've really erased those memories."
Greed's fingers paused suddenly, then he said, "So it's related to the memories I erased? What did I delete?"
"You've deleted them, and you must have your reasons for choosing to do so," Anatoli said with some helplessness.
"Then make a judgment call—can you tell me now?" Greed said.
"Actually, I'm not sure why you deleted it. The memory isn't something worth hiding, but if you've added some secrets to it, that's another story," Anatoli said while pouring Greed a cup of tea.
"Then tell me the harmless parts as you see it," Greed thought and said, "This way, I can know the gist without restoring my memory, and the secrets won't be exposed."
"It's a long story," Anatoli said as he blew on his tea.
"Then make it short," said Greed.
"The world was destroyed."
"Pfft——!!!"