The Death Knell

Stephen Vincent Strange, the top expert in neurosurgery in the United States in recent years, works at a well-known private hospital in New York.

There are many people who know him. Whenever they hear his name, these people will tell those who inquire:

"Strange is a good doctor, but not a good man."

His surgical skills are unparalleled, and his hands are fast and steady. He is called the "Hand of God" or "The Hand of the Devil" by doctors and patients.

Other doctors need three hours of surgery, but he only needs fifteen minutes; he can save patients that other doctors cannot save; he can also say things that other doctors can't say.

For example, ‘If you don’t have money, what kind of medical treatment can you get?’, ‘I won’t treat poor people’s diseases’, ‘I’m afraid Class A medical insurance can’t afford it, you should have commercial insurance’.

Yes, his principle is money. When receiving patients, he doesn't look at the cases very much. Anyway, he feels that he can cure any disease. He mainly only depends on whether the other party's financial resources can pay for his consultation fee and operation fee.

He is so direct and realistic, he is a mercenary in the medical field, only doing things for money.

With the money in place, it would not be a problem to shoot a throwing knife from any corner of the world. If he didn't have enough money, he wouldn't even blink an eye even if the patient bumped into him.

Basically everyone thinks that he is a devil in a white coat, so cold-blooded and inhumane, but his only friend Nurse Delin knows some inside information, and Strange was not like this at first.

She believed that he was actually a good person at heart, but that his past experiences had seriously irritated him.

Strange was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He has been a little genius since he was a child, very lively and smart.

When he was 11 years old, one day he and his sister were at home alone. The young sister ate a toy building block and suffocated. Strange saved her using the Heimlich maneuver he learned from books.

His dying sister got better again. When she looked at him with admiration, he realized that saving lives was such a meaningful thing, and he became interested in medicine.

There is no doubt about his genius learning ability. He was admitted to New York University Preparatory School at the age of 16, and in the next seven years he completed the MD program and found a good job at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

But just a few days after he took up the job, his parents and younger siblings in his hometown in Philadelphia were involved in a car accident.

Medical school is very expensive in the United States, and his family was originally a working-class family. In order to pay for his college tuition, his family even stopped paying for medical insurance.

The hospital in the 'City of Friendship' refused to provide treatment because the family had no medical insurance, and instead treated the rich second generation who hit them. When Strange rushed back to Philadelphia from New York, he could only see the whole family in the morgue. The cold corpse of a human being.

This encounter completely changed him, and he was strongly shaken by his ideal of treating diseases and saving people, because American society inherently promotes capital, and people without money deserve to die. He cannot change this reality at all.

After this incident, he became a cold-blooded medical mercenary.

Rather than saying how much he loves money, it is better to say that he is using very hidden means to fight against it.

He deliberately showed that he dislikes the poor and loves the rich, just because he wants to use his influence to criticize the system.

As long as the more rich people he saves, the unhappy the poor will be. The distribution of wealth in human society is pyramid-shaped. The number of poor people in the lower class is far more than that of the rich in the upper class. If they are forced to a dead end, they will explode. The power is enough to completely overturn the current medical system.

He has become the best neurosurgeon in the United States before he is thirty years old. He feels that he has time to realize this wish. In the future, if he dominates the American medical field but makes it clear that only the rich can enjoy it, Both myself and this damn system will definitely be overthrown.

So he behaved very disgustingly, all on purpose, even if he himself would be buried with the old capital medical system in the end.

This is his silent struggle, and as a genius, he doesn't like to explain and always goes his own way.

Until one day not long ago, his whole family had a collision with a car, and he was no exception. He fell off a cliff while driving to a banquet while talking on the phone. In the end, even though he saved his life, his hands as a surgeon were useless.

It's not that it's an amputation or paralysis, but because there's a problem with the nerves in both hands, it's impossible to maintain stability, and it shakes violently when you pick up anything.

Neurosurgery is a very delicate craft, and he probably couldn't even trim people's toenails with his current hands, so he was a little panicked.

The big plan hasn't been completed yet, so what if I scrap it first?

So he quit his job and used his savings over the years to seek medical treatment around the world.

He soon discovered that other doctors made money much faster than him. His statement that he only treated rich people in the past was like a joke. Other doctors, whether they were rich or poor, sucked them all dry.

Only children make choices, adults always want them all!

Strange realized his past naivety, but it was too late.

The millions he had accumulated over the years of working were all taken away by other colleagues within three months. The effect of the treatment was probably that the newly grown fingernails looked better.

No doctor could cure him, and no money was spent.

The house in New York was mortgaged by the court to repay the debt, the furniture was completely evacuated, the water and electricity were cut off, and bills and court leaflets were flying like snowflakes.

The cold city revealed its cruel side.

No one came to see him except Nurse Delin, and his final pride led him to refuse her help and leave quietly.

He became a homeless man, sleeping in garbage dumps in alleys near New York Harbor every day, falling into despair.

Where is New York Harbor? This is the place where Captain America's father worked. The man who worked at Wilson Enterprises was responsible for warehousing and logistics near the port.

The workers here also like to chat about the captain while moving goods, as if they are related to Steve by talking about them.

One day, it was drizzling in the port. When Strange was sleeping covered with a cardboard box in the garbage dump, he heard the bored workers on the rainy day talking about the story of the invasion team.

Captain America Steve, James ‘Bucky’ Barnes, the Torchbearer, the Prince of Magic, and that one person whose face never gets photographed.

In short, it was idle on a rainy day. The workers gathered at the entrance of the alley to smoke and fart. Some of them seemed to have seen the Magic Prince with their own eyes, describing the power as extremely powerful.

After hearing this, Strange, who was under the paper shell, felt another ripple in his desperate little heart.

Although it sounds like a fairy tale, since Captain America’s teammates include magicians, then magic shouldn’t be a lie, right?

He sold the last valuable things he had on him, including his watch, leather shoes, belt, and tie, and changed into a pair of second-hand junk clothes. He took the last bit of money and embarked on the road to find hope.

This time he didn't go to the doctor, but looked for various mysterious people.

For example, gypsy witches who tell fortunes, wizards who do astrology, people who open occult shops, and even fantasy novel writers.

Most of these people's knowledge of the magical world is fabricated. There are not many liars in New York, but hard work pays off. Under Strange's tireless search, he accidentally met a real alchemist.

He is the most inconspicuous little character in the magic world. After all, he is just an alchemist who opens a shop selling low-level equipment such as garlic essence, crosses, and silver bullets.

Strange told the shopkeeper his story and asked him to help him find a way out. He needed magic to help him heal his hands, and he could slowly pay back the treatment fee.

The shop owner was unmoved. The secrets of the magical world cannot be felt by mortals, unless they are dead people hit by offensive magic.

Even though he is just a low-level alchemist, he is still a member of the mysterious side and has a confidentiality agreement. This is not a matter of money.

Staranci begged, because the shop owner didn't say 'can't do it', just 'can't do it', which gave him hope.

But the shopkeeper refused to accept the offer, which fully demonstrated the persistence of a sorcerer. It was useless even if Strange rolled around on the ground.

Fortunately, another customer in the store also heard what Strange said.

It was a tall black man wearing a black leather jacket, carrying a sword in the 21st century, and wearing sunglasses at night. Although he looked fierce, he was very enthusiastic about his work.

A strong man claiming to be a vampire hunter told the doctor:

"It's useless to beg others. If the Supreme Mage doesn't allow it, there will never be any decent person who makes an exception and uses magic to treat an ordinary person. This is the rule of the wizards. Either you accept your fate, or you go to Kama Try Taj.”

"I'm going! Where is Kama Taj?!"