The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4741 X Royal Newcomer (2)

Chapter 4741 X Royal Family: New Life (Twenty)

“Nick is already a pretty good boss,” Steve remarked. “When Carter gave birth, he gave her more than six months of paid maternity leave and even a substantial maternity allowance. However, my discharge pay and veteran’s allowance still haven’t been issued; I guess they really can’t get approved.”

“Of course it won’t be approved,” Stark said. “The U.S. military doesn’t pay veterans anymore. The prerequisite for veterans’ benefits is that you have to be discharged normally and meet a whole bunch of other conditions. Someone like you who has already been reported dead in action has absolutely no chance of getting it.”

"And like you said, Nick is a good boss. Because in your situation, not only will you not get your severance pay, but you could also be sued for fraudulent death compensation."

"The problem is, I've never received any death compensation!"

"Just because it didn't fall into your hands doesn't mean they didn't send it. As for where it went, we'll never find out. They probably already considered using this to blackmail you, but Nick stopped them."

Steve leaned back in his chair, looking utterly despairing: "You mean, not only are they withholding my benefits, but they also want to sue me for faking my death to claim death compensation?"

"This is already the best-case scenario. In fact, I've heard rumors that the military has considered publicizing you as a deserter who faked his death to escape the war and failed in his military duties..."

"But when I died, they touted me as a hero."

“Times have changed,” Stark said, shaking his head. “When they need you, of course you’re a hero. Or rather, you have to listen to them to be a hero. Otherwise, you’re just a deserter.”

Steve was so angry he laughed: "I'll say it again, America died in the Cold War a long time ago. What's alive now is just a corpse."

“There are good people and bad people everywhere, and there are plenty of people who will speak up for you,” Stark comforted. “You’ve had a peaceful and uneventful year because someone must have helped you resolve a lot of problems behind the scenes. Whether it’s Nick, Howard, or Bucky, they’ve all been quietly helping you.”

“Of course I know.” Steve wiped his face. “Because of me, Bucky gave up his space mission and stayed on Earth to guard the planet. No matter how I tried to persuade him, he wouldn’t listen.”

"If America is a corpse now, then our universe is at least a presentable one. This universe, on the other hand, looks like it's already starting to rot," Schiller sighed. "The alien army hasn't even been completely wiped out yet, and they've already begun to punish the home planet of mutant heroes on Earth."

"Isn't anyone going to do something about them?!" Steve was furious. "Are we just going to let them run rampant like this? I can't accept it!"

"If it were the mutant leader of this universe, they might really have no choice but to endure it and slowly wait until they could turn the tide. But don't you know those two in our universe? They never let revenge linger. The three great empires have attacked the Andromeda Galaxy countless times, both openly and secretly, and their methods are far more disgusting than this. Not only are the mutants unharmed, but the three great empires are on the verge of collapse."

“Thank goodness they both came,” Steve said. “Otherwise, I would feel ashamed to be called Captain America by mutants.”

"Hey, may I come in?" The voice of the Spider-Man from the main universe suddenly rang out from outside the door. "It's okay if you can't. The mutants just sent someone to ask us to go to the vicinity of the volcano. They hope we can help with the construction of a hot spring resort. Do you want to come along?"

"They've already started working?" Schiller asked, somewhat surprised. He went over and opened the door for him, then said, "Aren't they going to take a break?"

"The young mutants are very excited after the fight. They're thinking about building the bathhouse quickly so they can go soak in the hot springs. However, they're unsure about some things and would like to consult us."

"Okay, I understand. Come in and have a seat, Peter."

He went in, saw Stark, and said, "You look much better, Mr. Stark. Is there anything else bothering you?"

Stark waved at him, indicating he was fine. But then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Peter, are you getting a cold?"

"A cold? Oh, of course. But since I gained the spider ability, I almost never catch a cold, though I have been infected with the flu before. The spider ability is useless against viral colds, but I have a better constitution and recover faster."

“I see. I was worried about you,” Stark said. “Our two doctors happened to go to Hong Kong and got some Chinese medicine, which can be used to prevent colds. Would you like a bowl?”

Steve and Schiller simultaneously turned their heads away in exasperation. The Spider-Man from the main universe, however, seemed oblivious, saying, "Traditional Chinese medicine? I've heard of it. Every day on my way home from school, the owner of the Chinese supermarket brews medicine at his door; it looks pretty amazing. Can I really drink it?"

Schiller sighed and said, "Of course, I'll go fry it for you right now."

Stark's malicious smile couldn't be clearer. Steve wanted to warn him, but Stark stopped him. So, ten minutes later, another tearful cat-head appeared on the sofa.

"How can it be so bitter?" Spider-Man was practically in tears. He chewed on the candied fruit and said, "And it's not just bitter, it's sour and astringent too. My God, I'd rather catch a cold!"

Stark laughed wildly, his face looking much rosier, whether from the drugs or psychological factors, it was hard to tell. He rubbed his hands together and said, "I feel much better, let's go to the volcano now."

But soon, Spider-Man sprang up from the sofa: "It seems to be working a bit; I feel myself sweating."

He wasn't lying; his forehead was indeed glistening with sweat, something he hadn't done when he arrived. Spider-Man tugged at his collar and said, "I feel like this really works. Where did you buy the medicine? I'd like to buy some to take back to my aunt to prevent colds."

“That’s probably a bit far,” Schiller said. “And while it’s not a very potent medicine, it can’t be taken regularly. If you want to regulate your body, you’ll probably need to get other medicine. Go find Doctor Strange from your universe; he should know something.”

"Okay, I'll go ask him, but he seems to be arguing with Iron Man from our universe, so he probably won't like me too much," Spider-Man said helplessly.

"They're arguing?" Stark asked with interest. "What are they arguing about?"

“I don’t know about that,” the Spider-Man from the main universe shook his head and said, “but they probably argue about the same things you guys usually do.”

“Oh, it’s all about technology and magic again,” Stark said. “He probably won’t hold a grudge against you. You can go ask him.”

The Spider-Man from the main universe nodded, then said, "By the way, can I take a few of these dried fruits? Thor really likes sweets, and I'd like to take some back for him to try."

“No problem, Stephen bought several packs.” Schiller pulled out another pack from somewhere, handed it to Spider-Man, and said, “I originally wanted to bring them back to Thor in our universe.”

The Spider-Man from the main universe took the dried fruit and left. Steve said with some doubt, "Thor likes sweets? I've never heard of that. He never touches melons when he eats in Asgard."

“It’s because Loki loves sweets,” Schiller snorted. “Thor said he loves them, so if there’s anything good to eat, he can bring it back to Loki.”

"So this is for Loki too?" Stark looked at the bag of dried fruit and said, "Just dried fruit?"

"What else? You want them to try Chinese medicine?" Schiller said. "There was a mistake in what I said before. There are actually people in the Avengers who don't catch colds, and that's Thor and Loki."

“Thor, I understand. He’s an Aesir, and those gods are very healthy and never get sick. But isn’t Loki supposed to be frail and sickly?”

"Loki is a frost giant." Steve was exasperated. "Have you ever heard of a frost giant catching a cold???"

Stark slapped his forehead; he'd forgotten about it, but still shook his head with regret: "Why isn't the Golden Apple a traditional Chinese medicine? That way, everyone would need it."

They quickly put on their coats and went out. Schiller and Steve were dressed in ordinary clothes, while Stark donned his Jaeger suit. This was partly for warmth, but also because he was still quite weak and needed the suit to carry him.

Clarkia Island is actually quite large; otherwise, it wouldn't be a basin with volcanoes. The central royal court is located in the south, and the settlement is also in the south, so it's quite a distance to the volcano in the north. Stark flew there directly, but Schiller and Steve lost patience halfway there and hitched a ride with a mutant—a telekinetic mutant—who took them there.

Although they called it the start of construction, they hadn't even decided on a location yet. It was only after they actually arrived at the caves beneath the volcano that they realized the place was far too complex; it could easily house an underground city.

Stark's mech was a bright blue, making it very easy to spot. He wasn't on the side of the mutants or the main universe's Avengers; instead, he was alone at another entrance. Schiller and Steve got out of the vehicle and came to his side.

"You're not thinking of going down there, are you?" Schiller questioned. Because the hole he saw was in the ground, more than 30 meters vertically downwards, and the bottom might not be visible; it was probably just too dark to see what was below.

“I can feel the underground hot springs here, and the humidity and temperature are noticeably higher,” Stark said. “The other guys’ caves are probably not as close as ours. I’m too lazy to argue with them, so I might as well just go down and take a look.”

“If mutants were to make a movie, this would definitely be a disaster filming location,” Steve remarked. The cave wasn't just deep, it was also incredibly large, resembling a sinkhole. It looked magnificent from above, but going down into it was no different from anything in a disaster movie.

“Well, you’re the only one here who can’t fly.” Stark wasn’t being sarcastic; he was just a little worried. But Steve was clearly not the type to hesitate. Even as Stark was still talking and looking down, he had already moved a huge rock over.

It was described as enormous because even Captain America had to lift it with both hands. Steve held the rock to his chest and then threw it directly into the pit, and after a while, a "thud" was heard.

"Are you trying to test how deep it is?" Stark thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the speed at which the rock fell, I feel it's at least 50 meters..."

Before he could finish speaking, Steve swung his shield and jumped down. Stark hadn't even had time to retract his outstretched hand when Schiller also vanished in a cloud of mist. Stark had no choice but to hurriedly fly downwards.

"You haven't forgotten that my shield is made of vibranium, have you?" Steve straightened up after landing, picked up his shield, and said, "I could land unharmed even at 500 meters, let alone 50."

"Then why did you throw the stone just now?"

“I hate to say it, Tony, but you’re definitely not cured. Your brain isn’t working properly anymore,” Steve sighed. “I need to know if it’s land or water down there. If it’s a hydrothermal vent with a temperature of hundreds of degrees, I’ll get burned too.”

Stark slapped his forehead again; how could he have forgotten about that? But he said with some curiosity, "But you can even work in a space environment."

"That's because I was wearing a shield and a life-sustaining collar. These things usually work by using a field, which means changing the surrounding magnetic field to achieve the purpose of sustaining life. But changing a physical substance like water is very difficult. So if it's water, I can only find a rope and slowly climb down."

“It seems that working on the universe has indeed taught you a lot,” Schiller said. “Let’s go take a look ahead.”