Chapter 78: Chapter 61 Normal Life in Early Winter (Part 2)_1
"I think there might be some misunderstanding here..."
Natasha's voice came from the other end of the phone: "No, no need to explain. By the way, S.H.I.E.L.D. actually provides medical insurance for family members. I've said before, our benefits are quite good..."
"I don't have...wait, are you saying there's money to make? 30% of the amount reported by Nick??? That high??? Captain America's bonus is only 18%..."
"Oh, yes, yes, thank you for your consolation, she's doing fine..."
Natasha on the phone said: "I heard that Stark is planning to hire some neuroscientists to further modify his mecha. I hope you can remind him that even if Colonel Rhodes steps down from his position, the military will absolutely not give up. Even without the Air Force, there are still the Army and Navy. The trouble is far from over..."
Shiller said: "I got it, I believe the current Stark can handle these matters on his own."
In fact, Shiller was right. Stark had to handle these matters alone, and what's more troublesome was that he now had to learn to take care of himself.
Previously, most of Stark's weapons manufacturing and defense industry departments were managed by Obadiah. But now, Obadiah is seriously injured and is of old age. His recovery is not going well, he hasn't woken up from his coma yet, and Pepper is almost going crazy, she wishes she could split herself into eight pieces.
Originally, Pepper was just Stark's personal secretary. Even if she helped him manage the company, she was only responsible for some human resources and procurement matters. Now that Obadiah is out of commission, Pepper has taken over Stark Industries entirely, and she no longer has any time to deal with Stark's personal affairs.
As is well known, Stark is basically self-helpless in daily life. Originally, he had his good friend Rhodes to stay with, but now Rhodes has gone on vacation. No matter how intelligent JARVIS is, he's just an electronic lifeform, and he can't take care of all Stark's affairs.
Shiller and Stark stared at each other through the clinic door. Stark patted the door and said, "Let me in! It's still daytime, don't you open the door?"
"You don't have an appointment, so of course the door's not open."
"Damn it, why can everyone else come and go as they please, but I can't?"
"You just said it, they leave anytime, so how long are you planning on staying? Don't tell me it's a month."
"Uh... Well, not that long, that basically depends on how long Pepper is busy. I guess with her intelligence, she could take over Stark Industries in about three weeks."
"Three weeks??? I suggest you turn left to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Hey, you know I don't want to go there. There are two of Howard's old war buddies." Stark bent two of his fingers into quote marks.
"Having a tea party every day, recalling their WWII days and such, I can't stand it..."
Saying this, Stark tried to push the door to go in, and Shiller on the other side held the door back. He said, "Listen, I'm moved by you staying up studying neurology for me, but that doesn't mean you can stay here for a month..."
"Why can Spider-kid, but not me?"
Shiller took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
Stark outside stared at him. He wasn't in his armor now. The wind outside was strong, and he had to scramble to hold his scarf down.
Well, it does look a bit pathetic.
After Shiller hesitated for a moment, Stark directly pushed open the door and squeezed himself in. After coming in, he patted his coat and looked up and down: "Your house is the worst I've ever seen in terms of structure and function."
Shiller immediately regretted it, but what made him regret more was yet to come.
As a friend, Iron Man really stood up for one, if he appeared in front of you just once a month, then you would think he is the best friend in the world, smart, rich, and loyal.
However, when he swings around in front of you every day for a month, you would just consider him a piece of shit.
Stark is a typical case of one that can only be appreciated from a distance. Soon, Shiller realized how wise it was for Rhodes to pack his bags and take off on a trip to the South Pole so swiftly. He obviously foresaw the current situation and left New York without delay.
The next morning, Shiller was awakened by the noise downstairs before he had even gotten out of bed. Stark went around the fridge with a sour face. But upon turning, his sweater sleeve brushed against the edge of the dining table. Cursing softly, he pulled his sleeve out with two fingers and then quickly ran upstairs to change his clothes.
When he came back downstairs, he kept on grumbling, "Damn it, I feel like the air here is full of oil. Why can't you clean this place up? Good God, the dust on the handrails hasn't been cleaned for like ten years, and those picture frames, they're totally breeding grounds for bacteria..."
"Oh, the kettle, and this kettle, do you know how many harmful bacteria could be carried by the steam it spews out?"
"Damn it, stay away! You rodent, I am allergic to fur. Go away, has it been vaccinated? It doesn't carry the plague, right?" Stark startled while talking to himself.
After breakfast, Stark was on the sofa in the living room, talking to the person on the other side of the phone, "Oh, yes, yes... honey, I'm quite busy lately. Magazine cover? You should ask the bald editor; you know, I'm also very busy in Hollywood. Olivie? No, no, no, she's not as beautiful as you. Of course, I guess nobody would be sexier than you at that grand show..."
Shiller, who was sitting by the window writing a thesis, couldn't stand it anymore and threw a ballpoint pen at the back of Stark's head. "Ouch!" Stark cried out in surprise and turned to look at Shiller.
After a while, Peter came, and the two started playing a game together.
When these two were together, they fully demonstrated what it meant by staying up late and getting up late.
Stark was basically a night owl in the lab. He usually started his experiments from six or seven in the evening and lasted until eight or nine in the morning, then he would sleep till afternoon. According to him, night was when his inspiration was most abundant.
Peter also used to stay up all night, but because his house was being renovated, he stayed with Shiller for a while. Shiller had a very healthy schedule, sleeping and waking up early. In order not to trouble Doctor Shiller, Peter tried his best to adjust his own schedule. Now, he would basically go to bed around twelve.
As for Pikachu, the yellow rodent, he was a nocturnal creature who was most active from three to four in the morning.
Therefore, after Stark moved in, the three and a half inhabitants of this house all lived on different biological clocks.
Dramatic conflicts in their schedules made the house a mess. When Shiller was ready to go to bed, Stark would just wake up. When Stark and Peter were in the midst of their game, Peter would suddenly feel sleepy. When Stark and Pikachu stayed up all night until dawn and prepared to go to bed exhaustedly, Shiller had already woken up.
Not to mention there were two superheroes who liked to fly around the New York Sky.
Iron Man usually saved the world during the day, which meant he sacrificed his daytime sleep. Thus, he occasionally woke up like a zombie from ten to eleven in the morning to save the world when Pikachu was deeply asleep. Because of this, Pikachu almost peed in Stark's cup.
The neighborly Little Spider preferred to go out at night, also sacrificing his sleep time. He usually woke up in the early morning when Shiller was deep asleep. Therefore, every time Peter went out or came back, he was frequently hit on the back of his head by a flying ballpoint pen or teacup.
Steve and Stark, who occasionally came to visit, always irked each other. Every time Steve jogged by in the morning, Stark hadn't gone to bed yet. The sleepy Iron Man, being unable to out-argue Captain America, angrily decided to forgo sleep, put on the Iron Armor, and duel with Steve.
At the end of their bout, it was usually around noon. Yes, Peter who stayed awake late into the night had just woken up...
Natasha stood at the entrance of the clinic, asking Shiller in great confusion, "Apart from your pet, there are supposed to be three people living here, but why can I only ever see one?"
"The colleagues from the Statistics Department gave up on tracking your activity schedules. Every time I come here to find someone, it feels like I'm entering a lottery."
Shiller was also very angry. He said, "This is my house. Of course they should adjust to my schedule. And my schedule is the healthiest. I go to bed at eight in the evening and get up at five in the morning. Can you find a better schedule than this?"
Stark was also quite passionate. He said, "No great scientist doesn't stay up all night for experiments. The night is a time gift from God for humans to use their brilliant minds. Please, my nighttime inventions can change the world. Why should I adjust my schedule?"
Peter also complained, "Who goes to bed at nine at night these days? All my classmates do the same thing, and there are just too many new games recently. If you want to know why I stay up late, ask the gaming companies why they all chose to release the good games this month..."
Pikachu even had a more sound argument, "I'm just a rat! Are you actually expecting a rat to adjust its schedule to match a human's?!"
The Symbiont was also quite put upon and said in Shiller's mind, "Their brains always smell especially appetizing at midnight..."
Eventually, one night, as Shiller was sleeping past midnight, the Symbiont in his brain swallowed saliva. Shiller was just woken up when Stark burst excitedly into the room, shouting, "I've figured it out!!! Come and see! Look at this! What do you think of this structure? As a neuron of the nanoneural network... I'm a genius! It's bound to work!"
The next morning, by the entrance of the clinic, Pepper picked up the bewildered Stark who had just been thrown out, along with his luggage.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone