"Ah, that..."
Stark revealed a somewhat embarrassed expression, then explained: "I haven't watched that movie, Pepper told me the plot, but generally speaking, it does not conform to the current mainstream cultural propaganda."
Shiller only vaguely remembered the plot of 'Avatar', which was, after all, another case of humans fighting aliens. In all science fiction novels and movies, humans are always fighting aliens.
Stark spread his hands and said, "But now we don't want to fight with aliens, we even want to cooperate and exchange friendly relations with them."
Stark then turned his head to look at Loki, saying, "We are now in a honeymoon period with Asgard, so it's not very united to have a movie about fighting aliens."
Loki narrowed his eyes and said, "Isn't there more?"
Stark sighed again and said, "Among humans, there are always a few who are disillusioned. I don't know who leaked our molten steel extraction process."
"Of course, because the distance is too far, they have not seen it with their own eyes, there is no evidence, it's just hearsay, not many people believe it."
"But the content of the 'Avatar' movie is about humans mining minerals on the Pandora Star and then waging war with the local inhabitants, which fits into some of the rumors, leading people to think that the 'Avatar' production team is making an implicit criticism."
"Coincidentally, when the construction of Disney's Avatar Park began, a group of protesters held a demonstration at the construction site, claiming that our exploitation of aliens was wrong, that Disney should not be spreading this kind of values, and also claimed that Disney misinterpreted 'Avatar' in order to whitewash for the official side."
"At that time, Disney did not know what the situation in the Andromeda Galaxy was. They were worried that if this matter was confirmed in the future, it would affect their reputation, so the construction of Avatar Park was temporarily stopped and it has not been completed till now."
Shiller held his head and sighed, "These are the fools that our respectable happiness education has educated."
Stark was indeed somewhat embarrassed because he was the only person of pure American descent here. Although America is full of strange people, this cosmic holy mother is still a bit too much to bear.
But Loki shrugged and said, "That's because you've given them the illusion that humans can handle themselves in the universe and even have the energy to help and sympathize with other species."
"Or rather, this is the inevitable result of the strong among humanity dragging the whole society forward. Without bloodshed, there can be no resolve. Flowers grown in a greenhouse are not only pretentious but also particularly glib."
Stark sighed again and said, "We now face too many problems. Just the other day, Steve and I were discussing about the health condition of the American people. The education here also has a lot of room for improvement."
"According to your theory, I shouldn't worry about these things, I shouldn't be dragging society forward anymore, but if I don't worry, who can I count on?"
"Let's not talk about this for now, the problem will be solved." Shiller changed the subject and said, "I think the statue might be in Avatar Park, what do you all think?"
Loki stroked his chin and said, "The operating rules of this park always puzzle me, but I'd rather go check out the alien landscapes your humans have built than wander aimlessly in various nature reserves."
The several of them agreed to visit Avatar Park the next morning, but they still had to liaise with Disney's staff tonight because the park that has not been opened does not usually receive visitors.
Nick and his group visited the Animal Kingdom today and completely forgot about Avatar Park. When they heard that Shiller wanted to go, they also decided to join him.
So the next morning, an unusually large group showed up, they all went together to tour the still unopened Avatar Park.
Even before the car fully entered the park, but merely as they approached it, Loki had already expressed his view from a distance based the shadows against the horizon.
"You imagine the environment of planets in the universe too optimistically. Maybe you think that even if there are 99% desolate planets, life must have been bred on such vibrant planets."
"But that's not necessarily the case. The fact is that life has overcome the harsh environment of 99% desolate planets and has developed into today's lush interstellar society."
"The environment of the majority of civilizations' home planets are not flourishing forests. Mars environment is a heaven, and Mercury and Pluto are not uninhabitable."
The bus stopped at the entrance of the park, and a few of them walked in. The first thing that caught their eyes was a large area of green leaves. The structure and color of the plants are closer to a tropical style, with the exception being the thick vines intertwined between the rocks, adding some strange and mysterious elements.
The rock formations were of various shapes, seemingly to recreate the scenes on Pandora Star. Quite a few rocks were designed to resemble floating islands, encircled by dense vegetation and vines, and suspended in mid-air. Water flowed from above and dappled light points flickered in the air.
Orange, blue, and purple, these less common plant colors on Earth, were frequently used in the bushes, decorated into twisted and spiral fruits, giving people a refreshing sense of color.
The first project in Avatar Park was a boat ride, exploring through the dark and mysterious caves. This section was completely finished, so the group could try it out.
The second project, 'Avatar Flight', was not completely finished. They could go in and take a look at the construction site, but after confirming that there was no statue inside, they didn't want to ruin the atmosphere created by the nearly perfect scene design, so they didn't go in.
After a thorough search within the park, they couldn't find any useful clues. Given their past experience, the clues to the statues should have been easier to find. If they haven't found it yet, perhaps, they're looking in the wrong direction.
Consequently, they had to leave Avatar Park and head towards the real Animal Kingdom.
The Animal Kingdom is composed of several areas, including Discovery Island, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, housing animals from across these continents. There are attractions, sightseeing programs, and guided tours, making it feel more like a zoo visit.
Even though the park is vast, the time spent touring is the shortest. With virtually no queues for any attraction, they managed to go through all the exhibits in just a morning.
Regrettably, they still couldn't find any traces of the statues. By lunchtime, they gathered in an African straw-themed restaurant, pondering over the whereabouts of the last statue.
"Is it possible that one park has two statues?" Nick raised his doubts, "Maybe placing one statue in each park is a deception, or a particular form of subtle humour?"
"I don't think so. Haven't you noticed? Everything that happens here has to adhere to childlike innocence. A prank-like arrangement shouldn't occur." Shiller shook his head.
"There must be some clues we've overlooked." Bruce suggested, "And those clues are probably hiding where we least expect."
Suddenly, Shiller paused and quickly dug a few things out of his coat pocket. He opened his palm for everyone to see - several shiny badges lay in his hand.
"Good heavens!" Steve exclaimed, "They gave these to us right when we entered the park!"
He then took out his own badges - twice as many as Shiller. Due to an incident with Bucky's mechanical arm earlier, the park staff had given him extra badges.
"I'm done for, I didn't pay any attention to collecting these." Clark sighed, taking out his mere three badges. Turning his head, he was shocked to find that Diana had one less than him.
Everyone gathered the badges they had received. There weren't many, with quite a few duplicates. After a quick sorting, they realized there were four themes, matching the four parks perfectly.
The Magic Kingdom badges were the most complete set, largely because Steve received extra ones from there. They counted a total of sixteen badges; all bearing classic characters from the Magic Kingdom.
Based on their previous speculation, there should be sixteen badges in each park. The park with the most badges besides Magic Kingdom was the Hollywood Studio, but they only managed to complete ten.
Everyone had a taste of what it's like to hunt for Riddler Trophies that afternoon.
Disney values the immersive experience, hence they don't simply give out badges when asked. You must complete tasks for them - this could be running errands, purchasing items, or taking photos at specific locations.
Everyone split up to visit the previous three parks again. They played live-action RPG games all afternoon. By dusk, as the three parks were about to close, they finally accumulated all the badges they needed
They compared the badges together and found each park had sixteen. As they assembled all the badges, the back of the badges started emitting a faint light. The cartoon characters on the badges stirred into motion, all pointing in one direction.
They followed the direction pointed out by the badges and discovered a Walt Disney statue buried beneath the foot of a giraffe in the Animal Kingdom, specifically in the Africa area's wildlife reserve - the Kilimanjaro Safaris.
The moment the statue emitted a glow, a bright portal appeared in the middle of the savannah. Luckily, there was nothing there apart from the giraffe. Nick hurriedly had the staff seal off the area.
They then began to discuss who should enter. It wasn't because they feared danger behind the door, but because negotiation for investment requires professional skills.
In the end, it was decided that the Unscrupulous Quartet would go in. They initially wanted Captain America to join to create a favorable impression, but his high moral ground could be detrimental to negotiations. It was time for the businessman to take the stage.
Shiller was the first to step through the colorful portal, as he had already anticipated the scenery on the other side.
Sure enough, as soon as he stepped in, even before he could properly view the area, he heard a familiar voice.
"Miska! Muska! Mickey Mouse!"
With a flip, a red semicircle rose from the ground, followed by a yellow foot sticking out. A black sphere grew from the top of the head, along with two smaller spheres on either side, forming the most classic image. A cheerful tune began playing.
"M~I~C~K~E~Y, M~O~U~S~E~. Mickey's Wonder House~ is open~ Come in~ It's really fun~"
As the red house's door slowly opened, instead of Mickey Mouse neatly dressed in a suit, it was Walt Disney himself, smiling at them.