Chapter 1965

After the communication was connected, Shiler had clearly just arrived at the camp and was eating by the fireplace with other teammates. Discovering a screen popping up in the void with Peter and Batman on it, Stark immediately became vigilant.

"Hey, stay away from him," Stark glared at Batman on the screen and said, "I know you like to keep a bunch of kids around you and like to make them wear tights. I don't know what it's like where you are, but we have perfect minor protection laws here..."

"Oh—Mr. Stark!" Peter dragged out a long, helpless tone and said, "I'm already an adult. I'm in graduate school. Have you forgotten the embarrassing incident when you wanted to go to my high school to find me last time?"

"Listen, Peter, things aren't that simple. I've always been dissatisfied with the standard for defining adulthood in New Jersey. It's not that just because you look like an adult, you really have the ability to handle many things alone..."

"Alright, Tony, do you know you sound like an old antique?" Seeing Natasha looked at Tony and said, "I find you and Steve are becoming more and more alike. Is it true that people become like this when they get old?"

Everyone else looked at Seeing Natasha, their eyes conveying the meaning: "How can you have the nerve to call others old?"

"Alright, Peter, don't tell me you're really going back with this weirdo. Do you know that the last Spider-Man who went to Batman's home wrote a 100,000-word 'Cat Getan Travelogue' on the forum, 90,000 words of which were describing the criminal acts he saw? This is very unsafe for you..."

"I'm not going to Cat Getan," Peter said immediately. "And I've read it too. His 'Cat Getan Travelogue' is actually quite good. Although the environment of that city isn't great, the crime rate isn't high either—it's not even as high as the Queens district where I live, let alone the Bronx."

"Alright, Peter, let's talk business. Are you planning to go study abroad for a while?" Ma Te tapped the ground lightly with his blind cane and said, "Are you sure the mentor you found is a trustworthy person?"

"No problem," Peter immediately made an OK gesture and said, "The Spider-Man who went to Cat Getan told me that Batman is a great hero."

Hearing this, Batman's fingertips moved slightly, and then he heard Peter say, "The situation in Cat Getan might be a bit bad right now, but it's definitely not hopeless. If possible, I'd like to go back and see it with him."

Peter shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "We have so many Spider-Men; we can always help. Saving one is better than none, right?"

"Of course," Ma Te nodded, not refuting Peter's words, but saying, "But I think compared to immediate practice, you have more theory and technique to learn. I believe Batman is a powerful warrior, but are you sure the things he can teach you are suitable for you, and that you can successfully absorb and comprehend them?"

Peter hesitated for a moment before saying, "I mainly want to strengthen my ground close-combat techniques and improve my experience in dealing with various types of criminals. I think Batman is very suitable."

"I don't know if he's a good teacher, but I'm definitely a good student. Absorbing and comprehending knowledge has never been a difficult task for me."

Ma Te nodded again and immediately said, "I think your self-positioning is very clear, Peter. I said before that although doing scientific research in a lab is good, you can't stay in an ivory tower forever. Aside from the various battles your responsibilities require you to engage in, human relationships are also a very important part, aren't they?"

Peter touched his chin and said, "I heard Batman has a large family with many of his students, adopted children, and assistants, most of whom are my age. I think I'll get along with them quite well."

Ma Te turned to look at the others, meaning he had nothing left to ask. The others actually had no opinion on this matter. Spider-Man wasn't made of mud, and the Spider-Man of their universe was even less to be underestimated. He could be called a master of both wisdom and force, lacking neither vision, strategy, nor execution. Going out to study for a while wouldn't be dangerous.

Just then, Shiler suddenly tapped the table, looked at the screen, and said, "This isn't some study abroad; this is an internship. Internship, do you understand? Our world's richest man, the person in charge of the Wei En Group, Mr. Bruce Wei En, what kind of internship benefits does he plan to offer?"

Batman sighed inwardly; he knew it would be like this.

As Batman, he actually didn't care much about whether Shiler was crazy or not; after all, he had seen plenty of crazy people.

This Batman from Arkham Knight was even more battle-hardened. You have to know that although the main storyline of the Arkham Knight game was very long, it was completed in an extremely short time. This Batman was truly someone who would make Superman say "I've seen Superman" if he came.

What gave Batman the biggest headache was Peter's statement that Dr. Shiler charged a very high fee.

If the two of them were just ordinary acquaintances, or if Peter knew Shiler unilaterally, that would be one thing. But Peter made one phone call, and the first person to appear on the other side was Shiler, which showed their relationship was far from shallow.

It wouldn't be that easy to trick Peter out of Shiler's hands; Batman had to be prepared for a massive financial loss.

Actually, to be honest, Batman didn't care much about a Spider-Man. With the mess that was Cat Getan, one more or one less didn't matter. He mainly wanted to use Peter to peek into the situation of the universe on the other side.

There was no doubt that the universe Shiler was in was very special, and Batman had seen this. So he urgently needed intelligence about this universe. Now was the time to raise the price.

"I need to know how much he's worth."

Batman didn't waste words. Just like every unscrupulous boss, he was like Grandet when discussing salaries, and like a dam opening its gates when arranging work tasks.

Shiler immediately cleared his throat and said, "Peter, introduce yourself, focusing on your abilities and work experience."

Peter was slightly stunned, but still spoke: "Uh, I graduated from New York University as an honor graduate. My GPA for all four years of college was the highest in the grade. After graduation, I worked at the Osborn Biological Engineering Lab, the Stark Group Pharmaceutical Lab, the Human Solar System Development Project High-Energy Physics Lab, the Chemical and Chemical Technology Development Lab, the Magic Energy and Physical Energy Joint Research Institute, and the Kamar-Taj Magic Technology Research Center."

"I have experience in high-energy physics, low-temperature physics, factor-oriented biology, chemical and biopharmaceutical technology, new materials science, magic energy, transmission technology, and so on."

"Um, I was also responsible for the design and development of all energy and aerodynamics in the three-phase flying shuttle manufacturing project, and I was also responsible for part of the energy collection technology for the Mercury base construction, but it's temporarily confidential, so I can't go into detail."

"In addition, during the construction of the Mutant Andromeda Galaxy base, I also participated in the development of part of the floating island gravity stabilization technology. Of course, I also participated in research on security-level weapon design and development, but due to safety needs, I must keep it confidential."

"Before I came here, I was working on the development of the security part of the Pluto Starport. Also, through the introduction of Mr. Thanos, I am currently doing software development for the ring area logistics system. The internship location is at the Shi'ar Empire's Ring Star Area Security Defense Technology Development Headquarters..."

"Of course, the Shi'ar Empire is also very interested in the teleportation gate miniaturization and convenience technology I participated in researching at the Kamar-Taj Research Institute, but I haven't considered participating in this research topic yet because I'm really too busy."

Peter rambled on a long list while recalling. Although the Batmen and the several Robins present hadn't heard of the names of the companies and empires he mentioned, just from that long list of topics and certain terrifying terms revealed in his speech, one could see that this young man who looked about the same age as them seemed to be on the path of conquering Earth and the universe with science and technology.

"So you're not a superhero?" Nightwing asked with some confusion. "Aren't you Spider-Man? We've met Spider-Man before. I thought your relationship with Iron Man was like ours with Batman."

Talking about this, Peter was a bit embarrassed. He said, "I want to be a superhero, but I'm too busy. Attempted."

"So you're still a scientist," Red Robin said with some interest. "It sounds like you've researched many amazing projects."

"Most of the time I'm not the person in charge of the project, just a researcher. But I have participated in quite a few projects because there's a shortage of manpower everywhere. I want to split myself in two to use, and the project leaders want to split me in eight."

Peter sighed and said, "As for my relationship with Mr. Stark... I haven't had the chance to be his assistant. Many scientists who might be older than my grandfather would rush into the lab, saying this is a huge waste of research talent, and then drag me away. They've dragged Spider-Man away like this more than once."

"And you've almost never fought crime on the streets," Batman keenly grasped the point.

"I really don't have time... well, that's true, but this has brought me a problem," Peter scratched his head and said. "I can't develop a perfectly suitable intelligent security system against criminals just by hearsay. I've seen too few criminals and criminal methods, and I haven't systematically studied subjects like modern criminal investigation."

"So when I saw the 'Cat Getan Travelogue' written by a certain Spider-Man, I thought it would be a good reference. But Batman doesn't seem to welcome outsiders very much. I can't just rush in without saying hello, so I decided to use a more civilized way, like asking a Batman to teach me."

"Internship, it's an internship," Shiler emphasized.

"No, this can only be called entry-level training," Batman said immediately. "He has almost no experience in this aspect. Before he can even practice on the streets of Cat Getan, he has to go through a period of training. The training items include street fighting techniques, close-combat techniques, modern criminal investigation, criminal psychology, and investigation and counter-investigation."

"And if you want to learn the design of intelligent security systems, including but not limited to the design of security systems and monitoring systems covering an entire city, then the training cost is even higher."

Batman's last few sentences made Peter's eyes light up. He said, "Mr. Thanos and I are planning to design a multi-civilization, multi-terrain universal security system for the core part of the entire ring area."

"And the most important risk classification mechanism and disaster early warning mechanism," Batman spoke up again. "And the supporting manufacturing workshops, secure logistics, and secure warehousing."

The more Peter heard, the brighter his eyes became. Shiler shouted from the other side in a lowered voice, "Peter! Peter!!"

Peter then came back to his senses, coughed twice in embarrassment, and lowered his head, saying nothing.

"Even so, you know that Spider-Man can definitely help you solve any kind of trouble. Aside from his rich scientific research experience, he also has excellent skills."

Batman turned his gaze to carefully size up Peter's physique, thought back to the scene when he had exchanged a few moves with Peter, and after a moment of thought, said, "Ten million dollars, final price."

"No deal. We have a four-party contract. Aside from paying Spider-Man's internship salary, you also have to pay me, the headhunter, a talent referral fee, and the labor dispatch fee for S. H. I. E. L. D., the unit Spider-Man officially belongs to. Ten million is definitely not enough."

"Eleven million. This is the bottom price. If you can help me lower the labor dispatch fee, I'll give you an extra 10% as a thank-you gift."

Shiler smiled mysteriously and said, "If you can sign a contract for a billion-dollar salary, you won't have to pay a cent in labor dispatch fees!"