Chapter 3397: Midnight Sons (Part 7)

Inside the Avengers base, a cup of coffee was placed on the table. The sound of the cup bottom hitting the surface startled Stark. Steve waved a hand in front of his eyes and said, "You've been staring blankly for half an hour. Don't you want to play a round?"

Beside them, Peter rubbed the tip of his pool cue, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Didn't the doctor say there wouldn't be any trouble? Why are you so nervous?"

"Don't you guys worry at all?" Stark pretended to snap out of it, crossed one leg over the other, looked to the side, and said, "Like, what if he suddenly appears here but doesn't recognize us at all? Or what if he rushes in and goes crazy, wanting to kill everyone?"

Peter pulled his head back, his face scrunching up so much he almost had a double chin; he seemed completely unable to understand why Stark would have such thoughts. He continued rubbing his pool cue and said, "Why would that happen? What do you think the reason for such an event would be?"

"Just some accidents."

"Then why don't you worry that your computer system won't turn on when you update it? Or that a dinosaur might suddenly burst out of the screen and eat you?"

"Because the program is stable." Stark spread his hands and said, "Every line of code in a computer system has logic. If the logic is sound, there won't be any accidents."

"Isn't Dr. Shiler the same?"

"You think he's like that?"

Peter nodded and said, "You should assume so. For ordinary people like us, our mental worlds always have an illogical side, filled with all sorts of coincidences, like an unknown black box whose structure you don't know until you open it."

"But Dr. Shiler isn't like that. He maintains the operation of his mental system in such a bizarre way, which proves that the proportion of coincidences in it cannot be high. Otherwise, if accidents happened every day, this mode of operation would never be sustainable."

"So his mental world is more logical than an ordinary person's, just like a carefully designed computer system. It won't just go black-screen, and it's impossible for something strange to break the laws of physics and jump out of the screen to hit you."

Stark pondered in silence. Steve walked back to the pool table, shook his head, and said, "Even if he suddenly went crazy, couldn't you just restrain him? A Shiler without reason couldn't possibly be harder to deal with than a Shiler with reason."

That hit the nail on the head. Stark suddenly sobered up. He stood up quickly, grabbed his pool cue, pushed Peter aside, and struck the cue ball.

"If he has a problem, we'll just fix him." Stark watched with satisfaction as the yellow ball headed toward the side pocket, rubbed his pool cue briskly, and said, "I can fix anything. Obviously."

Footsteps sounded from outside the door. Stark's hair stood on end. Like a vigilant badger, he turned instantly toward the door.

The red-headed secret agent pushed the door open. Stark slumped like a deflated balloon, swaying as he grabbed the edge of the pool table.

Seeing Natasha looked confused. She looked at Stark and said, "What's wrong with you?"

Then, seemingly misunderstanding something, she licked her lips and said, "Fine, Tony. I admit some of my wording earlier might have been too aggressive. Even if you aren't a good bed partner, we're still good friends. I definitely didn't mean to prioritize romance over friendship..."

Steve sighed lightly, looked at Seeing Natasha, and said, "If he could put even half that much thought into you, our problems would all be solved."

"What exactly is going on?" The secret agent stretched her neck forward, looking curious.

"Dr. Shiler is performing a system update." Peter said, clutching his pool cue under his arm, "He's been like this since he heard the news."

"Performing a system update? What system? Oh, his own system." Seeing Natasha smoothed her hair and said, "Why the sudden update?"

"Version optimization." Peter summarized, "Canceling the design of fixed character skills, putting all character skills into a general pool. Characters can choose their own skill combinations. At the same time, there's a certain probability of acquiring the negative attributes corresponding to that character's skill."

"You can't just describe it like a low-quality web game!" Stark shouted, "It's not that simple at all!"

"It is that simple, Tony. Can you calm down?"

Stark let out a loud yell. Seeing Natasha leaned one hand on the edge of the pool table and said, "Looks like we should hire another psychologist for S. H. I. E. L. D. to soothe a certain childish baby whenever Shiler is absent."

"Is he on leave from S. H. I. E. L. D. too?"

"Yes. That's what I came to say." Seeing Natasha took out her phone, looked at it, and said, "Nick said he's taken a month off, apparently to experience life as a street-level hero. The Avengers need to keep a close eye on New York recently to prevent any trouble."

"I will." Steve aimed at the cue ball and took his shot, then said, "The news of the starship's completion has made those snakes and rats hiding in dark corners completely restless. They seem to want one last wild spree."

"Miles has grown up a lot; he's a qualified Spider-Man. I'm very relieved with him around." Peter checked his watch and said, "I still have to go to Eddie's to adjust the optical parameters for the starship livestream. You guys go ahead and play."

Seeing Natasha smiled as she saw him off, saying, "Our street kid has grown into a great scientist."

Peter smiled at her, no longer as green or flustered as he once was. Seeing Natasha watched his departing back and slowly closed the door.

"How did the game end?" Steve asked.

"Don't ask." Seeing Natasha walked over to the sofa, sat down, picked up the coffee Stark hadn't even touched, took a sip, and said, "The war broke out anyway. Both sides fought until the sky went dark. We finished our mission and retreated; on the road to escape, we even ran into Star-Lord, who had just entered the game."

"What tag did he choose?"

"War, but he probably thought it was an interstellar war. Turns out it was medieval magic combat. You have no idea how funny his expression was." Seeing Natasha laughed to herself.

"Who was he grouped with?"

"Gamora."

Steve raised an eyebrow at Seeing Natasha and said, "Is there something going on between them?"

"It looks interesting." Seeing Natasha thought for a moment and said, "But it's too difficult for them to really end up together. By the way, Agent Carter is back on duty today. Do you want to go see her?"

"Let's go together." Steve looked at Stark and said, "You haven't been to S. H. I. E. L. D. in quite a few years, have you?"

"I don't want to go." Stark stared blankly at the pool table.

"Come on, don't be like that." Seeing Natasha walked over and slapped Stark hard on the back. Stark let out an "Ouch!" and glared at Seeing Natasha.

Seeing Natasha made a zipping motion across her lips and said, "If you want me to keep my mouth shut in front of Pepper, you'd better keep a close eye on me at all times."

"I don't have time to discuss this with you right now." Although Stark said that, he threw the pool cue aside and followed Steve out.

They took a shuttle and arrived at S. H. I. E. L. D.'s headquarters in New York. Ever since Nick took over the Time Variance Authority, the S. H. I. E. L. D. agents' office location had moved back to the ground. The Helicarrier was used to handle Time Variance Authority matters.

As soon as Steve and his group entered, they saw Coulson. Stark glanced at him and froze, one hand in his suit pocket, circling him and looking him up and down.

"Old man, did you get younger?"

Coulson finished shaking hands with Steve, turned around, and said, "You didn't see wrong, Tony. I did get younger."

"I really didn't think you were the type to get cosmetic surgery."

"I'm obviously not, I just ate a Golden Apple." Coulson shrugged and said, "This way. Nick is already waiting for you."

"Golden Apple?" Stark thought he was telling some kind of new cold joke and didn't pay it any mind.

The group passed through the office area and arrived at Nick's office door, just in time to run into Carter, who was walking out with files.

Seeing Natasha gave Steve a look, and just as Steve was about to walk over, Carter gave him a warning glance. Steve had no choice but to follow her helplessly as she left.

"What's up with them?" Stark asked.

"Agent Carter doesn't like to socialize during work hours; she's quite professional." Seeing Natasha pushed the door open.

Coulson followed behind Stark and said, "You've been in the lab for too long; you're starting to act like a caveman."

Stark wanted to retort, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he just glared back at Coulson.

To his surprise, Nick's office wasn't just occupied by Nick. A blonde woman in uniform was standing in the corner, and the whole office was a mess, as if it had just experienced a storm.

Seeing Natasha was also stunned. Coulson, however, seemed used to it. He walked behind Nick's desk and then... pulled out a kitten?

"Wait a second, this isn't..." Seeing Natasha pointed at the kitten and said.

"This is one of Goose's children." The blonde woman walked over, held the kitten in her arms, stroked its fur, and said, "Goose had six kittens, and this is the smallest one."

"Who is Goose?" Stark asked, looking surprised.

Nick pulled an orange cat out from behind the desk—hovering on the boundary between cat and pig—and placed it on the desk with a "thud." Nick sighed and said, "That's Goose."

Stark walked over, scratched the orange cat under the chin, and said, "Just a few kittens, and they made this mess?"

"Kittens?" Nick picked up the orange cat and aimed it at Stark. Stark didn't know what he was doing and stood there blankly.

Coulson, however, was prepared. The moment a large mass of tentacles burst from the orange cat's mouth, he pulled Stark away.

Nick grinned and said, "Don't be like that, Coulson. Being swallowed by Goose isn't that bad; at most, you'll just spend a week in jail."

"Boss, it just gave birth, its body is still very weak. Eating too much will give it an upset stomach." Coulson said helplessly.

"Holy crap!" Stark backed away a few steps, staring at the cat in shock.

"Goose is a Flerken. It's a kind of monster that looks like a cat but can actually swallow everything into an extradimensional space." The blonde woman explained, "It recently had a few kittens, and I'm here to find them a home."

"Did you ever think about why you're trying to find a home for this thing on Earth?" Seeing Natasha asked, words failing her.

The blonde woman nodded and said, "Actually, only Earth is safe for them, because Flerkens are very rare in the universe. Most species would just exterminate them. A small portion would sell them to the black market if they caught them. I wouldn't feel safe letting them wander in the universe."

"Did you ever think about why they would exterminate this thing?" Stark asked.

"Most species think it's very dangerous."

"Actually, it is very dangerous."

"It's not that exaggerated." The blonde woman shook her head and said, "For you superheroes, it doesn't count as much trouble. That's why I'm asking Nick to help me find them a home."

"Don't worry, Carol, I'll find these little guys a good home." Nick stroked the orange cat's head.

(End of chapter)