Chapter 4739: X-Empire: Rebirth (Part 20)

"Nick is already a pretty decent boss," Steve sighed. "When Carter was pregnant, he gave her over half a year of paid maternity leave and even provided a generous birth subsidy. However, my discharge pay and veteran benefits still haven't been issued; I suppose they really can't get them approved."

"Of course they can't get approved," Stark said. "The U. S. military hasn't had discharge pay for a long time. The prerequisite for veteran benefits is that you must have been honorably discharged and meet a whole host of conditions. Someone like you, who was reported as killed in action, is absolutely impossible to get them."

"And just like you said, Nick is a good boss. Because in your situation, not only can you not get discharge pay, but you might even be sued for defrauding death benefits."

"The problem is, I never received any death benefits either!"

"Just because it didn't land in your hands doesn't mean they didn't issue them. As for where it went, it's certain that it will never be found out. I'm afraid they had long thought about using this to blackmail you, only to be blocked by Nick."

Steve also leaned back in his chair with a look of despair: "You mean to say, not only are they withholding my benefits, but they also want to sue me for faking my death to defraud death benefits?"

"That's already the best-case scenario. In fact, I've heard rumors that the military has considered declaring you a deserter, using your faked death to escape the war and failing to fulfill your duties as a soldier..."

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

"Times change," Stark shook his head and said. "When they need you, you are naturally a hero. Or rather, you have to listen to them to be a hero. Otherwise, you are naturally a deserter."

Steve was already so angry he laughed: "I'll say it again: America died in the Cold War long ago. What's alive now is nothing but a corpse."

"There are good people and bad people everywhere, and there are plenty who speak up for you," Stark comforted him. "You've lived a peaceful and calm life these past few years; someone must have been helping you resolve many problems behind the scenes. Whether it's Nick, Howard, or Bucky, they have all been helping you silently."

"Of course I know that," Steve wiped his face. "Because of me, Bucky gave up his aerospace career and stayed on Earth to stand guard. No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't listen."

"If the current America is a corpse, then at least our universe's version is a corpse with a decent appearance. As for this universe, it looks like it has already started to rot," Shiler sighed and said. "The alien army hasn't even been completely wiped out, and they've already started sanctioning the hometowns of mutant heroes on Earth."

"Is there really no one who can keep them in check!" Steve was filled with rage when talking about this. "Are we just going to let them run wild like this? I cannot accept it!"

"If it were the mutant leaders of this universe, they might really just have to endure it, slowly grinding it out until they break the deadlock. But don't you understand those two from our universe? They never let a grudge go overnight. The three major empires have messed with the Andromeda Galaxy many times, both openly and secretly, using methods far more disgusting than this. Not only are the mutants fine, but the three major empires are the ones about to collapse."

"It's a good thing those two came," Steve said. "Otherwise, if the mutants called me Captain America, I would feel ashamed."

"Hey, can I come in?" The voice of the main universe Spider-Man suddenly sounded outside the door. "It doesn't matter if I can't. The mutants just sent someone over, saying they want us to go near the volcano; they hope we can help consult on the construction of a hot spring bathhouse. Are you guys going over?"

"Starting work already?" Shiler walked over to open the door for him with some surprise, then said, "Aren't they going to rest for a while?"

"Just finished fighting, the young mutants are all very excited. They are thinking about building the bathhouse quickly so they can go soak in the hot springs. But there are some places they can't make up their minds on, and they want to refer to our opinions."

"Alright, I understand. Come in and sit for a while, Peter."

He walked in, saw Stark, and said: "You look much better, Mr. Stark. Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?"

Stark waved his hand at him, signaling he was fine. However, he soon seemed to remember something and asked: "Peter, do you catch colds?"

"Colds? Oh, of course. But after getting spider powers, I almost never catch a cold, though I have been infected with the flu. Spider powers are of no use against viral colds, but I have a better constitution, so I can recover a bit faster."

"So that's how it is. I'm very worried about you," Stark said. "It just so happens that our two doctors went to Hong Kong and grabbed some traditional Chinese medicine, which can be used to prevent colds. Do you want a bowl?"

Steve and Shiler turned their heads away helplessly at the same time. The main universe Spider-Man, however, was completely unaware and said: "Traditional Chinese medicine? I've heard of it. On the way home from school every day, the owner of the Chinese supermarket would be brewing medicine at the door; it looks quite magical. Can I really drink it?"

Shiler sighed and said: "Of course, I'll go brew it for you now."

Stark's malicious smile was already too obvious to be missed. Steve had the heart to warn him, but was stopped by Stark. And so, ten minutes later, there was another crying cat-head on the sofa.

"How can it be this bitter?" Spider-Man was truly on the verge of tears. As he chewed the candied fruit, he said, "And it's not just bitter; it's sour and astringent too. My god, I'd rather catch a cold!"

Stark laughed quite wildly, his entire complexion looking much more ruddy, though it was unclear if it was due to the medicine or psychological factors. He rubbed his hands together and said, "I feel much better. Let's head to the volcano now."

But soon, Spider-Man sprang up from the sofa: "It seems to be having some effect; I feel like I'm sweating."

He wasn't talking nonsense; beads of sweat were indeed glistening on his forehead, which hadn't been there when he first arrived. Spider-Man tugged at his collar and said, "I feel like this really works. Where did you buy this medicine? I want to buy some to take back for my aunt to prevent colds."

"That's probably a bit far," Schiller said. "And although this isn't a very potent medicinal ingredient, it shouldn't be taken often. If you want to regulate your body, you'll likely need to have a different prescription filled. Go find the Doctor Strange of your universe; he should know something about it."

"Alright, I'll go ask him, but he seems to still be arguing with the Iron Man of our universe, so I'm afraid he won't be too welcoming to me," Spider-Man said with some helplessness.

"The two of them are arguing?" Stark asked with great interest. "What about?"

"I don't know about that," the main universe Spider-Man shook his head and said, "but whatever you guys usually argue about, they're probably arguing about the same thing."

"Oh, it's that tech versus magic thing again," Stark said. "Then he shouldn't take it out on you; you can go ask."

The main universe Spider-Man nodded, then added: "By the way, can I take a few of these preserved fruits? Thor quite loves sweets; I want to bring some back for him to try."

"No problem, Stephen bought several bags." Schiller took out another bag from somewhere unknown, handed it to Spider-Man, and then said, "I originally intended to bring them back for the Thor of our universe as well."

The main universe Spider-Man left after taking the preserved fruit. Steve said with some confusion: "Thor likes sweets? I've never heard of that. When we eat in Asgard, he doesn't even touch the honeydew."

"It's Loki who loves sweets," Schiller gave a light hum and said. "Thor says he loves them himself so that if there's anything delicious, he can bring it back for Loki."

"So this is also for Loki?" Stark looked at the bag of preserved fruit and then said, "Just the fruit?"

"What else? Do you want them to try traditional Chinese medicine?" Schiller said. "There was a mistake in what I said earlier; there really are people in the Avengers who won't catch a cold, and that's Thor and Loki."

"I understand Thor; he's of the Aesir. That group of gods has excellent health and simply doesn't get sick. But isn't it said that Loki is frail and sickly?"

"Loki is a Frost Giant," Steve said, feeling helpless. "Have you ever heard of a Frost Giant catching a cold???"

Stark slapped his forehead; he had forgotten that detail, but he still shook his head with regret: "Why isn't the Golden Apple a medicinal ingredient? That way, everyone would have a need for it."

Soon, they put on their coats and went out. Schiller and Steve were just wearing ordinary clothes, while Stark had put on his armor. Besides keeping warm, it was also because he still didn't have much strength and needed the armor to carry him as he flew.

Clark Island is actually quite large; otherwise, it wouldn't have both basins and volcanoes. The Central Throne is toward the south, and the settlements are also in the south, so it's still quite a distance to the volcano in the north. Stark flew there directly, while Schiller and Steve lost patience halfway and hitched a ride with a mutant, being carried there by a telekinetic mutant.

Although they called it starting work, they hadn't even decided on the location yet. Because after they truly arrived at the cave beneath the volcano, they discovered that this place was far too complex; it would be more than enough to build an underground city.

Stark's armor was bright blue and very easy to identify. He wasn't on the side of the mutants and the main universe Avengers, but had stopped alone at another cave entrance. When Schiller and Steve got out of the vehicle, they also arrived at his side.

"You don't intend to go down, do you?" Schiller questioned. Because the hole he saw was a hole in the ground, vertically downward for over 30 meters, and it wasn't certain if there was a bottom; it might just be too dark to see what was below.

"I can feel that there are underground hot springs here; the humidity and temperature have risen significantly," Stark said. "The cave where the others are might not be as close as ours. I'm too lazy to argue with them; it's better to go down and take a look directly."

"If mutants wanted to film a movie, this would definitely be a disaster movie location," Steve sighed. Because this hole wasn't just deep, it was also very large, looking like a sinkhole. It looked quite magnificent from above, but if one had to go down, it wouldn't be any different from a disaster movie.

"But then again, you're the only one here who can't fly." Stark wasn't mocking him; he was just a bit worried. But Steve was clearly not the type to hesitate. Just as Stark was still talking while looking down, he had already moved a huge rock.

The reason it was called huge was because Captain America had to use both hands to move it. Steve held the rock in front of his chest and threw it directly into the pit, hearing a "plop" sound after a long while.

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

Before he had even finished speaking, Steve swung his shield and jumped down. Stark hadn't even had time to pull back his outstretched hand, and Schiller had also turned into a mist and gone down. Stark had no choice but to fly down in a hurry.

"Did you forget that my shield is made of vibranium?" Steve straightened his back after landing, picked up his shield, and said, "Never mind 50 meters, 500 meters would be a safe landing too."

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

"Although I don't want to say it, Tony, your illness definitely hasn't healed; your brain isn't even turning properly," Steve sighed and said. "I needed to know whether this was land or water down here. If it's a 100-degree underground hot spring, I would get scalded too."

Stark patted his forehead again; how could he have forgotten that? However, he asked with some curiosity: "But you can even work in a space environment."

"That's because I have a shield and a life-support collar. And those things usually work through fields, which is to say, changing the surrounding magnetic field to achieve life support. But changing physical matter like water is difficult. So if it were water, I would only be able to find a rope and climb down slowly."

"It seems that working in space has indeed taught you quite a bit," Schiller said. "Let's go ahead and take a look."