Chapter 4749: X-Empire: Rebirth (End)

Despite this, the mutants didn't open their mouths like a lion. Mainly, the other party didn't have anything to take out, besides lifting sanctions and establishing diplomatic relations, it was just asking for some resources, and didn't even dare to ask for people, fearing that they would be mixed with sand.

However, being able to make the world hegemon bow its head indeed made the mutants vent their anger and also boosted their morale. After Charles cleared the moles, the entire Krakoa Island was more united.

Near-infinite sea power brings many benefits. In addition to maritime trade, more merchant ships are willing to pass through them. Because the ocean near Krakoa Island is an absolutely safe area, the mutants themselves don't act as pirates, and naturally won't allow other pirates to run wild here. Merchant ships have no risk of being robbed, and even because of the neutral tendency of mutants, warships can also come here for supplies.

Krakoa Island itself has beautiful scenery, and Erik led the mutants to build a series of supporting service facilities, including a large number of accommodations, bars, and casinos. It also indeed became what they planned before, becoming a paradise for sailors.

No one would think of making trouble on the mutant's territory, even if there are those who are drunk, it is very easy to be suppressed. And it is also very expected that this has become a safe zone for some black and gray transactions.

This black and gray transaction naturally does not include drugs or human trafficking, these things cannot get on the island. Mainly, some mercenaries and middlemen talk about things, as well as commercial spies, cultural relic traffickers, and fugitives from various countries.

This actually has advantages and disadvantages. Although it doesn't look like a good person, they can't run away after getting on the island. Krakoa has no obligation to provide them with shelter, but can take them as chips to negotiate with various countries. For example, before, two Chinese fugitives ran over, and Charles took them to exchange for a lot of good things with S. H. I. E. L. D.

And this group of people doesn't have to come here, most of them have been chased to the point of no way, if they don't find a place far enough away from the smoke, they will definitely be caught, so they can only come here to gamble. Those with value will be sold by Krakoa, and those without value will be left alone, anyway, if the body can't stand it, they will leave by themselves.

In addition, the tax-free policy has also been well implemented, and this has also become the largest tax-free trading market on Earth. Many companies are willing to come here to trade, and some even fly over specifically to sweep goods. Although they can't stay for a long time, running one or two trips a year can also earn a lot.

There is also a major breakthrough, that is, the extract of Krakoa flowers has finally been successfully researched. This thing is finally no longer the most basic herbal form, but has become a drug component that can be made into medicine, which is called "Krakoa glycoside".

Drug testing was completed faster than imagined. When the first batch of finished products came down, Stark hadn't left Krakoa Island yet. Therefore, he became the first person to enjoy this medicine. After all, during this period, although he didn't get sick again, he had always been a bit weak, which proved that the island still had a certain impact on him.

Stark looked at the small medicine bottle in Shiler's hand with some confusion and said: "Why is it oral liquid?"

"The best compatibility with this kind of component is alcohol," Shiler said. "Various experiments show that alcohol solution effect will be better. Of course, there is also an alcohol-free anti-allergy version, but it is a children's granule. Do you want that?"

"No need," Stark waved his hand. "It's not like I can't drink. Come on."

Sh

Schiller's hand holding the straw stopped in mid-air because Stark had already pulled off the rubber cap on top and opened his mouth to pour it in. There wasn't much liquid in the bottle; it all went into his mouth in a second.

"PFFT!!!!!!!!!!"

Within half a second of entering his mouth, it was sprayed out.

Stark's expression looked exactly like he had taken a punch, or perhaps a kick to the groin; his facial features moved with remarkable flexibility, and their configuration was quite spectacular, bumping around like billiard balls before completely collapsing together.

"BLECH——!!!!!!!!"

Stark truly vomited; he even threw up his lunch. He stumbled to the bathroom, rinsed his mouth, then washed his face, not even caring that it was tap water, and gulped down a stomach full of water.

By the time he came back out, Schiller had just finished cleaning the floor outside. Stark collapsed weakly onto the sofa: "How can this thing... how can it be so disgusting..."

"You're making a fuss again," Schiller said. "Isn't it just the taste of traditional Chinese medicine?"

Stark no longer had the strength to argue with him; his whole person seemed to have been mentally traumatized, causing his brain to go blank, and it was only after a long while that he reacted and waved his hand.

Schiller brought over a box of oral liquid, and he took another one from it, wanting to hand it to Stark. Stark asked him very seriously: "Have you drunk it yourself?"

Schiller shook his head: "I'm not affected by the island, so why would I drink it?"

"You drink it," Stark said, being brief and to the point.

Schiller gave a cold hum. But looking at the situation, if he didn't drink it, Stark wouldn't either. So he took a bottle, first removed the metal cap, then inserted the straw into the rubber soft cap, and took a big gulp.

"PFFT!!! Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!!!!"

Schiller also sprayed the medicine out. Fortunately, he didn't vomit; the gray mist must have suppressed his gag reflex, but his brain also went blank for a moment, manifesting as the entire Gao Ta jumping in place.

"What the hell is going on?" complaints filled the Gao Ta. "Greed, what are you doing again? Can you stop challenging our mental limits?!"

They thought Greed was up to something big again, and that their mental world had bumped into something. Superego quickly took action, but after looking through the memories, said with some helplessness: "He just drank a bottle of medicine."

This also fully demonstrated that this oral liquid was so disgusting that it could cause an impact on the Gao Ta's mental barrier; it seemed like a Superman had been dissolved in this stuff!

Schiller sat across from Stark, and only after he had recovered a bit did he begin to judge the taste. When he was young, the summers were very hot, and some children would get heatstroke; at that time, nurses would distribute a medicine called Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, which could be used to relieve or prevent heatstroke.

After Schiller grew up, he learned that there were two versions of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water. In some regions, it was called Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, while in others, there was no distinction, and it was all called Huoxiang Zhengqi Water. The difference between the two versions was that the old version contained alcohol.

And Huoxiang itself is bitter to drink; adding alcohol makes it both bitter and spicy, a taste that is simply impossible to describe. Schiller once tasted a bottle out of curiosity, and ever since then, he had kept any oral liquid at arm's length, his fear of it not far off from his fear of broccoli.

And this medicine was probably more than twenty times as disgusting as the old version of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water. Somehow, the alcohol content had been completely removed, so it couldn't be used to numb the brain, but the spiciness had been perfectly preserved, just enough to stimulate the nerves and make one more alert.

Then came the main event: the indescribable bitterness. This had already broken through the human limit for perceiving bitterness, giving one the feeling that after one gulp, all the sins of this lifetime had been redeemed, even for Greed.

What was even more terrifying was that there was a hint of sweetness in the taste, but it didn't play a positive role at all; it was more like the industrial alcohol smell of high-concentration vodka. It was precisely this sweetness that triggered the gag reflex and activated the brain's protective mechanism.

Schiller sat in the chair, feeling listless; he did know Chinese, after all. When he saw the character "Gan" (sweet), he should have been on guard—Chinese people love to bestow beautiful wishes when naming things. Generally, if a medicine is named "Fragrant," "Sweet," or "Delicious," the taste of that medicine is basically hopeless.

Clearly, this character also embodied the romantic sentiments of the Chinese nation, placing very high hopes on it. As for why it needed to be hoped for, don't ask.

"I won't urge you to drink it," Schiller said. "Anyway, the island construction is almost complete, and we'll be leaving soon, so if you don't drink it, you don't drink it."

"It's no use even if you urge me," Stark said, looking slightly weak. "It's not that I don't want to drink it; it's that I simply can't get it down. This thing triggered a full-body rejection reaction, and the energy flow in the Arc Reactor is a bit chaotic."

Just at this moment, Strange arrived. He had also been following the progress on the Chinese side, so as soon as he saw that row of oral liquid, he knew the medicine must have arrived. He took a bottle and prepared to drink it.

"Wait!" Stark called out to stop him. This might be a case of "a dying man's words are good." If something is just ordinarily disgusting, it's easily used to prank a brother; but if something is so disgusting that it blots out the sun, one only worries about whether their good brother will die right there.

But Strange was just too fast; he inserted the straw, put it in his mouth, and drank. Then, as expected, he vomited too.

After a long while, Strange also collapsed on the sofa. He was also a person who paid great attention to his image; he usually stood and sat with poise, and even when sitting on a soft sofa, he would try to be as dignified as possible. This time, he looked like he was truly half-dead.

Following closely was Steve. When Steve saw them, he thought they were putting on an act again. He also picked up a bottle of oral liquid, and the three of them hurriedly stopped him.

"Don't drink it, seriously, don't drink it!" Stark said. "Uncle Rogers, I'm begging you!"

Steve was a bit surprised; he looked at the small bottle of oral liquid and then said: "Tony, I know your sense of taste is quite sensitive and you don't take medicine often, but it's really not that exaggerated... PFFT!!!!"

Two minutes later, Steve sat on the sofa, completely baffled. The way he held the medicine bottle was no different from how he held a grenade; in fact, judging by his expression, he probably felt that this thing had more power than a grenade.

Then Bucky came over, and he also took some medicine, wanting to drink it. This time, it was Stark himself who stepped forward to stop him. Bucky was shocked: just how disgusting could this thing be to make Stark put aside past grudges and face to stop him? He wasn't really going to die here, was he?

Bucky wisely didn't drink it, and neither did Natasha. The two of them successfully escaped a disaster. Then the main universe Spider-Man came over to say goodbye because they were leaving; hearing that the new medicine was finished, he wanted to take a bottle to try.

However, this time the others didn't stop him because Spider-Man had a very powerful ability called "Spider-Sense." Sure enough, there was no reaction when he picked up the medicine bottle, but just as he was about to pour it into his mouth, his Spider-Sense gave a "buzz," and Spider-Man subconsciously threw the medicine bottle away.

Suddenly, the whole room cheered. The others had never envied Spider-Man's superpower so much.

"Is this poison or something?" Spider-Man asked suspiciously.

"No, it's just too disgusting," Schiller said. "I advise you not to taste it."

"I can't," Spider-Man said. "I need to bring it to my aunt; I have to taste it."

After saying this, he gathered his courage and took a sip—he was actually the only one among everyone who didn't spit the medicine out; he even swallowed it. Everyone was shocked.

"It really is so disgusting... cough, cough, cough!" Spider-Man's tone was a bit choked up. "But actually, it's okay, cough, cough, cough... it's still better than... better than going to the hospital..."

Everyone fell silent. Stark squeezed the bottle; he, like the others, realized that while this taste might not have been intentionally formulated, it was highly likely that it hadn't been modified and was deliberately preserved so that the medicine could reach those who truly needed it.

"You take it all." Stark shoved the whole box of medicine to him and then said, "I wish you good health."

"Thank you, you too."