Chapter 4754: Royal Clan: Rebirth (Thirteen)

"What on earth is going on with this island?" Steve stood by the window, frowning. Outside, Clarkia remained lush and verdant as ever. After the storm, the sky was cloudless for miles. Water droplets clinging to plant surfaces sparkled like scattered diamonds, casting everything in a soft, hazy glow. Small creatures emerged once more, and rustling sounds came from the forest and undergrowth. Leaves swayed gently, shaking off dew that vanished before it hit the ground.

Yet beneath this beautiful scene lay danger. Though Stark's physique wasn't up to par compared to these superhumans, he was still quite strong among ordinary people.

He had a professional nutrition team improving his diet; regular check-ups ensured no health issues were delayed; a dedicated medical team guarded him, with all medical resources at his disposal. He himself maintained year-round fitness, with all physical indicators far above average. Even so, he was still affected by Clarkia.

An island no ordinary person could set foot on. For mutants, it might be a good thing, but it could also bring trouble. For instance, now that Stark had fallen ill, the Divine Spear Bureau's originally planned three-day inspection was cut to a day and a half. Neither the Divine Spear Bureau nor Clarkia could afford to let Director Zheng Xian encounter problems on the island—that would be a major incident.

The recently returned Magneto also worried about this. Wanting to develop more trade partners inevitably meant inviting people to visit Clarkia Island. Though logically a stay of only one or two days should pose no issue, if anything did go wrong, Clarkia's hopes of advancing in the international community would be dashed.

Still, Magneto first sought out Shiler. Seeing Shiler walk into the office, he said: "I feel deeply sorry, Doctor Rodriguez. We may indeed have underestimated the island's impact on ordinary people, and this has harmed your friend. No matter how you wish us to express apology or compensation, please do not hesitate."

Shiler took a deep breath, walked over, sat down, and said: "Now the problem is, since it's come to this, what we should do most is get him sent away quickly. But Tony is someone who sees things through—he promised to help and has his own plan, so he won't give up easily."

"This time, he merely caught a common cold—it's not a serious illness, his fever has broken, and he doesn't want to appear like a cowardly rich man clinging to life, so he's even less willing to leave. I and my other friends simply can't convince him."

"The way to get him to leave Clarkia quickly is for you to meet his expectations as soon as possible. But we both know that's impossible—whether developing industry or agriculture, it takes time; even just setting up a framework requires at least ten days to half a month. No one knows if his condition will worsen during this process."

"So the best approach now is for you to find a way to let him stay safely on this island until he finishes what he wants to do. I'll do my best to help you find it. What I've thought of so far is to have him wear his armor as much as possible. That nanotech suit poses no issue, wearing it constantly is fine, and he's agreed to it with me."

"But you must also know that, in any universe, any country, a fully armed Iron Man is imposing—especially in our universe. Wearing armor makes it hard to display friendliness, which could make his dealings with mutants more difficult. Not to mention, you also want other nations to visit? What do you think they'd feel seeing a fully armed Iron Man flying toward them?"

"Hiring people from the Center Universe always comes at a cost, but not this kind. This is pure meaningless waste, harmful to both sides, and benefits no one. We must avoid such things as much as possible."

"If you have any good ideas, propose them quickly and then act on them. If the situation doesn't improve, we'll have to consider withdrawing from this plan."

Magneto never expected Shiler to communicate so calmly and rationally, considering everything so thoroughly. It seemed he truly wanted to solve the problem, not just vent dissatisfaction.

What he said also made sense. Wearing armor while active might be acceptable, but it's not the best method. No other reason is needed—just the sentence "Center Universe's Iron Man isn't used to it" is enough.

He came to help and guide work, so naturally his habits should come first. If he's not used to wearing armor, we should try as hard as possible not to make him wear it, rather than brushing it off with "wearing it causes no harm." Even if he ends up wearing it anyway, we should at least try our best to avoid it—this is a matter of attitude.

This could indeed frighten foreign guests. Especially since the Center Universe's Iron Man has already appeared in the lab power struggle and shown himself before Earth's government—his strength is undeniable. If he appears on the island like that, guests will know no security measure could affect him.

The first batch of foreign guests is easy enough to handle—after all, they came, so they probably won't leave right away. But the people they're to receive aren't just one batch, and others have no obligation to keep things secret for them. After the first batch leaves, loudly proclaiming that terrifying Iron Man in full armor is waiting on the island, the later batches simply won't come.

The mutants' attitude isn't really a big issue. Although the main universe folks left them no good impression, due to the different armor styles, they can easily tell them apart and likely won't show any bad attitude toward the Center Universe's Iron Man. If necessary, just have the mutants avoid him.

"This is indeed a problem," Magneto said, "we do have a solution here, though I'm not sure you'll accept it."

"What solution?" Shiler asked.

"You should have heard of the Clarkia Flower." Magneto pulled out a flower from beside him and said, "This is a special medicine effective only on humans. Eating this flower can cure most illnesses and also create a subtle connection with the Clarkia totem, which might make the island less hostile toward him."

Shiler frowned deeply. He finally understood why Magneto asked whether this method could be accepted—because in reality, it's very hard for people to accept.

First, the Clarkia Flower is an herb with no pharmacological or pathological research. Mutants merely discovered its effect and started using it. They have no idea what side effects or long-term effects it might have.

Moreover, research on its extract has just begun and certainly won't yield results quickly. In other words, everything about this herb is a blank slate. As for its positive effects—like curing illness—we won't even mention them; whether forming a connection with the Clarkia totem is good or bad, no one knows.

Stark doesn't plan to live here long—he's just visiting and helping out. Forming a connection with the Clarkia totem might help him avoid the island's rejection, but if it has other effects, that could be serious trouble.

Shiler sighed, looking somewhat troubled. There's also the issue of Stark's anxiety disorder. Though he seems fully recovered now, consuming something of unknown origin, for an anxiety sufferer, is hardly different from self-harm.

If he takes it and experiences excessive psychological pressure, leading to somatic symptoms, we won't be able to tell whether it's the herb poisoning him or his own issues. And if we end up giving Clarkia a black mark, that would truly be helping the enemy.

"I have an idea," Magneto continued, "the human scientists stranded on Clarkia have been there a while. Their health checkups show most are subhealthy. One female scientist has endometrial abnormalities, and a male scientist has mild meningitis. Before sending them away, we can give them the Clarkia Flower for treatment. This would be a favor to them and also let us use them as test subjects to see if there are serious side effects."

Shiler's hand paused. He thought it over—this really is a good idea. Not because it's a rigorous experimental procedure, but because it would surely convince Stark and solve his psychological problem.

As for the physical issue, Shiler believes there's actually not much problem. On one hand, he's seen the Clarkia Flower and totem—they're not particularly evil; on the other, no matter how powerful the totem, it couldn't break through the cosmic barrier. Once back in the Center Universe, that connection wouldn't be worth worrying about.

"Alright, let's do it that way," Shiler said, nodding. "But where are you sending these scientists?"

"We're preparing to hand them over to the Divine Spear Bureau. How the Bureau exchanges with other forces isn't our concern. Still, we believe the Bureau will handle it well—if they can't, then other forces certainly can't either."

Shiler nodded again—this is a smart move. Only he doesn't know how Charles convinced the Divine Spear Bureau to take these people in; that's also somewhat of a hassle.

Magneto seemed to notice Shiler's doubt, lowered his voice, and said: "After this incident, many scientists have expressed interest in taking refuge in China. They're not stupid—they know they can't get by in the West, the government will surely cause them trouble, so coming east for refuge is a good option. The Divine Spear Bureau probably wants to take a gamble too, see if they can keep a few. These are rare talents—if they truly couldn't stay on the island, mutants wouldn't want to let them go."

Shiler understood: these scientists and the Divine Spear Bureau are like-minded. Their knowledge and skills are a case of "guilt by association"—today we go after mutants and grab them, tomorrow we go after someone else and grab them again, and this can't go on forever.

As for their old friends wanting to avoid them, the only option is to go to a new environment the others can't interfere with. Clarkia is a decent place, but still not ideal for ordinary humans. China would be much better—though it's also a completely new cultural environment, at least safety is guaranteed, language and such can be learned again, which isn't a big problem for them.

"If so, then let's hurry," Shiler said, letting out a light sigh. "I'm not urging you, but Tony's been sleeping poorly lately, having nightmares nonstop—I keep having to go into his dreams to pull him out, and you wouldn't want to know what I've been through."