Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4657 - 3735 Mercury Era (18)

Shiller completely understood the dilemma Peter was facing now. He truly was a genius. But as long as he lived as an ordinary person, he had to confront the one thing ordinary people fear and dread the most: aging.

Peter wasn't 16 anymore. He was almost 30. As he aged, he passed his most mentally active and energetically vibrant years, becoming a middle-aged man who needs rest and careful maintenance to maintain his condition.

But this is actually a paradox. Because Peter wasn't a businessman, he was a scientist. He needed to spend years in the lab, often busy day and night, with no time for even sleep, let alone exercise.

However, if he didn't maintain a certain level of physical activity, and if his diet and rest were irregular, over time he would fall into a sub-health state, requiring more time to recover energy, further compressing research time. If he couldn't finish everything in one go, he'd be busier later, with even less time to exercise, worsening health issues, and needing more time to rest. This is the modern sub-health vicious cycle.

When Peter was young, he naturally felt he had endless energy. Even without the help of Spider Powers, he was still full of inspiration and energy, able to work tirelessly for twenty or thirty hours without feeling tired.

But as he aged, this obviously didn't work anymore. His energy couldn't keep up, his brain's processing speed slowed, leading to slower problem-solving, and naturally, less inspiration. Many who have worked in creative industries should have experienced this.

If Peter were just an ordinary research worker, it wouldn't matter. But up to now, he had his independent research group, independent lab, and several research teams. If he couldn't come up with ideas, the whole group might have no results, wasting both time and resources.

Due to Shiller's presence, Peter had smooth sailing over the years. Without Uncle Ben's death, Peter couldn't timely recognize the weight of reality and still carried many idealistic traits.

He thought that since he could contribute to the human race with his Wisdom, giving the Strength to others could make a double contribution. Undoubtedly, this was quite an idealistic model, even somewhat naive and innocent.

However, he recently faced reality. Besides his regular job, he practiced culinary skills and worked on flying car brake systems. He clearly felt overwhelmed.

During the day in the lab was fine, at least he could concentrate on problem-solving. But after a day's work, thinking about what braking method to improve the flying car felt like his brain was mush; he just wanted to crash into bed and sleep.

Of course, Peter was unwilling. He understood he had the potential to do it, but unfortunately, his hardware was letting him down; his energy couldn't keep up. If this continued, failing to produce results was a minor issue; making himself sick would be troublesome.

He also had Magic Energy and Faith Power inside him, but these didn't quite match his body. The most compatible with him was still Spider Power. But Miles had already succeeded in debuting and was quite welcomed by New York City's residents. Peter wouldn't take back what he had given, so he had no choice but to look for Nick.

However, Peter didn't want others to think he was flip-flopping, so he had to find an excuse. He initially thought that during some dangerous incident, he could sustain a minor injury and then propose taking back the Strength for self-preservation; this would feel more natural. As it turned out, he and Stark operated together and blew up the kitchen in the process. Now, not only did he regain the Spider Power, but Stark was also required to wear Mecha in the kitchen; otherwise, America's two greatest scientists might die from a ridiculous kitchen accident.

"Peter, being chosen by the Spider Totem is inevitable for you. Because in the cosmos, only you are most compatible with this Strength. No matter when, the Spider Totem will always welcome you back. You shouldn't have any psychological burden. To put it another way, our cosmos doesn't lack Energy. All my efforts with The Avengers and others at Kamar-Taj are so that in the future, we don't have to haggle over one or two portions of Strength. It's our honor you enjoy this achievement."

Peter pursed his lips, eyes red. Just as he was about to say something, the kitchen door banged open. Natasha strode in, like a spear into the liquor cabinet, directly grabbing the strongest bottle from Shiller's bar, slamming it down on the island platform's high chair, tipping the bottle down, and filling a glass. She tossed her head back and drained the glass in one go.

Peter choked back his emotions, and with slight fear, edged aside, then quickly dashed out to tinker with the flying car with Stark.

"What's wrong?" Shiller asked.

Natasha heaved a long sigh.

Shiller was genuinely curious because Natasha wasn't someone who usually sighed unless the situation had deteriorated to the point where sighing was all she could do.

"What happened?"

"Wipe that amused grin off your face!" Natasha growled at him, "I haven't even settled the account with you from that day!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shiller looked down, examining his fingerprints.

"Alright then, as you wish, Doctor. Bucky and Clint are about to fight! I'm going mad!"

Shiller's smile grew even more radiant. He even put his phone down, went to the fridge to get Natasha some ice, and said, "Let's hear it, maybe I can help you."

Natasha rolled her eyes and said, "If the drama in your head isn't at least 30 episodes long, I'll eat this glass!"

"Just into the second season, ma'am," Shiller smiled, "currently paused at the climax fight scene. Mind elaborating?"

"If I elaborate, your show will never pass censorship." Natasha wiped her lips and said, "Last night, Bucky and I went to a restaurant. When we were heading back to relax, Clint called me..."

Shiller glanced to the side. Two shiny heads were visible outside the window. He looked up again; the camera lens twitched slightly, flashing a light in his direction. The group chat on his phone, which he'd just pulled himself away from, exploded with messages again. Right after, a voice call came through. Shiller answered it without any change in his expression.

Natasha started rambling on about last night. It wasn't really a big deal; she was just in a room with Bucky when Clint called. Then Bucky suddenly realized something and started bringing up old issues with Natasha.

Natasha felt she didn't have any extra feelings for Clint. But Bucky thought that for Natasha to entrust such a major decision, like whether she'd stay in America, to Clint, their relationship might not be that simple. Although he didn't say it outright, he was clearly unhappy.

"He's just unhappy because he met me earlier but still loses out to a 30-year-old rookie." Natasha said, supporting her forehead with her hand, "He insists on asking me if I think he's old. My god. How should I even answer him? 'It's okay, dear, I'm older than you.' Is that what he wants to hear?"

"You're not older than him, are you?" Shiller calculated and said, "Bucky was born in 1917, you were born in 1928, he's 11 years older than you."

"That's exactly the problem!" Natasha raised her voice, "He insists that the years he was under mind control don't count! Just like how the years Captain America was frozen under ice don't count! Isn't that absurd?! Men and their ridiculous sense of competition..."

Shiller opened his mouth, not even knowing how to comment on what they were entangled with. "So, you spent all night discussing who's older?"

"No." Natasha said, ruffling her hair in frustration, "Clint called asking me to help with his training. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field agents take turns sparring. The current agent took leave to go home. I am indeed the next in line, but the timing was off, so I wanted to refuse. But Clint insisted on picking me up the next morning..."

"Did he come?"

"Of course! He even bought breakfast!"

"That seems considerate of him."

"Three portions!"

"Forget what I said." Shiller sighed and said, "Steve used to say that his dear B.B. had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Seems like our C.B. has quite a few too. So, did you have breakfast together?"

"Have breakfast my foot, do you think everyone's like you, just immersed in the study of food every day?" Natasha took another swig of alcohol and said, "The three of us just need to be together for more than ten minutes, and I have to start explaining. In the years they weren't aware, what happened between me and the other person? But how can I even explain?"

"'Why can't a woman love two men at the same time?'"

"Not at the same time!"

"So you did love both of them at some point?"

"You damn psychiatrist!"

Shiller poured himself a glass of sour plum juice, thought for a moment, then said: "The key issue here is that your new and old flames both want to know if you really loved them and if you truly loved the other person. But you know you can't answer that question, because once you do, the next question will be who you love more. And this is something even you might not have an answer for."

"What do you think?" Natasha asked bluntly, "Do you think I loved both of them? Who do I love more?"

"The answer to the first question is undoubtedly yes, if you didn't love both, you wouldn't let them influence such major decisions in your life. You are that kind of person, Natasha. You prove your love for someone by involving them in your life. When they make a major decision for you, every step you take in the future has their shadow. For a love, this is the best memento."

"And the second question?"

"As I said, there's no answer. Because you're in different eras, different scenarios, and you're in different states. The 20% you loved your first love could surpass the 70% for those who came later. It's simply incomparable."

"But what if they force me to compare?"

"I really don't know why you're so hung up on this, dear lady." Shiller shook his head gently, looking a bit puzzled. He looked at Natasha and said, "Especially since you're not the heroine of a TV drama, but Black Widow, possessing the power to beat up both of them. Who would dare to press you for answers then?"

Natasha was taken aback for a few seconds, then came to a sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Shiller glanced down at his phone; in the group, Steve, who had listened to the entire exchange via voice call, was hysterically tagging Bucky:

"@BB, buddy, you must live to see my birthday. Now, run!!!"