"Disappointed?"
From his hospital bed, Shiller picked up a mandarin segnt and threw it into his mouth, chewing while talking, "Stark and Bruce are a kind of people. I know their character, don't I?"
On the table, Pikachu was struggling to peel another mandarin with its little clumsy hands. But the juice splashed into its eyes. It rubbed its big dark eyes and then asked, "So you just stay here like this? Honestly, even if you really have a ntal illness, staying in the hospital probably won't solve the problem, will it?"
Shiller didn't answer that question. Instead, he opened the drawer of his bedside table and said while rummaging, "Where's the remote? I rember the nurse told that I could watch this TV..."
Opposite Shiller's hospital bed, there was a TV mounted on the wall. It was rare because generally, there are no TVs in wards of ntal hospitals. The reason is that TV channels are quite miscellaneous, so of which might stimulate the patients. But perhaps because Stark had arranged it all with the hospital in advance, Shiller was staying in a ward that more resembled a convalescent room. And it was an extrely expensive one, fully equipped with all sorts of facilities.
After adjusting the bed's height, grabbing his plate of fruit, and turning on the TV with the remote, Shiller started eating mandarins while watching TV.
Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up, glanced at the number, and answered, "Yes...you're coming over? Great, I have so free ti now. Last ti, you told you were on a TV show. I was just going to check it out..."
As Shiller listened to Peter's sowhat helpless voice on the phone while flipping through channels with his remote, there was a dull "thud" from the balcony outside the window.
With a "whoosh," the balcony door slid open, and Peter, dressed in his Spider Man outfit, walked in. He removed his mask, tossed his backpack onto a chair next to him, and seeing the TV show currently playing, he shook his head with a complex expression and said, "Actually, there's not much to see..."
Peter quickly circled the bed and high-fived Pikachu, whom he hadn't seen in a while. He grabbed the remaining half of the mandarin from Pikachu's hand and tossed a segnt into his mouth, imdiately squinting from the sourness.
Shiller handed him a bunch of grapes from the fruit plate. After eating a couple of ripe, sweet grapes, Peter finally recovered. Seeing Shiller in his patient gown, Peter pursed his lips and then sat at the side of the bed, asking,
"Doctor, can you tell what the hell is going on?"
Peter lowered his head, fiddled with his fingers, and said, "Before, I heard in the Avengers' base that Mr. Stark said that you..."
"What did he say?" Shiller asked in a relaxed tone.
"He discussed hiring a doctor for you with the captain. They said you might have so psychological issues. What's going on?"
Saying this, Peter looked around the entire ward, then said, "Wait, do psychologists also have psychological problems?"
"Of course, Peter." Shiller picked up another mandarin, and as he peeled it he said, "Just as 'the cobbler's children have no shoes,' many tis, psychologists are more prone to psychological issues than the average person."
"Why?" Peter asked curiously.
"When you're dealing with all sorts of patients, when listening to their stories, it often brings about an invisible ntal pressure..."
"ntal trauma isn't like a physical wound. It's not easily noticed until it's accumulated a certain extent. But once it breaks out, the accumulated negative emotions will enlarge the wound, resulting in much more severe consequences..."
"Is it the sa for you, Doctor? Did you develop psychological issues because you have been treating others?"
"No, Peter, I don't have psychological issues. I have ntal ones. Didn't I tell you before? I have Asperger's, although due to so reasons, I've basically self-recovered. But that still makes a ntal patient..."
Peter looked at Shiller lying on the bed, focused on peeling mandarins. He no longer furrowed his brows and he seed gentle. But in Peter's mind, ntal patients should all be very anxious and in pain.
"If you've already self-recovered, then why do you need to stay in the hospital?" Peter asked. He continued, "You sent the address of your new nursing ho before, but I haven't gone to see it yet. I heard from my uncle that it's a town with the most wealthy people and should have a nice environnt, right?"
"You're always welco to co over. But before that, let's discuss this first." Shiller pointed the remote at the TV mounted on the wall. At this mont, a giant cursive word, "New York Oddball," was displayed on the TV screen.
The 3D cursive words rotated twice, then gradually shrank. The lights flashed and the host, dressed in a suit, walked onto the stage, raising his hands to welco the cheers. Wearing exaggerated sunglasses, the host picked up the microphone and spoke in a high pitch:
"Welco to New York TV station's newest and best show—New York Oddball!"
Countless cheers ca from the audience seats as the lights flickered and confetti burst. The cara zood in on the top half of the host, who recited an advertisent first, and then said:
"Allow to share so good news with you all here, no, perhaps more than just one good news!"
"You must already know the first good news. This program has beco the ratings champion in less than two months since its launch!"
"All of this is thanks to the oddballs active in New York. They have all sorts of incredible abilities, strong, powerful, handso, cute—it's you, , and everyone!"
"We all love these oddballs, don't we? Their sowhat weird masks, colorful uniforms, and sowhat funny code nas. What can be more interesting than watching their fun while doing laundry at night?"
"Therefore, this brand-new program has beco the most popular new star program in the history of New York TV station! Thank you, you oddballs active in New York, or should I say, superheroes!"
"Alright, no need to dwell on past achievents. Let's talk about another piece of good news. The most famous oddball star scout Bob, from our show, has brought back so exciting news!"
"Guess who he ran into while scouting? You won't believe it, he t the famous - Spider Man!!!"
The host's excitent was about to break his voice. Shiller turned to look at Peter, who shrugged and explained:
"This is a new variety show from the New York TV station called New York Oddities. There are 12 star scouts on the show. They scour all over New York looking for people with special abilities, to interview them, and possibly, capture their day-to-day life."
"Oddities, what kind of people are they?" Shiller asked.
"They're superheroes with special abilities, who take on fighting cri as their duty. There have been quite a few people like that in New York recently."
Peter scratched his head and said: "There are more and more superheroes wearing uniforms and masks. Most of them are ordinary people, but now and then, one or two of them do have special abilities."
"Through their interactions with these individuals, the scouts learn their stories, showcasing their lives to the audience..."
"Previously, there was an episode where they interviewed a mutant who used his special powers to fight cri. This stirred up much controversy. As you know, mutants aren't exactly popular, but it was a surprise to so and terrifying to others when they learned that there are superheroes among them..."
"However, all of this has greatly boosted the popularity of the show, making it the hottest variety show at the mont."
Shiller rubbed his chin, looked at the host who was continuously explaining the rules and procedures, then turned to Peter and asked, "So, you participated in this show?"
"Actually, I didn't intentionally participate." Peter sighed, then began to describe what happened yesterday.
After Shiller was killed by Amit, the Iron Demon Stark shook the seal of all the gods on Earth, freeing many demon gods. The mysterious forces from various countries on Earth hastily assembled. Under the cooperation of Kamar-Taj and the Earth Defense Network, most of these demon gods were stewed.
However, the incident still left so ripples. After the seals in the cities and suburbs were broken, local residents were affected to varying degrees. So had haunting spirits in their hos, so were disoriented.
The mages dispatched people to solve most of the problems, but the chaos during that period led to a rise in the cri rate. The police couldn't cope, and superheroes like Spider Man ca forward to fill in the gap.
Ever since Iron Man and Spider Man, two incredibly widespread superheroes, beca popular in New York, there have been no shortage of imitators. Most of them rely mimicked the exterior, but so indeed possessed special powers.
The willingness to beco a superhero, even if it's only a performance, indicates that these people fundantally want to do good. During tis of chaos, many stood out and fought cri, aiding the police in resolving troubles.
Therefore, superheroes began to appear more regularly in the public's eye. The New York TV station seized this hot spot and launched a variety show called "New York Oddities."
After coming clean about his identity to Gwen, Peter and Gwen's relationship rapidly heated up. However, Peter was busy with his superhero career, as well as his research at Connors' Lab. Gwen began looking for internships and attending sumr camps in preparation for college. They were both too busy, barely eting once a week, much like the Cowherd and Weaver Girl of legend.
Just yesterday, after finally finishing his work, Peter heard that Gwen had a day off. They were both overjoyed and made plans to visit an exhibition after a long absence.
However, in his excitent, Peter left his Spider Silk Launcher behind at the Connors' Lab. Also, it wouldn't be appropriate to travel through the sewer before their date. So, he decided to run through the streets to reach their eting spot.
As it happened, the oddball star scout from the variety show was looking for superheroes on the streets.
In the past, hotshot superheroes like Spider Man and Iron Man were always up high. Whether flying in the sky or swinging on rooftops, ordinary star scouts wouldn't have a chance to et them. As a result, despite the interest, the show hadn't been able to secure an interview with a true top-tier superhero yet.
The star scout encountered Spider Man by chance and almost had a heart attack from the excitent. The way he rushed over, Peter nearly thought he was a robber.
However, once he explained his purpose, it piqued Peter's interest. After all, he grew up in New York and had been watching New York TV station programs with his aunt and uncle since he was a kid. He was excited about the idea of being on TV. When he heard it was just a simple interview, he didn't think much of it and agreed."
At that mont, the host on the TV screen raised a hand high, and the cara panned upward, switching to a shot of a table in front of a small xican stall. Shiller slightly widened his eyes while Peter said with resignation:
"I have no idea how that scout dared to venture into Hell's Kitchen, but anyhow, I ran into him at the place where we had tacos earlier..."
As he was saying this, Peter sighed helplessly again, and cautioned, "Doctor, you might want to turn down the volu a bit."
"Turn it down a bit? Why? Are you speaking loudly?" Shiller asked with a laugh.
At that mont, the thick voice of the big-bearded star scout bood from the TV screen:
"Look at our Spider-kid! New York's best superhero! I'm your super fan! If you don't sign my tee-shirt later, I'll go ho and cry with my teddy bear..."
On the screen, Peter was laughing heartily. The two clinked their drink cups and officially began the interview.
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