Chapter 5748: Chapter 4771: X Royal Family: Rebirth (11)

"How’s it going?" Stark asked worriedly in the living room. "Why did they suddenly call you over?"

"There’s been a bit of a problem over with the Professor," Shiller replied, "but it’s all sorted now."

"It’s related to the Shi’ar Empire, right?" Steve guessed correctly and said, "I don’t know if it’s because the Shi’ar Empire in this universe is too strong, or ours is too weak. The threat they pose to mutants is something I didn’t expect."

"Mutants in our universe didn’t stay on Earth for long. They left before the Solar System development plan. Before that, humans didn’t have the ability to develop Sentinel robots, and after that, there was no need to do so. Hence, there was no weapon that completely restrained mutants," Stark said.

"True enough." Steve nodded.

"So are the Sentinels really that powerful?" Matt frowned. He put down the dossier he was reading and said, "As far as I know, the Three Great Empires all want to study weapons to deal with mutants; they’ve really been frightened by them. But so far, no one seems to have succeeded."

"Their level is lacking," Stark shook his head and said, "I’m not talking about technological level, but in terms of developing weapons for genocide against certain groups. They’re far behind humans."

"Frankly speaking, if the mutants turn against us now, and we don’t get involved, the human government could probably deploy Sentinels in just a few days, possibly even stronger than the ones in this universe. Otherwise, why would the Three Great Empires fear humans?"

Everyone clearly agreed. Then Matt said, "I just looked at the Clarkia Island economic report, and guess what?"

The others all looked at him, and Matt shook his head and said, "Right now, the main source of Clarkia’s economy is virtual currency."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Virtual currency?"

Everyone expressed their shock. Shiller said, "I haven’t had a chance to study this, but didn’t expect you to see it first. But truth be told, they lack real industry, so they can only rely on virtual economy."

"Yes, and their virtual currency’s servers and keys are both overseas. Specifically, they are on the mainland, not the island."

"That’s too risky." Although Stark doesn’t really care about finance, he’s an entrepreneur, so he said, "The Stark Group also holds virtual currency as part of our virtual assets. But I’ve placed the servers and keys in the vault in Asgard. Earth is like a sieve; you never know when something will leak. I don’t even trust S.H.I.E.L.D."

"You definitely shouldn’t trust it." Steve glanced at Shiller, "If you store it with S.H.I.E.L.D., it might turn into medical funds at any time."

"What are you saying? I wouldn’t take something without asking."

"Yeah, you’d just leave others no choice."

They laughed again. Shiller got up to make coffee, and Matt said, "The situation in the Solar System isn’t great right now; I’m worried they might use Clarkia Island’s virtual assets to threaten the mutants."

"Threaten the mutants?" Stark frowned, "Right now, the mutants are the ones holding things up. Their field personnel haven’t rested for days and nights, still fighting on the Jupiter Line. What else does the Earth government want?"

"Of course, they want the two leaders to take action." Steve seemed more sensitive to this matter, and he said, "The Earth government hopes this battle will further deplete the mutants’ strength. Although there are many mutants on the front lines and they’re strong enough, they’re not the leaders."

"But if a leader dies on the battlefield, wouldn’t the mutants become more united?"

"Indeed, but the difference is that mutants have two spiritual leaders, and if one dies, the other will surely avenge him, which would set mutants and the Shi’ar Empire against each other endlessly, and the pressure on Earth would lessen significantly."

"Is that so?" Stark lowered his gaze. "Now that we’re working with China, those virtual assets aren’t as important, right?"

"Although you say that, it would still be quite infuriating if they’re cracked or seized." Matt shook his head and said, "And precisely because of the cooperation with China, the risk of sanctions has increased significantly."

"It appears the Shi’ar Empire’s invasion hasn’t united Earth at all." Stark looked at Shiller again, "You might be busy for nothing."

"Just targeting virtual assets is already progress," Shiller set down the coffee and said, "You know, using the method of sanctioning other countries to sanction Clarkia is already quite restrained. Their last step was the Red Orchid Factory."

"True." Matt took a sip of coffee and said, "Sanctioning virtual assets isn’t a huge loss, just a bit annoying."

"Besides, mutants don’t have entirely no cards up their sleeves." After Shiller said that, everyone looked at him. Shiller continued, "The engineers involved in the Red Orchid plan are still on the island."

"Are you suggesting a hostage exchange? But using these scientists to swap for virtual assets, isn’t that a bit wasteful?"

"Ordinary people can’t stay on Clarkia Island for long. The climate and energy field here cause all sorts of problems. They’ll have to leave sooner or later. Using such a group to exchange for some money isn’t a loss."

"I’m worried they’ll be hunted down after they go back."

"That’s why it depends on the mutants’ choices. It may be a multi-party extradition plan."

Stark took a sip of coffee and said, "Iron Man in this universe should recruit them. Anyone who can study at the Red Orchid Factory is definitely an outstanding human scientist, the more the merrier... Achoo!"

Just after taking a sip of hot coffee, Stark sneezed. He picked up a tissue and wiped his nose. Everyone looked at him with some concern, and Stark waved his hand and said, "Maybe the coffee was too hot."

Shiller walked over and closed the window. Before closing it, he glanced outside; the weather was still not very good. Although it wasn’t raining, it was constantly windy.

"Perhaps we should ask the Weather Witch for help," he said. "It’s no solution to just keep it overcast. Many things can’t get done."

He hadn’t even finished speaking when the wind suddenly stopped. The howling wind and the trembling of the eaves disappeared. Everyone turned their heads to look outside and walked to the window. On the distant foggy horizon, a tiny figure was stopping the storm.

The island quickly returned to calm, the clouds dispersed, and a ray of sunlight shone down. The Royal Court, washed clean by the rain, shimmered in the sunlight. The entire island turned emerald green.

Stark also walked to the window, but as soon as he pushed it open, he sneezed again. His skin visibly turned red. Steve immediately gave him a gentle nudge and felt his forehead.

"You’re definitely catching a cold," Steve said. "You might even have a low fever now. We need to take your temperature to be sure. I’ll go fetch a medical kit; wait right here."

Stark pursed his lips, turned around, and started to walk away, but Matt grabbed his arm and pinned him to the ground, saying, "Don’t run. You’re the only ordinary person here, so you’re the most susceptible to this island’s influence. We have to ensure you’re healthy."

Stark, of course, loudly protested but to no avail. There’s no way he could beat a trained fighter like Matt. And if he tried to use his mecha, Shiller would employ some unscientific means to restrain him.

So he was half-dragged, half-carried to the sofa to lie down. By then, his facial skin was already burning red, and his condition visibly worsened.

Matt quickly brought a towel to cool him down. Stark lay there and said hoarsely, "I don’t understand why I caught a cold, I’ve been wearing a lot."

"It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the temperature," Shiller said, sitting beside him and adjusting the towel. "You were too exhausted recently, and when you suddenly relax, it’s easy to get sick. Besides, this island really isn’t suitable for ordinary people. You’re not wearing your mecha, so it’s normal to be affected."

"But you didn’t warn me," Stark complained. "If the other two Iron Men find out, they’ll laugh at me across the Multiverse because they’re fighting on the frontlines with no issues while I catch a cold in the back."

Shiller chuckled and said, "Even if I warned you, you wouldn’t want to wear your mecha all the time. You’d just think I’m making a fuss. Don’t I know you well?"

Just then, Strange walked in. He had been in surgery for several hours, yet he wasn’t the least bit tired. As soon as he came in and saw Stark lying on the sofa, he gave him a once-over and said, "Now you need to take over the whole sofa to assert your authority?"

"He’s sick," Matt said, returning. "Might be a cold."

Surprisingly, Strange frowned deeply and said, "How could it be a cold? Did you go for a walk in the stormy night?"

"How could I?!" Stark raised his voice. "What would I go out for?"

Strange sat down next to him and said, "This island isn’t suitable for ordinary people, especially someone like you who lacks exercise. I don’t mean hitting the gym; I mean you rarely visit places with entirely unfamiliar climates and environments. Adaptability needs to be trained."

Stark remained silent, possibly because he couldn’t speak. This cold induced a fever very quickly, and in no time, Stark’s skin was burning hot.

"We need to get some medicine," Strange sighed. "I’ll go to the hospital."

"No, I don’t need antibiotics," Stark said. "I’ll get better soon."

Strange clearly thought he was being unreasonable but chose not to argue since Stark was ill. Shiller called out, "Then don’t prescribe antibiotics. Otherwise, his medical team might come after you."

"A bunch of jerks," Strange mumbled as he turned and left.

Steve returned with a medical kit that included alcohol. Steve started wiping Stark’s cheeks and arms with alcohol to help cool him down. However, his fever was indeed severe, and he was muttering Pepper and Morgan’s names, occasionally calling out one Avenger after another.

"I have no idea what he’s dreaming about," Matt said softly. "I guess it’s nothing good."

"Perhaps we’re hunting him," Shiller speculated. "He often has bizarre and strange dreams. Sometimes they can’t even be explained. His brilliant inspirations always manifest more wildly in his dreams. One dream of his can advance human technology by ten years."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, likely not Strange since he had just left. Shiller walked over to open the door, and to their surprise, it was Captain America from some unknown universe.

"Hello, do you have a moment?" Captain America seemed a bit anxious. "The frontline situation isn’t good; we need support."

"Sorry, but our friend is ill," Shiller said. "We’re not saying we won’t help, but it might take some time to figure out who can go."

"Who is sick?"

"Tony Stark, of course. An ordinary person can’t stay on this island for long. He’s developed a high fever. Maybe he’ll recover soon, or maybe he won’t. We have to stay here to watch over him."

"Alright, I completely understand, but please be sure to send someone over. Otherwise, the west line really might not hold."

"We will, right away."