Chapter 5758: Chapter 4781: X Royal Family

The place where they landed was indeed vast and spacious, with a heavy echo when speaking. There weren’t any plants below, just some moss in the corners. Even without Stark, Shiller could tell that the underground hot springs were nearby because they felt the humid heat shortly after descending.

They were told there were two openings below, with one being noticeably hotter than the other. The three of them headed in that direction. This opening was also quite wide, and they chatted as they walked.

"Most mutants are impulsive," Stark sighed, "They said they wanted to build hot springs and got to work immediately, not willing to wait an extra day. Charles didn’t even try to hold them back."

"Perhaps Charles was also willing," Shiller said, "If he hadn’t agreed and supported them, the mutants wouldn’t have been so eager to come over."

"I think he’s interested in developing tourism," Steve expressed his opinion, "specifically tourism from the Central Universe to here. This place is like a naturally endowed nursery. It’s time to bring those little demons over."

Indeed, Stark thought the same. But if they wanted to attract them, there had to be something appealing. The original forest alone wasn’t enough, which is why he was eager to build these things. He was just worried that the mutants lacked experience and were too eager to build, potentially leading it to backfire.

"Do you all think this way?"

"Isn’t it?"

Shiller shook his head and said, "The mutants of the Central Universe have finally gained stature, respected wherever they go in the cosmos, and even on Earth, they command significant influence. Everyone greets them with smiles. The new generation of mutants hasn’t faced any hardship. How could Charles bear to let the children face such dilemmas again?"

"That’s true," Stark nodded, "If it were me, I certainly wouldn’t bear it. Discrimination isn’t a knife; it’s a poison bottle that slowly corrodes you, making you feel rejected and isolated from the world. Such long-term harm can sometimes be more distressing than intense conflicts. I don’t want any child to suffer from this."

"Then why is he in such a hurry?" Steve was a bit puzzled, "I thought they couldn’t handle taking care of the children anymore."

"From your perspective, that’s true," Stark said, "After all, non-mutant parents often find it difficult to handle mutant children. Moreover, Little Thomas is a very powerful mutant. However, it’s exaggerated to say that the Scarlet Witch can’t handle her child, or else why would she choose to have a little daughter after giving birth to twin brothers?"

"That also makes sense," Steve said, "But Little Thomas is actually very sensible; he’s never used his mutant abilities in front of me and his mom. The first outburst doesn’t count."

As they talked and walked, the heat grew more intense, and the humidity got heavier, to the point where they had difficulty opening their eyes. Shiller had to transform into a fog. Stark looked at Steve and asked, "Can you still hold on?"

"You underestimate me," Steve said, "You should know that a navigator charts courses for spaceships. In other words, if existing paths don’t work, you must find a way to clear them. What harsh cosmic environments haven’t I seen? This is nothing."

As they walked further, the area turned into a white mist. The true nature of the underground hot spring finally revealed itself. Rather than a hot spring, it was more a zone of extremely high temperature steam. At least from there, only steam was visible; the hot spring body might still be below.

The temperature here was no longer suitable for ordinary people. The entire cave felt like a giant steaming pot; any unprotected ordinary person staying here too long might get steamed. The steam was so heavy it felt like drowning.

Stark leaned over to take a look. His mecha could work even near the sun, so this was nothing. He then said, "This is a chimney; the hot spring is much deeper than we thought. This proves the volcano is also larger than we imagined."

"I can see that," Shiller, maintaining his fog form, said, "With such a complex underground cave system, the volcanic activity here must be quite frequent. Should we go down and have a look?"

"Since we’re here," Shiller said, "Steve, stand in my fog; I’ll take you down."

Steve stepped over, and Shiller enveloped him in the gray mist. Stark descended first, and soon his voice came through, "It’s very deep down here, at least a hundred meters. There’s no place to stand below. I’ve set up a platform here; fly towards the red light."

The steam below was even thicker. Now they felt like they were in a gaseous planet, surrounded by high-temperature gas, fortunately without deadly storms and compressions. Continuing down, they flew for over seventy meters and finally saw traces of the red light.

Shiller landed Steve on the platform, but the steam was so thick they couldn’t see anything. Stark had no choice but to project a three-dimensional terrain map and pointed downward, saying, "The real hot spring is down there, about a hundred and fifty meters from the surface. The temperature is very high; it certainly can’t be soaked in directly."

"For mutants, drawing water isn’t difficult, just requires some design," Shiller thought for a moment and said, "What about the others? Have they come in?"

"I told you, they’re taking the long way around; I estimate it’ll take several more turns to get here." Stark pointed in a direction and said, "There’s an opening over there; they might enter from there. Could you go meet them?"

Shiller looked down at the entrance Stark pointed to, which was very close to the hot spring. He shook his head and said, "Better not go, the Gray mist doesn’t like very hot places."

"Oh, the symbiont’s problem," Stark said, "Then how does it operate near the Sun?"

"It avoids the proximity to the Sun as much as possible. How should I say, being near the Sun is like humans being close to ghosts."

This metaphor amused the other two. However, Stark still flew over to pick up people ultimately. But others saw him as if they had seen a ghost. In a thick steam, a blue figure suddenly flies towards you; the Main Universe Captain America almost threw out his shield.

"It’s me, it’s me!" shouted Stark.

"Oh my God," Main Universe Captain America said helplessly, "What are you doing here? Aren’t you sick?"

"Steam therapy helps recovery," Stark said, spouting nonsense, "You took a detour, actually there’s a direct passage just tens of meters above ground."

"Is that so?" Spider Man asked, "I thought this convoluted route would make it difficult to channel water, it would be nice if there was a direct one."

Just after this Spider Man finished speaking, another Spider Man arrived: "That’s right, I was just thinking about the plan. Walking from this side is indeed a bit difficult, I was wondering if there was another route."

Stark had doubts about his interest in the mutant hot spring bath, but didn’t say much. He speculated it might be some local universe plan, but it was overall not a bad thing, so he didn’t ask further.

Soon after, all sorts of mutants came, those who could withstand high temperatures mainly, some who couldn’t were protected by Polaris. Everyone marveled at the magnificent scenery here, then began to study how to build it.

Some suggested simply building here, just open a direct channel, the hot air dissipates quite a bit, then add some water, or let Iceman adjust the temperature, it could work for a soak.

But most supported channeling water upward. Not mentioning the environment here, it’s really far from the ground, even if you make a direct elevator, it takes a long time to run. Many mutant abilities have restrictions, can’t directly come down, it’s a bit too troublesome.

However, where to channel the water is also a problem. Others saw a lot of narrow and small caves along the way, needing large-scale transformation. But Stark quickly suggested the sinkhole he saw on the way was good.

Don’t mind there also being dozens of meters deep, it’s actually an advantage, because rooms can be dug on the walls of the sinkhole. After bathing, running back to the Royal Court would be too far, so accommodation is needed. You’ll get hungry during a hot spring bath, restaurants are needed. After soaking comfortably, you might want a drink also, so a bar should be made. The nearest place to the hot spring is the sinkhole cliff.

This proposal was agreed by most, many imagined the beautiful scene of the hot spring bath. But these are later concerns, first, they have to find a way to lead the water up.

It’s infeasible to channel it bit by bit with mutant abilities, better to establish a set water system to ensure stable operation. Local universe Spider Man volunteered, saying he’d ask Iron Man to design it, definitely efficient and stable.

Mutants were neutral to this, but had to admit Iron Man’s skill was high. If he could design it, that would be perfect.

They conducted very detailed measurements and quickly got the data. Local Spider Man rushed back overnight, local Iron Man also drew overnight, almost completed it in one night.

After all, it’s not really a complex thing, hardly a challenge for Iron Man. The only tricky part is needing stable operation, unaffected by mutant abilities. But mutants themselves are restricted on the island. Finally Iron Man assured that the system he made, even if Magneto got drunk and went wild, it still wouldn’t malfunction.

Mutants looked at the blueprint, indeed it’s good and cost-saving, they joyfully started construction. Under Magneto’s standardized process influence, despite fewer people participating, efficiency wasn’t low. Some missing materials could be small-scale purchased by Hellfire Group, or simply ask mutants to buy them. Thoughtfully, local Iron Man considered the lack of resources on the island, using few materials that were all standard parts, purchasable anywhere. Thus, in just two or three days, the hot spring bath was constructed.

Although the cliffside rooms weren’t fully completed, they were enough for living currently. The bath pool at the bottom of the sinkhole was constructed beautifully, maintaining Clarkia’s usual natural style. It’s more like a large greenhouse than a bath pool. There was even a water crystal dome indoor pool besides an outdoor pool.

Upon completion, mutants held a small celebration, but quickly prepared to host a hot spring banquet. Besides inviting all mutant forces, they also invited The Avengers from the Central Universe and the Prime Universe. Importantly inviting local universe’s Avengers too, as a friendly signal.

Additionally, they invited their friends in ordinary human society, like Wakanda’s Black Panther, SWORD’s Weather Witch, and even human scientists who hadn’t left the island. In short, everyone mutants knew came, destined to be a gala on Clarkia Island.