Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Chapter 5862 - 4884: Marvelous Scenes and Fantastic Shadows (10)

The opening ceremony for "Iron Man" was held in Hampton. Since the first scene was to be filmed at the Stark family’s old mansion, even though things weren’t quite peaceful, they still managed to carve out some space. Stark hired professional chefs to host a buffet at the mansion, and all the main actors attended.Of course, Greed came too. Although the younger version of him would ultimately be playing the role, the younger version wasn’t quite suitable for the feast, so he reluctantly stepped in. Mainly because there was a chef he liked at the party whom he normally couldn’t get to meet, so now was a perfect time to enjoy.

While Greed was picking out a pre-dinner drink, he vaguely noticed a familiar figure. He casually grabbed a glass of wine from the table and walked up behind the person, patting him on the back.

"Oh, God," Eddie exclaimed, turning around and seeing Shiller, he sighed and said, "You startled me."

Shiller was about to ask about Venom when he noticed the table in front of him had been cleared of all mini cakes. From under Eddie’s suit sleeve extended a tentacle that licked clean the cake crumbs on the table.

"Ah, sorry," Eddie quickly retracted his hand and whispered to Venom, "I told you not to eat so fast, didn’t I get caught? Can you spare me some face? Everyone here is my colleague."

Just then, Stark came over with a wine glass. He too noticed the empty dessert stand. Eddie said awkwardly, "Uh, sorry, we shouldn’t have finished the desserts before the main course..."

"Oh, my God," Stark exclaimed, and he shouted to the side, "Evan! Evan! What are you doing?! I told you long ago to have enough supplies ready, why is the dessert stand empty? How can you let our esteemed guests go hungry??"

Then Stark turned to Eddie, also a bit embarrassed, and said, "Pepper’s been a bit busy lately, and the manager hired this catering team that’s utterly useless. Apologies for the poor hospitality. I’ll have them refill the dessert stand right away..."

With that, Stark hurried away. Eddie scratched his cheek. Shiller clinked his glass against Eddie’s and said, "Do you think we came here for something else? If not for the free feast, who would want to join a lawn party?"

Eddie grinned, but it was clearly Venom who smiled. From the moment he smiled, Eddie’s face froze, trying not to appear too toothy.

"Did Tony invite you?" Shiller asked.

"Yes. I’m mainly shooting behind-the-scenes footage," Eddie said, "Tony really likes the style of my reality shows, so he invited me to cover the film’s shooting and mock revelations to use for promotion later."

Shiller nodded and said, "Ever consider doing a cameo?"

"Where would I fit in?" Eddie shook his head, "I’m a bit younger than them. When Tony was young, I must’ve been a kid. Otherwise, his most scandalous rumors might’ve been exposed by me."

"Honestly, I didn’t expect you to give up journalism." Shiller took a sip of his drink and said, "I thought you’d persevere despite setbacks."

"I left the media industry not because I was disappointed with it or anything like that. It’s just that being a journalist is too busy, and I need more free time; otherwise, I can’t keep Venom fed." Eddie shook his head and said, "But lately, I’ve been applying to be a field journalist for the Starship Fleet; it’s time to switch things up for Venom."

"You’ve sacrificed a lot for your family." Shiller raised his glass.

Unexpectedly, Eddie swayed and then, gritting his teeth, said, "Oh, damn it, Venom, you’re too excited. We can’t go crazy here, or we’ll be thrown out..."

Shiller laughed, it was intentional, of course. Venom hadn’t left even one piece of cake for him.

As they spoke, desserts were replenished. Shiller had just picked up one piece, but before he could take a bite, the entire table was cleaned again. Fortunately, the staff were prepared, resurfacing desserts as fast as Venom could eat them. Under Stark’s financial offensive, the blender and oven in the kitchen were almost smoking and managed to get Venom half-full.

"Shiller," Stark called out to Shiller, "I know there’s another little friend with you, but you really can’t let him eat anymore, or we’ll have to buy ingredients all over New York."

Shiller laughed and said, "Gray mist isn’t hungry, you don’t need to make his portion. Where’s Steven? Why didn’t he come?"

"He’ll finish surgery in half an hour," Stark said with a pout, "But apparently, he needs another half-hour to scold the interns after each surgery, so he should be finishing up and coming soon."

"Today you’re shooting solo, right?" Shiller thought about the script and said, "The opening scene is Iron Man arriving at the mansion looking for Ark Reactor technology and then reminiscing about the past..."

"Yes, so I haven’t de-aged yet." Stark shrugged and said, "It’ll be three or four days before our scenes start. Don’t forget your lines; I don’t want to slow down the progress."

"Me slow down progress?" Shiller laughed, "Just hope you don’t mess up too much when the time comes."

Strange indeed came near the end of the feast. His face was dark as expected. Shiller didn’t need to check; the surgery was successful, just that there might’ve been a few weirdos among the interns, and Strange had probably gone demon-slaying.

Despite being hungry, Strange maintained his composure, standing beside the buffet table, eating slowly. Stark intended to go up and discuss filming with him, but because he approached from behind, Strange turned around, and the magic glow from his hand melted the cup.

Stark hurriedly stepped back, raised both hands, and said, "Hey, it’s me, what’s going on???"

Stephen Strange took a deep breath and shook his head, saying, "Nothing. Are we starting filming today?"

"Yes. But you seem nervous," Stark said, "Is there a problem with the banquet? Did you eat some peppercorns?"

"No problem," Strange said with a stern face, "I just can’t get used to this environment. Don’t mind me."

Stark couldn’t do much even if he wanted to, so he went to find Shiller, chirping: "What do you think is wrong with him?"

"Probably just a bit nervous," Shiller said, "Banquets usually aren’t a good place for him."

"Uh, why?"

"He might not like this way of socializing." Shiller thought for a moment and said, "You have to understand, 99% of people in the world have never attended a decent banquet, let alone a lawn banquet. It’s a privilege exclusive to the rich."

"But Eddie Brock doesn’t seem nervous at all." Stark looked over at Eddie, who was devouring red wine and beef, "I think he loves this kind of banquet."

"Indeed, as usually you don’t get to eat such high-end ingredients. But Steven happens not to be someone with strong material desires, good food and wine can’t persuade him."

"I’m not trying to persuade him." Stark argued, "I just think since he wants to act, he should at least familiarize himself with the crew, so they can work better together."

"You think he’s not in the right state. I feel the same," Shiller said, "Gourmet food and socializing can soothe the soul, but for Stephen, they’re ineffective."

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Stark said with some confusion, "I didn’t force him if he doesn’t want to act. Plus, he can’t be afraid of the camera, didn’t he play the Supreme Magician well?"

Shiller looked around to ensure Strange wasn’t nearby, then lowered his voice and said, "Not everyone’s youth is worth remembering. Do you understand?"

"Not really," Stark said, "Of course, I know he’s from a civilian background, but he became a legend in the surgical field in just a few years, isn’t that something to be proud of?"

"New York has never been Stephen Strange’s city; he’s not destined to belong here." Shiller looked into Stark’s eyes and said, "No group here has ever accepted him, whether students, professors, patients, or colleagues."

"How could it be!" Stark was incredulous, "He’s so talented and has saved many people’s lives; why wouldn’t they accept him?"

"Class barriers aren’t easily broken." Shiller shook his head, "If there were a business genius with no background but immense talent, who built an empire in a few years, taking away a lot of Stark Group’s business, what would Howard do?"

Stark fell into thought. He seemed to understand a bit and said, "Howard would try to win him over, absorb him into Stark Group. If that couldn’t succeed, he’d have to figure out how to suppress him. Because in the business world, it’s always a life-and-death struggle; if you can’t bring them down, there’s no room for your own business."

"Every industry is like this," Shiller said, "People want to maintain their status, and if they can’t win over an emerging genius, they’ll destroy them. A talent from a humble background always faces a tougher path."

"Especially in the medical field." Shiller took a sip of wine and said, "Surgical opportunities are precious; each patient means gaining more experience. The competition among surgeons is intense, which leads to many cases of over-treatment. If it weren’t for Stephen being immensely talented, no one could overshadow his brilliance, and he’d never achieve today’s success."

Stark let out a long sigh and couldn’t help but comment, "Isn’t this talent a bit too strong?"

"That’s how geniuses are," Shiller clinked glasses with Stark, "Aren’t you the same?"

"I’ve never been excluded by anyone." Stark said, "Those idiots from Hampton don’t count. Most people have a good attitude towards me, and even when I choose to be a playboy, no one dares to bring it up to my face. Everyone praises my precocious achievements."

"Alas." Shiller extended a hand to clink his glass with Stark’s, "Perhaps that’s why he feels unnatural around you."

"Why wasn’t it like this before?" Stark spread his hands and said, "He was extremely arrogant in front of me, I say one thing and he scolds me three times."

"It’s certainly different now. But if we’re reliving our youth together, many things will change. He will definitely feel pressured."

"I understand." Stark nodded and said, "My youth is a beautiful memory, while his is a dark history. So he doesn’t want to meet me using his youthful appearance; just thinking about it makes him nervous."

"Exactly. So when our scenes together start, be nice to him," Shiller advised, "Don’t provoke him, okay?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of his fragile little heart." Stark said, raising his head to finish the wine in his glass, "Besides, it’s not certain who can’t handle who in the end."