The next day, when he woke up in the morning, Shiller was still dazed from just sitting up in bed when he started to yell, "Pikachu! Pikachu! Are you practicing that damn electric guitar of yours again?! Stop it now!"
Pikachu, who was holding a half-eaten apple, hopped onto Shiller's bedside table and stared at him, saying, "What are you talking about? After the last time the guitar string snapped and flew three meters away, I never practiced an instrument again."
"Then what on earth is that deafening noise?? My rock and roll dream?? " Shiller squinted his eyes together, covering his head and complained: "God, I thought you had crawled into my brain, else why would my head hurt so much? Gray mist! Gray mist! What are you doing?"
The gray mist made a burbling sound. From his mumbled expression, it looked like he was also just coming out of a hangover, struggling to control himself. He had tried his best, but he couldn't help his master deal with the hangover after-effects any further.
Shiller managed to straighten his body, placed both hands on the soft quilt, and then reached out one hand and rubbed his eyes hard, saying, "I always said, drinking isn't a good habit..."
Pikachu chomped on the apple with a "click", chewing vigorously while saying, "Last night, when you came back, it was almost three in the morning. You transformed into a ball of mist and floated in the middle of the room. When I asked you why you didn't go to sleep right away, you said you intended to sleep right there..."
"You slept just fine, but midway through, you drifted up to the ceiling, the gray mist seeped into the ceiling, causing smoke to emerge from the upstairs floor, almost driving the patient insane …"
"The supervisor led the nurse upstairs to disinfect. If I hadn't been quick enough to pull you back, you would be in a vacuum cleaner by now!"
"Enough already." Shiller said, his hands covering his face, "I won't drink again, it's all those damned awful people's fault. How can they drink so much?"
He then turns to look at Pikachu, Pikachu put the apple down, shook his lightning-shaped tail, and jumped onto Shiller's blanket, and rubbed his cheek with his little short hand.
"Want some pick-me-up?" Pikachu asked, stretched out his tail with effort, "Zzzap!" a burst of electricity exploded.
A few dozen seconds later, Shiller exhaled a puff of smoke, fixed his messed-up hair and said: "Thank you, I feel much better."
He lifted the quilt, got out of bed, softly coughed twice. At this point, Ultron was already waiting outside the door. The robot butler cleaned the table with a towel on his arm, then placed a Beef Shasuka, a Garlic Butter Baguette, and a glass of orange juice on the table.
Shiller sat down by the table, picked up his knife and fork, spread some runny egg yolk on the baguette, just as he was about to take a bite, a " hum, hum, hum" buzzing sound came from outside the window.
Shiller almost bit his own tongue, he put down the knife and fork, looked out the window and asked, frowning: "What is this noise? It sounds like someone renovations happening somewhere. Does the sanatorium have any renovation plans recently?"
"None, sir." answered Ultron. His tone was even colder and mechanic than Jarvis, but his response was equally precise: "The sound you just heard came from 120 meters behind the sanatorium."
"The Sky Train station is currently under construction and is estimated to be completed in about a week. I've checked all of New York's construction and engineering noise regulations and monitored the noise throughout the day. I found no violations in this project."
Shiller sighed: "Aren't all Stark Industries products modularly designed? Isn't it enough to just assemble them on arrival? Why are they still being built?"
"According to the construction schedule that Jarvis sent me, the main parts of the train station have already been assembled. But because it needs to connect to the ground and reach a certain disaster resistance ability, the foundation and framework are still using traditional methods to ensure the stability of the building..."
Just as he was saying this, another round of "DadaDada" vibration sounds came again. Shiller didn't even need to look, he knew it must be the foundation breaking open. He held his forehead with his hand and said, "So, it means I have to endure this horrible noise for another week..."
"That is correct, sir. But they will only be working 8 hours during weekdays. The entire process is completed by smart engineering machinery, which has no impact on the operation of the sanatorium..."
"Have there been any patients complaining that the noise is hindering their recovery?" Shiller asked.
"Not at this time, sir. But this morning, a patient from a room said the sanatorium's air purification system was not working. Last night, he noticed a heavy mist appearing in his room and suggested that we install a fresh air system throughout the building..."
Shiller waved it off, saying, "Don't worry about him. He's hallucinating because he didn't take his meds..."
Then, he asked the gray mist: "Can you help me block the construction noise?"
The gray mist transmitted a confused consciousness, indicating that he could do it but doubted it would be helpful.
At first, Shiller didn't understand what he meant, but then, he realized that the gray mist indeed blocked his listening, making him unable to hear the construction noise, but because the construction site was too close to the sanatorium and it was constantly digging and demolishing, the vibrations being transferred through the air could not be blocked.
The ears are just receivers of sound, blocking hearing doesn't mean that the body can't feel the vibrations. Shiller wanted to transform into a mist and directly block the vibrations but was afraid that the patient upstairs would hallucinate again, so he could only start considering moving somewhere else.
The bedroom where Shiller was staying was at the back of the sanatorium, quite close to the construction site. If he moved to the front, it was away from the construction site but too close to a lane in the small town.
The sanatorium occupies a large area with many buildings in the center. Because of its quietness and beautiful landscapes, many of New York's wealthy people choose to book a long-term room here, regularly checking their mental and emotional state. The affluent ones mostly choose the best rooms.
Shiller could simply breach the contract and drive them out, but seeing the sky-high medical fees these tycoons are willing to pay for the room, he suddenly felt that his headache had subsided, his legs were no longer aching, and he could even bear the noise.
After some thought, Shiller decided to relocate to his small clinic in Hell's Kitchen for the time being.
Hell's Kitchen was not much quieter than here, but the location of the small clinic was better. It was not in the bustling area, and the clinic owner had a good reputation, so basically no troublemakers dared to cause trouble here.
Making up his mind, Shiller instructed Ultron to pack his belongings. He dragged his suitcase with one hand, held Pikachu with the other, and moved from the luxurious and spacious sanatorium back to the small clinic in Hell's Kitchen.
On the first night after moving back, Shiller thought he could sleep well. However, when he planned to close roller door of the clinic, a hand stopped him. Shiller turned his head and found it to be Matt.
Daredevil Matt wasn't wearing his uniform or the suits commonly worn by lawyers. Instead, he was dressed in sportswear, holding a box painted with cherry blossoms in one hand and a dozen cans of ice-cold beer in the other.
"What's up, Matt?" Shiller asked somewhat puzzled.
"Nothing much. Erica just came back from a trip to Japan and brought back special delicacies like cherry cakes and sashimi. I bought some beers. We can chat," Matt said with a smile, lifting the box in his hand.
However, Shiller noticed that Matt's smile seemed somewhat forced, and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes suggested that he had not been resting well these past few days. So, Shiller hesitated on closing the roller door, raising it again instead, and said, "Come on in."
Setting down the box and opening the beers, Shiller brought over two small dishes, poured soy sauce for the sashimi, and placed wasabi paste on the other dish.
Upon opening the box and removing the top layer of cherry cake, the remaining two layers were all sashimi with cold smoke on top, including Arctic clams, tuna, and large bamboo pod fish, all of them Japanese favorites. They were beautifully cut and served with ginger slices and shredded white radish below.
As Matt took out the sashimi, he spoke, "During your exploration of the cosmos, Erica and I were not idle. We found Stick. He believed that Erica is now solid and pure enough. So, these past years, we've been sharpening our martial skills and made substantial improvements."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. was impressed with Erica's abilities and hoped she could help them resolve some troubles. Erica struck a deal with them and received a lot of assistance, obtaining some fairly advanced equipment."
"So, a few months ago, a well-prepared Erica returned to Japan, killed the Hand Union members who had previously brainwashed her. Although not eliminating them completely, she did manage to get a load off her chest."
Shiller opened a can of beer. As he got a whiff of the alcohol, he felt somewhat dizzy. As such, he put down the beer can, picked up a piece of sashimi with chopsticks, place it on the dish, put some wasabi paste in the center, folded the sashimi, dipped it in soy sauce, and put it in his mouth.
The fresh and oily taste greatly stimulated his taste buds, and what better to accompany it than a fragrant and slightly bitter cold beer? Shiller took a sip of the beer and let out a heart-felt sigh of approval.
Matt praised, "I didn't expect that you would be so proficient. Not only can you use chopsticks, but you also know how to season the sashimi. Some people like to mix wasabi paste with soy sauce, which makes it saltier with each bite..."
After saying that, he pinched two slices of ginger from the side of the sashimi box, paired it with shredded white radish, put a piece of Arctic clam in his mouth, also took a sip of beer, and the two clinked their beer cans together, resuming their conversation.
"Well, this should be good news. Erica was able to bring back so many special products, which means that things went smoothly. You should be happy for her..."
"Who wouldn't agree?" Matt laughed and said, "The night Erica returned, we went to a high-end restaurant and splurged. We didn't expect that we could reimburse the expenses at S.H.I.E.L.D. the next day. We were both very happy..."
"But soon after…" Matt's face was clouded with worries. He pursed his lips and said hesitantly, "Shiller, I consider you a real friend, that's why I'm sharing this with you. You must not tell anyone..."
"Don't worry, I'm a professional psychologist. I won't disclose secrets. Just tell me, what happened?"
Matt let out a deep sigh and said, "Well, that night, we were in a good mood and started talking about the future. We planned to buy a house in New York first, then get married, which is all straightforward..."
"I have a high salary, and Erica found a job at S.H.I.E.L.D.. If we were to finance via a loan, a car and a house would not be an issue. Wedding was also on the cards - we've known each other since college and now it's been many years - it's time to settle down."
"But the only point of contention between us is about having children." Matt touched his eyes and said, "Erica thinks that we should have a child right after getting married, but I don't want to do that."
"Although the Hand Union and Kingpin have simmered down a lot recently, the situation remains fraught with crises. Let alone whether we have the energy to raise a child properly, even the most basic safety cannot be guaranteed…"
"If anything were to happen, we agreed that it would lead to a lifetime of regret."