"Those guys would rather stay at the base playing games than come to school, so I had to come first to suss things out for them. Oh, you must be Spider Man. What's your number?"
"Peter Parker 7083 sends his greetings." Riley replied with a smile, then he lowered his voice and said, "Well, I'm a clone. I just share an account with Peter. Please don't tell anyone."
"Wow, that's cool!" Squirrel Girl exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean you get twice as many points as the other Spider Men? How nice it would be if I had a clone."
"It's all a dream, it's all a dream..." Xu Shang-Chi muttered softly, using the phrase to explain all the illogical behavior.
"Oh, the main gate is open. Let's go in." Squirrel Girl pointed to the slowly descending drawbridge.
The difference between this castle and Hogwarts is that it has no lake, nor does it require climbing up stairs. The main gate and the drawbridge are integrated. When the drawbridge is lowered, the city gate naturally opens.
The students entered in a line, but against the backdrop of the immense city walls, they seemed like a small group of fish. Upon entering the castle, Xu Shang-Chi realized that it was indeed different from Hogwarts.
The interior of Hogwarts mainly follows the decoration style of European castles, with a preference for Gothic style. But as soon as he entered this castle, Xu Shang-Chi saw some familiar decorative patterns. Weren't those dragon patterns and lucky cloud patterns? Was his memory affecting his dreams?
But how to explain the Sphinx placed in the middle of the hall?
This is a bizarre and peculiar space filled with all sorts of cultural products from human history. Although slightly chaotic, it is also filled with beauty.
Soon, another young man appeared in the center of the hall. He introduced himself as, "Hello, I'm Iceman Bobby, your senior. Now, all freshmen line up and follow me to be sorted into houses."
Xu Shang-Chi felt puzzled. His knowledge of the dream world was mixed up, but why did it even include crossover plots?
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the green-haired Polaris stepped forward and said, "Bobby, you always lead these new students. You must find it troublesome, right? Never mind, you can rest today. I'll take them."
"Lorna, didn't you do your homework again?" Bobby asked helplessly, "You just want to go and see Professor Charles because you know that your father won't scold you in front of the professor... Can't you just do your homework for once?"
Lorna flicked her hair impatiently and replied, "You're not happy that I'm doing your job? Come on, everyone follow me. I'll take you to your houses."
Obviously, Bobby's temper was quite good. He couldn't argue with Lorna, so he stepped back two steps and waved at the other non-freshman students, saying, "Alright, we're taking the side door."
Xu Shang-Chi, Riley, and Squirrel Girl all followed Lorna. They walked past the Great Hall where the Sphinx stood and continued further into a grand hall, which had a hint of a European castle hall's grandeur. The decor was magnificent, lit by a brilliant array of lights, but the chairs were in the style of modern tiered lecture hall seats.
There were only a dozen or so freshmen. When the other students had taken their seats, Xu Shang-Chi realized there were more people here than he thought. And the senior who had just walked past him looked exactly like Riley?
Never mind, this is a dream. Best not to delve too deeply into the details, Xu Shang-Chi thought.
The freshmen made their way down the central aisle of the tiered lecture hall until they reached the center of the auditorium. As expected, Xu Shang-Chi found a hat there - the famous Sorting Hat from "Harry Potter".
Looking up, he saw several people sitting at the very front of the auditorium. Regrettably, the white-bearded old man Xu Shang-Chi had been hoping for wasn't among them.
A bald old man sat in the middle, dressed in a deep blue suit. To his left was a long-faced mage in a magic robe with white temples, and to his right was a middle-aged man in Iron Armor. Further to the right was an old man in a helmet, dressed all in black. Next to him was a familiar figure in a white lab coat, as well as some other people whose names Xu Shang-Chi felt familiar but couldn't recall.
Weren't these Professor X, Supreme Magician, Iron Man, Magneto, and Shiller?
Wait, wasn't there something strange mingled in there?
Xu Shang-Chi sighed in his heart, his knowledge was really mixed up, his crossovers were so innovative.
After a while, Professor X cleared his throat. Lorna walked over to the desk at the front, picked up a list and said, "Whoever I call, come over and sit on the chair and put on the hat. Don't ask so much, do as you're told!"
Professor X shook his head helplessly. This father-daughter duo's terrorist-style approach was apparently unchangeable.
With his attitude of being entertained by the spectacle in his dream, Xu Shang-Chi saw new students going up one by one.
The hat was placed on their heads, but instead of the names of the four houses of Hogwarts, it called out the names that almost made Xu Shang-Chi spit out his drink: Xavier College, Kamar-Taj College, Arkham College, and Stark College...
Before long, it was Xu Shang-Chi's turn. He strolled up, completely unconcerned. When the hat was placed on his head, he didn't hear the exaggerated voice of the Sorting Hat he had heard in the movies. Instead, he heard the gentler voice of an old man.
"Your name is Xu Shang-Chi?"
"Yes...wait a minute, you sound like Professor X?!"
"I'm honored that you recognize me." The old man's voice was notably gentle, but Xu Shang-Chi was left confused. He opened his mouth and then said, "Wait a minute, Professor, isn't your ability mind-reading? What is this hat for?"
"It's useless."
"Huh???"
"It's just a tribute to the source of inspiration for this college. The hat is useless. I'm the one doing the sorting."
Professor Charles explained patiently. He sighed softly and said playfully, "I also have some complaints about playing the hat, but they voted unanimously so I had to do it."
"Well, then, which college do I go to?"
"I will perform a very restrained mind-reading on you, not involving any privacy or going out of my control, to see which college style suits you. Which college do you prefer?"
Xu Shang-Chi smacked his lips. He really wanted to say that all these colleges were absurd.
But soon, like finding differences in logic problems, he identified the outlier among the four colleges.
"Wait a minute, Professor, I can understand the other colleges, but what's up with this Arkham? Isn't Arkham supposed to be..."
"Oh, child, I have already read your brain waves. I believe you are very suitable for a particular college. You must go there!"
"No, wait a minute, before you..."
"This wise gentleman, with a sensitive mind, and ability to perceive others' emotions that none other possesses, I believe..."
"Wait a minute, I'm not..."
"He belongs to - Arkham College!"
"Oh! Shit! Why not come up with Batman too?!"
Stark, sitting at the front of the hall, squinted his eyes.