"You folks stay here and modify the blueprints, check for any omissions," Shiller said. "So that no one has to faint from altitude sickness again."
"Barry, you come back with me. Helen and Aisha stay here... Martin, you come back with me as well, but you don't need to come to the center with me. I'll give you a shopping list later, go buy some necessities for living here."
After the arrangements were made, Shiller left with Barry, they passed through the portal and returned to the sanatorium. Shiller drove Martin to the supermarket first.
Although New York isn't Gotham, after all, they are both similar big cities on the East Coast, and it wasn't like being completely unfamiliar with the place; buying things wasn't difficult.
Then, Shiller didn't immediately go back to Nick at the center of the Solar System Development Plan, but went to find Peter first.
Peter had been back for a while. Although he also liked scientific research, he wasn't like Stark, a science maniac, and knew how to enjoy life. After coming back, he first traveled the world with Gwen, and lately, was taking a break at home.
Every time Shiller visited Peter's house, he was warmly welcomed by his aunt. It wasn't that Aunt May really understood what relationship Shiller had with Peter, but because she liked intellectuals very much and thought Peter should make friends with such people.
Smiling and nodding at Aunt May who served some pastries, Shiller picked up a piece of apple pie and started eating as he spoke, "So you haven't seen Beck recently either? Where is he then?"
Peter shook his head and said, "The last few times I went to their ground base I didn't see him, I thought he had applied for overtime."
"Does he often work overtime?"
"Yes, he is a hardworking person. Although he doesn't have a family to support like Electro, he tends to be extravagant and can't save much money, so he has to apply for overtime if he suddenly wants to buy something."
"Then, what do you think about his mental state?"
"He has a terrible temper," Peter complained openly in front of Shiller, "just like Thompson back in high school, the sort of person who would leave school early to mess around in society."
"I heard you often argue with him?"
"I dislike those kinds of people the most, they can't control their emotions but expect others to deal with it, treating others like trash bins for their negative feelings, really annoying."
Under Shiller's influence, this universe's Spider Man wasn't much like the typical bookworm in most other universes, nor was he meek or easily bullied; he always expressed his likes and dislikes straightforwardly.
"Don't say that, Peter," Aunt May interjected to counsel, "You have to understand, not everyone has the opportunity to receive a good education, and besides, although he might have a bad temper, he hasn't had problems at work, which shows he's at least dedicated."
Peter didn't argue and simply nodded, adding, "I heard he's indeed more diligent than Max. Or perhaps he's just stubborn, refusing to be outdone. When others say he can't do it, he's even more determined to prove them wrong."
"So, he's not a bad person?"
"From a psychological perspective, he's more like someone with personality flaws," Peter analyzed. "Possibly due to childhood experiences, his emotional self-control is poor, subject to large fluctuations, exhibiting a clear regressive personality disorder, and he overly glorifies the methods of venting and violence."
"But he's not bad at heart; his internal values are mostly in line with mainstream values. He follows social rules, respects societal moral standards and the law; it's just sometimes he can't control himself."
Shiller nodded, saying, "There are many such people in society, and we can't say everyone is sick. Judging by his work performance, it shouldn't be serious."
Peter nodded and said. "Right, if no one provokes him on purpose, he won't lose control of his emotions. But I'm an exception; for some reason, he just doesn't like the sight of me."
"Have you investigated this?"
"I did actually look into it, but I don't think that's the reason." Peter said, "Before I met him at work, our only connection was both attending the same high school."
"But since our ages were quite different, we never attended school at the same time, so I don't know what him being an alumnus could upset him about."
"It seems there's more to this, but that's not the point. Since you say his psychological and emotional condition is fine, then we can probably rule out suicide or sudden flight."
"He wouldn't commit suicide," Peter said with conviction. "Some people said that him working on The Far Side of the Moon was not a good choice, thinking leaving his job at Mercury Base was idiotic."
"Reverse psychology works particularly well on him, so ever since changing jobs, he's been eager to prove everyone wrong, wanting to achieve something in the Moon Base Project, especially now when the project is at a critical stage. Why would he desert now?"
As Peter spoke, he also couldn't help but worry, saying, "This guy still rents his place, always lives in low-cost areas, his life isn't very stable; he couldn't have actually run into trouble, could he?"
Concern rising, Peter stood up, but Shiller reassured, "Don't panic just yet. Do you know which area he lives in?"
"He lives on the outskirts of Brooklyn, east of Kingpin's headquarters. That area isn't considered mob territory anymore, but because of the consistently troublesome safety situation, it's still a low-cost community."
"Eddie's always around Brooklyn, interviewing the common folk. Maybe you should ask him."
Peter slapped his forehead and pulled out his phone, dialing as he said, "Eddie's 'Commoners Who Shock The World' is especially popular. People really enjoy seeing the superhero lifestyle humanized. Also, his 'The Little People's News' is now the mainstream reading material in most budget communities; people look to this newspaper to see which way the wind's blowing."
"He has always been a good reporter," Shiller said. "With Venom, he's even more fearless. Last time I saw him going to interview Kingpin, I was really sweating for him."
"Kingpin isn't that dangerous these days," Peter rolled his eyes and said, "but every time he sees me, he wants to recruit me. It's a bit annoying. There are so many Spider-Men, I don't know why he's so fixated on me."
"Maybe it's because the other Spider-Men find him even more annoying."
After a phone call with Eddie, Peter said, "Let's meet at our usual spot."
Peter and Shiller soon arrived at Eddie's little house; he was still living in the old place but had also bought the shopfront downstairs to use as the base for his newspaper office, located right next to the downstairs supermarket.
The entrance of the newspaper office had a sign hanging up, which didn't list the name of the newspapers or magazines, just the surname Brock. However, people living here all knew that Eddie was a very famous reporter and editor.
"Long time no see," Shiller shook his hand and successfully evaded an attack from the mischievous Venom. Peter took off his jacket, draped it over the back of a chair, and asked, "Any news about Beck?"
"I've already asked a lot of friends; we'll have news very soon." Eddie invited them to sit and poured them some tea. Shiller introduced to Barry, saying, "This is Eddie Brock... and that clump of sludge on his shoulder is Venom."
"I'm not sludge!! Apologize!!!"
Eddie and Barry had both been to the music festival, but it was crowded at the time, and they had only exchanged brief hellos, so they shook hands again as if meeting for the first time.
"What's so special about this Beck?" Eddie asked. "It's rare to see you all making such a big deal."
"He's an important figure," Shiller said. "Engineers who can perfectly manipulate sand are quite rare. If we lose him, Nick is going to blow his top."
"He's extremely useful in construction," Peter joined in. "He's like the perfect mobile mold; as long as there's a design, he can cast any shape."
After hearing about Sandman's abilities, Eddie also found it a bit miraculous. He said, "If we really can't find him, I'll publish a missing person notice in tomorrow's newspaper. It's just that it would inconvenience you to stay over for the night."
"No trouble at all, let's go for barbecue!" Peter excitedly suggested. "I haven't had barbecue here in so long, and we can even take some back for Thor and the others; I remember he especially likes it too."
Peter took Barry to buy barbecue, while Shiller walked around the new base, casually picking up a copy of yesterday's newspaper.
'The Little People's News' is a bi-weekly publication, coming out twice a week, but there is also the occasional special issue to cover recent urgent events.
This is not an immediate news publication, but focuses more on daily life, mainly teaching ordinary people how to use the latest gadgets, such as shuttles and sky trains, and explaining the origins of fresh innovations.
What made this newspaper so popular among the masses is that it published many recent job listings, including positions in brand-new companies and units that had low entry requirements, essentially open to anyone, and provided relatively stable jobs.
This greatly leveled the playing field for ordinary people who often face an information gap, allowing them also to enjoy the benefits of rapid technological advancement to the greatest extent, and could even be considered a brave step in breaking down class barriers.
So the newspaper caused quite a stir as soon as it was released.
The infinite segmentation of class barriers could be said to be a foundation of America's establishment. What Eddie did was practically poking the lungs of America, hence all the major newspapers were desperately trying to blockade and sanction it.
But as the saying goes, the power of the masses is unstoppable. With leaders like Captain America and Nick at the top, who are self-aware, the newspaper not only survived but also became New York's most popular daily life publication in a very short time.
Eddie also published stories of ordinary people in this newspaper as a positive social guide, which greatly soothed the anxious public and reduced the incidence of extreme crimes.
Although it didn't report on political news, it still had to write about street conditions. Shiller flipped over a page and saw, "Signs of mob activity on Vite Street, please be careful and take detours, citizens."
"Mob," Shiller read out loud with a hint of confusion and said, "Hasn't Kingpin gone legit? Why are there still mobs?"
"Kingpin is part of the mob; these are just troublemakers." Eddie said, "They spend their days pickpocketing and robbing at night. If they had even a tenth of Kingpin's skills, they wouldn't be stuck doing petty crimes in this day and age."
Shiller nodded, not really concerned. Such troublemakers were indeed a threat to ordinary people, but with proper precautions, there generally wouldn't be major issues, let alone for superheroes.
Just then, Barry suddenly appeared.
"There's trouble, Doctor, we ran into some weirdo on our way to buy barbecue, and Peter started fighting with them," Barry reported.
Shiller and Eddie both stood up.