Chapter 2809: Countdown to Battleworld (Part 2)

Shiller received an unexpected visitor in his Battleworld office, Peter, who had come knocking from the Time Management Bureau.

As Shiller, or rather Greed, now held multiple responsibilities, the few places he frequented were interconnected, such as the room of Greed in the Tower of Thought, the office at Arkham Sanatorium, the S.H.I.E.L.D. office, the Battleworld office, and the offices of both the Time Management Bureau and the Information Management Bureau. If someone sought him in one office, he could instantly be reached in whichever office was attended.

This also meant that even if Arrogance was in control of the body, in case of an urgent matter, Greed could still be contacted directly in the room of Greed within the Tower. This was necessary since the Battleworld was a significant affair, and it was crucial to ensure that someone could reach him at a moment's notice in case of an emergency.

Peter, wearing glasses, walked in and greeted Shiller. He seemed to be in quite a good mood. Shiller observed him and asked, "Why have you come at this time?"

"I bring two pieces of good news, Doctor, one of which you definitely wouldn't expect." Peter said with a smile as he sat down on the sofa and gestured for Shiller to come over.

Shiller didn't hurry over. Peter unfolded a newspaper he was holding and said, "Look, this is James's report. He rates Miles very highly, saying he might become the best Spider-Man ever. He is indeed doing a great job, right?"

As Shiller walked over to make coffee, he started the coffee machine and said, "You transferred your powers to Miles when your emotions were influenced. So, don't you plan to take your powers back?"

"Of course not, Doctor." Peter pondered, not about that issue, but about how to phrase his thoughts. He said, "Yes, my despondent mood at the time may have been affected by some particular mutation, but had it not been for the genuine thought, the decision would not have been made. I've considered this much earlier than any of you might think; I just hadn't made up my mind."

"I can't say the despondency was entirely bad. At the least, it helped me settle on a decision I had hesitated over for a long time. Sometimes, the outcome of the decision is not as important as making the decision itself."

"Does this make you feel relieved?"

"Yes." Peter let out a long sigh, leaned back on the sofa and said, "Without the influence of the mutation, I might have remained conflicted. You know I'm the kind of person who can't let go of any responsibility, no matter what. I felt it was my fault that I couldn't handle both scientific research and being a superhero at the same time."

"You're the kind of person who would feel guilty for not being able to contribute twice as much to society because your day doesn't have 48 hours."

"Exactly, Doctor. I know it sounds absurd, and it even makes me seem like a lunatic, but I've seriously considered this. I even consulted the Time Management Bureau about the possibility of extending my day to twice its length."

"So, the emotional mutation simply made you a bit more normal." Shiller poured the coffee into a cup and added, "Finally, you're able to throw away the responsibilities you can't bear, like any normal person."

"Yes, and now the perfect outcome for this issue has come to pass. Miles is doing quite well, and the responsibility and power have fallen into the hands of someone capable of bearing it. I no longer need to be exhausted and pained by it."

Peter revealed a genuinely relieved smile from within, stretched lazily and said, "I've brought Pikachu back. I've been too busy recently and couldn't take care of it. With the reopening of Battleworld, I must bring my old pals."

"I heard you're planning to team up with the Spider-Men."

"Yes, and I've heard that many superheroes, especially ones like Spider-Man and Captain America, are planning to team up in this way. They can truly create a synergy where 1+1>2. What teammate could be better than another version of oneself?"

"You might as well say, 'all superheroes except for Iron Man.'

"No." Peter turned around, resting his arm on the back of the sofa, and spoke mysteriously, "I've heard that even the Iron Men are planning to collaborate. Given the immense scale this time, most of them are ordinary people without their Battle Armor. The replicas are dangerous and mysterious, and only by combining their wisdom can they hope to compete with the inherently powerful races."

"I guess Loki thinks the same."

"Yes, but they've teamed up too soon. Our universe's Lady Loki has brought many Lokis to her Asgard; they have been united for a while now. It's unfortunate that Thor and Hela cannot coexist with their counterparts, or Asgard's force would be formidable indeed."

Shiller indeed could not imagine the sight of multiple Thors and Helas together, especially since participants this time might include Odin and Frigga. Such a picture truly painted familial affection.

Shiller had finished making the coffee and placed it on the coffee table, but then he circled to the back of the sofa.

A hand appeared on Peter's neck, and he looked up in confusion, only lifting his gaze until the fingertips touched his carotid artery. Peter still didn't react, just kept looking up straight at Shiller.

Shiller sighed internally, thinking Morbid was right; he had indeed taught Peter very well. He was the perfect lamb, pure and without any guard.

"What's the matter, Doctor?" asked Peter.

"It's nothing. I must make sure that your new body is functioning normally, that Death has been exceptionally generous to you."

"She has been quite generous to me." Said Peter, "I thought she would imprison me, but she actually sent me to her backyard garden, which I hear not everyone can visit."

"That's just because she doesn't want to touch you, as we're too similar." Shiller shook his head and sat opposite Peter, adding, "You said there were two pieces of good news. What's the other one?"

Peter's expression brightened up at a visibly rapid pace, and he snapped his fingers, saying, "You'd never guess, Doctor—Gwen has recovered."

Shiller raised an eyebrow and said, "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Given Gwen's emotional state, there's a high chance she's been infected by you. To prevent cross-contamination, you'd better send her to the Realm of Death quickly."

"No, Doctor. What I mean is, Gwen did get infected, but she has recovered."

"What happened?"

"Her spirit body rebooted," Peter said. "I don't know the exact mechanics, but essentially, after the first night's nightmare movie ordeal, Gwen's mind rebooted."

"We knew there was a risk Gwen could get infected, so she's been wearing a brainwave monitoring device all along. According to the device, after that night, her mental state was completely reset, and the influence of the infection disappeared."

"Ah?"

At first, Shiller was somewhat bewildered and puzzled, but it didn't take long for him to remember that his own spirit body had rebooted, so it wasn't odd for Gwen's to do the same.

"And after the spirit body rebooted, that strange gene pollution got stuck, and to date, no further contamination has been observed," Peter said. "I suspect that after the reboot, the new spirit wave data had subtle differences from the previous one, causing the original contaminant that adapted to the former spirit body to become incompatible with the latter one, and thus the emotional influence program stopped working."

"Is that even possible?" Shiller was genuinely surprised, but after thinking about it, he realized it wasn't entirely impossible, considering how terrible that film was—anything could happen.

"But you still need to keep monitoring," Shiller reminded him.

"Yes, but I still plan on taking Gwen to the Realm of Death," Peter said. "It's just that, now her mental state isn't deteriorating, we can take a gentler approach."

Shiller nodded in understanding; it wasn't that he had wanted to be ruthless before. Painless death was an option, but the problem was the already infected people weren't in a good mental state. If they were pre-warned, they might resist, causing more trouble. It had to be unexpected, and most unexpected killing methods weren't pleasant.

If Gwen's mental state had indeed recovered, Peter could explain things to her properly. That way, she wouldn't need to go through the agony of death, which would be the best outcome.

"Is there still no way to screen for that kind of gene?"

"It's difficult, Doctor," said Peter, shaking his head and not saying much, but then he added, "However, this Battleworld is an opportunity. I plan to discuss it with our Spider-Man group first. If that doesn't work, I'll discuss it within Iron Man's team. If that still doesn't work, I'll go discuss it within Batman's team..."

"The Batmen are planning to form a team?"

In theory, Shiller should have known more about Batman's situation, but in fact, the Spider-Men had a way of getting information. They seemed to know a vast number of people from the other worlds and had made many friends unexpectedly.

"The ones I'm familiar with will probably choose to team up," Peter said, clearly without reliable information. "They don't seem like the type that can't cooperate with their other selves. Since teaming up with counterparts holds the greatest benefits, there's no reason for them to refuse."

Then Peter looked at Shiller and said, "Don't worry, Doctor. Even though you don't have a counterpart, you have many versions of yourself. Maybe you can find a way to get recognized as different participants, then team up with yourself."

"I don't think any game would let two of me in," Shiller said somewhat helplessly, shaking his head, but he didn't outright reject the idea. It seemed he was contemplating the suggestion.

Then Peter rubbed his hands together and said, "Doctor, considering our good relationship, can you give me a hint? What kind of scenarios are we looking at for this instance? I've heard there are items and the like. Do you have any inside information that could give us a head start..."

"Have you played online games?"

Peter was slightly taken aback. He shook his head and said, "I don't play often. I've only joined in a few rounds of online shooters with classmates. I prefer single-player action games."

"Play more online games, and you'll understand," Shiller said with a hint of implication. "And it's best to play games operated by Chinese companies, especially those with gacha elements."

Peter looked puzzled but nodded anyway, planning to search online to see what secrets it might reveal.

Once Peter left, Greed returned to the Tower of Thought, knocked on Arrogant's door, and said, "I think Peter's idea isn't bad. If we could team up with ourselves, that would be..."

"Then you can forget about ever winning," Arrogant said.

"You're too pessimistic."

"I'm being pragmatic."