Chapter 2623: Hollywood Rhapsody (46)

Summer had arrived, and the temperature in New York was steadily climbing, soon reaching levels that made going outside utterly unbearable; the Manhattan Area was filled with smartly-dressed elites, all sweating profusely. In the suburbs, it was a bit cooler, with people pitching tents on the lawns for camping in the early mornings and evenings.

Shiller had no interest in going out in the scorching heat; he had been holed up in the Arkham Sanatorium for several days. He would get up, have a cup of coffee, and then start dealing with the sanatorium's affairs, followed by some reading and writing papers. Time flew by and yet crawled.

"They're shooting the second season already???" Shiller looked at the invitation in surprise and said, "Wasn't the first season just aired a few days ago?"

"According to Mr. Stark, he originally wanted to shoot an entire season at once, but everyone couldn't stay in Los Angeles for too long due to various job commitments, so they took a brief hiatus..."

"Please, not another round," Shiller said, holding his forehead, "Wasn't the first season chaotic enough?!"

"It was only chaotic for you." Ultron pointed out bluntly, "If you didn't time travel so frequently, it would have been a rather leisurely vacation."

Shiller sighed and after thinking it over, he said, "This time there's not so much going on; I should be able to enjoy a peaceful vacation, right?"

"I'm afraid it's still going to be difficult, sir," Ultron expressed his disagreement, "I suggest you'd better not appear in public."

"Oh, right," Shiller remembered, because of the broadcast of the first season, he had become extremely famous. The patients in Arkham Sanatorium had already taken turns asking him for autographs and photos, and now they were preparing to start the second round for their relatives and friends.

Shiller was somewhat torn about whether to go to the second season. He knew that the internet had a short memory, and if he disappeared for a while, no one would remember him.

"Hey? Shiller, did you receive my invitation? Be there at three o'clock sharp tomorrow afternoon, I've prepared a camping party..."

"I've told you not to call me Shiller, I'm considering whether or not to go... What? Really?" Shiller furrowed his brow and said, "Things at Kamar-Taj are going smoothly, how could he... Alright, see you tomorrow."

Ultron beeped twice. Shiller knew it was his way of expressing doubt, so he said, "Tony mentioned that Steven has been a bit distracted lately, not sure what's going on. I need to go see."

"Sir, haven't you realized that you seem to always fall for this kind of thing?"

"Since you know I can't refuse, don't expose me," Shiller rolled his eyes slightly and said, "After all, Tony will pay the consultation fee."

When Shiller was packing his stuff, a thought occurred to him, not exactly out of the blue since Arrogant had just hosted a camping party, which informed him that one has to bring their own gear to such events.

"I don't think it's necessary," said Ultron, "After all, you're not driving up for 20 minutes, but flying in. I'm sure Mr. Stark won't mind you not bringing an extra tent on the plane."

"But I can't go empty-handed." Shiller pondered and said, "Forget it, I'll just shop at the supermarket after I get there. I guess if this party is solely organized by Tony, there's bound to be something missing."

When the plane landed in Los Angeles, the weather was not cool either. Shiller started to understand why Tony liked wearing sunglasses so much as he walked out of the airport terminal.

For one, the sunshine was indeed blinding, and on the other hand, he hadn't even left the airport before people blocked him asking for autographs.

Shiller had no choice but to buy a pair of sunglasses at a store next to the airport, a groundbreaking move since the sunglasses cost 1,500 US dollars. But there was no alternative; no matter the expense, he needed to buy them, or else it would have been very difficult to leave the airport.

This time, Stark had chosen a hotel for them not in Los Angeles City but by the seaside in the Suburbs of Los Angeles.

When people talk about beach resorts, they often think of Hawaii or Bali, but Los Angeles is not far behind. Located in Orange County in Southern California, Laguna Town boasts the renowned Laguna Beach, which has been the private vacation spot for many Hollywood stars.

The area had been developed early, with numerous resorts occupying the best spots, and Stark had chosen one of the most luxurious ones.

He booked the entire place, ensuring that the resort was filled solely with their own people, which obviously spared Shiller a lot of unnecessary trouble. He certainly did not want to be surrounded by crowds asking for autographs every time he stepped outside—such an experience would be akin to 'Hell Mode' for someone with a familiar disorder.

Compared to the famous Santa Monica Beach, Laguna Beach was much less crowded and quieter, yet the sunsets were just as stunning. The vehicle picking up Shiller had not yet driven into the resort, but he could see the canopies erected on the beach, clearly in preparation for the beach camping party.

Shiller didn't realize until he had entered the resort that it was more authentic and not just another one imitating the antique style that many famous resorts adopted; the buildings here had some age to them.

It was only after the driver explained that Shiller learned this small town could be considered the second oldest in California, which, while still young, had certainly weathered decades of storms and seasons—it could be viewed as a relic in America.

The houses in the resort were all traditional dwellings of Laguna Town, appearing as unremarkable one-story stone buildings, resembling the farmhouses within the Kent Farm in Kansas State, but upon entering, one would discover a hidden gem.

The interior featured a classic American country-style decor, with somewhat faded orange tile floors, oak furniture and cabinets, walls decorated with white and colorful checkered patterns, botanical-themed chandeliers adding a touch of naturalism, and most importantly, unobstructed from the front to the back door, with bright floor-to-ceiling windows and doors.

Since the back door was open, as soon as Shiller entered the room, he was greeted by a comfortable and cool breeze. He looked up to see the original wooden ceiling, with the wood's grain clearly visible on the beams, and given its seaside location, there was nautical decor throughout, including a large ship's wheel hanging above the fireplace, and white curtains with light blue anchor patterns.

The space was completely open; in the square house, the left side held a fireplace and sofa, while the right side had a dining area and cabinets, and none of the middle was obstructed. One of the windows even offered a direct view of the beach, providing a broad vista.

Shiller had intended to ask who he would be sharing a room with, but the resort staff informed him that they had an abundance of rooms, so everyone would have their own unless they requested otherwise.

After looking at the bedrooms upstairs, Shiller found them to be not as spacious as the first floor's hall, more resembling a small loft. A large bed nearly took up two-thirds of the area, but the room had air conditioning, and the window provided a direct view of the sunset over the beach.

Having dropped off his luggage, Shiller inquired with the staff if there was an organic farmers market nearby, preferably the kind the locals would frequent.

Luckily, today was Sunday, or perhaps Stark had intentionally chosen this day, for every Sunday the town held a large farmers market, selling produce from nearby farms.

Shiller had arrived quite early, now it was only noon. After setting down his luggage, he immediately headed for the farmers market, not only to grab lunch but also to pick up something to bring to the party that evening.

The farmers markets in American towns are generally alike; they're held either in the streets or town squares, where people simply lay out cloth on the ground, display their wares, set up signs they've written beforehand, and then start chatting with others.

The farmers market in Laguna Town was quite stylish, located in the central square and along the main crossroad, with all sorts of vendors set up around an imposing sculpture of a large ship in the middle of the square.

As noon approached and hunger set in, Shiller casually chose a street-side snack bar, hearing that there were Michelin-starred restaurants nearby, but with no time to look for them, he quickly ordered seafood rice and braised vegetables, along with a fish, chatting with Ultron as he ate.

Suddenly, he heard some noise from outside the window, as though a group of people were passing by swiftly, but Shiller was too busy eating to look; after a short while, they zoomed back past.

Watching the backs of this group, Shiller felt a sense of familiarity and immediately headed out after finishing his meal. Sure enough, he saw a group of young people gathered around a small stall.

"Peter? What are you guys doing here?" Shiller walked over to make small talk and learned that Peter and Gwen had arrived earlier that morning. Gwen had caught a cold a few days ago and was now sleeping in the resort, not willing to have Peter fussing around her, she sent him out.

As soon as Peter left, he ran into the newly arrived New Warriors, who didn't want to stay apart, so they simply chose the largest family room in the resort to stay together, with Peter helping them with their luggage.

They had many people and much luggage, so it took until noon to sort it all out. They agreed to go out for lunch together, and Peter was to bring some food back for Gwen.

The young crowd naturally went wild in such a bustling place. They took advantage of the break between meals to go shopping, wanting to buy anything they saw, and in the span of ten minutes, they had already cruised through the market six times.

In the midst of the New Warriors, Shiller saw someone unexpected—Miles, not Spider-Man Miles, but the one who was unluckily swept to the West Coast by Sandman.

Observing Miles of this universe, Shiller noted he was mostly fine except he always seemed somewhat timid and dared not look people in the eye directly—Spider-Man Miles didn't have this issue.

Before Shiller could engage in further conversation, the group seemed to have found something interesting at another stall, shouting excitedly as they ran over; Miles followed suit, but Peter stayed behind.

After sizing him up, Shiller asked, "What's up?"

Peter chuckled, grabbing Shiller's arm and said, "Doctor, I need your help with a plan…"

Shiller raised an eyebrow; Peter whispered into his ear for quite a while, and Shiller looked at him quizzically but eventually nodded in agreement.