RNP Chapter 4728 X Royal Newcomer (7)
Chapter 4728 X Royal Newcomer (7)
Chapter 4728 X Royal Family: New Life (Part 7)
Lakes differ from both oceans and rivers; they are neither as vast and expansive as the oceans nor as gently flowing as rivers. When there is no wind, the surface of a lake is as calm as a mirror. The azure sky sets a blue backdrop, but the lake water makes this color even more mysterious and profound, like a sapphire set in the earth.
But when the sky darkens, the lake's color deepens, as if a black hole has suddenly sprung up from the ground. A thin mist drifts across the lake's surface. The fishing line, shimmering faintly, trembles slightly before snapping taut. Matt stands up from his stool and yanks the fishing rod back sharply.
But the thing that bit the hook seemed to have a pair of sharp teeth, and the tug-of-war was over before it even began. The fishing line snapped with a snap after it had become taut. As Matt staggered backward, Peter, who had just arrived, rushed over and caught him.
“Watch out,” Peter said. “Did it tangent?”
“What bad luck.” Matt shook his head, put the fishing rod aside, and turned to the two of them, saying, “How’s the fieldwork going?”
“Not bad,” Schiller said as he stepped forward. It was still a bit chilly by the lake, so he tightened his trench coat, glanced at the severed fishing line, and said, “The soil quality is decent. Although it’s not suitable for large-scale grain cultivation, growing a few fresh vegetables shouldn’t be a problem. However, there are frequent storms at sea, so we’ll probably need to build greenhouses to help the plants grow. That would require professional help; I can’t handle it myself.”
“This is truly a treasure,” Matt exclaimed. “I can feel the abundance of fish in the lake; the ecosystem is incredibly rich. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
Matt had set up a small shed here, seemingly to protect against heavy rain. However, although the weather remained gloomy and the air smelled damp, it didn't seem like it was going to rain anymore.
Peter and Schiller walked into the shed with their heads down. One side was covered with thick cushions, the other side had reclining chairs, and a portable gas stove was brewing coffee, the coffee pot bubbling away.
“It gets even wetter when we’re close to the ground,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “I need to find something to start a fire; it’s too cold here.”
“No need, I’ve prepared charcoal.” Matt pointed to the package beside him and said, “The branches and dry grass have been soaked in water all night, you won’t be able to burn them now. You might as well make a charcoal stove.”
Schiller nodded. He and Peter first dug a little hole in the ground with branches, put the charcoal in, and then piled it up with pebbles. The warmth emitted by the charcoal after it was lit was not so intense, but rather more sustained, and quickly dispelled the dampness under the shed.
Matt sat on the deck chair and cast again. Schiller didn't take a rod, but just sat on the mat next to him watching. Peter stood behind Matt, constantly observing the fish's movements. The moment the float moved, he shouted. Matt quickly lifted the rod.
Strangely, the line snapped again the moment he lifted the rod, clearly bitten off by something in the lake. Matt angrily flung his hand away. Schiller looked at the fishing line and said, "Do you really have to fish for those ferocious carnivorous fish? Can't you use a different bait for smaller fish?"
“I used a mixed bait,” Matt said, his voice tinged with doubt. “And I cast it very shallowly. Logically, it shouldn’t attract predatory fish first.”
Schiller rummaged through his toolbox and saw the hook he was using. It was a standard hook, the fishing line was of a decent weight, and with the mixed bait, there were no obvious weaknesses. How could it have snapped twice in a row?
Peter got interested and took the fishing rod to cast closer to the shore, because he figured there would be fewer big fish there. He wasn't concerned about the size of the fish, as long as he could catch one.
Peter wasn't really good at fishing; he just used Matt's method: throw the fish into the water and leave it there, then turned around and chatted with the two of them.
“We’ve finally settled down,” Matt said. “We originally wanted to give Jack a better education, so we sent him to a private school. But the school we went to had a bad atmosphere. The students were competitive and compared not only to themselves, but also to their families.”
“Once, when I went to pick him up from school, his classmates discovered that I was blind. Not only was Jack bullied at school, but Erica was also mocked when she went to the parent-teacher conference. I was furious and took those parents to court. Although I won the case, Jack couldn’t stay there any longer.”
"Later, we switched to another public school. But who knew that public schools had their own problems. This time, we didn't compete with each other, but the teacher started talking about his political views at school and even asked the children to come back and campaign for votes. Erica and I were both abstainers, but the teacher actually called and tried to persuade us to vote for his party. I thought this wouldn't do, so we moved again."
"The community we moved to this time was relatively conservative, and the school was quite good in all aspects. But who knew that someone was secretly proselytizing at the school, and it wasn't even a legitimate sect. Erica and I were so scared that we moved overnight."
"After that, we did a lot of research and carefully selected a good school. However, because he kept transferring schools, Jack's grades weren't very good, and he didn't pass the entrance exam. We had to hire a tutor for him for a while, and Erica and I both quit our jobs to be with him. After studying for a period of time, he finally got in."
Peter and Schiller shook their heads repeatedly upon hearing this story. Matt was truly unlucky, but even with all that bad luck, he still chose to go to school; how could that not show strong willpower?
In the United States, there is no compulsory education; you can choose not to attend primary or secondary school. Many families with decent means choose homeschooling, meaning they learn at home instead of attending school. Wealthy families hire tutors, and some middle-class families blindly follow suit, insisting on homeschooling even though they can't afford it, ultimately resulting in their children lacking even the most basic common sense and social skills.
Just like Morgan von Stark, she chose homeschooling, learning from her father every day. However, what Morgan learned from her father was something that most scientists, let alone children, couldn't understand.
While having a genius daughter is a good thing, Stark was also quite tormented by Morgan's inquisitive nature. After a period of intensive study, he started taking her to family gatherings, community events, and even to the Avengers headquarters and S.H.I.E.L.D., taking her out in a rather unique way.
Helen had taken her to Asgard, where they stayed for a few days. Five Destroyers suddenly appeared in the Asgardian warehouse, nearly getting a sliver of Odin's beard while he was retrieving them. Stark and Pepper had no choice but to travel to Asgard together to apologize.
Actually, Morgan Jr. most often visits Arkham Asylum. Whenever Stark has something he absolutely has to deal with, he sends his daughter there. But don't get me wrong, it's not Schiller who's taking care of the child, it's Gray Mist. Or rather, it's not so much taking care of the child, the two are very close playmates.
One possesses a genius mind, excelling in design and manufacturing; the other can conjure materials out of thin air to fulfill all assembly requirements. In their eyes, the whole world is a giant Lego set, and they have an incredibly fun time playing together. Every time they part, they are reluctant to leave, insisting on making a date for their next play session before they are willing to go.
Of course, Stark wasn't the only one helping with childcare. Eddie also suffered the same fate. Let's just say, when Venom first arrived, he caused Eddie a lot of trouble; Morgan Jr.'s work in one day compared to Venom's work in three years. They also argued constantly, and Venom always lost the arguments, getting furious and yelling, but helpless.
Needless to say, other families with children are in a similar situation. Everyone takes turns caring for their kids, and when no one has time, they take them to the Andromeda Galaxy to have mutants help look after them. Only a large number of Omega and Alpha-class mutants can keep an eye on them.
Although Schiller didn't have children of his own, he was heavily involved in raising children in several other families. He'd received calls asking him to "judge" things using child psychology. So, he picked out a few embarrassing stories about Stark raising children to tell Matt, and Matt immediately burst into laughter, completely forgetting his own troubles.
Just then, a fish took the bait at Peter's spot. He quickly turned around to grab the fishing rod, because his spider-sense allowed him to react much faster than Matt's. The fish had only just bitten the hook when he pulled the rod up. With that jerk, the fish seemed to have no time to break the line and was immediately hooked.
Peter, seeing an opportunity, pulled with all his might. As the shadow in the lake grew larger, Peter became increasingly excited, believing he had caught a giant fish. But when he reached the shore, he didn't even need to lift a finger; the shadow came rushing towards him.
Bang! Crash!
The moment the fish leaped out of the water, a giant wave swept everyone and everything away. Even Peter was swept far away, let alone Matt behind him.
As the lake receded, upon closer inspection, no fish were visible; only Namo, floating on the surface, roared at the three:
"Are you guys crazy?! You can fish once or twice, why are you making such a fuss?!"
Peter immediately grimaced. He had thought there would be at most a mutated fish, but how could there be a mutant as well?!
"Uh, I'm sorry." Peter, realizing he was in the wrong, quickly apologized and explained, "We just saw a lake here and wanted to go fishing. We didn't know you were in the lake. I'm really sorry, did the fishhook hurt you?"
Namo looked speechless: "Didn't anyone tell you I was fixing something underwater? The fishhook you cast snagged my hair!"
"I'm so sorry," Matt apologized as well. "Quicksilver warned us, but we thought it was just some big fish in the lake..."
Namor waved his hand: "I'm building an underwater passage in Krakoa to facilitate the movement of the sea creatures. You all better stay out of the way and not cause any trouble!"
“Okay, we’ll be right there.” Peter apologized as he walked out, wiping the water off his face. He and Matt exchanged a glance and laughed together.
“They must have come ashore on the stormy night.” Schiller dodged just in time and wasn’t swept away by the water. He grabbed two blankets and draped them over them, then said, “Charles and Stephen should be back soon; let’s go to the dock to meet them.”
The group arrived at the dock. By then, the dock, which was almost completed, had been completely demolished. According to the work schedule, the mutants on duty were laying the foundation under Eric's command, following standard engineering procedures.