Chapter 5744: Chapter 4767: X Royal Family: Newborn (7)

Lakes are different from oceans and rivers. They are neither as vast and majestic as the ocean nor as gently flowing as rivers. Without wind, the lake surface can be as calm as a mirror. The azure sky sets a blue tone, but the lake adds a mysterious and deep hue to this color, like a sapphire embedded in the earth.

But when the sky turns gloomy, the color of the lake becomes even deeper, as if a black hole suddenly grows from the ground. A thin fog spreads gradually from the lake surface. The shimmering fishing line trembles slightly, then suddenly goes taut. Matt stands up from the bench and pulls the fishing rod back forcefully.

But the thing that bit the hook seems to have sharp teeth, and this tug-of-war ends before it even starts. The fishing line snaps with a "pop" sound after it tightens. As Matt staggers backward, Peter, who just arrived, rushes over to hold him steady.

"Be careful," Peter says, "Did it cut the line?"

"Really unlucky." Matt shakes his head, sets the fishing rod aside, and turns to look at the two of them, "How’s the field survey?"

"Not bad," Shiller steps forward and says, the lakeside is still a bit cold, he tightens his windbreaker, glances at the snapped fishing line, then says, "The land quality is fairly decent, although it’s not suitable for large-scale grain farming, planting some fresh vegetables wouldn’t be an issue. However, there are often storms at sea, so building a greenhouse to help plants grow is necessary. This requires professionals, I can’t handle it." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"This place is truly a treasure," Matt exclaims, "I can feel that there are lots of fish in the lake, and the ecosystem is very rich. Do you want to come over and sit for a while?"

Matt has set up a small shelter here, seemingly to prepare for the possibility of a heavy rain. Though the weather has been consistently gloomy, the air filled with a damp scent, it doesn’t seem like there will be any rain soon.

Peter and Shiller duck their heads and enter the shelter. One side is covered with thick cushions, on the other side there’s a lounge chair, and a portable stove is brewing coffee, the coffee pot bubbling away.

"Closer to the ground, the moisture is heavier." Shiller shakes his head and says, "I need to find something to start a fire, it’s too cold here."

"No need, I prepared charcoal." Matt points to a bundle beside him, saying, "The twigs and dead grass have been soaked in water overnight, if you pick them now they won’t burn. Better to make a charcoal stove."

Shiller nods, he and Peter first use twigs to dig the ground a bit, making a small pit, putting the charcoal inside, then piling up small stones. The warmth from the lit charcoal isn’t intense but stretches over time, quickly dispelling the dampness under the shelter.

Matt sits in the lounge chair and casts out a line again. Shiller doesn’t take a rod, just sits on the cushion beside him watching. Peter stands behind Matt, constantly observing the fish activity. As soon as the float moves, he calls out. Matt quickly lifts the rod.

Oddly enough, this time, right after lifting the rod, the line breaks again, clearly bitten through by something in the lake. Frustrated, Matt snaps his hand. Shiller looks at the fishing line and says, "Do you have to fish for fierce predatory fish? Can’t you switch bait for smaller fish?"

"I am using mixed bait," Matt’s voice reveals confusion, "and casting very shallow. Logically, it shouldn’t primarily attract predatory fish."

Shiller flips through his toolbox and sees the hook he’s using. It’s standard, with fishing line of sufficient poundage, combined with mixed bait, shouldn’t have any flaws. How could the line be cut twice in a row?

Peter gets interested and takes the rod to cast closer to the shore, because he thinks fewer big fish would be there. He’s not aiming for large catches, as long as he can catch something it’s fine.

Peter actually doesn’t have much skill in fishing, just following Matt’s setup, throwing it into the water and leaving it be, turning back to chat with them.

"We’ve finally settled down," Matt says, "We initially wanted Little Jack to receive better education, so we enrolled him in a private school. But who knew the atmosphere there was poor, students were extremely competitive, not only comparing themselves but also their families."

"Once I went to pick him up from school, and was discovered by his classmates as being blind. Not only was Little Jack bullied at school, but even Erica was mocked at the parent meeting. I was furious and directly filed a lawsuit against those parents. Although we won the case, Little Jack couldn’t stay there anymore."

"Then we switched to a public school. But who knew, public schools come with their own troubles. This time the issue wasn’t competition, but the teacher was openly discussing his political views in school and encouraging the kids to solicit votes at home. Both Erica and I are neutral voters, yet the teacher called frantically trying to get us to support his party. Thinking this wouldn’t work, we moved again."

"This time we moved to a more conservative community, and the school’s conditions were fairly good. But unexpectedly, someone was secretly preaching in school, and it wasn’t a legitimate denomination. Fearing the worst, Erica and I moved overnight."

"Afterwards, we did a lot of homework, painstakingly choosing a decent school. However, due to frequent transfers, Little Jack’s grades weren’t great, failing the admission test. We had to hire a tutor for a while, Erica and I pausing our work to accompany him. After a period of studying, he finally got accepted."

Listening to this, Peter and Shiller shook their heads repeatedly. Matt is truly unlucky, but despite all this misfortune, choosing to pursue schooling still shows a steadfast will, doesn’t it?

In America, there’s no mandatory education, so whether you attend elementary or middle school is up to you. Many families with decent means opt for homeschooling, which means not going to school but learning at home. Wealthy families hire private tutors, while some middle-class families blindly follow suit, even if they can’t afford tutors, insisting on homeschooling, which often results in children lacking even the most basic common knowledge and social skills.

Just like Little Morgan from the Stark household, who chose homeschooling, learning from Stark every day. However, the things Little Morgan learns from her father are way beyond comprehension for most scientists, let alone a child.

Although having a genius daughter is a blessing, Stark is often worn out by Little Morgan’s endless questions. After a period of high-intensity study, he also started taking her to family gatherings, community events, and even to play at the Avengers Base and S.H.I.E.L.D., in a rather unique way of entertaining the child.

Earlier, when Helen took her to Asgard, they stayed there for a few days, and miraculously, five Destroyers appeared out of nowhere in the Heavenly Palace Warehouse, nearly causing Odin to pull out his beard in anger when he went to retrieve something. Stark and Pepper had no choice but to apologize in Asgard.

Actually, the place Little Morgan frequents the most is the Arkham Sanatorium. Whenever Stark has something unavoidable to deal with, he sends his daughter there. But don’t get it wrong, the one watching over is not Shiller, but Gray mist. It’s not really babysitting; they are very close playmates.

One has a genius mind, excelling at design and manufacturing, while the other can conjure materials out of thin air to meet all assembly requirements. To these two, the entire world is just a massive Lego set, and they enjoy it immensely, being reluctant to part every time and only willing to leave after scheduling their next playtime.

Of course, Stark isn’t the only one tasked with watching over kids. Eddie also fell victim to these little hands. Let’s just say, the trouble Venom caused Eddie when it first arrived is magnified threefold when Little Morgan is around for just one day. The two often bicker, with Venom always losing the argument, ending up so furious that it cries out, yet is powerless.

Needless to say, other families with children are in the same boat. Everyone takes turns looking after the kids, and when no one is available, they just send them to the Andromeda Galaxy, entrusting the mutants with their care. After all, only a bunch of Omega and Alpha-Level Mutants could handle them.

Though Shiller doesn’t have children, he is heavily involved in the babysitting process for the other families. He’s even received calls asking him to use child psychology to "mediate" issues. Hence, he picks a few of Stark’s babysitting blunders to share with Matt, who immediately bursts into laughter, completely forgetting his own troubles.

At this moment, Peter caught a fish. He hurriedly turned back to grab the fishing rod since his Spider-sense made his reaction much quicker than Matt’s. As he yanked the rod upward, the fish had just bitten the hook. With a swift pull, the fish seemed unable to break free, getting hooked instantly.

Seeing progress, Peter pulled with all his might. Watching as the shadow in the lake grew larger, Peter got more excited, thinking he’d caught a huge fish. But as it neared the shore, the shadow charged at him.

Bam! Splash!

The instant the fish leaped out of the water, a giant wave flipped over both people and the canopy. Even Peter got swept far away, let alone Matt behind him.

As the lake water receded, they focused in and saw instead of a fish, Namor floating on the lake surface, angrily yelling at them:

"Are you guys crazy?! It’s fine to fish once or twice, but what are you doing?!"

Peter bared his teeth instantly, thinking at most there was a mutant fish, but how could a mutant be here?!

"Uh, sorry." Knowing he was at fault, Peter quickly apologized and explained, "We just saw this lake and wanted to fish, unaware you were underwater. Truly sorry, did the hook injure you?"

Namor looked exasperated: "Didn’t anyone tell you I was repairing something underwater? Your hook scratched my hair!"

"Terribly sorry." Matt also apologized, "Quicksilver did warn us, but we only thought there were some big fish in the lake..."

Namor waved his hand, "I’m building Krakoa’s underwater passage for the Sea Clan’s convenience. Don’t disturb it, get out of the way!"

"Alright, we’re leaving immediately." Peter apologized while walking out, wiping water from his face, exchanging glances with Matt, and both started laughing.

"They should have landed on the Stormy Night." Having dodged in time, Shiller hadn’t been hit by water. He grabbed two blankets to cover them, then said, "Charles and Steven should be back soon, let’s go to the dock to meet them."

They arrived at the dock. By this time, the dock, initially nearing completion, had been entirely dismantled. According to the schedule, several mutants on duty were laying the foundation under Erik’s command, following standard engineering procedures.