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Chapter 523: Schiller's Hospital Daily Life (1)

"Disappointed?"

On the hospital bed, Schiller picked up a segment of orange and tossed it into his mouth, chewing as he spoke, "Stark and Bruce are a certain type of people. Don't I already know what they're like?"

On the table, Pikachu struggled to peel another orange with its small hands, but ended up splashing orange juice into its eyes. It rubbed its dark eyes and asked, "So you're just going to stay here? Seriously, even if you do have a mental illness, staying in the hospital won't really solve your problems, will it?"

Schiller didn't answer that question. Instead, he opened the bedside drawer and flipped through while saying, "Where's the remote control? I remember the nurse telling me that this TV can be watched..."

Facing the wall of Schiller's hospital bed, there was a TV. This was quite rare. Generally, in a mental hospital's hospital room, there wouldn't be a TV. TV programs are varied and some visuals and sounds might be stimulating for patients. But perhaps because Stark had talked to the hospital in advance, the room Schiller was staying in resembled more of a recuperation room, and a ridiculously expensive one at that, equipped with all sorts of devices.

Adjusting the bed, grabbing the fruit tray, using the remote control to turn on the TV, Schiller began to eat oranges while watching television.

Just then, his mobile phone rang. He picked it up, glanced at the number, and answered the call, "Yes... You're coming over? Alright, I have some free time now. Last time, you told me you were on a TV show. I was actually planning to watch it..."

Listening to Telephone, Peter's somewhat helpless voice on the other end, Schiller switched channels using the remote control. Just as he finally found the variety show he was looking for, there was a dull sound, and a heavy thud came from the window balcony.

The balcony door swung open, and Peter, dressed in a Spider-Man uniform, walked in. He removed his mask and tossed his backpack onto a nearby chair. Seeing the program playing on the TV, he shook his head with mixed emotions and said, "There's not much worth watching, actually..."

Peter quickly walked past the hospital bed and gave Pikachu, whom he hadn't seen in a while, a high-five. He took the remaining half of the orange from Schiller's hand, peeled a segment, and put it in his mouth, only to scrunch up his face from the sourness.

Schiller handed him the bunch of grapes from the fruit tray. After eating a couple of ripe grapes, Peter gradually recovered. He noticed the hospital gown Schiller was wearing, pursed his lips, and then sat down on the edge of the bed, asking, "Doctor, can you tell me what's going on here?"

Peter looked down, fiddling with his fingers, and said, "Earlier, in the Avengers' base, I overheard Mr. Stark saying... He said you..."

"What did he say?" Schiller asked with a casual tone.

"He and Captain were discussing getting a doctor for you. They said you seemed to have some psychological issues. What's going on?"

As he spoke, Peter glanced around the entire hospital room and added, "So, psychologists can have psychological issues too?"

"Of course, Peter." Schiller picked up another orange and peeled it while saying, "Physicians can't treat themselves. Often, psychologists are more prone to developing psychological issues when they listen to various patients' stories."

"Why?" Peter asked curiously.

"When you come into contact with all sorts of patients, when you listen to their stories, it often brings invisible mental pressure..."

"Psychological trauma is different from physical wounds. It's not easily noticeable until it accumulates to a certain degree. But once it bursts, the accumulated negative emotions can magnify the wound, leading to more severe consequences than usual..."

"Are you like that too? Doctor, do you also have psychological issues from treating others?"

"No, Peter, it's not a psychological issue. It's a mental issue. Didn't I tell you before? I have Scholar-type autism. Although it has mostly healed for various reasons, I'm still a mental patient..."

Peter looked at Schiller, who was lying on the bed, focused on peeling the orange. At this moment, he wasn't frowning; his expression was gentle. In Peter's impression, mental patients should appear nervous and distressed.

"Since you've already healed on your own, why did you still come to the hospital?" Peter asked, continuing, "You sent me the address of the new Sanatorium earlier, but I haven't visited yet. My uncle told me it's the wealthiest town around, so the environment should be really good, right?"

"You're welcome to visit there anytime, but before that, let's talk about this first." Schiller pointed to the TV hanging on the wall with the remote control. At this moment, a huge ornate letter appeared on the TV screen — "New York Wonders."

The three-dimensional letter rotated for two rounds and gradually shrank. The host in a suit, walked onto the stage, raising his hands to welcome applause. The host, wearing exaggerated sunglasses, held a microphone and spoke with an enthusiastic tone:

"Welcome to the newest and best show on New York TV — New York Wonders!"

Countless cheers came from the audience below and confetti burst forth. The camera zoomed in on the host's upper body. He began by reciting an advertisement and then said:

"Allow me to share some good news here, no, perhaps even more than one piece of good news!"

"Firstly, you probably already know one of the pieces of good news. This show has become the champion in ratings within two months of its debut!"

"All of this relies on the wonders who are active in New York. They possess all kinds of incredible abilities — strong, powerful, handsome, cute. They are you, me, and everyone!"

"We all love these wonders, don't we? Their peculiar masks, brightly colored uniforms, and all sorts of somewhat amusing codenames. What could be more entertaining than watching them during laundry time at night?"

"Therefore, this brand-new show has become the most popular new star program in the history of New York TV! Thanks to all of you, these wonders who are active in New York, or you could say, these superheroes!"

"Well, there's no need to dwell on past glory. Let's move on to another piece of good news. The most famous wonder scout on this show since its debut, Bob, has given me some enormous news!"

"Guess who he encountered while scouting on the road? You absolutely won't believe it. He met none other than the renowned — Spider-Man!!!"

The host's tone was almost so excited that he was about to break into a falsetto. Schiller turned his head to look at Peter, who shrugged and introduced:

"This is a new variety show on New York TV called New York Wonders. The show has a total of twelve scouts who search all over New York to find those individuals with special abilities. They interview them and even explore their lives..."

"What kind of people are these wonders?" Schiller asked.

"They are Superheroes with special abilities who take it upon themselves to fight criminals. There are quite a few of them in New York recently."

Peter scratched his head and said, "Superheroes who wear uniforms and masks are becoming more and more common. However, most of them are regular people; occasionally, there are one or two who indeed have special abilities."

"The scouts interact with them, understand their stories, and present their lives to the audience..."

"In a previous episode, they interviewed a mutant who uses special abilities to combat criminals. It stirred up a lot of controversy, you know, mutants haven't been very popular. Knowing that there are superheroes among them surprised some people and scared others..."

"But all of this brought a lot of attention to the show and made it the hottest variety show right now."

Schiller stroked his chin, watching the host continue to explain the rules and procedures. Then he turned to Peter and asked, "So, you've participated in this show?"

"It wasn't really intentional on my part either," Peter sighed, then began recounting the events of yesterday.

After Schiller was killed by Ammit, the steel demon god Stark shook the seals of all the gods on Earth, causing many demon gods to escape confinement. Mysterious powers from various countries on Earth urgently gathered, and with the cooperation of Kamar-Taj and Earth's defense network, most of these demon gods were dealt with.

However, this incident still had some lingering effects. When the seals in the city or suburbs were broken, the residents around would be affected. Some homes had poltergeists, and some people lost their sanity.

Sorcerers dispatched people to deal with most of the problems, but due to the chaos during that period, the crime rate rose, and the police were overwhelmed. Superheroes like Spider-Man stepped in to help fill the gap.

Ever since Iron Man and Spider-Man, these two larger-than-life superheroes, became famous in New York, there's been no shortage of imitators. Most people were merely imitating the appearance, but there were indeed some with special abilities.

Being willing to become a superhero, even if it's just playing the role, indicates that these people fundamentally want to do good. And in times of chaos, many of them stepped up to fight criminals and assist the police in dealing with trouble.

As a result, the superhero group became more active in the public eye. New York TV seized this trend and launched a variety show called "New York Wonders."

Since revealing their identities to each other, Peter and Gwen's relationship had rapidly intensified. However, with Peter's superhero responsibilities and managing Connor's laboratory research, along with Gwen seeking internships, attending summer camps, and preparing for university, they both became very busy. They were like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, barely able to meet once a week.

Yesterday, they had finally finished their respective tasks and found that Gwen was on break as well. They were ecstatic and decided to visit an exhibition together, finally having some quality time.

However, due to their excitement, when Peter left Connor's laboratory, he forgot to take his spider web shooter. Also, it wasn't very reasonable to dive into a sewer before going on a date with his girlfriend. So, he chose to run through the streets and alleys to reach their meeting point...

Coincidentally, the wonder scouts from that variety show were roaming the streets, searching for these superheroes.

In the past, superheroes like Spider-Man and Iron Man would soar high in the sky or swing from buildings, making it impossible for ordinary scouts to get close to them. Therefore, although the show received quite a bit of attention, they hadn't found a truly famous and successful superhero to interview.

When the scout encountered Spider-Man, he was so excited that he almost had a heart attack. The way he charged forward made Peter think he was about to be robbed.

But later, the scout explained his purpose, and Peter was somewhat intrigued. After all, he had grown up in New York and had always watched TV programs on New York TV with his uncle and aunt. Appearing on TV was still something he yearned for. Learning that it was just a simple interview, he didn't think too much about it and agreed.

At that moment, the host on the TV screen raised a hand high, the camera tilted upward, and the scene shifted to a table in front of a Mexican stall. Schiller's eyes widened slightly, and Peter said helplessly:

"I don't know how that scout dared to venture into Hell's Kitchen, but anyway, I encountered him at the Taco place we ate at before..."

As he said this, Peter sighed again and added, "Oh, and doctor, you might want to lower the volume a bit."

"Lower the volume? Why? Is your voice too loud?" Schiller asked with a smile.

At this moment, the rugged voice of the bearded scout came through the TV screen:

"Look at our Spider-Kid! New York's best superhero! I'm a huge fan of yours. If you can't sign my T-shirt later, I'll go home and cry while hugging my teddy bear..."

The Peter on the screen burst into laughter, and the two clinked their drink cups before officially beginning the interview.

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