Chapter 1037: The Astonishing Commoners (Fourteen) (Patreon)

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Matt rambled on, "This journey for revenge has given Erica too much confidence, making her blindly optimistic about the future."

"She says, in this era of rapid development, humanity is accelerating into space, and our children shouldn't miss out on this grand era. She believes we have the ability to protect them."

Matt shook his head, saying, "She doesn't see the problems hidden beneath the vision of rapid development. Setting aside safety concerns, I don't want my children to become drifters in an era of collision between science, technology, and shifting ideologies. I hope they have a more stable environment to grow up in..."

Schiller sighed lightly. This wasn't within the psychologist's jurisdiction. Both Matt and Erica's thoughts were valid; it could only be said that one leaned towards conservatism while the other towards progressiveness.

Matt didn't want his children to become experiments of the times. He hoped to make plans when the situation stabilized. Erica, on the other hand, saw it as an era of dividends, believing that an early start would give their children an advantage in seizing opportunities.

This difference between husband and wife wasn't about right or wrong, nor did it indicate any psychological issues. It simply stemmed from different upbringing experiences and worldviews.

Erica, being the daughter of a diplomat, was always regarded as a gem by her father, exposed to many grand occasions from a young age, broadening her horizons and having strong views on international situations and future developments.

Due to Erica's better understanding of previous international situations, she felt that the current global unity in venturing into space was a hard-won opportunity. She wanted herself and her family to seize this opportunity, which was understandable.

Matt's father was a boxer, from a humble background. Matt's societal status today was achieved through his own efforts, belonging to the kind of person who crossed social classes through hard work. He pursued stability more, feeling that his hard work was meant to create a good living environment for future generations, not to put them at risk.

Schiller pondered for a moment before speaking, "Recently, I treated a patient, young in age, just a few years older than Peter. He has been hospitalized recently due to some shocks but is showing signs of improvement."

"Lately, he has been regaining consciousness more frequently, so I talked to him about his upbringing. His name is Robert, oh, you might have heard of his other nickname, Fastball, among the New Warriors."

Matt frowned, "New Warriors? You mean those young superhero groups who show off in the media but don't do anything productive?"

"Yes, but they've disbanded now. Some of the members have been absorbed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and are busy maintaining law and order in various places. Some of the mutant members have joined the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters for internships in the Andromeda Galaxy."

Schiller sighed, "Robert has significant personality issues, showing excessive self-awareness and vanity, yet actually having weak willpower, easily collapsing over trivial matters."

"He is constantly in a state of fear that others will see through his facade, exhibiting aggressive behavior, but in reality, he's tough on the outside but fragile on the inside."

"From my understanding of his family background, this is precisely due to the divergence in his parents' approaches to parenting." Schiller shook his head, sounding somewhat sad. "His father is a prosecutor, and his mother is a musical theater actress."

"His father is similar to you, coming from a civilian background, achieving everything he has through his own efforts. He wants his son to be focused, diligent, and serious, to work hard enough and be outstanding enough to stand out among his peers, never to be looked down upon."

"His mother, on the other hand, comes from a better background, from a wealthy family, learned dance and drama since elementary school, becoming an excellent opera singer. She dotes on Robert excessively, believing that as long as her children are happy, everything is fine. Even when Robert gets into trouble, she tends to prefer spending money to smooth things over rather than educating him."

"These two contrasting educational philosophies resulted in Robert not being able to receive consistent feedback from both parents, regardless of his achievements or misdeeds."

"His father criticizes his mother for spoiling the children too much, while his mother criticizes his father for being too strict. They argue every day. When Robert was young, signs of childhood anxiety began to show, but his parents completely overlooked it."

"As a result, by the time he reached high school, his negative personality traits had become irreparable. On one hand, he adhered to his father's teachings, displaying arrogance and vanity in public, boasting about things he couldn't do or didn't have."

"On the other hand, due to his mother's indulgence, he became unruly, challenging authority. During high school, he even got into trouble for bullying and assaulting classmates and was sentenced to community service."

"After gaining superpowers, all of this worsened. According to inquiries from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to the New Warriors team members, even the members of the team couldn't tolerate him."

"And later, due to some events, Robert suffered mental stimulation. His already unstable mind completely collapsed. It's foreseeable that even if he emerges from this shadow, it will be a lifelong struggle for him..."

With a "clap," the chopsticks in Matt's hand fell. He blinked rapidly, swallowing saliva continuously, evidently becoming nervous. He said, "This is what I fear! Erica and I don't quite see eye to eye on education..."

"She comes from a diplomatic family, encouraged from a young age to go out and see the world, travel to different countries, broaden her horizons..."

"But my father always taught me that I must first hone my skills, find inner peace and stability, before interacting with others, so as not to inadvertently hurt them, and to have some self-preservation ability."

"This is a matter of cause and effect relationship," analyzed Schiller. "Is it better to broaden one's horizons to stabilize personality, or stabilize one's personality before seeking new experiences?"

Matt immediately looked at Schiller, his eyes somewhat hopeful, as if he wanted Schiller to give him a standard answer. However, Schiller shook his head and said, "Both approaches have their pros and cons, but in my opinion, the most significant factor influencing the growth of a young person's personality is the family environment."

"The problem comes back to square one," Matt said somewhat helplessly. "Erica and I can't agree on whether to have children, let alone on education."

Finally, Schiller could only offer comfort as a friend, saying, "Although you two haven't reached a conclusion for now, don't let this sense of defeat overcome you, and don't think that not discussing it is better than discussing it..."

"In reality, the truth becomes clearer through debate. The more you discuss, the more you'll understand each other. You have time to sit here with me and drink, why not go talk to Erica again..."

Matt pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're right. I plan to tell Erica Robert's story. If we can't guarantee a good family educational atmosphere, it's better not to have children. If they encounter any mental setbacks in the future, we'll be even more devastated."

The two chatted for a few hours. When Matt left, it was already late at night. Schiller tidied up the leftovers on the table. He counted them and, inadvertently, the two had finished a few more cans of beer.

Schiller found that he was starting to enjoy the dizzy feeling brought by the beer. And his best appetizer wasn't sashimi or any other food but sitting across from someone pouring out their emotions, the surging emotions within his heart.

After a simple cleanup, Schiller didn't even plan to sleep together. He leaned on the sofa, intending to doze off until dawn.

But just as he felt a bit drowsy and was about to fall asleep, he heard a few "bangs" from outside. Startled awake, Schiller sat up from the sofa and turned to look out the window.

At this moment, with the moon shining faintly, the sky over New York was still very calm, except for a sudden streak of green figure across the sky.

Schiller squinted hard. In a daze, he saw a person in a tight green suit riding a skateboard, speeding across the sky, throwing orange bombs down.

Schiller didn't hear any screams. He tried to judge the location across the street with his remaining alertness and found that the little green figure seemed to be throwing bombs into the Hudson River, not hitting any people but causing a disaster for the fish.

No, wait, that's not a little green man... Schiller thought, isn't that Green Goblin? What is Osborne up to? Without working hard to make money, how come he's gone mad in a tight suit again?

So Schiller rubbed his temples, trying to wake up, and took out his mobile phone to call Stark, then asked, "What's Osborne been up to lately? What's he doing?"

Stark was obviously busy with experiments again. He sounded puzzled and said, "Osborne? What's he up to? Hold on, let me ask JARVIS..."

After a while, Stark replied, "Osborn Industries has been busy seizing shares of the shuttle route recently. Old Osborne and Uncle Obadiah negotiate three or four times a day. Yesterday, they almost came to blows. Oh, yes, you remind me, I also need to prepare a Mech armor force for Uncle Obadiah to show off..."

Schiller heard the disdain in Stark's voice over the phone. He said, "They haven't taken many patents, but when it comes to seizing market share, they won't give an inch. If I didn't want to monopolize, would he still have his share?"

Schiller frowned, feeling that there was nothing abnormal about this. Osborne must be quite busy lately. Besides the aerial transport routes and the eternal life factor industry, he even got involved in the genericization of lizard serum, the development of Mercury light-blocking technology, and so on.

Osborn Industries was entering its most glorious period in history, and Old Osborne was a thorough businessman. Even if someone held a knife to his neck, he wouldn't cause trouble at this time, because that would be smashing his own rice bowl.

Schiller looked carefully at the Green Goblin flying all over the sky, then he realized that it didn't look much like Old Osborne.

Although Osborne was a bit younger than Obadiah and a half-generation younger than Howard, they were all people of the last generation. Even if they exercised regularly and maintained themselves well, the agile physique and nimble posture of this Green Goblin should belong to a young person.

Schiller speculated that this might be Harry Osborne, the little Green Goblin. But Old Osborne not only didn't die, but also became more spirited. He negotiated with Obadiah three times a day, which didn't seem like he was having a relapse. So why did the little Green Goblin show up?

Schiller shook his head, but he didn't try to stop Green Goblin because he knew that Spider-Man would definitely go after him.

Sure enough, not long after, under the moonlight, the sparkling spider web flashed like a meteor, and a red-and-blue figure swung over. With a kick to Green Goblin's waist, the two fell together, fighting on the Brooklyn Bridge's framework, reluctant to part.

Feeling the drowsiness coming back, Schiller changed into his pajamas and returned to the bedroom upstairs to sleep.

That night, he seemed to return to the Spring Festival in his homeland. Sometimes there were bangs, sometimes crackles, sometimes thuds...

Until the next morning, when he saw Spider-Man at the door looking like a drowned rat, Schiller really felt an impulse to use the rolling shutter on his head to knock him out with a package.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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