Not long after Peter and the others left, Shiller's sanatorium welcomed visitors again. This time, it was the Robins from that arrogant universe. Unusually, all three of them came, and the timing was just right; Shiller suspected they specifically came around mealtime.
Shiller was making breakfast, and the three of them made themselves comfortable by sitting directly at the dining table. Shiller brought over the sandwiches and then asked, "Have you found your teammates yet? Or is it just the three of you?"
"No, we need two more people. We're not very skilled in cosmic battles, and the spaceship requires three people to operate; without others, we'd lack a lookout," Dick said.
"That's exactly why we're here," Tim said, picking up a sandwich. After glancing at the filling, he took a bite and said, "We're thinking of teaming up with Spider-Man. Any suggestions, Doctor?"
"It depends on which Spider-Man you're looking for."
"Are there different types of Spider-Men?" Jason turned his head and asked somewhat vaguely, "Does Black Widow count as a Spider-Man? Can we find her?"
Dick choked and coughed. Shiller placed the juice on their table, sat down to eat, and said, "Black Widow isn't a Spider-Man, but you can give it a try. Though I doubt Nick will let her go; he's been insanely busy lately."
"No, no, no, let's stick to traditional Spider-Men," Dick said.
"Is there a quieter one?" Jason asked, "Sorry, but we're not great at flying spaceships, and if he's chattering away, we'll find it even harder to focus. It might cause a crash."
"Not all Spider-Men are chatterboxes. The quiet ones often have strong combat abilities, but I'm not sure they'll want to team up with you; most of them are lone wolves."
"I'll have a chat with them," Jason said, stuffing the sandwich into his mouth and wiping his lips, "I believe I can win them over."
"Well, first there's Shadow Batman, who performed excellently in the last multiverse war. However, he's not from our era, born earlier than most Batmen, considered a lone gunman. Though quiet, his temper isn't bad. Then there's Scarlet Spider-Man, who rarely talks, but he's a bit eccentric; you might not be able to handle him…"
Shiller gave a few examples, and Jason and the others started searching on their software. After finishing his meal, Shiller went to feed Jeff, carrying him inside, which startled Tim.
"Good heavens! What is that? I thought you were carrying a shark!"
"It is a shark," Shiller said, "Sharkdog Jeff, as you see, is a small shark with legs."
"Kind of cute," Dick leaned back, craning his neck, "Of course, if I saw this thing in a pool, I'd scream and scramble ashore."
Shiller gave Jeff a whole roasted chicken, and Jeff happily ate beside the back door. Then came Tolik. Beings like the Cosmic Beasts gain energy by devouring energy-dense crystal cores, so Shiller directly gave him a crystal storing Green Lantern energy, shoving it into his mouth before he could extend his tentacles.
At this point, Pikachu woke up. With a flip and superhero-style landing, he successfully jumped from the second-floor atrium to the kitchen island platform, searching for his share of breakfast.
"Where's my sandwich?" he said, "I want a large one, and a chocolate milk too."
"In the plate over there, get it yourself. We're out of chocolate milk; there's juice, make do with that."
Jason stared intently at the yellow mouse, whispering with Tim. Pikachu had noticed his gaze long ago and, while stuffing a sandwich bigger than his head into his mouth, said, "Hey, kid, don't think I don't know what you guys are planning. I'm not getting on your ship; my business in the universe is just starting; I don't have time to mess around with you."
"Alright, I was just thinking we needed a mascot for our ship, but if you're not interested, never mind."
"I'm not a mascot," Pikachu flicked his tail, sending a crackling current to Jason's sandwich, scorching the remaining half of it on the spot. Strangely, Jason's hand was unharmed.
"Oh, damn it!" Jason jumped in fright and tossed the half sandwich away. He looked at Pikachu as if he'd seen a ghost. He'd seen this yellow-haired mouse before but hadn't seen him in action. How did this thing not look like it could play with electricity?
"So you're not a mouse; you're an electric eel?"
Pikachu couldn't be bothered to argue, and after finishing his sandwich, he ran off to the backyard to talk to Shiller.
Shiller was pruning the bushes that Jeff had messed up. Pikachu jumped onto a nearby flowerbed and said, "I recently completed a mission with the Guardians of the Galaxy, made some money, then made a fortune on the black market. I used the startup capital to start a business. Do you want to check it out with me?"
Shiller paused his movements, looking Pikachu up and down, then said, "Are you short on money or short on staff?"
Pikachu didn't hold back; he scratched his head and said, "You know, it's not easy doing business anywhere; you're bound to run into troublemakers, plus the Three Great Empires are watching closely. I heard the interstellar council wants to move to the Milky Way, and I thought maybe I should move my shop back too."
"You opened a shop?" Shiller said, slightly surprised, "No wonder you went quiet in the universe for so long. Where did you open it? And what kind of shop is it?"
"Of course, it's Centaurus. After the Great Teleportation Gate Business District fell through, that's the only place to make a little money. It's not a big business; you'll find out when you get there."
"You're not involved in black market stuff, are you?" Shiller asked in a low voice.
"What are you thinking? Would I do something illegal? This is legitimate business, just a bit troublesome, but quite profitable."
"Alright then, I want to see what you've been up to."
Shiller went back inside to fetch the shark dog. Gwen Stacy had specifically instructed him that Jeff needed more than two hours of activity every day; otherwise, he might tear the house apart, so this outing was also a good time to walk the dog.
They twisted and turned, first transferring through the Space Station Teleportation Portal in New York, then to the Great Teleportation Gate, then along the teleportation system of the Three Great Empires, finally arriving in Centaurus.
Although the previous Market Star was destroyed, as long as there's demand, the black market will never stop, so they quickly established another Market Star here. The only difference is that the Lord is no longer a giant octopus. Other than that, it looks much the same as before.
The security and bouncers still dared not stop Shiller as he followed Pikachu through the bustling market streets. Despite the mixed crowd and hidden dangers here, it actually felt more lively than under the rule of the Three Great Empires. On the planets under their rule, wherever a Robot passed, all creatures fell silent, which seemed very oppressive.
Here, although there's a certain order, everyone is wary of each other. Even guards as strong as giants maintain basic politeness. After all, you never know where a tiny but powerful being like a human might pop up. Even though Pikachu is a yellow rodent, no one dared to underestimate him. From the looks of some nearby security guards, they must have suffered quite a few electric shocks.
In the middle of the street, there appeared a building somewhat resembling a Tudor-style construction, like something from a Western sword and magic world, and it was indeed a pub.
Just as Shiller stepped in, a wave of heat hit him, followed by the sounds of chatter and clamor. The place was jam-packed, with some drinking and finger-guessing games, others chatting loudly, while some were already passed out on the floor.
"My god, you didn't tell me you had such a big business." Shiller marveled at the pub. "Did you set this up?"
"Of course not. I took it over from the previous owner," Pikachu replied. "After the Market Star was destroyed, many owners ran away and quit, but some persisted. The owner of this pub was one of them, but he clearly made a poor choice; this business has become tougher and tougher."
"Looks alright to me." Shiller looked around the pub's interior. This decor must have been adjusted by Pikachu, and it really looked like a medieval pub, with lots of stone and wood, candles on the tables, torches on the walls, stacks of beer barrels at the back, and even the bartenders and waitstaff were dressed like Celts.
"Of course, I have great taste, don't I? You know, when this bar was redecorated and reopened, it caused quite a stir. But you also know that the brutes on the black market don't appreciate the pub's atmosphere and love making trouble."
"But that's nothing for you. You can just shock them all, right?"
"That's right, getting drunk and causing trouble is nothing here; there's security. But what really bothers me is that bunch of..."
Before he could finish speaking, the bell at the door rang repeatedly. Shiller watched as Pikachu bristled; he turned to see a group of Ferocious Feather Tribesmen with multicolored feathers all over their heads entering.
"Oh no, they're back again," Shiller heard the bartender behind him complain. "Can't these bastards go back to their Star Zone? Why do they keep coming here to make trouble!"
Pikachu's expression was also grim. You know, he was quite adorable, and every expression looked cute, but this time, his face was evidently very somber.
Shiller pulled him to the edge of the bar and asked, "What's going on? Why are these nobles drinking in a place like this?"
"Nobles? Just a bunch of exiled outcasts," Pikachu said through gritted teeth. "They missed the train of the Queen's new policies and were kicked out of the noble circle. They couldn't make it in the Great Teleportation Gate zone, so they came here to show off! What a bunch of bastards!"
Just then, those people loudly called for the waitstaff to bring them drinks. The drinks on the waitstaff's tray were meant for other customers, but they insisted on having them brought over to their table. Unfortunately, the other customers, seeing that they were from the Three Great Empires, dared not say anything and could only leave quietly.
The other customers also silently started leaving, but even so, the leader of the group still stopped one of them and started yelling at him, looking like he was about to get physical.
"Stop!" Pikachu shouted. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, it's you again, you pesky mouse!" the leader said with a few laughs, "Aren't you good at shocking people? Come, give us a little performance..."
Pikachu took a deep breath and whispered to Shiller, "These guys have good equipment. Most energy attacks don't work on them, and I can't get rid of them. Every time they come to make trouble, I lose most of my customers. It's so annoying!"
Now Shiller understood why Pikachu wanted to move. These kinds of customers are indeed hard to deal with. Don't underestimate them just because they might have been kicked out of the core power circle; that's only at the high levels of the Three Great Empires. But as long as they're from the Three Great Empires, they're considered superior. Moreover, they're still nobles. The energy shields they have are military-grade products. There's no way the black market folks can handle them, so they can only watch them swagger around here and swallow their anger.
However, Shiller wasn't one to swallow his anger. He quietly undid Jeff's leash, patted his dorsal fin, and pointed at the birdmen at the table. Two seconds later, the inside of the pub erupted with horrific screams.