Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 5801 - 4824: Kids in Charge (Part 4)

The Avengers’ base was still as dimly lit as ever. The table in the living area was somewhat messy, with snack bags from different supermarkets piled together. Captain America’s shield and the Winter Soldier’s spare arm were placed at one end, while Iron Man’s heap of mech parts and energy cores were in the middle. Around them were Captain America figurines and flashcards that Coulson hadn’t had the chance to tidy up, along with some game discs Spider Man was preparing to sell secondhand.

All the members were sitting on the nearby couch, each with a soda can in front of them. Steve’s arm was draped over the sofa backrest: "Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?"

"He told me personally." Stark said, "He wants to buy a house, I mean a residence, not for work purposes, just purely to live in."

"Oh, my God." Natasha thought of something, "Oh, my God."

"I mean, are you sure he truly wants to buy and isn’t using this as a chance to stir up something?" Steve continued to question.

"There’s no guarantee." Strange chuckled lightly, "More likely he truly wants to buy and also truly wants to stir something up."

"If he truly wants to buy, that would be great." Peter stretched and then said, "The previous clinic was nice, but indeed a bit too small. The latter nursing home was large enough but had too many people. The farm was big and quiet; however, it was on the West Coast, so it wasn’t easy to visit often. The doctor really should buy his own house."

"I’m surprised he didn’t have one before?" Dr. Banner said. He was the least involved with Shiller among the group. Since he and the mutants developed a way for The Hulk to release pressure in the universe, his mental state had greatly improved, and he spent most of his time working at the research institute without needing to see a psychologist.

Everyone shook their heads. Stark counted off on his fingers: "As for the first clinic, there’s no need to mention it. Though the second floor was livable, it wasn’t a proper house. The previous nursing home in the suburbs was merely a financial institution. After moving to the city center, it became a professional psychiatric hospital. Every time I went to him, I could only go through the window, or else the gang of psychiatric patients would block me."

"The farmhouse he bought on the West Coast with the stone house was quite close to being an estate, but that was also a vacation estate, suitable for a few months a year and not for permanent residence. Besides, it’s too far from New York, even going through a Teleportation Portal is a bit cumbersome."

"It seems the last proper residence he had was the apartment when he first arrived in New York." Strange said, "But that house was quite average, with a decent location, just a bit small; when we gather, we can’t all fit."

"Indeed, he should buy a house then." Eddie said, "So today we’re gathered here to help him choose a house?"

"You could say so." Natasha started, "But it could also be understood as checking whether he genuinely wants to just buy a house. Because before..."

No need for Natasha to elaborate, everyone else understood. Whenever Shiller said he wanted to do something, no matter how small or insignificant it sounded, it would snowball and become a major event.

"I don’t get why you think this time it isn’t." Thor spoke.

"Because he’s indeed changed a lot." Stark said, "I’m the most familiar with him among you. If I weren’t confident that this time is different, I wouldn’t have called you all here. After all, if it turns out to be the usual routine, we’d be better off doing nothing and just waiting to be drawn into it."

Everyone else agreed one after another. Strange slightly frowned and said: "If this time really is different, then there’s a lot for us to do. New York’s houses aren’t that easy to buy."

The room fell silent. Discussing this matter was quite complicated, but the key point was that the reason New York’s houses were so expensive and difficult to buy was largely Shiller’s own doing.

Aside from the development of transport tools like shuttles, the main reason was the change in the Milky Way’s status.

Previously, compared to the truly bustling universe center, the Milky Way was outside the twelfth ring. But now, the interstellar council has moved to the Milky Way, even not far from the Solar System’s Crux, putting the Solar System’s location equivalent to the second ring.

Not only the Solar System, but the land prices of all star systems around Crux are rising. After all, this place is the future capital, poised to become an interstellar political center like the Star Area. Throughout history and across the globe, the land prices in such areas are inevitably high.

More troubling is that the natural environment of the Solar System is excellent, akin to a national park next to a capital, with Earth being the most scenic plot within the park. If this kind of place isn’t expensive, it would be surprising.

Earth doesn’t restrict alien traffic. Thanks to the Magical Defense Network, there’s no need to worry about these beings causing trouble. Meanwhile, the majority of politicians in the interstellar council aren’t individually strong, and none are stronger than some humans on Earth. Moreover, Earth is the most thriving civilization closest to the interstellar council headquarters, making it impossible to prevent these politicians from coming here for leisure on their off days.

Commerce has always followed in the footsteps of politics. When the politicians need entertainment, someone must provide the services, naturally requiring estates and high-end hotels. And to build these structures, land is needed.

At this critical juncture, whoever obtains scenic land can make a good fortune in interstellar universal coins. Both aliens and Earthlings want to earn this money, so the price of land inevitably gets inflated. Not to mention the special real estate groups that hoard exceptional goods and wait for the price to rise.

The scenery in New York cannot be considered good, certainly not as good as the natural landscapes of the Great Lakes Region or some places within the Central State. However, as the political and economic center of humanity, especially the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Holy Sanctuary, many aliens have the need to work here.

For instance, the interstellar council needs to liaise with S.H.I.E.L.D., requiring personnel to be stationed in New York permanently. This is not an arduous foreign assignment but more akin to doing diplomatic work in the European Union, where one can enjoy abundant allowances in scenic vacation areas while leisurely going about their business. Those assigned to this work are not short on money.

Such people are never stingy when buying houses and inevitably opt for mansions. Even those slightly less wealthy live in affluent communities, with luxury cars and mansions as standard configurations. This has led to a resurgence in New York’s high-end real estate market. The scarcity of good houses has made these property consultants and real estate managers more arrogant, further unwilling to release the good resources in their hands.

Conversely, with human physical improvement and decreased birth rates, the population burden has relatively decreased. The prices and rents in middle to low-income and ordinary civilian communities have fallen. Working in middle to low-income real estate is unprofitable, causing these consultants to scramble to climb up the ladder.

The scarcity of good houses, combined with managers’ ambition to ascend, gives rise to countless illegal acts. For example, they might renovate old and shabby houses to deceive the inexperienced; conceal major defects to deceive as many as they can; or blatantly use their resources for laundering money and other illegal activities. The whole real estate market is terribly chaotic now.

Not to mention, the federal government is never resigned, or rather, now that they can’t manage significant matters, they strive to exploit this area aggressively. The strongest competitor to the current president is a real estate tycoon, who has been influential in New York’s real estate industry, stirring trouble and connecting with many politicians from the interstellar council to exert influence on the political scene.

If Shiller buys a house at this time, he is bound to be noticed. Besides those wanting to con him for money, many others aim to achieve political objectives, making various approval processes exceedingly difficult.

Then again, if greed straightens out just a bit, and for the first time, money earned is spent on legitimate matters—as a regular person should after earning money, such as buying a car, house, or some personal favorites—can his friends still say no?

Therefore, despite all the challenges, this matter must be accomplished. This is indeed the most crucial purpose of this current gathering of The Avengers.

Incidentally, organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D., the federal government, and the interstellar council have convened to discuss this matter as well. Aside from researching what other objectives Shiller might have, they must also examine what they need to invest in and what they can gain during Shiller’s house purchase.

Again, after the grand development within the Solar System, there are quite a few smart individuals among the surviving organizations, including the federal government and the military.

Even though learning from mistakes is not certain, Shiller has orchestrated numerous significant actions, and having suffered numerous losses, they must have developed some awareness. Therefore, sensing some signs from Shiller, they promptly react. The facts prove that each seemingly excessive response is absolutely necessary, as is the case this time.

"What are your thoughts?" Natasha first looked at Stark. "You should have quite a few good houses on your hands, right?"

"Yes," Stark nodded and said, "My investment advisor had already reminded me years ago that investing a greater proportion of assets in the real estate industry would benefit Stark Group’s future development. Although I didn’t completely follow his advice, I did purchase some real estate for emergencies."

"Which do you think is more suitable? Bring it out for us to examine together," Steve said.

"To be honest, none are really suitable," Stark sighed lightly, "You should know that the purpose of buying these houses isn’t for living."

Others glance at one another. Despite being accustomed to Stark’s identity as a wealthy mogul, they can’t help but feel a bit speechless every time at such moments. If another wealthy person said this, they would surely be cursed as heartless—after all, buying houses without living in them occupies others’ living resources, doesn’t it?

But Stark is indeed different. Because the houses he buys, even if he didn’t buy them, generally wouldn’t be occupied by anyone. The reason is that they are mostly used as safe houses and laboratories. The conditions and locations of these houses can be imagined, essentially following the same standards as the U.S. military’s selection of experimental bases.

"The best one is on Long Island," Stark said, "However, the house is rather old, and the previous owner remodeled a huge basement, which is precisely why I bought it. Currently, there are approximately several hundred armor suits stored there."

"Is there a reconstruction permit?" Dr. Banner asked.

Stark shook his head. Everyone started to feel a headache. The U.S. real estate laws are very complicated, possibly leading to differing legal standards between adjacent houses. Now it seems, this matter is indeed challenging.