Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 5974 - 4993: Forward, Yueke Forward (11)

Having dealt with a big hassle, Peter went back to give his lecture. Shiller followed along to audit the class. To be honest, Peter’s teaching level is absolutely top-notch. As soon as he enters the classroom, he can easily blend in with the students. The moment he walks in, there’s a round of cheers.

"Dr. Parker! I heard that the super-rich Bruce Wayne is coming to our school to study, did you know that?"

"Of course, I just saw him," Peter said mysteriously.

"What does he look like? Is he handsome?"

"Haven’t you seen any photos?"

"Photos aren’t the same as seeing someone in person. I heard he’s a real heartthrob. Does he like watching football? Do you think I could bump into him at Saturday’s game?"

"You might want to think about whether you can handle Friday’s exam," Peter said as he placed his book on the lectern, adjusting his glasses. "Speaking of Bruce Wayne, I must remind you of one thing. Although he’s a wealthy guy and handsome, he’s here to study. If you actually want to chase after him, pick a time when he isn’t busy, and certainly don’t entertain any sneaky ideas."

"I heard that the moment he set foot on campus, someone tried to scam him. The security in Forward York City isn’t what it used to be. Even if there aren’t any cameras, there’s the Rebirth Alliance’s mind reader, and there are even runners who can traverse time and space. Reconstructing the incident is too easy, so don’t hold on to any flukes."

Although the students love to joke with him, they listen intently when he speaks. His English carries a slight Queens District accent, but Queens’ accent itself isn’t heavy. Peter Parker’s accent is a very standard Queens District new-street style, and apart from some unclear pronunciation of retroflexes, it’s easy to understand.

More importantly, his choice of words is very modern, he uses popular abbreviations with young people, and he pulls off modern internet memes, not like an elder trying hard to mimic. Overall, his speech is very trendy and well-liked by the young crowd.

Moreover, as Shiller observed all this way, he found that Peter Parker is truly meant to be a teacher. He can really talk!

From the beginning when he entered the room, his mouth seemed rented, never idle for a second, discussing the latest campus news, societal news trends. While lecturing, he cleverly incorporates examples from various professional knowledge, and each scenario is vividly and dramatically narrated. Once he’s done explaining the professional knowledge, he even imparts some life lessons.

The students love listening to him because, after all, he was the former Spider Man. Peter Parker’s identity was exposed during the Civil War. However, after he stopped being Spider Man, his reputation actually improved. Students love hearing stories of when he used to combat crime. He even has a dedicated podcast teaching people how to prevent petty theft and street pickpockets, as well as some self-defense skills, and it’s considered a popular podcast.

After a class, Shiller felt his head buzzing from listening. Although he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about the functional outline of urban planning, he didn’t make a conscious effort to remember while listening, but because those examples were so vividly depicted, he ended up remembering them. This professor role was indeed fitting.

After the students left following the class, Shiller approached Peter and shook his hand, sincerely saying: "Professor Parker, are you recently interested in experiencing a change of environment?"

Peter immediately became vigilant. The last time Shiller mentioned a change of environment, it resulted in him ending up right in front of the Black Sun.

"It’s like this, the Gotham of my universe also has sunshine now, and Gotham University’s ranking is climbing steadily..."

Peter turned around and left. Teaching in Gotham is still a bit too stimulating. Although now he too is teaching in Gotham, there are still many familiar faces. Moving permanently to a completely unfamiliar Gotham is something he’ll avoid unless he revives his Spider Man persona, which he’s determined not to do. However, thinking about the content of "Gotham Travel Notes," he decided even revival wouldn’t make him get involved.

Shiller watched his retreating figure, sighing. Gotham’s bad reputation is just too hard to shake off. His recent talent recruitment efforts haven’t been going smoothly. But this matter can only be approached gradually, it can’t be rushed.

After class, Peter didn’t need to work any side jobs. Worrying that Shiller might not be adjusting well to the new place, he decided to tag along back to the hotel with him, planning to stay over for the night, and accompany Shiller to the multiverse visitors’ tour activity the next morning.

Returning to the hotel, Shiller went to change clothes. When he came out, he heard Peter making a phone call. He quietly closed the door, not listening to the content of the call. After a while, Peter came over and said, "I called Ms. Bozi, and Tony’s situation doesn’t look optimistic."

"Of course, it isn’t optimistic," Shiller chuckled, "His only advantage is being crueler than the righteous Iron Man. To act, he even had his hands covered with blood. The real Tony wouldn’t necessarily have the heart to do such things."

"Acting?" Peter was slightly surprised, "You mean he was acting during the breakdown?"

"Not just during the breakdown, he was acting all along," Shiller shook his head, sitting down on the sofa in the living room. "Didn’t you notice something off about his manic behavior?"

"That’s true. Even during the most intense period of his fallout with Spider Man, he never physically fought him," Peter said, frowning as he sat on the sofa, "He’s not the type to resort to violence on a whim, and the accusations against Thor don’t align with his typical behavior."

"Tell me in detail," Shiller said.

"I can only say, this Tony Stark doesn’t like direct confrontation," Peter evaluated, "If he harbors hostility towards someone, he’ll investigate in secret, just in case, but he won’t rush up and throw a punch."

"This time, whether it’s targeting Spider-Man or Thor, it’s just too reckless. I fully understand his suspicion of Thor, but if he really suspected him, he wouldn’t bring it up now; isn’t that like alerting the enemy?"

"It’s like how we are indeed dissatisfied with Reed for causing such a thing, but before we can ensure we can control him, we have to take a conciliatory approach. If we push him too hard, it’s no good for anyone."

"You’ve hit the nail on the head," Shiller said. "Reed has gone to Jotunheim. Do you think Tony wants to go?"

"Why would he want to go to such a godforsaken place?" Peter shook his head, then paused, surprised, and said, "Could it be that he’s pretending to be crazy just to avoid trial?!"

"Do you really think that the things he did in the original universe will never be exposed? Pepper has already started investigating."

"But isn’t Pepper doing it because..." Peter was about to say it was due to personal feelings, but he thought about it; Pepper really isn’t someone easily swayed by emotions. Or rather, emotions might be a factor in her considerations, but not the most important one; her assessment of her own interests and societal demands takes precedence.

Leaving Iron Man may not necessarily be because they don’t get along, but more likely because he is too dangerous. The White Can had done things in his original universe that showed he was cold and evil. For the sake of safety and interest, Pepper gave up on him.

Moreover, because he held an important position in the Rebirth Alliance, Pepper even gave up employment opportunities with the Rebirth Alliance. It’s possible that what she found out scared her and she doesn’t want any association with this Iron Man.

"He wants to use this method to evade trial..." Peter pondered, "But actually, he contributed to the recently ended civil war. The arrival of the Three Great Empires is a good thing. Without him, we would be hard-pressed to handle Darkseid."

"Exactly, which gives room for maneuvering. Otherwise, as one of the culprits triggering the civil war, why else is he still on Earth and not sent to Jotunheim?"

Peter suddenly realized. If what Reed did was the trigger, then Iron Man and Spider-Man were the direct causes, and Iron Man was the main conflict point in the outbreak of the civil war, injuring many opposing superheroes in the process. It’s unreasonable for him not to be accounted for.

Judging by Carter’s attitude towards him, there are many in the Rebirth Alliance who want to hold him accountable, and some have already dug into his past. The most important reason they haven’t acted against Iron Man is that he’s presented the decisive key tool, the Three Great Empires in the Pocket Universe, making a significant contribution to the current cosmic situation.

Even if there is to be an accounting, it cannot be done now, for doing so would be seen as betrayal once the work is done. Not only can they not act against him, but they must also give him an important position to highlight his contributions in this war.

After all, the civil war is temporary, but the Three Great Empires’ help in blocking Darkseid’s elbow is long-term. This contribution has significant weight, and he can’t be recklessly touched.

However, the White Can isn’t stupid. Pepper has already started investigating him, and his pile of messes will be exposed sooner or later. No matter how big the contribution, in a while, everyone will forget it and only remember him as the mad scientist, the ruthless capitalist, the instigator of the civil war, and other multiple identities.

In fact, his identity is worse than Reed’s. When the reckoning comes, he might not even get the chance to go to Jotunheim. Prepare to break out of the Netherworld instead.

If Thor weren’t around, he would definitely destroy evidence, start sophistry, or plan a major event, weaken all heroes’ blood volume, and then begin to dominate. But unfortunately, Thor is simply too strong. This makes these hardline methods unusable, and he can only take an alternative route.

Pretending to be mentally ill to evade legal sanctions is also a classic method. Besides, he can’t exactly be counted as pretending. Although the main universe’s Iron Man doesn’t show anxiety disorder, he does have a serious drinking problem. Especially this old Universe 616’s one, who truly is on a cycle of quitting drinking on odd days and relapsing on even days, either quitting or on the way to quitting, but never really succeeding. Alcohol addiction is also classified as a mental illness, not to mention some symptoms of narcissism he exhibits.

"He chose a good entry point," Shiller commented. "Persecution delusion could be used to explain a lot of unusual actions. For instance, in the civil war, his actions against Spider-Man could be defended as symptoms of persecution delusion, thinking Spider-Man was going to kill him."

"But the responsibilities from his previous universe..."

"After all, they didn’t happen in this universe. Plus, now that Pocket Universe is in his hands, it’s tough to gather evidence," Shiller said, shaking his head.

"Professor, I noticed you’re aligning with his narrative," Peter pointed out. "You voiced his thoughts before he did. If these aren’t his true thoughts, why would you say so?"

"I’m not denying I’m aligning with him. It has some advantages," Shiller said. "Thor must realize that he brings pressure to people. While others are generally okay, those closest to him are more affected by this immense pressure. If he can’t improve soon, it might lead to tragedy."