Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 744: The First Day of Vacation

The first order of business after arriving on the island was, of course, choosing rooms.

The accommodations here were small wooden cabins, each equipped with panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows that could be opened wide, allowing guests to feel the sea breeze and listen to the waves at night. They could also be closed completely for a quiet night's sleep.

Skye's condition for coming along was that she had to share a room with Katherine Hepburn and take care of the old lady. Maria Thomson, her private caregiver, hadn't come. She preferred to spend more time with her own family, so she had taken paid leave and stayed in New York.

Everyone else got a room to themselves.

Nobody immediately decided where they wanted to stay. Instead, they toured the small island together, looking for the spot that suited them best.

Then there was a certain man walking around with his hands behind his back, leading a drunken tiger along like some swaggering landlord, taking three wobbly steps for every two normal ones.

From behind him, Skye couldn't help saying in a幽幽 voice, "Henry, you know how these island resorts in movies always work, right? There's always some storm that cuts the island off from the outside world, and then a serial killer somehow sneaks onto the island. Are you mentally prepared for that?"

A serial killer!

Henry looked surprised. He turned around and stared at Skye, who was deliberately putting on a gloomy expression, really wanting to make a sarcastic remark.

What unlucky serial killer would choose to start his career on this island?

There were three Eternals, one Spartan, and one Kryptonian here!

Henry guaranteed that such a killer would rather be trapped on an island with Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and Hercule Poirot all together than spend a night on the same island as him.

After all, those three famous detectives would merely identify the culprit in seconds. Under Henry's watch, the killer would probably get to personally experience a million different ways to die, be planted on the Moon, or perhaps receive a one-way ticket to a solar crematorium.

Henry merely gave a satisfied smile without contradicting her, then patted Skye on the head.

Naturally, Skye was extremely displeased. She frantically waved both hands over her head, trying to knock away the annoying bastard's paw.

After everyone had chosen their rooms, nobody went straight to rest. Even the exhaustion from their flights and yacht ride couldn't dampen the excitement brought by the Aegean's beaches and ocean.

Even the Eternals and Spartan immortals, who were always saying that they'd seen every strange and wonderful thing the world had to offer, couldn't help happily shouting and running around once their feet touched the sand and the waves chased after them.

Even the drunken tiger was no exception.

Kitty had seen the ocean before, but this was her first time getting so close to it. Her earlier experience of falling into the sea hadn't made her afraid of the salty water. If anything, she was even more curious.

Or perhaps... that was simply the alcohol talking.

Although Katherine Hepburn didn't have the stamina to run wild on the beach like everyone else, she still wandered around the island in search of scenery that moved her, looking for subjects to paint.

Henry carried her painting case and followed behind.

At the same time, he was remotely controlling the European satellite network, focusing its attention on the skies above the Aegean.

Two groups of Sparrow drones were also heading toward the target waters. One group would be stationed in the sky to monitor weather and hydrological conditions. The other would enter the water and descend toward the seabed.

Henry had no intention of using a suit of armor to test its pressure limits and find out whether the wearer would drown or be crushed to death by the water pressure.

But using drones for reconnaissance was completely different. He had no psychological burden whatsoever.

He merely needed to be careful not to trigger the batteries' self-destruct protocols.

"Henry, what do you think of the scenery here?" the old lady asked from ahead.

They were on a small hill on the island. From here, they could overlook the beach, resort, and small grove, as well as the glittering sea and azure sky.

Sparse white clouds seemed to echo the whitecaps below, creating an unexpectedly harmonious composition.

Henry raised both hands and formed a makeshift viewfinder with his thumbs and index fingers. After looking around, he said, "If it were me, I'd face this direction and use a diagonal composition, putting the island in the lower-left fifth of the frame. I'd make the sea and sky the main subjects."

"The dominant color would be blue? It wouldn't be easy to paint well. Showing variation within something so monotonous. You're testing me."

"That's just what I'd do. You should paint whatever you want. Don't worry about my opinion."

"But the island only occupies a fifth of the composition. The rest is all sky and sea. It seems you're not someone who can be confined by the framework of land either."

Henry raised an eyebrow.

That was practically psychological analysis.

He didn't respond, simply choosing to be a listener. Studying his own psychological state was where Henry drew the line.

Without expecting an answer, Katherine Hepburn continued speaking to herself.

"In my memories, the scenery involving water that left the deepest impression on me wasn't the seaside. It was Venice in summer."

"Summertime?"

"Ha! Good boy. You practically know me better than I know myself. That film didn't bring me entirely happy memories, but it really was a precious period of my life."

The 1955 film Summertime was yet another career revival for Katherine Hepburn.

She was forty-eight at the time, already entering the second phase of her career by the standards of Golden Age actresses. If an older actress wanted to remain on screen, she generally had to step down from the throne of leading lady and make way for younger women overflowing with youthful charm.

Yet the film earned Ms. Hepburn another Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Although she ultimately didn't win, the film was still praised as one of her career masterpieces.

"It's wonderful that I can still remember all that," the old lady sighed.

Was she expressing gratitude for having access to treatment for her dementia?

Henry sat cross-legged on the ground and smiled.

"Memories are important. Good memories are what give people the strength to keep moving forward.

"Bad memories can also become lessons, reminding us not to repeat our mistakes. Without all of them, I can't even imagine how I would have made it this far."

With her life experience, the old lady naturally noticed the trap hidden behind those words.

So Katherine Hepburn didn't dwell on good and bad memories. Instead, she changed the subject.

"You and your friends have something else to take care of while you're here, don't you?

"Don't worry about me. I may not have any special abilities like you people, but I'm certainly more experienced than you at vacationing and making use of resort staff. This place is safe. You don't need to keep following an old woman like me around."

Henry turned his head and stared at the old lady in surprise.

Katherine Hepburn gave him an enigmatic smile.

"You don't actually think I've lived this long without learning how to tell what kind of people others are, do you?"

Henry didn't argue or offer an explanation. With a slightly helpless expression, he said, "We've got plenty of time left on this vacation. There's no rush with our business."

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