Schiller's consideration of Peter staying over was still a bit too superficial.
Indeed, Spider-Man is kind, brave, and resolute, but Peter also has the same problems as most boys his age, such as staying up all night, being addicted to games, not sleeping at night, and not getting up in the morning.
Perhaps due to the spider mutation, Peter has a very large appetite and is addicted to all kinds of American burgers and fried chicken. Schiller felt that if this continued, he would go from being a spider to a crab.
Schiller tapped the edge of the pot and said, "Listen, I don't care how much energy you've expended sparring with Steve lately, but no human can eat five pots of rice and then want another large bucket of porridge."
Peter put down his bowl, rubbed his stomach, and said, "I never dreamed I could eat so much. I suspect I have a black hole in my stomach."
Matt limped through the door; his injury hadn't fully healed. Peter quickly stood up to help him. Matt said, "He's still growing, so it's normal for him to eat more, but kid, you have to promise me that after you eat, you'll go exercise. If you don't want to get as fat as a ball, you'd better not stay in your room playing games all day."
Schiller also picked up Pikachu and said, "I guess you're the one who led Peter astray, whether it's eating so much at once or playing games with a controller every day…"
Pikachu retorted in Deadpool's voice, "How can you blame me? This sticky kid is as thin as a bean sprout, and he's terrible at games. Every time I play Hot-Blooded Fighting with him, I have to let him use one hand. And in Armed Assault, the onions you chopped this morning aim better than he does…"
Before Pikachu could finish speaking, Peter clapped a hand over his mouth. Schiller said, "There's no more rice in the clinic. We'll have to buy some tomorrow, so you guys are on your own for dinner tonight."
Peter let out a wail. Schiller wiped the Water from his hands and said, "Not just your dinner, but mine too."
"Are we going out to eat?" Peter asked.
"Of course, and I know a good place. It's one of the job benefits they offered me. I heard the food isn't very tasty, but it's definitely filling."
"Hmph." Peter let out a disdainful snort. He said, "Then they're still too young. I feel like I could swallow ten cows right now."
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s international defense headquarters is located in New York, with the entrance in a phone booth not far from Manhattan. However, once inside the phone booth, the elevator twists and turns, leading to an unknown destination.
Schiller, with his Shadow sensing system, vaguely felt they were almost in the suburbs when the elevator finally stopped.
Schiller and Peter stepped out of the elevator, and Coulson stood before them, welcoming them. He said, "As you can see, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s International Reception Center. This place is specifically for various S.H.I.E.L.D. external members and serves as a base for elite field Agents."
Schiller looked at his watch and said, "I assume you'll honor the benefits written in the contract when I joined?"
"Yes, the employee cafeteria is always free, and coffee is also free. However, the espresso here might not meet your standards. If you have very high requirements for coffee, I can submit a report to the higher-ups," Coulson said with a smile.
"No, no need," Schiller waved his hand. "I don't have much hope for the coffee taste of people who like to drink cup-rinsing water."
Coulson led Schiller and Peter through the lobby and then through the living area. The decor here didn't have a strong sci-fi style; it was more like minimalist Nordic design, with a lot of fabric decorations, making it look quite comfortable.
Peter looked around, a little disappointed, and said, "I thought you guys would work in a place like an alien spaceship."
"Uh... the International Defense Headquarters and some research headquarters are like that, but this is just a reception center, a place for field Agents to eat and rest. Do you think staying in an alien spaceship 24 hours a day is a good idea?"
Although Peter didn't answer, it was clear that this place didn't quite meet his expectations for S.H.I.E.L.D..
Coulson was a shrewd man. He said, "If you officially join S.H.I.E.L.D., you'll have the chance to go to the headquarters, and it will amaze you."
Before Peter could ask, they arrived at the restaurant, which did have a bit of a sci-fi feel, as there were no chefs. Instead, rows of food were placed on various conveyor belts, emerging from different windows.
"Is it a buffet?" Schiller asked.
"Most Agents don't have much time to wait for chefs to cook, so it's all buffet here. But you can rest assured, cuisines from all over the World can be found here, and the taste is quite good."
"Just what I wanted," Schiller said.
Peter rubbed his stomach. Schiller patted his shoulder and said, "Go on, Peter. I think you can make them regret giving me this job benefit."
Coulson smiled and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't so poor that it can't feed its Agents. Go on, kid, your eating speed can't possibly keep up with the assembly line here."
Schiller smiled slightly.
Three hours later, Natasha walked in through the door, holding her phone, and angrily shouted into it, "Don't you know I'm on a mission to follow Stark?!... And what nonsense are you talking about? When did S.H.I.E.L.D. change the contract? What terms can't we provide? Do I need to rush back now to change it?!"
She walked quickly to the restaurant while talking on the phone. She pushed open the door and said, "Coulson! Damn it, you'd better give me a good reason, or I'll definitely complain to the Director about you interfering with my work..."
The moment her voice fell, she saw the mountain of plates piled in the middle of the restaurant.
This was not an exaggeration but a fact. The entire circular restaurant was very large, about several thousand square meters, but at this moment, the center of the restaurant was completely blocked, due to the huge pile of plates in the middle, reaching straight up to the ceiling, like a giant pyramid.
This pile of plates was at least three people high, and dozens of people holding hands couldn't encircle it, and judging by the situation, it seemed they hadn't finished eating yet.
Natasha stepped over a pile of food debris and patted a smoking food delivery robot. She said in shock, "What happened? Is Nick Fury finally planning to raise dinosaurs at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Coulson leaned weakly against a bar counter. He said, "The employee meal benefit in the contract really needs to be changed..."
Natasha eyed the pile of plates up and down. She said, "I remember that clause, but employees aren't allowed to bring outsiders, are they? How many people did he bring? Surely not a whole company?"
Coulson pointed, and Natasha walked around the pile of plates, only to find three figures: two adults and one small.
Peter had already given up, leaning back in his chair, dozing off. Pikachu looked a bit defeated but was still throwing plates onto the top of the plate mountain one after another.
Only Schiller, with his Shadow, was not afraid of not being able to finish so much food. Or rather, he just stored the food in the Shadow, breaking it down instead of actually eating it.
Simply put, he was here to stock up.
Of course, Shadow was also very happy eating. He consumed at least tens of kilograms of desserts with chocolate, syrup, and preserved fruits. Schiller even made an exception and let him drink a tiny bit of Fear Toxin concentrate. At this moment, he was happily looping the catchy viral songs he learned from TV in Schiller's mind.
Natasha blinked, speechless for a moment.
"Hey, is the restaurant open normally? I just finished my run, and there's basil beef tonight..."
Captain America had just pushed open the door when he too froze. He said in shock, "I knew it. Decades ago, Nick told me he wanted to raise elephants, but I didn't expect him to plan to fulfill that wish now..."
Coulson didn't say a word, covering his face. With a raised arm, Captain America also walked around the pile of plates and saw the three people sprawled on chairs, bellies up.
"Hmm..." Captain America pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Natasha and said, "Don't tell me they ate all the food in the restaurant."
Natasha gave a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. She slammed her hand on the top of a nearby food delivery robot, and a panel popped up.
After reading it, she said, "Alright, we can now decide which restaurant in New York to go to for dinner, and while we're at it, consider where to eat tomorrow morning and tomorrow noon."
Schiller stood up as if nothing had happened. He said, "Thank you for the hospitality. I think the employee benefits here are indeed good. It's a pity time is a bit tight today, after all, I still have a hungry friend, and I need to pack some for him to take back. Lunch will end here for now."
Natasha stopped him and said, "Although S.H.I.E.L.D. can afford the cost of this food, if you eat here, you have to give us some time to restock. During the restocking period, other Agents won't have anything to eat. Can you bear to let your colleagues go hungry?"
Steve said, "Can't you tell? Of course, he can. He can even bear to let his friends go hungry. I originally wanted a big steak, but now it looks like I won't even get a single french fry."
Schiller snapped his fingers. Pikachu put down the last beef patty. He jumped onto Schiller's shoulder, and Schiller smiled, saying, "I have a good place to recommend to you all. That's one of the job benefits from my other job. Although the food there isn't very tasty, it's definitely filling."
Natasha and Steve narrowed their eyes together.
Five more hours later, Stark looked at the mountain of plates piled in the middle of his employee cafeteria. He opened his mouth but was speechless.
Jarvis, however, spoke up beside him. He said, "I imagine you're not very keen on hearing the detailed food loss right now, but I must say, if new food reserves aren't delivered before 10 o'clock, then all employees in the company will go hungry tomorrow."
Stark took a deep breath. He could already imagine Pepper's fury tomorrow, facing a mountain of employee complaints and yelling at him.
Clad in his armor, he clanked through the pile of plates, then looked at the few people sprawled on chairs, bellies up, and said, "Alright, you've caused Stark Industries' first food crisis in a hundred years. If Pepper yells at me tomorrow, I'm going to punch each one of you."
Schiller said, "Don't worry, we'll just go buy more."
"It's almost 9 o'clock now. Where do you expect the purchasing staff to buy things? And our transport vehicles have stopped running, so how will we transport them once we buy them?"
"Come on! A Captain America, two Super Agents, a Spider-Man, and an Iron Man, can't you guys even carry a little bit of food?"
Two hours later, everyone was flying back with large and small bags.
Stark never dreamed that the Super Hero team's first mission would be to go to the nearest supermarket, buy a ton of food, and then fly back, each carrying countless shopping bags.
Stark cursed as he flew, "Damn it, I absolutely cannot let my fans see Iron Man in such a pathetic state. Please, am I a nanny robot? Or a housewife's rice cooker?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of light went off.
The next day, the front-page headline of the New York Times featured Iron Man covered in a dozen large shopping bags, with two people flying between tall buildings behind him also laden with various family-sized food packages.
And Pepper, on the top floor of the Stark Building, yelled at Stark, "You damn good-for-nothing!! The high-gluten flour you bought back made all the bread and cakes in the employee cafeteria as hard as rubber bands!!!"
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