Chapter 3719: The Age of Mercury (2)

When the floating car took off, the crowd on the ground cheered. Stark stuck his head and arm out the window to wave at them. The bright sunlight made his hair shine golden, and then he modestly sat back in his seat, holding the steering wheel with both hands, and gently stepped on the accelerator.

Shiller felt a strong pushback, and then the car zoomed off. Peter shouted, and by the time he came to his senses, they were already at the other side of Central Park.

"The brakes are too loose, Tony!" Peter looked frightened and still gasping for breath even though the speed had slowed down. "The power seems a bit too much; we should install a speed limiter."

"What's there to be afraid of? There are no other flying vehicles in the sky, so going fast isn't a big deal."

"But you must understand, not everyone flies around every day in a suit of iron like you." Shiller said, clutching the car door handle. "Ordinary people would definitely get sick from such high acceleration. Since you used Old Money's favorite classic car model, you should focus more on stability and elegance, rather than making it like those young folks who enjoy racing Will-o'-the-Wisps in the streets."

"Is it really that fast?" Stark turned his head, somewhat curiously. "I think it's fine, but you guys have a point. Seems like I'll need to adjust the speed a bit."

On the ground, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hurried over. As soon as Stark landed, he heard Natasha's roar:

"Thank you so much, Tony Stark! First time in my life seeing a rocket with wheels!!! Are you planning on filling New York's sky with these things?! Nick is definitely going to double all loss invoices and send them to your house, I'm not kidding!!"

Stark rubbed his nose. Natasha covered her forehead and said, "From now on, don't think about testing that thing in New York. Go to New Mexico!"

Coulson caught up as well and said, "Good Lord, that was way too fast. Are you planning on making pilots out of everyone?"

"You guys are exaggerating." Stark walked to the shade of a tree and said, "This shouldn't be faster than a roller coaster's acceleration, right?"

"Don't you see any issue with comparing a household car to a roller coaster?" Shiller shook his head helplessly and said, "Besides, roller coaster acceleration is just a moment. If you hadn't braked in time, the two buildings in front of you would have become the second Twin Towers."

Stark sighed dejectedly and said, "If you all say so, Congress is even less likely to pass any flying car-related bill."

"Then you should consider why they won't pass it," Natasha said. "You can't expect ordinary people to accept rockets flying chaotically everywhere. You need a smart driving system, stable speed limit device to avoid any chances of dangerous driving."

"Looks like I'll have to do more research." Stark said, "That's it for today. I'll take this car back to the Stark Group."

"No, Tony, give it to me," Peter said. "You go work on the smart driving system, I'll handle the speed limiter. I think there's a better solution than the brakes."

"Where are you going to park it?" Stark asked.

Peter looked at Shiller. Shiller sighed and said, "Fine, the sanatorium still has parking. But you must promise me, absolutely no flying it around crazily in the sky."

"Don't worry, Doctor, I'm not a kid anymore," Peter said. "Besides, if I launch it at the sanatorium, Ped and Nelson would definitely shoot it down. What you should worry about is the car's safety."

Shiller was speechless because he knew Peter was right. The mental patients at his sanatorium wouldn't spare a flying car. He increasingly felt it was dangerous, but he had already agreed, and it wasn't good to back out immediately, so he could only keep an extra watch.

Independence Day is coming. Natasha walked down the grassy slope: "This year is Steve's 100th birthday, he will be 100 years old. We've decided to celebrate properly. Do you have any ideas, Doctor?"

"He's also the first centenarian I've known," Shiller laughed and said. "Of course, Madam, you're also the first 90-year-old I've known."

"That's a bit rude, but I'll let it slide this time," Natasha shook her head and said. "Steve wants a traditional American family dinner. Everyone has to bring a personally-made dish. I'm a bit troubled about this."

"You can't cook?" Shiller said, a bit surprised.

"What are you surprised about?" Natasha seemed a bit embarrassed and angry. "Which part of my life would have taught me how to cook? I never had the chance to learn, so of course, I can't."

"Not even Russian cuisine?"

"If you're talking about that dry-as-wood bread and the vegetable-stewed hodgepodge thick soup, then probably, yes. But I can't bring that, it doesn't look good, taste good or seem grand enough. At least... I should probably make an Olivier salad?"

"What is everyone else bringing? I guess Peter will bring his aunt's specialty raspberry pie, Tony probably a cheeseburger, Clint surely Iowa sweet corn salad. As for me, I remember Steve loves my barbecued pork, but I think I should bring something fresh, maybe roast goose."

"Okay, you guys are all master chefs. I should probably ask Nick for a few days leave to practice my cooking skills." Natasha sighed deeply and said, "Oh my God, my house doesn't even have a kitchen."

"I think you could try making a dessert." Shiller thought for a moment and said, "Maybe like cupcakes, or you could try mixing drinks. As a Russian, you don't mix drinks?"

"It's precisely because I'm Russian, I don't mix drinks; we just drink straight from the bottle. Only you Americans drink industrial essence out of things no bigger than my finger."

"I've never heard anyone describe a cocktail glass as an hourglass before," Shiller couldn't help but laugh and said, "Maybe you should try, rainbow cocktails are quite simple. By the way, what's Coulson bringing?"

"I bet he wants to bake a cake with a Captain America emblem on it, maybe even raise the chicken that lays the eggs himself. Then when he brings it over, he'll fill the room with every compliment in the world."

"Steve might give him a set of brand-new flash cards, maybe the set he took last Christmas."

"No, he might just give him that navigator set." Natasha said with a smirk, "That set has already been bid up to 600 US Dollars on the black market. Looks like someone is going to make a fortune at Steve's birthday party."

"You reminded me." Shiller said, "Cooking isn't a big deal, the key is the gift. Have you decided what to give him?"

"Spare me." Natasha almost wailed, "Otherwise, I'll give him a Soviet medal, so he has every reason to roll out of America on Independence Day."

"If you could get the real thing, maybe he'd like it." Now it was Shiller's turn to sigh, "I really can't think of what to give Steve. He's traditional in a way that's not traditional. Do I have to give him another reindeer sweater?"

"Did you give him a reindeer sweater last Christmas too?"

"Did you?"

"Coulson did too. And Nick. We all gave different styles of the same reindeer sweater. Steve seemed quite happy."

"As long as someone gives him a gift, he's happy. Steve's just like that. So we can't really tell what he truly likes. If it were Tony, it would be much easier. If you give him the wrong thing, he'll show you a month's worth of attitude."

"Kindness or mistake?" Natasha ran a hand through her hair, "Maybe we should ask Bucky. He's Steve's good buddy. They grew up together; he should know."

"That's true. No one knows Steve better than Bucky. Just as well, he hasn't submitted this month's psychological evaluation report. I'll call to urge him. When he comes over, I'll subtly ask him."

"I think he definitely knows what you're up to." Natasha didn't seem hopeful, "He also has to prepare his own gift, and to avoid a clash, he won't tell you his choice."

"Gift collisions are really a hassle." Shiller took out his phone, "We must create a group chat to confirm what each of us is giving. Otherwise, although Steve doesn't mind, it's too disrespectful to this centenarian."

"Alright, once you set it up, add me. Oh, and add Ivan too; I need to learn how to cook Russian dishes from him."

While they talked, they had already walked back to the entrance of the sanatorium. Natasha remarked with some sentiment, "This place has a nice location."

"Alright, ma'am, are you going to sit for a while, or leave now? If you're going up, I must remind you, my office is full of fur monsters."

"No worries, I was planning to check on the kitten." Natasha said, "How's he doing? Is he still having diarrhea?"

"Much better lately." Shiller walked with her upstairs through the main door, taking the elevator to the top floor. As they opened the door, a small black cat jumped from the shelf onto the computer desk.

"Hey, Tolik, you'd better not be after my computer cable." Shiller rushed to pick it up, and it humanely averted its eyes to one side.

"Ah, you naughty little cat." Natasha laughed, but then seemed to remember something and said, "Tolik? Didn't you call him Nya?"

"Yes, I unilaterally called him Nya, but Nya didn't quite agree, so I changed it to the name of his debtor."

"Debtor?"

"Anatoli. Tolik is a nickname."

Natasha dangled the kitten in front of her eyes for a moment and then said, "What do you think about me giving Steve a pet? He seems like the kind of person who would like owning a dog."

"If he really liked them, wouldn't he already own one?"

"Carter seems to be allergic to fur." Natasha said, "Maybe I can look for non-shedding pets, like a goldfish or something. Given Steve's personality, he'd take good care of them."

"I think that's doable, but you should ask Carter's opinion first. After all, Little Rogers is still young; I'm not sure if his mother would want to add a pet to the family right now."

"Alright, I should add the moms to the group chat." Natasha said while taking out her phone, "That way I can check if they're okay at any time, and also ask them about things like social etiquette. Married women are always more savvy about these things."

"Seriously, Natasha, you're not planning to..."

"I truly say, with friends around getting married and having kids, I'm really starting to..."

"Starting to want to end single life?"

"Starting to enjoy single life more and more!" Natasha said while typing, "I'd rather go to battle than constantly watch over kids crawling everywhere like a shepherd dog, and I can't stand being woken up by them in the middle of the night. Aren't you the same?"

Shiller reached out his hand, and Natasha knowingly gave him a high five. "Long live singlehood."

"Long live singlehood."