Delicious and Filling

Schiller's consideration for Peter staying with him was a bit too superficial.

Indeed, Spider-Man was kind, brave, and resolute, but Peter also had the common flaws of a young man his age, such as an irregular sleep schedule, addiction to games, staying up all night, and waking up late.

Perhaps due to the spider mutation, Peter had a huge appetite and was addicted to all sorts of American burgers and fried chicken. Schiller felt that if this continued, he would go from being a spider to a fat crab.

Schiller tapped the rim of the pot and said, "Listen, I don't care how much stamina you've used sparring with Steve recently, but no human can eat five pots of rice and then want a whole bucket of porridge."

Peter put down his rice bowl and patted his stomach, saying, "I never dreamed I could eat so much. I suspect there's a black hole in my stomach."

Matt hobbled in, his injuries not yet fully healed. Peter quickly stood up to help him. Matt said, "He's growing now, so it's only natural he eats a lot. But kid, you have to promise me, after you finish eating, you'll go exercise. If you don't want to turn into a fat ball, you'd better not stay in your room playing games all day."

Schiller also picked up Pikachu and said, "I suspect you're the one corrupting Peter, whether it's eating so much at once or playing games with a controller every day..."

Before Pikachu could finish, Peter covered his mouth. Schiller said, "There's no more rice at the clinic, so you'll have to figure out dinner yourselves tonight."

Peter let out a wail. Schiller wiped the water droplets from his hands and said, "Not just your dinner, but mine too."

"Are we going out to eat?" Peter asked.

"Of course, and I have a great place. This is one of the onboarding benefits they provided me. I heard the food there, while not exactly delicious, is 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 was located in New York, with its entrance in a phone booth not far from Manhattan. However, after entering the phone booth, the elevator would twist and turn, going to an unknown destination.

Schiller, with his Gray Mist's sensing system, vaguely felt they were nearing the suburbs when the elevator finally stopped.

Schiller and Peter got off the elevator, and Coulson stood before them to welcome them, saying, "As you can see, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s International Reception Center. This place is specifically for receiving various S.H.I.E.L.D. external contractors and serves as a base for elite field agents."

Schiller checked 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 high demands for coffee, I can submit a report to the higher-ups," Coulson said with a smile.

"No, no need," Schiller waved his hand. "I really don't have much hope for the coffee taste of people who like to drink rinse water."

Coulson led Schiller and Peter through the lobby and then through the living area. The decoration 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 would be working 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. It's a place for field agents to eat and rest. Do you think it's a good idea to stay on an alien spaceship 24 hours a day?"

Although Peter didn't answer, it was clear that this place didn't quite meet his expectations of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson, being a shrewd person, said, "If you officially join S.H.I.E.L.D., you'll have the chance to go to the headquarters. It will surprise you."

Before Peter could ask, they arrived at the restaurant. This place did have a bit of a sci-fi feel, as there were no chefs. Instead, rows upon rows of food were placed on various conveyor belts, rotating out from different windows.

"Is it a buffet?" Schiller asked.

"Most agents don't have much time to wait for chefs to cook, so this is a buffet. But you can rest assured, you can find cuisines from all over the world here, and they all taste pretty good."

"Perfect for me," Schiller said.

Peter touched his stomach. Schiller patted his shoulder and said, "Go ahead, Peter, I think you can make them regret giving me this onboarding benefit."

Coulson smiled and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't so stingy as to let agents go hungry. Go ahead, kid, there's no way you can eat as fast as these conveyor belts."

Schiller smiled slightly.

Three hours later, Natasha was holding a phone, walking in from the entrance. She yelled into it, "Do 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. ever change its contracts? Are there any clauses we can't provide? Do you need me to rush back and change them right now?!"

While on the phone, she walked quickly to the restaurant. She pushed open the door and said, "Coulson! Damn it, you better give me a good reason, or I'll report you to the director for interfering with my work..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the mountain of plates piled up in the middle of the restaurant.

This was not an exaggeration; it was 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. The reason was the huge pile of plates in the middle, reaching straight 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 embrace it. And judging by the situation, they hadn't finished eating yet.

Natasha stepped over the remains of the food and patted a smoking food delivery robot, saying in shock, "What's going on? Is Nick Fury finally planning to raise dinosaurs at S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"

Coulson leaned weakly against a bar counter and said, "That clause about employee meal benefits in the contract really needs to be revised..."

Natasha looked up and down the pile of plates and said, "I remember that clause, but employees aren't allowed to bring outsiders, are they? How many people did he bring? Don't tell me it's a whole company."

Coulson pointed. Natasha walked around the pile of plates and found only three figures: two big and one small.

Peter had been defeated and was dozing off in his chair. Pikachu was showing signs of fatigue but was still throwing plates onto the top of the plate mountain one after another.

Only Schiller, with his Gray Mist, wasn't afraid of not being able to finish so much food. In fact, he was just storing the food in the Gray Mist, or rather, decomposing it without actually eating it.

Simply put, he had come here to stock up.

Of course, the Gray Mist was also enjoying itself immensely. It had consumed at least tens of kilograms of desserts with chocolate, syrup, and preserved fruits. Schiller had even allowed it to drink a tiny bit of Fear Gas concentrate, and now it was happily looping a catchy jingle it learned from TV in Schiller's mind.

Natasha blinked, momentarily speechless.

"Hey, is the restaurant open normally? I just finished my run. Tonight there's basil beef..."

Captain America also froze when he opened the door. He said in shock, "I knew it. Decades ago, Nick told me he wanted to raise elephants, but I didn't expect him to realize that wish now..."

Coulson didn't say anything, covering his face. He raised an arm, and Captain America also walked around the pile of plates, seeing the three people who had eaten themselves into a stupor.

"Hmm..." Captain America pursed his lips, hesitated, then looked at Natasha and said, "Don't tell me they've eaten all the food in the restaurant."

Natasha put on a fake smile and firmly tapped the head of a nearby food delivery robot, making a panel pop out.

After finishing, she said, "Great, now we can decide which restaurant in New York to go to for dinner, and also consider where to eat tomorrow morning and tomorrow noon."

Schiller stood up as if nothing had happened and said, "Thank you for the hospitality. I think the employee benefits here are indeed good. It's a pity that time is a bit tight today, as I have a friend who is starving. I need to pack some for him to take back. Let's call it a day for lunch."

Natasha stopped him and said, "While S.H.I.E.L.D. can afford the cost of this food, if you eat here, you need to give us some time to restock. During that time, 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 seems I won't even get a single fry."

Schiller snapped his fingers, and Pikachu put down the last beef patty. It jumped onto Schiller's shoulder, and Schiller said with a smile, "I have a great place to recommend to you. It's a perk from another job of mine. Although the food there isn't very tasty, it's definitely filling."

Natasha and Steve narrowed their eyes together.

Five hours later, Stark looked at the mountains of plates in the middle of his employee cafeteria, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word.

Jarvis, however, spoke up, "I imagine you're not in the mood to hear the detailed food loss right now, but I must say, if new food supplies aren't delivered before 10 o'clock, all the company's employees will go hungry tomorrow."

Stark took a deep breath. He could already imagine Pepper confronting him with a pile of employee complaints and getting angry.

He walked through the piles of plates in his armor, clanking and jingling, then looked at a few people lying on their chairs, belly up, and said, "Excellent, you've caused Stark Industries to experience its first food crisis in a hundred years. If Pepper gets angry at me tomorrow, I'm going to punch each of you."

Schiller said, "Don't be nervous, we'll just go buy more."

"It's almost 9 o'clock now, where do you expect the procurement staff to buy things? And our transport vehicles are all stopped. How will we transport anything even if we buy it?"

"Come on! With a Captain America, two super agents, a Spider-Man, and an Iron Man, can't you guys carry a little bit of groceries?"

Two hours later, everyone was flying back with bags and bags of groceries.

Stark never dreamed that the first mission of the superhero team would be to go to the nearest supermarket, buy a ton of food, and then fly back with each of them carrying countless shopping bags.

Stark cursed as he flew, "Damn it, my fans must not see Iron Man in such a pathetic state. Please, am I some kind of nanny robot? Or a housewife with a rice cooker?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of light erupted.

The next day, the front page headline of the New York Times featured Iron Man covered in over a dozen large shopping bags, with two people leaping between skyscrapers behind him, also laden with large bags of various family-sized food items.

And Pepper, from the top floor of Stark Tower, yelled at Stark, "You damn busybody!! The high-gluten flour you bought has made the bread and cakes in all the employee meals as hard as rubber bands!!!"

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