America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

"No."

“Dad, you may have heard of my teacher’s senior brother’s name. His name is Zhang Jiao.”

The old man looked at Bruce Banner hesitantly, while Li Qun opened his mouth in surprise.

"Dr. Banner, I also know about the history of Aurora. Zhang Jiao was actually the senior brother of the Great Mage Gu Yi? Or the chief successor of the Great Mage?"

"In the eyes of the teacher's teacher, the teacher's senior brother was the most outstanding among all the disciples, but because he was too outstanding, he was unable to shoulder the responsibility of the Grand Master and passed away early."

“The Ancient One also said that he saw more outstanding candidates for disciples, not just one, but two, but he chose me as his third choice,” Dr. Banner said.

Li Qun thought for a moment. Dr. Banner said he was the third choice for the Ancient One. The first two better choices were likely Stephen Strange and Tony Stark, both of whom had stories of becoming the Sorcerer Supreme in Li Qun's memories of the old world.

“The Ancient One said that the two better choices he saw both possessed unparalleled wisdom, while he saw unmatched power in me.”

"My wisdom matches my power, but the wisdom of those two does not match the power they can wield. The Ancient One is worried about this; there is a high possibility that they will fall into darkness," Dr. Banner remarked.

“Zhang Jiao…” The old man poured himself a glass of wine, trying hard to recall the memories from a thousand years ago.

"Karmar-Taj and his portrait, Dad, would you like to see them?" Dr. Banner asked.

"Let's eat and rest for a while before going to check on things," the old man said.

“I feel that you, Dad, can also become a Grand Mage,” Dr. Banner said, looking at his father.

"Don't joke around. I'm already quite old and only just started learning magic. I can't compare to you young people," the old man said with a smile.

“The most obscure spellbook in the Kamar-Taj Library is written in the Chinese script, which is a completely different spell system. Even Old Wang can only understand a part of it, while Old Man is much better than Old Wang,” Dr. Banner said.

"It just so happens to be in my area of ​​expertise; I don't really understand those spells," the old man said.

Chapter 231 A Bad Thing

"Peter, you got it!"

"Yes, Uncle Philip, I got it!!"

At exactly six o'clock in the morning, as soon as the mall opened, Peter rushed in and helped Philip Watson snag a Stark laptop at a great discount.

Peter Parker and Philip Watson left home at 3 a.m. to queue at the mall, and their efforts paid off.

This year's "Black Friday" did not see many serious security incidents, only some minor disputes caused by queuing and rushing to buy goods. Officers George Stacy and Jefferson both breathed a sigh of relief.

In previous years, there have been large-scale stampedes that nearly killed them.

"This is for you, Peter."

"what is this?"

Peter and Philip Watson walked out of the mall with the laptop. After returning to their car in the parking lot, Philip Watson handed Peter a small gift.

“Stark Industries’ unsold electronic watches. I had one when I was in school, but I eventually replaced it with my Rolex mechanical watch.”

Peter took the small gift box, opened it, and saw that inside was a Stark square-shaped digital watch, the same model as the Liqun.

Li Qun had told Peter about the various functions and parameters of this electronic watch, saying that it was an electronic watch that a person could wear for a lifetime.

“Thank you, Uncle Philip.” Peter immediately put the digital watch on his left wrist.

"Remember to check the time often."

Don't make those who care about you worry about you.

Go home early.

Peter nodded.

"Peter, do you think I could be a good screenwriter?" Philip Watson started the car and drove Peter home.

"What kind of screenwriter can be considered good?" Peter asked.

"A good screenwriter can be noticed by well-known producers, praised by famous directors, sold for a lot of money, and deeply involved in film production..." Philip Watson said, sharing his thoughts on what makes a good screenwriter.

"The story is deeply moving, thought-provoking, has literary merit, and will be remembered in film history?" Peter tried to say.

"These are truly the thoughts of young people; this is the difference between commercial works and artistic works."

"Are there any works that can achieve both great commercial success and artistic merit?" Peter asked.

"Go to the Queens Library and look for it; you'll find the answer there."

“Peter, you really overestimate me,” Philip Watson chuckled.

"When I first achieved success with my writing, it wasn't by winning a literary award, but by selling millions of copies of my storybooks and becoming the best-selling book of the year."

“Initially, my writing talent was in making money, not in literature and art.”

"If I were French or English, my writing talent might lie in literature and art."

“I have actually dreamed of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, but that’s just a fantasy,” Philip Watson said.

Watching Philip Watson chat happily with him, Peter felt a sense of confusion.

Why were Mary Jane and Uncle Philip so at odds? Was it because they had similar personalities and were mutually exclusive?

The idea that personality traits can be inherited is a new piece of knowledge Peter recently gained from reading papers on human genetics.

The nervous system remembers and reacts to a person's personality, and the similarity between a child's personality and that of their parents is due to the influence of the inherited nervous system.

Peter was a good listener, and he would occasionally surprise Philip Watson with answers that were beyond his perspective. These unexpected answers inspired Philip's writing.

“Peter, do you have someone you like at school?” Philip Watson asked.

This problem caught Peter off guard.

“I don’t think you’re very interested in Mary Jane,” Philip said.

"Is that so?"

Peter felt that there was something wrong with his and Uncle Philip's understanding of Mary Jane, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem.

"Of course. When I was young, all of us boys wanted to be with the girl we liked all the time."

"Peter, do you also hate Mary Jane?"

"Also?" Peter looked at Philip Watson with a puzzled expression.

“You never ride the school bus with Mary Jane to school; you prefer to ride your bicycle or run to school.”

“You and Mary Jane had a very good relationship when you were young, but after you went to middle school, I felt that you gradually realized that my daughter was stupid and that she was not on the same intellectual level as you. I feel the same way.”

“Mary Jane never remembers what I say to her, she’s like an idiot. Her mother is too,” Philip Watson said with a hint of resentment.

"Is that so?" Peter was not convinced. He felt that Mary Jane hadn't misunderstood what he was saying to her.

"Peter, you're still too kind."

"I know my daughter best."

Do you know what I meant when I said she wouldn't remember what I said?

“She doesn’t listen to what I’m saying; she just wants to read my emotions. Once she senses the emotions I’m expressing, she’ll speak and act according to those emotions, without her brain trying to understand the demands I’m making on her.”

“This is a bit complicated for me,” Peter said.

"Peter, have you ever owned a cat or a dog?"

"That's how kittens and puppies are."

"They can't understand human speech, but they can sense human emotions."

"When people are angry, cats and dogs will hide; when people are sad, cats and dogs will try to comfort their owners; when people are happy, cats and dogs will also come close to try to share their joy."

Peter felt a little angry as Philip Watson compared Mary Jane Watson to a kitten or puppy and himself to the owner.

But Peter didn't show it on his face; he wanted to hear what Philip Watson would say next.

“I told her not to dream of becoming an actress or a star, but she just wouldn’t listen. She thought that fulfilling her mother’s unfulfilled dreams would make her mother happy and cure her illness, but in reality, her efforts had no positive effect and only made her mother worry all day long.”

"Back then, her mother was just one step away from becoming a Hollywood star. She only needed to take that step to succeed, but..."

"I stopped it."

"Why?" Peter couldn't help but ask.

Peter felt that Philip Watson, who had confided in him, was absolutely wicked. If Philip hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known that Philip was such a bad person.

Chapter 232 Honest Child

Peter is at Mary Jane's house, and Philip Watson says he'll show him the dirty adult world.

Peter was in Philip's study, which was a "forbidden zone" in Mary Jane's house.

Previously, Philip Watson had forbidden Mary Jane and her mother from entering his study where he worked, but Mary Jane didn't want to go into Philip Watson's study either.

“These are old news articles I’ve collected, Peter, take a good look.”

Peter silently picked up the old newspapers collected by Philip Watson and looked at the news published on them.

"Don't underestimate these newspapers just because they're low-class tabloids; only they can publish such terrible news."

After reading through several old news articles, Peter felt that the content was exaggerated and resembled short stories from fantasy magazines.

"You're thinking to yourself that these stories seem fabricated, and the people in them don't seem human, but rather like terrifying lizardmen living in the underground world."

Peter nodded slowly.

"At first, I collected these bizarre news stories just to gather material for my writing, but later I gradually discovered that these things actually happened."

"If you want to become a big star, a well-resourced actor, you first have to let those people see your value and what you can give up."

"The body is the easiest thing to trade with those guys."

"It's also the cheapest."

Do you understand what I mean?

Peter read a third of it at lightning speed. There were some words he didn't even understand what they were metaphors for. He felt a little nauseous, as if something indescribable was lurking inside, like slimy octopus tentacles reaching out from between the lines.

Peter put down the old newspapers, and Philip, seeing that Peter looked a little upset, pulled a few magazines from the corner of the bookshelf and stuffed them into Peter's arms.

"If you're feeling down, just look at this and you'll feel better."

Peter glanced down at the magazine cover that the middle-aged man, Philip Watson, had handed him, and felt a lump in his throat.