"Of course not," Steve said seriously, "but if you don't have the surgery, you might never be able to speak again."
"Being able to speak now is enough for me," Soren said, raising his chin dismissively.
He nimbly jumped down from the squatting chair, nudged Steve's arm, and winked at him, "Alright, alright, take me to my new place! The antiseptic smell in the hospital room is so strong, it's giving me a headache!"
Steve frowned and said helplessly, "Soren—"
"Slipping out now! I'm going to find Tony!"
Soren wriggled away from Steve's grasp and dashed out of the hospital room.
He went to Tony's lab, asking if there was anything he could help with.
Iron Man, who had been experimenting all night for several days straight, was startled by Soren's voice.
He set down his test tube, his dark brows rising, and his deep-set eyes fixed on Soren, "You seem a bit rebellious—going through a phase?"
Soren shrank his neck, feeling guilty as he said, "I... no!"
His voice was hoarse and alarming.
Iron Man made a pained expression and waved his hand at Soren, "Hurry up! Get in for the surgery!"
"No, no," Soren shook his head vehemently, "I don't want to have surgery!"
Iron Man raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Soren Hargreaves, how old are you? Why persist in such a pointless obsession? Do you think this is something trivial?"
Soren stubbornly replied, "I'm not—"
He didn't want to argue with Tony.
He tried to run away again, but Steve had arrived and was blocking the door.
With Iron Man and Captain America both there, Soren found himself completely cornered, unable to advance or retreat.
When Tony walked out from behind the lab table, the nanotech armor had already covered him completely.
The golden-red steel hand pressed down on Soren's shoulder, "Listen, Soren, you have to undergo this surgery. I won't allow you to risk permanent damage. Losing your voice is not something to joke about."
Steve also placed a hand on Soren's other shoulder.
Soren turned his head to look at them, his expression shockingly stubborn.
He shook his head and mumbled, "I don't want to have the surgery…"
His voice grew softer, but under the pressure of their hands, he continued to stubbornly speak in a barely audible tone, "Clark will listen to my voice. As soon as I leave here, he'll be able to find me. Please, I really don't want to…"
He bit his lip, turned his head away, his eyes red at the corners, looking at Tony with a pleading expression.
Tony's heart tightened, and he instinctively released his grip.
Then, his repressed anger surged up, and he gritted his teeth, "—What has that bastard done to you?"
Steve quickly held Tony back, "Tony."
"He hasn't done anything," Soren muttered this as he swiftly ran away.
This time, Steve and Tony did not chase after him.
Instead, they exchanged a glance, both lost in thought.
The room assigned to Soren was the last available room in the base.
Although it was still cramped, with twelve people squeezed into a small space, they all had to sleep side by side on bunk beds, with no individual beds available—individual beds were reserved only for a few women and children.
His roommates, however, were surprisingly friendly.
The entire room was filled with former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who were familiar with the Angemon.
When they met Soren and chatted with him, they were very warm.
—Except for one person, who had a strange attitude towards him.
That was Peter Parker, who was sleeping in the bed next to Soren.
The young man with messy hair was instantly startled when he saw Soren trying to lie down beside him.
He jumped up in alarm, "Y-y-you're going to sleep next to me??"
Soren looked up in confusion: ?
"Yeah, what's the problem?" he asked.
Peter Parker: !!!!
Peter Parker was utterly unable to sleep that night.
After the lights went out promptly at midnight, the agents in the room, who had undergone a grueling day of training, quickly fell into a deep slumber, with snores of varying sizes and intensities filling the air.
Peter was usually accustomed to such a harsh, military-like living environment and could usually fall asleep quickly like everyone else.
But tonight… tonight, Soren would be sleeping next to him!
Oh no.
Peter's mind was swirling.
The snoring from his roommates felt like thunder, causing his heart to thump steadily and his brain to be extremely active.
Thoughts exploded like fireworks in his head, and he couldn't fall asleep.
—Especially because there were faint noises coming from behind him, in Soren's direction.
The sounds were very subtle, as delicate as insects breaking their limbs in the dirt.
If not for Peter's enhanced senses, he wouldn't have noticed them at all.
He lay on his back, eyes wide open with a clear mind, feeling as if a little claw was scratching inside him, driven by overwhelming curiosity.
He desperately wanted to know what Soren was doing, but for some reason, he felt inexplicably hesitant to turn around and look at Soren, who was merely twenty inches away from him.
The faint, intermittent noises from Soren's side continued until 2 AM.
Peter remained awake until then, his curiosity reaching a boiling point.
After mentally preparing himself countless times, he took a deep breath, swiftly turned over, and leaned towards Soren's direction, quietly asking, "What are you doing?"
The blanket emitted a faint blue glow from within, like a Venus flytrap that had swallowed fireflies.
The fireflies lingered in the flytrap's trap for a moment, then the blanket, which had been bulging like a small mountain, shifted, and Soren's head emerged from the front.
In the darkness, Soren spoke in a raspy voice, "Why aren't you asleep yet? Did I wake you?"
Peter's excellent night vision allowed him to see Soren's pale face in the dark.
The face was right in front of him, and the warm breath that escaped while Soren spoke almost made Peter's hair stand on end.