"Nick Fury, I didn't expect you to be even more ruthless than I imagined..."
Through Red Queen, Alan clearly saw how Kingpin met his end. That arrow had obviously been fired by the sharpshooter, Hawkeye. Now, Kingpin was completely ruined—neither able to live nor die. No matter what he'd thought before, he could never have imagined he'd end up like this.
"Pika... Chu..."
Pikachu jumped up to Alan's side, letting out a soft cry before hopping into his arms.
"What's wrong? Hungry again?"
"Let's wait for Gwen to come back, then we'll eat together."
"Come, take a look at your new bed."
"When we move into the new house, I'll get you a new one."
Pikachu stared at the computer screen intently. Just then, a notification echoed in Alan's mind.
"Your frog has gone on a trip..."
Alan blinked and entered the game. After harvesting the clovers from the pond, he muttered, "Strange, why did my frog stay home for several days before finally heading out on another trip?"
"Host, this time your frog wrote letters to friends in other worlds to update them on his recent adventures. At the same time, he sent out invitations to them."
"Very soon, the first visitor will arrive in your game."
Alan's eyes lit up, excited about who the first guest might be. After chatting with the system about the visitors, he exited the game.
As soon as Alan was out, he saw Gwen swinging back in on her webs. Pikachu was about to leap toward Gwen, but then noticed her sitting silently on the railing, looking somewhat downcast.
Alan also noticed Gwen's mood. It seemed like the sight of Kingpin's fate had affected her.
"What's wrong, Spider-Woman?"
When Gwen saw Alan approaching, she removed her mask.
"Alan, why are there such evil people in this world?"
Alan paused and asked, "Who are you referring to?"
"That name Kingpin shouted before he was shot... Nick Fury, I think."
"It's because this world isn't as peaceful as we'd like, which is why it needs superheroes like you and Daredevil, right?"
Gwen hopped down from the railing, standing beside Alan as they both gazed out at New York City below, lost in thought.
"But, Gwen, you're going to be quite busy for the next while."
"Why?" Gwen asked.
"Kingpin was the true boss of New York's underground. Now that his reign has ended, the ones he suppressed won't stay quiet. They'll start emerging, fighting for territory."
"In other words, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Woman will be facing a lot of gang conflicts in the coming days."
Alan's explanation made sense to Gwen immediately. She lifted her arm and flexed it: "Let them try! I'll beat them all."
"Beat them until they're too scared to mess around!"
Seeing Gwen's upbeat recovery, Alan smiled. "I'll go make dinner. Pikachu's been waiting impatiently."
"After we're full, we can take a drive out."
"Pika... Chu..."
Gwen glanced at Pikachu, realizing she'd neglected him earlier. To make up for it, she crouched down and asked, "Hey, Pikachu, want to go for a little flight outside?"
The moment Pikachu heard that, he was startled. "Pika... Pika..."
He dashed over to Alan, grabbing onto his pant leg and shaking his head vigorously. "Pika... Pika..."
Gwen pouted. "Am I that scary?"
"Don't worry, this time I'll just glide with you, no spins or tricks."
"Come on, Pikachu..."
"And no zapping me, or no snacks for you."
Alan saw Pikachu about to send a spark Gwen's way and quickly intervened.
"Pika..."
Pikachu sulked, clearly upset. "I can't zap her, and you're not stopping her either! What do I do?"
Seeing Pikachu's dejected face, Alan chuckled. "Alright, Gwen. If Pikachu doesn't want to go, don't force him. Once his new suit arrives in a few days, you can take him then."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "You designed a suit for Pikachu too?"
Alan nodded. "Yeah, it's on the computer. Go check it out."
Gwen immediately gave up the idea of taking Pikachu flying and rushed to the computer. She had Red Queen pull up the design for Pikachu's suit.
"Wow, it's so cute!"
...
Inside Tony's Workshop.
Tony and Yinsen stared at the large screen in front of them. The content was a video of Howard Stark introducing his vision for the "City of the Future."
Yinsen had heard the narration so many times that he could practically recite it by heart. But despite watching it over and over, they still couldn't figure out the hidden message.
Yinsen was feeling embarrassed. Earlier in the car, he had confidently declared that he believed Howard Stark had left a clue in the film, one that would lead them to an alternative to palladium.
"Tony, I can't take it anymore. If I keep watching this, I'm going to fall asleep."
Yinsen couldn't bear it any longer.
Tony teased, "That's not what you said in the car. You said you trusted Howard Stark and believed he left us something important."
"I do trust Howard. I just don't trust the person who gave you this information," Yinsen quickly corrected himself.
Tony was momentarily speechless, unable to argue back. Deep down, he couldn't come up with any reason why Emperor would deceive him. After all, when he first met him, Emperor had accurately diagnosed his issue and even pinpointed Howard's research focus. All of these things led Tony to believe him.
"Yinsen, let's watch it one more time. Just one last time!" Tony said, unwilling to give up. This wasn't just a puzzle to him—it was a matter of life and death.
Although Yinsen complained, he agreed to watch it again with Tony.
"City of the Future..."
"City of the Future..."
Howard Stark kept repeating the concept of the City of the Future in the footage, explaining the model behind him and the specific functions of the various buildings within the city.
Suddenly, both Tony and Yinsen had the same realization at the same time. They stood up together and walked toward the screen.
"Jarvis, pause!" Tony commanded, and the screen froze.
"Yinsen, tell me what you're thinking..." Tony asked.
Yinsen pointed to the City of the Future model behind Howard. "It's this!"
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Tony exclaimed, clapping his hands in excitement.
Yinsen then asked, "Tony, do you still have this model at your house?"
"Yes, it's stored in the junk room."
"Quick, let's get it out and take a look..."
...
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