WAAAGH!

Mr. Negative finished giving his last order to his subordinates in the Demon Gang. He twisted his neck, took off the Mind Demon Mask from his face, and let out a long sigh of stale air.

As he exhaled, Mr. Negative's pitch-black skin gradually returned to its original complexion, and his white suit transformed back into black.

Martin Lee walked out of the Demon Gang's headquarters, bypassed two streets, and got into the Ford car he usually drove, heading home.

After a mutually destructive clash with the Magia Gang, his Demon Gang, while not suffering the loss of extensive business channels and territory like the Magia Gang, had still expended a considerable amount of US dollars and a large reserve of ammunition.

It would have taken a lot of time to slowly recover financially. Fortunately, Kraft had come up with a new solar technology that significantly boosted the Demon Gang's recovery speed. However, even with that, the Demon Gang couldn't make any major moves recently.

Martin Lee had basically been staying with the Demon Gang lately, handling the final cleanup work, which had only just concluded. Although he hadn't succeeded in getting revenge this time, Martin Lee wasn't anxious.

While it seemed like they had both suffered heavy losses, there was a difference. To put it simply, the Demon Gang was like someone who had lost a lot of blood; they could recover quickly with a transfusion. The Magia Gang, on the other hand, had their limbs broken. Even if they were reattached, they wouldn't be as agile as before.

Therefore, as long as the Demon Gang recovered, it would be a sure thing to strike against the Magia Gang next time.

However, Martin Lee didn't want to finish off the Magia Gang so quickly. Instead, he wanted to stir up trouble and see if he could lure out the mysterious force behind them.

Of course, these were things to consider for the future. After being busy for more than half a month, Martin Lee now just wanted to go home and rest.

Parking the car in the garage, Martin pushed open his front door.

"Put down the dried fish! You stupid dog!"

"You want to take back food that's already in my possession? You must be dreaming!"

"Die, meow!"

"Help! Someone save me from this dog!"

As Martin Lee pushed open the door, he heard a noisy commotion from inside. The two voices arguing sounded very unfamiliar.

Just as he was wondering if Kraft had brought classmates over to play, he saw a black cat chasing a yellow dog down from upstairs. Both of them had bright red scarves tied around their necks.

Got pets?

Martin Lee was stunned. Based on his understanding of Kraft, that kid definitely wouldn't have the leisure time to take care of pets.

So Alice got them?

Martin frowned. He had been staying with the Demon Gang during this period and didn't feel any particular closeness to Alice, the robot.

Just then, the robot girl he was thinking about came running downstairs, her steps hurried.

"You two, stop it! If you keep this up, neither of you will get any snacks anymore!"

"Shocking!" "It's this stupid dog causing trouble!"

The cat and dog, in the middle of their chase, stopped simultaneously and started arguing with Alice.

"My body is so much bigger than Bea's, yet we get the same amount of snacks. Is that fair?"

"Shut up! You stupid dog!"

"Stop arguing! Ah! Uncle Martin, you're back!"

Alice only noticed Martin Lee, who was standing there looking bewildered, at this moment. She quickly dropped the two pets that were clawing at each other and greeted him.

"What... is going on?"

Martin pointed at the cat and dog, who were arguing in English, and asked stiffly.

"Ah, these are Mr. Quinn and Miss Bea. Brother and I bought them from the pet store a few days ago."

"That's not what I'm asking! How! Can! They! Talk?!"

Martin, exasperated, pointed forcefully at the cat and dog, who had quieted down and were now looking over, and emphasized each word.

"Oh, these are Brother's inventions~" Alice explained belatedly. "It's that red scarf. Once they wear it, it allows animals to talk!"

Alice clasped her hands together next to her cheeks, her tone full of admiration. "Brother's inventions are truly amazing!"

Is this about whether it's amazing or not?

Martin Lee's mind was like a raging storm, a stampede of wild horses.

How did that kid Kraft do it?!

"Where is Kraft?!"

Martin couldn't wait to find his adopted son and get some answers.

"Brother hasn't finished school yet," Alice said, looking at the electronic watch on her wrist, and then exclaimed softly. "Ah! It's already this time! I need to start preparing dinner!"

"Uncle Martin, you stay here and watch TV for a bit. Bea, Quinn, you two are not allowed to argue anymore!"

Alice quickly gave a couple of instructions and then scurried into the kitchen.

Martin Lee: ...

Quinn: ...

Bea: ...

The person, cat, and dog looked at each other for a moment. The dog was the first to speak: "Are you Big Brother's father? How should I address you?"

Quinn tilted his head, sticking out his tongue with a foolishly cute expression.

"Stupid dog, didn't you hear Alice call him Uncle Martin just now? We should just follow suit!"

The little black cat, Bea, lightly leaped onto Quinn's back and swatted his head.

"Isn't that a bit much?" Quinn hesitated, deciding not to fall out with Bea for now. "Since he's Big Brother's father, he's the master of this house. He should have a special title, like 'Grandpa'?"

"No, just call me Martin..."

Martin Lee rejected the cringe-worthy title with a dark expression. Then, he crouched down and curiously asked the two pets.

"Can you understand human language even before putting on these scarves?"

"Whoa! As expected of Big Brother's father!" Quinn's eyes widened. "Big Brother asked us the same thing after putting on the scarves for us."

After a brief pause, Quinn continued, "We couldn't understand before. We could only grasp a little of what humans meant, but now, even if we take the scarves off, we can understand what you're saying."

"Is that so..." Martin reached out and ruffled Quinn's dog head. "That's truly amazing."

In this situation, Martin couldn't find any other word besides "amazing" to describe Kraft's invention.

Even Mr. Negative couldn't suppress his curiosity when faced with such a marvel. He turned on the TV but didn't focus on it, instead chatting idly with Quinn. Bea, however, maintained her aloof cat demeanor, lying on the sofa and grooming herself.

"Huh? Big Brother's back!"

Quinn, who was chatting with Martin, suddenly sat up straight, turned his head towards the house's entrance, and quickly ran to the entryway, squatting down.

"Big Brother!"

As soon as Kraft entered the house, Quinn, as usual, greeted him with his tongue hanging out, excitedly circling his feet.

"Big Brother, your father, Grandfather Martin, is back!"

Quinn reported while circling Kraft, clearly not having taken Martin's rejection to heart.

"Oh? I see."

Hearing the title "Grandfather," Kraft's lips twitched. He then reached out and ruffled Quinn's dog head as he walked into the house.

Upon entering the living room, he saw Martin looking at him with a complex expression.

"What's wrong?"

"How did you do it?"

While Martin had been surprised, he could still somewhat understand Kraft's previous arm-strength enhancing wristbands, the defense mechanisms in the workshop, and even Alice, the android. But this scarf that allowed animals to speak was truly beyond his comprehension.

I actually want to know how I did it too...

Kraft rubbed his nose and vaguely replied, "I'm not sure myself. I just felt like this could make animals talk, and then I made it."

"So, it's inspiration from dreams again?"

Martin rolled his eyes and asked.

"Something like that," Kraft sat down next to Martin. "I can't explain the specifics. I just woke up one day with the urge to make this scarf, and then I made it."

In fact, Kraft had tried to tell Martin Lee about his dreams a long time ago. But for some reason, whenever he tried to speak about it, he felt a strong sense of resistance. The most he could manage was telling Martin that he got inspiration from his dreams. So, over time, Kraft stopped bothering to explain.

"Alright..." Martin Lee rubbed his temples. "While animals talking is indeed magical, it's not a huge issue. But still, try to keep it a secret. Don't let others know. America has quite a few secret agent organizations. It'll be troublesome if they get wind of it."

"Don't worry, I always take off their scarves when I take them out."

Kraft nodded. He hadn't thought that far ahead. He just felt that if people knew, they might crowd around him like a spectacle, similar to the Stark incident, and he found it troublesome.

"Emergency alert! Emergency alert! A green monster has appeared near the coast of the Brooklyn District! New York citizens are advised to take shelter immediately! Here is the footage captured by our reporters on the scene!"

Just as Kraft was petting the dog and chatting with Martin Lee, the host's urgent voice suddenly blared from the TV. The screen then flickered and switched to a violently shaking shot. In the frame, a massive green figure was rampaging through the city, with military aircraft and tanks firing at it.

The chaotic footage lasted only a dozen seconds before quickly going black. The final image showed the green monster fleeing towards the sea.

"Meow!!!"

"Whoa! What is that thing?!"

The dog in Kraft's arms suddenly sprang up, and the little black cat beside him arched its back, its fur bristling, clearly terrified by the green monster on TV.

"Haro! Search for related information!"

At Kraft's command, the red Haro, which had been pretending to be a decoration on top of the TV, spread its wings. Its beady eyes projected a virtual screen onto the wall. Simultaneously, the living room ceiling opened, and several screens descended, displaying rapidly switching images that were too dazzling to take in.

"Searching, searching."

"Kraft!"

Martin Lee, standing nearby, jumped up.

"What have you done to our house?!"

I adjusted the timing of the Green Hulk's appearance. I won't mention the comics. If we follow the movie timeline, Banner should have become the Hulk 3-5 years before Iron Man appeared. That would make the time span too vast.

Yesterday, I received a message from my editor. Next week, we'll be featured in a prime spot. Thank you to all my esteemed readers for your support! ()

I've already finished writing this month's updates and scheduled them, so I'm too lazy to change them. Therefore, I've decided to try posting two updates a day starting next month, which is next Tuesday. Of course, each chapter will only be 2K words, and I don't know how long I can keep it up. I'll do my best to maintain it.

Given how hard this lazy fish is working, please vote and collect more!