Her Father Is Arrested; Felicia's Troubles

"Can it be made somehow? With some kind of substitute material?" Ye Li suggested.

"I'll need to test its capabilities."

Tony took Ye Li to the lower-level laboratory and brought out some alloy to cut with the lightsaber.

"This is the Gold-Titanium Alloy I use to make the Iron Man Armor. Let me try it... Ah, this!"

He had not even finished speaking.

The lightsaber in his hand sliced through the alloy like a hot knife through butter...

Which meant...

This simple, unadorned weapon could easily cut him, even in the Iron Man Armor, clean in two.

Tony silently glanced at Ye Li.

Comparisons really could make a person furious.

The guy could casually pull out something that would effortlessly chop apart the armor Tony had painstakingly developed.

After collecting himself,

Tony still analyzed it for Ye Li. "Using Arc Reactor technology as a substitute energy source for the Crystal, then modifying the structure a little, we might be able to make something similar. But it won't be this powerful."

"The power will be reduced?"

Ye Li asked, "Not enough energy?"

The Arc Reactor was practically a miniature nuclear device. It could not be inferior to the system's special Kyber Crystal, could it?

"It's not because the energy is insufficient.

The difficult part is keeping the light blade from flaring out of control, so the output has to be lowered. Otherwise, it'll lose control."

Tony was also very interested in the lightsaber.

If his Iron Man Armor could be equipped with this kind of close-range weapon, its combat power would increase considerably.

So he asked Ye Li for permission. "Once it's developed, I'd like to equip the Iron Man Armor with this weapon too... Don't worry, without your signature, I won't mass-produce it. The company has already shut down its weapons division."

"Do as you like, but I have one condition."

Ye Li thought it was a good idea. "Add it to Ghost-Spider and the others' suits too."

Father Arrested, Felicia's Troubles

Tony's forehead immediately darkened—the difficulty of installing light blades onto those skin-tight suits was far greater than mounting them on his Iron Man Armor.

It would burn through quite a few brain cells.

Still, since it benefited both sides, he agreed. "All right, all right. I'll do my best. Just wait for good news."

Ye Li nodded in satisfaction.

The two tinkered and researched for a while longer before Jarvis reported, "Sir, Miss Pepper has returned."

"As long as she's all right."

Tony stopped what he was doing. He had already found time to call Pepper earlier.

Ye Li's Super Spider-Sense flashed with several images, and he sensed that the old SHIELD workhorse Coulson had accompanied Pepper.

"Get back to work."

He gave Tony a brief instruction, then activated the Snake Talisman's invisibility and teleportation, vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Tony stared in astonishment.

He really came and went whenever he pleased.

The next second,

Ye Li reappeared in the gallery.

When he returned to the studio,

he saw Skye getting all cozy with Cindy.

"Come on—put your hand over here."

Standing close behind Skye, Cindy held her wrist and guided her through the movements hand in hand. "Remember to engage your waist when you throw a punch."

Skye obediently twisted her waist along with the guidance. The effect really was much better. "Cindy, you're amazing~"

Cindy flashed a bright smile, extending her leg to hook behind Skye's knee and correct her footwork. "You have a very well-proportioned figure. You work out regularly, right?"

Skye said, "I work out with Li."

"You two are practicing pretty well."

Ye Li walked in and looked around. "Where's Felicia? Did she leave?"

Cindy poked her head out from behind Skye and replied, "Felicia said something happened at home. She looked like she left in a hurry."

"Is that so?"

Ye Li thought of something but did not ask further.

He looked at the two girls, his smile gentle. "Then I'll teach you first~"

Elsewhere,

Felicia hurried toward the police station, her beautiful brows tightly furrowed and her eyes filled with worry.

How could this be...

Wasn't Father just a salesman...

Why did they say he was The Cat?

There had to be some mistake.

With those thoughts, she arrived at the New York Police Department, intending to argue her father's case.

But afterward, the conclusive evidence Commissioner George Stacy produced left her speechless...

"The Cat case has taken a great deal of effort from the police department.

After a lengthy investigation,

we have sufficient evidence proving that your father—Walter Hardy—is The Cat."

George held the evidence as he stated the facts.

But when he saw the girl before him staring blankly ahead,

his tone could not help softening. "While investigating Walter Hardy, I looked through your records.

Felicia Hardy, a student at Midtown High and a classmate of my daughter.

As a father, I understand.

What happened is very unfortunate for you. I hope you can come to terms with it."

"I know you, Commissioner George Stacy."

Felicia gave a bitter smile. "Your daughter is very famous at school. I've seen Gwen Stacy perform..."

George sighed...

Her classmate's father was a police officer, while her own father was a master thief. The psychological blow to this girl had to be enormous.

"Commissioner George Stacy, what sentence will my father receive?"

Felicia still wanted to find some way to help her father.

Her father had given her a privileged life. Others could blame him, but she could not...

"That will have to wait for the court's ruling. In my years of experience..."

George said, "If the stolen money can be repaid, the sentence can be reduced considerably. But the amount your father stole was not small, and it includes several treasures."

He did not finish his sentence, but the meaning was obvious. It was not something a high school student like Felicia could repay.

Perhaps he should counsel Felicia, so she would not follow in her father's footsteps and go astray.

But as the police commissioner, he was very busy and did not have time to counsel a high school student.

George thought about it.

For some reason, Jessica Jones came to mind.

That girl was always sneaking off to play Knightress.

Though she could get carried away by her passion, her sense of justice was beyond question. He acknowledged that.

Perhaps he could let Felicia spend some time with Jessica, let her be influenced by her more, so she would not end up walking down the wrong path in the future.

With that thought...