A Young Girl's Bedroom

"Oh, by the way, child," Catherine Hepburn, who was knitting, asked, "Are you staying for dinner tonight?"

"No, I need to go home early today. My dad will be home today and we'll have dinner together."

"Ah, Chief Stacy. He's a very busy man these days."

"Yeah. I doubt he'd even notice if I came home past curfew every day."

"That won't do, you bad girl. I'll keep an eye on you in your father's place."

"Oh, that's strict, Catherine. But I promised George I wouldn't have a boyfriend before college. I'm a very reliable person." Distracted like this, Gwen Stacy remembered something.

She reached out and snatched the book from Henry's eyes, glancing at it. "Harry Potter! You read children's books like this?"

"Why not."

Remembering the lessons of RoboCop and One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Henry's purpose in reading these books was less about passing the time and more about comparing them to his memories. He wondered if the missing elements might appear in this world.

"Do me a favor," Gwen Stacy said.

"What favor?" Henry sat up, looking at the young woman who had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, so much so that by his standards it was hard to believe she was still under eighteen. If he crossed the line, her father would probably send him to jail.

Could you teach me to drive on Sunday afternoon?

"Aren't you going to find George?"

In the United States, a car-centric nation, learning to drive is quite simple. First, you pass a written test on traffic rules, and then you can obtain Learner's Permit or learner's permit, depending on the state.

Then, most lessons are taught by family members or close friends on the road or in open spaces. Once you feel you're ready, you can schedule a road test, and if you pass, you'll get your official driver's license.

That's why Henry asked the girl why she didn't go find her father.

Gwen smiled sweetly and said, "He's been too busy since he became the director. And of all the people I know, you're the most free." The girl shook the novel in her hand.

Not wanting to discuss his free time with the girl, Henry said, "What If...? you run into George tonight, please have him call me and let me know."

"I need to tell him about this, and get his consent. I won't help without his call." With that, Henry reached out his hand.

"No problem!" Gwen placed the novel back in Henry's hands, then turned to Skye and said, "Let's go to your room and read."

The younger one didn't move, but stared at Henry, who had fallen back onto the sofa, and said, "I want to learn to drive too."

Henry opened the book again, using it to cover his face. Henry said, "We'll talk about it when you're sixteen. That's the minimum legal age to get a driver's license. Until then, I'll just buy you a used bicycle. Do you need one with training wheels?"

"You jerk!"

"You're standing next to the Police Station's daughter, and you want to discuss illegal matters here? This shows you're not mentally sound and lack intelligence. Looks like there's no hope for you in school. What do you want to do in the future? Go to a strip club?"

"Ah!" Skye yelled and rushed forward, grabbing Henry's long, messy hair and beard. Unfortunately, Kryptonian hair roots are strong, and she couldn't manage to pull it all off even if she wanted to.

Gwen managed to control the girl, who was four years younger than her, and casually grabbed Skye's backpack, leading her to her room. She was used to this kind of daily playful bickering.

Skye's bedroom doesn't resemble a little girl's room at all, with stuffed animals and pink decorations everywhere. It's more like a tech guy's studio, with various electronic components and half-finished homemade parts on the desk.

The bookshelves aren't just filled with elementary and junior high school textbooks. There are also many books borrowed from the library, covering topics beyond the curriculum, such as electronics, electrical engineering, and information technology. Since these books have to be returned, there are quite a few notebooks used to record important information.

The most conspicuous thing on the table is a bare computer host and an old-fashioned monochrome computer screen. Almost everything was found in a junkyard; anything that wasn't broken was used directly, and the broken parts were repaired and pieced together.

The money Skye earned from buying the scrap metal came from working in this household.

In Western families, it's normal for children to earn wages by helping out at home; there's no concept of pocket money. Gwen's tutoring job is for the same reason.

Of course, these jobs mainly consist of non-dangerous housework, and all require the consent of parents or guardians.

Skye's passion for making these electronic devices stemmed from her first escape from home after arriving here.

Just as she was figuring out which sewer opening to use and preparing to move the manhole cover and crawl back in, Henry appeared. He grinned and pulled a tracker from her, then dragged her home.

After that, no matter how she checked herself, there would always be a tracker on her body that would allow Henry to follow her and take her back.

It is said that where there is oppression, there will be resistance. So Skye began to teach herself how to use technology to find a way to check the tracking devices on her body.

Some homemade radio wave detection instruments did manage to find some things. But it was useless; Henry always managed to pull out the trackers she had missed, perhaps using different frequency bands or other tracking methods.

Skye had only tried falsely accusing that guy by calling the child protection hotline once. The main reason was that he was able to hire a lawyer, and it was just a false accusation; she couldn't provide any evidence to prove that he had actually harmed or abused a minor.

The reason Skye didn't try this method a second time was the disappointed look in Catherine Hepburn's eyes, which made the girl unwilling to do it again.

Therefore, having abandoned the practice of abusing official rules, Skye could only compete with its opponent in electronics.

Fortunately, every time Henry won a round, he would boast about how he bypassed the equipment checks and found the person. Skye's job was to figure out how to decipher the clues he was giving.

As for the bulk computer, it served two purposes: firstly, to connect to the internet and seek help from netizens; and secondly, to attempt to hack into the core robot BB's mainframe. Skye was quite certain that the system behind BB was the receiver for the tracker.

Since it's impossible to completely eliminate the tracking device on the person, then disable the device they use to receive signals and the device that displays their location.

So Skye plunged headlong into the world of computer information.

Using a computer in the ordinary way, he obviously couldn't achieve his goals. So Skye decided to teach himself programming languages and study Hacker techniques.

The former has reference books, while the latter relies entirely on studying security protocols and firewall technology, reverse engineering to find vulnerabilities and ways to bypass or disrupt them. But no one teaches you step-by-step how to hack into someone else's computer and make malicious modifications.

Of course, I couldn't get any hints from Henry for this part. So Skye had to figure it out entirely on her own, occasionally asking some experts she happened to pass by online, such as CK, TS, and Miss_C—kind-hearted people who do good deeds without leaving their real names.

In short, Gwen was shocked by the girl's preferences when she first entered this room.

Now that she's gotten used to this style, Gwen can comfortably stay in this oppressive room, ignoring the strange electronic components and fulfilling her duties as a tutor.