Mechanical Prosthetic

"Hey, Tony? Yeah, Dr. Yinsen's doing great. I've finished the necklace. You're in Malibu?

Yeah, come pick it up whenever you've got time. Ship it? Come on, FedEx isn't faster than me flying over.

What? Pfft, screw that! Come get it yourself! And by the way, Dr. Yinsen's joined my company. Bring a good bottle when you show up!

That's it, talk later!"

"Click!"

The call ended. Dr. Yinsen, sitting across from Oaks, gave an admiring thumbs-up:

"Your friendship is really something to envy."

"Tch, that guy had the nerve to ask me to deliver it to him. Dream on!"

Oaks toyed with a necklace in his hand.

It was a thin braid of plant fiber strung with a tiny acorn the size of a fingernail.

He'd tested the braid—it could handle a ton of tension without breaking.

As for the little acorn, in Oaks' hands, where his healing spells had been massively enhanced, one of these packed the punch of twenty of the old ones.

But because of that, the tiny acorn constantly gave off a hazy emerald glow, no longer as inconspicuous as the old bracelet.

"Dr. Yinsen, is the bracelet still working well?"

Right—Dr. Yinsen was still wearing the same model as Tony's current one. Making the necklace had been too tough; Oaks had spent over a month and wasted a whole basket of acorns just to finish one.

The bracelet was much simpler, and the effect wasn't far off.

"It's absolutely incredible!"

As the only official researcher at Oak Environmental Technology Company so far, Dr. Yinsen deeply appreciated the benefits of the Acorn Bracelet.

Clear thinking, fatigue relief—that was huge for a scientist.

Even without overtime, he could stay at peak performance throughout the workday.

"With this, my work efficiency can double. So, what's my first assignment?"

Dr. Yinsen was full of confidence in this tech company, founded just yesterday.

"Hmm... what do you think about Mechanical Prosthetics?"

Oaks' question caught Dr. Yinsen off guard, and his expression turned a bit odd:

"Well... not bad, I guess. You mean Vice President Blaze?"

He remembered—the Benevolence Society's vice president, that burly Latino guy, had lost his left lower leg.

"That's right. Blaze is an indispensable moral pillar for the Benevolence Society, and its true founder.

But he's limited in mobility now. It doesn't stop him from attending major events, but I've always wanted to help him stand without crutches."

"I think I can do it."

Recalling Tony trying on the Mark I Armor in that cave, Dr. Yinsen stroked the stubble on his chin and nodded slowly:

"No, I have to do it."

This wasn't just his first step at the new company. Over the past month, he'd learned the full story of the Benevolence Society's early days.

He respected Blaze, the real founder.

And honestly, that thing shouldn't just be a weapon.

"Got it. Wait for my good news."

Dr. Yinsen flashed a confident smile. Just a prosthetic.

He had a hunch about what Tony was working on, and it'd probably be way better than his, but since he'd gotten a second chance at life, he had to do something.

"Then I'm counting on you, Dr. Yinsen. Come find me anytime you need help, but please don't indulge Ms. Melinda's curiosity too much."

Oaks made a point of saying this because, although Oak Environmental Technology Company was registered at his house, the actual office was still at Benevolence Society headquarters.

Melinda had learned from Coulson about Dr. Yinsen's special background. She hadn't shown any intent to pry, but who knew when that senior agent would start collecting intel?

The Emerald Dream plant shop was still running. Oaks' home was now the company's registered address, so he had to hold down the fort there.

Zhang's focus had shifted entirely to the Benevolence Society; he was preparing for lab students to come intern.

Oaks' take was: Melinda could look all she wanted, but Dr. Yinsen shouldn't be dumb enough to spill everything.

"Don't worry, I get it."

Dr. Yinsen gave Oaks a reassuring smile and headed back to his office to start work.

Oaks sorted out a few other matters at the Benevolence Society, then got ready to take "Dog King" Moco and "Cat King" Coco home to open the shop.

Those two little ones had been trained pretty well by Goose, and Oaks hadn't skimped on them either—

Ever since he got back from the Amazon Rainforest, he'd been steadily infusing them with Nature Force.

At first, they could only take a tiny bit, but now they were much better.

At less than a year old, they already had the build of two- or three-year-old cats and dogs—Ragdolls and Corgis aren't exactly small.

Oaks had a small wish—

Could he raise these two little ones into beings equivalent to nature spirits?

Who knew how many years it would take, but at least now, the two little ones' intelligence had far surpassed what cats and dogs should have.

That effect alone was enough.

"Woof!"

Moco suddenly got excited, wiggling his fat butt, his bark making Oaks stop in his tracks.

"Meow?"

Coco flicked her beautiful big tail, twitched her ears, and stared with her sapphire-like eyes fixed on the spot behind the treehouse.

"Looks like we have a guest... Don't push yourselves, you're still far from ready. Go play with Goose for now; I'll find you later."

"Whine~"

Moco stuck out his tongue, looking dejected, still wanting to fight for a chance, but Coco smacked him on the head with a paw, and he obediently followed along.

"..."

Oaks' mouth twitched. It seemed Moco was no match for Princess Coco at all.

As for Goose...

She was probably on the queen's level.

A faint shimmer passed, and then a fat orange cat with a big face nimbly leaped onto the treehouse roof, heading toward the target.

"Coming pretty fast, huh."

"I've infiltrated successfully. The air here is unbelievably good."

In the shadow of a corner of the treehouse, a figure who thought they were well-hidden whispered into a communicator:

"Damn, I almost don't want to leave."

"Then after you finish the job, you can apply to join a charity. But for now, keep your eyes peeled. If you screw this deal up, I'll skin you alive!"

The voice of the outside commander scolded through the communicator:

"Lock onto the target as soon as possible!"

"Relax, I've done this kind of thing more than once."

The figure moved carefully, but soon realized it might be overkill.

Because from what he could see, there were no guards or anything like that here.

He couldn't even find any cameras.

Was security this lax here?

"For a setup like this, they need a crack mercenary like me? What a fuss over nothing."

He approached a window, ready to sneak in quietly, but just as he reached his hand toward it, he found...

His arm couldn't move!

"What is this!"