Learning

Daisy froze slightly. They wanted to invest too? It had to be said that Pepper, who would one day take charge of Stark Industries, truly had sharp instincts. Movies had nothing to do with the industry she was currently involved in. Expected box office, target audience—none of that had been researched.

Yet she could see the commercial value hidden within. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bunch still thought she was just fooling around. Daisy lowered her head in thought. Should she take this money, or should she take it?

"Does it really have commercial value?" Tony asked Pepper in a low voice. He trusted his assistant's business instincts.

Pepper said nothing, only nodding to confirm it.

After clearing his throat, Tony Stark immediately changed his tone. "We can invest. How much of a funding gap do you still have?"

Daisy did not know whether to laugh or cry. Her filming budget was already more than sufficient. She smiled lightly. "At present, I've already raised fifty-five million dollars..."

That number stunned the rich tycoon. He had money—lots of it—but at this stage, Obadiah controlled the funds. If he wanted to use money himself, he had to discuss it with the board. A few million was manageable, but anything over ten million required certain procedures.

But investing just a few million to become a minor shareholder? He could not afford that embarrassment!

Seeing his awkwardness, Daisy dearly wished she could pull out her phone and take a picture. Once he got rid of Obadiah, scenes like this would not be so easy to witness.

At the crucial moment, Happy, the loyal fat bodyguard, came to Stark's rescue.

"If I go make movies, who'll protect Mr. Stark?" The fat bodyguard was tempted, but he was even more concerned about Stark's safety.

Daisy did not want to dampen his loyalty. Fat Happy was a nice guy, unquestionably a good person, but his ability as a bodyguard was rather questionable. FitzSimmons probably had better combat ability than him.

Tony Stark treated those close to him exceedingly well. With exaggerated movements, he patted the fat bodyguard's shoulder. "Do something that makes you happy. I'll be going to Asia for a while, and the Department of Defense will have people protecting me. Don't worry."

With his employer's approval, Happy—who also loved acting in movies—finally accepted the job after Daisy promised to make him assistant director.

Tony Stark left directly, while Daisy spoke separately with the fat man and Pepper for a while.

Although she could not invest directly, Pepper had not given up. She intended to participate in developing the movie's merchandise.

Daisy viewed her business instincts in a new light once again. Her own supposed business genius was fake; Pepper's was the real thing. Before the movie had even taken shape, she had already seen the commercial value of its merchandise.

The two briefly exchanged views. Since the movie had yet to be made, discussing merchandise was still too early. Much of the work would need to be negotiated later.

A week later.

They reached an agreement with the Costa Rican government. It was simply a matter of leasing one of their islands for filming, a thousand times better than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous excuses about nuclear contamination and biochemical leaks.

The agents were highly enthusiastic, and the few outside actors were all talented professionals. In less than half a month, they had already settled into their work.

The island still needed some construction work to fully meet the film's requirements, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had dedicated personnel handling it. Their efficiency was far greater than ordinary contractors', and it was expected to begin taking shape within a month.

Leaving her friend Sharon on the island as an assistant director to coordinate the various tasks, Daisy led the main group to Yale University first to film the indoor scenes.

Coulson and Happy, those two slackers, were dragged in to serve as directors. Honestly, both of them did quite well. They coordinated the various aspects of the production, and the filming speed grew faster by the day.

Seeing that there was nothing much for her to do, Daisy began using this time to study with Old Pym.

Old Pym, the honorary principal, proved quite useful. He got Daisy a Yale University student identity, and as long as she could graduate, she could claim publicly that she had come from Yale.

Daisy occasionally appeared on set or went out to eat with her best friend Blackie. The rest of the time, she followed Old Pym and studied.

"Quantum mechanics is the foundation of modern science. Remember, the foundation of every discipline!" Once Hank Pym began venturing into scientific subjects, his spirits became somewhat excited.

"Modern chemistry, biology, medicine, our society's economic development, the electronics revolution that brought ordinary people into the computer age—none of these disciplines can exist without quantum mechanics. It is the language of an art."

The Old Doctor's opening remarks were not particularly stirring. Daisy had seen similar words countless times in many scientific works.

"What direction does your superpower take?" His sudden question startled Daisy slightly.

She had never planned to hide it forever, but having it exposed to her face still made her heart tremble.

The old man smiled. "I've seen too many people with superpowers. I had my suspicions when you defeated Egghead using that special method. Pym Particles are the culmination of my life's work. If you did not possess an ability specifically suited to countering them, you could not have defeated him."

What could Daisy say? That experience trumped youth? Old Pym himself was one of the smartest people in the world, and he had lived for so many years. It was not too surprising that he had seen through her little secret.

She scratched her head. "It's a vibrational ability."

The old man's eyes lit up. "Vibrations? To what extent can you do it? Large-scale or small-area?"

"In theory, both are possible, but resonance cannot be eliminated. To reduce the strain on my body, I've always pursued greater precision."

Dr. Pym gave an acknowledging sound and lowered his head in thought. "Max Planck once proposed Planck's radiation law, assuming that the total energy of a vibrating system cannot change continuously, but instead jumps from one value to another in discrete forms of energy. Many people today consider that view too radical. Can your ability prove this law?"

Before Daisy could answer, he continued, "Einstein proposed the concept of light quanta in 1905. He believed that light traveling through space is not continuous, but comes in individual portions. Can your ability reverse-engineer this process?"

After saying that, he excitedly began calculating beside her. "The energy of a light quantum is E, and it is proportional to the frequency V of light. In our everyday calculations, we substitute Planck's constant H, giving us E=hv. You can calculate it in reverse—divide the energy of a light quantum by Planck's constant to obtain the vibrational frequency. If this hypothesis holds true, humanity's understanding of spatial technology will take a huge step forward!"

It sounded simple, but the old man filled an entire sheet of paper with calculations. He adjusted his glasses, repeatedly checked several sets of data, then pulled out his notebook and began researching something.

Daisy did not interrupt. She knew many of those theories as well, but she had never systematically brought them together for study. With her arms folded across her chest and her body pressed against the chair back, her amber eyes flickered from time to time as she combined her powers with the theories Old Pym had explained.