Club Showdown

A week after the party, Gwen, Wanda, and Lee officially joined the school's innovation club.

Sunlight slanted through the glass windows of the school innovation club's activity room, casting diamond-shaped patterns across the floor that swayed gently in the breeze. Gwen, Wanda, and Lee gathered before the bulletin board, where a brand-new task notice gleamed faintly in the morning light. The bold words "The Future Is Here" stood out in particular, as if calling to every creative mind.

"We have to make the most mind-blowing display ever!" Gwen spun around sharply, her ponytail cutting a neat arc through the air as her sneaker slammed against the floor with a thud. She pulled a crumpled roll of blueprints from her canvas bag, their edges frayed and curled from being unfolded so many times. "I want to make a self-repairing Mechanical Flower, with nanomaterials as petals. As long as it gets damaged, it can heal itself!" She spread the blueprints across the table, revealing a lifelike Mechanical Flower. Every petal was covered in dense circuit diagrams and material specifications, while the miniature sensor design at its center was especially intricate.

Lee pushed up the glasses that had slipped to the tip of his nose. His eyes lit up behind the lenses as his fingers tapped lightly against the blueprints with a steady click-click. "The idea is awesome! But the power supply is a huge problem. Ordinary batteries won't last long at all." As he spoke, he pulled a palm-sized solar panel model from a hidden compartment in his backpack as if performing a magic trick. There were traces of glue around its edges, proof that it had been modified many times. "What if we combine it with miniature solar panels? It can store energy during the day and rely on backup power at night. But we have to account for extreme weather. On cloudy or smoggy days, the backup power system has to be reliable."

Wanda leaned against the window as the autumn breeze lifted her red hair. She absently turned a nano Arc Reactor brooch between her fingers, its metal surface scattering tiny glimmers of light. "What if we let the flower interact with its surroundings?" she suddenly said, her voice soft but firm. "It could bloom when it senses someone approaching, then close again after they leave." The moment she finished speaking, a faint scarlet glow flickered at her fingertips. The desk lamp beside her suddenly flashed violently, its bulb letting out a piercing sizzle. Gwen jumped in fright, while Lee stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

However, when the three of them presented their idea at the club meeting, doubts came flooding in like a tide. A boy seated in the front row crossed his arms over his chest and curled his lip. "Nanomaterials? The cost is ridiculously high! The school's funding isn't even enough to make a dent in it. It's completely unrealistic." A girl with twin ponytails in the back row shook her head as well. "Self-repair technology? With our level of knowledge, that's pure fantasy. If we fail to make it, the club will be humiliated."

Gwen's face instantly flushed red. Like an enraged little lion, she shot to her feet, her chair scraping harshly across the floor. "How do you know we can't do it if we don't try? We can get sponsors, apply for research grants—there are always more solutions than problems!" Her voice echoed through the activity room, her eyes full of defiance. Lee calmly opened his laptop and projected a carefully organized budget plan onto the wall, analyzing it point by point. "If we simplify the petal structure and secure sponsorship from my uncle, the costs will be completely manageable." Wanda did not argue loudly, but her lips pressed into a tight line as she swept her determined gaze over everyone in the room. She gave a slight nod, silently showing her support.

After Pepper learned about the club's dispute, she specially made time out of her busy schedule to visit the school. Wearing slender high heels, she walked elegantly into the activity room, her professional suit making her look capable without losing any softness. She sat down lightly, crossed her legs, and swept her gentle yet authoritative gaze over everyone present. "When I was young, my team often clashed because we had different ideas. But you all need to understand that teamwork isn't about denying one another. It's about combining different ideas and bringing out their greatest value." Her voice was like a warm current, slowly soothing the tense atmosphere.

As she spoke, her gaze settled on Gwen, Wanda, and Lee, her eyes full of encouragement. "Your creativity and passion are the team's most valuable assets." Then she took out a document from her exquisite handbag, its edges carrying a faint scent of perfume. "This is a list of equipment and material sponsorship Stark Industries is willing to provide. We're willing to support creative projects. But opportunities like this are rare, so everyone must work together even more."

With such powerful backing, the trio launched into "crazy" preparations. In the laboratory, Gwen battled mechanical parts day after day. Once, in order to adjust the flexibility of the Mechanical Flower's joints, she wore magnifying glasses and held a precision screwdriver for five straight hours. When she finally stood up, her vision went dark and she nearly collapsed. In the end, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep facedown on the table. Her face was smeared with machine oil, her messy hair scattered over the blueprints, and a drop of drool hung from the corner of her mouth, making her look utterly ridiculous.

Wanda quietly used her abilities to assist with testing. Whenever the Mechanical Flower's data showed abnormalities, she would shut her eyes tightly, her brows knitted into a deep furrow as fine beads of sweat quickly formed on her forehead. As scarlet light flared at her fingertips, it was as if she entered another world, focusing completely on sensing fluctuations in the data and helping the team quickly pinpoint the problem. Once, after overusing her abilities, her face turned pale as paper. She swayed against the wall and nearly fainted. Yet after a brief rest, she forced herself back to work, her stubbornness painful to watch.

Lee transformed into a master diplomat, spending every day constantly on the phone. To secure sponsors, he carefully prepared proposals and made visit after visit in person.

Originally, he had wanted Uncle Stark to sponsor him, but his uncle said that this time, he had to prepare everything himself—in other words, become self-reliant.

Once, he waited outside a technology company for a full three hours just to catch ten minutes of the person in charge's free time. When applying for a venue, he revised the application report again and again and communicated with the school administration countless times. When he got busy, he often forgot to eat. One time, he squeezed chili sauce onto his bread, mistaking it for ketchup. After one bite, the heat made him grimace, but he could not bear to waste it. He swallowed it down and continued working.

On the day of the exhibition, the school auditorium had been decorated with a strong futuristic feel. A crowd had already gathered around Gwen, Wanda, and Lee's booth early on. When Gwen pressed the start button, the Mechanical Flower slowly bloomed. Its nano-petals refracted dazzling colors beneath the lights, like a rainbow from a dream. When curious students reached out, the flower gently swayed as if it were alive. The miniature sensor at its center even emitted a pleasant chime, as though warmly greeting them.

"That's incredible! How did you do that?" "The petals can even change color—so cool!" Cries of amazement and praise rose one after another. A teacher asked about the technical principles with great interest, and Lee immediately became the presenter, explaining without pause. Wanda smiled as she used her abilities to demonstrate the flower's response to different environments, while Gwen excitedly pulled visitors over to share the story behind its creation. Even students from other schools were drawn in, surrounding the booth in layer after layer and repeatedly asking how the three of them had come up with such an amazing idea.

As the sun set, its fading light streamed through the auditorium windows and bathed the three of them in a golden glow. The exhibition ended perfectly, and Gwen, Wanda, and Lee walked side by side along the campus path, their shadows stretching long behind them.