WAAAGH!

Mr. Negative issued his final orders to the Demon Gang underlings, rolled his neck, removed the Inner Demon Mask from his face, and let out a long breath.

As he exhaled, Mr. Negative's pitch-black skin gradually returned to its original color, and his white suit turned black once more.

Martin Lee left the Demon Gang headquarters, went around two streets, got into the Ford he usually drove, and headed home.

His earlier clash with Maggia had ended with both sides badly battered. While the Demon Gang had not lost as many business channels and territories as Maggia, they had still spent a considerable amount of us dollars and depleted a large stockpile of ammunition.

They would originally have needed quite some time to slowly recover, but Kraft had produced a new Solar Energy Technology that greatly accelerated the Demon Gang's recovery. Even so, the Demon Gang would not be able to make any major moves for a while.

Martin Lee had spent most of his recent days at the Demon Gang, handling the final cleanup work. Only now had everything finally come to an end. Though he had failed to take revenge this time, Martin Lee was not in a hurry.

Although it looked as though both sides had suffered equally, there was still a difference. To put it simply, the Demon Gang was like someone who had lost too much blood—they only needed a transfusion to recover quickly. Maggia, meanwhile, was like someone whose arms and legs had been broken. Even if they were reattached, they would not be as nimble as before.

So once the Demon Gang recovered, their next strike against Maggia would be a sure thing.

However, Martin Lee did not want to eliminate Maggia so quickly. He wanted to stir up the grass and startle the snake, to see if he could draw out the mysterious force backing them.

Of course, those were matters for the future. After being busy for more than half a month, Martin Lee only wanted to get home and rest properly.

After parking in the garage, Martin pushed open his front door.

"Put down those dried fish! You stupid dog!"

"You think you can take food back after it's in my mouth? Keep dreaming!"

"Die, meow!"

"Dog murder! Somebody save this poor dog!"

The moment Martin Lee opened the door, he heard a noisy scuffle inside. The two arguing voices sounded utterly unfamiliar.

Just as he wondered whether Kraft had brought classmates home to play, he saw a Black Cat chasing a yellow dog down from upstairs. Both had bright red scarves tied around their necks.

They had pets now?

Martin Lee froze. From what he knew of Kraft, that kid definitely did not have the spare time to look after pets.

So Alice was raising them?

Martin frowned. He had been staying with the Demon Gang lately and had never felt particularly close to Alice, the robot.

Just then, the robot little sister he had been thinking about hurried down from upstairs.

"You two, stop it right now! If you keep this up, neither of you will get snacks ever again!"

"Holy crap! It was obviously this stupid dog causing trouble!"

The cat and dog stopped chasing each other at the same time, then began arguing with Alice.

"I'm so much bigger than Bear, yet we get the same amount of snacks. Is that fair?"

"Shut up! You stupid dog!"

"No more fighting! Ah! Uncle Martin, you're back!"

Only then did Alice notice Martin Lee standing nearby in utter bewilderment. She hurriedly abandoned the two pets still pawing at each other and greeted him.

"What... is going on?"

Martin pointed stiffly at the cat and dog arguing in English.

"Ah, this is Mr. Quinn and Miss Bear. My brother and I bought them from a pet store a few days ago."

"That's not what I'm asking! How! Can! They! Talk?!"

Martin frantically pointed harder at the cat and dog, who had quieted down and were watching him. He emphasized every word.

"Oh, right, it was my brother's invention~" Alice explained belatedly. "It's those red scarves. Once animals wear them, they can talk!"

Alice clasped her hands beside her cheeks, her voice full of admiration. "My brother's invention is amazing!"

Was whether it was amazing really the issue here?

Martin Lee's thoughts were like a gale sweeping through, with ten thousand horses stampeding across his mind.

Just how had that kid Kraft done it?!

"Where is Kraft?!"

Martin could not wait to find his adoptive son and get an explanation.

"My brother hasn't gotten out of school yet, has he?" Alice looked at the electronic watch on her wrist, then gave a small cry. "Ah! It's already this late! I need to start making dinner!"

"Uncle Martin, watch some TV for now. Bear, Quinn, you two aren't allowed to fight anymore!"

Alice hurriedly gave them a few instructions before jogging into the kitchen.

Martin Lee: ...

Quinn: ...

Bear: ...

The man, cat, and dog stared at one another for a moment. The dog spoke first. "You're Big Brother's father? How should I address you?"

Quinn tilted his head, his tongue hanging out with a foolishly adorable expression.

"Stupid dog, didn't you hear Alice calling him Uncle Martin? We should just call him that too!"

The little Black Cat, Bear, lightly leaped onto Quinn's back and smacked him on the head.

"That doesn't seem right." Quinn hesitated, deciding not to fall out with Bear just yet. "Since he's Big Brother's father, he's the master of this house. He should have a special title, like Big Daddy or something?"

"No, just call me Martin..."

Martin Lee rejected that regrettable title with dark lines across his face. Then he crouched down and asked the two pets with interest.

"Before you wore those scarves, could you understand human language?"

"Holy crap! As expected of Big Brother's father!" Quinn's eyes widened. "Big Brother asked us the same thing after putting the scarves on us."

After a brief pause, Quinn continued, "We couldn't understand before. We could only vaguely grasp what you humans meant. But now, even if we take the scarves off, we can still understand you."

"I see..." Martin reached out and rubbed Quinn's head. "That really is impressive."

Other than calling it impressive, Martin could not think of any other words to describe Kraft's invention.

Even Mr. Negative could not suppress his curiosity upon encountering something so miraculous. He turned on the television, but did not focus on it. Instead, he casually chatted with Quinn. Bear, meanwhile, maintained her aloof feline demeanor, lying on the sofa and grooming herself.

"Hm? Big Brother's back!"

Quinn, who had been chatting with Martin, suddenly sat upright and turned toward the front door. Then he quickly ran over and sat by the entrance.

"Big Brother!"

The moment Kraft entered, Quinn greeted him as usual with his tongue out, excitedly circling around his feet.

"Big Brother, your father, Martin Big Daddy, is back!"

Quinn reported as he circled Kraft, and it was clear he had not taken Martin's refusal to heart.

"Oh? Got it."

Hearing the title Big Daddy, Kraft's mouth twitched. He reached out to rub Quinn's head and walked into the house.

The moment he entered the living room, he saw Martin staring at him with a complicated expression.

"What is it?"

"How did you do it?"

The Arm Strength Enhancement Bracer, the workshop's defensive devices, even Alice, the bionic robot—though Martin had been surprised by all of them, he could barely understand them. But a scarf that let animals speak was truly beyond his comprehension.

I'd actually like to know how it works too...

Kraft rubbed his nose and replied vaguely, somewhat helplessly, "I can't really explain it either. I just felt that it could make animals talk, and then I made it."

"So you got the inspiration from a dream again?"

Martin rolled his eyes as he asked.

"More or less." Kraft sat beside Martin. "I can't explain the specifics either. I just woke up one day with the urge to make this kind of scarf, and then I made it."

Kraft had actually tried long ago to tell Martin Lee about the dreams. However, for some reason, whenever he tried to speak of it, a powerful resistance rose within him. The most he could do was tell Martin that he had gained inspiration from dreams. Over time, Kraft had simply become too lazy to explain.

"All right..." Martin Lee rubbed his brow. "Animals talking is incredible, but it's not a huge deal. Still, keep it secret as much as possible. Don't let anyone else know. America has plenty of intelligence agencies, and it'll be troublesome if they set their sights on you."

"Don't worry. Whenever I take them outside, I remove their scarves."

Kraft nodded. He had not thought that far ahead. He just felt that if people found out, they might gather around and stare at him like he was a monkey again, just like during the Stark Incident. He found that troublesome, which was why he did it.

"Emergency news! Emergency news! A green monster has appeared near the Brooklyn District coast! New York City residents, please take shelter immediately! Next is footage captured by reporters at the scene!"

As Kraft petted the dog and chatted with Martin Lee, the television host suddenly cried out urgently. The picture then shifted to violently shaking footage. In the shot, a huge green figure rampaged through the city while military aircraft and tanks continuously opened fire on him.

The chaotic footage lasted only a little over ten seconds before the screen quickly went black. The final image showed the green monster fleeing toward the shore.

"Meow!!!"

"Holy crap! What is that thing?!"

The dog in Kraft's arms suddenly sprang up. The little Black Cat nearby arched her back, every strand of fur standing on end. They had clearly both been frightened by the green monster on television.

"Harold! Search for related information!"

At Kraft's command, the red Harold that had been sitting atop the television pretending to be a decoration spread its wings. Its mung-bean-sized eyes projected a virtual screen onto the wall. At the same time, the living room ceiling opened, and several screens descended. Images flickered rapidly across them, too fast for anyone to follow.

"Search initiated, search initiated."

"Kraft!"

Martin Lee jumped to his feet beside him.

"What have you done to our house?!"