WAAAGH!

Mr. Negative finished giving his last order to the Demon Gang's subordinates, twisted his neck, removed the inner demon mask from his face, and let out a long sigh of stale air.

As he exhaled, Mr. Negative's pitch-black skin gradually returned to its original complexion, and his all-white suit transformed back to black.

Martin Lee walked out of the Demon Gang's headquarters, bypassed two streets, got into the Ford car he usually drove, and headed home.

Previously, he had a mutually destructive battle with the Maggia. Although his Demon Gang didn't suffer as much loss in terms of business channels and territory as the Maggia, it still cost a lot of US Dollars and a large reserve of ammunition.

Originally, it would have taken a considerable amount of time to slowly recover, but fortunately, Kraft came up with a new type of solar energy technology, which significantly increased the Demon Gang's recovery speed. However, even so, the Demon Gang couldn't make any major moves recently.

Martin Lee had basically been staying with the Demon Gang recently, handling the final cleanup work, which had only just concluded. He hadn't succeeded in his revenge this time, but Martin Lee wasn't in a hurry.

Although it appeared they had fought to a mutual destruction, there were still differences. To put it metaphorically, the Demon Gang was like someone who had lost a lot of blood; they could recover quickly with a transfusion. On the other hand, the Maggia had their limbs broken. Even if they were reattached, they wouldn't be as agile as before.

So, as long as the Demon Gang recovered, it would be a sure thing to strike against the Maggia next time.

However, Martin Lee didn't want to eliminate the Maggia so quickly. Instead, he wanted to make a move to test the waters and see if he could lure out the mysterious force behind them.

Of course, these were things to consider in the future. After being busy for more than half a month, Martin Lee now just wanted to go home quickly and get some rest.

He parked the car in the garage and pushed open his front door.

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

"You want to take back food that's already in my mouth? You must be dreaming!"

"Die, meow!"

"Help! Someone save me from this dog!"

As soon as Martin Lee opened the door, he heard a noisy scuffle coming from inside. The two voices arguing sounded very unfamiliar.

Just as he was wondering if Kraft had brought classmates over to play, he saw a black cat chasing a yellow dog down the stairs. Both of them had bright red scarves tied around their necks.

Got pets?

Martin Lee was stunned. From what he knew of Kraft, that kid definitely didn't have the free time to take care of pets.

So, Alice got them?

Martin frowned. He had been staying with the Demon Gang during this time and didn't feel any particular closeness to the robot, Alice.

Just then, the robot girl he was just thinking about came chasing down the stairs with hurried steps.

"You two, stop it! If you keep this up, neither of you will get any treats anymore!"

"Shocking!" "It's this stupid dog causing trouble!"

The cat and dog, who were in the middle of their chase, stopped simultaneously and started arguing with Alice.

"My body is so much bigger than Bear's, yet we get the same amount of treats. Is that fair?"

"Shut up! You stupid dog!"

"Stop arguing! Ah! Uncle Martin, you're back!"

Alice only then noticed Martin Lee standing there, looking bewildered. She quickly dropped the two pets that were pawing at each other and greeted him.

"What... what's going on?"

Martin pointed at the cat and dog, who were arguing in English, and asked stiffly.

"Ah, these are Mr. Quinn and Miss Bear. Brother and I bought them from the pet store a few days ago."

"That's not what I'm asking! How can they... talk?!"

Martin went frantic and pointed forcefully at the cat and dog, who had quieted down and were now looking over, emphasizing each word.

"Oh, oh, these are Brother's inventions~" Alice belatedly explained. "It's that red scarf. When you wear it, it allows animals to talk!"

Alice clasped her hands together by her cheeks, her tone full of admiration. "Brother's inventions are truly amazing!"

Is this about whether it's amazing or not?

Martin Lee's mind was like a hurricane, a stampede of horses.

How did that kid Kraft manage it?!

"Where's Kraft?!"

Martin eagerly wanted to find his adopted son and get some answers.

"Brother isn't out of school yet," Alice glanced at the digital watch on her wrist and then gave a small gasp. "Ah! It's this late! I need to start preparing dinner!"

"Uncle Martin, you watch TV here for a bit. Bear, Quinn, you two are not allowed to argue anymore!"

Alice quickly gave a couple of instructions and then trotted into the kitchen.

Martin Lee: ...

Quinn: ...

Bear: ...

The man, cat, and dog looked at each other for a moment. It was the dog who spoke first. "Are you Big Brother's father? How should I address you?"

Quinn tilted his head, sticking out his tongue with a cute, clueless expression.

"Stupid dog, didn't you hear Alice call him Uncle Martin just now? We should just follow her lead!"

The small black cat, Bear, leaped lightly onto Quinn's back and swatted his head.

"This isn't right," Quinn hesitated, deciding not to antagonize Bear for the moment. "Since he's Big Brother's father, he should be the master of this house and have a special title, like Big Daddy?"

"No, just call me Martin..."

Martin Lee rejected the unfortunate title with a dark expression. He then crouched down and, with great interest, began to question the two pets.

"Can you understand human language even before putting on these scarves?"

"Whoa! Just as expected from Big Brother's father!" Quinn's eyes widened. "Big Brother asked us the same thing after he put the scarves on us."

After a slight pause, Quinn continued, "Before, we couldn't understand. We could only grasp a little of what humans meant. But now, even if you take the scarves off, we can understand what you're saying."

"Is that so..." Martin reached out and ruffled Quinn's dog head. "That's truly amazing."

In this situation, Martin couldn't find any other word besides "amazing" to describe Kraft's invention.

Even Mr. Negative couldn't suppress his curiosity about such a magical development. He turned on the TV, but his mind wasn't on the program. Instead, he chatted idly with Quinn. Bear, however, maintained her aloof feline demeanor, lounging on the sofa and grooming herself.

"Huh? Big Brother is back!"

Quinn, who had been chatting with Martin, suddenly sat up straight, turned his head towards the house's main door, and quickly ran to the entrance, squatting down.

"Big Brother!"

As soon as Kraft entered, Quinn, as usual, stuck out his tongue and greeted him, excitedly circling his feet.

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

Quinn reported while circling Kraft, clearly not having taken Martin's rejection to heart.

"Oh? I see."

Hearing the title "Big Daddy," Kraft's mouth twitched. He then reached out, ruffled Quinn's dog head, and walked into the house.

Upon entering the living room, he saw Martin looking at him with a complex expression.

"What's wrong?"

"How did you do it?"

While Martin had been surprised but could more or less understand the Arm Strength Enhancement Bracer, the defensive devices in the workshop, and even Alice the android robot, this scarf that allowed animals to speak was truly beyond his comprehension.

I actually want to know how I did it myself...

Kraft rubbed his nose, offering a somewhat helpless and perfunctory explanation. "I can't really explain it myself. I just felt like I could make animals talk, so I made it."

"So, it's inspiration from your dreams again?"

Martin rolled his eyes and asked.

"Something like that," Kraft sat down next to Martin. "I can't explain the specifics. I just woke up one morning with a sudden urge to make this scarf, and then I made it."

Actually, Kraft had tried to tell Martin Lee about his dreams long ago. But for some reason, whenever he tried to speak about it, a strong sense of resistance would well up inside him. The most he could manage was telling Martin that he got inspiration from his dreams. Over time, Kraft simply stopped bothering to explain.

"Alright..." Martin Lee rubbed his temples. "Animals talking is indeed amazing, but it's not a huge deal. Still, try to keep it a secret and don't let others know. America has quite a few secret agent organizations. It'll be troublesome if they get their eyes on us."

"Don't worry, I always take off their scarves when I take them out."

Kraft nodded. He hadn't thought that far ahead. He just felt that if people knew, he might end up being mobbed and gawked at like a circus animal, just like during the Stark Incident. He did it to avoid the hassle.

"Emergency alert! Emergency alert! A green monster has appeared near the coast of the Brooklyn District! New York citizens are advised to take shelter immediately! Here is footage captured by our reporter on the scene!"

Just as Kraft was casually chatting with Martin Lee while petting the dog, the host's urgent voice suddenly blared from the TV. The screen then flickered, switching to a violently shaking camera shot. In the footage, a giant green figure was rampaging through the city, with military aircraft and tanks firing at it from all sides.

The chaotic scene lasted only a dozen seconds before the screen went black. The final image showed the green monster fleeing towards the sea.

"Meow!!!"

"Whoa! What in the world is that?!"

The dog in Kraft's arms suddenly sprang up, and the small black cat beside him arched its back, its fur bristling. Both were clearly startled by the green monster on TV.

"Haro! Search for related information!"

At Kraft's command, the red Haro, which had been perched on top of the TV pretending to be a decoration, spread its wings. Its beady eyes projected a virtual screen onto the wall. Simultaneously, the living room ceiling opened up, and several screens descended, displaying rapidly changing images that were too overwhelming to take in.

"Searching, searching."

"Kraft!"

Martin Lee, standing nearby, jumped up.

"What have you done to our house?!"