Martin Lee could understand Kraft's decision to renovate the house. Things had just happened too suddenly, and he had been caught off guard, which was why he had lost his composure.
Once Martin Lee came back to his senses, he quickly curled his right hand into a loose fist, brought it to his mouth, and coughed twice. Then he abruptly and stiffly changed the subject. "How long will it take you to gather all the information?"
Kraft gave Martin Lee a contemptuous glance. "Not long."
"Search complete. Search complete."
Before Kraft had even finished speaking, Haro's electronic voice rang out. The images on the screens around the room stabilized one by one, displaying everything related to the news report.
Haro placed the most important information on the screen it had projected onto the wall. Once the search was complete, it proactively dimmed the lights in the room so Kraft could see more clearly.
After quickly reviewing the relevant information on the wall, Kraft more or less figured out what the green monster was.
Simply put, a military vehicle had picked someone up from an airport in Brooklyn. While it was driving toward the city, the green monster suddenly burst out of the vehicle.
Because the incident had happened so suddenly, the military had not had time to suppress the news. Haro easily found surveillance footage near the scene and traced the event back to New Mexico. However, when it searched further, it discovered that they had come out of a desert in New Mexico. As for what exactly was in that desert, Haro could not find out for now unless it hacked into the military database.
"Which unit does that vehicle belong to?"
Upon hearing Kraft's question, Haro quickly pulled up a report and projected it onto the wall. The report showed the unit to which the vehicle belonged and identified General Thaddeus E. Ross as the person in charge.
"Pull up all the scientists General Ross has been in contact with over the past two years who were recently staying in New Mexico."
After thinking for a moment, Kraft gave another instruction.
Haro promptly complied.
Kraft then filtered out researchers who were obviously just for show, those whose projects had been abandoned or had already produced results, and those unlikely to create a green monster. In the end, he narrowed the target down to a physicist named Bruce Banner.
Bruce Banner was also a famous figure in academic circles. His genius was no less impressive than that playboy Tony Stark's. Over the past few years, he had been researching Gamma Rays, which were extremely likely to cause mutations and were notorious among scientists everywhere.
Honestly, Kraft greatly admired Bruce Banner for daring to use Gamma Rays as his field of research.
He admired Banner's lack of fear of death.
Gamma Rays had also been mentioned in comics about Captain America. They said that Captain America's success had not been due to the Super Soldier Serum alone, but also the catalytic effect of Gamma Rays.
Out of curiosity, Kraft had gathered a little information on the subject before. He found that, aside from a few embellished details, most of the comics had surprisingly not been lying. Of course, Kraft had not uncovered the specific details of Captain America's experiment. But considering how accurate the comics were, along with the appearance of this green monster, it might actually have been true.
What exactly had those government people been thinking...? At first, Kraft had assumed that adding Gamma Rays had been an incorrect research direction, a trap America had deliberately planted in the comics to fool other countries. But now, it seemed...
What a layered scheme.
A fresh yet fitting phrase popped into Kraft's mind.
"So this was a product of the Super Soldier Program? Americans really do love human experimentation..."
The moment he thought of human experimentation, Kraft felt even more disgusted by Bruce Banner on the screen.
"Heh. The military has always wanted to create another Captain America."
Martin Lee sneered contemptuously and said to Kraft, "I initially suspected that the person behind the Maggia might be the military. But I never found any clues. Instead, some of the traces I did find seemed to rule the military out."
"Those could have been smokescreens."
Kraft made a guess, but quickly shook his head and dismissed it.
"No, there would be no need. If it were the military, they would have no reason to hide things so carefully. At most, it would just be a few 'inferior races.'"
"Exactly. That's what I thought too."
Martin Lee nodded in agreement, then reached out and patted Kraft on the head.
"This can't be rushed. Your little robot is indeed impressive, but remember not to let anyone catch your trail."
"Don't worry about that! I'm not bragging, but Haro's hacking might be a little lacking. Its escape skills, though, are absolutely world-class!"
Kraft patted his chest and proudly boasted for a moment before belatedly looking at Martin Lee beside him.
"Huh?"
"As if I don't know you, you little brat!" Martin Lee glared at him irritably. "The moment you agreed so easily last time, I knew you wouldn't let it go..."
"I just didn't expect you to be capable of this much." Martin Lee looked at the red Haro flapping its wings on the television and sighed sincerely.
"Hehehe~"
Kraft scratched the back of his head somewhat shyly.
"I don't understand the technical side of things, but the most important thing is still to be careful. Don't ever expose yourself."
Knowing he could not restrain Kraft, Martin Lee still gave him a reminder.
Kraft nodded solemnly, showing that he had taken it to heart.
As for Martin Lee's secret identity and exactly how many miraculous gadgets Kraft possessed, neither father nor son pressed the other for answers. They tacitly respected each other's privacy.
"Why don't we figure out a way to go back?"
After looking through the information about the green monster, the family sat at the dining table eating dinner when Kraft brought it up again.
"America keeps conducting human experiments at the drop of a hat. What if they make another mess someday? Forget anything else—take today's monster. If he showed up near us, none of my inventions could stop him."
Though Kraft spoke of the green monster, what he was really thinking about was the terrifying Zombie Virus from his dream.
"Don't worry. This world isn't as simple as you think. There are plenty of people with special abilities in New York."
Kraft actually knew about the special people Martin Lee was talking about. He had seen references to them while gathering intelligence on the Maggia—people like Rhino, Daredevil, and Power Man. Still, he did not think any of them could stand against the green giant from the video.
Seeing the disdain on Kraft's face, Martin Lee sighed helplessly. "And do you think there aren't special humans on the other side of the ocean? Why do you think I don't want to go back?"
Did that mean Martin had special abilities too?
Kraft gave Martin Lee a surprised look. He had suspected that his adoptive father was the so-called Mr. Negative, but he had not investigated any further. Respecting each other's privacy was an unspoken understanding between father and son.
"All right..."
Thinking it over carefully, if the Zombie Virus really broke out like it had in his dream, it would not make any difference where they ran. So he stopped insisting.
Still, he needed to study the technology from his dream even harder.
The appearance of the green monster gave Kraft a rare sense of urgency. He would have to take up biological research, which he had always resisted. At the very least, if some kind of bioterror crisis really happened one day, he needed the ability to find a solution.
Aside from spending more time in the laboratory, Kraft had Haro continue monitoring information about the green monster. Although the military and a mysterious force quickly began suppressing the news after that day, who could blame them when that big guy was so good at causing trouble?
In just a few days, he rampaged across America under pursuit by the military. In the end, he fought his way across the entire country, escaped into Mexico, and finally vanished without a trace.
It was precisely because of the green giant's activity that Kraft gathered quite a bit of useful information.
The green monster called himself Hulk. Judging from his behavior in the surveillance footage, aside from being extremely irritable, he was not very smart. What shocked Kraft even more was that Hulk's original body was actually Bruce Banner.
"What a madman! He actually experimented on himself... Though it still feels kind of unscientific..."
Kraft muttered to himself as he looked over the intelligence Haro had gathered.
"I think the way you made us able to talk is pretty unscientific too, big bro. And the boss lady is actually a robot!"
Quinn stuck his head in front of the screen, sticking out his tongue as he complained. Since Alice usually looked like an ordinary soft and adorable girl, neither Quinn nor Bear had known she was actually a robot. They had only thought that Alice's scent and voice were a little strange.
It was not until one day, when the two of them were fighting too fiercely, that Alice had no choice but to activate the capture-net launcher Kraft had installed in her shoulder and net the cat and dog. Only then did they learn Alice's true identity.
At the time, Quinn had been so frightened that he even forgot to say his usual catchphrase, "Shocking!"
"Agreed, meow."
Bear, sprawled lazily across Kraft's lap, raised a paw.
"That's not what I meant." Kraft rolled his eyes, picked Bear up and placed her on the table, then pointed at Bruce Banner transforming in the video. "Look at him. He goes from that skinny body to a muscular man over two meters tall, and sometimes he gets even bigger. Yet his shorts still fit perfectly, even though all his other clothes get torn into rags."
"Shocking!" Quinn opened his mouth wide, his long tongue lolling out as he stared stupidly. "Those pants must be really satisfying to chew on!"
Bear swished her long tail, then turned around and gave Kraft a strange look.
"Why are your priorities always so strange?"
Kraft: ...
When had these two little guys started enjoying making fun of him?
Come to think of it, Mr. Sakamoto in his dream had seemed to be the designated straight man...
Why did I even know the term "designated straight man"?
Kraft rubbed his forehead. The strange knowledge appearing in his mind for no reason had increased again.
Before you continue