Several days had passed since the shooting at the music festival. What Kraft had done had gone unnoticed by everyone else, and once the shooting faded from public attention, his life returned to peace.
As for Fatty Liao, that lecher, he still came by from time to time to pester him for a Gnome Invisibility Device.
However, once he learned that the invisibility device only lasted a dozen seconds or so, he gave up on his own with a disappointed look.
School break arrived soon enough. Once the vacation was over, they would have to arrange for Alice to enroll in school. Fortunately, Kraft had shot up quickly lately. At first, he had been half a head shorter than Alice, but now he was less than three centimeters shorter. He believed that by the end of summer vacation, he would be as tall as Alice. That way, when they got to school, he would have more confidence as Alice's older brother.
"Kraft, are you ready? The expo is about to begin. The star of the show can't be late."
Martin Lee's voice came from outside. Kraft tugged at the uncomfortable collar and replied, "Coming!"
Kraft had originally planned to spend his vacation holed up in the laboratory, but Martin Lee ruthlessly put a stop to that. Even when Kraft used the threat of the Hulk as an excuse, Martin refused to let him stay cooped up in the lab all day. To give him something to do, Martin had Dream Toy Company hold a large expo during summer vacation and forcibly dragged Kraft along to serve as the mascot.
Thus, Kraft put on that uncomfortable little formal outfit again and got into Martin Lee's car.
"Ha ha ha ha—woof! Awooo—woof!"
The moment he got in, Quinn, who had been placed in the backseat, stuck his head through the gap between the seats and began howling nonstop.
"What's wrong with him?" Kraft turned to ask Alice, who was sitting beside him. "Didn't we just feed him? Does he need to use the bathroom?"
Since they were taking Quinn and Bear to Dream Company's expo, the scarves around their necks had been removed long ago and replaced with ordinary collars. As a result, Kraft could not understand what Quinn was howling about at all.
"Quinn probably wants to sit in the front too."
Alice stroked the little black cat lying across her lap and said with a suppressed laugh, "Bear just meowed a few taunts at Quinn, and then Quinn started making a fuss."
As though to support Alice's explanation, Quinn let out a timely "Awoo!" and began bobbing his head up and down.
"These two... can they argue even when they don't speak the same language?"
Kraft's face darkened. Then he turned to Quinn, who was still making a fuss. "Stop it! You're too big to fit in the front. Stay in the back like a good boy, and tonight Alice will make you something tasty."
Bribing this stupid dog with food had always worked without fail. Quinn immediately stopped fussing and lay down obediently in the backseat.
Thanks to the support of several of Kraft's dream products, Dream Toy Company, which he and Martin had founded together, had become somewhat famous all over the world.
Especially after they mastered engineering, the various mechanical pets launched by Dream Toy Company became hugely popular with children. It could be said that Kraft had become a shared idol among teenagers across America.
Given Kraft's trouble-averse personality, he actually disliked putting himself under the spotlight. But Martin Lee had his reasons.
With the scale of Martin Lee's current businesses, it was impossible for the American government not to be watching him. Yet most official forces did not come looking for trouble, wasn't that because he had built up enough of a reputation in the media? There would still be some overt and covert probing, but compared to that, it allowed him to avoid far more minor troubles.
So in the end, Martin convinced Kraft. After all, they were only making toys. It was not particularly conspicuous.
Martin Lee drove Kraft and Alice to the expo venue. The event had not officially opened yet, but there were already quite a few people inside, most of them Chinese.
To bring more traffic to Chinatown and ensure the expo went smoothly, Martin Lee naturally chose to hold it within his own sphere of influence. Chinatown residents naturally received special treatment and were allowed to enter early.
"Hey! Kraft!"
Aside from the fellow Chinatown residents, some of Martin's employees from the shelter, along with Peter Parker and the others who had tagged along, were also able to enter early.
"Aunt May, Uncle Ben, welcome."
Kraft ignored Peter Parker, who had greeted him, and stepped forward to hug Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
"Hey! Kraft! I'm talking to you!"
Peter Parker was extremely dissatisfied at being ignored.
"If you just wanted to express your surprise and admiration for my exceptionally intelligent brain, there's really no need."
Kraft rolled his eyes and turned to Peter Parker.
"Who would admire a little brat as devious as you?!"
Peter gritted his teeth in anger. Thinking of all the times Kraft had tormented him in the past, sorrow welled up in his heart.
"So? What did you call me for?"
"Can't I call you if I don't have anything to say?! I was going to congratulate you! But now! Forget it!"
Whenever Peter faced Kraft, he lost his usual timid demeanor and instead acted like an irritable young man.
But no matter what state Peter was in, Kraft was never afraid of him. He could not help it; after bullying Peter for so long, his psychological advantage was simply too great.
So he ignored Peter Parker's roar again and looked around on his own. "Where are Ned and Mary? I remember inviting them too. Didn't they come with you?"
As he spoke, Kraft shot Peter a disdainful look. "I set things up for you so well, and you still couldn't ask Mary out. What a disappointment, Peter."
"They're already here! They're just looking around inside! I only stayed with Aunt May to wait for you!"
Peter adjusted his glasses, which had been knocked crooked by his agitation, and continued roaring his explanation.
"So... you abandoned your crush and let her go on a date with your best friend?!"
Kraft's eyes widened, and he put on a shocked expression.
"It's not a date! And David and the others are with them too! Cough, cough..."
The repeated roaring had left Peter Parker somewhat short of breath, and his throat was terribly dry.
"That's enough, Kraft! Stop bullying Peter all the time!"
Martin Lee, who had been talking with the Parkers nearby, could not stand it any longer. He reached out and slapped the back of Kraft's head.
"Tch!"
Seeing Martin intervene, Kraft rubbed the back of his head and spared Peter Parker, shooting him a look that said, "You got lucky." It made Peter Parker's teeth itch.
Since the expo had not started yet, Kraft planned to take Alice for a walk around inside first and look for Fatty Liao and the others while they were at it.
Kraft had previously just handed some mass-producible technology over to Martin Lee. He did not actually know what kinds of products they had come up with, so he could take this opportunity to see exactly what products his own company had.
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