Chapter 263: Ron's Precautions
"You were captured on a traffic camera, and you look quite photogenic~" Howard made a panicked face, mimicking Sheldon's characteristic expression.
Sheldon snatched the court summons from Howard's hand. Just at this moment, Penny, who had come to eat on time, pushed open the door: "Hi, guys~"
Sheldon immediately found the culprit: "Penny, wasn't this the night you fell in the bathtub and I had to take you to the emergency room?"
"No, absolutely not." Penny denied it hastily.
"It is."
"It's not."
"Penny, I remember it very clearly," Sheldon said, seeing Penny's repeated denials, and simply handed over the photo in the summons: "And the camera also captured you in the passenger seat, holding up your dislocated shoulder."
"That wasn't me~" Penny continued to deny it without blushing, but now no one, including Leonard, believed her.
"Okay, so why was the summons sent to me when it was for your car, with your license plate number, that was listed as a traffic violation?" Sheldon presented evidence that left Penny with no recourse.
Penny finally confessed: "Okay, they sent me the summons, and I told them I wasn't driving, and then they pressed me, 'Who else could it be but you?'"
"So you sold me out?!" Sheldon raged, his fury reminding Ron of the angry green bird in that mobile game.
"That's not selling out!" Penny's voice rose several notches, then, at Sheldon's unfriendly glare, dropped again. She said pitifully, "I just said, 'I don't have any points left on my license,' and I had to go to sketchy places to buy car insurance."
"Don't you still have Leonard? I think Leonard would be happy to help you with the insurance, right, Leonard?" Ron called out to Penny's number one supporter.
"No, we're just dating right now. Even if we get married, it's my own business." Penny jumped up and retorted, as if she'd stepped on a hot iron plate, before Leonard could even begin to speak.
"Fair enough!" Ron then remembered that he was in America, where women were more independent and accustomed to splitting expenses with men, taking financial independence for granted. Of course, there were gold-diggers in America who simply wanted to hook up with rich men. Women still generally preferred wealthy partners, but even opportunistic women rarely expected men to pay for everything.
To paraphrase a famous comedian, even if you're looking for a sugar daddy, you still have to bring something to the table, right?
"But the only reason I drove your car was because you looked so pitiful, and I helped you out!" Sheldon demanded indignantly.
"So you have a photo to record your heroic day, right?" Penny tried to deflect.
Leonard snatched the summons from Sheldon's hand. "It's no big deal. Just go to court on Thursday and pay the fine."
"I'm not paying the fine. If I do, it means I'm admitting guilt."
Howard looked up. "You are guilty."
Sheldon protested loudly. "I'm innocent. I only had a learner's permit. Penny was teaching me. When the light turned yellow, she kept yelling 'Go, go, go,' so I just went 'Go, go, go.'"
"Sheldon, I'm sorry. I'll pay you back if I can get a role in a movie or a TV show or something."
"Well, then I don't think Sheldon will ever see your money again," Ron commented pointedly. The other three guys, including Leonard, nodded in agreement.
"You don't have to pay it back, because I won't pay it." Sheldon's stubborn temper flared up again. "I'll go to court on Thursday. Justice will be served. I'm starting to write my defense now."
"Ron, your roommate's going to jail, right? Will your mother call you again to lecture you?" Howard asked with a gloating look.
"That won't happen this time," Ron said happily while playing his game, "I talked about this topic with my mom when I went home for Christmas. Maybe we can find a chance to let him stay in there for a few days. Maybe he can change his stubborn attitude."
"I don't need your help."
Leonard and Rajesh whispered for a while, then reminded: "Sheldon, don't forget, Thursday is the day after tomorrow, the day Stan Lee comes to sign autographs. What are you going to do?"
"Oh, that's right~ Stan Lee is coming that day." Sheldon suddenly realized and scolded Penny: "Look at what you did. Because of you, we can't see Stan Lee."
"Huh?" Leonard was surprised: "What do you mean by 'we'?"
"You are all my friends~" Sheldon stood up and said matter-of-factly: "You have to stand by me, support me, and provide moral support. If your muscles were as strong as Ron's, when I win, you could also carry me on your shoulders and carry me out."
Howard looked at Ron: "Is this also the custom in your hometown in Texas?"
"No, that's just Sheldon's imagination," Ron replied, still absorbed in his game.
"But, speaking of which," Ron was shot in the head in the game, amused enough to drop the controller. For some reason, he felt that killing people in video games was much more challenging than in real situations. If this were reality, he guaranteed that all the keyboard warriors hiding behind their screens wouldn't be enough for him to handle with one hand.
"Last time, I made a bet with Stan Lee, and he seems to still owe me a meal. If Sheldon isn't there that day, and we can come along for the meal, I think Stan Lee wouldn't mind if I brought a few more devoted fans."
Without Sheldon, there would naturally be no awkwardness. For a successful old man like Stan Lee, who loved to enjoy the admiration of others, was incredibly proud of his work, and definitely didn't mind having a few more admirers around.
As for how Ron knew the old man was vain?
Please, do you still need to guess? Have you ever seen an old man as show-offy as Stan Lee, insisting on cameo appearances in every comic book adaptation released by his own company?
Ron's relationship with Stan Lee wasn't as distant as he let on. Although they didn't see each other often, Ron often called Lee and even went to Lakers games together.
Every time Stan Lee saw Ron, he would comment that Ron should have been an actor and regret not meeting him sooner. Otherwise, he would have been perfect for the role of Thor.
However, Ron had no fondness for the character, not even the slightest interest in cosplaying.
The character didn't even have a mask; it was completely unsuitable for him to transform into someone else and cause mischief.
"I'll go!" "Please take me with you!" Howard and Leonard's voices were excited.
Rajesh, on the other hand, could only hum anxiously, "hmmmm," while vigorously raising his hand because of Penny's presence.
"Sure," Ron put Rajesh's hand down. "Since you're interested, let's all come together. I think you can discuss the feasibility of a practical Iron Man suit, or other technological gadgets like flying skateboards, with him over dinner. If anyone can come up with a solid plan, I promise to take them to Stan Lee's house for dinner next time, okay?"
Ron spoke in a coaxing tone, like someone offering candy to kids. The three nerds' eyes lit up with excitement, and Ron smiled to himself; the deal was done.
Ron, of course, had his own plans. These guys possessed the most scientific expertise of anyone he knew. If he could spark their enthusiasm, they might be able to create some truly advanced technology.
Despite a long period of relative peace, Ron didn't dare slack off. Besides maintaining his daily workouts, he frequently visited defense contractors to see if they had any new and powerful equipment. He was motivated by necessity.
Ron knew the world wasn't as peaceful as most people thought.
For example, even at that British intelligence organization, the gear used by the agents was technologically superior to Ron's own, and Ron had been envious for a long time.
Just the standard umbrellas they issued—bulletproof, multi-functional, and even capable of being used as a weapon—made Ron envious, not to mention all the other more advanced gadgets.
Just imagine Ron, wielding an umbrella in one hand and a pistol in the other, cutting through opposition—it made his blood boil.
Unfortunately, Holmes, who worked for the British government, was too stingy to even let him examine any of these things.
If these nerds could work hard and create high-tech gear like Iron Man's suit, Ron wouldn't have to envy others' equipment anymore. He might even be able to start a company and secure a Pentagon contract.
Wouldn't that mean he'd be making serious money?
Of course, Ron wasn't just in it for the money; more importantly, he wanted to protect himself and his family.
Yes, you heard right. Even with Ron's considerable combat skills, he still felt insecure.
Since his career began, while he'd successfully navigated every situation, it was undeniable that his adversaries had grown increasingly dangerous, and Ron was increasingly uncertain about what kind of bizarre threats he might encounter.
Think about it: even the latest action movies had cars in outer space and all sorts of ridiculous, outlandish gadgets.
Even without considering trouble with street racers, just thinking about the enemies that intelligence agencies would face in the future gave Ron a headache.
A device that could remotely cause fatal injuries, an assassin with blade prosthetics who could still move at full speed, a robotic system with artificial intelligence comparable to science fiction—none of them seemed easy to deal with.
Fortunately, Ron hadn't encountered any of them yet. Otherwise, even if he could handle them, he'd probably be in serious trouble. Ron had to start preparing for worst-case scenarios.
"Hey! Ron! Why don't you take me with you? I'm a Stan Lee fan too!" Sheldon's disgruntled shout brought Ron back to reality from his thoughts.
"Because I don't want to lose a friend like Stan Lee?" Ron replied, tilting his head. Although his tone was questioning, in this context, it was undoubtedly an affirmation.
Sheldon stamped his feet in anger, but he had no way to deal with Ron. "Well, since my so-called friends have abandoned me, it seems it's just me and the witness."
"Let's go to the apartment next door to draft my defense, and by the way, you can rehearse it properly." Sheldon grabbed Penny, who looked like she had lost all hope.
"Need rehearsal?"
"By the way, please dress appropriately the day after tomorrow. If the judge is only thinking about what the text on your pants means, it won't help my case."
"Okay~" Ron stood up and clapped his hands. "While Sheldon's gone, let's get started on your 'projects'. Which one should we start with? How about the Arc Reactor?"
Ron picked up a comic book, which happened to be the first issue of Iron Man, and suggested.
"Actually, miniaturized reactor projects are underway in various countries right now," said Rajesh, the second-highest IQ scientist among the group, unaffected by the woman's presence.
"But if we want to make it as small as in the movies, nuclear fission technology won't work. The only possibility is cold fusion, which requires a thorough understanding of nuclear forces. Hope will emerge once a theory truly unifies all the fundamental forces.
And the one among us most likely to derive a grand unified theory is probably your roommate."
"Doesn't that mean my Iron Man suit is doomed?" Ron said disappointedly.
"That's not completely impossible," Howard picked up a marker and began drawing on the apartment's whiteboard. Although Ron had only a limited understanding of science, he could tell it was a technical blueprint.
"If we downgrade the suit to a more advanced exoskeleton system, it's actually not that difficult. The military is already working on it, but they're using government-trained scientists. They're inadequate. We can definitely design something better."
As he spoke, Howard filled a whiteboard with concept drawings. Intrigued, he immediately took out a new board and began sketching in more details.
"If our suit is designed to be fully enclosed, the leg structure can help share the load on the body. This way, the suit's load-bearing capacity will be greatly improved..."
"Then we can add stronger ballistic armor here and there, in these key areas, and use the suit's own structure to help absorb the impact of any attacks!"
Leonard's eyes lit up at Howard's suggestion, and he too began to draw on the board. While the two of them were sketching, Rajesh filled the board with formulas Ron couldn't understand next to Howard's concept drawings...
(End of Chapter)
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