"Not at all, Darren."
Hope reached out with one hand to pick up the pen, while her other hand remained pressed firmly against her chest, fearful that Homelander inside might do something improper again.
She signed her name with a flourish at the end of the document and then tossed it back to Darren.
Darren picked up the document, carefully confirmed the signature was correct, and finally, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you very much for your support, Hope. You will always be my strongest backing."
"Since you aren't feeling well, I won't disturb your rest. Should I have the driver wait for you downstairs?"
"No need, I have my own car." Hope issued an order to leave.
"Alright then. Drink plenty of warm water and take care of yourself." Darren expressed his concern hypocritically, then walked out of the private room with his two bodyguards.
"Click."
The door of the private room slowly closed, and the footsteps in the hallway gradually faded until they disappeared completely.
After confirming that Darren had completely left, Hope's tense nerves finally relaxed.
She released her hand covering her chest, her fingers trembling as she fumbled for a moment.
She pinched Homelander's collar and lifted him up in front of her eyes.
Hope stared at Homelander, who was suspended in mid-air, with a mix of shame and anger.
Homelander, seeing the light of day again, tilted his head up, looked at the flushed Hope above, and spread his hands.
"Sorry, Hope. The environment was very complicated just now, and I was quite helpless."
Hope gritted her teeth upon hearing this.
Theoretically, after suffering this level of "offense," she should have immediately exploded in anger, scolded him loudly, or even slapped this bastard away.
Yet, looking at Homelander's cute, miniature appearance right now, she couldn't bring herself to be angry.
Even... in the tense and exciting environment just now, she had actually felt a shameful sense of pleasure.
"God, what on earth am I thinking!"
Hope quickly shook her head vigorously, trying to drive those crazy and lewd thoughts out of her mind.
"What's wrong, Hope? Is your neck uncomfortable?" Homelander asked, knowing the answer.
Hope glared at him, just about to speak.
"Hope? Has that Darren left?" From the gap in the sofa, Hank Pym's voice, as thin as a mosquito's buzz, suddenly came through.
Hope suddenly remembered that her father was still waiting in the crevice of the sofa.
She quickly composed herself, placed Homelander on the carpet, and then carefully found Hank, who was also only a few centimeters tall, from the gap between the two cushions.
Hope also placed Hank on the carpet, and the two stood side by side.
Homelander turned the Shrink in his hand, aimed it at the two of them, and slid his thumb toward the "+" sign.
"Hum—!" An orange beam swept over. Homelander and Pym's bodies instantly expanded, returning to their normal size.
"You rude bastard!" Hank exploded as soon as he returned to his normal size. "Do you know how dangerous it is to Shrink someone without warning?! What if I had been accidentally stepped on by Hope?!"
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, Dr. Pym." Homelander patted Hank on the shoulder, ignoring his anger. "If Darren had seen you here just now, do you think you would still be standing here complaining to me?"
Hank snorted, not pursuing the matter further, but instead started to reminisce about the shrinking process just now.
He looked down at his own body, then at the flashlight in Homelander's hand, his eyes filled with amazement.
"It's incredible... The first time in my life I've shrunk in this way... This feeling is truly marvelous. Honestly, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to Shrink."
After sighing, he turned his head and looked strangely at his daughter, who was standing to the side with a flushed face.
"What's wrong, Hope? Your complexion is very off. Is it really because your period has started?"
Hope glared fiercely at Homelander, who was watching the show from the side.
"Yes, Father. But I'm fine now." Hope gritted her teeth and forcibly steered the topic back on track, not giving Hank a chance to continue questioning.
"You heard what Darren said just now! One month! He will deliver the goods within one month!"
"We don't have time!"
She gestured with her palm toward Homelander, her tone firm: "So now, you must trust Daniel; this is our only chance to stop Darren."
Hank Pym fell silent.
Although he was shocked and impressed by the technology Homelander had displayed, and his perception of Homelander had changed significantly.
But deep down, he was still that stubborn old man who regarded Pym Particles as his exclusive domain.
Starr Group was too massive. Once they mastered Pym Particles, the consequences could be even more terrifying than Darren Cross.
"Mr. Daniel, the technology you displayed truly opened my eyes," Pym said slowly.
"Regarding your proposed technical cooperation and development, I think this is a very promising topic. After we resolve the trouble of Darren, we can fully sit down and properly plan the cooperation framework for the future."
"But for now, time is tight. We must deal with Darren first."
Hank walked to the table, picked up a pen, quickly wrote down an address and a list of items on a sticky note, and then handed it to Homelander.
"This is the address of an abandoned warehouse I have on the outskirts of San Francisco. Mr. Daniel, since you are willing to help..."
"Please send these materials, centrifugal separators, and a few quantum scanning instruments there. You can leave the rest of the work to me."
Hank was obviously extremely bad at acting. His evasive eyes and stiff tone practically had "I don't want to share Pym Particles with you, I just want to freeload your resources" written all over his face.
Homelander saw through it, and Hope, the female CEO who had been through the business world for so long, also saw through it.
Hope's face immediately darkened.
She felt that her father's behavior of crossing the river and burning the bridge, full of calculation, made her feel extremely embarrassed in front of Homelander.
"Father! What is this?!" Hope asked angrily, "Daniel came to help us with sincerity, yet you are still using such low-level calculations to fool him!"
She turned around, ready to continue her outburst, but Homelander's warm hand gently grabbed her wrist.
"No problem, Dr. Pym." Homelander readily tucked the sticky note into his pocket.
"All requirements will be handled exactly according to your instructions. Within three days, all materials and equipment will be secretly delivered to this address. Starr Group will absolutely not interfere with your production process."
Hope looked at Homelander in surprise: "Daniel, you can't agree to this. This is too unfair to you. You are providing resources, but you aren't getting anything in return."
"No, Hope. This is fair."
Homelander gently placed his hands on Hope's shoulders, gazing affectionately into her eyes, which were filled with apology.
"For me, the moment I saw you, I had already gained something far more precious than all of that combined."
He didn't say directly what it was, but that lingering gaze had already conveyed the answer clearly and accurately into Hope's heart.
Hope's breathing went completely haywire.
She felt her heart was in total disarray. The man in front of her was perfect, just like a gift customized by God specifically for her.
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The temperature in the air seemed to rise sharply, and ambiguous sparks jumped back and forth in their intersecting gazes.
Hank, on the side, had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.