"I've decided to join your plan, Miss Artoria."
She didn't make Artoria wait long, or rather, Gwen figured it out very quickly. She had seen the combat power of the man and the monster with her own eyes. Although she didn't know where Peter had obtained this power, Gwen hoped to use such power to protect her family. Especially when she saw an old man, completely oblivious to the danger, about to be hit by a table flying out from their battle, she was so scared she almost rushed out from her corner. Fortunately, Spider-Man pulled the table away with his webbing, and the old man was unharmed.
Gwen couldn't believe it; if the old man hadn't been wearing headphones, she feared he would have been scared into a heart attack. When the two non-human entities moved their fight elsewhere, she hurried forward and pulled the old man away. She remembered the old man looking at her with considerable surprise and saying, 'Child, you have a brave heart; it will bring you infinite power.' After saying that, the old man left with his headphones on. Gwen still hadn't snapped out of it; this old man didn't seem to be from her school.
But this close-range battle still brought her a great deal of shock and longing.
"Are you sure you don't want to think about it some more?"
Artoria wasn't in a hurry to have Gwen join immediately. She needed to confirm it one more time; it would be too late for regrets later.
"I think I'm ready."
Gwen firmly declined Artoria's kindness. She was prepared for this, whether it resulted in success or failure, and was willing to bear the consequences. This was her own choice.
"Alright! Maya, come take a blood sample. The experiment officially begins."
Since the girl had said so herself, Artoria stopped discouraging her. She had Saturday call Maya directly. Artoria watched quietly as Gwen was led away by Maya, only then letting out a sigh of relief.
"Another change. Who on earth is it?"
Inside an ancient wooden house, a bald woman held a metallic object shaped like an eye. She closed her eyes, her expression remaining unchanged from start to finish. The eye-like metallic object continuously emitted a green light. After a while, the woman opened her eyes, and her expression finally shifted. The future she had seen before was not like this; it had changed completely. She felt an inexplicable power, one that even the Time Stone could not see through.
"Who could possibly be that powerful?"
However, she still saw a light that illuminated the entire world, and from it, she actually felt a slight sense of crisis. That's right—even the Dark Lord Dormammu hadn't made her feel a single sense of crisis, yet someone in the future could. This made her feel somewhat at ease; it seemed a powerhouse even stronger than herself would definitely appear in the future.
"Grow up quickly, Dr. Stephen."
After saying this, Ancient One closed her eyes again to resist the erosion of dark magic. She was already very, very tired and hoped for liberation. The only thing that allowed her to set down her burden was seeing that Dr. Stephen in the red cloak through the Time Stone. This ordinary person with extraordinary magic talent was indeed the successor to her position.
"master, your brother has been attacked."
"Oh! Understood."
Hearing Saturday's report, Artoria's movements paused. It seemed Whiplash Ivan had appeared. As for her brother, he was surely just a bit startled; there was no way he'd suffer any major injury. Moreover, he had been living quite comfortably lately, showing no signs of metal poisoning at all, which surprised Artoria. But she felt relieved and wasn't in a hurry to have Tony use Extremis. She'd observe for a while longer. Especially since she was very busy right now—the research on Pym Particles, the regeneration cradle, plus the newly started Spider-Man project were all quite troublesome. Fortunately, she could use clones; otherwise, her progress in strengthening her own power would have fallen behind.
"Saturday, keep an eye on the press conference held by Hammer Industries. Once something goes wrong with their suits, hack into their computers and black out all their money for me."
"Yes, master."
How could she let this meat right at her mouth fly away? Artoria didn't even think twice about having Saturday start monitoring Hammer Industries' movements. When the other party was in a panic, she'd strike quickly and devour this fat piece of meat. This was the way to make a fortune, no doubt about it.
"How is the production of the Liquid Suit coming along?"
Applying the nanotechnology from the regeneration cradle to combat—without Tony's presence, progress was a bit slow. But fortunately, knowing it was feasible, Artoria didn't hesitate to throw money at it. Now, some results were finally showing.
"master, this is the simulated projection. Please take a look."
A 3D holographic figure appeared before Artoria, modeled after her own appearance. Artoria felt a bit embarrassed watching it, especially as the liquid slowly covered the body—it felt very much like an adult film. Artoria was so annoyed the ahoge on her head stood straight up. While this thing was good, it seemed its use depended on the person. If someone was flat-chested, it wasn't a big deal, but for someone with a large chest and a good figure, it could be embarrassingly awkward.
"Don't use me as the blueprint. Use Gwen as the blueprint for manufacturing."
"Yes, master."
Waving her hand with a headache, Artoria didn't want to see that thing anymore. It seemed her Spirit Gear was better; with the concealment of holy light, there were no 'fan service' moments at all. It was great.
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