Chapter 63: This is the Ant-Man Suit

After hearing Clark's plan, Hope couldn't help but roll her eyes, "So you had already planned an escape route. And here I was, worried to death."

Clark responded with a bitter smile, "It's always right to prepare a way out. We Chinese have a saying, 'A crafty rabbit has three burrows,' which speaks to this wisdom."

While talking, Clark looked out the window towards the street and saw a couple hugging intimately outside another villa's wall, head to head, foreheads touching, as if whispering secrets to each other.

Caught off-guard and force-fed a dose of "dog food," Clark felt a blockage in his heart. He pulled out a coin from his pocket, opened the window, and flicked the coin. It flew across the street, hitting a watchdog's rear in a yard separated by a wall from the couple.

"Ow! Woof! Woof!..."

The watchdog barked in pain, scaring the couple into fleeing. During their escape, the man slipped and fell, ending up in a sorry state.

Impression points from the watchdog: +1!

Impression points from Gilbert Griffin: +9!

Impression points from Stacey Clive: +9!

Impression points from Hope...

Can animals even provide impression points?

Having avenged the dog food feeding, Clark noted down that animals could provide impression points, then spoke again, "Although I had already thought of a backup plan, I didn't expect trouble to come so quickly. Otherwise, just by moving Uncle Pym out of the hospital in advance and hiding him, we wouldn't have had to take this risk."

Hope, who had witnessed Clark's prank, said irritably, "If you had put this prankster effort into something serious, maybe you would have thought of it sooner."

Then, Hope's expression turned serious, "What do you need me to do?"

"You don't need to do anything, not just you, even I can't act rashly," Clark said seriously. "I'm sure countless eyes are watching our every move. I'll ask our brothers from the Avengers Alliance to help with the preparations."

A gust of north wind blew, carrying snowflakes that landed on Clark's face.

He allowed the snowflakes to melt on his skin, enjoying the bracing cold it brought.

Then, Clark felt a warmth on his body and looked down to see Hope draping a coat over him.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Clark and Hope hardly left the house, staying indoors.

This somewhat relieved those tasked with surveilling them, thinking that once the hearing was underway, Clark wouldn't be able to pull any tricks.

On the afternoon of the third day, Clark finally left home with a gray suitcase under the watchful eyes of many, heading towards the city hall.

Old Pym was ill, and those politicians, who were very careful with their feathers, wouldn't ask him to go to Washington for the hearing under normal circumstances.

The hearing was scheduled to take place at the New York City Hall, located in downtown Manhattan.

Politicians flew in from Washington to New York for the hearing, showcasing their benevolence.

Along the way, Clark noticed several groups secretly watching him, but due to the mutual checks and balances among these forces, none dared to make a move first.

This disappointed Clark.

If he were robbed on this journey, the whereabouts of the Ant-Man suit would have nothing to do with him anymore.

Wouldn't that be perfect?

Safely arriving at city hall, the dignitaries had been waiting for a while.

Everyone was displeased with Clark's late arrival, but none voiced their complaints. One congressman named Stern went straight to the point, "Mr. Clark, we regret what happened to Mr. Hank Pym, but regarding the Ant-Man suit, I still hope you can hand it over to the government for safekeeping."

Clark, feigning inner turmoil, spoke after a moment, "After all, it's personal property. You mean, I just need to temporarily hand it over to the government for safekeeping, but its ownership still belongs to Uncle Pym, and he can take it back from you after he wakes up, right?"

The officials, upon hearing Clark's question, sneered inwardly.

This kid is too naive. Once the item is in their hands, even if Hank Pym wakes up, dreaming of getting it back from them would be just that—a dream.

However, to coax Clark into willingly handing over the item, Congressman Stern replied with a smile, "Of course, we only want to keep it safe to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, which is also for your safety."

"Alright then."

Clark no longer hesitated, took the suitcase he had brought all the way, placed it on the table, and opened it under everyone's gaze.

The next moment, the Ant-Man suit was revealed to all!

Looking at the seemingly unimpressive gray suit, Congressman Stern asked excitedly, "Is this the Ant-Man suit?"

Seeing the greed hidden in their eyes, Clark shrugged indifferently, "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

Clearly, this answer did not satisfy the officials.

Clark simply stated, "Hope and I have never seen the Ant-Man suit, nor have we heard Uncle Pym mention it."

"It was only after seeing the video brought by FBI Agent Ross that we confirmed its general appearance and found this in Uncle Pym's closet."

With everyone watching, Clark shrugged helplessly, "This is the closest thing we could find to the Ant-Man suit in the video."

Clark's answer obviously did not satisfy the politicians, and several congressmen began interrogating him in various ways.

Unlike on TV shows where he faced off against sharp tongues, facing these politicians, Clark adopted a strategy of playing dumb.

No matter what others asked, he stuck to one story: I know nothing about the Ant-Man suit! This is the only item we have, take it or leave it.

The politicians naturally did not believe Clark's claim, but they had no evidence to refute it since they had never seen the item themselves.

The hearing became lively, resembling a noisy marketplace.

Congressman Stern, who had taken the lead earlier, quietly sent a message amidst the chaos: The authenticity of the Ant-Man suit cannot be determined yet, don't rush to act against Hank Pym.

Meanwhile, Hope went to the hospital to visit her father.